The first week of November brought a deluge of early Black Friday sales, many of which included some of our favorite gadgets at all-time-low prices. Amazon and Best Buy discounted everything from Sony headphones to smartwatches to OLED TVs. Google devices, including the Nest Audio and the Nest Hub smart display, have dropped to record-low prices as well, while Apple's AirPods Pro with the new MagSafe case are $60 off. Here are the best early Black Friday tech deals you can still get today.

AirPods Pro (with MagSafe)

Billy Steele / Engadget

The updated AirPods Pro with the MagSafe charging case are down to $190 right now, or $60 off their normal price. These remain Apple's best sounding wireless earbuds and we gave them a score of 87 for their better fit, IPX4 water resistance and hands-free Siri controls.

12.9-inch iPad Pro

Apple

The latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 512GB of storage is $150 off, bringing it down to $1,249. That's the best price we've seen on this particular model, which would make a good laptop alternative when paired with the right accessories. We gave the iPad Pro a score of 87 for its powerful performance, lovely display and handy Center Stage camera.

Mac Mini M1

Engadget

Apple's 512GB Mac Mini M1 is on sale for $750 thanks to an automatically applied coupon. This is the desktop to get if you want a relatively compact device, plus one with the power of Apple's M1 chipset.

Sony WH-1000XM4

Billy Steele / Engadget

Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to a record low of $248 right now. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.

Sony WF-1000XM4

Billy Steele/Engadget

Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 earbuds are down to $248 during this sale. We gave them a score of 86 for their great sound quality, powerful ANC and improved battery life.

iRobot Roomba j7+

iRobot

iRobot's latest robot vacuum, the Roomba j7+, is on sale for $699, or $150 off its normal price. The robo-vac without the clean base is also on sale for $499. In addition to the company's standard vacuuming technology, these models have AI-driven computer vision technology that lets them detect obstacles — including pet poop — and move around them as they clean.

iRobot Roomba 694

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

iRobot's Roomba 694 is on sale for $180, or $94 off its normal price. This model made it into our budget robot vacuum guide thanks to its good cleaning power, decent battery life and easy-to-use companion app.

August WiFi smart lock (4th-gen)

Engadget

The August WiFi smart lock is on sale for $180, which is a record-low price. This fits over many types of deadbolts and allows you to remotely lock and unlock your door using the companion app. We gave it a score of 80 for its easy installation process, elegant design and support for multiple voice assistants.

Sony WH-CH710N headphones

Billy Steele / Engadget

Sony's already affordable WH-CH710N wireless headphones are down to an all-time low of $78 right now. That's the same price they were during Amazon Prime Day in June, making it a great time to snatch these capable cans up. We like them for their comfortable fit, punchy bass, good ANC and up to 35 hours of battery life.

Samsung T7 Touch SSD (1TB)

Samsung

Samsung's T7 Touch portable SSD in 1TB is down to $150, which is $40 off and a record low. It's almost exactly the same as the standard T7 drive, but it has a built-in fingerprint reader for an extra layer of security.

Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Lenovo's Flex 5 Chromebook has dropped to $300, which is $130 off its normal price. We praised this machine as a capable Chrome OS laptop for its Core i3 processor, 1080p touchscreen, comfortable keyboard and good array of ports. It's a great buy even at its normal price, so it's a steal when on sale like this.

GoPro Hero 10 Black

James Trew / Engadget

Amazon knocked $50 off the GoPro Hero 10 Black action cam, bringing it down to $450. It earned a score of 92 from us for its improved image quality, speedy user interface and additional slo-mo and frame rate options.

Sony OLED TVs

Sony

A couple of Sony OLED sets were discounted this week. The 55-inch Sony Bravia XR A80J OLED 4K TV is down to $1,398, or $300 off its normal price, while the 48-inch Sony Bravia A9S OLED TV dropped to $1,198. The former includes the company's Cognitive Processor XR, HDMI 2.1 support, 4K upscaling, XR Motion Clarity and more, while the latter supports HDR and Dolby Vision, Acoustic Surface Audio, X-Motion Clarity technology and AirPlay 2.

