Posts with «language|en-us» label

Ooni pizza ovens are up to 30 percent off for Memorial Day

With Memorial Day around the corner, Ooni is holding a sale. If you’re not familiar with the company, they make some of our favorite pizza ovens. Until the end of May 29th, you can save up to 30 percent off on some of Ooni’s most popular models, including the Fyra 12, Koda 12, Koda 16 and Karu 16. If you’re in the market for your first pizza oven, the Fyra 12 is a solid, affordable choice. With a 30 percent discount, the Fyra 12 costs about $244 at the moment, making it significantly less expensive than some other models you can find online and in stores. What’s more, the Fyra 12, at 22 pounds, is one of the lighter models Engadget has tested. It’s also one of the easier pizza ovens to master, thanks to the fact you fuel it with wood pellets instead of chunks.

For a more versatile option, consider the more expensive Karu 16. Thanks to a 20 percent discount, it’s priced at $639.20 currently, down from $799. The Karu 16 is Engadget’s top pick. It’s a multi-fuel model, meaning you can use wood, charcoal or gas to heat the oven. The size of the Karu 16 also means it can accommodate 16-inch pizzas and even cast iron pans and cookware, making it useful not just for cooking light and airy Neapolitan-style pizzas.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ooni-pizza-ovens-are-up-to-30-percent-off-for-memorial-day-154947473.html?src=rss

DoorDash faces lawsuit accusing it of charging iPhone users more for delivery

DoorDash has been charging iPhone users more than Android users for identical deliveries, according to a lawsuit seeking class action status. The court documents (PDF, via 9to5Mac) submitted for the case included screenshots showing how iPhone users are charged an extra fee for "expanded range." On the company's website, it said the fee "helps DoorDash preserve [customers'] access to the available merchants farthest from [them]." However, the lawsuit said the fee is tacked onto iPhone users' bills more often than Android users' "likely because studies reveal iPhone users earn more."

In addition, it accuses DoorDash of adding the extended range fee onto the total of DashPass subscribers as a way "to subsidize lost revenues from discounted fees." DashPass is the company's $10-a-month subscription service that delivers orders over $12 for free. A couple of screenshots in the court documents show the extended range fee only being added to the account with DashPass and not to the one without, even though they were identical orders made for the same address. 

"DoorDash uses this deceptive practice to trick consumers into believing Dashers receive the 'delivery-related' fees when, in reality, each and every 'delivery fee' is retained in total by DoorDash," the lawsuit states. Other screenshots also showed orders made from iPhones having bigger base delivery fees than orders submitted from Android devices. 

The lawsuit, filed by Ross Hecox and his minor children in the United States District Court of Maryland, is asking for monetary damages of no less than $1 billion "for all consumers who fell prey to DoorDash's illegal pricing scheme over the past four years."

A DoorDash spokesperson denied the allegations and told Insider in a statement:

"The claims put forward in the amended complaint are baseless and simply without merit. We ensure fees are disclosed throughout the customer experience, including on each restaurant storepage and before checkout. Building this trust is essential, and it's why the majority of delivery orders on our platform are placed by return customers. We will continue to strive to make our platform work even better for customers, and will vigorously fight these allegations."

This isn't the first time the delivery service's business practices have been called into question. In 2020, the company, along with GrubHub, Postmates and Uber Eats, were sued for exploiting their dominant position in restaurant deliveries to impose fees on users even during the pandemic. Chicago sued the company for advertising delivery services from restaurants that never consented to be added to its platform. The attorney general for the District of Columbia also filed a lawsuit against DoorDash, accusing it of using tips to cover part of drivers' base pay instead of adding it on top of what they're supposed to get. DoorDash agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle that lawsuit with Washington, DC. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/doordash-faces-lawsuit-accusing-it-of-charging-iphone-users-more-for-delivery-140017302.html?src=rss

The tech industry's accessibility-related products and launches this week

Every third Thursday of May, the world commemorates Global Accessibility Awareness Day or GAAD. And as has become customary in the last few years, major tech companies are taking this week as a chance to share their latest accessibility-minded products. From Apple and Google to Webex and Adobe, the industry’s biggest players have launched new features to make their products easier to use. Here’s a quick roundup of this week’s GAAD news.

Apple's launches and updates

First up: Apple. The company actually had a huge set of updates to share, which makes sense since it typically releases most of its accessibility-centric news at this time each year. For 2023, Apple is introducing Assistive Access, which is an accessibility setting that, when turned on, changes the home screen for iPhone and iPad to a layout with fewer distractions and icons. You can choose from a row-based or grid-based layout, and the latter would result in a 2x3 arrangement of large icons. You can decide what these are, and most of Apple’s first-party apps can be used here.

