One of the major concessions Microsoft made to regulators to get its blockbuster acquisition of Activision Blizzard over the line was agreeing to let users of third-party cloud services stream Xbox-owned games. Starting today, you can play three Call of Duty games via NVIDIA GeForce Now: Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone.

They're the first Activision games to land on GeForce Now since Microsoft closed the $68.7 billion Activision deal in October. Activision Blizzard games were previously available on GeForce Now but only briefly, as the publisher pulled them days after the streaming service went live for all users in early 2020.

Microsoft first made its first-party games available on GeForce Now this year, beginning with Gears 5 in May. More recently, Microsoft started allowing GeForce Now users to stream PC Game Pass titles and Microsoft Store purchases.

Call of Duty titles are major additions, though, especially since that means Warzone fans can play the battle royale on their phone or tablet wherever they are without having to pay anything extra (free GeForce Now users are limited to one hour of gameplay per session). If you've bought MW2 or MW3 on Steam, you can play those through GeForce Now as well. NVIDIA notes that older CoD titles will be available through GeForce Now later.

Another key concession Microsoft made to appease UK regulators was to sell the cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard titles to Ubisoft. However, as evidenced here, Microsoft will still honor the agreements it made directly with various cloud gaming services.

When I first got to see the Expressive E Osmose way back in 2019, I knew it was special. In my 15-plus years covering technology, it was one of the only devices I’ve experienced that actually had the potential to be truly “game changing.” And I’m not being hyperbolic.

But, that was four years ago, almost to the day. A lot has changed in that time. MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) has gone from futuristic curiosity to being embraced by big names like Ableton and Arturia. New players have entered and exited the scene. More importantly, the Osmose is no longer a promising prototype, but an actual commercial product. The questions, then, are obvious: Does the Osmose live up to its potential? And, does it seem as revolutionary today as it did all those years ago? The answers, however, are less clear.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

What sets the Osmose ($1,799) apart from every other MIDI controller and synthesizer (MPE or otherwise) is its keybed. At first glance, it looks like almost any other keyboard, albeit a really nice one. The body is mostly plastic, but it feels solid and the top plate is made of metal. (Shoutout to Expressive E, by the way, for building the OSMOSE out of 66 percent recycled materials and for making the whole thing user repairable — no glue or speciality screws to be found.)

The keys themselves have this lovely, almost matte finish and a healthy amount of heft. It’s a nice change of pace from the shiny, springy keys on even some higher-end MIDI controllers. But the moment you press down on a key you’ll see what sets it apart — the keys move side to side. And this is not because it’s cheaply assembled and there’s a ton of wiggle. This is a purposeful design. You can bend notes (or control other parameters) by actually bending the keys, much like you would on a stringed instrument.

This is huge for someone like me who is primarily a guitar player. Bending strings and wiggling my fingers back and forth to add vibrato comes naturally. And, as I mentioned in my review of Roli’s Seaboard Rise 2, I find myself doing this even on keyboards where I know it will have no effect. It’s a reflex.

It’s a very simple thing to explain, but very difficult to encapsulate its effect on your playing. It’s all of the same things that make playing the Seaboard special: the slight pitch instability from the unintentional micro movements of your fingers, the ability to bend individual notes for shifting harmonies and the polyphonic aftertouch that allows you to alter things like filter cutoff on a per-note basis.

These tiny changes in tuning and expression add an almost ineffable fluidity to your playing. In particular, for sounds based on acoustic instruments like flutes and strings, it adds an organic element missing from almost every other synthesizer. There is a bit of a learning curve, but I got the hang of it after just a few days.

What separates it from the Roli, though, is its formfactor. While the Seaboard is keyboard-esque, it’s still a giant squishy slab of silicone. It might not appeal to someone who grew up taking piano lessons every week. The Osmose, on the other hand, is a traditional keyboard, with full-sized keys and a very satisfying action. It’s probably the most familiar and approachable implementation of MPE out there.

If you are a pianist, or an accomplished keyboard player, this is probably the MPE controller you’ve been waiting for. And it’s hands-down one of the best on the market.

