Amazon's Big Spring Sale is almost here, and deals on its Fire tablets are already trickling in. Take the new Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, down to $95 from $140 — a 32 percent discount. This sale brings the 32GB device to only $15 more than its all-time low since launching last October. 

Amazon's new Fire HD 10 tablet is a solid boost from its predecessor, thanks, in part, to 25 percent faster performance and 3GB of RAM. It has a 10.1-inch HD touchscreen with 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 5MP front and rear-facing cameras, and 13 hours of battery life. Plus, it offers a microSD slot that can be used to add another 1TB of storage. This model does feature lockscreen ads, and it currently costs $110 to buy the device without them. 

Then there's Amazon's 32GB Fire HD 8 tablet, down to $65 from $100 thanks to a 35 percent discount. The eight-inch HD, 1280 x 800 resolution screen also features lockscreen ads at this price. The Fire HD 8 tablet's processor works 30 percent faster than its predecessor, and it has 2GB of RAM. For $30 less than the Fire HD 10 tablet, it offers similar features, just with not as high-quality (or large) a screen. 

The Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet and Fire 7 Kids tablet are among the other models on sale, with 22 percent and 36 percent discounts, respectively. 

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Apple is reportedly in talks with Google to integrate its Gemini AI in iPhones, Bloomberg reports, a move that should help both companies compete with OpenAI and its (heavily invested) partner Microsoft. While it might seem like an admission that Apple is lagging behind on AI, the partnership fits if you think of generative AI models as an evolution of web searching, something Google already provides to all of Apple's devices. According to the report, Gemini could be the cloud-based generative AI engine for Siri and other iPhone apps, while Apple's models could be woven into the upcoming iOS 18 for on-device AI tasks.

Bloomberg notes that Apple has also had discussions with OpenAI about using its own models, and it could still end up partnering with another AI outfit, like Anthropic. Apple could conceivably even work with multiple partners until its own generative models are up to snuff. But teaming up with Google makes the most sense, especially since the search giant is already giving Apple millions to bring search to the Safari browser.

Apple needs some sort of generative AI solution that it can implement this year (its own Ajax model will likely take years to match Gemini and OpenAI), and Google needs a quick way to bring its AI smarts to billions of devices. 

There are regulatory concerns to consider — the Department of Justice has already sued Google over its search dominance, including the way it pays Apple and other companies to use its search engine. But given the specter of Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership — which turned the Bing search engine into an artificial intelligence hype machine overnight, and is now powering all of Microsoft's Copilot AI solutions — the potential gains could be worth the risk for Apple and Google.

There are still technical issues for Google to deal with too: Gemini was recently under fire for inaccurately rendering historical images. But even considering potential growing pains, a partnership with Apple helps both companies. And it also gives Apple room to develop its own models while OpenAI and Google deal with the growing pains of generative AI.

The PlayStation VR2 doesn’t seem to have been a major hit for Sony. Just over a year after the headset debuted, the company has paused production until it deals with a stockpile of unsold inventory, according to Bloomberg.

The company is said to have manufactured well more than 2 million units. According to analysts at IDC, the company sold around 1.7 million headsets in 2023. Perhaps most concerningly for Sony, sales appeared to have slowed significantly throughout the year. Hardware sales often pick up ahead of the holidays, but the fourth quarter was the most sluggish sales period yet for PS VR2 per IDC — the firm says Sony sold just 325,200 units during those three months.

A dearth of compelling games (or at least the perception that's the case) hasn't helped make the PS VR2 attractive to prospective buyers. Overall, Sony has only released four VR experiences for the headset and is yet to announce any other first-party games for the platform. It also recently shuttered its London Studio, one of its few in-house developers that had been making VR games. The lack of backward compatibility for games from the original PS VR headset may have harmed the current model's prospects too.

In our review, senior editor Devindra Hardawar gave the PS VR2 a score of 84, feeling that while it was a great headset overall, the high price and doubts over long-term support were significant concerns. Additionally, the headset only works with a PS5, but that could be about to change.

Sony recently revealed that it was testing official PC support for the PS VR2, and it hopes to roll that out later this year. That could potentially give the company a much larger customer base for those who are interested in the hardware but don’t want a PS5. As such, that might help it sell some of its stockpile. Another thing that would help is reducing the price. At $550, the PS VR2 costs more than a PS5, which is absurd.

Better weather is coming and that means more time outside using your phone — and making sure it doesn't die while capturing all the beautiful blooms. Fortunately, Amazon is running a sale on Anker, one of our favorite portable charger brands. A range of the company's products are currently on sale, including the Anker Prime Power Bank, down to $125 from $180. The 31 percent price cut makes one of our best power banks for 2024 picks much more accessible. 

Anker's Prime Power Bank is a great choice if you're sick of guessing how much juice your power bank has left. This premium portable charger digitally displays its battery percentage. The device can charge your iPhone to 75 percent in 47 minutes and to 100 percent in an hour and 48 minutes. An iPad clocks in at 54 percent after 47 minutes and 100 percent after two hours and 11 minutes. The charger has a sleek look for a high price point but the screen seems easily scratched. 