The icons themselves are larger than usual, featuring high contrast labels making them more readable. When you tap into an app, a back button appears at the bottom for easier navigation. Assistive Access also includes a new Calls app that combines Phone and FaceTime features into one customized experience. Messages, Camera, Photos and Music have also been tweaked for the simpler interface and they all feature high contrast buttons, large text labels and tools that, according to Apple, "help trusted supporters tailor the experience for the individual they're supporting." The goal is to offer a less-distracting or confusing system to those who may find the typical iOS interface overwhelming.

Apple also launched Live Speech this week, which works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It will allow users to type what they want to say and have the device read it aloud. It not only works for in-person conversations, but for Phone and FaceTime calls as well. You'll also be able to create shortcuts for phrases you frequently use, like "Hi, can I get a tall vanilla latte?" or "Excuse me, where is the bathroom?" The company also introduced Personal Voice, which lets you create a digital voice that sounds like yours. This could be helpful for those at risk of losing their ability to speak due to conditions that could impact their voice. The setup process includes "reading alongside randomized text prompts for about 15 minutes on iPhone or iPad."

For those with visual impairments, Apple is adding a new Point and Speak feature to the detection mode in Magnifier. This will use an iPhone or iPad's camera, LiDAR scanner and on-device machine learning to understand where a person has positioned their finger and scan the target area for words, before reading them out for the user. For instance, if you hold up your phone and point at different parts on a microwave or washing machine's controls, the system will say what the labels are — like "Add 30 seconds," "Defrost" or "Start."

The company made a slew of other smaller announcements this week, including updates that allow Macs to pair directly with Made-for-iPhone hearing devices, as well as phonetic suggestions for text editing in voice typing.

Google's new accessibility tools

Meanwhile, Google is introducing a new Visual Question and Answer (or VQA) tool in the Lookout app, which uses AI to answer follow-up questions about images. The company's accessibility lead and senior director of Products For All Eve Andersson told Engadget in an interview that VQA is the result of a collaboration between the inclusion and DeepMind teams. 

Google

To use VQA, you'll open Lookout and start the Images mode to scan a picture. After the app tells you what's in the scene, you can ask follow-ups to glean more detail. For example, if Lookout said the image depicts a family having a picnic, you can ask what time of day it is or whether there are trees around them. This lets the user determine how much information they want from a picture, instead of being constrained to an initial description. 

Often, it is tricky to figure out how much detail to include in an image description, since you want to provide enough to be helpful but not so much that you overwhelm the user. For example, "What’s the right amount of detail to give to our users in Lookout?" Andersson said. "You never actually know what they want." Andersson added that AI can help determine the context of why someone is asking for a description or more information and deliver the appropriate info. 

When it launches in the fall, VQA can present a way for the user to decide when to ask for more and when they've learned enough. Of course, since it's powered by AI, the generated data might not be accurate, so there's no guarantee this tool works perfectly, but it's an interesting approach that puts power in users' hands. 

Google is also expanding Live Captions to work in French, Italian and German later this year, as well as bringing the wheelchair-friendly labels for places in Maps to more people around the world. 

Microsoft, Samsung, Adobe and more

Plenty more companies had news to share this week, including Adobe, which is rolling out a feature that uses AI to automate the process of generating tags for PDFs that would make them friendlier for screen readers. This uses Adobe's Sensei AI, and will also indicate the correct reading order. Since this could really speed up the process of tagging PDFs, people and organizations could potentially use the tool to go through stockpiles of old documents to make them more accessible. Adobe is also launching a PDF Accessibility Checker to "enable large organizations to quickly and efficiently evaluate the accessibility of existing PDFs at scale." 

Microsoft also had some small updates to share, specifically around Xbox. It's added new accessibility settings to the Xbox app on PC, including options to disable background images and disable animations, so users can reduce potentially disruptive, confusing or triggering components. The company also expanded its support pages and added accessibility filters to its web store to make it easier to find optimized games.

Meanwhile, Samsung announced this week that it's adding two new levels of ambient sound settings to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, which brings the total number of options to five. This would let those who use the earbuds to listen to their environment get greater control over how loud they want the sounds to be. They'll also be able to select different settings for individual ears, as well as choose the levels of clarity and create customized profiles for their hearing.

