If you've been eyeballing a 2nd-generation Google Nest Hub but can't stomach the regular $100 price tag, there's good news. It's now on sale for just $55 or 45 percent off at B&H Photo Video, matching one of the lowest prices we've seen to date. B&H also has other Nest devices on sale including the Google Nest Audio ($60 or $40 off), Nest Hub Max ($169 or $60 off) and Nest Mini at just $30, for a savings of $20. 

The Nest Hub earned a score of 89 in our review for good reason. It has a minimalist design, a bright 7-inch display, clearer and louder audio than its predecessor and faster performance as well. It's just the right size to fit into any room and can act as a second screen for your video doorbell or even track your sleep from your bedside table. While it may not be as accurate as a slumber-focused wearable, the Nest Hub will show you sleep duration, quality, schedules and snoring data (if that's something you're after).

If it's just a smart speaker you're after and don't need a screen, you may want the Google Nest Audio instead, on sale for $60 or 40 percent off. It has an unassuming yet attractive design, plus great audio quality that's made even better if you pair two of them together and use them in stereo mode. It also functions as a Google Assistant device, giving you the forecast, control of smart home gadgets, music capabilities and more. 

Next up is the Nest Hub Max, available for $169 or $60 off. It's the biggest of Google's smart displays with the best sound quality, thanks to a 10-inch display large enough to comfortably watch YouTube or Netflix videos, or even take a Zoom call. Inside are stereo speakers that help the Hub Max sound better than any other Nest smart display, making it a good option if you want an all-in-one device to stream videos, listen to music and control devices like smart lights, cameras, thermostats and more.

And finally if budget is an issue, the Nest Mini is on sale for just $30, for a savings of $20. It offers the same functionality as Google Nest Audio, but without the same sound quality, of course. Still, it gives you a smart speaker with Google Assistant powers on the cheap for a spare or a kids room. 

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In a piece examining what the NVIDIA Broadcast can do, we praised its noise removal capability for being "impressively adept" at stripping away everything but your voice. Now, AMD has launched a similar tool for computers powered by its chips, and it could vastly improve your gaming and live streaming experience or lead to cleaner recordings. AMD's Noise Suppression tool can reduce background chatter and sounds in real time through the use of a deep learning algorithm. 

The feature works for both input and output devices, which means it can not only suppress noise captured on your mic, but also noise coming from someone else's. It can help you stay focused if you're in a meeting or attending online classes, for instance, because it can block the sounds of somebody's barking dog or crying baby in the background.

That said, Noise Suppression is only available for computers with Ryzen 5000 series and newer processors, as well as for systems with Radeon RX 6000 series and newer graphics cards. If you know your computer has the components needed to access the feature, make sure to upgrade to the latest version of AMD Software before heading to the Settings page. 

Under Audio Settings in the Audio & Video tab, you'll see a toggle to enable the feature. You can also choose to switch it on for either your input or your output device or for both of them at the same time. The next time you fire up a game or a communications app, such as Microsoft Teams or Slack, you can take advantage of the benefits of the noise suppression tool, so long as you select the "AMD Streaming Device" option as your input and/or output device.

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company based in China, used its now-defunct news app called TopBuzz to spread pro-China messages, according to BuzzFeed News. Former employees who worked at the English-language news aggregator told the publication that ByteDance ordered staff members to "pin" content that showed China in a positive light or content that promoted the country to the top of the app. They were even reportedly required to provide proof, such as screenshots of the live content, to show that they had complied with the company's orders. TopBuzz managed to reach 40 million monthly active users by 2018.

The content the former employees helped promote included panda videos, along with videos endorsing travel to China. At least one staff member also remember pinning a video featuring a white man talking about the benefits of moving his startup to the country. As one of the former employees put it, the content ByteDance wanted them to promote wasn't anything overtly political and took more of a soft sell approach. However, they added: "Let’s be real, this was not something you could say no to." 

In addition to promoting pro-China content, former staff members claimed that TopBuzz had a review system that would flag reports on the Chinese government for removal. They said the flagged content included coverage of Hong Kong protests, pieces that mention President Xi Jinping and even those that reference Winnie the Pooh. Some employees also said that content depicting openly LGBTQ+ people were removed at times.

A ByteDance spokesperson denied the former employees' claims and called them "false and ridiculous." In a statement sent to BuzzFeed, they said:

"The claim that TopBuzz — which was discontinued years ago — pinned pro-Chinese government content to the top of the app or worked to promote it is false and ridiculous. TopBuzz had over two dozen top tier US and UK media publishing partners, including BuzzFeed, which clearly did not find anything of concern when performing due diligence."