Notably, the Prime Power Bank's sale doesn't include the charging base (that will cost you $235 for both), but it's not necessary. You can fully recharge the power bank in 37 minutes with a USB-C cord at 140W — faster than the base's 100W charging capabilities.

Other notable power banks included in Amazon's sale are Anker's 622 Magnetic Battery and 737 Power Bank. The 622 touts the largest discount of the group with a 43 percent cut bringing it's price to $40 from $70. It snaps right onto the back of an iPhone and provides up to 17 hours of battery life. The device, which is available in blue, also comes with a PopSockets attachment. 

The Anker 737 Power Bank is a bit more expensive, with a 38 percent discount dropping its price to $80 from $130. However, it offers three charging ports (two USB and one USB-C) and works with laptops, iPhones and Androids. USB connections have 18W of power while the USB-C provides 60W. 

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Android fans looking for a reasonably priced phone to upgrade to are in luck thanks to the Amazon Big Spring Sale. Although the event doesn't officially start until March 20, we're already seeing early deals pop up on Amazon. One of which is the Google Pixel 7a, which has dropped to a record low price of $374. We've seen the handset drop to this price before, but as of late, it's been hovering around its regular price of $499.

The Pixel 7a has sat at the top of our best midrange phones list since it came out last year and it offers a ton of value even at its standard price. It runs on Google's Tensor G2 chip, which gives it solid performance considering its cost, and it has a lovely 6.1-inch, 90Hz OLED touchscreen and support for wireless charging. Its design looks very similar to the flagship Pixel series phones and it has an IP67 rating for water resistance.

But the camera array makes the Pixel 7a truly stand out among other phones in its price range, and certainly among budget Android phones that typically come in at around $350. The 64-megapixel rear shooter takes impressive images that preserve details and highlights, and Google's Night Sight mode allows it to take solid low-light images. The 13MP selfie camera can record 4K videos, too. While the Pixel 7a suffers a bit from its lack of dedicated zoom and telephoto lenses, those are relatively small sacrifices to make when you're getting an otherwise stellar camera system for the price.

Ultimately, the Pixel 7a is the smartphone to get if you want the best value Android handset and don't want to spend more than a few hundred dollars. Snagging it while it's under $400 during this sale means you're getting it at the best price we've seen, making it an even better buy. However, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the concurrent sales on the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro — those are up to $250 off right now, down to $499 and $749, respectively. These are the best Android phones you can buy right now, period, and both offer Google's Tensor G3 chipset, a more refined design, long battery life and useful AI features that make taking photos and using the Google Assistant much better.

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Yeah, it’s not just Nintendo prepping new console hardware for 2024. Insider Gaming reports details for the PS5 Pro come from documentation Sony recently sent to third-party developers.

Hold onto your skepticism. Based on the reports, the PS5 Pro will offer a more consistent frame rate (fps) at 4K and a performance mode for 8K resolution. It’s also expected to render games up to 45 percent quicker and have ray tracing capabilities two to three times faster than current PS5 consoles.

The report says Sony may target a holiday release for the PS5 Pro, to target those heightened sales. Can it make Baldur’s Gate 3 look pretty like it does on PC? Please?

— Mat Smith

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The FCC just quadrupled the minimum download speeds of ‘broadband’

ISPs must now offer 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up to slap the coveted label on their services.

At the end of last week, the FCC raised the speeds required to describe internet service as “broadband” for the first time since 2015. The agency’s annual high-speed internet assessment concluded that 100 Mbps downloads and 20 Mbps uploads will be the new standard. The FCC’s report also broke down several areas where the country’s online infrastructure falls short, with broadband not being deployed quickly enough, especially to those in rural areas and those living on Tribal lands.

The FCC can’t force ISPs to boost their speeds, but it can prevent them from marketing their services as “broadband” internet if they don’t meet these new thresholds.

Continue reading.

LinkedIn is making in-app games for some reason

Is this a test?

LinkedIn may soon offer puzzle-based games to give its users something to do besides networking. App researcher Nima Owji posted a series of screenshots on X this weekend showing some games. Employees’ scores will reportedly affect how the companies they work for rank in the games, which suddenly sounds stressful.

Continue reading.

Starbucks stops wasting money on its coffee NFTs

Its Web3 rewards program ends on March 31.

Starbucks

Starbucks is pulling the plug on Odyssey, its Web3 rewards program that gives members access to collectible NFTs. The company updated its FAQ on Friday to let members know the beta program is closing on March 31 and they have a little over a week to complete any remaining activities (called journeys). Those will shut down March 25.

Don’t worry, Nifty Gateway will continue to host the priceless Stamps (Starbucks’ NFTs). And they will remain priceless. I mean… worthless.

Continue reading.

If you're not interested in a midrange smartphone but don't want to pay flagship prices either, Qualcomm has a possible solution. The company just unveiled the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor that offers flagship features, but performance just below the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. 

