The US Department of Justice (DOJ) could file “a sweeping antitrust case” against Apple as soon as the first half of this year, according to The New York Times. The report says the agency is in “the late stages” of its investigation, focusing on the company’s control over hardware and software services and how its “walled garden” approach has allegedly made it harder for rivals to compete and customers to switch to competing products.

The New York Times report says the investigation has expanded beyond what was previously reported, according to people with knowledge of the meetings. Among other areas, its scope has allegedly covered how the Apple Watch is more tightly integrated with iPhone services than rival wearables and how it locks competing platforms out of iMessage.

Executives from Beeper, which got into a public spat with Apple late last year over the iPhone maker’s blocking of the app’s iMessage integration on Android, reportedly talked with investigators. In addition, Tile, which has made Bluetooth trackers since long before the AirTag existed, allegedly sat down with the DOJ, too. The agency is said to have “had conversations with” representatives from banking and payment apps about Apple’s practice of blocking rivals from using tap-to-pay on the iPhone.

Meta also reportedly talked with investigators. The social company allegedly “encouraged” the DOJ to look into Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) privacy tool in its meetings. ATT, launched in 2021, lets users hinder advertisers’ data collection, a feature Meta said in 2022 could cost it $10 billion that year. The NYT claims investigators have also looked into Apple’s cut of digital purchases made on the iPhone, a point Spotify, Epic Games and dating corporation Match Group have been vocal about in recent years.

The federal government currently has its hands full with Big Tech antitrust cases. The DOJ is pursuing two antitrust cases against Google (one for search and another for advertising), while the FTC has sued Meta and Amazon.

The recently-released OnePlus Open foldable smartphone is already available at a discounted price. Amazon has knocked $200 off the total cost, bringing the device’s price to $1,500. This represents a savings of 12 percent, for those keeping score. If you’ve got a hankering for a flagship foldable, this could be the kick in the pants you need to smash that purchase button.

$1,500 is still a whole lot of cheddar, but this is a whole lot of phone. The OnePlus Open ships with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. This particular model comes unlocked, so you aren’t tied to any particular provider. It also boasts a fantastic Hasselblad camera and a pair of 120Hz displays. The exterior display is 6.3-inches, while the foldable interior screen is 7.8-inches. That’s a lot of visual real estate and one of the primary reasons this model made our list of the best foldable phones.

In our official review of the OnePlus Open, we praised the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the large battery and the comprehensive Open Canvas software that allows for tile-based multitasking. We also liked the slim form factor and relative lightness when compared to rival flagship smartphones. The folding hinge is solidly built and barely perceptible, unless you’re looking for it.

This isn’t a perfect phone. It’s slightly lower in price than other foldables, like the Google Pixel Fold, but there’s no wireless charging option, which is an oversight for devices launched in 2023. Also, you only get an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which is far short of the IP68 classification on the aforementioned Pixel Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. Despite these caveats, this is a great foldable for the money.

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Microsoft Teams is finally coming to Android Auto — an app that allows Android phones to connect to the car’s pre-existing infotainment system — next month, nearly a year after being announced by Google at I/O 2023. This is according to a Microsoft 365 roadmap that details future releases.

While the app launches in February, we still don’t have too many details regarding how it’ll be used. Microsoft has stated that you’ll be able to “join meetings and make calls” from the calendar view. There’s no information as to whether or not it’ll integrate with messages from the service or engage in some of the other Teams-specific features, like file and data collaboration. Of course, driving down a highway is probably not the best time to be fiddling with random work files.

Neither Microsoft or Google have offered up any information as to why Teams took so long to release for Android Auto. Google also announced Android Auto integration for Zoom and Webex at I/O 2023. Both software suites launched on the platform back in September. Android Auto also recently got apps by The Weather Channel and YouTube. The platform even offers games for passengers or when the car is parked, including a version of Solitaire and a simple racing game called Beach Buggy Racing 2.

Google says Android Auto currently integrates with 200 million cars, so the addition of Microsoft Teams is certainly a welcome one. Meanwhile, the company has also suggested that the adoption rate of Android Automotive — the similarly named but distinct product which is, unlike the Android Auto app, a full-fledge infotainment operating system — has exploded in the past year, as automobile manufacturers have begun to phase out internal infotainment systems in favor of Google’s operating system. Companies like Chevrolet, Volvo, Polestar, Honda, Renault and even GM have all announced the adoption of Google’s platform.

