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It's the last day of Amazon's week-long Big Spring Sale, and while the event has mostly focused on things like apparel and outdoor goods, it still does include a few noteworthy deals on electronics. We’ve been highlighting the best of those across Engadget, but if you’re on a tighter budget, we’ve also dug up a few decent discounts on gadgets and services we like that are available for less than $50. As a reminder, you don’t need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to see most of the price drops.

Best Amazon Spring Sale deals under $50

Anker PowerConf C200 for $48 ($12 off MSRP): The PowerConf C200 is our favorite webcam for those on a tighter budget due to its crisp video quality, easy setup, solid microphones and built-in privacy cover. Its USB cable is on the shorter side, and it can’t match the overall accuracy of our top pick, but it’s still a clear upgrade over a built-in laptop camera for a much lower price. This is another deal we’ve seen numerous times in the last year, but it’s as low as the camera usually goes. Also at Anker.

The Anker 525 Charging Station.

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

Anker 525 Charging Station for $30 ($36 off): We recommend this reliable desktop charging station in our remote worker gift guide. It can’t provide the absolute fastest charge to your smartphone or laptop (topping out at a quick enough 67W), but it packs four USB ports — two USB-C, two USB-A — and three AC outlets in a frame that’s small enough to fit on a crowded desk. This deal ties the lowest price we’ve seen. Also at Anker.

Anker Nano Charger 30W for $13 ($10 off): It’s hard to have too many portable wall chargers on standby. This one from Anker should be particularly useful for traveling: At just over an inch thick, it’s small enough to fit in a pocket, while its 30W USB-C port is enough to top up recent iPhones at full speed. (That’s not enough for some newer Android phones, though.) This discount matches the lowest price we’ve seen. Also at Anker.

Blink Mini 2 for $20 ($20 off): This deal ties the lowest price to date for the Blink Mini 2, which is the budget pick in our guide to the best security cameras. This one comes with its share of trade-offs for the low price — its image quality isn’t the best, it locks certain features behind a paywall and it won’t automatically arm when you leave the house — but it still provides functional 1080p video, color night vision, motion alerts and Alexa support in a weather-resistant frame. It’s fairly simple to set up, too, though you’ll need to buy an external module if you want to store clips locally. Also at Best Buy and The Home Depot.

The Blink Mini 2.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $20 ($15 off): This is the budget pick in our guide to the best streaming devices. It can only play up to 1080p, so it’s really meant for older or smaller TVs that you want to modernize with streaming apps. It’s a bit more sluggish than Amazon’s higher-end 4K sticks, too, and all Fire TV devices tend to promote Amazon-owned services like Prime Video above all else. Still, it works with nearly all the major streaming apps, and its remote has Alexa built-in, so you can control your TV and certain smart home devices with voice commands. It also supports basic HDR10 — but not Dolby Vision — plus it can pass-through Dolby Atmos audio to a compatible soundbar or receiver. You could do worse if you just want the cheapest streamer possible. This deal is $2 higher than the all-time low we saw during the holidays, but it matches the best price we’ve tracked otherwise.

Amazon Music Unlimited 3-month trial for free ($24 off): Amazon is offering new subscribers three months of its Music Unlimited streaming service for free. Normally, it gives new users a one-month trial. Though Music Unlimited isn’t a top pick in our guide to the best music services, it still gets you lossless streaming quality and an extensive library of both music and podcasts. You could do worse if you just want to bum a few months of music streaming for no cost. Just note that your subscription will auto-renew once the trial period ends until you cancel.

Chipolo One for $20 ($5 off): The Chipolo One is the top overall pick in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers. While Apple’s AirTag can tap into a substantially larger crowd-sourcing network, we’ve found the One to send separation alerts faster when you’ve left an item behind and ring louder when you’re back in its vicinity. Unlike the AirTag, it can also attach directly to a keychain. It probably isn’t the safest choice for long-distance travel, but it’s a convenient security blanket if you, say, leave your keys or wallet behind at a restaurant. This is another discount that’s been available for a few weeks, but it’s just 10 cents more the best price we’ve seen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-tech-deals-under-50-the-best-discounts-you-can-still-get-on-chargers-earbuds-accessories-and-more-091512018.html?src=rss

Levoit's Core 400S air purifier is down to $190 from its usual $220 price, thanks to the Amazon Spring Sale. While it’s not the lowest price we’ve seen — the air purifier briefly hit $177 last year — it’s still a solid discount on one of the most convenient air purifiers for large spaces. Just clip the $30 on-page coupon to get the discount. This deal is part of a larger Levoit sale during the Spring Sale that includes other air purifiers, humidifiers and more.

We’ve featured Levoit in our list of the best air purifiers for its strong performance and smart features. The Core 400S can cover rooms up to 1,980 square feet using a three-stage filtration system to capture allergens, dust, pet dander and smoke. It also includes a smart sensor that adjusts fan speed based on air quality, so you’re not running it at full blast when you don’t need to.

One of the Levoit Core 400S’ biggest selling points is its low noise output, which makes it a good fit for bedrooms or home offices. If you need to knuckle down and get some work done without distraction whilst keeping your room’s air clean and fresh, even at higher speeds, it stays relatively quiet compared to bulkier purifiers. It also supports smart controls via the VeSync app, allowing you to tweak settings, set schedules or monitor air quality from your phone. If you have a smart home ecosystem in place, you can connect the purifier to third-party voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant — an added layer of convenience that allows you to control the Core 400S with simple voice commands.

Its 360-degree filtration system uses activated carbon to remove gases and odors, while an efficient middle filter captures 99.97 percent of pollutants as small as 0.3 microns. The built-in air quality sensor continuously monitors pollution levels, automatically adjusting performance as needed. You can track real-time air quality data on the LCD screen or through the VeSync app, which is handy (and interesting) to have access to at all times. At night, sleep mode keeps things extra quiet and subtle, dimming the display and operating at the lowest settings — or you can turn off the display completely for total darkness.

If you’ve been looking for an air purifier that can handle larger spaces without taking up too much room, this deal is worth considering, saving you over $30 on its usual price thanks to the Amazon Spring Sale.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-air-purifiers-is-still-down-to-a-near-record-low-price-for-the-amazon-spring-sale-133052953.html?src=rss

Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has finally reached its last day. Like last year, the deals are focused less on tech and gadgets and more on home, cleaning and fashion discounts. That's not Engadget's area of expertise — except when it comes to robot vacuums, where home cleaning and hi-tech neatly intersect. We’ve tested dozens of these handy automatic floor cleaners and put the results in two buying guides one for budget models and one covering the best of the best. We've also tried out a few cordless vacs, which make good spot-cleaners to supplement automated cleaning. Right now, a number of our picks and related models are on sale and we’ve rounded up the best deals on vacuums Amazon’s latest sale has to offer.

The best Amazon Spring Sale robot vacuum deals

Shark's Matrix Plus robovac for $400 ($350 off): In our testing, we’ve been consistently impressed with Shark vacuums — but they’re not cheap. This machine can mop in addition to vacuum and is nearly half price at 47 percent off.

Anker Eufy Robot Vacuum 11S MAX for $140 (44 percent off): The “S” in the model name stands for “slim” and it was one of the more low-profile machines we tried. It’s a pick in our guide to budget robot vacuums and has a long battery life and good suction power for its price. The main drawback is the lack of Wi-Fi, so instead of programming it with your phone, you’ll use the included remote.

Anker Eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20 for $400 ($200 off): If you can’t decide between a robot vacuum or a lightweight stick vac, you don’t have to. The new Eufy E20 combines a robo vac, cordless upright and handheld vacuum in one machine. Plus the automatically emptying base holds a lot of debris for its size. While we found the robot performance to be better than the stick vac suction, it’s still impressive and convenient for an all-in-one model.

The best cordless vacuum deals

Levoit Cordless Vacuum Cleaner (LVAC-200) for $150 ($50 off): The lowest price we’ve tracked on this stick vac is $130 but this matches the lowest price we’ve seen this year. It’s our runner up budget pick for a stick vac in our guide. It doesn’t have a storage base and the bin is smallish, but it’s lightweight and super affordable. It also disassembles easily for storage making its lack of base less of a deal breaker.

Tineco Pure ONE Station 5 for $349 ($110 off): This vac earned an honorable mention in our tests. The self-emptying base is a big selling point. We also liked the auto-adjusting suction and single-button start feature. The fact that it doesn’t require proprietary bags helps keep down the long-term cost, too.

Tineco Pure ONE S11 cordless vacuum for $200 ($100 off with coupon): Click the coupon to get $95 off our top pick for a budget stick vac. We like that it automatically adjusts suction depending on what it's picking up and is relatively lightweight when you’re pushing it around your floors. The bin is on the small side and the battery life isn’t as good as on other models, but it’s an easy-to-use, no-frills way to clean floors.

Tineco Pure ONE Station FurFree for $400 ($300 off): Of all the stick vacs our reviewer tried for our guide, this is the one she wanted to use the most. It’s super convenient with a dock that charges and empties and cleans all parts of the machine — brush, tube and dustbin — after each use. Plus the suction power is great and the iLoop smart sensor kicks up the suction when needed.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-robot-vacuum-deals-the-best-sales-from-irobot-tineco-shark-and-anker-092652460.html?src=rss

DTS support seems to have been removed from 2025 LG TVsAlmost all streaming services are Dolby, not DTSYour AV streamer or soundbar may have a DTS decoder

History appears to be repeating: LG has removed DTS support from its 2025 OLED TVs, including the LG C5, just like it did in 2020.Noticed by TV reviewer Vincent Teoh (via FlatpanelsHD) reports, the EDID information on the LG G5 – the information that tells audio and video sources what formats a TV supports – doesn't include DTS audio.When LG brought DTS back in 2023, we said that it was good news for home theater lovers, as it would give them support for content that didn't use Dolby Atmos. But it seems that according to LG's internal data, there weren't many such users or much of that content being played on LG TVs: Dolby was by far the most-used surround sound format.That's largely because Dolby and Atmos is the preferred format of the best streaming services. The one notable DTS exception, the IMAX Enhanced streamed by Disney+, wasn't supported on LG TVs due to its particular variation on the format.The 2025 models will be Dolby-only – but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy DTS soundtracks.

