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Apple’s Journal app needs to read the room

tigaman webdesign — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 13:04:46 +0000

I would love to replace my six journals and multiple journaling apps with a single app. But without greater user controls, I’m stuck with this clunky but effective system. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Ever since I learned how to write, I’ve never been without a journal. There are currently six I use regularly on my desk, plus the Day One and Daylio apps on my phone. Each has its purpose, but I often wish for a single app or notebook to replace the rest. On paper, I’m the type of person Apple was appealing to when it announced the Journal app during this year’s WWDC keynote.

Instead, my reaction while watching the keynote was a knee-jerk Hell to the No. My hands were sweaty, my heart was racing, and I ended up walking away from my desk to take five deep breaths. The fact that Apple is Sherlocking Day One isn’t what set me off. It was the fact that Apple said it’ll use “on-device machine learning” to create customized journaling prompts based on your contacts, photos, music, workouts, location data, and even podcasts. Essentially, it was pitched as a riff on the Memories feature in the Photos app. An AI-powered scrapbook and digital diary rolled into one, if you will. And that’s worrying considering the AI behind Memories is… let’s just say it ain’t too bright.

The Journal app itself is not an inherently bad idea. According to Apple’s press release, it seems the intention is to help you cultivate gratitude by commemorating positive moments. There’s a growing body of research that suggests gratitude journaling may help boost your mental health — so it’s not as if the premise is completely woo-woo snake oil. My problem, based on the preliminary details Apple’s given us, is this proposed execution feels half-baked. People don’t only take photos of happy things or moments that spark joy. If your camera roll is like mine, it’s a jumble of happy, serene, infuriating, vain, mundane, and melancholy moments. It’s messy because life is messy. And if the Journal app truly takes a page from Apple’s Memories feature, there’s a good chance it’s going to tactlessly ambush you with memories you either don’t want or aren’t ready to see.

Image: Victoria Song / The Verge

Woke up to this in my “Good morning” Focus mode the day before what would’ve been her 74th birthday. The irony is that it’s a smart widget stack because I would never put a Memories widget there. I’ve since removed the smart widget stack.

In the past year, Memories has made two slideshows of my mom’s funeral set to an upbeat pop tune. Once around the one-year anniversary of her death — and again the day before her birthday. I wish I could say it was a fluke, but it’s done the same with the last pictures I have of my dad and me together before he lost his battle with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Photos where he was skeletal, half-lucid, and unable to walk. And again with photos of Daisy, our beloved family dog, who died eight months ago. The first few times were unexpected and ruined my day or week.

If my parents were alive, they’d say this AI-powered feature lacks nunchi. Nunchi is one of those untranslatable words, but it’s a Korean term for quickly sussing out other people’s feelings and adjusting your behavior based largely on nonverbal context clues. It’s kind of like an amplified version of reading the room, mixed with mind reading and emotional intelligence. For example, my spouse might deduce I’m feeling sad because I’m looking at photos of my dead family while lying comatose in bed. Without commenting on it, they’ll get me a bowl of my favorite ice cream or suggest we go out for a walk. My iPhone would probably just assume I just really love my family (why else would I look at photos if not to feel happy?!) and suggest two new slideshows featuring them set to spunky tracks. My spouse has nunchi; my phone doesn’t.

So, forgive me for not feeling 100 percent confident in the Journal app’s machine learning. A part of me is terrified that when I download the iOS 17 beta, I’ll open the Journal app, and it’ll recommend that I write about an afternoon visit to Chuncheon, Korea, in June 2022. That it’ll pair D.O’s That’s Okay — a song I listen to whenever I miss my mom — with pictures of her gravestone overlooking picturesque rolling green hills. Or the photos of me and my relatives reunited for the first time since the covid pandemic, red-eyed and trying to put on a brave face for the relatives who couldn’t make it to the burial.

To be clear, I don’t expect nunchi from current AI technology. What I would like, however, is more granular control so I can tell it what not to do. The Memories feature gives you a semblance of it. While you can’t disable it entirely, you can disable notifications, tell it to feature a person less, or remove someone as a significant person in your Photos album. It’s not at all intuitive for someone in the throes of grief, depression, or anxiety, though. Besides, I don’t want to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind my mom, dad, and Daisy. I want to hold onto every bad, good, and in-between memory of them because we’ll never get to make new ones. I simply want a say in when I revisit those memories. I want Apple to give me the tools to tell its AI what types of photos are off-limits, under what circumstances, and for how long. Without this kind of customizability, the Journal app suggestions can’t be anything but half-baked.