Amazon Kindle

Engadget

The standard Kindle is down to the best price we've seen it, only $50. We gave this e-reader a score of 91 for its front-lit display, improved contrast screen and sleeker design.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

Amazon

Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K is half off right now, bringing it down to $25. This compact streaming device supports 4K content, Dolby Vision, HDR and Dolby Atmos sound. It's one of the easiest, and cheapest, ways to turn an old TV into a smarter one.

Amazon Fire tablets

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Amazon slashed prices of its Fire HD 8 tablets this week, so you can grab one for as low as $45. The kids versions are on sale as well — $70 for the Fire HD 8 Kids and Fire HD 8 Kids Pro.

New early Black Friday tech deals

Shure SM7B microphone

Shure's high-end SM7B microphone is 28 percent off, bringing it down to $359. This is a record-low price that we haven't seen very often, and this mic is a good pick for those who want to take their podcasting or streaming audio quality to the next level.

OnePlus 9 smartphones

Both the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro smartphones are down to record-low prices, coming in at $599 and $799, respectively. We gave the 9 Pro a score of 88 for its fantastic display, impressive performance and much improved main camera.

Moft early Black Friday sale

Moft's early Black Friday sale knocks up to $35 off depending on how much you spend. Use the code BF10 to get $10 off $50 or more, the code BF20 to get $20 off $100 or more and the code BF35 to get $35 off orders of $150 or more. The company makes a bunch of slick mobile accessories, including a magnetic stand and wallet for the latest iPhones.

NordVPN

NordVPN has a promotion going on right now that gets you two years of the service for $89. That's 68 percent off its normal price. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.

Galaxy Buds+

Samsung's Galaxy Buds+ are down to only $59 at Walmart, which is nearly $100 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 83 for their improved audio, better call quality, longer battery life and improved wireless range.

Oculus Quest 2

Until November 12, Amazon Prime members can get up to $20 off Oculus Quest 2 headsets at Woot. We gave this VR kit a score of 89 for its high-res screens, powerful hardware and excellent abilities as a standalone VR device.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

DJI is best known for drones, but it's possibly the most inventive camera company right now. After unveiling the outrageous full-frame Ronin 4K camera/gimbal last month, it has now launched the $2,200 Mavic 3 drone with not just one, but two innovative camera systems.

As rumored, there are two models in the Mavic 3 family, the Standard and Cine models, along with a "Fly More" combo that bundles more accessories. The main difference is that the Mavic 3 Cine has a built-in 1TB SSD and supports Apple ProRes 422 HQ video recording — highly desirable for professional film productions. The latter is also considerably more expensive, as I'll discuss shortly. 

The Mavic 3's main 24mm (35mm-equivalent) f/2.8 - f/11 Hasselblad-branded camera has a Four Thirds sensor that's considerably larger than the 1-inch sensor on the current Air 2S model. And yet, the camera module doesn't look much bigger and the Mavic 3 weighs slightly less than the Mavic 2 (895g compared to 907g). 

Steve Dent/Engadget

Four Thirds is the same size as the Micro Four Thirds sensor on Panasonic's BGH1 box camera, for example, so it should allow for more cinematic video and photos. The variable aperture, along with optional ND filters, will make it easier to shoot in a variety of lighting conditions. It also comes with a new autofocus system called Vision Detection that supposedly optimizes focusing speeds.

With the main camera, it now shoots 5.1K video at 50fps, or 4K at 120 fps — up from 5.4K 30fps and 4K/60p video on the Air 2S. DJI claims a native dynamic range of 12.8 stops, thanks to the 10-bit D-Log color profile. As for still images, it can shoot 20-megapixel photos in 12-bit RAW.

If you need to get in much, much closer, DJI has squeezed in a second camera directly above the main camera. This one has a half-inch 12-megapixel sensor and 162mm tele lens (35mm equivalent), which is around a 4X zoom, or claimed 28X hybrid zoom. The aperture is fixed at f/4.4, and it offers strictly automatic, rather than manual exposure control. It can capture 4K video at up to 30 fps. 