It's built using a 4-nanometer (nm) process with a 1+4+3 core setup (one prime ARM Cortex X4 at 3.0GHz, four performance cores at 2.8Ghz and three 2.0GHz efficiency cores. That compares with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's 1+5+2 setup, so the "s" model swaps a performance core for an efficiency core. The prime core on the flagship chip also runs a bit faster at 3.4Ghz. 

The chip uses a previous-gen X70 5G modem, though it still offers Wi-Fi 7 support. You also get hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic gameplay. 

There's on-device multimodal generative AI that can run large language models (LLMs) with up to 10 billion parameters, meaning it'll support model's like Gemini Nano, along with AI assistants. However, it lacks some AI features found on the 8 Gen 3 chip. It also comes with the always-sensing ISP introduced with the last-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. 

The new chip adds another sub-category to Qualcomm's lineup, particularly if you count the last-gen chips still used in devices like the OnePlus 12R. The chip will appear in Honor, iQOO, Realme, Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones announced later this month — so it'll be interesting to see how they're priced compared to the flagship models. 

Apple’s second-generation Apple Pencil is down to one of the best prices we’ve seen yet in a deal on Amazon. The gen 2 Apple Pencil is going for just $79, in what amounts to a 39 percent discount. It’s normally $129, so this would save you $50 on what is the best stylus for the iPad (as long as you have a compatible model).

The second-generation Apple Pencil is great for artists and note-takers who make heavy use of their iPads. It works with the iPad mini (sixth generation), iPad Air (fourth generation and later), the 12.9-inch iPad Pro from the third generation on, and all 11-inch iPad pro models. When it comes to choosing a stylus for your iPad, you really can’t do any better than the Apple Pencil, as it’s designed specifically to be used with Apple’s tablets. It boasts pressure sensitivity for a more realistic drawing experience and has a hover feature that will preview your pen marks to improve precision.

The second-generation Apple Pencil also has a customizable double-tap feature so you can have easier access to the tools you use the most. It charges wirelessly as well, when it’s magnetically attached to a compatible iPad. Apple’s second-generation Pencil was also designed with a more practical flat edge on either side, so it’s less likely to roll off the table when you set it down.

This model of the Apple Pencil came out a few years ago, but it’s still the best of the current lineup. There have been rumors for months that Apple is planning to release new Apple Pencils, possibly as soon as this spring, but that has yet to be confirmed by the company itself. In the meantime, the second generation Apple Pencil is as cheap as the less feature-rich USB-C Apple Pencil.

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The biggest story this week was TikTok and the US government going at it again, with the house voting in favor of a bill that could force TikTok's parent company to sell to a US owner or face getting banned outright. Don't worry, though; your elected officials didn't waste the chance to embarrass themselves, as usual. Meanwhile, Mike Tyson comes out of retirement to box for Netflix. He'll face-off against Jake Paul, which I feel is best represented by this Punch-Out! tweet.  

This week's stories:

✅🕣⛔️ House passes bill that could ban TikTok

🥊🥊😵 The real fight isn't Tyson vs. Paul — it's Netflix vs. its livestreaming infrastructure

📹🏨 Airbnb to hosts: please stop filming the guests

And read this:

To celebrate this website's 20th anniversary, we're looking back at the products and services that have changed the industry since Engadget's inception on March 2, 2004. I've also been here for over half of its existence. Horrifying. I'd share my not-great first hands-on video for the site, but the footage only lives on through Russian content scrapers. What a shame.

All of the stories live here, but I suggest starting with our stories on how streaming video changed the internet and the game-changer that was (and is) Bluetooth audio.

Confession time: I already have a copy of Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for the PS5 even though I still don't have a PlayStation 5 console. I never get consoles the moment they come out and usually wait a few years for their next version. In the PlayStation 5's case, I thought it was going to be the PS5 Slim, but it looks like I could have another option by the end of the year: The PlayStation 5 Pro. Tom Henderson of Insider Gaming says the PS5 Pro details leaked by the Moore’s Law is Dead YouTube channel came from documentation Sony itself recently sent to third-party developers. 

Take the website's confirmation with a grain of salt, of course, but Henderson has a pretty good track record when it comes to leaks. In 2022, he reported that Sony was working a "genuine professional controller" for the PS5, two months before the DualSense Edge was officially announced. He also revealed that the company was set to release a version of the console with a detachable disc drive a full year before Sony introduced the smaller and lighter PS5 model. 

Based on leaked information on the PS5 Pro so far, it will offer improved and consistent frame rate (FPS) at 4K, as well as a "performance mode" for 8K resolution. It's also expected to be able to render games up to 45 percent quicker and to have ray tracing capabilities that are two to three times faster than its non-pro counterpart. Plus, the documentation Moore’s Law is Dead featured in its video shows that it will have a GPU with 67 Teraflops FP16 (33.5 Teraflops FP32) performance, which indicates faster speeds and better graphics overall.

Henderson says Sony is targeting a holiday release for the PS5 Pro, most likely to take advantage of heightened sales for the season. However, that could still change, depending on whether the company feels there haven't been enough first-party title releases this year.