As November inches closer, we're starting to see even more early Black Friday deals on gadgets crop up across the web. Roku products are the latest to be discounted: the Roku Streambar is down to $100 at both Amazon and Best Buy, and both retailers also have the Roku Ultra for only $69. Those are all-time low prices that are worth jumping on if you have streaming devices on your gift list this year.
The Roku Streambar would make a great gift for anyone who wants to up their living-room sound game. The compact soundbar will blow most built-in TV speakers out of the water, and it supports Dolby Audio, too. It also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker, so you could use it to pump out tunes during your next gathering.
While you could just use the Streambar for its sound chops, it also includes the same streaming tech as the Roku Ultra. That means it plays 4K HDR content, gives you access to all major streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video and others, and it comes with Roku's voice remote. Whether you're eyeing the Streambar for someone on your list or for yourself, it's a solid, affordable way to upgrade your home theater system.
For those that already have a capable soundbar, the Roku Ultra focuses on the streaming aspect of things by playing 4K HDR10+ content along with Dolby Vision content. It has the best WiFi capabilities of any Roku streaming device and it has an Ethernet port so you can hardwire it into your setup if you wish. Its voice remote also supports private listening if you connect a pair of headphones as well.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Ikea may soon release a new Bluetooth "Vappeby" speaker with a couple of interesting twists, according to an FCC filing spotted by The Verge. It also functions as a lamp, for one thing, with an integrated 2700K bulb. More interestingly, it could be the first Bluetooth speaker with a Spotify Tap button that lets you quickly resume your music from where you last left off.
Ikea
Spotify Tap launched last month and is available on Bluetooth headphones from "Samsung, Microsoft Surface, Bose, Skullcandy, and Jabra, with even more brands coming later this year and in 2022," Spotify said. However, it doesn't appear to have appeared in any Bluetooth speakers yet.
Ikea already has a range of Vappeby Bluetooth speakers ranging from $25 to $90 (known as Eneby in the US), but they're box-shaped models and none double as lamps. With an IP65 dust, rain and low-pressure water rating, the new model looks to be designed for outdoor use at barbecues, parties, etc. There's no pricing as it's not yet official from Ikea, but an FCC clearance means it could hit stores soon.
When AMD announced the Radeon RX 6600 XT a few months ago, it was positioned as the ideal 1080p gaming card, with the potential to offer decent 1,440p performance in certain games. Now there's the lower-tier RX 6600 and the story is pretty much the same — except, you know, worse. I suppose the existence of an "XT" card implies a more mainstream version eventually. But after testing out the RX 6600 for the past week, I'm still wondering who this card is for.
Of course, that's a tough question to answer when the GPU market is so volatile and card prices vary wildly. AMD says the RX 6600's suggested retail price is $329, compared to $379 for the 6600XT. But given the global chip shortage and resellers hungry for more GPUs, those prices are purely conceptual. In the real world, the 6600XT now sells for upwards of $600 (and in some cases close to $800!). The 6600 is also competing against the RTX 3060, which also has an MSRP of $329, but is now selling between $800 and $1,020. So much for budget GPUs.
AMD, a company with a reputation for creating budget-friendly cards that packed a decent punch, probably wanted to stay true to its roots. But unless it can guarantee a price close to MSRP, the RX 6600 just seems out of place in today's gaming landscape. As you'll see in our testing, it's a capable 1080p gaming card. But its ray tracing performance is terrible, and it can't take advantage of NVIDIA's DLSS technology, which uses AI to boost performance.
I'll be honest, I didn't really expect much from the RX 6600 from the start. Under the hood, its RDNA 2 architecture is powered by 28 compute units and 1,792 stream processors, a noticeable step down from the 6600XT's 32 CUs and 2,048 stream processors. There's also a serious speed difference: the cheaper card has 2,044 MHz game clock and 2,491 MHz boost, compared to 2,359 MHz while gaming on the 6600 XT and a 2,589 MHz boost. Both cards have 8GB of GDDR6 RAM, but the 6600's memory bandwidth is 34 GB/s slower at 224 GB/s.
3DMark TimeSpy
Destiny 2
Hitman 3
Port Royal (ray tracing)
AMD Radeon RX 6600
8,521
1080p: 110-120 | 1440p: 75-85
1080p: 138 | 1440p: 94
3,846/17fps
AMD Radeon RX 6600XT
9,872
1080p: 130-150 | 1440p: 85-105
1080p: 146 | 1440p: 110
4,5824/32.22fps
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
11,198
1440p: 75-100fps
4K: 50-75fps
N/A
5,920/27.4fps
NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti
11,308
1440p: 85-110fps
4K: 45-60fps
N/A
6,989/32.36fps
Given those specs, I predicted the RX 6600 would be a decent 1080p card and not much else. And for the most part, that's what my testing proved: It reached a solid 120FPS in Destiny 2 while playing in 1080p with maxed out graphics. Once I pushed the game to 1,440p, though, it fell to 80fps. That pattern held true for pretty much everything I tested. Hitman 3's benchmark reached a respectable 138fps in 1080p with graphics settings cranked to the maximum, but only 94fps in 1,440p.