Where things get a little dicier is when looking at the Osmose as a standalone synthesizer. But let’s start where it goes right: the interface. The screen to the left of the keyboard is decently sized (around 4 inches) and easy to read at any angle. There are even some cute graphics for parameters such as timbre (a log), release (a yo-yo) and drive (a steering wheel).

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

There aren’t a ton of hands-on controls, but menu diving is kept to a minimum with some smart organization. The four buttons across the top of the screen take you to different sections for presets, synth (parameters and macros), sensitivity (MPE and aftertouch controls) and playing (mostly just for the arpeggiator at the moment). Then to the left of the screen there are two encoders for navigating the submenus, and the four knobs below control whatever option is listed above them on the screen. So, no, you’re not going to be doing a lot of live tweaking, but you also won’t spend 30 minutes trying to dial in a patch.

Part of the reason you won’t spend 30 minutes dialing in a patch is because there really isn’t much to dial in. The engine driving the Osmose is Haken Audio’s EaganMatrix and Expressive E keeps most of it hidden behind six macro controls. In fact, you can’t really design a patch from scratch — at least not the synth directly. You need to download the Haken Editor, which requires Max (not the streaming service), to do serious sound design. Then you need to upload your new patch to the Osmose over USB. Other than that, you’re stuck tweaking presets.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because, frankly, EaganMatrix feels less like a musical instrument and more like a PHD thesis. It is undeniably powerful, but it’s also confusing as hell. Expressive E even describes it as “a laboratory of synthesis,” and that seems about right; patching in the EaganMatrix is like doing science. Except, it’s not the fun science you see on TV with fancy machines and test tubes. Instead it’s more like the daily grind of real life science where you stare at a nearly inscrutable series of numbers, letters, mathematical constants and formulas.

I couldn’t get the Osmose and Haken Editor to talk to each other on my studio laptop (a five-year-old Dell XPS), though I did manage to get it to work on my work-issue MacBook. That being said, it was mostly a pointless endeavor. I simply can’t wrap my head around the EaganMatrix. I was able to build a very basic patch with the help of a tutorial, but I couldn’t actually make anything usable.

There are some presets available on Patchstorage, but the community is nowhere near as robust as what you’d find for the Organelle or ZOIA. And, it’s not obvious how to actually upload those handful of presets to the Osmose. You can drag and drop the .mid files you download to the empty slots across the top of the Haken Editor and that will add them to the Osmose's user presets. But you wont actually see that reflected on the Osmose itself until you turn it off and turn it back on.

Honestly, many of the presets available on Patchstorage cover the same ground as 500 or so factory ones that ship with the Osmose. And it’s while browsing those hundreds of presets that both the power and the limitations of the EaganMatrix become obvious. It’s capable of covering everything from virtual analog, to FM to physical modeling, and even some pseudo-granular effects. Its modular, matrix-based patching system is so robust that it would almost certainly be impossible to recreate physically (at least without spending thousands of dollars).

Now, this is largely a matter of taste, but I find the sounds that come out of this obviously over-powered synth often underwhelming. They’re definitely unique and in some cases probably only possible with the EaganMatrix. But the virtual analog patches aren’t very “analog,” the FM ones lack the character of a DX7 or the modern sheen of a Digitone, and the bass patches could use some extra oomph. Sometimes patches on the Osmose feel like tech demos rather than something you’d actually use musically.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

That’s not to say there’s no good presets. There are some solid analog-ish sounds and there are a few decent FM pads. But it’s the physical modeling patches where EaganMatrix is at its best. They definitely land in a kind of uncanny valley, though — not convincing enough to be mistaken for the real thing, but close enough that it doesn’t seem quite right coming out of a synthesizer.

Still, the way tuned drums and plucked or bowed strings are handled by Osmose is impressive. Quickly tapping a key can get you a ringing resonant sound, while holding it down mutes it. Aftertouch can be used to trigger repeated plucks that increase in intensity as you press harder. And bowed patches can be smart enough to play notes within a certain range of each other as legato, while still allowing you to play more spaced out chords with your other hand. (This latter feature is called Pressure Glide and can be fine tuned to suit your needs.)

