The US has banned companies like Nvidia from selling their most advanced AI chips to China since 2022. But if loopholes exist, profit-hungry corporations will find and exploit them. The Informationpublished a bombshell report on Thursday detailing how Oracle allows TikTok owner ByteDance to rent Nvidia’s most advanced chips to train AI models on US soil.
ByteDance, which many US lawmakers believe has direct ties to the Chinese government, is reportedly renting US-based servers containing Nvidia’s coveted H100 chips from US cloud computing company Oracle to train AI models. The practice, which runs against the spirit of the US government’s chip regulations, is technically allowed because Oracle is merely renting out the chips on American soil, not selling them to companies in China.
The US government has cracked down on exporting the chips to China as an extension of the tensions between the two nations. The Biden Administration fears the nation could use advanced AI for military or surveillance purposes or to gain an economic upper hand. The US government passed bipartisan legislation in April that will force ByteDance to either sell its US operations or face a ban. But ByteDance still has until early next year to close a deal, and it’s suing the US government, which could delay enforcement.
Although ByteDance is training its models in the US, “it could be difficult to stop them from sending the models they produced back to their headquarters in China,” according to US-based cloud providers and a former Nvidia employee who spoke to The Information. Quite the loophole, indeed.
ByteDance’s Project Texas initiative, which the company claims siloes off TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese leadership to allay US fears, is at the heart of the arrangement. However, former ByteDance employees have described Project Texas as “largely cosmetic,” as they claim the company’s US wing regularly works closely with its Beijing-based leadership.
ByteDance isn’t the only Chinese company looking to game the rules. The Information says Alibaba and Tencent are discussing similar arrangements to gain access to the sought-after chips. Those deals could be harder to squash because they have their own US-based data centers and wouldn’t have to rent servers from American companies.
US cloud computing company Oracle reportedly enables ByteDance’s training of AI models in the US. (Oracle)
Not every company has been as willing as Oracle to skirt the law’s intent. “Two small American cloud providers” reportedly turned down offers to rent servers with Nvidia’s H100 chips to ByteDance and China Telecom because “they seemed to go against the spirit of U.S. chip restrictions.” However, Oracle, cofounded by American businessman Larry Ellison and run by current CEO Safra Catz, apparently found the opportunity for profit through technically legal workarounds too tempting to pass up.
The US Commerce Department, the bureau that could close the loophole, may already be aware of the practices. Earlier this year, the department proposed a rule that would require US cloud providers to verify foreign customers’ identities and notify the US if any of them were training AI models that “could be used in malicious cyber-enabled activity.” However, the Commerce Department recently said most cloud providers disapproved of the proposal, claiming “the burden of additional requirements might outweigh the intended benefit.” In the meantime, the proposed rule, which could theoretically plug the loophole, remains in limbo.
But even if the US manages to shut down that exploit, The Information says it wouldn’t cover Chinese cloud providers like Tencent and Alibaba from buying Nvidia’s chips and using them to train AI models in their own US-based data centers. The Commerce Department will have its hands full figuring this one out as business and defense interests wrestle for control.
If the wave of overwhelmingly negative reviews weren’t enough, it seems that Humane has discovered yet another major issue with its once-hyped AI Pin. The company is warning customers not to use the device’s charging case due to a potential “fire safety risk.”
In an email sent to AI Pin owners, the company said it had received a report of a “charging issue” that led to “a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a third-party vendor used in your Charge Case Accessory.” Humane didn’t explicitly indicate whether the unspecified “charging issue” caused an actual fire, but it said an investigation found that “certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk.”
While Humane is so far not using the word “recall,” the company is advising people to stop using the charging case immediately. Other charging accessories, including the battery booster and charge pad, are apparently safe as their batteries come from different suppliers. We’ve reached out to Humane for more information and whether they have plans to refund or replace the $149 accessory for people who have already bought one. In the meantime, the company is offering customers two months of its subscription service for free.
The full text of the email is below.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are reaching out today to ask that you immediately stop using and charging your Charge Case Accessory due to an issue with certain battery cells for the Charge Case Accessory.
Upon receiving a single report of a charging issue while using a third-party USB-C cable and third-party power source, we identified a quality issue with the battery cell supplied by a third-party vendor used in your Charge Case Accessory.