If you've got an AMD Ryzen 5000 CPU (or some 3000 models), the RX 6600 will be a slight upgrade thanks to Smart Access Memory. That's a feature that basically lets your CPU directly address all of your video card's RAM, and it's something you can't use at all if you've got an Intel CPU. I had SAM enabled on my testing rig, which was powered by a Ryzen 7 5800X and 32GB of RAM, in case you were wondering.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
Both the Radeon RX 6600 and 6600 XT had a hard time competing against their NVIDIA counterparts in our benchmarks. The RTX 3060 Ti reached 11,308 in 3DMark Time Spy, whereas the 6600 XT hit 9,872 and the 6600 trailed behind with a score of 8,521. I didn't have an RTX 3060 on-hand to test, but 3DMark's verified benchmarks with similar systems show scores of around 10,000.
Ray tracing was also a lost cause with the 6,600 — just flipping on ray traced reflections in Control slowed the game to a meager 35fps. Without ray tracing, it was at least playable in 1080p, hitting between 60 and 70fps. Now Control is a notoriously tough game on GPUs, but at least NVIDIA cards let me get decent framerates with ray tracing thanks to DLSS, which uses AI processing to upscale the game from a lower resolution. AMD's alternative technology, FidelityFX Super Resolution, isn't supported in Control yet. That solution is also cross-compatible with NVIDIA cards, so you won't need a Radeon GPU to take advantage of it — which again makes me wonder, why would you get the RX 6600 instead of the 3060?
I could see it being a worthwhile card for a very specific gamer: Someone who has a small case and doesn't want to upgrade beyond a 450 watt power supply. The RX 6600 has a total board power demand of 132 watts, compared to 170 watts on the RTX 3060. That's a major reason why it runs so cool, reaching only around 70 celsius under load (the 3060 typically runs between 70 and 75 celsius when stressed). Still, I can't imagine that someone who wants to shell out $329 for a GPU (and realistically much more), would limit themselves based on a weak power supply.
Devindra Hardawar/Engadget
A good PC upgrade is one that'll last you for years, and, unfortunately, I can't imagine that'll be true of the RX 6600. Solid 1080p performance is a nice feature to have today, but 1,440p monitors are getting cheaper and games are becoming more demanding. Who knows if the 6600 will be able to handle a flagship title in a few years even at 1080p. And if you end up upgrading to a 1,440p, ultrawide, or 4K screen over the next few years, you'll have to upgrade immediately.
The Radeon RX 6600 could be a decent contender if the GPU market stabilizes and AMD pushes the price below $300. But for now, it’s a misfire that only makes sense if you can’t get your hands on an RTX 3060.
Apple’s second fall product event kicks off later today at 1 PM ET. We’ve laid out what to expect, but it’s not the only big tech event week. Spare a thought for some of our staff, who will go straight from Apple reportage into Google.
Yep, Tuesday October 19th is Google’s Pixel 6 event. While we know what the phone will look like — and some of its specifications — expect to see some software surprises. We’ve pulled together everything we know into an event preview story right here.
The biggest question remains: How much will the new Pixel 6 cost? Will it be a humbly priced (and specced) device, like the Pixel 5, or something to challenge iPhones and Galaxy devices?
Shooting for the first feature-length movie in space has wrapped. Russian actress Yulia Pereslid, producer Klim Shipenko and cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy have returned to Earth after the first two spent 12 days filming their movie The Challenge aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov were originally slated to return aboard the Soyuz capsule, but they’ve both had their stays extended by six months to accommodate the film producers. Vande Hei will set a record for the longest spaceflight by a US astronaut as a result, spending exactly one year in orbit.
You may soon be able to try McDonald's plant-based burgers. The fast-food chain will offer the McPlant at eight restaurants across the US, starting on November 3rd. It's a limited-time trial run for the burger, and it's supposed to help the company figure out how offering the item will impact kitchen operations. It’s worth noting that because it’s cooked on the same grill as meat and egg products, it's not classified as vegan.
McDonald's didn't mention the exact store locations of the stores trialing the McPlant, but it said they’re in Irving and Carrollton, Texas; Cedar Falls, Iowa; Jennings and Lake Charles, Louisiana and El Segundo and Manhattan Beach, California.
Analogue's Pocket handheld won't arrive until late this year, but the company has detailed AnalogueOS, the platform both Pocket and future Analogue devices will run on, pitching as the "definitive" OS for retro games.