The level of precision with which you can gently coax sound out of some presets with the lightest touch is unmatched by any synth or MIDI controller I’ve ever tested. And that becomes all the more shocking when you realize that very same patch can also be a percussive blast if you strike the keys hard.

But, at the end of the day, I rarely find myself reaching for Osmose — at least not as a synthesizer. I’ve been testing one for a few months now, and while I have used it quite extensively in my studio, it’s been mostly as a controller for MPE-enabled soft synths like Arturia’s Pigments and Ableton’s Drift. It’s undeniably one of the most powerful MIDI controllers on the market. My one major complaint on that front being that its incredible arpeggiator isn’t available in controller mode.

The Osmose is a gorgeous instrument that, in the right hands, is capable of delivering nuanced performances unlike anything else. Even if, at times, the borrowed sound engine doesn’t live up to the keyboard’s lofty potential.

Google is rolling out a string of updates for the Messages app, including the ability to customize the colors of the text bubbles and backgrounds. So, if you really want to, you can have blue bubbles in your Android messaging app. You can have a different color for each chat, which could help prevent you from accidentally leaking a secret to family or friends.

With the help of on-device Google AI (meaning you'll likely need a recent Pixel device to use this feature), you can transform photos into reactions with Photomoji. All you need to do is pick a photo, decide which object (or person or animal) you'd like to turn into a Photomoji and hit the send button. These reactions will be saved for later use, and friends in the chat can use any Photomoji you send them as well.

The new Voice Moods feature allows you to apply one of nine different vibes to a voice message, by showing visual effects such as heart-eye emoji, fireballs (for when you're furious) and a party popper. Google says it has also upgraded the quality of voice messages by bumping up the bitrate and sampling rate.

In addition, there are more than 15 Screen Effects you can trigger by typing things like "It's snowing" or "I love you." These will make "your screen erupt in a symphony of colors and motion," Google says. Elsewhere, Messages will display animated effects when certain reactions and emoji are used.

Google

On top of all of that, users will now be able to set up a profile that appends their name and photo to their phone number to help them have more control over how they appear across Google services. The company says this feature could help when it comes to receiving messages from a phone number that isn't in your group chats. It could help you know the identity of everyone in a group chat too.

Some of these features will be available in beta starting today in the latest version of Google Messages. Google notes that some feature availability will depend on market and device.

Google is rolling out these updates alongside the news that more than a billion people now use Google Messages with RCS enabled every month. RCS (Rich Communication Services) is a more feature-filled and secure format of messaging than SMS and MMS. It supports features such as read receipts, typing indicators, group chats and high-res media. Google also offers end-to-end encryption for one-on-one and group conversations via RCS.

For years, Google had been trying to get Apple to adopt RCS for improved interoperability between Android and iOS. Apple refused, perhaps because iMessage (and its blue bubbles) have long been a status symbol for its users. However, likely to ensure Apple falls in line with European Union regulations, Apple has relented. The company recently said it would start supporting RCS in 2024.

NASA and IBM have teamed up to build an AI foundation model for weather and climate applications. They’re combining their respective knowledge and skills in the Earth science and AI fields, respectively, for the model, which they say should offer “significant advantages over existing technology.”

Current AI models such as GraphCast and Fourcastnet are already generating weather forecasts more quickly than traditional meteorological models. However, IBM notes those are AI emulators rather than foundation models. As the name suggests, foundation models are the base technologies that power generative AI applications. AI emulators can make weather predictions based on sets of training data, but they don’t have applications beyond that. Nor can they encode the physics at the core of weather forecasting, IBM says.

NASA and IBM have several goals for their foundational model. Compared with current models, they hope for it to have expanded accessibility, faster inference times and greater diversity of data. Another key aim is to improve forecasting accuracy for other climate applications. The expected capabilities of the model include predicting meteorological phenomena, inferring high-res information based on low-res data and "identifying conditions conducive to everything from airplane turbulence to wildfires."

This follows another foundational model that NASA and IBM deployed in May. It harnesses data from NASA satellites for geospatial intelligence, and it's the largest geospatial model on open-source AI platform Hugging Face, according to IBM. So far, this model has been used to track and visualize tree planting and growing activities in water tower areas (forest landscapes that retain water) in Kenya. The aim is to plant more trees and tackle water scarcity issues. The model is also being used to analyze urban heat islands in the United Arab Emirates.