While TopBuzz was shut down back in June 2020, TikTok is very much alive and well. Authorities and critics have long been worried that ByteDance would use TikTok to spread pro-China propaganda in the US, and we're guessing that these new claims won't be assuaging anybody's fears. Another BuzzFeed News report published in June shed light on how ByteDance employees in China had repeatedly accessed private information on TikTok users in the US. The company quickly migrated US user traffic to a new Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, but FCC commissioner Brendan Carr called on Apple and Google to ban the app "for its pattern of surreptitious data practices" anyway.

CNN's Brian Stelter previously asked TikTok's head of public policy for the Americas, Michael Beckerman, on whether the app could be used to influence politics and culture in the US. Beckerman replied that TikTok is "not the go-to place for politics" and that "the primary thing that people are coming and using TikTok for is entertainment and joyful and fun content." As BuzzFeed News notes, though, a lot of young people now use TikTok as their primary source of information, including politics and breaking news.

We hope you weren't using Meta's experimental Tuned app to keep your relationship fires burning. Gizmodoreports Meta is shutting down Tuned on September 19th, and that sign-up attempts for the couple-oriented app now produce errors. The company wasn't shy about its reasons for the move. In a statement to Engadget, a spokesperson said Meta's New Product Experimentation team winds down apps if they "aren’t sticking."

Meta's (then Facebook's) NPE Team launched Tuned in April 2020 to give partners a "private space" where they could share feelings, love notes, challenges and music streams. The timing was apt (if unintentional) given the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In theory, this helped distant couples cement their bonds when they couldn't connect in person.

It's not certain how many people used the app, though. While Meta brought the initially iOS-only software to Android and said there were "many couples" who used Tuned to get closer, there's little doubt Tuned remained a niche product compared to the likes of Facebook or Instagram. There's a good chance you're hearing about this app for the first time, after all. We'd add that there wasn't much point when you could text, video chat or otherwise use existing services to accomplish many of the same goals.

You might have seen this coming. Meta has routinely shut down experimental apps, and has even axed higher-profile apps when they didn't gain traction. These closures help the company save resources and focus on more popular platforms. As it stands, Tuned was increasingly an outlier for a tech giant shifting its attention from social networking to the metaverse.

Sony is finally ready to share early details of PlayStation VR2's software experience, not just the hardware. The company has previewed a few key features for its PS5 VR headset, including livestreaming support. If you have a PS5 HD Camera, you can broadcast both gameplay and a view of yourself. As you might guess, that could be helpful for Twitch streamers, YouTubers and others who want to share their PSVR2 footage without relying on capture cards and green screens.

The company also explained how it will handle non-VR content. The PSVR2 headset will offer a 1080p "Cinematic Mode" that displays the PS5 interface and conventional games on a virtual screen at refresh rates between 24Hz and 120Hz. This is a very familiar experience if you've used VR before, but it will still be helpful if you'd rather not remove your headset to change system settings. Native VR content displays at 4,000 x 2040 with a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate.

 Other known features exist primarily to prevent accidents. A "see-through" mode lets you quickly peek at the room to avoid a collision or find your controllers. You can also define a customized play area that will warn if you're too close to the couch or TV. This also isn't a novel concept, but it could prove crucial to apartment dwellers and anyone else with limited space for walk-around VR experiences.

There are still many more unknowns, such as the VR-native interface. Sony has promised that developers will "soon" have access to this latest experience, though, and it has teased upcoming details for the release date and more games. Don't be shocked if you hear considerably more about PSVR2 in the near future.

Amazon's smallest smart display is back on sale at one of the best prices we've seen. If you missed the chance to pick up the Echo Show 5 on Prime Day, you can get it now for only $40. That's 53 percent off its normal price and only $5 more than it was during Amazon's two-day shopping event. You're getting the most up-to-date model here, which is the 2021 version with a 2MP camera for video calls. The kids version of the gadget has also been discounted to $50, which is nearly half off its regular rate.

We've recommended the Echo Show 5 many times in the past as a solid, compact smart display that also works well as a smart alarm clock. You may not have a ton of space for another gadget on your desk, nightstand or countertop, but the Show 5 should be able to fit even in the most cramped spaces. It has a 5.5-inch, 960 x 480 resolution display that will show things like weather forecasts, calendar events, photos and more. The 2MP camera can be used to video chat with friends and family, but it can also be used as a makeshift security camera of sorts. When you're out of the house, you can access the camera to check out what's going on in your home. And if you prefer not to use the camera at all, the Show 5 has a built-in camera shutter (along with a mic mute button) to give you more privacy.

We were impressed by the Show 5's audio quality as well. While you won't get as rich sound as you would on a dedicated speaker, the Show 5 pumps out good audio and gets pretty loud, too. If you have the Show 5 on your nightstand, you can use it as a smart alarm clock and make use of the gadget's tap-to-snooze feature, which lets you silence the alarm with just a touch to the top of the device. Ultimately, the Echo Show 5 is one of the most affordable ways to get Alexa into your home when it's on sale like this. It's currently the same price as the Echo Dot, so if you prefer to have a screen to see certain information or to do things like check security camera feeds, follow along with recipe videos and the like, the Echo Show 5 is the better buy.