Steve Dent/Engadget

DJI has confirmed that the Mavic 3 will have up to 46 minutes of autonomy in ideal conditions (40 minutes of hover), as leaks had suggested. That's up pretty massively from the Mavic 2 Pro or Air 2S, both of which offer 31 minutes of flying time. It can also fly a bit faster too, at 47 MPH compared to 45 MPH. Those capabilities were enabled by a higher-capacity battery, more energy-efficient motors/propellers and a more streamlined shape on the Mavic 3's arms, body and gimbal. "Wind tunnel testing shows Mavic 3 produces 35 percent less drag than previous generations," DJI wrote. 

The Mavic 3 also offers enhanced flight safety thanks to its updated APAS 5.0 system that uses inputs from six fish-eye vision sensor and two wide-angle sensors to detect and avoid obstacles. Meanwhile, the ActiveTrack 5.0 system has new options for tracking subjects no matter which way they're moving, and it can even continue to track a subject if it moves out of frame and pick it back up when it reappears. All of that allows "more fluid and diverse drone and camera movement," DJI said. 

It also comes with an improved RTH (Return to Home) system by automatically calculating the shortest, safest and most energy-efficient route to land back at its home point. It can take into account wind speed and power required to calculate the path, giving users a bit more flying time before triggering the RTH action. Another updated feature is O3+ signal loss prevention that allows for a maximum control range of 15 km. Mavic 3 is also DJI's first drone with a 1080p 60fps transmission speed on the live feed, meaning "the camera view is displayed at a resolution close to what the camera actually records," DJI notes. 

Steve Dent/Engadget

Along with the drone, DJI introduced a number of new accessories, including a new DJI RC Pro smart controller, a 65W Portable Charger that's compatible with notebooks and smartphones and allows for fast charging (around 96 minutes), a wide-angle lens and two sets of ND filters (ND4/8/16/32 and ND64/128/256/512) that allow for shooting in bright sunlight. It also introduced a carrying bag that converts into a backpack that can fit the drone, a laptop and other accessories. 

Engadget received the drone just yesterday, so we haven't had a chance to fly it yet — stay tuned for a full review. However, I'm impressed so far by the design and small details like the storage cover that protects the camera, gimbals and propeller (below). It's also clear that DJI has put a lot of thought into the new charging system and batteries that should make operation more practical. Even the carrying bag/backpack is well conceived, with pockets and sleeves for the batteries, ND filters and more.

Steve Dent/Engadget

As you may have noticed, the drawback with the Mavic 3 is the relatively high price. Rather than $1,600 as was rumored, the Mavic 3 starts at $2,200 for the Standard model, which includes the Mavic 3 drone, storage cover, one battery and charger, the RC-N1 remote control "and other essential items." The $3,000 Mavic 3 Fly More Combo adds two extra batteries (three total), a three-battery charging hub, the ND4/8/16/32 filter set and the fancy bag/backpack.

Finally, the $5,000 Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo gives you the aforementioned 1TB SSD and Apple ProRes 422 HQ recording (arriving in January 2022). It adds a few more accessories to the Fly More Combo as well, including the RC Pro remote, ND64/128/256/512 filters and the DJI 10Gbps data cable. Five grand is obviously lot of money, but it's aimed more at pro film producers. All three drones are now available to order from DJI's website and authorized partners. 

Riot Games is taking its PC titles into new territory as League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics and Legends of Runeterra are all now available on the Epic Games Store. The move could get the four free-to-play titles in front of a wider audience.

You'll need to install the new Riot Client (which debuted earlier this month), but you can fire up the games from Epic's app or a desktop shortcut. If you already play any of those games, you'll still be able to sign in with your account and access your existing friends list.

The partnership between Riot and Epic extends to the latter's titles too. League of Legends champion Jinx is dropping into Fortnite, marking the first appearance of a LoL character in a non-Riot game.

The collaboration forms part of Riot's month-long campaign to promote Arcane, the League of Legends animated series that premieres at 10PM ET on November 6th on Netflix. Elsewhere, Riot has also teamed up with Amazon to offer Prime Gaming members some in-game goodies over the next year.