Image: Apple

If all Journal entries looked like this, frankly, no one would ever journal.

It doesn’t help that all the Journal app screenshots Apple provided only feature Pollyanna-ish entries. I get why. No one wants to dwell on sad or unpleasant things. The problem is it gives the app a phony air — and inauthenticity is poison to any kind of journaling. It’d be surprising (though, in my opinion, comforting) if the example above said, “I dreamed about surfing last night. Usually when that happens I have a great day on the water, but today wasn’t my day. I had a hard time getting started. When Sarah picked me up around 5AM, the waves were choppy, and I just kept wiping out. Things mellowed out around 7AM, though, and hey, I got one or two good waves in. I wish the conditions had been better, but thems the breaks. But even if it wasn’t great, at least Sarah was with me.” The thing about cultivating gratitude is it doesn’t only come from commemorating or reliving happy times. In my experience, it comes from sitting with your worst moments and practicing how to reframe that ugliness into a lesson you can learn from.

Image: Victoria Song / The Verge

I’m just saying the “Mom through the years” slideshow in the Photos app was capped off with pictures of me placing her urn in the ground. The song playing was “Nineteen Ninety” by Liam Mour. I could edit the slideshow to remove it, but that’s not the intuitive AI feature I was promised.

I could be wrong. Right now, my concerns are solely based on my previous experiences with Memories and other “On This Day” features from social media and journaling apps. The Journal app isn’t out of beta yet, and it’s entirely possible that the final version will include tools that grant users a bigger say in how this app can best work for them. Maybe the iOS 17 developers anticipated this and taught the on-device machine-learning model how to interpret complex context clues. Maybe the AI is capable of recognizing my mom’s portrait next to a grave, cross-referencing that with photos of my mom’s casket, running That’s Okay’s bittersweet lyrics through Google Translate, and coming to the conclusion that this is probably not a suitable journaling prompt for weeks surrounding my mom’s birthday and during holidays like Mother’s Day. Perhaps, it’ll put two and two together from the above facts and realize I’ll be more likely to appreciate the prompt during Korean holidays like Chuseok or Parents’ Day. Maybe it’ll note that despite all evidence pointing toward death, I keep her as a pinned contact and in my favorites because she’s my mom, and she’ll always be number one in my phone.

Somehow, I doubt it.

I don’t doubt it because I think Apple’s willfully ignoring the problem. I doubt it because I’m not the first one to bring up this issue. As this Wired story beautifully illustrates, algorithms unintentionally repackage the worst parts of people’s lives every day in the name of personalization. Social media will suggest you friend your ex’s new squeeze simply because you both run in the same circles. Mothers who have miscarried are haunted by ads for baby products because the algorithms think the baby was born. I had to delete Timehop because it kept showing me pictures of anniversaries with an ex — I’ve long been over it, but why do I need an AI to prompt me to revisit those photos? If I want to remember those times fondly, I know where to find them. Apple, Meta, Google, and the zillions of other companies that use our data have yet to figure out how to compassionately curate memories. Some controls exist across varying platforms, but most lack the nunchi to be helpful when you need them most.

The fundamental problem here is that AI can’t read the digital room. Until it can, I have my doubts about how healing these AI-powered features can really be.

Google’s Pixel 6A is $100 off

tigaman webdesign — Tue, 16 May 2023 15:06:36 +0000

The Google Pixel 6A lacks support for wireless charging but is $150 cheaper than the Pixel 7A. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

There’s a new midrange Google Pixel phone in town, true, but the Pixel 6A still offers a lot of bang for your buck if you’re trying to save money. That’s especially true today, given that right now, you can buy the phone unlocked for $329.99 to $349 (about $100 off) with 128GB of storage in select colors from Amazon and Best Buy. If you activate it today, you can also save an additional $50 at Best Buy.

Like the new Pixel 7A, the phone offers a 6.1-inch OLED panel and long battery life but costs $150 less. It shares an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance and a good camera, too, even if not as impressive as the 7A’s. Of course, there are some tradeoffs. The Pixel 6A is a good performer, but the 7A’s equipped with the more powerful Tensor G2 chipset. The Pixel 6A also doesn’t support wireless charging, and its refresh rate is capped at 60Hz, not 90Hz. However, if you can do without those features, the phone’s still a good buy at this price.

Read our review of the Google Pixel 6A.