We also learned that Cisco, the company behind the Webex video conferencing software, is teaming up with speech recognition company VoiceITT to add transcriptions that better support people with non-standard speech. This builds on Webex's existing live translation feature, and uses VoiceITT's AI to familiarize itself with a person's speech patterns to better understand what they want to communicate. Then, it'll establish and transcribe what is said, and the captions will appear in a chat bar during calls. 

Finally, we also saw Mozilla announce that Firefox 113 would be more accessible by enhancing the screen reader experience, while Netflix revealed a sizzle reel showcasing some of its latest assistive features and developments over the past year. In its announcement, Netflix said that while it has "made strides in accessibility, [it knows] there is always more work to be done."

That sentiment is true not just for Netflix, nor the tech industry alone, but also for the entire world. While it's nice to see so many companies take the opportunity this week to release and highlight accessibility-minded features, it's important to remember that inclusive design should not and cannot be a once-a-year effort. I was also glad to see that despite the current fervor around generative AI, most companies did not appear to stuff the buzzword into every assistive feature or announcement this week for no good reason. For example, Andersson said "we're typically thinking about user needs" and adopting a problem-first approach as opposed to focusing on determining where a type of technology can be applied to a solution.

While it's probably at least partially true that announcements around GAAD are a bit of a PR and marketing game, ultimately some of the tools launched today can actually improve the lives of people with disabilities or different needs. I call that a net win.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tech-industrys-accessibility-related-products-and-launches-this-week-130022115.html?src=rss

San Francisco is reportedly investigating Twitter over possible building code violations

San Francisco authorities have opened a new investigation into Twitter after six former senior employees filed a lawsuit against the company, according to AP and the San Francisco Chronicle. The plaintiffs are accusing the company of breaking local and federal laws and of violating building codes in its effort to turn some of the rooms in its headquarters into bedrooms for employees. 

The city's authorities first launched an investigation into the company in December 2022 following a Forbes report that it converted some its conference rooms so its staff would have somewhere to rest. If you'll recall, Elon Musk asked remaining employees after a series of mass layoffs to commit to an "extremely hardcore" Twitter that expects them to work "long hours at high intensity." The employees were reportedly given no context about the bedrooms. But one could come to the conclusion, based on his ultimatum, that Musk expected employees to work very long hours that they'd need somewhere to rest in or sleep in overnight. 

One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Joseph Killian, the former lead project manager of global design and construction at Twitter. He said Musk's team instructed him to violate building codes, including removing motion-sensitive lights because they were bother the staff trying to sleep. The company's landlord apparently rejected the request, but he still had to hire an electrician to disconnect the lights without permission. 

Killian also said that he was told to install cheaper locks for the sleeping quarters that don't automatically unlock in case of emergency, even though he warned the team that they'd prevent first responders from accessing the rooms. He reportedly quit that day, though somebody else installed the locks afterward. In addition, Killian accused the company of telling him not to divulge those planned changes to city inspectors visiting Twitter HQ. The inspectors only saw the beds and new furniture and had no idea about the violations, the lawsuit stated. 

Aside from Killian's complaints, the lawsuit also accuses Twitter of not paying their promised severance. The new leadership under Musk, it said, "deliberately, specifically, and repeatedly announced their intentions to breach contracts, violate laws, and otherwise ignore their legal obligations." Regarding Twitter not paying rent, for instance, Musk adviser Pablo Mendoza allegedly told former Twitter real estate division lead Tracy Hawkins: "Elon told me he would only pay rent over his dead body." Alex Spiro, Musk's personal attorney, also allegedly and "loudly opined that it was unreasonable for Twitter’s landlords to expect Twitter to pay rent, since San Francisco was a s—hole." The California Property Trust, which owns the building where Twitter's HQ is located, sued the company for failing to pay $136,250 in rent back in January. 

San Francisco previously gave Twitter 15 days to fix its building permit to be able to keep their beds after Forbes' report came out, but the Chronicle says permits haven't been granted yet. This new investigation is reportedly being conducted by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, though it has yet to issue an official statement. As for Twitter, the company hasn't had a communications team in a while. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/san-francisco-is-reportedly-investigating-twitter-over-possible-building-code-violations-113721801.html?src=rss

AT&T opposes the Starlink and T-Mobile satellite-to-phone service plan

AT&T doesn't think that the satellite-to-phone service T-Mobile and SpaceX's Starlink are planning should be approved as it is, and it has informed the FCC of its opinion in a filing (PDF). As Bloomberg notes, the carrier has raised concerns that the companies' service, in its current proposed state, could interfere with existing wireless services. "[I]t is paramount that operations do not jeopardize or inhibit the delivery of terrestrial wireless services," AT&T wrote. 