For as long as motorcycles have existed, enthusiasts have been upgrading their rides with new components. Taking that idea to the 21st century, the new 2022 SR from Zero Motorcycles allows you to push its capabilities with software updates instead. The motorcycle will ship with the company’s Cypher III+ operating system, which includes the Cypher Store. And if you plan to get the most out of the 2022 SR, you’ll need to spend money at the marketplace. Post-purchase “DLC” is something we’ve seen the automotive industry show increasing interest in recent years.

At first, the Cypher Store will offer a mix of performance and comfort upgrades. It will later expand to sell purchases that enable features like a park mode, heated grips and faster charging. How much you’ll need to pay for those extras will depend on the model you own.

Zero Motorcycles

In the case of the 2022 SR, it comes standard with a 14.4 kWh battery. You can upgrade its capacity to 15.6 kWh and then 17.3 kWh. In 2022, Zero Motorcycles will start selling an optional tank accessory that further increases the amount of power the motorcycle’s ZF 75-10 electric motor can access. With every possible upgrade, battery capacity increases to 20.9 kWh. At that point, Zero claims you can expect approximately 227 miles of range when driving in a city and about 113 miles at a more consistent 70 miles per hour clip. For charging, the 2022 SR features a standard J1772 connection, which even Tesla sells now.

By default, the 2022 SR’s motor outputs 122 lb-ft of torque and 74 horsepower. It can hit a top speed of 104 miles per hour. As you might have guessed, you can pay extra to unlock better performance from the motor. With a $1,795 in-app purchase, power output increases to 113 horsepower, allowing the 2022 SR to go as fast as 124 miles per hour.

The 2022 SR will start at $17,995 when it debuts at dealerships in the first quarter of 2022.

Game marketing is creating more strange bedfellows. Epic Games is addingLeague of Legends champion Jinx to Fortnite today (November 4th) at 8PM Eastern, just ahead of her debut in the Netflix series Arcane on November 6th. She'll be available in the battle royale shooter's Item Shop alongside themed gear like a pickaxe, spray, Back Bling, a lobby soundtrack and loading screens.

It's not a one-way partnership, either. Riot Games is bringing League of Legends, Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics and Valorant to the Epic Games Store. This won't matter much if you're a fan (you probably downloaded those games a long time ago), but it might expose some Fortnite players to Riot's titles.

Epic has been rapidly expanding its gaming-themed expansions in recent months. It just added two Resident Evil heroes in late October, and previous updates have added characters from the likes of God of War, Halo and Street Fighter. However, the League of Legends update is unique as a tie-in for a streaming TV series — it's about as convenient a promotional tool as you can get.

Nintendo has cut its Switch sales forecast due to ongoing semiconductor shortages, the company announced in its earnings report. It now expects to ship 24 million Switch units for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022 instead of the 25.5 million units it had originally predicted. 

The issue came into focus this quarter, as Nintendo managed to ship just 3.83 million Switch consoles compared to 6.86 million during the same quarter last year. So far, its net sales for the year are down 18.9 percent to 624.2 billion yen ($5.46 billion) year-over-year. That's not a huge surprise, however, as Switch and software sales exploded during the COVID-19 lockdown and following that has proved to be impossible — particularly as chips and components have since become more scarce. 

Despite the revised sales expectations, Nintendo expects to match total revenue of 1,600 billion yen ($14 billion) from the previous fiscal year, thanks in part to games. It aims to sell 200 million software units, 10 million more than last year, which would help offset the console sales drop. Upcoming titles include Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl plus a Zelda-themed Game & Watch.

The most popular games so far this fiscal year include Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (3.6 million units sold), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (3.34 million units) and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2.22 million units). 

Despite the reduced expectations and tepid console sales this quarter, Nintendo has now sold 92.87 million Switch units to date. That's still short of the Wii, which has the current home console sales record of 101.63 million units shipped. However, if Nintendo comes close to matching the 11.57 million units sold during last year's holiday period, the Switch — aided by the new Switch OLED model — could finally top that mark by the end of the year. 