Last week, we saw a number of good deals on Ember’s ceramic Mug 2 in the run-up to Mother’s Day. That said, Woot is currently selling the 10-ounce mug in black for even less, dropping it to just $97.99 ($52 off) until the end of today. The handy smart mug can save you from having to make multiple trips to the microwave, namely because it lets you regulate the temperature with the help of an accompanying app for Android and iOS. The mug’s built-in battery can last up to an hour and a half, depending on the usage, but it also comes with a charging coaster, helping ensure your coffee remains hot no matter how long it takes you to drink it.

Apple’s newer MacBook Pros may command more attention than the MacBook Air, but, truth be told, the average person doesn’t need all that power. If you, like me, just use your laptop for general entertainment purposes and some light work, you can save yourself a lot of money by sticking with the M2-powered MacBook Air. And right now, it’s on sale for $1,049 at Best Buy with 8GB of RAM, an eight-core CPU, and 256GB of storage.

Apple’s latest entry-level MacBook is a great all-around laptop, one that does an excellent job of delivering everything the average user needs. It can’t compare to a MacBook Pro when it comes to video editing capabilities, sure, but it’ll get you through a full day of work, streaming, and even some light gaming just fine. Alternatively, you also could buy the base M1-powered MacBook Air at its all-time low price of $799 ($200 off) at Amazon. The last-gen model from 2020 doesn’t have a high-res webcam or as big a screen, but it still offers long battery life and enough power for most users.

Read our MacBook Air (2022) and MacBook Air (2020) reviews.

For serious outdoor adventurers, the Apple Watch Series 8 might not cut it. If you’re looking for a rugged wearable that’ll better keep up with your active lifestyle, the Apple Watch Ultra might be one to consider. It normally retails for $799, but right now, you can buy it on Amazon with a yellow Ocean Band for $701.99 ($97 off), a new all-time low.

The Apple Watch Ultra is currently the most capable smartwatch in Apple’s lineup. The big-screen wearable features LTE and a range of advanced features designed to meet the demands of serious athletes, including new sensors for measuring diving metrics and a siren you trigger in the event you get lost while hiking. It also comes with added durability and 36 hours of battery life — a first for the Apple Watch. Be aware, though, that unlike other wearables designed for outdoorsy types, the Ultra lacks offline topo maps and turn-by-turn navigation, two features popular amongst hikers and trail runners.

Read our Apple Watch Ultra review.

Speaking of the outdoors, if you’re looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker that can accompany you on hikes or long bike rides, Tribit’s first-gen StormBox Micro is currently on sale at Amazon for $39.99 ($20 off) when you clip the on-page coupon for $10 off. The miniature speaker can push out a good amount of sound for its size and features a built-in silicone strap that lets you attach it to your backpack or bike handlebars, where it will remain while you move around. It also comes with perks like IP67 water resistance, so you don’t have to worry about it inevitably getting wet at the river, beach, or wherever you decide to cool off when the heat finally hits.

Just a few more deals

If Google’s forthcoming foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, sounds cool but you’re turned off by the fact it doesn’t feature stylus support, Samsung’s unlocked Galaxy Z Fold 4 has returned to its all-time low. Right now, you can buy the ultra-flagship Android phone in either green or black with 256GB of storage on Amazon for $1,349.99 ($450 off). Read our review.
Amazon’s Smart Air Quality Monitor, a relatively inexpensive gadget that lets you keep tabs on your home’s air quality, is currently on sale at Amazon for $54.99 ($15 off). The device can provide voice alerts when your air quality dips below a certain threshold. You can also program to turn on thermostats and other devices to address the dip in air quality. Read our review.
The latest Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is on sale at Amazon in gray for $342.82 ($207 off) with 64GB of storage, 4GB of RAM, and an Intel Celeron 5205U processor. While not very powerful, the Chromebook offers a beautiful QLED panel along with decent battery life. Read our review.
If you need a Bluetooth tracker to keep tabs on your suitcase while traveling over Memorial Day, you can still pick up a Tile Mate for $19.99 ($5 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.
In honor of its 25th birthday, OtterBox is currently taking 25 percent off a range of chargers and mobile accessories. Right now, for example, you can pick up a rugged Defender Series Pro case for the iPhone 14 Pro Max for just $48.51 ($17 off).

Bluetti Mother’s Day Sale: Powering Home and Abroad

tigaman webdesign — Sun, 14 May 2023 19:45:00 +0000

Bluetti, makers of portable power systems both large and small, is hosting a Mother’s Day sale to honor the one who did the most. At 9to5Mac, we power everything we do, and this latest sale might be all the excuse we need to snag some great portable power from Bluetti.