Do you have a Google account you haven't checked for awhile but still want to keep? You'd better log in soon before it gets purged. Starting December 1st, 2023 (Friday), Google will begin deleting accounts that have been inactive for at least two years. The company says it's doing so for privacy reasons and no doubt to free up quite a bit of space on its servers. 

"If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised," Google noted in May 2023. "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user." It added that abandoned accounts are "at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification setup." 

Google will warn users before deletion via emails sent to the inactive account and another email, provided one has been set up. The policy only applies to personal and not business or education accounts, Google said. Some accounts will be exempt from deletion, including those with YouTube videos uploaded, an active paid subscription or holding gift cards. Deletion will start with accounts that have never been used, it said in May. 

To stop deletion, you'll need to sign into the inactive account and access some of the services (read or send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, etc.). If you have anything saved in Google Photos, you'll want to access that content specifically, as Google has a separate policy for that service. "If you’re inactive in Google Photos for two years or more, all of your content may be deleted," it states. 

Google isn't alone with this policy, as since 2019, Microsoft has deleted Outlook (or related Hotmail) accounts that have been inactive for two years. In any case, it's always a good idea to backup your Google accounts using the company's Takeout feature and have a backup email for any important accounts. 

Back in June, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began an in depth investigation into the planned $20 billion Adobe and Figma merger. The organization has released its findings and, well, they don’t paint a rosy picture. The probe tasked independent experts to determine whether or not the merger would reduce competition in the design space and the results suggest that, in fact, it’ll do just that.

It must be noted, however, that these are provisional findings. With that said, the CMA’s message is clear. The group states that the merger will “eliminate competition between two main competitors”, which is fairly obvious given Figma and Adobe’s standing in the industry. The findings also state that the deal would “reduce innovation” and the development of competing products. Finally, it’ll also “remove Figma as a threat” with regard to Adobe’s flagship software suites like Photoshop and Illustrator.

Figma is a giant player in the UK design space, accounting for 80 percent of the market. It’s also a major part of the country’s $19.4 billion app development sector. Without the merger, the CMA suggests, Figma would continue to develop or expand products that challenge Adobe. That goes away once the merger is in place because, you know, why challenge yourself?

The investigation concludes that the merger would eliminate competition between these two major players across multiple fields, including product design, image editing and illustration. These sectors account for $60 billion in annual revenue across the UK, adding up to nearly three percent of the national economy, with 850,000 skilled workers across the impacted industries. Another intent of the investigation was to suss out if the merger would damage the UK’s economy and it concluded it most likely will.

Again, these are provisional findings and the CMA has yet to consult the data to reach a final decision as to whether or not it’ll allow the sale to go through. It plans on taking some time to “listen to any further views,” likely referring to Adobe. To that end, Adobe argues that buying Figma would strengthen both companies, saying that the Creative Cloud apps would get some of Figma’s collaborative features and vice-versa. The company says it’s “deeply committed” to keeping Figma an independent entity and that it has no plans to change the pricing, including Figma’s free tier.

If the deal’s approved by the UK, which looks more unlikely with this report, Adobe still has some other battles to fight before this merger officially goes through. The acquisition still faces a US investigation, and the EU has issued its own dire warning.

This would be the larger-ever-purchase for Adobe in its storied 41-year history. Figma, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer to the market, springing forth in 2012.

Google Drive users have recently been reporting that files and folders have gone missing, with some saying that months worth of data has disappeared from their accounts. Now, Google has acknowledged the issue, saying that it appears to be caused by the Drive for Desktop app, 9to5Google has reported.

The issue is pretty alarming, obviously. One user on Google's support forums said that an expense spreadsheet they regularly updated has lost all data from nearly the last five years, with the version history showing the latest version as January 2019. "I'm really mad as this had all the important data which I do not have any local copy for. I need this data retrieved at any cost." Another poster said the drive reverted to May 2023, with all subsequent data disappearing, and others report similar issues.