Our investigation determined that the battery supplier was no longer meeting our quality standards and that there is a potential that certain battery cells supplied by this vendor may pose a fire safety risk. As a result, we immediately disqualified this battery vendor while we work to identify a new vendor to avoid such issues and maintain our high quality standards.
The issue identified is isolated only to certain battery cells used in the Charge Case Accessory and is not related to the Charge Case Accessory hardware design.
Importantly, Humane’s Ai Pin, its Battery Booster(s) and Charge Pad are not affected as the disqualified vendor does not supply batteries or any other components of those Humane products, and are safe for continued use.
AT&T and Verizon customers found themselves unable to call contacts on other carriers for several hours on June 4. Based on people’s reports on Downdetector, the issue started at around 11AM ET for both carriers and peaked at approximately 5PM ET. Thousands of subscribers were affected. Most of the reports came from New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Cleveland, among other locations. A much smaller number of T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless users also reported problems with their connection.
The Federal Communications Commission tried to assuage people’s worries and announced that it was aware that subscribers from multiple states were “unable to make wireless calls.” It also said that it was “currently investigating” the problem. After 7PM ET, both Verizon and AT&T issued statements denying that they were experiencing nationwide outage. They both admitted that their customers were having difficulties calling or texting people on other carriers — Verizon reportedly told Gizmodo that outage reports for its network came from people trying to call AT&T subscribers — but neither one took responsibility. The root cause of the issue remains unknown at this time. AT&T told CNN, though, that 911 calls went through despite the outage.
We want to assure you there’s no widespread Verizon outage.
Some customers experienced issues when calling or texting customers on other carriers who are having issues, and we’re monitoring the situation in real time.
The issue disrupting calls between carriers has been resolved. We collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution and appreciate our customers patience during this period.
An hour later, AT&T announced that the problem had been resolved. The company said it collaborated “with the other carrier” to find a solution. It didn’t name the other carrier, but it was most likely Verizon, seeing as most of the customers who were affected were subscribers of the two companies. Back in February, AT&T experienced a massive outage that affected over 70,000 subscribers’ cellular services and data connections, with customers noting that they couldn’t even contact 911. Verizon and T-Mobile said at the time that their subscribers couldn’t contact friends with AT&T numbers.
The Google Pixel 8 Pro remains the large-screen Android smartphone we’d recommend to most people, and right now it’s back on sale for $749 at Amazon, Best Buy and Google’s online store. We’ve seen this deal before, but it matches the largest discount we’ve tracked for an unlocked model outside of trade-in or carrier-exclusive offers. The phone technically has a list price of $999, though it’s often sold for $799 since it was launched last October. Either way, you’re saving at least a bit more than usual. This price applies to the base model with 128GB of storage, but higher-capacity models are also $250 off their MSRP if you need more space.
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
This matches the biggest outright cash discount we’ve seen for Google’s flagship smartphone.
If you don’t mind trading in an old device, however, Google has also raised the trade-in values for certain phones when they’re put toward a Pixel 8 Pro. If you’re upgrading from a Pixel 6 Pro, for instance, you can tack on a $400 refund, while a Pixel 7 Pro in good condition can give up to $500 back. Those are higher than what the company is offering for the smaller Pixel 8 or foldable Pixel Fold. Google says this promo will run through June 22. (Just be sure to follow Google’s instructions if you go this route, as the company uses a third party for its trade-in program.) Best Buy will also take an extra $100 off if you activate the phone with a carrier.
We gave the Pixel 8 Pro a score of 93 in our review last year, and it still offers top-notch camera performance, a vibrant 6.7-inch OLED display and a relatively clean take on Android, with OS updates guaranteed through October 2030. The screen supports a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, which makes scrolling feel smooth, and the soft glass finish looks and feels nice. The software, meanwhile, is aided by a few AI-based features that are actually handy (and don’t involve eating glue): A Magic Editor tool lets you cut out unwanted objects in the background of photos, for one, while an Audio Magic Eraser feature helps eliminate ambient noise from videos. (You can use Magic Editor features with other phones, but you’re limited to 10 uses per month unless you own a Pixel or pay a subscription fee.)
