Snapchat has launched a set of new lenses that you can use to find Halloween costumes for parties and events you're attending this month. These new AR lenses will give you a way to virtually try on costumes from some of the shows and movies in recent history that had helped define pop culture as we know it. And yes, you can purchase them from within the app. The selection includes characters and costumes from Harry Potter, Squid Game, Stranger Things, Hocus Pocus, Transformers, Power Rangers and other titles.
Snap says it conducted a study with consulting firm Ipsos and found that shopping has become the number one reason why people use augmented reality. Indeed, more and more retailers and companies have started offering augmented reality tools that you can use to try on the goods they're selling. Snap itself has been expanding its AR try-on features for a while now and launched the ability for brands to connect their catalogs to their AR Lens experiences on the app back in August. In its announcement, it says it's creating more tools centered around augmented reality shopping.
If you want to shop for Halloween costumes on Snapchat, you only need to take full-body features. Snapchat's computer vision tech will overlay the product image onto your body in the photo, and you can take a Snap and share with friends if you want. You can find the Halloween try-on Lenses in Disguise Costumes' account. Simply search for that username in the app or search for specific show or movie titles in Snapchat's Lens Explorer.
It's not just Tesla that can offer games to play while you're waiting in your car. BMW is teaming up with AirConsole to deliver casual games in its cars starting in 2023. The technology downloads games to your infotainment system, and uses your phone as the controller. This is clearly meant to keep you distracted while you charge your EV, but the automaker sees this as helpful for any time you're waiting in the car — say, to pick someone up at the airport.
BMW didn't say which vehicles were first in line for the gaming upgrade. However, it pitched AirConsole's tech as a 'perfect' fit for the Curved Display already in use in vehicles like the iX.
This isn't quite as flexible as Tesla's approach to games, which lets you play using dedicated controllers and even the car's steering wheel. However, it could still prove valuable if you want to do more while waiting than fiddle with your phone. It's also an acknowledgment that the role of a car's infotainment is shifting in the EV era, when you can spend half an hour at a charging station. They now serve as media hubs that are just as useful when your car is idle.
Google has announced a string of updates for Workspace, including one that may be especially useful for those tasked with recording meeting minutes. Users can already save Google Meet calls as video files and they'll soon get an automatic transcription of their meetings too. You'll be able to receive a transcript in a Google Doc. This feature will be available in English starting this week. Support for French, German, Spanish and Portuguese is coming next year. This follows an expansion of live translated captions for those languages.
Later this month, Google will roll out a Meet feature that will automatically center meeting participants in the frame of their video tile before they join a call. You'll be able to reframe yourself manually at any time.
Google
Looking further ahead, Google revealed two other useful Meet features that will arrive in early 2023. One called "meeting room check-in" will let everyone see a list of all participants, which seems like an overdue update. It will also show the names of multiple people who are joining a call from the same physical conference room.
Meanwhile, the second-screen Companion Mode feature is moving beyond the web, Nest Hub Max and Meet-dedicated hardware to mobile. You'll be able to virtually raise your hand, chat and ask questions from your phone while you're on a call on your computer or tablet.
Elsewhere, Google will support inline threaded conversations in Google Chat starting later this month. It will try to take on the likes of Slack on another front by offering custom emoji later this year.
It's always a good idea to check out the laptops and tablets on sale during Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale. We saw a bunch of great deals for the first shopping event this year back in July, and now for October Prime Day, another swath of discounts has pop up. While buying a laptop from Amazon isn't as flexible as it is when you're buying one directly from the manufacturer, it's still a good way to get your hands on a new machine. You're mostly limited by the number of configurations Amazon has available at the time. So if you want to spec out your new machine to a tee, we recommend going directly to Dell, Razer, Lenovo and other OEMs to do so — but if you're fine with a pre-made model, Amazon can be a good place to get a laptop for less. Here are the best deals on laptops and tablets we found for this October Prime Day.
The previous-generation MacBook Air with the M1 chipset is on sale for a new low of $799. Although the latest model is outfitted with the M2 chip, this version remains a solid, speedy laptop. We gave it a score of 94 for its impressive performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad and fanless design.