The holidays are just about over, but if you're looking to stock up on some new tech for the new year, we've found a handful of deals worth noting. The latest Apple AirPods Pro are back down to an all-time low of $189, for one, while our favorite budget wireless earbuds, the Soundcore Space A40, are within a dollar of their best price at $55. If you're interested in a new fitness tracker, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is at a low of $70, while the more featured Apple Watch SE is $50 off at $199. And if you're just looking to chill, several PC and Nintendo Switch games we like are also on sale. Here are the best deals from this week that you can still get today. 

The USB-C version of Apple's AirPods Pro is back down to $189 at Amazon and Walmart, which matches the lowest price we've tracked. Apple itself sells the noise-canceling earphones for $249, though the pair has regularly sold between $190 and $240 at third-party retailers in recent months.

Either way, the AirPods Pro is the "best for iOS" pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds. They continue to offer a number of helpful features for users of other Apple devices, including faster pairing, hands-free Siri, Find My tracking and spatial audio support. A pleasingly warm sound, a superb transparency mode and effective active noise cancellation (ANC) also help, though battery life and call quality are still just OK. We gave the Lightning-based Pros a review score of 88. If you already own that older model and just want the USB-C case, note that you can buy the latter separately. 

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is on sale for $70 at multiple retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target. That ties the lowest price we've seen. The offer applies to multiple color band options, though a couple of those may come with shipping delays. Fitbit normally sells the fitness tracker for $100, but we've seen it drop to $80 at various points over the past year. 

We call the Inspire 3 the best budget option in our fitness tracker buying guide. It accurately monitors step count, heart rate, sleep and other essential metrics in a slim, lightweight and water-resistant design. Its color OLED display is simple to navigate, and its battery can last up to 10 days per charge. It can only access GPS via your phone, however, so more dedicated runners and cyclists may want to look elsewhere. It lacks contactless payment support, too. Other Fitbit trackers are also on sale.

The 40mm Apple Watch SE is down to $199 at Amazon, Walmart and other retailers. While that's $20 more than the best price we've tracked, it's still $20 less than the smartwatch's typical street price and $50 less than Apple's MSRP. We note the Watch SE in our guide to the best smartwatches as a good pick for first-time buyers or those on a budget. It offers most of the same core features as the flagship Apple Watch Series 9: notifications, heart-rate monitoring, accurate fitness tracking, fall and crash detection, emergency SOS and so on. It has a smaller display with larger bezels, but the overall design looks similar, plus it's water-resistant. 

The big trade-off is that the display isn't always-on, so you have to raise your wrist or tap the screen to activate it. It also lacks more advanced health features like a skin temperature sensor, ECG monitor and blood oxygen sensor. Still, if you're new to smartwatches and own an iPhone, this is a good value. We gave Watch SE a review score of 89 in September 2022.

Anker's Soundcore Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds, as it offers many of the features we'd expect from earphones that cost twice as much. Newegg has the pair on sale for $55 with the checkout code NNDNA88, which is $24 off its usual going rate and only a dollar more than the lowest price we've tracked. The Space A40's ANC performance belies its low price, while its compact frame is comfortable to wear for hours at a time. It can connect to two devices at once, and its battery life is solid at eight to 10 hours per charge. It also supports wireless charging. The warm sound profile isn't as detailed as more expensive pairs, but it's pleasant enough, and you can customize the EQ curve through the Soundcore app. Call quality isn't all that great, however, and your music won't auto-pause when you remove an earbud.

You can grab a four-pack of Apple's AirTags for $79 at Amazon, which is a deal we've seen for much of the past month or so but still costs $20 less than buying from Apple directly. Make sure to clip the on-page coupon to see the full discount. The AirTag is the top pick for iPhone owners in our Bluetooth tracker buying guide, as it taps into Apple's giant Find My device network and its own ultra-wideband wireless tech to locate misplaced items accurately. It's also waterproof, and its battery is easily replaceable. It doesn't come with any holes or adhesives, however, so you may need to buy a separate accessory if you want to attach it to a keychain.

If you want a set of Bluetooth trackers but own an Android phone, a four-pack of Tile Mates is down to $38 at Walmart. That's only about a dollar more than the lowest historical price we could find. For reference, we normally see a single Tile Mate go for around $20. Tile's trackers aren't quite as precise as AirTags, but they have the second-largest crowd-finding network after Apple, and the Mate's built-in keyring hole makes it easy to slap on a keychain. That said, you can't replace the battery, and you'll need to pay a subscription fee for separation alerts (which let you know when you've left a tracked item behind). The Mate itself isn't a top pick in our buying guide, but at less than $10 per tracker, this is a solid value.