Nintendo occasionally milks some of its big franchises, but Metroid is generally not one of them. In fact, Metroid Dread is the first all-new game in the series since the divisive Metroid:Other M arrived in 2010. As the fifth mainline, side-scrolling game in the series, Dread has a lot to live up to. And while it’s not a total reinvention of the franchise, like Metroid Prime was 19 years ago, it also does a great job of avoiding the pitfall of feeling like a retread, an issue that occasionally plagues Nintendo’s other flagship franchises.

If you’ve played any of the previous side-scrolling Metroid games, Dread will be familiar. As usual, Samus Aran loses all her powers and needs to escape an underworld maze, fighting baddies and retrieving power-ups that let you explore new sections (or old parts of the map you couldn’t get through before).

That’s a well-trodden path, but Nintendo flipped things this time with the E.M.M.I. encounters, terrifying robotic enemies that stalk you through specific parts of the map. They can’t be killed until you explore their area to find a weapon power-up that puts you on equal footing. At first, I was worried that these encounters would be too frequent, or too hard to escape, but developer MercurySteam did an excellent job balancing out the E.M.M.I. areas. Escaping from the dreaded robots by leaving the zones they patrol isn’t too tough, and you don’t have to spend so long in their areas that the whole game devolves into stealth tension.

On the other hand, if you get caught by an E.M.M.I., that’s pretty much it. You have one chance to block their lethal attack, and I’ve only done it right once. I’ve probably gotten caught several dozen times and have never made it out alive. Fortunately, the game just resets you to the door entering the E.M.M.I. zone if you fail, so you won’t lose much progress.

Nintendo

Meanwhile, I’ve had a blast exploring the dank tunnels and caverns that make up the world of Dread. As with most Nintendo games, the atmosphere and art style are top-notch, even if Dread doesn’t hold a candle to the more technologically advanced titles on the Xbox Series X or PS5. When I play a game that is this well-designed and thoughtful about what it does with the technology available to it, I don’t worry about counting pixels. That said, it also looks extremely impressive docked to my 4K TV.

Most of the gameplay hallmarks of Metroid titles are here, including power-ups like charged shots, the morph ball, the missile cannon and plenty of other returning favorites. But there’s enough new here, like the grapple beam and screw attack, to keep the game feeling fresh.

Maybe for people who have obsessively played the Metroid series before, Dread will feel like more of a retread. But while I’m familiar with the core components of these games, the first-person Metroid Prime is the game I know the best — I never beat the original game, or the highly-regarded Super Metroid on the Super NES. If you’re like me, don’t let that stop you from trying Metroid Dread. There’s a reason so-called Metroidvania games are still popular. 

And if you haven’t tried one before, getting the newest installment in the series that helped define the genre is a great way to get your feet wet. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel like MercurySteam and Nintendo just checked the boxes for this game. Indeed, the skill that MercurySteam brought to Samus Returns (a remake of 1991’s Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy) is on display here; Nintendo definitely picked the right developer to make the first mainline Metroid game since 2002. It’s an inspired addition to a series that already has an impressive legacy. Just don’t get cocky — run like hell if an E.M.M.I. tracks you down.

Board games are a great gift for anyone who wants to spend time with friends and family without staring at the TV. They’re interactive, fun, and you get to tell everyone to put away their phones and tablets for a while. But instead of pulling out the same old classics like Monopoly and Scrabble, we recommend giving some new titles a try. Here, we’ve compiled a list of games that you might not have heard of, but will still make excellent gifts this holiday season. Some are perfect for fantasy and video game nerds, while others are likely to be a hit with the whole family.

Trails: A Parks Game

Keymaster Games

Trails is a great little board game for anyone who loves hiking or even just the idea of it. In Trails, players hike on picturesque nature paths while gathering resources, taking pictures and encountering wildlife, earning points along the way. Whoever gets the most points wins. The art in this game is beautiful, featuring 11 national park illustrations from the Fifty-Nine Park Print series. Trails makes an especially great game for nature lovers, as a portion of every game sale is donated to the National Park Service.