In August last year, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a collaboration that would allow the carrier's subscribers to connect to Starlink's second-gen satellites for coverage even if they're in the most remote locations. The companies are gearing up to begin testing this year, and the FCC started seeking comments (PDF) in April on their request to establish supplemental coverage from space (SCS). AT&T's filing is a response to that call. 

The carrier wrote that FCC's rules "do not permit SpaceX’s proposed use of T-Mobile’s terrestrial spectrum" and that the companies "fail to even request — much less justify — rule waivers that would be necessary to authorize their proposed SCS authorizations." It added: "More broadly, the Applicants' technical showings are woefully insufficient regarding the risk of harmful interference posed by their planned SCS deployments. SpaceX and T-Mobile’s applications fall far short of meeting the threshold for waiver and cannot be granted in their current state."

AT&T has plans for a satellite service of its own in partnership with communications specialist AST SpaceMobile. The companies successfully conducted the first two-way satellite audio call on AT&T's network in Texas to a Rakuten number in Japan on a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone in April. The carrier assured in its filing that consistent with its comments, "AT&T and AST intend to provide the demonstrations necessary to show that they will not cause interference to any authorized terrestrial system."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/att-opposes-the-starlink-and-t-mobile-satellite-to-phone-service-plan-090021432.html?src=rss

‘Overwatch 2’ director explains why hero missions were canceled

When Blizzard announced earlier this week that it had canceled Overwatch 2 hero missions, a central part of its player vs. environment (PvE) story mode, fans were none too pleased. So director Aaron Keller published a blog post today to ease the concerns and offer more transparency about the development team’s “incredibly difficult decision.”

Hero missions, revealed in 2019, were designed to provide a “deeply repayable” branch of the game based on RPG-like talent trees. Although progression would have been separate from the main game (to avoid giving hero mission players an unfair advantage), it was still part of the hype Blizzard used during the past four years of marketing the title. But the publisher ultimately found that the hero missions were pulling too many development resources away from the live game.

“When we launched Overwatch in 2016, we quickly started talking about what that next iteration could be,” Keller wrote. “Looking back at that moment, it’s now obvious that we weren’t as focused as we should have been on a game that was a runaway hit. Instead, we stayed focused on a plan that was years old.” That years-old plan refers to the development team’s influence from its work on Project Titan, Blizzard’s canceled MMORPG. The creators initially saw Overwatch as a vessel to reintegrate some of the ideas from that scrapped project.

Blizzard Entertainment

“Work began on the PvE portion of the game and we steadily continued shifting more and more of the team to work on those features.” But, Keller says, “Scope grew. We were trying to do too many things at once and we lost focus. The team built some really great things, including hero talents, new enemy units and early versions of missions, but we were never able to bring together all of the elements needed to ship a polished, cohesive experience.”

Keller says the team’s ambition for hero missions was devouring resources at the expense of the core gameplay. “We had an exciting but gargantuan vision and we were continuously pulling resources away from the live game in an attempt to realize it,” said Keller. “I can’t help but look back on our original ambitions for Overwatch and feel like we used the slogan of ‘crawl, walk, run’ to continue to march forward with a strategy that just wasn’t working.”

The decision to abandon hero missions came down to prioritizing present quality over past promises. “We had announced something audacious,” Keller reflected. “Our players had high expectations for it, but we no longer felt like we could deliver it. We needed to make an incredibly difficult decision, one we knew would disappoint our players, the team, and everyone looking forward to Hero Missions. The Overwatch team understands this deeply — this represented years of work and emotional investment. They are wonderful, incredibly talented people and truly have a passion for our game and the work that they do.”

Overwatch 2’s story missions — minus the canned hero missions — are set to arrive in season six, scheduled for mid-August. PvE aspects include a single-player version with a leaderboard, in-game and out-of-game stories and “new types of co-op content we haven’t yet shared.” Before that content arrives, there’s still season five, set to launch in June.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/overwatch-2-director-explains-why-hero-missions-were-canceled-211629105.html?src=rss

Disney+ and Hulu will remove a slew of titles on May 26th

Disney+ and Hulu are starting to purge a number of shows from their respective streaming services. This seems to be an industry-wide trend that reinforces the idea that you don’t own anything with subscriptions.

As reported by Deadline, a slew of titles on Disney+, including Big Shot, Clouds, Diary of a Future President, and Benedict Society are leaving on May 26th. On the Hulu side, shows such as Dollface, Maggie and Little Demon will vanish on that same date.