The 10.2-inch iPad is down to $269. We gave it a score of 86 for its improved performance, excellent battery life, better front-facing camera and increased base storage.
Apple's latest iPad Air with the M1 chipset is on sale for $519. We gave it a score of 90 for its extremely fast performance, improved front camera and excellent battery life.
Apple's latest iPad mini is $100 off and down to $399 right now. We consider it to be the best small tablet you can get, and it earned a score of 89 from us for its refined design, Center Stage cameras, solid performance and good battery life.
Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chipset is cheaper than ever with a starting price of $899. This version earned a score of 87 from us for its excellent performance, gorgeous screen and new Center Stage cameras.
The Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is $800 off and down to $2,000. The Blade is one of our favorite gaming laptops thanks to its sleek design and strong performance, and this model has a 14-inch QHD display with a 165Hz refresh rate.
Microsoft's 13-inch Surface Laptop 4 is on sale for $899 right now, and you're getting an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for that price. That's a fairly powerful configuration, so the fact that you can get it for less than $1,000 makes it a great deal. We gave the 15-inch model a score of 87 for its speedy performance, great keyboard and excellent battery life.
Acer's Aspire 5 laptop has been discounted by $120, bringing it down to $260. The Aspire 5 series is a solid option for those looking for an affordable Windows laptop. This model on sale includes an 11th-gen Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display.
Lenovo's 2-in-1 Chromebook is $150 off and down to $280, which is a record-low price. This model earned a spot on our list of favorite Chromebooks thanks to its bright touchscreen, backlit keyboard and its combination of USB-C and USB-A ports. The model on sale includes an 11th-gen Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
ASUS's convertible Chromebook is on sale for $350, which is $190 off its usual price and a record low. This particular version has a 14-inch FHD touchscreen, a Core M3 processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
Amazon's Prime Early Access sale may represent an ideal opportunity to snag a high-performance portable. The company is selling Razer's late 2021 Blade 14 gaming laptop for $2,000, or a whopping $800 off. That gets you an eight-core Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, a smooth 165Hz 1440p display, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and, crucially, GeForce RTX 3080 graphics. This is an easy-to-carry machine that can readily handle the latest games.
This Blade 14 configuration isn't using one of the latest Ryzen chips, but it's still a beast that competes well against other gaming laptops, including larger 15- and 16-inch systems. You'll have plenty of ports, and the display is a treat whether or not you're engrossed in the latest action title. Combine this with a 3.9-pound weight and Razer's system might be ideal if you want a do-anything computer that can follow you most anywhere.
There are a few sacrifices. As you might guess, a Ryzen 9 and an RTX 3080 generate a lot of heat in this form factor. The keyboard is a bit cramped, and you'll be stuck with the included RAM. You'll want to look elsewhere if you either game directly on your lap or see yourself requiring 32GB of memory in the future. With this kind of discount, though, you're getting a lot for the money.
In an EV market increasingly populated by SUVs, trucks and the tiny SUVs we call crossovers, it’s refreshing to have another actual electric car option. But the 2022 BMW i4 M50 is more than just a sedan with an EV powertrain shoved inside. It’s a fine-tuning of suspension, chassis and power that should give those looking at future BMW EVs a reason to be excited.
Starting at $67,300, the all-wheel drive performance Gran Coupe delivers M power in a package that’s actually quite comfortable on long road trips. The i4 M50 might take a range hit compared to the regular i4, but if you’re looking for an outstanding driving experience both on the twisties and on the highway, this is definitely worth considering while shopping for your next electric car. If M models aren't quite your speed, BMW recently announced the announced significantly cheaper 2023 i4 eDrive35. That EV arrives in the first quarter of 2023, and will start at $52,395. Watch the video below for the full story on the BMW i4 M50.