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The post Bluetti Mother’s Day Sale: Powering Home and Abroad appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple’s AirTags are available at a rare discount

tigaman webdesign — Sat, 13 May 2023 14:40:39 +0000

You can get a discount no matter whether you buy a single AirTag or a set of four today. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and if you’ve got plans to travel, today’s deal on Apple’s AirTags has landed at the perfect time. Right now, you can buy a single AirTag for $25 ($4 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is the lowest price we’ve seen so far this year. If you’d like to buy a set for the whole family, you can also buy a pack of four for $89.99 ($10 off) from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. Even better? If you order from Walmart or Amazon in the next few hours, you may still be able to get the set in time by Mother’s Day.

Apple’s ultra wideband-capable Bluetooth tracker can help you keep tabs on everything from keys to suitcases, allowing you to easily find your belongings should they get lost. The location tracker also features other cool perks, like IP67 water and dust resistance and user-replaceable batteries. Just be mindful that it lacks a built-in lanyard hole, so you’ll need an extra accessory like an AirTag Loop to attach it to your keys and other items. Read our review.

After years of waiting, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has finally landed on the Nintendo Switch. And as if the release of the year’s most anticipated game wasn’t exciting enough, you can also save some money if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber.

As we’ve written about before, you can still buy a Nintendo Switch Game Voucher which, for $99.98, will allow you to buy two games featured on this game list. That includes Tears of the Kingdom as well as Splatoon 3, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, and forthcoming titles like Pikmin 4. Essentially, that means you’d be paying $49.99 for each game, thus saving you even more money if you were planning on buying a second game anyway.

My colleague Ash Parrish just published her full review of the latest Zelda title, which you can read in full here. In a nutshell, it’s very similar in story to its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, but with some fun new weapons, capabilities, and other features. Admittedly, we haven’t felt it inspires the same sense of awe as Breath of the Wild, but don’t feel too disappointed — it’s still an absolute pleasure to play. Read our review.

Speaking of recent releases, Google just launched its latest midrange phone, the Pixel 7A. Thankfully, if you’re hoping for some early bird incentives, Google is currently throwing in a $100 credit toward a pair of Pixel Buds and a free Case-Mate case (a $25 value) when you pick up the budget-friendly Android phone for its regular price of $499. Retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, meanwhile, are offering a $50 gift card with your purchase.

The 7A costs $50 more than the Pixel 6A it replaces, but that extra money nets some nice upgrades — including wireless charging, a faster 90Hz screen for smoother scrolling, and a more refined dual camera setup. It doesn’t skimp on the processor, either, as it borrows the Tensor G2 from the flagship Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. It’s the best midrange Pixel to date, so barring the unforeseen hiccups that sometimes plague Pixel phones, it feels worthwhile to take advantage of these early adopter deals while you still can. Read our review.

If you’re looking for a pair of wireless earbuds that’ll help you drown out the world so you can better focus on the task at hand (or just listen to T-Swift), Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II are on sale for $249 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Bose.

In a nutshell, the QC Earbuds offer dependable performance, terrific sound quality, and the most powerful noise cancellation on the market. Plus, they sport an excellent transparency mode for when you actually do want to let some noise in. While it’s a shame they lack support for wireless charging, they’re an otherwise excellent pair of earbuds that’ll silence your surroundings like no other. Read our review.

A few more deals to welcome the weekend with

If you’d like to cut down the amount of time you spend cleaning, the Roborock S7 is on sale for $399.99 ($250 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Roborock. The robovac / mop hybrid does a great job of cleaning hardwood floors, and you can program it to stay away from certain areas. It’s also compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, letting you control it with your voice. Read our Roborock S7 Plus review.
The 42mm, Bluetooth-enabled Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is on sale in silver for $129 ($221 off) at Walmart. Unlike the newer Galaxy Watch 5, the last-gen wearable sports a unique rotating bezel, though its battery life isn’t quite as good. Read our review.
Humble is currently selling the Capcom Heroic Collection, which contains a total of 10 PC games, for just $30. The bundle includes games like Monster Hunter Rise and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, and will be available at a discounted price until May 24th.
You can still buy the Amazon Echo Studio for $159.99 ($40 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. While it can’t exactly match the prowess of newer smart speakers like the Sonos Era 100, the Alexa-enabled device remains Amazon’s best-sounding Echo. It can even function as a Dolby Atmos speaker when paired with a compatible Fire TV device. Read our review.