The 10th-gen iPad is on sale for $349 at Amazon, Target and Best Buy, which ties the lowest price we've tracked and takes $50 off the 10.9-inch tablet's usual going rate. This slate sits in a middle ground between the entry-level 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad Air. It's not as cheap as the former, but it has a more modern design with a larger display, thinner bezels, a faster chip and a USB-C port. Unlike either device, its front-facing camera is situated on the long edge of the device, which is generally more convenient for FaceTime calls. That said, this tablet's display and chipset are both steps down from what you get with the iPad Air, and its accessory support is more limited. It only has 64GB of storage as well. But if you need an Apple tablet today and can't pay for the Air, it's an easier buy at this price. We gave the 10th-gen iPad a review score of 85 in late 2022.

You should only grab this deal if you need a tablet right away, however. According to reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple plans to refresh its entire iPad lineup throughout 2024, with the first updates potentially arriving in March. We may not see a follow-up to this iPad until later, but if you can afford to wait, that may be the safest choice. 

The 128GB version of Samsung's Galaxy Tab S9 is on sale for $700 at Amazon and Best Buy, which is the lowest price we've seen outside of special trade-in and education offers. Normally, it retails closer to $750. 

The Galaxy Tab S9 series is collectively the top Android recommendation in our tablet buying guide. This is the entry-level model, but it shares most of the same perks as the larger (and more expensive) Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra. Its 11-inch 120Hz OLED display is fast and vibrant, its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip delivers superb performance and it comes with Samsung's reliable S Pen stylus. The sturdy design also has an IP68 water-resistance rating, so you can safely take it in the tub or pool. Android still isn't as optimized for large screens as Apple's iPadOS, but Samsung's OneUI software makes multitasking at least a little more manageable. All of this is still more tablet than most people need, but if you want an Android alternative to the 11-inch iPad Pro, it's likely your best bet.

We highlighted the Epic Games Store's Holiday Sale when it kicked off last month, but since this is the last deals roundup we'll publish before the sale ends on January 10, consider this a last-call PSA. A number of worthwhile PC games are still down to the lowest prices we've seen with a recurring 33 percent coupon. The survival horror game Alan Wake 2 is down to $27, for one, and now comes bundled with a voucher for Alan Wake Remastered. The rhythm-action game Hi-Fi Rush is available for $15, while the wholesome open-world game Tchia is available for $13. Other newish hits like the Dead Space remake, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Remnant II are also notably discounted. Many of those titles made our annual Games of the Year roundup last week. Meanwhile, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, a staff favorite from 2021, is now free to claim until January 11.

Beyond the PC, we're also seeing a few lows on digital games we like for the Nintendo Switch. Two picks from our guide to the best couch co-op games, the silly stealth game Untitled Goose Game and the heartfelt adventure game Chicory: A Colorful Tale, are each down to $9 at Walmart. So is the chill puzzler Unpacking, which we highlight in our guide to the best relaxing games. Another couch co-op pick, the tender management sim Spiritfarer, is back down to $7.49 on the Nintendo eShop. 

Other highlights include the sharply written adventure Kentucky Route Zero for $12 and the RPG Divinity: Original Sin — the previous game from Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios — for $25. The acclaimed 2D platformer Celeste is also worth a look at $6, though that's not quite an all-time low.

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Samsung is looking to boost its game-streaming ecosystem for its smart TVs with a certification program. Ahead of CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the company today unveiled Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub, which gives third-party accessory makers an official designation that their gear works with the platform. The program’s first licensed gamepad, from PDP, is available for pre-order.

Hardware partners who work with Samsung on the program will add a “Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub” badge to their products. Although Samsung Gaming Hub works with most standard Bluetooth gamepads, the company says the designation means the controller will provide the “best possible game streaming experience on Samsung Gaming Hub, regardless of the supported Samsung device players choose.” Samsung describes the label as signifying “compatibility, quality, performance, safety and security” on its devices.

However, if you already own a Bluetooth gamepad that works with Samsung Gaming Hub — and you don’t care about dedicated shortcut buttons — you should be fine sticking with that.