In August of last year, HBO Max (now just Max) announced that it would be stripping 36 shows from its platform, including The-Not-Too-Late-Show with Elmo and My Dinner with Hervé. The company continued its rampage in December 2022 by announcing larger shows such as Westworld were going to be pulled from the platform. And even before then, Netflix was notoriously known for pulling and adding shows and movies at the drop of a hat.

While the list mostly consists of direct-to-streaming movies and shows that didn’t get more than a few seasons, it’s still disappointing to see content being dropped. Movies and TV shows aren’t the only affected medium, as streaming music services have long had the issue of certain tracks becoming unavailable or an entire album being pulled entirely from the catalog. It’s the price you pay when going the subscription route. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, but the buffet owner can take anything away at a moment’s notice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/disney-and-hulu-will-remove-a-slew-of-titles-on-may-26th-204658321.html?src=rss

'Until Dawn' developer Supermassive is making a ‘Dead by Daylight’ spin-off

Behaviour Interactive has revealed what’s next for Dead by Daylight, including two more spin-off games. Perhaps the more intriguing of the two is a project being developed by Supermassive Games. While the game is staying mostly under wraps for now, it seems to build on the formula Supermassive has executed so well on games like Until Dawn and The Quarry.

This will be a single-player interactive story game with a new cast of characters that offers “an intense narrative experience filled with powerful life-or-death choices set within the backdrop of Dead by Daylight,” according to Behaviour. Expect to learn more about the game later this year.

The other spin-off that’s in development is a co-op title from Midwinter Entertainment, which joined Behaviour last year. This game, which is in its very early stages, will focus on the themes of greed and the lust for power. You’ll be able to team up with as many as three other players.

These two games follow on from Hooked On You, a DbD dating sim that arrived last year. A Dead by Daylight film adaptation is in the works too. Behaviour and its partners are currently looking for the director and screenwriter for the project.

Behaviour had a lot more to discuss during the DbD seventh anniversary showcase. There was news on upcoming collaborations for cosmetic items, including team ups with Slipknot and Iron Maiden. Ikumi Nakamura, the former Ghostwire: Tokyo creative director who you may remember from that game’s reveal at E3 2019, has designed some DbD cosmetics too.

On the gameplay front, the stream included a look at the next DbD chapter, which will be available on June 13th. End Transmission will bring sci-fi horror to the game, with a new map set on another planet that doesn't look unlike Atropos from Returnal. The upcoming killer, The Singularity, “is a monstrous amalgamation of restructured organic matter and machine parts seeking to become the perfect lifeform,” Behaviour said. The accompanying survivor is Gabriel Soma, a technician.

Over the next year, Behaviour plans to add four chapters, including End Transmission and two others that will bring another pair of licensed killers from other franchises to DbD. On top of those, there will be two extra survivor-only chapters. We already know who one of those survivors will be: a certain Nicolas Cage.

The actor is playing himself in the game. Lest you think that Behaviour recruited a soundalike, that’s not the case. Cage "was generous enough to record every grunt, scream and exertion you will hear in Dead by Daylight," Mathieu Côté, head of partnerships for the game, told reporters at a preview event this week. Here's hoping that includes Cage shrieking about bees and his eyes. Anyway, you can find out more about Cage's introduction to the game on July 5th.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/until-dawn-developer-supermassive-is-making-a-dead-by-daylight-spin-off-184513565.html?src=rss

Meta’s rumored Twitter competitor could launch as early as next month

Folks are spending less time on Twitter since Elon Musk bought the social media site last year, but there’s still plenty of demand for similar platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky. To that point, Meta has long been rumored to be building its own platform to rival Twitter. After months of speculation, there’s finally some details to go along with the rumors, according to digital media marketing expert Lia Haberman.

Haberman says the app is nearing completion and could launch as early as the end of June. She says that Meta has been meeting with select content creators to discuss the platform. One of these creators furnished Haberman with all kinds of info about the forthcoming app, calling it “Instagram for your thoughts.”

Based on a (somewhat blurry) example I got, Meta's new app looks a lot like Twitter.

So, could this take over all the Twitter screenshots we've been seeing on the Feed lately? Maybe.

It’s impossible to predict how audiences will respond but this could be an alternative. pic.twitter.com/xgQa1kUjCl

— Lia Haberman (@liahaberman) May 19, 2023

Instagram is the right word here, as it looks like the entire platform is built out of the popular photo-sharing social network. The decentralized app is said to work with current Instagram parameters, like usernames and passwords. So if you already have an Instagram account you should be able to sign right up and automatically sync up with your current followers. Your handle, bio and verification should all carry over from IG. Haberman says that even blocked Instagram accounts and hidden words transfer to the new platform.