If DTS is a dealbreaker, there are tons of C4 and G4 OLEDs still available – and for amazing prices now. (Image credit: Future)

How to get around the lack of DTS on 2025 LG TVs

The issue here is all about decoding. DTS is a compressed audio format, and that means you need a device that can uncompress it and send it to one of the best soundbars, or your home theater speakers.If your TV is removed from the equation, then it doesn't matter if it's supports DTS, though.If your TV can't decode DTS, you may have other devices that can. So if your source device is connected to an AV receiver that's DTS-compatible, then you don't need to worry whether your TV has DTS: the decoding happens on your receiver, not on your TV.With soundbars it's a little more complex, because you'll need a soundbar that supports HDMI passthrough as well as DTS so that the soundbar can handle the audio and send the video to the TV.Many models don't offer that connectivity, though most high-end or mid-range models from Sony, Samsung and LG do. You can can connect one of the best 4K Blu-ray players or other DTS source directly to the soundbar's HDMI input and then connect the TV to the other port, and the soundbar will take and decode the DTS audio.If that's not an option, there's one more thing you can do: if your LG TV (or any other TV) doesn't have the ability to decode DTS, but your 4K Blu-ray players does, then you can usually set the player to decode the DTS and to output uncompressed audio.Try setting your player's audio output format to LPCM, often labelled Linear PCM. This format can be passed through the TV to your soundbar in surround sound without any concerns about format at all, though you'd lose the spatial sound of DTS:X.It's a shame that LG has dropped this format, and we're not sure that LG TVs likely adding Eclipsa Audio in the future will really make up for it.However, for the next few months, LG's 2024 TVs will remain on-sale, including the LG C4 and LG G4, and are arguably better value than its 2025 models – doubly so if you want DTS support…

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A newly redesigned MacBook Pro is rumored to arrive in 2026If leaks are accurate, it will feature an OLED display and a thinner chassisThis redesign will also be powered by Apple's M6 silicon

It could finally be happening, folks: the long-awaited OLED MacBook is finally on the way, if new claims from renowned Apple leaker Mark Gurman are to be believed.Gurman has claimed in his latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that Apple is planning a major overhaul to the MacBook Pro in 2026, which will deliver several noteworthy changes – and chief among them is the introduction of a Tandem OLED display designed by Samsung, the same type seen on last year's new iPad Pro 13-inch.It may also ditch the 'notch' in the screen for the webcam in favor of a floating 'hole cut' camera – perhaps adopting something more similar to the Dynamic Island seen on modern iPhones.That's not all, though: Gurman's sources also state that the new MacBook Pro will feature a thinner design than previous models, stating that Apple "had once hoped to release this new version in 2025".In other words, next year's MacBook Pro could look very different from the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro we reviewed back in November. But how does Apple plan to make its pro-grade laptop even more compact without sacrificing power? The answer could lie with the M6 chip.

Powered up

Yes, Gurman also believes that these next-gen MacBook Pros will come featuring the M6 chip (presumably also with M6 Pro and M6 Max versions) - implying that we can expect M5 MacBooks this year, without the OLED upgrade.The M6 chips will be the first laptop processors from Apple that utilize chip fabricator TSMC's new 2nm process (alongside the expected A20 chips for iPhones). The 2nm process is expected to bring new developments in both performance and power efficiency, which could explain how Apple expects the M6 chips to run at a high performance level even in a thinner MacBook.As for the MacBook Air, there's no news on any potential M5 or M6 variants, but we have to assume that they'll be in the works; after all, the new M4 MacBook Air didn't arrive on the scene until several months after the M4 chip landed in MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models. However, a previous report we covered claims that an OLED MacBook Air is still on the way, though it won't use the same Tandem OLED panel as the Pro and will likely arrive in 2027 or later - something that would align with Apple's existing release cadence, if the OLED MacBook Pro does indeed land in late 2026.

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IDC says AI demand drives hyperscalers to accelerate server infrastructure investmentsSuper Micro challenges Dell with rapid revenue growth in 2024Nvidia leads GPU servers as AI adoption continues expanding rapidly

The global server market saw a record-breaking surge in the final quarter of 2024, with revenue nearly doubling compared to the same period in 2023.New figures from IDC claim total server sales reached $77.3 billion in Q4 2024, marking a 91% year-over-year rise.This rapid expansion, fueled by hyperscalers, cloud storage service providers (CSPs), and enterprises investing in high-performance computing, is expected to push the market past an annual run rate of $300 billion by 2025.

Record growth fuels server market expansion

A significant portion of this increase came from x86 servers, which saw a 59.9% revenue jump, while non-x86 servers experienced an unprecedented 262.1% year-over-year surge.The growing adoption of AI-driven workloads has also contributed to the rise of servers equipped with embedded GPUs, with Nvidia maintaining a dominant 90% market share in this segment.As AI integration accelerates, demand for high-performance servers, and the best dedicated server hosting providers, continues to reshape the industry.Super Micro has also emerged as one of the fastest-growing server vendors, with its revenue surging by 55% in Q4 2024. With $5 billion in sales, it is now in a statistical tie with Dell Technologies, which saw a more modest 20.6% increase in revenue during the same period.The company’s surge is largely fueled by demand for AI-optimized infrastructure, and best small business server solutions also favors other key players, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, and IEIT Systems, all of which reported revenue growth exceeding 50% year-over-year.“IDC expects AI adoption to continue growing at a remarkable pace as hyperscalers, CSPs, private companies, and governments around the world are increasingly prioritizing those investments,” said Lidice Fernandez, group vice president, Worldwide Enterprise Infrastructure Trackers.“Growing concerns around energy consumption for server infrastructure will become a factor in datacenters looking for alternatives to optimize their architectures and minimize energy use”Cloud service providers and hyperscalers accounted for nearly half of all server sales in Q4 2024, while ODM Direct category, comprising manufacturers that sell directly to large-scale operators like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud generated a staggering $36.57 billion in revenue during the quarter, marking a 155.5% increase year-over-year.This surge in spending reflects the increasing demand for the best web hosting and cloud computing solutions as organizations migrate more workloads to the cloud and invest in AI-powered infrastructure.

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Apple's annual September iPhone event is just a few months away, and all signs point to the Apple Watch UItra 3 making an appearance alongside the iPhone 17, Apple Watch Series 11, and Apple Watch SE 3.Apple only unveiled one new smartwatch in 2024, so 2025 is shaping up to be a fairly bumper year by comparison, with fully three new models plus watchOS 12 expected over the coming months.But what will 2025 bring to the Apple Watch Ultra? The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the best Apple Watch and the best smartwatch out there right now thanks to its excellent design, battery life, and epic display, but there's always more to be added.Early leaks and rumors point to a fairly muted design change but some big health improvements under the hood. Here's what we know so far.

Cut to the chase

What is it? A new Apple Watch UltraWhen is it out? Most likely announced September 2025How much will it cost? Probably at least $799 / £799 / AU$1,399

Apple Watch Ultra 3: rumored release date and price

The Apple Watch 9 should get an upgrade alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (Image credit: Apple)

Apple always releases its new watch models in September at its iPhone event. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 didn’t materialize in 2024, so we’d expect it in 2025 instead. That’s also the opinion of the inimitable Apple Insider Mark Gurman. Reporting in January, he revealed that Apple’s 2025 slate of products includes a new Apple Watch Ultra 3, Series 11, and SE 3 coming in September.In terms of pricing, there’s no indication that Apple will depart from its current pricing structure of one Apple Watch Ultra model in the region of $799 / £799 / AU$1,399. Apple usually keeps the pricing fairly similar, and for reasons we’ll come to, it seems unlikely the price will increase.

Apple Watch Ultra 3: leaks and rumors

There's a lot to like about the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (Image credit: Future)

Display

Rumors abounded in 2024 that Apple was planning to adopt a microLED display for the Apple Watch Ultra, however, the latest reports indicate this has been shelved indefinitely. Writing in March 2024, Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that microLED wouldn’t add significant value to the Apple Watch.However, Apple has recently upgraded the Apple Watch Series 10 with a new LTPO3 OLED technology that is 40% brighter when viewed from any angle. It's odd that the Ultra would persist with inferior display tech, so this seems like a nailed-on update for 2025.

Satellite connectivity and 5G

One of the biggest rumored upgrades is the inclusion of satellite connectivity and Reduced Capability 5G, which could drastically improve the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s communication features. The satellite connectivity is likely a safety feature for emergency services communication, although it may also be for sending messages over satellite waves like the iPhone 16 lineup. 5G would seriously boost the Ultra’s data capability when it comes to navigation and streaming, as well as communication and voice call improvements.

Chip

Just like the display, the Ultra 2 now lags behind the Apple Watch Series 10, sporting the S9 chip compared to the S10. There might be a new chip across the board for all of these models, but at the very least the S10 will be included as an upgrade.

Design

Those are all under-the-hood changes; however, top insider Mark Gurman warns that Apple is not planning any kind of redesign. He says the Apple Watch SE 3 is the only model we should expect to get a new look, while the Ultra 3 and Series 11 will stay roughly the same.One possible design tweak could be the inclusion of the Apple Watch Series 10's newer rear casing. The metal back is more efficient when it comes to charging and cellular performance, so this seems like another no-brainer.