The Verge’s 2023 Graduation Gift Guide

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 12 May 2023 14:06:05 +0000

Image: Will Joel

We found a wide range of gifts that’ll help graduates as they embark upon their next adventure, whether that’s college or a career.

I’m not going to lie: I don’t envy the class of 2023. Can you imagine having to start high school or college during some of the most unprecedented times in modern history? As if the pandemic didn’t make life hard enough, this year’s grads had to submit college and job applications while facing a string of “once in a lifetime” events, including a major financial crisis. Yet despite grappling with a mind-boggling level of uncertainty, the class of 2023 still somehow pushed through. I think it’s safe to say these students deserve some sort of medal — or at least a really nice gift.

That’s why, this year, we’ve put together a list of extra special gifts for grads. They range from hot-ticket items like LG’s C2 OLED ($1,000) to unique gifts like Ikea’s Symfonisk picture frame speaker ($170) and a pocketable toolkit ($20) aimed at making small repairs. We’ve also curated some more practical gifts that will help them with cooking and studying, including a portable coffee maker ($40) and a fun, beginner-friendly guide to baking ($21). Take a look at the handful of Verge-approved presents below, even if it’s only for inspiration.

Power-up Mother’s Day with a Bluetti portable power station

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 12 May 2023 12:39:15 +0000

Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show love and gratitude for all the hard work and dedication mothers put into their families. Show that love and consideration with a Bluetti portable power station for power peace of mind.

Celebrate Mother’s Day with up to $700 off with Bluetti.

This Mother’s Day, use Bluetti’s special promotions to bring home a gift she’ll truly love by getting up to $700 off a Bluetti power solution when you shop from May 6 to 18. We’ve detailed three ways Bluetti can power-up any situation thanks to its portable power station solutions.

Power-up Mother’s Day with a Bluetti portable power station

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 12 May 2023 12:39:15 +0000

Celebrate Mother’s Day with up to $700 off with Bluetti.

Power-up Mother’s Day with a Bluetti portable power station

tigaman webdesign — Fri, 12 May 2023 12:39:15 +0000

Celebrate Mother’s Day with up to $700 off with Bluetti.

The best Mother’s Day sales happening now

tigaman webdesign — Wed, 10 May 2023 14:10:00 +0000

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro are $50 off and available at their all-time low price. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

It’s another holiday, so of course there’s yet another sale — and quite a few, in fact. In honor of Mother’s Day, everyone from Amazon to Fitbit is offering discounts on an array of tech and assorted accessories. Many of these will arrive in time for Mother’s Day, too, so not only will you be able to gift Mom the new AirPods Pro or Kindle, but you’ll save some money in the process. And don’t worry if a pair of AirPods is outside your budget, either; there are plenty of affordable deals on Bluetooth trackers, Lego sets, smart speakers, and more.

Below, we’ve collected some of the best Mother’s Day tech deals (and then some) for your convenience. And just in case you need some extra help narrowing your options down, be sure to also peruse our Mother’s Day Gift Guide as well as its budget-friendly counterpart.

Earbud and headphone deals

You can buy the fitness-focused Beats Fit Pro in all seven colors for just $159.95 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The true wireless earbuds feature excellent noise cancellation as well as built-in wing tips for a more comfortable, secure fit. Read our review.
Bose’s ultra-dependable QuietComfort Earbuds II, which feature the most powerful noise cancellation of all the wireless earbuds we’ve tested, are currently on sale for $249.99 ($49 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Bose. Read our review.

If you prefer a pair of over-ear headphones, you can buy Apple’s AirPods Max for $479.99 ($70 off) at Amazon and Best Buy in all colors. The headphones offer deep integration with Apple’s ecosystem, cancel out noise well, and offer a terrific build quality that feels more premium than that of most of their competitors. Read our review.
Jabra’s new Elite 5 are on sale for $119.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and offer a nice balance of features for the price. The noise-canceling earbuds offer IP55 dust and water resistance and active noise cancellation, as well as multipoint Bluetooth support and good battery life.

The third-gen AirPods are on sale with a Lightning charging case for $149.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Apple’s latest pair of entry-level buds lack noise cancellation but still sound relatively good while offering new perks like IPX4 water resistance. Read our review.
If you don’t need water resistance, you can still buy Apple’s second-gen AirPods for $99 ($30 off) at Walmart. Although they’re not as feature-rich as newer models, the last-gen pair of wireless earbuds remain a reliable pick that sound great and provide great ease of use. Read our review.