You’d get the Pixel 8 Pro for the camera and software first, though. Its Tensor G3 chip can handle just about anything you throw at it, but alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra are technically faster and may not get as warm when stressed. Likewise, while the phone’s battery can get you through a full day, it’s not quite class-leading, and its 30W charging speed could stand to be faster. Still, there’s plenty to like here. Our biggest issue with the Pixel 8 Pro was that it costs $100 more than its predecessor out of the gate, but this deal helps soften that blow.
If you want a smaller or more affordable handset, the 6.1-inch Pixel 8 offers most of the same features and is also on sale for $549. That’s not the lowest price we’ve seen, though it’s a better value than Google’s newer midrange Pixel 8a phone when it’s discounted to that extent.
Microsoft’s Copilot+ initiative for super-charged AI PCs is becoming more of a reality at Computex 2024. Today, AMD announced its next major chip platforms, Ryzen AI 300 for notebooks and Ryzen 9000 for desktops, which respectively target beefier laptop AI performance and fast gaming on desktops. Notably, Ryzen AI 300 chips feature a revamped neural processing unit (NPU) with 50 TOPS (tera operations per second) of AI performance, more than three times AMD’s previous laptop hardware. The new desktop processors, meanwhile, are reportedly 16 percent faster than their predecessors when it comes to overall performance.
The key takeaway from these announcements is that Qualcomm is no longer the only company able to gloat about fast AI hardware for Copilot+ PCs. That initiative, which Microsoft unveiled a few weeks ago, sets a new baseline specification standard for AI PCs. Copilot+ PCs require an NPU with at least 40 TOPS of AI performance, 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSDs to qualify as Copilot+ notebooks. Microsoft also tied together long battery life with the initiative, but it’s unclear if the Ryzen AI 300 chips will be able to touch the reported twenty-plus hours from Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon processors. (We’re also expecting Intel to respond with more details about its Lunar Lake Copilot+ chips later today at Computex.)
AMD
So far, AMD’s new laptop chips include two models: The 12-core Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, and the 10-core AI 9 365. As usual, we expect the company to fill out its lineup over the next year with mid-tier and lower-end offerings. Both Ryzen AI 9 chips reach at least 5GHz max boost speeds, and they also feature built-in RDNA 3.5 Radeon 890M and 880M graphics. According to AMD’s benchmarks, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is 98 percent faster than Apple’s M3 chip in Blender, and it’s 73 percent faster than Intel’s Core Ultra 185H. (It’s worth noting company tested its hardware with 32GB of RAM against Apple and Intel systems with 16GB of RAM, according to its testing footnotes.)
AMD
Powering both the Ryzen AI 300 and Ryzen 9000 chips is AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, which is a “sweeping update” for the company, Senior Processor Technical Marketing Manager Donny Woligrosky said in a media briefing. He claims it offers better branch prediction (which helps with accuracy and latency), higher overall throughput and up to two times better instruction bandwidth. For regular users, that means you can expect Zen 5 systems to feel a bit more responsive and be better primed for handling large data loads.
AMD
While AMD’s new AI chips are the star of the show, the company isn’t leaving desktop users behind. The new Ryzen 9000 chips top out with the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X, which edges close to the 6GHz dream with 5.7GHz boost speeds. It’s a power-hungry beast though, requiring 170 watts, so more reasonable hardware nerds might want to opt for the Ryzen 9 9900X (120W TDP) or the eight-core Ryzen 7 9700X (65W). These new chips don’t include NPUs like the Ryzen 8000G, but at this point, gamers and demanding PC users can make do with the raw computational power from desktop CPUs and powerful GPUs. (NVIDIA is also trying to power some AI features with its RTX GPUs, which eschews the need for a standalone NPU.)
Alongside these new desktop chips, AMD is also unveiling the X870E and X870 AM5 chipsets. They include the next-gen PC features you’d expect, including PCIe 5, USB4, WiFi 7 and DDR5. For its older AM4 hardware, AMD also unveiled the 16-core Ryzen 9 5900XT and eight-core Ryzen 7 5800XT, which can both hit 4.8GHz speeds.
We’re still awaiting pricing details on AMD’s new hardware, but the company says we can expect to see Ryzen AI 300 systems and Ryzen 9000 chips in July. Those new laptops include the ASUS ZenBook S 16 and Zephyrus G16, as well as the MSI Stealth A16 AI+.