In a post from yesterday, Google said that "we’re investigating reports of an issue impacting a limited subset of Drive for desktop users and will follow up with more updates." It noted the problem affects Drive for desktop v84.0.0.0 - 84.0.4.09. It advised users not to click "disconnect account" within Drive for desktop, and to not delete or move a specific app folder called DriveFS as detailed here. It even recommends making a copy of the app data folder if you have room on your hard drive. 

Google offers several ways to recover (or at least check) deleted files. That includes checking the trash, which is now automatically emptied after 30 days. It's also a good idea to check the activity panel, which shows any files deleted or moved along with the relevant date. For this latest issue, however, the activity panel doesn't appear to show that the files have gone missing, according to Google's support forum users. 

If you’re fed up with spotty Wi-Fi connection in some parts of your home, now’s a great time to pick up a pack of Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E mesh routers while they’re steeply discounted on Amazon for Black Friday. You can get a three-pack for just $280 — a record low, shaving $120 off the usual price of $400 for the bundle. Amazon is also running a deal on two-packs of the Nest Wi-Fi Pro, bringing the price down to just $200. Mesh Wi-Fi networks create multiple points of connectivity so the signal can be distributed more reliably all throughout the home.

Google’s Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E is made for the latest generation of Wi-Fi, and touts faster internet speeds, shorter loading times and consistent connection. Each device provides coverage for areas up to 2,200 square feet, so a three-pack can cover up to 6,600 square feet together. The Nest Wi-Fi Pro is one of the best Wi-Fi routers available, especially for anyone looking for easy setup. It’s controlled through the Google Home app, where you’ll be able to see every device that’s connected to it.

The Nest Pro 6E offers tri-band connectivity, supporting the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. You’ll be able to make the most out of newer devices that support the latest Wi-Fi standard, freeing up some of the congestion on the other bands, which will support your older devices. However, Google Nest Pro 6E isn’t compatible with older Google Nest Wi-Fi devices, so if you’re intending on using it to upgrade an existing system, be prepared for a full overhaul.

The device itself is sleek and unobtrusive, coming in a white color dubbed Snow for the deal on the two- and three-packs. But, it doesn’t have a built-in speaker, unlike other Nest Wi-Fi models. In our review, we found it achieved stable connection throughout the home, even managing decent connection in areas previously considered to be dead zones. We gave it a review score of 87. There aren’t many frills, but if what you’re after is a straightforward mesh Wi-Fi network that you can rely on not to crap out on you for streaming, internet browsing and video calls, the Google Nest Pro 6E is a great option.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Most of Apple’s current-generation devices went on sale for Black Friday — and most of those deals look like they’ll carry over through the weekend and into Cyber Monday. That means if you were otherwise occupied on Friday, you can still save on iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, AirPods and more. Some of the prices are new lows and many others match the record prices we’ve seen previously. We’ve tested and reviewed nearly every device below, so check out the links to our full reviews and guides if you need help deciding which deals to snag. These are the best Apple Black Friday deals you can still get today from retailers like Amazon, Target, Best Buy and B&H Photo. 

AirPod Black Friday deals

AirPods Pro (2nd gen, USB-C)

When Apple announced the new iPhone 15 and its conversion to USB-C charging, the company also revealed the second generation AirPods Pro with the same connector. That version has dropped to $190 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy. They’ve gone or as low as $189 recently, so this is within a dollar of that price. Other than the port, the hardware hasn’t changed so you’re still getting the earbuds we named the best pick for iPhone users in our guide. In addition to pairing well with Apple’s handsets, the buds also offer one of the best transparency modes on the market along with solid ANC and richer fuller sound than the previous generation Pros. The Lightning version is on sale for $169 at Walmart and $185 at Verizon. 

Read our full review of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

AirPods Max

The over-ear AirPods Max are normally far too expensive for us to recommend. But now they're down to $450, which is a new low price and $30 cheaper than Prime Day in October. Get the deal at Amazon or Best Buy. They're $519 at B&H Photo. They are well-designed, comfortable, and implement all of the helpful Siri integrations. We also like the great noise cancellation and Spatial Audio. While they’re a little heavy, the fit is still comfortable and the on-device controls, while unique, are simple and “a joy to use.”