E-reader deals

If you prefer to buy a waterproof e-reader, Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with ads and 8GB of storage for $109.99 ($30 off). In addition to IPX8 waterproofing, the newest model offers a larger 6.8-inch display than the entry-level Kindle. Read our review.
Amazon’s newer Kindle Scribe is also currently on sale starting at $282.99 ($57 off) with 16GB of storage and a Basic Pen at Amazon for Prime members. The e-reader offers a massive 10.2-inch, 300dpi display you can annotate on using the included stylus. Read our review.

Tablet deals

You can buy Apple’s latest iPad Mini in the Wi-Fi configuration with 64GB of storage for $399.99 ($100 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The redesigned tablet offers a small, 8.3-inch screen as well as a Touch ID-equipped power button and a USB-C charging port. Read our review.

If you own the ninth or 10th-generation iPad and need a compatible stylus, you can alternatively buy the first-gen Apple Pencil for $79 ($20 off) at Walmart.
If you don’t mind that its display isn’t particularly sharp and the fact the tablet is somewhat limited, you can buy Amazon’s latest Fire HD 8 tablet with ads and 32GB of storage for $69.99 ($30 off) on Amazon. If you want more RAM and support for wireless charging, you can also pick up the latest Fire HD 8 Plus at Amazon and Best Buy for $89.99 instead of $119.99. Read our review.

If you’d like wireless charging and some extra RAM, you can also buy Amazon’s ad-supported Fire HD 10 Plus on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $149.99 instead of $179.99. Read our review.

Speaker deals

Amazon’s third-gen Echo Dot is also on sale for $19.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Although an older model, the puck-shaped speaker still sounds good for the price and is capable of carrying out a number of Alexa-based tasks. Read our review.
The Bose Soundlink Flex, one of our favorite Bluetooth speakers, is on sale for $129 at Amazon, Bose, and Best Buy. The speaker offers great sound quality, long battery life for its size, and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
The JBL Clip 4 is on sale for $59.95 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The tiny Bluetooth speaker is one of our favorites and offers great sound quality for its size. It can also be clipped to a variety of things, including backpack straps and bicycle handlebars.

Smart display deals

You can buy Amazon’s 15.6-inch Echo Show 15 for $184.99 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The large touchscreen display is capable of hanging on the wall and can be used for a range of purposes, including as a 1080p TV or a family bulletin board. Read our review.
The third-gen Echo Show 10, a rotating 10.1-inch smart display that’s capable of following you around the room, is also on sale for $184.99 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Read our review.

Streaming stick and TV deals

You can buy the latest version of Amazon’s Fire TV Cube, which is like a streaming device and smart speaker in one, for $124.99 ($15 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Read our review.
Amazon’s new Alexa Voice Remote Pro with customizable buttons and backlighting is on sale for $29.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. Read our review.

Amazon is currently discounting its previous-gen Fire TV Omni lineup. Right now, for example, you can buy the 55-inch and 65-inch models on Amazon for $469.99 ($80 off) and $599.99 ($160 off), respectively. If you’re a Prime member, the 55-inch is an even cheaper $439.99 ($110 off). The 4K TV offers built-in mics for making hands-free Alexa voice commands as well as support for two-way video calling. However, it can’t display artwork when idle like the newer Fire TV Omni QLED series. Read our review.

Smartwatch and fitness tracker deals

The LTE-enabled, 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 is also on sale in select colors for $299 ($231 off) at Walmart. While it lacks newer features like Crash Detection, the wearable is otherwise very similar and nearly as capable as its predecessor. Read our review.
The first-gen, GPS-enabled Apple Watch SE is on sale starting at $149 ($130 off) at Walmart. It lacks advanced features and sensors like an always-on display and EKG, but it remains a good entry-level wearable if you’re looking to track basic fitness metrics. Read our review.

Other Fitbit trackers besides the Fitbit Luxe are also on sale, like the Fitbit Charge 5, which you can buy from Amazon and Walmart starting at $102 ($47.95 off). Read our review.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 is on sale for $219 ($60 off) at Amazon and Walmart. Unlike its predecessor, the smartwatch is capable of measuring body temperature and analyzing body composition data. Read our review.
Alternatively, you can buy the 42mm, Bluetooth-enabled Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic for $169 ($181 off) at Walmart. While its battery life isn’t great, the Classic model sports a unique rotating bezel that the Galaxy Watch 5 lacks. Read our review.

Robot vacuum deals

If you prefer a more budget-friendly robot vacuum, you can also pick up the iRobot Roomba i3 Evo for $244 ($106 off) on Amazon and for $5 more at Best Buy. Though it lacks AI obstacle avoidance, it offers smart mapping capabilities and cleans just as well as the j7.
You can also buy the iRobot Roomba i3 Evo Plus, which includes an auto-emptying docking station, for $399.99 ($150 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.