Samsung Gaming Hub includes a solid list of game streaming services, including Xbox Game Pass, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Boosteroid, Blacknut, Utomik and Antstream Arcade. (The dearly departed Google Stadia was once on that list.) In addition, it can stream content from Spotify, Twitch and YouTube.

The first hardware partner product with certification is the PDP Replay Wireless Controller. It offers up to 40 hours of battery life with a low-latency Bluetooth connection for up to 30 feet away. It has a dedicated button to launch the Samsung Gaming Hub, as well as TV power and volume buttons.

The PDP Replay is available for pre-order today at PDP’s website, and Samsung says Amazon and Best Buy will sell it later.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

Last year’s Dell XPS 13 Plus looked slightly different to the XPS laptops preceding it. But the company seemed to like it, because it’s now retooled the rest of the XPS lineup to match. Yes, CES 2024 hasn’t even had its press days yet, let alone started in earnest, but Dell is busy.

The new XPS 13, 14 and 16 laptops all sport the XPS 13 Plus’ glass wrist rest, which hides an invisible haptic touchpad. They also pack touch-sensitive function buttons above the keyboard and larger keycaps for your typing ease. These laptop keyboards are also among the first to get that spicey new Copilot key. Swoon.

This new XPS lineup will be available soon, with the XPS 13 starting at $1,300, the XPS 14 at $1,700 and the XPS 16 at $1,900. Read our first impressions here.

— Mat Smith

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The return of the physical iPhone keyboard case

Clicks has made cases for the latest iPhone models.

A company called Clicks is introducing a new iPhone keyboard accessory if you’re still (still!) pining for the typing experience of a BlackBerry. The keyboard sits at the bottom of the case and doesn’t cover any part of the screen or device at all other than its back and edges. Instead, it extends the phone’s length, so it could make your iPhone 15 Pro Max even more of a pocket-breaker. But maybe that’s the price of having a physical keyboard.

Continue reading.

Qualcomm will debut upgraded VR headset chips at CES 2024

The company continues to beef up its silicon for VR, MR and the rest.

Qualcomm is teasing a new VR/MR chip for CES. The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 is an update to the vanilla XR2 Gen 2, revealed last year. The chip is for virtual reality headsets, mixed reality headsets and even other wearables. It’ll support 4.3K per eye resolution, compared to 3K per eye with the previous version, and can integrate with up to 12 cameras at once, up from 10, for improved body tracking.

Continue reading.

Yes, this is an Xbox Series S toaster

Goes with your Xbox fridge.

Walmart

For $40, you can now buy an Xbox Series S toaster. Thanks, Walmart. It’ll even toast the Xbox sphere logo onto your bread. It also has six browning levels, an LED countdown and crumb tray — but no ray tracing.

Continue reading.

With CES 2024 almost upon us, we're about to hear more talk about smart homes than the rest of the year combined. Samsung has started the proceedings by announcing that it's partnering with Tesla and Hyundai to expand SmartThings into the areas of home energy and vehicle/home automation. 

The partnership with Tesla will allow owners of the company's EVs, along with products like Powerwall and Solar Inverter, to monitor and control their homes using Samsung's SmartThings Energy app — displaying information related to energy production, storage and usage. 

For instance, Powerwall users will be able to sync the Tesla app's "Storm Watch" function to their home devices, so they can be alerted to extreme weather events like hurricanes or snowfall through connected Samsung TVs and smartphones. It'll also let you activate the AI Energy Mode before and during power outages to conserve remaining Powerwall energy. 

Other companies will be able to do the same, as Tesla recently published its "FleetAPI" app that lets developers interact with Powerwall, Solar and Wall Connector in addition to its EVs. Samsung is among the first to hop on board, though. "We are pleased that Samsung has chosen to be an early developer, given its leading position in consumer smart home technology," said Tesla's Drew Baglino. 

Samsung

Samsung has also teamed with Hyundai to expand its SmartThings platform to Hyundai's EVs and other vehicles, allowing "Home-to-Car" and "Car-to-Home" services. That'll let you connect your smart home to a Hyundai car's infotainment system so you can control one with the other. For instance, you'll be able to start your car via the SmartThings app, control the air conditioning, open and close windows and check charging status. And from the car, you'll be able to control home appliances like TVs, AC and EV chargers. 

It'll also allow you to create a routine where your home lights and climate control are activate when the car arrives home, or the ability to set the car to an ideal temperature after your smartphone's alarm goes off. At the same time, you'll be able to monitor energy information about EVs and chargers to set the optimal time for charging a vehicle, based on factors like energy pricing, solar panel data and more. 