This is also set to be a decentralized app that’ll integrate with other platforms like Mastodon, meaning you should be able to interact with users across multiple services without having to constantly switch between apps. The report indicates that text updates will be limited to 500 characters, which is less than an Instagram caption, but still plenty long enough to make a sarcastic comment or whatever. 

You’ll likely be able to attach links, photos and videos up to five minutes long, which of course is much shorter than Twitter's recently launched two hour video-sharing feature. Just like Twitter and similar platforms, Meta’s service will have its own versions of likes, replies and reposts. Haberman got her hands on a leaked marketing slide that shows the app in action and, well, it looks a whole lot like Twitter, Bluesky and the rest, with a dash of Instagram's design scheme. 

Back in March when these rumors first surfaced, Meta said it was indeed “exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates.” So this is coming, it’s just a matter of what it’ll look like and if it’ll be “the one” to dethrone Twitter. There's no name for the service yet, though within Meta it has a few codenames like Barcelona and P92. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-rumored-twitter-competitor-could-launch-as-early-as-next-month-181625616.html?src=rss

Solo Stove fire pits are up to 45 percent off, plus the rest of this week's best tech deals

We're still a couple of weeks away from the unofficial start to summer, but some Memorial Day sales are already popping up, including one on mostly smokeless fire pits from Solo Stoves. Discounts there range up to 45 percent. BioLite's sale takes up to 25 percent off of outdoor power gadgets and Ring security devices are discounted up 30 percent so you can keep tabs on your home for less. Outside of site-wide sales, Apple's second-gen AirPods Pro are back down to $200 and the Apple Watch Ultra is the cheapest we've seen it, but only with a yellow strap. For anyone thinking ahead to back to school, we found deals on threedifferentlaptops, a smart monitor and a Mac mini. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Solo Stove Bonfire

Late summer nights outdoors are better with fire pits. Solo Stove is currently hosting a site-wide sale that runs through June 4th and includes discounts of up to 45 percent. The Bonfire is the brand's most popular pit and falls between the portable Ranger and extra large Yukon in size. Usually $400, the sale brings the Bonfire down to $250. Plenty of bundles are on sale too, including an ultimate bundle that pairs up the Bonfire with a stand, lid, shield and tools for $555 which is $530 off the regular price. 

Use the code FREEMESA at checkout and you can get a free Mesa tabletop fire pit. Those normally sell for $120. Whichever unit you choose, you'll get less smoke thanks to the double-walled chamber that burns wood more efficiently. Solo Stove improved upon their original design on all 2.0 models, adding a removable base plate and ash pan that makes clean up much easier. 

Apple AirPods Pro

Apple's latest AirPods Pro are among the best buds an iPhone user can stick in their ears and once again, they're down to $200, which is a tidy savings over their $249 list price and within a dollar of their all-time low. Our resident audio expert, Billy Steele, gave the buds an 88 in his review, pointing out that this generation's sound is massively superior to the previous one. 

The clarity is excellent at low volume an has a more immersive and detailed sound overall. Thanks to the H2 chip, the buds are capable of impressively fast on-device processing to deliver good active noise cancellation and one of the best transparency modes available. The buds switch seamlessly between Apple devices and the battery will give you six hours of play on a charge with noise cancellation turned on. 

If it's pure sound quality you're looking for, Billy also recommends Sennheiser's Momentum 3 buds. They're also down to $200, after an $80 discount. 

BaseCharge 600

Power stations let you bring multiple hours of power for lights, devices and even small appliances when you're camping or otherwise away from an outlet. BioLite's 622 watt-hour portable battery, the BaseCharge 600 is getting its first discount today as part of a larger, site-wide sale. Usually $700, the sale dips it down to a more palatable $560. The sale runs through May 29th with discounts on other power-related devices, including 20 percent off the larger BaseCharge 1500 and the 100-watt solar panels that can recharge either battery.

I spent a few weeks with the BaseCharge 600 and used it to run my work-from-home setup (laptop, monitor, gateway, lights) for a full day with plenty of charge left over. It also ran a power drill outdoors for a small project. There are eight ports up front, including multiple USB-Cs and regular old three-pronged plug outlets. The display offers a lot of useful info, like how long the battery has left, considering your current power consumption, or the amount of time the battery will take to return to full when it's plugged into the wall or a solar panel.

Our favorite low-capacity power bank, the Charge 40 PD is also part of the sale, and down to $45 instead of $60. It's got a tough case and will revive your phone from the dead a couple of times.   