Other deals

You can buy the portable yet powerful last-gen Theragun Mini massager in black for $149 ($50 off) on Amazon.
Some of AeroGarden’s LED-equipped planters are on sale for nearly 60 percent off at Amazon and direct from AeroGarden. You can, for instance, pick up the AeroGarden Sprout, an indoor planter that can grow up to three plants at once, for just $49.99 ($50 off).
You can buy a single Tile Mate item tracker for $19.99 ($5 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The Bluetooth tracker is platform agnostic and can keep tabs on belongings like keys and suitcases from up to 250 feet away.
A number of botanical Lego sets are on sale for $39.99 ($10 off) right now, including the Lego Orchid set (Best Buy / Amazon), the Lego Succulents kit (Amazon / Best Buy), and the Lego Bonsai Tree (Amazon / Best Buy).

GoPro’s Hero 11 Black is on sale for $399 ($100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from GoPro. The camera features a 27MP sensor capable of delivering 5.3K footage.
You can buy Apple’s MagSafe Charger on sale for $31 ($8 off) from Walmart. The official Apple accessory charges MagSafe-compatible iPhones wirelessly and can deliver up to 15 watts of power.

The best Mother’s Day sales happening now

tigaman webdesign — Wed, 10 May 2023 14:10:00 +0000

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro are $50 off and available at their all-time low price. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge

Earbud and headphone deals

You can buy the fitness-focused Beats Fit Pro in all seven colors for just $159.95 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The true wireless earbuds feature excellent noise cancellation as well as built-in wing tips for a more comfortable, secure fit. Read our review.
Bose’s ultra-dependable QuietComfort Earbuds II, which feature the most powerful noise cancellation of all the wireless earbuds we’ve tested, are currently on sale for $249.99 ($49 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Bose. Read our review.

If you prefer a pair of over-ear headphones, you can buy Apple’s AirPods Max for $479.99 ($70 off) at Amazon and Best Buy in all colors. The headphones offer deep integration with Apple’s ecosystem, cancel out noise well, and offer a terrific build quality that feels more premium than that of most of their competitors. Read our review.
Jabra’s new Elite 5 are on sale for $119.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and offer a nice balance of features for the price. The noise-canceling earbuds offer IP55 dust and water resistance and active noise cancellation, as well as multipoint Bluetooth support and good battery life.

The third-gen AirPods are on sale with a Lightning charging case for $149.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Apple’s latest pair of entry-level buds lack noise cancellation but still sound relatively good while offering new perks like IPX4 water resistance. Read our review.
If you don’t need water resistance, you can still buy Apple’s second-gen AirPods for $99 ($30 off) at Walmart. Although they’re not as feature-rich as newer models, the last-gen pair of wireless earbuds remain a reliable pick that sound great and provide great ease of use. Read our review.

E-reader deals

If you prefer to buy a waterproof e-reader, Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy with ads and 8GB of storage for $109.99 ($30 off). In addition to IPX8 waterproofing, the newest model offers a larger 6.8-inch display than the entry-level Kindle. Read our review.
Amazon’s newer Kindle Scribe is also currently on sale starting at $282.99 ($57 off) with 16GB of storage and a Basic Pen at Amazon for Prime members. The e-reader offers a massive 10.2-inch, 300dpi display you can annotate on using the included stylus. Read our review.

Tablet deals

You can buy Apple’s latest iPad Mini in the Wi-Fi configuration with 64GB of storage for $399.99 ($100 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The redesigned tablet offers a small, 8.3-inch screen as well as a Touch ID-equipped power button and a USB-C charging port. Read our review.

If you own the ninth or 10th-generation iPad and need a compatible stylus, you can alternatively buy the first-gen Apple Pencil for $79 ($20 off) at Walmart.
If you don’t mind that its display isn’t particularly sharp and the fact the tablet is somewhat limited, you can buy Amazon’s latest Fire HD 8 tablet with ads and 32GB of storage for $69.99 ($30 off) on Amazon. If you want more RAM and support for wireless charging, you can also pick up the latest Fire HD 8 Plus at Amazon and Best Buy for $89.99 instead of $119.99. Read our review.

If you’d like wireless charging and some extra RAM, you can also buy Amazon’s ad-supported Fire HD 10 Plus on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $149.99 instead of $179.99. Read our review.