If you're ready to upgrade your living room setup before the cold, winter months arrive, Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale has a bunch of deals you should consider. It's not often that most people upgrade their TVs, but this sales event has a number of good discounts on TV sets of all sizes from brands including LG, Samsung, Sony and others. For those that are already happy with their tube, Amazon has also discounted a bunch of home theater gadgets include streaming devices, soundbars and more, so you can upgrade your setup in a different way. Here are the best TV and home entertainment deals we found for this October Prime Day.
The latest Apple TV 4K has dropped to $109. While on the expensive side, it's a set-top box that Apple lovers will appreciate. We gave it a score of 90 for its speedy performance, Dolby Vision and Atmos support and much improved Siri remote.
Amazon's previous-generation Fire TV Cube is on sale for $60, or half off its regular price. It supports 4K streaming, Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus hands-free Alexa controls.
The standard Fire TV Stick is on sale for $20. It supports 1080p streaming with Dolby Atmos and it comes with an Alexa Voice Remote that has power and volume buttons on it.
The Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $25 for October Prime Day, which is half off its normal price. This one supports 4K streaming with Dolby Vision along with Dolby Atmos audio and Amazon's Fire TV OS.
The higher-end Fire TV Stick 4K Max has dropped to $35, which is $20 less than usual and a record low. On top of all of the features in the standard Fire TV Stick 4K, the Max version also supports WiFi 6 and live picture-in-picture viewing.
Roku's Express streaming dongle is on sale for $18, which is $12 off its usual rate. Like Amazon's own budget streaming devices, the Express doesn't have a ton of fancy features, but it does support HD content and it comes with a high-speed HDMI cable. The Express 4K+ streamer is also on sale for $25.
The latest Roku Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $27, or $23 less than normal. It builds upon the technology in the Streaming Stick+, supporting 4K HDR10+ content, Dolby Vision, long-range WiFi, voice search and TV controls with the included remote.
A bunch of Sony OLED TVs sets have been discounted for October Prime Day, key among them being the 55-inch Sony A90J Bravia XR OLED smart TV for $1,798, which is 28 percent off and a record low. This model includes Sony's Cognitive Processor XR, Motion Clarity with a 120Hz refresh rate plus support for Google Assistant and Alexa voice commands.
A number of LG OLED TVs are on sale for Prime Day, with one of the best deals being the 48-inch A1 OLED smart TV for only $645. This is one of the company's more affordable OLED sets and it runs on LG's a7 Gen 4 AI Processor 4K and supports Dolby Vision, HDR10, Game Optimizer and voice controls with Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Plenty of Samsung TVs are on sale for Prime Day, including a 32-inch The Frame model that's coming in at less than $400. The Frame is a good series to consider if you don't want your TV to look like your typical black box when not in use since you can set it to show artwork while it's idle.
Vizio's Elevate soundbar is on sale for $700, or $400 off its normal price. It has multiple speakers inside the main portion that rotate upward whenever you're playing Dolby Atmos or DTS:X content. Plus, the whole system has 18 speakers, including a wireless subwoofer and two satellite surround speakers that you can position anywhere in the room.
Samsung's Premiere ultra-short-throw projector is a whopping $1,000 off and down to $2,498, which is close to its record-low price. This model supports 4K picture, 2,200 lumens of brightness and a built-in smart TV interface that makes it easy to access services like Prime Video and others.
Flying taxi startup Joby Aviation just landed a deal that could make your ride to the airport much more enjoyable. Delta is investing a total of up to $200 million in Joby in exchange for a home-to-airport flight service. Instead of hailing a car or paying for parking, you can have an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft take you to the terminal without the usual traffic hassles.
The service will initially be available to Delta passengers travelling through New York City and Los Angeles, and will operate for at least five years after launch. It will exist alongside Joby's regular airport service in "priority" areas.
This represents a significant boost for Joby. It was the first eVTOL company to get key FAA certifications for airworthiness and carrier service, and now it's signing a "first-of-its-kind" (according to the companies) agreement with a US airline. The move could give Joby an edge over rivals like Archer and Wisk Aero that are waiting for FAA certifications or major commercial partnerships.
Joby has also been growing quickly compared to many competitors. It received $394 million from Toyota in early 2020, and bought Uber's air taxi business late that same year. NASA began flight testing the firm's eVTOLs in summer 2021. Simply put, it's in a good position to make flying taxis a practical reality.