Sleeping Gods

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Red Raven Games

If your loved one is a fan of open-world video games such as Skyrim or No Man’s Sky, Sleeping Gods could well be the perfect board game for them. In this cooperative game, you and up to three friends play the part of Captain Sofi Odessa and her crew, who find themselves lost in the Wandering Sea. With a game atlas of connecting maps and a thick choose-your-own-adventure style storybook, players will have to explore the land to uncover its secrets, fight beasts, complete quests and make game-changing decisions. It all adds up to an engrossing and immersive experience sure to please anyone who loves a good story.

Marvel United

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / CMON

MCU fans will definitely appreciate it if you give them Marvel United, a game where the player and their friends have to work together to defeat the forces of evil. They can take on the role of one of seven heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow, each with their own unique powers and abilities. To win, players must choose their cards carefully and also collaborate with their partners to combine each other’s actions whenever possible. They’ll have to fight off henchmen, rescue civilians and, of course, take down one of three super villains: Red Skull, Ultron or Taskmaster. If X-Men is more their style, you could get them the Marvel United: X-Men version instead, where they get to play as characters like Professor X, Cyclops and Storm.

Canvas

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Road to Infamy

Canvas is perhaps one of the prettiest board games we’ve ever seen — it’s so lovely that we almost want to hang the cover on a wall. It’s apropos because in Canvas, players are painters in an art competition. They collect art cards, layering them on top of one another to create their own unique “painting.” As they do so, certain icons will be revealed or hidden, which will determine the resulting score, depending on the objectives for that round. It might sound confusing, but Canvas is a beginner friendly game that should make a great gift for art lovers of all stripes.

Space Invaders

Buffalo Games

Space Invaders is an enjoyable dexterity game for the whole family, even for those who don’t remember playing the classic arcade title of the same name. In this game, players have to work together to defeat descending aliens plus the UFO mothership before their health runs out. But instead of smashing buttons, they’ll take turns launching battle tokens with a mini catapult, and each player has a special ability they can deploy as well. It all adds to a bunch of silly fun that anyone aged eight and up can partake in.

Summer Camp

Buffalo Games

Another excellent family game is Summer Camp, which will have your loved ones recalling fond memories of canoeing, making friendship bracelets and roasting marshmallows. In this game, players are racing against each other to earn merit badges in different categories such as adventure, arts and crafts, cooking, friendship, outdoors, games and water sports. They’ll want to buy the right cards, build the best combos and beat their opponents across the finish line to get the most points possible. It might not be as fun as actually being at summer camp, but hey, at least they won’t get eaten by mosquitos while playing.

Summoner Wars 2nd Edition

Plaid Hat Games

If your loved one isn’t new to the world of tabletop gaming, then consider giving them Summoner Wars 2nd Edition, a tactical dueling card game that pits them against a rival to see which one will reign supreme. Players take on the role of powerful summoners that each control a large army of units in the form of cards, which are then placed in a head-to-head board. They also choose one of six different factions, each with unique attacks and moves. Some wield dark magic that can drain enemies, while others utilize brute strength to force their way through. If they’re really into combat games with a lot of tactics and strategy, Summoner Wars would make a thoughtful gift. The only downside is that you'll have to gift this a bit late as it comes out on January 12, 2022.

Wrath of the Lich King: A Pandemic System Board Game

Z-Man Games

For those who are really into World of Warcraft but might not have a lot of board gaming experience, Wrath of the Lich King: A Pandemic System Board game is the perfect introduction to the pastime. Based on a WoW expansion of the same name, players will take on the roles of legendary characters such as Thrall, Varian Wrynn, Sylvanas Windrunner, Tirian Fordring and Jaina Proudmoore, all of which will be familiar to anyone who’s ever played WoW. They’ll travel around the frozen continent of Northrend, completing quests and setting up strongholds in order to defeat armies of the undead and, eventually, the Lich King himself.

Why the long name? Well, the game utilizes similar mechanics found in Pandemic, a much beloved board game about eradicating the world of diseases. Those who are already familiar with Pandemic should be able to learn the game quite easily as a result, though Wrath of the Lich King has enough differences that it won’t feel like the same thing.

Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Cuphead

One of the most popular video games in 2017 was Cuphead, a run-and-gun style video game that features a hand-drawn 1930s art style. If you know someone who loved it when it came out, they might be interested in this card and dice version of the same game. Players play as Cuphead, Mugman, Elder Kettle or Ms. Chalice, and will attempt to defeat a gauntlet of bosses by rolling dice. Players can roll the dice as many times as they want per round, but there’s one problem: the time limit. It all adds up to a chaotic experience that really emulates the insane adrenaline rush of the original video game.

Chevy isn't the only one electrifying vintage cars to sell you on aftermarket EV motors. Ford has introduced an F-100 Eluminator concept that upgrades the circa-1978 pickup truck with two of the company's new Eluminator electric crate motor kit. The powerplants, taken from the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, give the F-100 a total 480HP and 634lb/ft of torque. Ford didn't discuss performance benchmarks or range, but it's safe to presume you could smoke some sports cars with that kind of power.

The truck has more customizations beyond the EV motors, including the vertical center-stack touchscreen from the Mach-E. You'll also see custom aluminum Forgeline wheels, a billet aluminum dash from JJR Fabrication and avocado-tanned leather from MDM Upholstery. This may look like a classic truck, but it's not appointed like one.

You can't buy this concept, as you might have guessed. Instead, Ford would rather you buy the $3,900 Eluminator motor for your project car. The automaker eventually hopes to supply everything you might need for an EV retrofit, including batteries, controllers and traction inverters. You'd only want to buy the motor right now if you have the resources to complete the rest of the puzzle yourself. This does, however, hint at a future where many beloved combustion engine cars can get a second life through an EV transplant.

Ford

What better way to show someone you love them than getting them a gadget that they can wear on their person all day? Okay, maybe there are plenty of better ways, but a wearable can not only convey how much you care, but it can also help the user take better care of themselves.

Our list of the best wearables includes not only obvious things like smartwatches and fitness trackers, but also a touch-sensitive backpack that will let the hiker on your list keep their hands free while trekking through the mountains. Though the typical price here of about $200 to $300 might be steep for some, it might be a good range for those looking for something that a few friends can all chip in on. But we’ve also included budget-friendlier options if you prefer.

Apple Watch SE

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

A smartwatch is a great gift for anyone that’s trying to stay on top of their busy schedules, keep tabs on their health or remain connected without having to look at their phone every 30 seconds. The Apple Watch SE is a solid choice for any first timer — it has all of the core features of the more-premium Series 7, but costs significantly less. Your loved one will be able to use it to track their workouts and sleep while getting their iPhone alerts and messages on their wrist. The watch will also detect if they’ve fallen and alert the user’s emergency contacts, not to mention warn the wearer of any heart rate irregularities. Of course, no smartwatch is meant to replace a consultation with a doctor, so think of it more as a way to get some data than as a tool for diagnosis.

If you believe your friend could benefit from a bigger screen, longer battery life, ECG readings and an always-on display, the $400 Series 7 is a better choice. But you’ll have to decide if those main differences are worth the premium.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Apple

The Apple Watch is the best smartwatch around. Unfortunately it won’t work with Android phones. Thankfully, there are plenty of options for those over in Google-land, and the best of them is the Galaxy Watch 4. It runs the new Wear OS co-engineered by Samsung and Google, marrying an intuitive side-scrolling interface and great health-tracking with a plentiful third-party app library. That means your friend can reply to your texts from their wrist, get updates on their cab rides or takeout orders, track their calorie intake or log workouts through their favorite apps. Those who are into their physical and muscular composition will also appreciate the Watch 4’s body fat-scanning tool.

If the person you’re shopping for prefers a more classic-looking timepiece and doesn’t mind a chunkier device, they might enjoy the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. It features a spinning bezel that lets the user whiz through widgets quickly and easily, and the etchings on the frame lend a traditional look to the smartwatch.