AirPods (3rd gen)

The third generation AirPods with the Lightning charging case are down to $140 at Amazon, Target and Best Buy. They carry a list price of $169 but often sell for closer to $150, so this is $10 off the usual. These non-Pro AirPods came out in 2021 and got a review score of 88 from us. They pair quickly with iPhones and are a good complement to Siri’s helpfulness. They don’t have ANC however — you’ll need to go for the AirPods Pro for that feature — but they do have Adaptive EQ which monitors and adapts sound in real time. The fit is comfortable and they’re water-resistant so they can handle workouts or the weather.

MacBook Black Friday Day deals

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023, M3)

The base model, 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M3 chip just came out in October but is already$150 off for Black Friday. After testing the new chip, we think the base model with 8GB of RAM may quickly get bogged down. If it's within your budget, we recommend the model with 16GB of RAM, which is $150 off at B&H photo. And if you upgrade to a model with the M3 Pro chip for an even speedier experience — you'll get a $200 discount as it's down to $2,199 at B&H Photo. We gave the new M3 MacBook Pros an appreciative review and named them the best option for creatives in our buyer’s guide.

Read our review of the new MacBook Pros with the M3 chip

MacBook Air (15-inch, 2023, M2)

The 15-inch MacBook Air arrived in June and added a little more screen real estate to an already great machine. It’s down to $1,049 for Black Friday at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s the same as the all-time low it’s hit a few times these past couple of months. It's $200 off at B&H Photo. We gave it a 96 in our review and liked how the bigger screen let you get the most out of the M2 processor. 

Now that the M3 MacBook Pros have arrived, we’re guessing Apple will come out with M3-enabled Air models in 2024. Still the M2 has plenty of processing power and will serve you well as both a casual machine for playing games and watching shows, but can also hold its own with productivity tasks.  

MacBook Air (13-inch, 2022, M2)

The M2-powered, 13-inch MacBook Air is on sale for $929 at B&H Photo. It’s our top recommendation for a MacBook and beat out all brands in our laptop guide. The M2 chip is impressively fast and capable, the design is solid and the display is lovely. It’s more than capable for both work and play and should give you years of dependable use. But, again, the M3-enabled Airs are likely on their way in 2024. So if you know you’re drawn to the newest thing, you might want to wait.

MacBook Air (13-inch, 2020, M1)

The MacBook Air with the M1 chip is a couple years old at this point, but still officially part of Apple’s laptop lineup. It dropped to an all-time low of $750 for October’s Prime Day at Amazon and now Amazon and Best Buy are selling it for the same price. It’s the budget pick in our guide to MacBooks and the top pick in our guide to budget laptops. Check out our review from when it first came out in which we praised its quick speeds, excellent screen and good battery life.

Apple Watch Black Friday deals

Apple Watch Ultra 2

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is now $730 with an attached coupon, which is $69 off and a new low price. Get the deal at Amazon or without the coupon at Best Buy for $739. The Ultra 2 has the same new chip as the Apple Watch Series 9 so it can perform the new Double Tap trick, but also sports a more robust build and outdoor-specific features that make it suited to adventurers. There’s a siren to alert people to your presence as well as a dive meter, waypoint setting capabilities and night mode to preserve your low-light vision. It's our recommended Apple Watch for adventurers. 

Check out our guide to the best Apple Watches for 2023

Apple Watch Series 9

The new Apple Watch Series 9 is seeing a $70 discount that brings it to $330 at Amazon, Target and Walmart. That's a new low for the wearable. It debuted alongside the iPhone 15 back in September and the big change this time around is a new SiP (system in package) chip that allows for a Double Tap feature that lets you tap your thumb and forefinger together to answer calls and more. It also allows for the onboard processing of Siri requests, making simple demands (like starting a timer or a workout) happen faster. 

The Series 9 has an always-on display and when paired with the Sport Loop is a carbon neutral product. As has been the case for many years now, the Apple Watch is an excellent fitness companion, offering comprehensive health and activity data. It also happens to be our favorite smartwatch for most people. 