Hypertension

Perhaps the biggest rumored change to the Ultra 3 could be the advent of new high blood pressure detection. According to reports, Apple is planning a new health monitoring feature for blood pressure. While it won't be able to give specific blood pressure readouts, it may well be able to detect hypertension, similar to the workings of its sleep apnea detection feature. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports we can expect this feature in the Ultra 3 and the Series 11.According to reports, Apple is set to overhaul its Health app in iOS 19, replete with an AI-powered Doctor. Chances are this will lean heavily on Apple Watch metrics for data and as such we can also expect the Ultra 3 to get some revamped health features, at the very least a more comprehensive health app.

Apple Watch Ultra 3: what we want to see

All the signs are that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 isn't going to be a huge jump forward in tech from the Apple Watch Ultra 2 – but we still have a few ideas about how Apple could improve its most capable smartwatch.

1. A cheaper price

Lower prices are always welcome, and while we do understand the premium materials used on the Apple Watch Ultra don't come cheap, surely Apple can find some compromises to offer a cheaper version of the Ultra? There's a not-insignificant $400 / £400 / AU$750 difference between the starting prices of the Apple Watch 10 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and an additional smartwatch model could bridge that gap nicely.

2. More design options

More strap options would be most welcome (Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

Right now, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is available with just one casing choice: standard silver titanium. The three straps (each available in three colors) give you some customization options, but we'd like to see more options when it comes to both the casing around the display and the straps you can get with it. If there's not much changing with the watch specs or design, then Apple can at least give users some more personalization options. Maybe an all-black option?

3. More exclusive features

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a number of exclusive features to differentiate it from the Apple Watch 9, including an Action button and a siren button you can use to call for help. We'd like to see even more of these upgrades added to make the hefty price jump from the standard model worth it – perhaps in the form of exclusive apps for more advanced outdoor activity tracking or a more advanced set of sensors for deeper health insights.

4. Improved Siri

Apple Intelligence is rolling out later this year (Image credit: Apple)

We've heard plenty about the Apple Intelligence upgrades that are coming to Siri on iPhones, iPads and Macs, but as yet, there's nothing for the Apple Watch or watchOS 11. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 could be the perfect showcase for a smarter Siri that gives better answers and can provide more information – a key upgrade for a device where voice control is often preferable to tapping at the screen with your fingers and thumbs.Unfortunately, this is still a long way off and may not even debut in time for watchOS 12 in 2026.

5. Better battery life

The up-to-36-hours battery life on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 isn't too bad at all, but it there wasn't any upgrade in this department over the original Apple Watch Ultra, and it still falls short if you want to take the wearable away for a few days in the mountains or into the middle of nowhere. A combination of a bigger battery capacity, a more efficient chipset, and some software optimizations should be possible to extend battery life even further.

To say that Garmin has upset its users with its new subscription service would be putting it mildly. The company recently announced Garmin Connect+, a new paid premium tier of its Connect app that features some shiny new paywalled features, including AI-powered insights and a performance dashboard for all of the best Garmin watches.It hasn't gone down well. Thousands of furious Garmin fans have taken to Reddit over the news, demanding customers take a stand.The uproar has been so intense that you might have actually missed what the subscription entails, so if you're at least a little bit curious or you'd happily give the free trial a go, here's what you get from Garmin Connect Plus for $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually.

1. Active Intelligence

(Image credit: Garmin)

Garmin Connect+ gets you AI-powered training insights. Garmin says you'll get personalized suggestions based on health and activity data. Previews showcase friendly summaries about your sleep, battery, and more. As you'd expect from AI, the insights will reportedly get better over time. Here's an example:You fell 1 hour and 23 minutes short of your sleep need, but you still managed to charge your battery 57 points. You're ready for exercise today, but balance it with rest to avoid bottoming out.

2. Performance Dashboard

(Image credit: Garmin)

Connect+ features a comprehensive view of training data, available on the website, that lets you compare your fitness and health data over time. Showcased examples include your running duration comparison, time in power zones, average pace, and distance over time.

3. Live Activity

(Image credit: Garmin)

Your smartphone will now give you real-time heart rate, pace, reps and videos for your indoor workouts (such as strength and yoga) when paired with a compatible smartwatch.

4. Exclusive Coaching Guidance

(Image credit: Garmin)

As you use Garmin Run Coach or Garmin Cycling Coach, you'll get expert guidance from coaches, including educational content and videos.

5. Enhanced Livetrack

(Image credit: Garmin)

Starting an activity on a compatible device will now notify your friends and family via text, and you can create a personalized LiveTrack profile page for people to follow.This seems to have changed the existing text feature for Garmin users, and we've got some concerns that this might have pushed some of the existing LiveTrack features behind a paywall. We've reached out to Garmin to confirm.

6. Social features

(Image credit: Garmin)

Finally, social features include exclusive badges, some of them worth an increased amount of points, and badge challenges that you can use to personalize your profile.

Not a lot?

The Garmin Connect+ subscription isn't enormously expensive, but it's not cheap either. As you can see, you don't get an enormous amount for your money, and Garmin hasn't exactly been forthcoming on the details about these features – this is really all the information we have right now.As such, it's possible we'll get more detailed insight about some of these features over the coming days and weeks.On paper, Garmin Connect+ looks pretty thin, and while that's not the main reason people are objecting to its rollout, I have to imagine that it's a factor.

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How can we push CPUs forward? That's the question the computing industry has been asking since the Intel 4004 processor launched in 1971. Chipmakers have tried cranking up clock speeds, adding multiple cores and miniaturizing chip architectures to make them faster and more efficient. The conflict between RISC and CISC chip instruction sets (ISAs) — "reduced" designs versus "complex" ones — rages on to this day with RISC-V.

For the past few years, AMD has been exploring a unique approach to speeding up some of its processors with 3D V-Cache, a technology that stacks more L3 cache on top of Ryzen cores. By doing so, the company avoids crowding the 2D plane of its chips, and it's able to cram in more memory without making its CPUs larger. With the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, AMD has now evolved 3D V-Cache to the point where every hardcore gamer will want one — even if few people actually need a $700 CPU.

3D V-Cache first appeared in the Ryzen 5800X3D in 2022, and AMD brought it to laptops in 2023. While there were some obvious downsides initially — the 5800X3D had slower clock speeds than the standard Ryzen 5800 — AMD has steadily improved the technology. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D were both notable for reaching the same maximum clock speeds as their 2D counterparts. While AMD's second-generation 3D V-Cache technology isn't as big of a leap in the 9950X3D (and other recent chips like the 9900X3D and 9800X3D), the company has managed to overcome the few compromises it's had to make so far. Simply put, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a beast of a CPU for gaming and productivity work alike.

What's new in the Ryzen 9 9950X3D?

The 9950X3D is a 16-core processor with a 4.3GHz base clock speed and a boost speed of 5.7GHz, just like its 2D sibling the 9950X. The big difference between the two is in their total L2 and L3 cache: the 9950X has 80MB, while the 3D V-Cache technology crams 144MB in the 9950X3D. By having more cache, the 9950X3D is able to tackle more processing loads without hitting RAM, which could take eight to 10 times as long, according to Robert Hallock, AMD's director of technical marketing.

The major upgrade in the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, in addition to being powered by AMD's new Zen 5 cores, lies in the positioning of its 3D V-Cache layer. Previously, it sat on top of Zen 3 and Zen 4 cores, which slightly hindered cooling and overall performance. Now, the 3D V-Cache layer sits below the 9950X3D's Zen 5 cores, which gives those hotter elements direct access to your CPU fan’s heatsink. The 9950X3D has the same 170 Watt TDP (Thermal Design Profile) as its 2D variant, so cooling shouldn't be a huge problem, and unlike most other 3D V-Cache chips, it's also fully overclockable.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

In-use: An absolute powerhouse

I expected the Ryzen 9 9950X3D to wallop every other PC CPU I've tested, but I didn't expect the leap to be so dramatic. In the Geekbench 6 single-threaded CPU benchmark, it was 20 percent faster than the Ryzen 9 7900X I was previously using. The 9950X3D was also 33 percent faster in the same benchmark's multi-threaded test. (I didn't have a 7950X3D for direct comparison, but based on a median of scores from 3DMark users, it hits 14,290 points. The 9950X3D reached 17,025, or 19 percent faster, in my testing)

CPU

GeekBench 6 CPU

3DMark CPU Profile

Cinebench 2024

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

3,366/18,950

17,025 Max

134/2,124

AMD Ryzen 9 7900X

2,822/14,216

12,553 Max

113/1,103

Apple M4 Max

4,090/26,394

N/A

190/2066

Apple M2 Ultra

2,776/21,403

N/A

N/A

I've only seen better scores from Apple's hardware. The M4 chip is slightly faster for single-threaded tasks, while the M4 Max and M2 Ultra chips in the Mac Studio trounce AMD's multi-threaded Geekbench 6 scores. Still, you could build a solid Ryzen 9 system for far less than the Mac Studio M4 Max's $2,000 starting cost, even while accounting for the 9950X3D's $700 price tag.

Apple doesn't always come out ahead. In the Cinebench 2024 multi-threaded benchmark, the 9950X3D slightly surpassed the M4 Max chip. That result is also a sign that AMD's flagship chip will be a big help for Windows-based content creators. The 9950X3D and the M4 Max both took 14 seconds to transcode a 4K clip into 1080p, which is the fastest result we've ever seen.

The major appeal of the 9950X3D is that it'll also be able to handle demanding games over the next few years without bottlenecking high-end GPUs like NVIDIA's RTX 5080 and 5090. On my system, which is using an RTX 5090 and 64GB of RAM, the 9950X3D reached 195 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 while playing in 1080p with high graphics settings. The Ryzen 9 7900X, on the other hand, hit 166 fps with the same GPU and RAM. You'll see less of an immediate uplift at higher resolutions, where your video card is doing more of the work. Cyberpunk hit 64 fps in 4K without DLSS upscaling on the 9950X3D, while it struggled to reach 56 fps on the 7900X with the same settings.