Fitbit Charge 5

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

Those looking for something with a lower profile will prefer a Fitbit band. Despite its relatively small size, the Fitbit Charge 5 packs a ton of hardware including a heart rate monitor, onboard GPS and an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor. Altogether, it can help your loved one track their pulse, fitness and even stress levels. Fitbit also has one of the more insightful sleep-logging tools around, using cardio readings to determine if they’ve entered deep, REM or light sleep zones.

The company also made its touchscreen full-color on the Charge 5, which is a vast improvement over the last model’s greyscale version. This does diminish battery life, but the Charge 5 still manages to last up to seven days (though, that drops to two with the display set to Always On).

Fossil Gen 6

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For the Android smartwatch user who wants a little more fashion cred on their wrist, the Fossil Gen 6 is a worthy option. These are the company’s first to run the new Wear OS, but with some custom watch faces and tweaks for health-tracking. They have bright, crisp 1.28-inch AMOLED screens and offer continuous heart-rate monitoring, as well as a blood oxygen sensor.

Battery life has always been a big shortcoming of smartwatches, and Fossil is attempting to make up for that by offering fast charging on the Gen 6. It promises you can get up to 80 percent in 30 minutes, so your giftee doesn’t have to spend too long waiting around for their watch to power back up. And since this is a Fossil wearable, there are plenty of attractive strap and case options that will suit your loved one’s tastes.

Amazon Echo Frames

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Not all wearables are watches: there’s been a recent surge in speaker-glasses hybrid devices. The Amazon Echo Frames are the most comfortable, though. Like the Bose Frames and Razer’s Anzu, they offer open-ear style speakers built into the arms of the eyewear so that the wearer can hear what’s playing on their computer or phone without blocking out the rest of the world. Amazon’s version also offers easy access to Alexa, so the user can get hands-free help with setting timers or turning on their smart lights.

The Echo Frames can be fitted with prescription lenses and come in an inoffensive style that should fit most faces (there’s only one size available). Those who don’t need glasses can also opt for blue-light filtering lenses or shades instead. If you know someone who wants to listen to music or their favorite YouTube livestream at work, while still being able to hear when their boss calls them into the office, the Echo Frames are a good option.

Withings Steel HR

Withings

Some diehard watch aficionados don’t like the idea of a black mirror staring up at them when smartwatch batteries die, but still want a timepiece that can track basic health metrics. For these folks, the Withings Steel HR is an attractive, well-rounded product. It has a traditional analog watch face with a tiny round black-and-white screen that shows step counts and small status indicators. A sub-dial displays progress towards the wearer’s daily move goal, and runners can link the watch to their phone’s GPS to map their routes.

The device’s onboard heart rate and blood oxygen sensors help the user gauge their cardio performance, and swimmers or divers will appreciate the water resistance of up to 50 meters. Best of all, since this doesn’t have a large, battery-draining screen, it can last up to 25 days on a charge.

Garmin Forerunner 55

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Garmin

The hardcore runner or marathoner in your life will most likely have heard of Garmin. The company is known for its GPS and heart rate monitors, and athletes swear by their running watches. The Forerunner 55 is a great device for those looking for something that excels at sports-tracking with long-lasting battery. It’ll last up to two weeks, while monitoring the user’s respiration, heart rate, step count and more. The wearer can also get basic notifications, music playback controls and apps on the watch.

But it’s Garmin’s robust sports features that will win your giftee over. These include comprehensive run coaching with cadence alerts, pace suggestions, estimated finish time and recovery guides. The Forerunner 55 also tracks stress and menstrual cycles and offers emergency contact tools when the wearer feels unsafe.

Samsonite x Google Konnect-i backpack

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget / Samsonite

Who knew a backpack could be smart? The Samsonite Konnect-i bag features touch-sensitive fibers woven into its strap to enable Google’s Jacquard technology. This lets the wearer tap and swipe on the surface to do things like answer phone calls, play or pause music and more by connecting to their phone. For those who need to pay attention to their commute instead of fumbling around with a phone when they’re on the go, the Konnect-i backpack can keep their hands free and eyes alert. If you have the money to spare and want to give your friend a serious style upgrade, Google also teamed up with Saint Lauren on a $1,150 branded version.