Speaker deals

Amazon’s third-gen Echo Dot is also on sale for $19.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Although an older model, the puck-shaped speaker still sounds good for the price and is capable of carrying out a number of Alexa-based tasks. Read our review.
The Bose Soundlink Flex, one of our favorite Bluetooth speakers, is on sale for $129 at Amazon, Bose, and Best Buy. The speaker offers great sound quality, long battery life for its size, and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
The JBL Clip 4 is on sale for $59.95 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The tiny Bluetooth speaker is one of our favorites and offers great sound quality for its size. It can also be clipped to a variety of things, including backpack straps and bicycle handlebars.

Smart display deals

You can buy Amazon’s 15.6-inch Echo Show 15 for $184.99 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The large touchscreen display is capable of hanging on the wall and can be used for a range of purposes, including as a 1080p TV or a family bulletin board. Read our review.
The third-gen Echo Show 10, a rotating 10.1-inch smart display that’s capable of following you around the room, is also on sale for $184.99 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Read our review.

Streaming stick and TV deals

You can buy the latest version of Amazon’s Fire TV Cube, which is like a streaming device and smart speaker in one, for $124.99 ($15 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Read our review.
Amazon’s new Alexa Voice Remote Pro with customizable buttons and backlighting is on sale for $29.99 ($5 off) at Amazon. Read our review.

Amazon is currently discounting its previous-gen Fire TV Omni lineup. Right now, for example, you can buy the 55-inch and 65-inch models on Amazon for $469.99 ($80 off) and $599.99 ($160 off), respectively. If you’re a Prime member, the 55-inch is an even cheaper $439.99 ($110 off). The 4K TV offers built-in mics for making hands-free Alexa voice commands as well as support for two-way video calling. However, it can’t display artwork when idle like the newer Fire TV Omni QLED series. Read our review.

Smartwatch and fitness tracker deals

The LTE-enabled, 45mm Apple Watch Series 7 is also on sale in select colors for $299 ($231 off) at Walmart. While it lacks newer features like Crash Detection, the wearable is otherwise very similar and nearly as capable as its predecessor. Read our review.
The first-gen, GPS-enabled Apple Watch SE is on sale starting at $149 ($130 off) at Walmart. It lacks advanced features and sensors like an always-on display and EKG, but it remains a good entry-level wearable if you’re looking to track basic fitness metrics. Read our review.

Other Fitbit trackers besides the Fitbit Luxe are also on sale, like the Fitbit Charge 5, which you can buy from Amazon and Walmart starting at $102 ($47.95 off). Read our review.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 is on sale for $219 ($60 off) at Amazon and Walmart. Unlike its predecessor, the smartwatch is capable of measuring body temperature and analyzing body composition data. Read our review.
Alternatively, you can buy the 42mm, Bluetooth-enabled Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic for $169 ($181 off) at Walmart. While its battery life isn’t great, the Classic model sports a unique rotating bezel that the Galaxy Watch 5 lacks. Read our review.

Robot vacuum deals

If you prefer a more budget-friendly robot vacuum, you can also pick up the iRobot Roomba i3 Evo for $244 ($106 off) on Amazon and for $5 more at Best Buy. Though it lacks AI obstacle avoidance, it offers smart mapping capabilities and cleans just as well as the j7.
You can also buy the iRobot Roomba i3 Evo Plus, which includes an auto-emptying docking station, for $399.99 ($150 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.

Other deals

You can buy the portable yet powerful last-gen Theragun Mini massager in black for $149 ($50 off) on Amazon.
Some of AeroGarden’s LED-equipped planters are on sale for nearly 60 percent off at Amazon and direct from AeroGarden. You can, for instance, pick up the AeroGarden Sprout, an indoor planter that can grow up to three plants at once, for just $49.99 ($50 off).
You can buy a single Tile Mate item tracker for $19.99 ($5 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The Bluetooth tracker is platform agnostic and can keep tabs on belongings like keys and suitcases from up to 250 feet away.
A number of botanical Lego sets are on sale for $39.99 ($10 off) right now, including the Lego Orchid set (Best Buy / Amazon), the Lego Succulents kit (Amazon / Best Buy), and the Lego Bonsai Tree (Amazon / Best Buy).

GoPro’s Hero 11 Black is on sale for $399 ($100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from GoPro. The camera features a 27MP sensor capable of delivering 5.3K footage.
You can buy Apple’s MagSafe Charger on sale for $31 ($8 off) from Walmart. The official Apple accessory charges MagSafe-compatible iPhones wirelessly and can deliver up to 15 watts of power.