If you have Apple devices on your shopping list for this holiday season, you may be able to save on some of them if you pick them up during Amazon's October Prime Day. The online retailer has knocked down the prices of many Apple gadgets, including AirPods, iPads, MacBooks and more. Since Apple stuff is always in high demand, it's not a bad idea to cross these items off your list early if you can so you're not left gift-less and searching for a last-minute replacement. Here are the best deals on Apple gadgets we found for the Prime Day Early Access Sale.
AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro at $15 off and down to $235 for this October Prime Day. That's the best price we've seen since launch, and we gave them a score of 88 for their improved sound, excellent Transparency Mode and solid ANC.
The original AirPods are down to $90. While they're a bit outdated at this point, these are still decent earbuds that we liked for their improved wireless performance and good battery life.
The latest Apple TV 4K has dropped to $109. While on the expensive side, it's a set-top box that Apple lovers will appreciate. We gave it a score of 90 for its speedy performance, Dolby Vision and Atmos support and much improved Siri remote.
The previous-generation MacBook Air with the M1 chipset is on sale for a new low of $799. Although the latest model is outfitted with the M2 chip, this version remains a solid, speedy laptop. We gave it a score of 94 for its impressive performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad and fanless design.
The 10.2-inch iPad is down to $269. We gave it a score of 86 for its improved performance, excellent battery life, better front-facing camera and increased base storage.
The latest Apple Watch is on sale for $349, or $50 off its normal price. That's the cheapest we've seen the Series 8 since launch, and we like that it's very much like the Series 7, but with added features like car crash support and an added skin temperature sensor.
You can pick up the Apple Watch SE for only $199 right now. If you've never had a wearable before, this is the Apple Watch to get. We gave it a score of 88 for its comfortable design and responsible performance.
Apple's latest iPad Air with the M1 chipset is on sale for $519. We gave it a score of 90 for its extremely fast performance, improved front camera and excellent battery life.
Apple's latest iPad mini is $100 off and down to $399 right now. We consider it to be the best small tablet you can get, and it earned a score of 89 from us for its refined design, Center Stage cameras, solid performance and good battery life.
Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chipset is cheaper than ever with a starting price of $899. This version earned a score of 87 from us for its excellent performance, gorgeous screen and new Center Stage cameras.
One part of Google may have given up on cloud gaming, with Stadia set to be discontinued in a few months. But on the ChromeOS team, there’s a whole new initiative to try and push back on the whole “you can’t game on a Chromebook” thing. Today, Google — along with a handful of hardware and software partners — are announcing what it calls “the world’s first laptops built for cloud gaming.”
Stripping back the hyperbole, what does this mean in practice? After all, the whole point of cloud gaming is that you don’t need superpowered hardware to enjoy high-quality games — many existing Chromebooks can run cloud gaming services just fine. That said, the new laptops announced today are quite a bit different than your average Chromebook.
At a high level, Google says that it focused on a handful of hardware features to differentiate these laptops, including large displays with high refresh rates, keyboards with anti-ghosting tech (and RBG keyboards in some cases), WiFi 6/6E cards and generally high specs.
Three new laptops from ASUS, Acer and Lenovo
Acer
ASUS, Acer and Lenovo all announced new computers today as part of this push. First, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE features a 16-inch IPS screen with a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, along with an RBG anti-ghosting keyboard and 12th-gen Intel processors (up to a Core i7). It’s also equipped with a gigabit ethernet port, two USB-C ports, a USB-A port and HDMI. Finally, it has DTS audio via two upward-facing speakers and two more downward-facing speakers on the underside of the laptop. Acer will offer a number of configurations, but the first will be at Best Buy this month for $650 — it’ll include a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage via its NVMe SSD.
ASUS’ offering is a little different — the Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip has a 15.6-inch display that maxes out at 1080p, but it’s a touchscreen and it has an even higher 144Hz refresh rate. As the name suggests, the CX55 can flip around into “tablet” and “tent” modes, like many other ASUS Chromebooks. It doesn’t have RGB lighting on the keyboard, but it does have a rather distinctive orange trim, including around the crucial WASD keys; it also has 1.4mm of travel.