For 4K, in particular, the 9950X3D could be useful for scaling performance for monitors with faster refresh rates. On the 7900X, Dragon Age: The Veilguard ran at a smooth 250 fps in 4K with graphics settings and frame generation cranked up, but with the newer chip I saw 270 fps. If you’re running a 4K 240Hz monitor with a less powerful GPU, you’ll likely have a better shot of edging close to 240 fps thanks to 3D V-Cache.

Given all of its power, I was surprised to find that the 9950X3D ran at a relatively cool 81.5 Celsius at 100 percent load. It also idles between 30C and 35C, depending on what you’re doing. Those results are pretty impressive for a CPU that can push up to 170 Watts.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Should you buy the Ryzen 9 9950X3D?

Much like NVIDIA's $2,000 RTX 5090, I can't easily recommend the $700 Ryzen 9 9950X3D to most people. Most gamers would likely be better off with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which sells for a more reasonable $479. Sure, it has half as many cores, but the majority of titles don't tap into many of those to begin with. There's also the $600 12-core 9900X3D, which could be more useful for people who actually need a healthy amount of CPU cores.

You could of course consider AMD's current chips without 3D V-Cache, like the Ryzen 7 9700X, which has an MSRP of $359 but is currently selling for under $300. But if you're already in the market for an expensive video card, it's likely worth paying a bit extra to get more L3 cache. When AMD first debuted the 5800X3D, the company claimed 3D V-Cache alone boosted 1080p performance by 15 percent. As games get more complex and demanding, having more available cache could be even more useful. (And it's also easier to pay more for a better chip now than buying a new one in a few years.)

As for Intel, it only has plans to bring its version of the technology, dubbed Local Cache, to next-generation Xeon server chips, according to der8auer and Bens Hardware (via Tom's Hardware). Intel's current high-end desktop chip, the 24-core i9-14900K, is no gaming slouch, but it's saddled with just 36MB of L3 cache.

Wrap-up

If anything, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D is yet another sign that AMD is on a hot streak. After releasing a pair of excellent midrange GPUs, which showed that the company can genuinely go toe-to-toe with NVIDIA, this CPU and its accompanying 3D V-Cache technology is a reminder of how AMD is far ahead of Intel in many ways. And let’s not forget that it was also the first x86 chipmaker to include NPUs in laptop and desktop CPUs. While it’s certainly not the best deal around, if you can afford it, the 9950X3D is the best desktop CPU you can buy today.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/amd-ryzen-9-9950x3d-review-a-no-compromise-cpu-for-demanding-gamers-152452811.html?src=rss

Oracle Health has potentially suffered a second data breachAny such incident could affect sensitive patient dataOracle has not yet confirmed the scale of the breach

Oracle Health has denied having had sensitive patient data stolen by threat actors in two separate data breaches, leaving millions of customers potentially at risk.The company had previously denied any breach after a hacker claimed to hold six million records belonging to the company but now a second incident appears to have led to a separate breach.The company hasn’t yet commented on the compromises, but BleepingComputer has now reportedly seen private communications sent to impacted customers which confirm patient data was stolen.

Sensitive stolen data

The attack used compromised customer credentials to breach servers, and the legacy Cerner data migration servers sometime after January 22 2025, and the firm was made aware of the breach on February 20, 2025.Reports confirmed patient information was included in the information stolen in the attack, and that the company will help identify the affected users. It’s not clear if this was the result of a ransomware attack, or if this was just data exfiltration, and it's also as yet unknown how the customer credentials were obtained.The attacker, going by the name “Andrew”, has not claimed affiliation with any ransomware or hacking groups, and is demanding millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to stop the sale or leak of the exfiltrated information.Healthcare organizations are increasingly at risk from cyberattackers, especially given the sensitive nature of the data they collect, and the often limited budgets for cybersecurity.In fact, a 2024 breach of insurance firm United Healthcare impacted almost 200 million patients.Since a data breach containing personally identifiable information such as this would put those exposed at serious risk of identity theft or fraud, Oracle Health has apparently offered to pay for credit monitoring services for those impacted."As cybersecurity leaders, we’re responsible for strong cyber hygiene: continuously monitoring our environments for unusual activity, leveraging cyber threat intelligence to stay ahead of emerging risks, and empowering employees to be our human firewall," commented Pierre Noel, Field CISO EMEA at Expel."No system is completely impenetrable, but understanding our risk landscape and layering defenses can make it much harder for attackers to succeed. Cyber resilience starts with us."

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iRobot’s Roomba Combo Essential machine, which is a robot vacuum and mop in one, is down to only $149 as part of the Amazon Spring Sale. Normally priced at $275, this is the best discount we've seen on the 2-in-1 robot, matching the sale price we saw during the holiday shopping season last year.

As you can see in our roundup of the best budget robot vacuums, we’ve consistently rated iRobot’s machines highly for their reliability and ease of use. The Roomba Combo Essential is a simple, no-frills option that both vacuums and mops, making it a solid pick for small apartments, dorm rooms or anyone who wants a cleaner floor without spending a fortune.

The vacuum uses special multi-surface brushes to pick up dirt, dust and pet hair from hard floors and carpets. Unlike some budget models that struggle with transitions, this one automatically adjusts to different surfaces, so you won’t have to worry about it getting stuck. When it’s time to mop, the built-in mopping pad wipes down hard floors, tackling light spills and everyday messes. It’s not as advanced as iRobot’s higher-end models with precision scrubbing, but it’s a convenient way to keep your floors looking fresh with minimal effort.

One of iRobot Roomba Combo Essential's most convenient features is its auto-adjusting cleaning power — the robot increases suction when it detects extra debris, so it’s more effective on high-traffic areas like entryways or around pet bowls. It also has cliff sensors to prevent it from tumbling down stairs and a low-profile design that helps it slip under some couches and other furniture for a more thorough clean.

Despite it being an entry-level robot vacuum, the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential comes with app control and voice assistant support, so you can set cleaning schedules and initiate cleaning whether you’re at home lounging on the couch or away on vacation. For $150, this is a solid deal for an iRobot machine that can vacuum and mop, especially considering its usual $275 price tag. If you’ve been thinking about automating some of your floor cleaning, this is one of the most affordable ways to do it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-vacuum-deals-this-irobot-2-in-1-vacuum-and-mop-falls-to-149-123058239.html?src=rss

The Amazon Big Spring Sale has reached it's last day, but a number of the deals we've been tracking for the past week are still going strong — but we don't imagine that'll be the case tomorrow. Like last year, the discounts appear to be more focused on kitchen, fashion and cleaning supplies than all-out tech categories, but as cooking gear gets more tech-reliant we've tested out more than a few cooking gadgets. We’ve reviewed Instant Pots, air fryers, coffee gear, sous vide machines and more. Some of what we recommend is now on sale for Amazon’s latest shopping event. Here are the best deals on kitchen tech we could find.

The best Amazon Spring Sale deals on air fryers, Instant Pots and more

Breville Juice Fountain Plus for $140 ($40 off): The powerful Juice Fountain impressed us with its extraction abilities. Plus it’s relatively easy to clean (as long as you do it right after you juice). It takes up a good amount of space, but can extract an impressive amount of juice from even the driest-seeming carrot. This price isn’t as low as the $110 Amazon sold it for back in January, but this is the lowest price we’ve tracked since then.

Cosori 9-in-1 air frier for $90 ($30 off): Cosori’s fryer earned a spot as the runner up for best overall air fryer in our guide. It has nine preset cooking modes and a six-quart capacity. We like that it doesn’t take up too much space, but can still cook up a decent amount of food

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro for $320 ($80 off): If you want a more traditional toaster oven design with a huge capacity, go for our premium air fryer pick. The fryer-and-oven combo can accommodate a five-quart dutch oven, so it’s almost an auxiliary oven, which could come in handy when you’re cooking for a crowd. This isn't an all-time low — it went for $300 at the end of last year.

Breville the Smart Oven Air Fryer for $260 ($90 off): This is the non-Pro version of the Breville air fryer we recommend. It has a slightly smaller capacity (0.8 cubic feet instead of one cubic foot) and is missing two cooking functions (dehydrate and proof). But if you’re not making your own jerky or baking a ton of bread, this one can toast, broil, air fry and slow cook. You can even get it in cool colors like Red Velvet Cake for the same price.

Ninja DZ401 Foodi 10-quart air fryer for $190 ($40 off): If you need to air fry two different foods at once, go for our recommendation for a dual-zone air fryer. It’s a beast, so we think it’s best for larger kitchens and people who make big meals. It went as low as $130 for Black Friday last year, but this is the cheapest price we’ve seen since then.

Ninja AF150AMZ Air Fryer for $120 (25 percent off): This went as low as $100 for the holidays last year, but this matches the lowest price we’ve seen since then. The fryer gets an honorable mention in our air fryer guide because it makes good use of limited counter space with its taller design. The round cooking basket doesn’t feel as roomy as square ones but it does have a dehydrate option that other cookers don’t come with.

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender for $100 ($30 off): The big selling point here is the removable battery that you can use for other KitchenAid Go appliances. In our testing, it had enough power to turn a roasted butternut squash into a smooth, creamy soup. The blender has hit this price a few times over the past few months and the deal isn’t as good as the $77 it sold for at the end of last year.

Instant Pot Pro Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker for $133 ($67 off): We also suggest this fancier Pro Plus model in our guide to kitchen tech. It’s a Wi-Fi connected unit with a canning function and you can even release the steam remotely using the companion app — which has over 800 recipes. This isn't an all-time low — it was $125 earlier this week and dipped as low as $99 for Black Friday last year.