The new features sound useful, particularly if you have an EV or Tesla power system installed. It's still under development, but Samsung will be providing an early look at its CES 2024 booth next week. 

A UK-based company called Clicks is introducing a new iPhone accessory at CES 2024 in Las Vegas that you might like if you loved BlackBerry phones. It's a case and a full physical keyboard in one that you can attach to the iPhone if you want a more tactile typing experience, which kinda brings back memories of Ryan Seacrest's Typo Keyboard from a decade ago. The company's creator keyboard sits at the bottom of the case and doesn't cover any part of the screen or any part of the device at all other than its back and edges. Instead, it extends the phone's length, giving you full view of whatever is on the display even while you're typing. 

That keyboard connects to the iPhone through its Lighting or USB-C port, depending on what model you have, and allows you to charge your phone as usual. It doesn't have a Bluetooth connection, but that also means it's not powered by a battery you'll need to charge. You can switch on its backlight if you want to use it at night or in the dark, and you can use a bunch of keyboard shortcuts if you want to navigate your device without using the touchscreen. To scroll down web pages, for instance, you can press the space bar. That said, its keys do look terribly small, and you may find yourself having a difficult time typing if you have larger hands and fingers. 

Clicks is founded by content creators Michael Fisher (MrMobile) and Kevin Michaluk (CrackBerry Kevin), who said that the iPhone keyboard was designed by "a dream team of tech industry veterans." Michaluk added: "We labored over every decision from exactly how the buttons should feel to the keyboard layout, ensuring it would be intuitive for iPhone users." You can order the Clicks creator keyboard from the company's website right now for $139, but shipping won't begin until February 1. 

Clicks

Razer is previewing two new Blade laptops, which it will officially unveil next week at CES 2024. The company says the new Razer Blade 16 has the world’s first 16-inch 240Hz OLED panel, and the updated Razer Blade 18 has an 18-inch 4K 165Hz one. It hasn’t revealed pricing or full specs yet, but Razer will roll out more details next week in Las Vegas.

The new Razer Blade 16 looks to improve on the display in last year’s model, which was already impressive. Razer says the OLED panel in the 2024 version was co-developed by Samsung Display. In addition to its QHD+ resolution and 240Hz refresh rate, it has a 0.2ms response time, and it’s VESA Certified ClearMR 11000, a standard that grades motion blur by its ratio of clear to blurry pixels. The panel has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and its black levels will likely impress with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Blade 18 moves from the 2023 model’s QHD, 240Hz panel to a 4K, 165Hz one. It has a 3ms response time with Nvidia G-Sync support and covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. 

Although Razer is withholding the devices’ full info for their official CES 2024 reveal on Monday, it added that they’re built with high-grade CNC aluminum unibody construction, and they have a 16:10 aspect ratio, “up to” an 89 percent screen-to-body ratio and ultra-thin bezels. Both laptops are Calman Verified and have a color accuracy certification. They’re also individually calibrated in the factory.

Engadget will be on the ground in Las Vegas starting this weekend, and we’ll have the full details and hands-on impressions for both new laptops.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

Amazon’s Fire HD 10 tablet is on sale for just $80 for today only from QVC. This is the latest iteration, originally released in 2023, and ships with 32GB of storage. You also have your pick of various colorways, including green, lavender and black. The regular price on this tablet is $140, so this represents a discount of $60. Incidentally, the sale price of $80 matches what was found on Black Friday, so consider this a bit of a holiday extension.

This isn’t the lowest price ever for the Fire HD 10 tablet, but it's the lowest for the current eleventh-gen device. We’ve seen this tablet go on sale for $75, but that was for the 2021 release.

The Fire HD 10 is a capable tablet, considering the price, and is a great device for viewing streaming content, browsing the web and playing simple mobile games. It has a USB-C port, which is always nice, and a 2GHz octa-core processor. The HD touchscreen boasts a 1920x1200 resolution, there’s 3GB of RAM and a pair of HD cameras on the front and rear. You can also expand the storage via a microSD slot.

Is this an iPad Pro? Nope. Not even close. But it gets the job done. I used a Fire HD 10 as my primary content streaming device for years and it was just fine. The Wi-Fi was snappy, Alexa was helpful and the actual headphone jack made it so I didn’t have to go digging for an adapter just to have some privacy while I watched Netflix in bed. Again, this deal ends today.

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