Specs-wise, the CX55 uses 11th-generation Intel processors; you can get it with an i3, i5 or i7. The i3 model is paired with Intel UHD graphics, while the i5 and i7 models use Intel’s Iris X graphics. It’ll have either 8GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Unsurprisingly, the CX55 also has two USB-C ports as well as USB-A and HDMI ports. The laptop will come out this month as well, and Google said in a briefing that pricing would start at $399 — we don’t know what specs that includes, but it’s probably safe to assume it’s the i3 model.
Lenovo
Lenovo’s IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook has a fair bit in common with Acer’s device. It has a 16-inch display with a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate as well as an RGB, anti-ghosting keyboard with 1.5mm of travel. Processors include 12th-generation Intel Core i3 or Core i5 options, plus 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage (the base configuration starts with 128GB). The port selection is a bit more limited — it only offers two USB-C ports, one USB-A port and a MicroSD slot. Like the other two laptops, the IdeaPad Gaming Chromebook will launch this month; it starts at $599.
Software, gaming services and peripheral partnerships
Google
Naturally, software and game access is perhaps just as important as the hardware here. As such, Google has partnerships with NVIDIA, Amazon and Microsoft to ensure its devices work with GeForce Now, Luna and Xbox Game Pass out of the box. The NVIDIA partnership is probably the most significant, as the company is bringing GeForce Now's high-performance RTX 3080 tier to Chromebooks for the first time — this means games will play in up to 1600p resolution at 120 fps with ray tracing enabled (assuming the game supports these specs, of course). NVIDIA also made a progressive web app (PWA) so you can laugh directly into GeForce Now from your Chromebook’s dock or launcher.
Microsoft also made a PWA for Game Pass, but everything works the same as running Game Pass on a PC — assuming you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can stream any Game Pass title to your Chromebook. Similarly, an Amazon Luna subscription gives you access to a rotating selection of over 100 games.
Google is also optimizing ChromeOS to make directly launching games easier. When you hit the “everything” search button on your Chromebook, you can just type in the name of the game you want to play and launch it directly, as if it were natively installed. For starters, this will only work with the GeForce Now catalog (as well as apps on Google Play), but Google says it wants to add this search feature for other services as well.
To make sure that anyone checking out these Chromebooks can start playing immediately, Lenovo, Acer and ASUS are all including a three-month subscription to GeForce Now RTX 3080 tier as well as three months of Amazon Luna+. The ASUS option also includes a free SteelSeries Rival 3 gaming mouse, as well.
Speaking of mice, Google also partnered with companies like SteelSeries, Corsair and HyperX (as well as Lenovo and Acer) to make sure their gaming-focused peripherals work with Chromebooks. This includes making sure these peripherals can have their settings fine-tuned in ChromeOS, in some cases via PWAs.
Do gaming Chromebooks have a shot?
It’s fair to wonder how much traction Google’s latest initiative will get. Chromebooks have found a lot of success in education and (to a lesser extent) enterprise settings, but the idea of a full-fledged push to get people gaming on a Chromebook is a pretty major shift. That said, I’m impressed by the pricing on these models — there aren’t a lot of Chromebooks with large, high-resolution screens with high refresh rates. Generally speaking, it sounds like you get a lot of bang for your buck with these models compared to some other premium ChromeOS devices. Naturally, these laptops are a big bigger and heavier than the standard 13-inch Chromebook, but that’s a tradeoff that might work for some people.
Google is also putting a big advertising and awareness push being this strategy, and it’s not tied to a single product like Stadia. Given that Google is being service-agnostic, these laptops should provide a very good cloud gaming experience for the foreseeable future, even if Google doesn’t stick with its cloud gaming push long term. And with other initiatives like Steam for ChromeOS moving forward (Google said it should enter beta soon), it's fair to say the company seems focused on removing the longstanding notion that you can't play games on a Chromebook.