Read our full review of the Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch SE

The most affordable smartwatch in the lineup is the Apple Watch SE, which is now down to $179. It has a list price of $249 but has regularly sold for $220 lately. We called it the best smartwatch money can buy in our review when it came out in 2022. It lacks an always-on display and a few of the more specialized health sensors, like the blood oxygen app, but the fitness features and tracking data are well-rounded, plus the notifications and integrations are particularly convenient for iPhone users.

Apple iPad Black Friday deals

iPad (9th generation)

Apple’s ninth generation standard iPad dropped to a new all-time low of $249 during Amazon’s October Prime Day sale and then hovered at the price for the next few weeks. Now it’s down to $230 at Amazon and Target. It’s not the newest slate, but it’s the recommended budget pick in our guide to the best Apple Tablets because it’s powerful enough for couch surfing, playing Apple Arcade games and watching Netflix — plus it's the most affordable way to get an iPad.

iPad (10th generation)

The tenth generation iPad is on sale for $349 at Amazon and Target, which is $100 off the list price. It has often sold for $399 lately so this is still $50 off the typical street price. We don’t think it’s a wild improvement over the previous generation, though it does orient the camera to the landscape edge, which is much better for video calling. The USB-C charging is more modern than the Lightning connector on the 9th gen iPad, but for some reason this model still works with the first generation Apple Pencil (even though the slate came out after the second-gen stylus).

iPad Air

The base model of the latest generation of the iPad Air has an MSRP of $599 and is now down to $499, a price its hit quite a few times in 2023. This is the iPad we recommend for most people because it’s speedy, has a great screen and works with current-generation accessories. It can act as a rather powerful entertainment option for games and streaming, but is powerful enough to serve as a productivity device when paired up with a stylus or mouse and a keyboard. Now that the M3 chip has been loosed upon the world, the iPad Air, which houses the M1 chip, is primed for an update, which will likely come next year (along with a potential price increase).

iPad mini

For a more portable iPad experience, the iPad mini offers a bigger screen than your phone, but is barely as easy to carry around with you. It’s listed at $499, but has dropped as low as $400 many times this year. Now it’s back down to that low at Amazon, Target and Best Buy. The smaller iPad got a refresh last year, adding a new Liquid Retina screen, a Touch-ID top button instead of a Home button, and a USB-C charging. The performance is snappy and the integration with the second-generation Apple Pencil makes it excel as a digital notebook. As we said in our review, with the mini, Apple “quashes notion that ‘smaller’ means ‘lesser.’” 

Apple accessories Black Friday deals

$100 Apple Gift Card + $15 Amazon credit

If you purchase an Apple gift card totaling $100 or more from the retailer, you can get $15 in Amazon store credit for no extra cost. Just use the code APPLET5USA at checkout to see the offer. The deal applies to the digital version of the card; as of this writing, you can get the credit with a physical Apple gift card as well by using the code APPLET5USAP, though you may not want to clip the coupon on those cards' product page, as Amazon's listing says that will only give you a $10 credit. As a reminder, you can use an Apple gift card for App Store credit, subscription services like Apple Music or iCloud, and/or purchases made at a physical Apple store.

Magic Keyboard

Apple's Magic Keyboard is our pick for one of the best iPad accessories you can buy. It's a pretty pricey add-on but now that it's down to $215 at Amazon, it's a little easier to justify. It magnetically attaches to the latest iPad Pros and keeps them “floating” above the keyboard (which also has a trackpad). We found it comfortable for typing and like that it acts as a cover when closed. 

Check out our guide to the best iPad accessories for 2023

Apple AirTags

A four-pack of Apple AirTags is $80 right now at Amazon, thanks to a 19 percent discount. They go for $29 each at full price, so the deal will save you $9 a pop. AirTags are our top picks for Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users as they tap into Apple’s disturbingly vast FindMy network, using other Apple mobiles to find your lost stuff. If you want just a single AirTag, you can grab one for $24 (a $5 discount) at Walmart and Target.

Apple Pencil

Apple now makes three different Apple Pencils. The original recharges via Lightning. The second generation recharges wirelessly and the new USB-C looks a lot like the first generation, but charges via USB-C instead of lighting. Each one has different iPad compatibility with iPads. While that part is confusing, the pencil itself is rather elegant and one of the best accessories for your iPad. The 1st gen pencil is on sale for $73 at Amazon, while the 2nd generation stylus is down to $89. The USB-C model has an MSRP of $79 but is down to $71 at Amazon.