The newest Apple Watch is down to one of the best prices we’ve seen it go for yet, so if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, now would be the perfect time to do so. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS only) is $100 off on Amazon, bringing the price down to $299. There’s also a deal on the larger version (45mm), which is down to $360 from its usual price of $430. The full discounts apply to Series 9 in Midnight and Starlight, but there are varying deals on the other colors as well.
Apple
The Series 9 Apple Watch is you can get today, and our favorite smartwatch in general. It comes with some new features made possible by the S9 system-in-package (SiP) processor. With this model, Apple introduced the Double Tap gesture that allows you to carry out certain actions on the watch without touching the screen, like pausing your music. It also has on-device Siri and an improved version of “Raise to Speak” to more easily activate the assistant.
As with the other Apple Watch models, the Series 9 is water resistant and great for fitness and health tracking, though it currently doesn’t offer the blood oxygen monitoring feature that was initially touted, thanks to a patent dispute. It has an always on display with a peak brightness rating double that of the previous model, and twice the internal storage capacity.
During its Copilot AI and Surface event in May, Microsoft unveiled Recall, an AI-powered feature for Windows created to help you find anything you’ve ever looked at on your PC. The feature, Microsoft said, is exclusively available on the recently launched and future Copilot+ PCs, which are devices that come with onboard neural processing units (NPUs) for AI tasks. Now, someone using the pseudonym Albacore has released a console Windows app on Github called Amperage that will allow users to run Recall even on older computers that the feature doesn’t officially support.
The tool can only enable Recall on computers with Arm64-based SoCs, which means they have to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon, a Microsoft SQ or an Ampere chipset. Users also have to make sure they’re running Windows 11 version 24H2 build 26100.712, because older and newer beta versions of the OS don’t have the components needed to activate the feature. As The Verge notes, though, future iterations of the tool may be able to unlock Recall for more devices, seeing as AMD- and Intel-based Copilot+ PCs are expected to be available later this year.
I was able to get Recall working on this bad boy 😎 Snapdragon 7c+ Gen3, 3.4 GB of RAM, no NPU in sight
Will cook up a tutorial soon, it’s surprisingly good even on something this low spec 😊 If you have any questions I’ll do my best to answer them ✍️ pic.twitter.com/zzswm44Hy1
Recall works by taking snapshots of the PC while the user is on it, storing them locally on the computer and then using local multi-modal small language models to recognize text, images and videos on them. If a user wants to find something they previously looked at on their PC — whether it’s an image, a website, a document or an email — they can search the Recall timeline. Microsoft said it will work even if the user types in vague contextual clues in case they can’t remember exact phrases or descriptions. And since the snapshots Recall takes are stored locally and offline, users’ data are supposed to remain private and secure.
When you think of the 20-year-old social network that is Facebook, its popularity among “young adults” is what comes to mind. Naturally, Meta wants to change that and the company is once again telling the world it intends to reorient its platform in order to appeal to that demographic.
In from Tom Alison, who heads up the Facebook app for Meta, he says that the service is shifting to reflect an “increased focus on young adults” compared with other users. “Facebook is still for everyone, but in order to build for the next generation of social media consumers, we’ve made significant changes with young adults in mind,” he wrote.
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Meta executives have been trying to win over “young adults” for years in an effort to better compete with TikTok. Mark Zuckerberg said almost ago that he wanted to make young adults the company’s “North Star.” And Alison and Zuckerberg have both been talking about the Facebook app’s pivot to a feed rather than one based on users’ connections.
That shift is now well underway. Alison said that the company’s AI advancements have already improved recommendations for Reels and feed, and that “advanced recommendations technology will power more products” over the next year. He added that private sharing among users is also on the rise, with more users sharing video (though no word on the plan to bring messaging back into the main app).
Notably, Alison’s note makes no mention of the “metaverse,” which Zuckerberg also once saw as a central part of the company’s future. Instead, he says that “leaning into new product capabilities enabled by AI” is a significant goal, along with luring younger users. That’s also not surprising, given that Meta and Zuckerberg have recently tried some of the company’s metaverse ambitions as AI advancements.