The Echo Show 5 Kids is essentially the same as the standard smart display, but it comes in fun colors and gives you one year of access to Amazon Kids+. It's the company's subscription service that includes a bunch of child-friendly videos, games, books and more, and a lot of them can be accessed directly on the Show 5. Also, the kids version has more advanced parental controls, so you can set usage limits and bed times, review activity and otherwise keep track of how your child can use the gadget.

If you'd rather skip the display and opt for a gadget with even better sound quality, the full-sized Echo remains on sale for $60. That's a record low and a return to its Prime Day price. It's been one of our favorite smart speakers since it came out in 2020 thanks to its great audio quality, 3.5mm jack for optional input and output, plus its ability to play stereo sound when you pair two of them together.

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Sometimes the headline says it all: A chess-playing robot accidentally broke the finger of its seven-year-old opponent during an exhibition match in Moscow. The child apparently moved his piece too soon, and the robot grabbed his finger and squeezed it, resulting in a fracture.

A video shows the robot grabbing the boy's finger and holding it for several seconds before a group of people come to free him.

The boy competed the next day, finishing the tournament. His parents, however, have reportedly contacted the public prosecutor's office. Russian chess official Sergey Smagin downplayed the incident, calling it "a coincidence" and saying the machine was "absolutely safe." Which I’m not sure is true.

— Mat Smith

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Anker's third-gen GaN chargers have improved temperature monitoring

The initial line-up of GaNPrime devices: 5 products and a power bank.

Anker has revealed its third-generation gallium nitride (GaN) chargers, barely a year after the previous batch. The company is branding the new line-up of power bricks and portable chargers as GaNPrime. Anker said it worked with several partners to create products that last longer and are more sustainable. It claims GaNPrime is the "most intelligent, most powerful and greenest multi-device charging system ever created."

Continue reading.

Intel strikes a deal to manufacture MediaTek’s chips

Its foundries will add 'significant capacity' for MediaTek in North America and Europe.

Intel and MediaTek have formed a strategic partnership to build chips. The aim is to ensure MediaTek has a "more balanced, resilient supply chain," with added capacity in the US and Europe. It looks like Intel won’t be building chips for smartphones but for less glamorous devices used in industrial computing, medical devices and internet-of-things applications.

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The NFL+ streaming service arrives today starting at $40 per year

It's more affordable than Game Pass but has some viewing restrictions.

NFL

NFL+ gives you access to live football streams and ad-free library content through the NFL App and the web, starting at $40 per year or $5 per month. Spend $80 per year or $10 per month on NFL+ Premium and you also get ad-free match replays. There are some catches, however. While you'll have live audio for every game regardless of device, live video is only available for live local and primetime games on phones and tablets — you can't use this to watch a playoff run on your TV.

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Google marks Play Store's 10th birthday with a new logo

A matching promo offers extra points for rewards program members.

Google

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Google is… unveiling a new logo. No, no free games or trials, but you can get extra points if you’re signed into the app store’s rewards program. Which apparently exists.

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Funko moves into video games with former Traveller's Tales developers

The vinyl figurine company and 10:10 Games are making an action platformer.

Funko

Funko, which is best known for its Pop vinyl figurines, is about to venture into new territory. It's making video games with the help of developer 10:10 Games. The studio is led by Jon Burton, the founder of Traveller's Tales and TT Games. Funko says its first game will have "major third-party studio integration," which probably shouldn't be a big shock given the high-profile licensing deals.

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Logitech has launched the Aurora Collection, a line of "gender-exclusive" gaming accessories including a mouse, keyboard and headset. The devices are built around "comfort, approachability and playfulness" based on "feedback from women gamers across the community," the company said. They have all-new designs and some interesting features, but also carry high prices suggestive of a "pink tax" on products designed for women.

The G735 wireless headset is a good example of that. It's Logitech's first G gaming headset with Blue VO!CE microphone tech that helps modulate your voice, while letting you save preferred settings directly on the headset. It also promises comfort for gamers with smaller heads, 2.4Ghz wireless connectivity and up to 56 hours of battery life with the side LEDs turned off. However, it's very expensive for a gaming headset at $230, compared to say Logitech's high-end $200 Pro X headset with similar features. 

Logitech

The wireless and wired $200 G715 and $170 G713 tenkeyless keyboards offer per-key and perimeter RGB lighting and a choice of GX mechanical switches (tactile, linear or clicky), along with a cloud-soft palm rest. The G715 can connect via Bluetooth or a 2.4Ghz dongle, and offers around 25 hours of battery life on a charge. 