Rather than simply play cartridge games, the Pocket and future hardware will tap a library of all the useful data surrounding a game, ranging from box art and publisher data to guides.
The Financial Times reports nine schools in the UK will start taking payments for school lunches by scanning students' faces. The technology should help minimize touch during the pandemic but is mainly meant to speed up transaction times.
CRB Cunningham, the company behind the tech, as well as the schools, argue the systems would address privacy and security concerns. The company said its hardware wasn't using live facial recognition (actively scanning crowds) and was checking against encrypted faceprint templates — though I’m not sure that addresses the concerns.
The schools were already using fingerprint readers, too, so this was more of a shift in biometric technology than a brand new layer of security.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes the chips for the widely expected 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models have surfaced in developer app logs under the names "M1 Pro" and "M1 Max." It's not certain Apple will use these names for its high-end silicon, but they suggest Apple won't go with M1X. Earlier rumors hinted at two processors destined for the new MacBook Pros. For everything we’re expecting from Apple’s big event, check out our preview story.
Microsoft will start shipping its Xbox Series X Mini Fridge in time for the holidays. The company said the fridge costs $100 and pre-orders start on October 19th. It will ship in December.
The mini-fridge has its roots in an image Xbox tweeted to show the scale of the Xbox Series X versus a full-sized fridge. Microsoft actually made a six-foot fridge last year to promote the launch of the console, but this one’s a little more manageable.
At its HHTD21 event, Foxconn unveiled three electric vehicle prototypes including two sedans and an electric bus, according to a Nikkei report and YouTube video. The company said it is "no longer the new kid in town" when it comes to EVs, and aims to develop a business worth up to $NT 1 trillion, or around $36 billion per year.
Foxconn developed the EV prototypes under the Foxtron brand in collaboration with Taiwan's Yulon Motor. The latter has its own brand (Luxgen) and manufactures Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles for the local market. The prototypes include a luxury sedan, SUV and transit bus, labeled the Model E, Model C and Model T, respectively.
The vehicles are based on Foxconn's open software and hardware platform, MIH Consortium. They're essentially designed as kits, serving as reference designs that EV brands can mass produce to their own specifications.
The Model T bus could hit roads as early as next year (hopefully under a different name), with a projected range of 400 km and top speed of 120 km/h (75 MPH). It also includes technology like pedestrian warnings, advanced temperature management and high crashworthiness, according to Taiwan News.
Foxtron's Model C is an electric SUV that will be available in Taiwan by 2023 with high efficiency and zippy 3.8 second 0-to-62 MPH speeds. It's expected to cost below $NT 1 million ($35,700), said Foxconn chairperson Young Liu. The Model E, a luxury performance sedan designed in partnership with Pininfarina, will enter the market at a later, unspecified date. It will offer 750 horsepower and deliver a 0-62 MPH time of 2.8 seconds, along with a 750 km range. Yulon will be among the first EV makers to use the designs, said chairperson Lilian Chen.
Foxtron said it aims to capitalize on a trend of producing EVs close to the markets where they're sold in order to keep costs down. The company plans to build EV factories in the US, and recently announced that it would acquire troubled Lordstown's Ohio manufacturing plant. It aims to manufacture Lordstown's Endurance pickup truck at the plant, and build Fisker EVs in the complex by late 2023. Foxconn said it would announce details of its EV production plans for Europe soon.
Sony's WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones received one of Engadget's highest review scores ever thanks to the immersive sound quality, powerful ANC and other features. If the $350 price has given you pause, however, Amazon is now offering them for $248 ($102 off) in black, blue and silver — matching the best price we've seen yet on that model.
The WH-1000XM4s deliver great sound quality with punchy bass, along with ANC that blocks out more noise than rivals across the entire frequency curve. They also offer multi-device connectivity and Speak-to-Chat, which automatically pauses audio when you talk. An update earlier this year brought support for Sony's 360 Reality Audio that offers a similar surround-sound experience to Dolby Atmos. You'll get around 30 hours on a charge and you can eke another five hours from a quick 10-minute charge.
If $248 is still a bit much, Amazon has an even better deal on Sony's budget WH-CH710N model. They're now available for $78 in black or blue (57 percent off the regular $180 price), again tying the best deal we've seen on Amazon.
These models don't offer the same sound quality and level of noise cancellation as the WH-1000XM4s, of course. However, they made our 2021 top headphone list under the "best budget" category thanks to decent audio range and good clarity. Thanks to the dual noise sensor technology, they also offer enough sound-blocking power to reduce distractions. Other features include an ambient-sound option so you can keep tabs on what's going on around you, plus 35 hours of battery life, a quick charge feature and onboard controls.