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2

Many Ring security products are currently cheaper right now, both at Amazon and at Ring. Discounts include $75 off the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, which brings it down to $175 and the cheapest its gone for outside of Black Friday sales last November. The Pro 2 is a wired unit that gives you a head-to-toe view of your entryway along with two-way audio and 3D motion sensing that more accurately differentiates between people simply passing by and those actually approaching your door. 

If you don't have a wire available for your doorbell (or wanted something a little cheaper), you can go for the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus. It's down to $140 after a 22 percent discount. It also gives you head-to-toe HD video and two-way audio. The quick-release battery pack is rechargeable and should last a few months between charges.  

Apple Watch Ultra with Yellow Ocean Band

We're not in Patek Philippe territory, but a $799 timepiece is still pretty spendy. This week gave us the lowest price we've seen yet on the top-end Apple Watch Ultra, bringing it down to $702 — but only if you get it with the yellow band. If you're down with the sunny hue, or were already planning to swap out the strap, you can save nearly $100 on a watch that's best suited to athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. Our deputy editor Cherlynn Low gave the smartwatch an 85 in her review, citing it's excellent battery life, durable build and the bright display. Its GPS, Backtrack and Waypoint features also performed admirably during a hike in New Jersey's South Mountain reservation.

For those who want a capable smartwatch that's much more affordable, the current generation 40mm Apple Watch SE with the starlight case is also on sale at Amazon and at Best Buy. It's back down to $219, which is the lowest it's gone since its debut last September. Cherlynn called this one "the best smartwatch $250 can buy" in her review. The 44mm models in all three case colorways are also on sale at Amazon.  

Google Nest Learning thermostat

Right now, Wellbots is offering a total of $105 off Google's Nest Learning Thermostat when you enter the code 55ENGDT at checkout. The smart thermometer is already on sale for $199, but the code takes an additional $55 off, making it just $144. Over time, the Nest will learn your habits and adjust accordingly. By detecting when you're home and away, the device could help save energy too. 

Another discount code will save you a total of $124 on the Google Nest Camera with Floodlight. It's on sale for $220, but the code 65ENGDT will bring it down to $155. The camera pairs up bright lights and a camera to alert you when events are detected outside your home, sending HD video to your phone or smart display so you can keep tabs on your perimeter at all times.  

And finally, we've got a code for the Google Nest Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Camera too. Enter 45ENGDT at checkout for an additional $45 savings over the $140 sale price. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

A sale at Amazon is lowering the price on many configurations of Samsung's latest Galaxy phones. The S23 Ultra, the S23+ and the base model S23 are all seeing discounts of between $50 and $150. The sale brings the S23 Ultra with 256GB of storage down to $1,050. 

These aren't the largest discounts we've seen on Samsung's latest smartphones, but it's a decent discount on what are still pretty new phones. The discounts apply to all storage configurations and all colorways are included. 

We gave the Galaxy S23 Ultra an 89 in our review, praising the powerful performance, "dazzling" display and larger, 200MP rear camera that produces great-looking images. The S23+ earned an 86 review score from us thanks to its bright display and excellent battery life, which went longer than two days before needing a charge.  

Samsung M70B Series Smart Monitor

Multiple models of Samsung monitors are currently on sale at both Amazon and directly from Samsung's site, including the 43-inch M70B smart monitor. It's currently $380, which is $120 off the list price and the lowest its gone for since the shopping holidays late last year. It's got 4K resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate and thanks to the built-in smart TV capabilities, you can stream, video conference and control your smart home without connecting to a PC. The sale also includes the 32-inch Odyssey Neo G8, which is $1,200 instead of $1,500. The curved 4K monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate with a latency as low as 1ms.  

Hulu

If you cancelled Hulu and want to come back, you can get the next three months for just $2 per month. The deal is valid through May 27th and is available to new and returning subscribers — as long as it's been at least a month since you cancelled. This is the ad-supported version of the service, which usually goes for $8 per month. If you don't want your episodes of Abbot Elementary interrupted by ads, you can go for the ad-free plan for $15 per month. Either way, we think Hulu is one of the better streaming services out there and it will be the only place to catch new (yes) episodes of Futurama

Apple 2023 Mac mini M2 

Apple's latest system-on-a-chip is the M2 processor, which you'll find in the newest MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and the Mac mini. The diminutive computer is the cheapest way to get the speed of the M2 and right now you can grab a mini for just $500, which is $100 off the list price and matches the lowest price so far. This is the model with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage, which is the same capacity offered by the base model MacBook Air — but the mini delivers it for about half the price. 