Fellow Stagg EKG Pro electric kettle for $165 ($30 off): This exquisitely designed kettle has an LCD panel built into the base so you can choose a specific temperature down to the degree. And the hold feature keeps water hot for up to an hour. This is the pro model of the version we recommend in our tea guide.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide 3.0 for $129 ($70 off): We named this the best overall sous vide machine after testing a number of models for our buyer’s guide. This is about $30 more than the low it hit for the holidays last year, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen in 2025. We appreciate the easy digital controls and found that the high flow rate maintains water temperature better than other machines. Plus, if you’re at a loss for what to cook, you can check out the companion app which is replete with recipes.

Expired deals

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano for $100 ($50 off): This is the machine that led our editor to dub these machines the “Millennial crockpot.” She uses this one a few times a week to make unfussy meals that keep her alive. The Nano model is a slightly smaller and less expensive version of the top pick in our buyer’s guide. This is about $10 more than the all-time low, but is the cheapest we’ve seen Amazon sell it for over the past couple of months.

Instant Vortex 2QT Mini Air Fryer for $50 ($10 off): The budget pick in our guide doesn’t go on sale often — it’s already pretty cheap at its $60 list price. It’s sold for as little as $48 for Prime Day in July, but this is the cheapest we’ve seen since then. Its two-quart capacity is probably best for small kitchens and can crisp up food for one or two people.

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker for $90 ($40 off): We like this Instant Pot model because it's simple to use and has several quick-cooking modes including beans, cake, sous vide and more. It went as low as $70 earlier this year, but this is still a 30 percent discount off the list price.

KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer for $380 ($80 off): Small wonder that the home cook’s gold standard of mixers made its way onto our kitchen tech guide. Its ton of available attachments can be used to make pasta, grind food, strain or spiralize fruits and veggies and more. This is no unitasker. This is a solid $80 discount off of the MSRP, but we’ll note that Amazon sold it for as low as $330 at the end of last year and for $350 last month.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-amazon-spring-sale-deals-on-kitchen-gear-from-ninja-breville-kitchenaid-and-others-092909893.html?src=rss

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly robot vacuum that can handle both vacuuming and mopping, iRobot’s Roomba Combo Essential just hit its lowest price ever. Thanks to the Amazon Spring Sale, it’s down to $149 from $275, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. It previously dipped to $149 during the holiday season and earlier this year, but it’s unclear how long this deal will stick around this time.

As you can see in our roundup of the best budget robot vacuums, we’ve consistently rated iRobot’s machines highly for their reliability and ease of use. The Roomba Combo Essential is a simple, no-frills option that both vacuums and mops, making it a solid pick for small apartments, dorm rooms or anyone who wants a cleaner floor without spending a fortune.

The vacuum uses special multi-surface brushes to pick up dirt, dust and pet hair from hard floors and carpets. Unlike some budget models that struggle with transitions, this one automatically adjusts to different surfaces, so you won’t have to worry about it getting stuck. When it’s time to mop, the built-in mopping pad wipes down hard floors, tackling light spills and everyday messes. It’s not as advanced as iRobot’s higher-end models with precision scrubbing, but it’s a convenient way to keep your floors looking fresh with minimal effort.

One of iRobot Roomba Combo Essential's most convenient features is its auto-adjusting cleaning power — the robot increases suction when it detects extra debris, so it’s more effective on high-traffic areas like entryways or around pet bowls. It also has cliff sensors to prevent it from tumbling down stairs and a low-profile design that helps it slip under some couches and other furniture for a more thorough clean.

Despite it being an entry-level robot vacuum, the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential comes with app control and voice assistant support, so you can set cleaning schedules and initiate cleaning whether you’re at home lounging on the couch or away on vacation. For $150, this is a solid deal for an iRobot machine that can vacuum and mop, especially considering its usual $275 price tag. If you’ve been thinking about automating some of your floor cleaning, this is one of the most affordable ways to do it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-vacuum-deals-this-irobot-2-in-1-vacuum-and-mop-is-still-on-sale-for-149-123058025.html?src=rss

Surfshark is looking to improve the privacy of current end-to-end encryption with a new patentThe plan is currently based on distributed trust-based communication frameworksDespite this, Surfshark says its approach differs from the likes of NymVPN and ObscuraVPN

Surfshark has just registered a new patent looking to improve the privacy of current end-to-end encryption (E2E) systems.Based on a distributed trust-based communication infrastructure, Surfshark's proposed method seeks to reduce the amount of visible metadata – meaning all the data that isn't the content – by splitting the encryption process between two separate VPN providers.

Better metadata privacy

Encryption refers to the scrambling of data into an unreadable form and is the technical solution born to protect these online activities.End-to-end encryption (E2E) is the tech used by virtual private networks (VPNs), some secure email services, and messaging platforms to ensure the content of the message remains private between the sender and the receiver.

A lot of metadata is still visible to the providerKarolis Kaciulis, Surfshark

Yet, Surfshark's Lead System Engineer, Karolis Kaciulis believes that it's time to go beyond E2E.He told TechRadar: "After the emergence of E2E encryption, we feel that the topic of user anonymity and security while using various messaging systems and technologies has stagnated. We believe there is still room for improvement."The main issue with today's encrypted messages, Kaciulis explains, is that while these messages cannot be accessed by unwanted third parties, "a lot of metadata is still visible to the provider."Metadata includes details such as who sent a message to whom, when the message was sent, the size of the message, and many others.

At the time of writing, Surfshark reroute your internet traffic via its own servers only. The provider is now looking if this new tech could fit in its product design roadmap. (Image credit: Surfshark)

This is where Surfshark's new patent comes in. Based on a distributed trust-based communication framework, it seeks to introduce a new way for VPN providers to handle encryption and de-centralize the ownership of the message.Such a framework would involve two different VPN companies handling the encryption process so that no single entity has all the information in its entirety."The patented method would ensure that the information is split," said the patent inventor. "Thus, the metadata seen by the provider companies (as well as governments where they reside) is reduced."

Don't call it decentralized VPN

It's worth mentioning that some providers already offer decentralized VPN solutions that split users' information between several entities without having a single point of governance.For example, the newly launched NymVPN is built on a decentralized server network run by anonymous users across the world. Obscura VPN employs a two-party VPN structure, using Mullvad's WireGuard VPN as an exit hop.Kaciulis, however, thinks that Surfshark's patent goes beyond what a decentralized VPN stands for."Personally, I believe that today 'decentralized VPN' is a little bit of a buzzword used to convince users that it’s a better solution than the status quo. The Internet is built on trust and authority, and losing said authority only makes it less safe," Kaciulis told TechRadar.Therefore, this solution comes as a way to emphasise the importance of having even more authority. "It’s just that the authority is shared between multiple actors instead of one."

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A Google Photos redesign could be on the wayA survey shows a new design with a focus on search featuresIt also makes Memories larger and rounds the edges of your snaps

According to a leak from a recent survey, Google Photos could be about to get a design overhaul, which could make managing your library of snaps a little easier.Details of a supposed Google survey were shared with Android Authority by a user on Telegram called @Arfus_UwU, who sent a screenshot of two Google Photos layouts. One is the current layout, and the other a redesign, which the user is asked to judge based on how modern or outdated it feels out of 50.At first glance, the designs seem very similar, with only a couple of minor changes, such as making image borders more round and making the Google Photos Memories action buttons a little larger – the latter of which you’ll either appreciate or hate based on how frequently you use Memories.However, a few subtler changes could make a world of difference to the Google Photos experience.

Big changes coming?

The current Google Photos design, which could soon be changed (Image credit: Future)

Firstly, we can see that the Today heading no longer has a checkmark next to it and instead shows what appears to be a filter icon. This means instead of being able to quickly select every photo you took that day you’d be able to trim down the snaps you see based on criteria like where they were taken and who’s in the shot.At the bottom, we can also see that the Photos Collections and Search tabs have been replaced by a floating search bar and an icon that looks like it leads to your collections pages.All of these changes look to streamline the process of finding a specific photo in as few taps and swipes as possible.Whether you love or hate the supposed redesign, remember to take this leak with a pinch of salt. Even if Google is conducting surveys, there’s a chance it won’t copy the survey’s design exactly in its eventual rollout – it’s probably testing for a bunch of different factors when asking for opinions.Even so, we, for one, love the new look. Memories could be smaller but the easy access search bar and filter options look super useful, especially as Google’s AI gets better at smart search so it can locate the precise picture you’re describing but can’t spot in your camera roll no matter how much you scroll.

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Sony consoles have a VRR problemTests have revealed it's not an issue with a specifc game or monitorThere's no fix yet, but hopefully Sony will release one soon

If you’ve been experiencing stuttering while playing games on your PS5 or PS5 Pro then you aren’t alone. And finally we might know what’s causing it, but on that front there’s good and bad news.Many players have noticed that when playing games that support 120Hz VRR (variable refersh rate) there’s an occasional stutter. It usually takes about 20 minutes to begin stuttering, but once it does happen, the stutter recurs about every 8 seconds – and naturally, this regular cadence adds to the distraction it causes.Digital Foundry decided to investigate and has found that the issues appear to be with the console itself rather than any specific game or other hardware.As detailed in its very in-depth YouTube explanation (and shared in written form via Eurogamer) Digital Foundry discovered this visual hiccup occurs on several different titles – including The Last of Us Part 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

It also found the stuttering occurred across different displays including LG OLED TVs, a Samsung mini-LED display, and an Eve Spectrum monitor. Digital Foundry even tested the same games across both Xbox and Sony consoles and found only the Sony hardware had issues.However, while Sony’s tech has been pinned as the source of the issue, what hasn’t yet been discovered is why the games are stuttering.We do know that the stutter itself is because games will be running within a smooth frame rate window (say 60 to 70 fps) then every 8 seconds or so, spike momentarily to 120Hz. It’s why this spike happens which we don’t know.With all signs pointing Sony’s tech being the issue it should hopefully be fixable with a simple software update in the near future. For now, your best immediate solution would be to disable VRR in your system’s settings and play with a fixed refresh rate.It’s not ideal, but it should tide you over until Sony can put out a patch.