But it’s also not clear how successful Meta will be in its efforts to win over young adults. Though Alison says Facebook has seen “five quarters of healthy growth in young adult app usage in the US and Canada,” with 40 million young adult daily active users, that’s still a relatively small percentage of the 205 million daily US Facebook users the company reported in February, the last time it would break out user numbers for the app.
The Tribeca Film Festival will debut five short films made by AI, . The shorts will use OpenAI’s Sora model, which transforms . This is the first time this type of technology will take center stage at the long-running film festival.
“Tribeca is rooted in the foundational belief that storytelling inspires change. Humans need stories to thrive and make sense of our wonderful and broken world,” said co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises Jane Rosenthal. Who better to chronicle our wonderful and broken world than some lines of code owned by a company that to let CEO Sam Altman and other board members ?
The unnamed filmmakers were all given access to the Sora model, which isn’t yet available to the public, though they have to follow the terms of the agreements negotiated during the recent strikes . OpenAI’s COO, Brad Lightcap, says the feedback provided by these filmmakers will be used to “make Sora a better tool for all creatives.”
When we last covered Sora, it could only handle 60 seconds of video from a single prompt. If that’s still the case, these short films will make Quibi shows look like a Ken Burns documentary. The software also struggles with cause and effect and, well, that’s basically what a story is. However, all of these limitations come from the ancient days of February, and this tech tends to move quickly. Also, I assume there’s no rule against using prompts to create single scenes, which the filmmaker can string together to make a story.
We don’t have that long to find out if cold technology can accurately peer into our warm human hearts. The shorts will screen on June 15 and there’s a conversation with the various filmmakers immediately following the debut.
This follows a spate of agreements between . Vox Media, The Atlantic, News Corp, Dotdash Meredith and even Reddit have all struck deals with OpenAI to let the company train its models on their content. Meanwhile, Meta and Google are looking for to train its models. It looks like we are going to get this “AI creates everything” future, whether we want it or not.
Liz Reid, the Head of Google Search, has admitted that the company’s search engine has returned some “odd, inaccurate or unhelpful AI Overviews” after they rolled out to everyone in the US. The executive published an explanation for Google’s more peculiar AI-generated responses in a blog post, where it also announced that the company has implemented safeguards that will help the new feature return more accurate and less meme-worthy results.
Reid defended Google and pointed out that some of the more egregious AI Overview responses going around, such as claims that it’s safe to leave dogs in cars, are fake. The viral screenshot showing the answer to “How many rocks should I eat?” is real, but she said that Google came up with an answer because a website published a satirical content tackling the topic. “Prior to these screenshots going viral, practically no one asked Google that question,” she explained, so the company’s AI linked to that website.
The Google VP also confirmed that AI Overview told people to use glue to get cheese to stick to pizza based on content taken from a forum. She said forums typically provide “authentic, first-hand information,” but they could also lead to “less-than-helpful advice.” The executive didn’t mention the other viral AI Overview answers going around, but as The Washington Post reports, the technology also told users that Barack Obama was Muslim and that people should drink plenty of urine to help them pass a kidney stone.
Reid said the company tested the feature extensively before launch, but “there’s nothing quite like having millions of people using the feature with many novel searches.” Google was apparently able to determine patterns wherein its AI technology didn’t get things right by looking at examples of its responses over the past couple of weeks. It has then put protections in place based on its observations, starting by tweaking its AI to be able to better detect humor and satire content. It has also updated its systems to limit the addition of user-generated replies in Overviews, such as social media and forum posts, which could give people misleading or even harmful advice. In addition, it has also “added triggering restrictions for queries where AI Overviews were not proving to be as helpful” and has stopped showing AI-generated replies for certain health topics.
Instagram launched Notes in December 2022 as a way for people to share statuses (not so dissimilar to Facebook) on the platform. Now, the Meta-owned app is taking inspiration from its sister site for more features, with the addition of Note Prompts.
Instagram first experimented with Note Prompts earlier this year, and the feature allows users to share questions such as “What should I eat?” or “Who is going to be in X city this weekend?” Friends can then respond with tips, suggestions and random thoughts on the subject. It feels very Facebook circa 2012, as does another new feature, Mentions, in which users can tag a friend directly in their Notes. The example Instagram gives, “Hanging with @user later,” would be right out of the early 2010s with just adding “Text! :)” Instagram also announced Note Likes, which works similarly to how likes function everywhere else on Instagram — all users need to do is double tap a note or click the heart.
