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There are already thousands of early Prime Day deals out there (the sale doesn't officially start until tomorrow), but this list is all about the best Prime Day kitchen deals are on gadgets and kitchen accessories that we've tested and recommend. We’ve tested a slew of kitchen tech in our own apartments and houses and have dutifully written up our assessments. That means you can read our reviews (all linked below) to get our impressions of a device before you buy. So if it’s time for a new air fryer or if you’ve been curious about the cooking alchemy that is sous vide cooking, check out below for the best Prime Day deals on the kitchen tech we recommend.

Prime Day air fryer deals

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro for $320 ($80 off): This is the premium pick in our air fryer guide — but really, it does far more than just air fry. As our reviewer noted, its massive cubic-foot-capacity and numerous cook modes make this more like an auxiliary oven. (It can even cook an entire 14-pound turkey.) It went on sale for $300 during last year's Black Friday sales.

Ninja Foodie Dual Zone Air Fryer (10 QT) for $180 ($70 off): This is the air fryer to pick if you’ve ever wished you could air fry two different things at the same time. We named it the best dual-zone air fryer you can get — it even has a feature that makes sure the two different foods are ready at the same time.

Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer (6 QT) for $100 ($70 off): After studious testing (and dutiful eating) our reviewers named this one the best air fryer you can buy. And, after reading that assessment, I bought one myself so I can verify this is one great machine. The Odor Ease tech really does keep the cooking smells at bay and the window lets me keep an eye on all the crisping that’s going on in there.

Instant Pot Vortex Plus Air Fryer (4QT) for $65 ($65 off with Prime): Here’s a smaller version of the Instant air fryer we named best overall. It has a four-quart capacity, which is perfect for one person and small kitchens. And, like its larger sibling, pre-heats quickly.

Ninja Air Fryer (4 QT) for $80 ($50 off): The budget pick from our air fryer guide isn’t currently on sale, but this four-quart Ninja fryer has twice the capacity and is nearly the same price. It can also roast and dehydrate in addition to air frying and reheating.

Prime Day Instant Pot and rice cooker deals

Cuckoo Twin Pressure Rice Cooker for $190 ($70 off with Prime): This is the best premium rice cooker in our guide to those machines. We like how quickly it cooks all types of rice to perfection (we tested it with long-grain white basmati, brown and sushi-grade white rice). Just keep in mind that it can be a little difficult to clean and the manual isn’t the most user-friendly.

Hamilton Beach Digital Programmable Rice Cooker for $40 ($10 off with Prime): Our top pick for a budget rice cooker is on sale for Prime members. The brown rice came out particularly good in our tests and the cooker is easy to clean with a dishwasher-safe cooker pot and steamer basket. Just note that it’s pretty small and doesn’t have the granular controls of pricer models.

Prime Day kitchen tech deals

Breville Joule Turbo Sous Vide Machine for $200 ($50 off): The premium pick in our guide to sous vice machines has a powerful 1,100-watt heater that cuts down on cooking times. It also uses your phone as the controller (just don’t get it if you’re hoping for on-device buttons).

Anova Sous Vide Cooker 3.0 for $145 (37 percent off): Our top pick for a sous vide machine delivers 1,100 watts of power and a flow rate of eight liters per minute which will get your water up to the right temperature faster. It also has intuitive digital touch controls and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Ooni Volt 12 Electric Indoor Pizza Oven for $630 ($269 off): This is our pick for the best indoor pizza oven — but it can be used outdoors as well thanks to its weather-resistant design. It has front-mounted controls that let you individually control the upper and lower heating elements and it can get up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 20 minutes.

Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender for $330 ($50 off): Note that we've seen this go for as little as $255 in past sales, and it dropped to $300 as recently as May. But this is still a decent $50 discount on a blender that will make any food you put in it smooth. We recommend it in our guide to the best kitchen tech.

KitchenAid Classic Series (4.5 QT) for $300 ($50 off): Prime Day and Black Friday sales are usually the best times to snag Kitchen Aid’s iconic mixers — unfortunately, this discount isn’t even as good as the $250 it sold for in May. Still you can save $50 on a classic appliance that we recommend in our guide to essential kitchen gadgets. These mixers are durable, reliable and, with the wide range of attachments, can truly expand your cooking arsenal.

Vitamix 5200 Blender Professional-Grade for $350 ($150 off with Prime): I can personally attest to the nearly magical abilities of Vitamix blenders. It can make chunky salsas, smooth-as-silk soups and smoothies in which the chia and hemp seeds seem to disappear into the fruit. This pro-grade model is down to the lowest price we’ve tracked this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-prime-day-deals-on-kitchen-essentials-include-up-to-50-percent-off-on-air-fryers-instant-pots-and-sous-vide-machine-180019437.html?src=rss

Arkane Studios founder Raphael Colantonio had some harsh words for Game Pass in a thread on X, calling it an "unstainable model" that's "damaging the industry." He also said that Microsoft's ability to throw "infinite money" at the platform will eventually wane because "reality has to hit."

Colantonio continued by saying Microsoft will "kill everyone else, or give up" and that gamers only like the service because "the offer is too good to be true." He also wrote that these same players will turn on the platform when "they realize the effects on the games," alluding that the Netflix-style approach allows for underwhelming titles.