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Regular YouTube users have likely noticed an abundance of AI-generated fake movie trailers this past year or so. This annoying AI slop is all over the platform. As it turns out, major movie studios have actually been making money from the videos, according to reporting by Deadline.

The scheme worked sort of like a mob shakedown. Hollywood studios would not enforce copyright on these videos. Instead, they struck a deal with YouTube to ensure they got the ad revenue instead of the people that typed in a couple of prompts and did some light editing.

One of the most famous of these videos is a bogus trailer for the upcoming Superman reboot. This one actually tricked French national television, leading director James Gunn to post three puking emojis on X. He likely didn’t know that Warner Bros. Discovery was one of the companies racking up cash for these pale imitations.

🤮🤮🤮 https://t.co/O17n3VuSx0— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 20, 2024

There’s a question here as to why major film studios would allow their brands to be diluted by AI-generated nonsense. After all, these fake trailers exist right next to the actual teasers and it’s been proven that they can confuse people. We don’t have any actual monetary figures, but the videos have racked up billions of views. Maybe that’s enough for short-sighted companies. The actors union SAG-AFTRA has called the whole thing a "race to the bottom."

In any event, the gravy train has run out of steam. YouTube has turned off ad revenue for these kinds of videos, which was likely done because of Deadline’s reporting. Popular channels that distribute this content, like Screen Culture, have been removed from the partner program. Now nobody will make money from a slightly-off Leonardo DiCaprio making his way through a season of Squid Game.

The channels can appeal YouTube’s decision. The founder of a channel called KH Studio, which has amassed hundreds of millions of views, has said that they never intended to mislead viewers. They just wanted to create "what if" scenarios.

"I’ve been running KH Studio full-time for over three years now, putting everything into it. It’s tough to see it grouped under 'misleading content' in the demonetization decision, when my goal has always been to explore creative possibilities – not to misrepresent real releases," they added.

We contacted Screen Culture for comment and will update this post if we hear back. That channel has over 1.4 million subscribers and has posted a whopping 1,800 videos. If something exists, Screen Culture has likely made a fake trailer for it. For instance, the channel has posted over 20 AI-generated trailers for the upcoming Marvel film Fantastic Four: First Steps.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/movie-studios-have-been-making-serious-money-from-ai-slop-on-youtube-160434252.html?src=rss

There may come a point where you want to break ties with Amazon — maybe you’re cutting down on impulse buys, trying to escape the subscription rabbit hole or just rethinking where your money goes. Whatever the reason, Amazon gives you two main options: you can cancel your Prime membership to stop the monthly (or yearly) payments, or you can go all in and delete your entire Amazon account including your order history, personal data and access to services like Kindle and Prime Video. This guide will walk you through both processes step by step so you can take control of your Amazon presence.

How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership

Canceling Amazon Prime is a lot easier than you might think — especially if you’re looking to save money or you’re not using the perks much anymore. Prime comes with benefits like free shipping, access to Prime Video, Prime Reading and more, but if you’re not using those, you may want to let it go.

Go to Amazon’s “End Your Amazon Prime Membership” help page, or sign into your Amazon account and select Account & Lists then Prime Membership.

Select “End Membership.”

Amazon may prompt you with offers to stay (like reminders of what you'll lose or a discounted rate). If you're sure, keep clicking “Continue to Cancel.”

Confirm your cancellation.

Once canceled, your membership will run until the end of your current billing period. If you cancel during a free trial, your Prime benefits will end immediately and you won’t be charged.

How to delete your Amazon account entirely

If you want to take things a step further and permanently delete your Amazon account — along with all your personal data, order history and any associated services — you can request full account closure. While this will irreversibly delete account details like your order history, you can always sign up again from scratch if you change your mind. Once your account is gone, you won’t be able to access anything tied to it again. This includes your:

Order history and invoices

Access to digital content (like Kindle books, Prime Video purchases or Amazon Music)

Saved payment methods and shipping addresses

Amazon Photos, Amazon Drive and Alexa voice history

Any remaining Amazon gift card balances or promotional credit

So, before you go through with it, make sure you download anything you want to keep, spend any remaining credit and cancel open orders or subscriptions.

Head to the Close Your Amazon Account help page, or sign into your Amazon account and select Account & Lists then Account, and navigate to the Manage your data section then Close Your Amazon Account.

Review the list of services associated with your account. This helps you see what you'll lose access to, such as Audible, Alexa devices, Kindle purchases or Amazon-owned services in other countries.

If you're sure you want to continue, select a reason for leaving from the drop-down menu.

Check the box confirming: “Yes, I want to permanently close my Amazon account and delete my data.”

Click Close My Account.

Georgie Peru for Engadget

After submitting the request, Amazon will send a confirmation message to your email or phone number. You’ll need to reply within five days to verify the deletion request. If you don’t, the request expires and your account stays active.

If you have multiple Amazon accounts, you’ll need to go through this process for each one individually. Once your account is deleted, you can’t get it back. If you want to use Amazon again in the future, you’ll have to create a brand-new account. Also, your account will be deleted across all Amazon sites globally — so if you also use amazon.co.uk, amazon.de or amazon.co.jp with the same login, those will be gone too.

FAQs

Can you get a refund on your Prime membership?

Yes, in some cases. If you haven’t used any Prime benefits during the current period — for example, if you haven’t placed an order with free Prime shipping or streamed anything on Prime Video — Amazon will typically give you a full refund. It usually takes three to five business days to process.

What happens to your Prime add-ons?

If you’ve signed up for Prime Video Channels like Paramount+ or Showtime, those will also end when you cancel your Prime membership. These subscriptions won’t renew once Prime is canceled.

Also, if you subscribed to Prime through Google Play on an Android device, you'll need to cancel through Google Subscriptions instead. Similarly, if your Prime came bundled with a third-party service like Metro by T-Mobile, you’ll need to contact that provider directly to cancel.

For more general tips on managing and canceling subscriptions you’re no longer using, check out our guide to finding and canceling unused subscriptions.

What if you can’t log in to your account?

If you’re having trouble accessing the account you want to close, Amazon has a help page that walks you through password recovery, identity verification and other troubleshooting steps.

And if you're helping someone else delete their account — for example, if you're an authorized agent — Amazon recommends contacting it via email with legal proof of authorization under your state's privacy laws.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/how-to-cancel-your-amazon-account-160046999.html?src=rss

Andor season 2: key information- Arriving in late April- Will receive a three-episode premiere, with other episodes releasing in three batches every week- Trailers released in February and March- Main cast set to return- New cast additions revealed in late 2024- Spans four years of the Star Wars timeline- Leads directly into 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie- There won't be a third season

Andor season 2 isn't almost here, ladies and gents. The highly-rated Star Wars show's second and final chapter arrives on April 22 – and, to further whet our appetite for its arrival, a brand-new trailer was released in late March. You can check that out further down this page.There's more to read about Andor's final hurrah on Disney+ below, too. I've enlisted the help of some Bothan spies to round up the latest intel on the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel show's next installment, including its confirmed cast, plot details, and more.Full spoilers for Andor season 1 follow (NB: read my spoiler-free Andor season 1 review first if you haven't see it yet) so proceed at your own risk.

Andor season 2 release date

The critically acclaimed series returns for its final season.Don’t miss the three-episode premiere of Andor, streaming April 22 only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/lfT2Y7cCmKMarch 24, 2025

Andor season 2 will arrive on April 22 (US) and April 23 (UK and Australia). In my view, its release date is a missed opportunity for the best Star Wars show, but it is what it is.Before Disney revealed its official launch date, the House of Mouse had only revealed Andor season 2 wouldn't be part of Disney Plus' 2024 line-up. A 2025 launch was always on the cards, then.

What time will Andor season 2 episode 1 be released on Disney Plus?

Cassian's journey continues. The second season of #Andor streams April 22, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/lrUJDwlCG3February 24, 2025

Andor season 2 is set to follow Disney+'s recent release time format. That means US viewers will be able to stream its first episode at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET on April 22. Meanwhile, UK audiences can catch it at 2 AM GMT and Australian fans at 12 PM AEST on April 23.You'll be able to watch more than one episode on launch day, too. Per StarWars.com, this season's 12 episodes will be released in four weekly chapters of three episodes apiece. So, you'll be able to watch season 2 episodes 1 to 3 on April 22 or April 23, episodes 4 to 6 on April 29 and April 30, and so on.For a full breakdown of season 2's full launch schedule, read on:

Andor season 2 episode 1 – April 22 (US); April 23 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 2 – April 22 (US); April 23 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 3– April 22 (US); April 23 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 4 – April 29 (US); April 30 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 5 – April 29 (US); April 30 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 6 – April 29 (US); April 30 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 7 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 8 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 9 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 10 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 11 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)Andor season 2 episode 12 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)

Andor season 2 trailer

You wait months for an Andor season 2 trailer, and two arrive within a month of each other. Indeed, just weeks after Andor season 2's first teaser arrived in February (watch it below), this season's official trailer was released and had Star Wars fans asking the same question.

Want to pore over even more footage? Check out season 2's special look teaser, which was released between its two proper trailers:

Andor season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored

Mon Mothma and Luthen Rael are part of the season 2 cast (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Full spoilers follow for Andor season 1 and Rogue One.