Netflix has always closely guarded the exact streaming metrics that may reveal why programs are considered a success... or cancelled. That black box cracked open a bit with documents obtained by Bloomberg detailing the company's scores for "impact value" and "efficiency." An example of that is Squid Game, which generated $891.1 million in impact value on a budget of just $21.4 million for an efficiency of 41.7X, according to Bloomberg's latest report.
The documents first came to light with Dave Chappelle's controversial special after the company fired an employee for supposedly leaking confidential information about the show's viewing data. (That employee reportedly spoke out against leaks to colleagues, according to The Verge.) Those metrics revealed that Chapelle's previous special, Sticks & Stones, generated slightly less impact value than it cost to make, according to Bloomberg.
Other figures showed that around 132 million people watched at least two minutes of Squid Game in the first 23 days, beating a record set by Bridgerton. Netflix occasionally releases similar information for certain shows, but it doesn't disclose how many people stuck with or finished shows — which can often inflate figures compared to typical TV ratings.
According to Bloomberg, however, Netflix estimated that 89 percent of people who started Squid Game watched at least 75 minutes, or more than one episode, and 87 million people finished it in the first 23 days (66 percent). Viewers watched 1.4 billion hours of the show in total.
An attorney representing Netflix told Bloomberg that it would not be appropriate to disclose confidential data contained in documents it reviewed. "Netflix does not discuss these metrics outside the company and takes significant steps to protect them from disclosure," the attorney said.
If Facebook is going to become a "metaverse company," it's going to need talent — and more of that talent is on the horizon. The social network has unveiled plans to add 10,000 "high-skilled" jobs across the European Union over five years to build its virtual and augmented reality experiences. The recruiting drive will hire workers in countries including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
Facebook characterized the move as a "vote of confidence" in the European tech sector. It has a large customer base, of course, but the social media company also pointed to bleeding-edge teams in multiple fields as well as "first class" university education. Facebook even touted the EU's "leading" policies on issues like freedom of speech, privacy and transparency despite the firm's run-ins with regulators.
The tech giant already has a Reality Labs office in Cork, Ireland, and has opened an AI research lab in France. In 2019, Facebook partnered with the Technical University of Munich to create an AI ethics research center.
As with many jobs announcements, this is as much a public relations move as it is a practical investment. It may 'remind' the EU of Facebook's economic contribution and influence relevant policies. Nonetheless, the move hints at the long-term scale of the metaverse transition — Facebook is changing its overall direction, not just shuffling a few resources.
Facial recognition may soon play a role in your child's lunch. The Financial Timesreports that nine schools in the UK's North Ayrshire will start taking payments for canteen (aka cafeteria) lunches by scanning students' faces. The technology should help minimize touch during the pandemic, but is mainly meant to speed up transaction times. That could be important when you may have roughly 25 minutes to serve an entire school of hungry kids.
Both the schools and system installer CRB Cunningham argued the systems would address privacy and security concerns. CRB Cunningham noted its hardware wasn't using live facial recognition (actively scanning crowds), and was checking against encrypted faceprint templates. Schools were already using fingerprint readers, too, so this was more of a shift in biometric technology than a brand new layer of security. There were also concerns about fraud using conventional PINs — facial recognition is theoretically safer. North Ayrshire's council added that 97 percent of children or parents had offered consent.
That won't satisfy some critics, though. Big Brother Watch and England's Biometrics Commissioner both maintained that facial recognition was arbitrary. There was a concern that school rollouts might normalize face scanning and numb students to privacy concerns. If you grow up with this technology, you might not object when it crops up at airports or music festivals.
You might not see this spread to the US and other countries given mounting opposition. However, it's safe to say many will be watching the UK school rollout to gauge both the viability of facial recognition and its real-world pitfalls.
Tesla delivered its redesigned Tesla Model S interior in early 2021, and now Model X buyers are finally getting their turn. Electrek and TMC forum member Sunnyvaletree report that Tesla has started delivering the revised Model X to customers, holding at least one event to mark the occasion. As you might guess, this effectively drags the electric crossover into the modern era with a landscape touchscreen display up front, a smaller display in the back and overall interior quality improvements that are more befitting a nearly $94,000 vehicle.
The EVs at the event were six-seaters, although it's not clear if that's the only configuration shipping first. There appear to be Model X Plaid units driving near Tesla's Fremont factory.
The deliveries are good news for buyers who've wanted the space and luxury of the Model X over the 'frugal' Model Y. However, they also underscore the effect of chip shortages on Tesla's production. On top of the late arrivals for early adopters, new shoppers will face very lengthy delays. Order a Model X Plaid as of this writing and you'll have to wait until July 2022; spring for the lower-cost Long Range variant and you'll wait until September 2022. It could be a long, long while before you can simply buy the current Model X design and expect to receive it in a timely fashion.