Finally, the $100 G705 lightweight (85 gram) wireless mouse is specifically designed for players with small hands. It comes with an 8,200 DPI "gaming-grade" sensor, offers battery life up to 40 hours with the LEDs enabled, and can connect to the G715 keyboard to avoid clutter. 

On top of the devices, Logitech is offering accessories we don't see with many of its other gaming products. Those include pink or neon boom mics with earpads for $20, keyboard top plates ($20) and colored keycaps ($40). It's also offering $30 mousepads and a $40 case for the G735 headset and G705 mouse. 

Logitech said that when it looked at its gaming products, "we realized we could be doing more" in terms of delivering solutions for all gamers. In one way, it has certainly achieved that considering the $500 price tag for the entire collection. If it really wants to expand its offerings for more players, though, it may need to expand its Aurora lineup with more budget-oriented products that match the quality and prices of its standard offerings. 

Anker has revealed its third-gen gallium nitride (GaN) chargers, just over a year after the previous batch. The company is branding the new lineup of power bricks and portable chargers as GaNPrime. Anker said it worked with several partners to create products that last longer and are more sustainable. It claims the GaNPrime is the "most intelligent, most powerful and greenest multi-device charging system ever created."

The GaNPrime chargers boast the latest version of Anker's PowerIQ tech, which can detect the power needs of each device they're connected to and automatically adjust the power distribution to each USB-C port every three minutes. Anker says that, when two 67W 14-inch MacBook Pro laptops are being charged simultaneously, a GaNPrime device will reduce the overall charging time by 62 minutes. It also says GaNPrime chargers are compatible with more than 1,000 mobile devices. 

On top of that, a feature called ActiveShield 2.0 will monitor temperatures and adjust the power output to protect devices that are connected to a charger. Anker says it has increased the temperature detection frequency by 75 percent compared with previous generations — it monitors temperatures 3 million times a day.

Anker claims its new devices are much smaller than comparable offerings on the market. For instance, it says the 150W 747 charger is 38 percent more compact than Apple's 140W charger. Meanwhile, Anker says GaNPrime models improve the efficiency of AC to DC power by two percent compared with its previous GaN products. Switching from legacy silicon to new GaN semiconductors can reduce carbon emissions by up to 30 percent as well, Anker claims.

There are six devices in the initial GaNPrime lineup, all of which are available starting today in the US. The 65W 735 charger costs $60 and has one USB-A and two USB-C ports. The 615 USB Power Strip has has an additional two AC ports. That's also a 65W charger and it costs $70.

Next up is the 737 charger, which has a maximum output of 120W and, according to Anker, can fully charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro in 1.5 hours. That model, which has one USB-A and three USB-C ports, costs $95. The even more powerful 747 charger has a maximum output of 150W, one USB-A port and three USB-C ports. It will run you $110.

Anker

The slim 727 Charging Station is a power strip with two AC, two USB-C and two 2 USB-A ports. Anker claims it's 50 percent thinner than traditional power strips. It offers a maximum output of 100W via USB-C and it costs $95.

Elsewhere, the GaNPrime lineup includes the 733 Power Bank. It can output up to 65W via AC and offers DC output of 30W (i.e. when it's in battery mode). It has one USB-A and two USB-C ports, and it costs $100.

Google has started making good on its promise to update and optimize 20 of its apps for tablets. The tech giant has rolled out a number of new features for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep, which all take advantage of tablets' larger screens. They're tools you can use to make it easier to juggle multiple tasks and to transfer content from one app to another when you have two windows open side-by-side. You can now easily drag-and-drop text and images from apps like Chrome, for instance, to a Google document or a spreadsheet cell. That could make writing up notes or reports go much quicker than before.

If you need to upload anything to Google Drive, you can simply open the app in a split window and then drag-and-drop the files in. You can now even open two Drive windows side-by-side, so you can compare files without losing the current view for whatever's already open. Sounds useful if you're reviewing particularly lengthy PDF files or documents. To access the feature, make sure to click the three-dot menu on a Drive file and choose the "Open in new window" option.

Now, if you want to create links for direct access to specific drive files, you can easily do so by dragging files into Google Keep. And if you have any images in Keep that you want to use elsewhere, you can drag them out of a note and into another app. Finally, you'll now be able to use keyboard shortcuts such as select, cut, copy, paste, undo and redo while navigating Drive, Docs and Slides if you're using a keyboard with your tablet.  

Google hasn't exactly been prioritizing Android tablet users over the past few years, but Android 12L's release seems like a promising start in its attempt to address the platform's shortcomings for larger screens. When it announced that it was going to optimize its apps at Google I/O back in May, the company showed it was getting serious about building apps for Android tablets again. Hopefully, that doesn't change and future updates could continue improving the Android experience for tablet users.