Here's the confirmed cast for Andor season 2 so far:

Diego Luna as Cassian AndorGenevieve O’Reilly as Mon MothmaStellan Skarsgård as Luthen RaelDenise Gough as Dedra MeeroKyle Soller as Syril KarnAdria Arjona as Bix CaleenFaye Marsay as Vel SarthaVarada Sethu as Cinta KazElizabeth Dulau as Kleya MarkiForrest Whittaker as Saw GerreraJoplin Sibtain as BrassoAlan Tudyk as K-2SOBen Mendelsohn as Orson KrennicThéo Costa Marini as DilanAlaïs Lawson as Enza Rylanz

The first 11 actors were part of season 1's cast. After reports emerged that Rogue One villain Orson Krennic would appear in Andor season 2, confirmation that Mendelsohn will reprise his role as Krennic, aka the Galactic Empire's Director of Advanced Weapons Research from Rogue One, came via season 2's first teaser. K-2SO – the Imperial security droid who's Cassian’s mechanical BFF in Rogue One – was similarly confirmed to return prior to this season's launch.Season 2 newcomers include Marini and Lawson as Dilan and Enza who, based on the image below, will aid Cassian at some point this season.

New characters Dilan and Enza will aid the titular rebel in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

There are plenty of returning faces – from season 1 and Rogue One – who may be part of proceedings, incluiding Anton Lesser's Major Partagaz. Meanwhile, speaking to Empire, Andy Serkis didn't deny that Kino Loy will live to fight another day. Chatting to SlashFilm, showrunner Tony Gilroy also teased "we didn't see him die", so Kino may still be alive.Where Rogue One returnees are concerned, we know Duncan Pow's Ruescott Melshi is back, with Gilroy confirming as much to Deadline. Imperial bigwig Wullf Yularen (Malcolm Sinclair), who dates all the way back to Episode IV: A New Hope, also featured in season 1, so I also expect him to return.

Orson Krennic will show up at some point in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Lastly, I wouldn’t be surprised if other familiar faces from Rogue One, such as Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), an Empire pilot who defects to the Rebellion, and Tivik (Daniel Mays), the Rebel spy Cassian kills early on in Rogue One, make appearances. Gilroy (via SlashFilm) and Luna (per The Pop Verse and Rotten Tomatoes) have teased that other characters seen in Rogue One may pop up as well.

Star Wars: Andor season 2 plot synopsis and rumors

What'll become of Bix and Cassian relationship-wise in the series' final chapter? (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Major spoilers follow for Andor season 1.

Here's Andor season 2 plot synopsis: "Season 2 carries [on] the story of Cassian Andor and the emerging rebel alliance over the climactic four years that lead to the discovery of The Death Star and the events of Rogue One. Season 2 will see relationships intensify as the horizon of galactic war draws near. Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound."As I mentioned earlier, season 2 is broken up into four parts – comprising three episodes apiece – that'll depict a 12-month period covering a pivotal few days of the Star Wars timeline (check out our guide to how to watch the Star Wars movies in order for more on where it'll be set)."In the first year, it's a story set across, like, a Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday," Gilroy told TechRadar of Andor season 2's time jumps. "Then, we jump a year and we set that story around seven days. Then, we jump another year and I think that's told across two weeks. The last block will tell a story set in the five days before Rogue One, so it's very cool. From a storytelling point of view, it's very sexy."

Luthen Rael will continue to play a key role in the nascent Rebel Alliance throughout season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

So, we know the beginning and end of Andor season 2, but everything in between remains a mystery. Nevertheless, we have some ideas of what to expect, based on what Gilroy and the show's cast have said."The beauty of this show is that even though sometimes you know what's going to happen, it hits you as though you’re learning it for the first time," Diego Luna further told Entertainment Weekly (EW). "You are witnessing this from the inside, from the personal perspective. You get to live it with the characters, or through the characters. Therefore, it hits you differently. It’s not about the events, necessarily, but about the choices made and the risks these characters are taking. It’s because you know them that you care like you didn’t care before.""One of the great thrills of making Andor is the scale of the story and the number of characters we’re able to meet — ordinary people, Imperial overlords, passionate revolutionaries," Gilroy told StarWars.com. "They are real people making epic decisions, all of them staring down questions with terrifying consequences. Cassian’s journey is the soul and spine of our story, but it’s the choir that makes the show. I’m so excited for audiences to see where we go in season 2."

The road to rebellion.Andor Season 2 is streaming April 22, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/3UrRiyV5cMMarch 5, 2025

So, what did the season 1 finale set up for its successor? The titular character briefly returned to his home planet Ferrix for the funeral of his adoptive mother Maarva. After she posthumously incited an anti-Imperial riot (via a recorded hologram), he rescued ex-girlfriend Bix Caleen from Imperial torture and convinced morally flexible Rebel Alliance kingpin Luthen Rael not to kill him. Now that the previously ambivalent Cassian has a reason to take the fight to the Empire, he’ll be a fully fledged member of the Alliance next time we see him."Cassian’s commitment to the cause is not in doubt," Gilroy explained to Polygon. "If it was about him becoming a revolutionary, then the second half is about him becoming a leader."Although her name isn’t in the title, Andor is as much about Mon Mothma as its eponymous thief-turned-spy. In season 2, she has to evolve from a respected senator helping fund the Rebels on the sly, to the leader we see making pivotal decisions on Yavin IV in Rogue One. So, you can expect her character to evolve further, such as her turning a blind eye to the activities of the Rebel Alliance's operatives (like the aforementioned Rael) who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty."If your business is based on paranoia and secrecy and death, how do you expand your business?" Gilroy asked in EW. "How do you go public? How do you go wide? What happens to all the original gangsters and the hardcore people who built that road? What happens to them, and how do they integrate with [a legitimate Rebel Alliance]?"

Syril and Dedra will continue to hunt down Cassian in season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Speaking of Yavin IV, Gilroy let slip to Collider that we'll be paying a visit to the Rebel base's headquarters soon. That's just one of "five different planets" we'll visit, too, Luna confirmed in conversation with Rotten Tomatoes.In conversation with Gizmodo, Gilroy also revealed season 2 will depict the much-discussed Ghorman Massacre, a hugely significant and canonical event that transpires at this point on the Star Wars timeline. The same is true of Mon Mothma officially leaving the Senate, too, which is teased in both trailers and by Gilroy (via EW).Elsewhere, Cassian will also be doing his best to stay ahead of Dedra Meero, the ambitious Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) agent who became obsessed with catching him. However, matters may be a bit more complicated now that she owes a debt to disgraced police officer Syril Karn, who saved her from rioters on Ferrix in season 1's finale.After their surprisingly close encounter in a broom cupboard, Karn – the series' most intriguing, multi-layered character – surely has a big part to play in the pursuit of Andor, the man who effectively ruined his career. Expect Meero and Karn to team up to try and track down Andor and his fellow revolutionaries.

Mon Mothma's importance to the Rebel Alliance will only grow from here on out (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Given Andor season 2 directly leads into Rogue One (and, by proxy, Star Wars Episode IV), we'll eventually see the Rebel Alliance learn about the Death Star and the Empire's plan to use it. In the post-credits scene of season 1's final episode, we learned that Cassian, Kino, and other Narkina 5 prisoners had been building components for the Death Star's lazer array, meaning they had a hand in its creation."It [the Death Star's construction] will still be the looming threat," Gilroy told THR. "Rogue One is all about discovering what it is. [Season 2 is] about who picks up the final breadcrumbs that lead to the beginning of Rogue One. In Rogue One, Cassian goes to the Ring of Kafrene to meet Tivik, who is from Saw’s group, and he says 'Oh my God, it’s a planet killer'. Cassian knows some shit, but he’s looking for answers. So, we’ll [cover] the breadcrumbs that lead up to that, but we have a situation where Cassian will never know that what he was building is actually the machine that’s going to kill him."

Report to Dedra Meero if you're looking for more top-tier Star Wars shows to stream (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

Amid all the intergalactic and political warfare, one seemingly forgotten plot thread continues to dangle in the background: has Cassian given up on finding his sister, which is what set Andor's events in motion in its premiere?Luna teased (via) Collider that viewers shouldn't expect an answer to that question. But, hey, we live in hope all the same!

Where can I watch season 1 of Andor?

All 12 episodes of Andor, aka one of the best Disney+ shows, is available on Disney's primary streaming platform and its sibling service Hulu (NB: it's only available on the latter until April 22). You can find out how to sign for a subscription and how much each tier costs in our Disney+ price guide.Unsure if you want to pay for the service right now? You're in luck. You can watch the first three episodes of Andor on YouTube now to see if it's the kind of show you'll enjoy.You'll need to sign up to Disney+ to watch the rest, though, if you like it as much as I do. Or, if you don't have time to watch a bunch of 38-minutes to near-one-hour-long episodes before season 2's launch, this 14-minute season 1 recap will catch you up on the basics.

Will there be an Andor season 3?

Andor won't return for another entry after season 2 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)

No – and it won't do, either. Andor season 2 will directly lead into the events of Rogue One, so there won't be a third and final chapter to stream on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services.If you want, you can just consider Rogue One to be Andor season 3 in all but name. But, once season 2 is released, there won't be another one after it. Sad faces all around.

For more Star Wars coverage, read our guide on all of the new Star Wars movies and TV shows that are in the works. Alternatively, get the lowdown on The Mandalorian season 4, or find out why Star Wars should learn from Andor and stop making Disney Plus shows that are so obsessed with the Jedi.

Black Mirror season 7 looks very promising so far, and I'm excited to dive back into one of the best Netflix shows when it returns on April 10. Like all anthologies, there have been some duds along the way, but personally, I've enjoyed most of the twisted tales.Charlie Brooker's dystopian series has changed a lot since its Channel 4 days, achieving global success on Netflix, one of the best streaming services. Huge things are coming in season 7, too, like the anthology's first-ever sequel episode.Take a look at the announcement teaser below for a proper look at season 7.

What will each episode in Black Mirror season 7 be about?

Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry return for Black Mirror season 7. (Image credit: Netflix)

First off, we have six new episode titles giving us little clues of what to expect. These are 'Common People', 'Bête Noire', 'Hotel Reverie', 'Plaything', 'Eulogy', and 'USS Callister: Into Infinity'.We do have brief synopses for each too, if you're keen to learn more. For 'Common People', which stars Sunny's Rashida Jones, Netflix teases: "When a medical emergency leaves schoolteacher Amanda fighting for her life, desperate husband Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but at a cost…"Then there's 'Bête Noire', which reads: "Maria is a high-flying development executive at a chocolate company. Everything is going well for her until someone she hasn’t seen since school – a woman named Verity – shows up for a focus group tasting session."It could be the chance for a heartfelt reunion – except there’s something very odd about Verity, and Maria seems to be the only person to notice."Emma Corrin, Issa Rae, Awkwafina, and Harriet Walter star in 'Hotel Reverie', a black and white one, much like how they filmed season 4's 'Metalhead'. The synopsis reads: "Hollywood A-list actress Brandy Friday is thrown into an unusually immersive high-tech remake of a vintage romantic movie, and must stick to the script if she ever wants to make it home…"Episode 4, 'Plaything', stars Peter Capaldi alongside Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry, who are reprising their roles from the interactive movie Bandersnatch, something that came as a shock to me in my Black Mirror season 7 trailer reaction.The synopsis is: "An eccentric loner named Cameron who harbours an intense obsession with a mysterious '90s video game is arrested in connection with a grisly cold case – and his interrogation soon goes to places the police weren’t expecting."'Eulogy' is the fifth episode, and its synopsis is: "An innovative system that enables users to literally step into photographic memories of the past leads a lonely man to re-examine a heartbreaking period from his past."Finally, the anticipated 'USS Callister' sequel sees the old crew reprising their roles and reads: "Robert Daly is dead, but the crew of the USS Callister – led by Captain Nanette Cole – find their problems are just beginning."

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AMD's CEO Lisa Su hints at more Ryzen AI Max APUs coming to desktop PCsSome of the APUs have been used in Framework DesktopsIt could be the start of discrete GPUs being subsided

While Nvidia and AMD's new GPU lineups are at the forefront of PC gaming news, Team Red's processors are on the verge of taking the spotlight: the Ryzen AI Max APUs have mostly been reserved for laptops, providing enough power to run demanding triple-A games, but that could change very soon.In an interview with DeepSeek Exploded on Bilibili, AMD's CEO Lisa Su hinted at more Ryzen AI Max processors making their way to the desktop space. We've seen the top-end processor (Ryzen AI 395+) in some mini-PCs and laptops, which provide exceptional performance results in games - and we could see the same results for even more desktop PCs.Thanks to the Ryzen AI Max+ 395's Radeon 8060S iGPU with 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores and 16 CPU cores with 32 threads, gaming works great above 1080p. It's evident in ETA Prime's Framework Desktop PC tests on YouTube: a prime example is Cyberpunk 2077, with its frame rate hovering between 55 and 60fps with ultra graphics settings at 1440p.It's also worth noting that FSR 4 could be making its way to RDNA 3 - it's currently reserved for RDNA 4 - and this could be incredibly beneficial to systems powered by the APUs.The important thing is that all of this is possible without a discrete GPU, and with a desktop PC, this could work wonders for efficiency. While it won't match high-end desktop GPUs, it still packs a punch and could be the start of something new - or perhaps, the beginning of the end for discrete GPUs.

(Image credit: AMD)

If we can get stronger APUs sooner, it may be time up for some discrete GPUs

For a long time, discrete GPUs for both laptops and desktop PCs have been the one-way ticket to great gaming experiences. Now, that's gradually beginning to change with APUs becoming more powerful: it's evident with handheld gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and the recent MSI Claw 8 AI+ using Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V processor.While the high-end Ryzen AI Max chips haven't been used in handheld gaming PCs yet, they're the ideal chips for mini-PC setups. Discrete GPUs (specifically desktop ones) provide fantastic performance across the board but use plenty of power - however, that won't be the case with an AI Max+ 395.Tech is moving faster than ever, and APUs are the perfect example. If we manage to get more powerful APUs in the foreseeable future, we might just see a slow fade away of mid-range discrete GPUs - and perhaps a strong rival to current consoles (if the prices for the PCs are reasonable, anyway).

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A Hyundai Ioniq 5 has driven over 500,000km on its original batteryBattery health degradation is considerably lower than many predictedModels from Nissan, Tesla and Chevrolet can be found with high mileage

News has surfaced this week of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner in South Korea who clocked up a staggering 360,000 miles (579,363 km) on their EV's original battery.Rewind the clock to 2011 and the introduction of the first-generation Nissan Leaf and industry experts were worried that EV batteries wouldn’t last five years before they need replacing… at a huge cost.However, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 owner, who regularly posts on a Facebook Group called “Mileage Impossible”, claims he covers around 10,000 miles, reaching 360,000 miles before Hyundai offered to replace the battery for free, despite it being well beyond its warranty period.Perhaps most amazing of all is that the original battery pack was still showing 87% of its original health, despite the owner reportedly only using DC fast charging to top up the battery packs, according to Electrek. This was likely so Hyundai could run tests on the battery pack for its own data records.Still going strong, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has now hit 666,255km (413,991 miles) and counting, although it hasn’t been completely free of issues. The owner reported that the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) broke, meaning it can’t be charged on Level 1 and Level 2 low-powered AC outlets, while standard maintenance and general wear and tear will have likely thrown up some bills.But the high-mileage Hyundai is a shining example of how robust and reliable a modern EV can be if it is taken care of properly. And it isn't alone...

Electric vehicles keep rolling

(Image credit: GearBrain)

For data nerds, the high-mileage Hyundai example is an anomaly and it is much better to look at numbers sourced from the wider EV industry to get a more reliable picture on battery and electric motor health after vehicles reach very high mileage.That said, the news isn’t awash with reports of EV batteries failing after just a few years (you know it would be if that was the case). And there are numerous reports of owners maxing out their mileage in a number of electric vehicles with very little issue.Here are just a handful of examples...

1. Tesla Model S 70D

(Image credit: Tesla)

Inside EVs ran a story about how one Tesla owner, who used the vehicle as a taxi service, covered a mammoth 70,000 miles (112,650km) a year. At the last count, the car showed a staggering 424,000-miles on the clock (682,361km).According to the report, the battery pack was replaced under warranty at 250,000 miles (402,335 km), as well as a new front motor 380,000 miles (611,550 km).Amazingly, it still uses its original rear motor unit but, like any combustion engine counterpart, it has also received a number of new parts to keep it roadworthy.Rear axles, suspension components and the AC compressor all required replacing, which is understandable on a vehicle that has gone that sort of distance. We bet this isn't the only example of a Model S managing to out-last combustion engine counterparts.

2. Tesla Model 3

(Image credit: Tesla)

Although it lacks the video evidence of the previously mentioned Model S, one Model 3 owner took to Twitter in 2022 to post an image of their Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor hitting 500,000km (or 310,685).According to the owner, it was still using the original battery pack, motors and even brakes, which is slightly concerning. Although the owner admitted that they drove 90% of the time at highway speeds.The only maintenance, aside from tires and other commonly replaced parts, was a new drivetrain oil pump at 286,000 miles (460,000 km), which reportedly cost just 250 Canadian Dollars ($194).

3. BMW i3

(Image credit: BMW)

BMW put out a press release in 2019 to celebrate Shaun Maidment's achievements, an i3 owner in South Africa who had clocked up 200,000km in a first generation 60Ah model in just three years of ownership.According to an update in 2022, the vehicle had amassed 187,000 miles (301,998 km). However, it is worth noting that Shaun’s i3 was the range extender variant, so the smaller battery pack is capable of 126 miles on electricity alone, with petrol used to power the range extending system to around 200 miles.Regardless, it's another great example of a car that wasn't designed to hit such lofty mileage proving the naysayers wrong.

4. Chevrolet Bolt

(Image credit: Chevrolet)

The Chevy Bolt forums are awash with members trying to outdo each other on mileage, but one video surfaced that showed an owner managing a staggering 138,000 miles (222,089km) on its original battery, with the second still going strong at a further 122,000 miles (196,339km).The vehicle is still cruising happily at 300,000 miles and counting, with the content owner documenting the life of his 2019 model in various videos on YouTube.

5. Nissan Leaf

(Image credit: Nissan)

A driver in Washington managed to rack up 150,000 miles in his first-generation Nissan Leaf, with the original battery pack managing to go the distance, despite the owner reporting that the battery fade has been considerable.But considering the battery technology is now 16 years old, it is amazing that the packs still offer 60% capacity, which is good for around 35 miles of range in warm weather.Owner Steve Marsh told Inside EVs that he now has a newer 2014 Leaf for everyday use, with the the last few clicks to hit 150,000 miles on his original model more a "proof of capability" than a conscious decision to use the car.

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The Looney Tunes film Coyote vs. Acme won’t be rotting away in David Zaslav’s basement for the next 50 years. Warner Bros. Discovery has sold the rights to the movie to Ketchup Entertainment, the same company that just released The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.

Ketchup ponied up around $50 million for the film and it’ll hit theaters in 2026, according to reporting by Deadline. Warner Bros. funded the creation of the movie but then shelved it for a tax write-off. You know the drill. It’s pretty much the same thing it did with the Batgirl movie and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. Nobody loves scrapping finished projects more than WB.

This one, at least, has a happy ending. Coyote vs. Acme always seemed like a pretty nifty concept. It stars Will Forte and John Cena and follows Wile E. Coyote as he sues notorious manufacturer Acme after he repeatedly fails to catch his arch-nemesis, the roadrunner. Directing duties fell to Dave Green, who made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. It was produced by Chris deFaria and James Gunn, with a screenplay by May December scribe Samy Burch.

This hasn’t stopped Warner Bros. Discovery from feverishly hitting the “delete” key. It just pulled all of the original Looney Tunes shorts from the streaming platform Max. This happened just as The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie was hitting theaters. To be fair, that film didn’t exactly blow up the box office.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/warner-bros-has-officially-sold-the-looney-tunes-film-coyote-vs-acme-170346994.html?src=rss