Of course, you'll need to add a monitor, but if you've already got on on hand, you can save a significant amount. We gave the Mac mini an 86 in our review, praising the performance, solid design and generous amount of ports for accessories and monitors. 

Eero Pro mesh WiFi router

Amazon is selling many of it's previous-generation Eero routers for 24 to 50 percent off right now. The sale includes the Eero Pro mesh WiFi router which is half price and down to $80. It's a tri-band router that simultaneously supports 2.4GHz, 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz signals. A single unit will cover up to 1,750 square feet and if you add more routers, you can expand that coverage easily. Once you install an Eero router, you can even use current-model Echo speakers as WiFi extenders too. Note that the Eero Pro is a previous generation model that supports WiFi 5 — the newer, WiFi 6E model is currently $250 and not on sale. 

Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini HyperSpeed 

If you're dealing with limited desk real estate, a 60 percent keyboard might help. Right now, Razer's BlackWidow V3 is on sale for $180 or 39 percent off at Amazon and Best Buy. Though it's technically a 65 percent keyboard, it's still our top pick for the best 60 percent keyboard with arrow keys. It offers both 2.4G and Bluetooth connectivity A switch lets you pick between a clicky typing experience or a much quieter (though not completely silent) mode. 

KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender

We named the KitchenAid immersion blender the best cordless option in our in our guide to immersion blenders. Our reviewer, Sam Rutherford, says it easy to use and liked that instead of discrete speed settings, you can adjust the speed by applying more or less pressure on the trigger. Kitchen Aid claims it can blend 25 bowls of soup on a charge. Sam didn't have that much soup on hand, but still found the battery to last a long time. Just keep in mind that you can't charge it while you use it, so plug it in before you plan on cooking.  

Apple MacBook Pro M2, 14-inch

Our senior editor Devindra Hardawar called the new MacBook Pro a "blessing for creatives" when the new laptop came out earlier this year, awarding it a 92 in his review. Right now the base-level configuration, with the M2 Pro chip, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage is back down to an all-time low of $1,749 at B&H Photo. That only goes for the space gray colorway — you'll pay $50 more for the silver version. 

We named the it the best MacBook for creatives in our guide thanks to the laptop's powerful processing power that easily handles 4K video editing and complex musical arrangements. It has plenty of ports, including a 3.5mm, one HDMI, three Thunderbolt 4 ports and an SD card slot. You can get the same deal on Amazon.

Samsung S95B OLED

Samsung's S95B OLED 55-inch TV is on sale for $1,298, which is a steep, 41 percent discount over the $2,198 price tag it had when it first came out. You can grab the same deal at Samsung too. The S95B smart TV made our list for one of the best TVs for gaming you can buy. The QD-OLED display combines an OLED panel with a layer of quantum dots so it can offer the deep blacks that you get with quality OLED screens, but also gives enough brightness to play in a daylight-lit room. You'll be able to play 4K games with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and there are four full HDMI ports.  

The 2023 version, the S95C, is now available, but you'll pay about $2,400 right now, after a $100 discount from Samsung. If you want our top pick for a gaming set, check out the LG C2, which is on sale for $200 off at both B&H Photo and at Amazon. That's not the lowest price ever, but a good way to save a few dollars on a great gaming TV. 

Apple MacBook Air M1

The previous generation MacBook Air with the M1 chip is our top pick for a budget Apple laptop, and right now, it's an even better deal at just $800, which is $200 off the list price. It doesn't have the latest system-on-a-chip that Apple makes, but it's still a powerful ultraportable that earned a score of 94 when Devindra reviewed it. He appreciated the display, performance and lack of fan noise from the passive heat sink. It weighs just 2.8 pounds, making it ideal for students taking it to class or for digital nomads who move around a lot. 

If you want the latest model, B&H Photo is offering the 2022 MacBook Air M2 for $150 off, bringing it down to $1,049. That's about $50 more than the lowest price we've seen, but still a nice discount for anyone who wants the laptop that Devindra called a "near-perfect Mac."

Dell XPS 13 Plus Laptop

If you don't want a Mac, consider this laptop instead. We named the Dell XPS 13 Plus the best Windows laptop for college students and it's currently $500 off on clearance at the manufacturer's site. It offers an ample keyboard and an OLED screen with thin bezels that Devindra says looks fantastic. This model packs a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 chip with 8GB of memory and 512GB of storage. It runs on Windows 11 and has a touch screen and capacitative buttons at the top of the keyboard. The glass haptic touchpad blends into the palm rest lending to the overall minimalist design. Unfortunately, that minimalism means Dell ditched the headphone jack, so your personal listening options are limited to Bluetooth. 

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