Why is no-one talking about the elephant in the room? Cough cough (Gamepass)— Raphael Colantonio (@rafcolantonio) July 5, 2025

His remarks follow last week's major layoffs, in which Microsoft let go of over 9,000 people. Many of the impacted employees were involved with the company's gaming divisions and first-party developers. Halo Studios lost people, as did the Candy Crush maker King. Some studios were shuttered and a bunch of games were cancelled. It sucked.

However, the general consensus is that Microsoft's continued investment in AI played a role in these layoffs, and not the existence of Game Pass. Colantonio says that AI's involvement "might be a BS excuse."

While there's no evidence that the subscription-based catalog service contributed to the job cuts, there is some data that suggests Game Pass hurts the sales numbers of titles under its umbrella. This makes a certain amount of sense. AAA games are $70 and Game Pass is $10 to $20 per month. Anecdotally, I picked up a subscription to play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle instead of buying the game directly from Bethesda.

Arkane Studios is the firm behind games like Deathloop, Dishonored and Prey. The company's currently working on a game based on Marvel's resident vampire hunter Blade.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/arkane-founder-calls-game-pass-an-unsustainable-model-thats-wrecking-the-industry-175819929.html?src=rss

Mamona executes quietly, never touches the internet, and erases itself, making it hard to detectA three-second delay followed by self-deletion helps Mamona evade detection rulesRansomware behavior blends in with normal activity, delaying security team responseSecurity researchers are tracking Mamona, a newly identified ransomware strain that stands out for its stripped-down design and quiet, local execution.Experts from Wazuh say this ransomware avoids the usual reliance on command-and-control servers, opting instead for a self-contained approach that slips past tools dependent on network traffic analysis.It is executed locally on a Windows system as a standalone binary file, and this offline behavior exposes a blind spot in conventional defenses, forcing a rethink of how even the best antivirus and detection systems should function when there is no network.Self-deletion and evasion tactics complicate detectionUpon execution, it initiates a three-second delay using a modified ping command, cmd.exe /C ping 127.0.0.7 -n 3 > Nul & Del /f /q, and then self-deletes.This self-deletion reduces forensic artifacts, making it harder for investigators to trace or analyze the malware after it has run.Instead of using the popular 127.0.0.1, it uses 127.0.0.7, which helps it to bypass detection rules.This method evades simple detection patterns and avoids leaving digital traces that traditional file-based scanners might flag.It drops a ransom note titled README.HAes.txt and renames affected files with the .HAes extension, signaling a successful encryption operation.Wazuh warns that the malware’s “plug-and-play nature lowers the barrier for cybercriminals, contributing to the broader commoditization of ransomware.”This shift suggests a need for greater scrutiny of what qualifies as the best ransomware protection, especially when such threats no longer need remote control infrastructure to cause damage.Wazuh’s approach to detecting Mamona involves integrating Sysmon for log capture and using custom rules to flag specific behaviors such as ransom note creation and ping-based delays.Rule 100901 targets the creation of the README.HAes.txt file, while Rule 100902 confirms the presence of ransomware when both ransom note activity and the delay/self-delete sequence appear together.These rules help identify indicators that might otherwise escape more general monitoring setups.To respond to Mamona before damage is done, Wazuh uses YARA rules and a real-time File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) system.When a suspicious file is added or modified, especially in a user's Downloads folder, the Wazuh Active Response module triggers a YARA scan.This immediate remediation mimics what one might expect from the best DDoS protection strategies, acting fast before deeper compromise occurs.As ransomware continues to evolve, so too must the best antivirus solutions, and while no single tool guarantees perfect protection, solutions with modular response give defenders a flexible, evolving edge.You might also likeThese are the best VPNs with antivirus you can use right nowTake a look at our pick of the best internet security suitesYou wouldn’t skip handwashing - so why skip mobile security hygiene?

Looking for a different day?A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, July 6 (game #490).Editor's note: The NYT changed today's Strands puzzle earlier in the day due to "deeply unfortunate timing, for which we are truly sorry. In light of the tragic events ongoing in Texas, we recognize that the theme and board may have felt insensitive and poorly timed. This was entirely unintentional — Strands themes and boards are created and scheduled weeks in advance. We have now replaced the original puzzle with a new one."We have also now updated this page with the hints and answers for the new puzzle and would also like to apologize for any upset caused. Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.NYT Strands today (game #491) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Prescriptions plusNYT Strands today (game #491) - hint #2 - clue wordsPlay any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.CORERAINNICESIDECITYCASENYT Strands today (game #491) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?• Spangram has 13 lettersNYT Strands today (game #491) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?First side: top, 1st columnLast side: bottom, 6th columnRight, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.NYT Strands today (game #491) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Strands, game #491, are…BEAUTYHEALTHGROCERYVITAMINSMEDICINESPANGRAM: PHARMACY AISLEMy rating: EasyMy score: PerfectToday’s Strands was a last-minute replacement after the original puzzle was pulled.The PHARMACY AISLE is always my favorite at the supermarket, as it represents an opportunity to treat myself under the illusion that what I am buying will be good for me – and in the case of VITAMINS quite possibly turn my life around.I have spent my entire life searching for the perfect product to tame my defiantly springy hair and have a suitcase full of tried and failed products that I can’t bring myself to throw away. One day I’ll find “the one”.How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, July 6, game #490)STRENGTHSPEEDFLIGHTINVISIBILITYHEALINGSPANGRAM: SUPERPOWERWhat is NYT Strands?Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.