Apple TV 4K

The Apple TV 4K is our favorite premium streaming device and is currently $125 at B&H Photo. That's not a huge discount, but the streaming box rarely goes on sale. We gave it a 94 in our review because it’s fast, has an excellent Siri remote and integrates seamlessly with Apple’s overall ecosystem. Navigation is clean and easy to use, plus the device can stream in 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision.

Mac Mini M2

The base model of Apple diminutive desktop computer, the Mac mini, is currently on sale for $100 off for Black Friday at Amazon, B&H Photo, Best Buy. It earned an 86 in our review because it packs a lot of processing power, using the same M2 chip as the two current-model MacBook Airs — but it’s much cheaper than either laptop. If you need a little more storage, you can get it with 512GB of SSD for $699 at B&H Photo.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

If you’ve been looking to grab a new pair of AirPods ahead of the holidays, we have good news: The entirety of Apple’s wireless headphone lineup is on sale for Black Friday. We’ve rounded up the best Black Friday AirPods deals we could find below, with discounts on the base AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. There's even a new record-low price on the AirPods Pro with the older Lightning charging case. If you don’t need a new pair today, note that recent reports say Apple may refresh its AirPods lineup later in 2024. But if you don’t want to wait until then, the deals below are still offer good value.

Apple AirPods Pro (USB-C)

Apple’s AirPods Pro are on sale for $190 at Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. That's $60 less than buying from Apple directly and ties an all-time low. This is the “best for iOS” pick in our wireless earbuds guide thanks to its suite of helpful Apple-specific features, including hands-free access to Siri, quick pairing with iPhones and device tracking through Apple’s Find My network. Effective (if not class-leading) ANC, a superb transparency mode and a pleasantly warm sound also stand out. That said, the Pro’s six-hour battery life is just average and, as with any set of AirPods, you pretty much have to be a dedicated Apple fan to get the most out of it.

Apple AirPods Pro (Lightning)

The previous deal applies to the latest iteration of Apple's earphones, which come with a USB-C charging case. If you don’t mind using a Lightning charging case, Walmart has the previous version on sale for a new low of $169. Aside from their charging case, these buds are very similar to the latest model and are still a solid option if you're looking for a pair of ANC earbuds with a comfortable fit and iOS-specific conveniences. We gave them a score of 88 in our review and praised their improved sound quality and Transparency Mode.

Apple AirPods (2nd Gen)

The second-gen AirPods are down to $80 at Amazon and Target, which isn’t an all-time low but comes in roughly $20 below the pair’s usual street price in recent months. These are Apple’s entry-level wireless earbuds, having launched way back in 2019. They’re a bit tougher to recommend these days, as their one-size-fits-all design won’t fit everyone and you can get better sound quality even at this discounted rate. But if you prefer an open design that doesn’t completely seal off your ear canal, or just want the typical AirPods conveniences for as cheap as possible, this is at least a more acceptable price for these buds.

Apple AirPods (3rd Gen)

The third-gen AirPods are available for $140 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy and others. Typically, these wireless earbuds have retailed between $10 and $20 higher in recent months, but steeper discounts have been uncommon. We gave this pair a review score of 88 back in 2021: There are certainly better-sounding options for the money, but the third-gen AirPods sound noticeably richer than their predecessor, and their haptic touch controls are altogether more convenient. This is another open design, though, so there still isn’t much in the way of deep bass or noise cancellation. Not everyone will find the wider earpieces comfortable either.

Apple AirPods Max

Apple’s top-of-the-line headphones, the AirPods Max, are discounted to $450 at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s $20 more than the lowest price we’ve seen but about $30 below the pair’s usual street price. Apple itself sells the headphones for $550. The AirPods Max are still overpriced for most even with this discount, but they remain undeniably premium, with top-tier ANC, a superbly balanced sound profile, a high-quality aluminum design, reliable controls and all the usual AirPods features. They’re hefty, though, and their included “case” is bafflingly flimsy. We gave the AirPods Max a review score of 84 in late 2020.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.