Notes have only emerged on Instagram in the past couple of years. They mirror stories in many ways, lasting only 24 hours and with controls as to who can see them (such as just mutual followers). Notes are visible in a user’s inbox and on profiles.
Newly proposed Congressional legislation would require the US to conduct security reviews for connected vehicles built by automakers from China and “other countries of concern.” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who has championed the issue, introduced the bill on Wednesday.
If passed by Congress (a tall order these days), the Connected Vehicle National Security Review Act would establish a formal review process for connected autos from Chinese companies. It would also allow the Department of Commerce to limit or ban these cars and other vehicles before they reach US consumers.
“Today’s vehicles are more sophisticated than ever, carrying cameras, radars and other sophisticated sensors, plus the ability to process, transmit and store the data they gather from the United States,” said Slotkin. “If allowed into our markets, Chinese connected vehicles offer the Chinese government a treasure trove of valuable intelligence on the United States, including the potential to collect information on our military bases, critical infrastructure like the power grid and traffic systems, and even locate specific U.S leaders should they so choose.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin
In a speech on the House floor earlier this month, Slotkin noted that Chinese EVs, often sold much cheaper than their US and European counterparts, could quickly gain a significant share of the American market. She cited how Chinese vehicles, first sold in Europe in 2019, now make up almost a quarter of its market. The representative also recently pushed Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the security gap.
Alternatively (and perhaps ideally), legislators could pass a comprehensive data privacy law rather than dealing with these issues piecemeal.
The bill’s introduction follows the Biden Administration’s quadrupling of import tariffs on Chinese EVs. The White House’s new EV levies grew from 25 percent to 100 percent, following China’s EV exports rising 70 percent between 2022 and 2023.
In February, the White House also ordered the Department of Commerce to investigate the risks of connected vehicles from China and other adversaries. However, that action was conducted through an executive order and could be undone by future administrations. Slotkin’s legislation would close those loopholes if it makes it through Congress — rarely a safe bet in today’s highly obstructed and contentious political environment.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) promise the potential to stream any content, from anywhere. They unlock content from abroad across nearly any streaming platform you use regularly, which can come in handy if you’re into some obscure BBC exclusive not available in the United States. But that’s actually just one small perk of VPN services. VPNs provide a private traffic tunnel to keep your internet service provider out of your business, and provide an extra layer of security to protect your browsing habits. We tested nine of today’s most popular VPNs to help you find the best option for your needs.
What is a VPN?
VPNs, or virtual private networks, mask your IP address and the identity of your computer or mobile device on the network and creating an encrypted “tunnel” that prevents your internet service provider (ISP) from accessing data about your browsing history. VPNs are not a one-size-fits-all security solution, though.
Instead, they’re just one part of keeping your data private and secure. Roya Ensafi, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, told Engadget that VPNs don’t protect against common threats like phishing attacks, nor do they protect your data from being stolen. Much of the data or information is stored with the VPN provider instead of your ISP, which means that using a poorly designed or unprotected network can still undermine your security. But they do come in handy for online privacy when you’re connecting to an untrusted network somewhere public because they tunnel and encrypt your traffic to the next hop.
That means sweeping claims that seem promising, like military-grade encryption or total digital invisibility, may not be totally accurate. Instead, Yael Grauer, program manager of Consumer Reports’ online security guide, recommends looking for security features like open-source software with reproducible builds, up-to-date support for industry-standard protocols like WireGuard (CR’s preferred protocol) or IPsec, and the ability to defend against attack vectors like brute force.
Understanding VPNs and your needs
Before considering a VPN, make sure your online security is up to date in other ways. That means complex passwords, multi-factor authentication methods and locking down your data sharing preferences. Even then, you probably don’t need to be using a VPN all the time.
“If you’re just worried about somebody sitting there passively and looking at your data then a VPN is great,” Jed Crandall, an associate professor at Arizona State University, told Engadget.
That brings us to some of the most common uses cases for VPNs. If you use public WiFi networks a lot, like while working at a coffee shop, then VPN usage can help give you private internet access. They’re also helpful for hiding information from other people on your ISP if you don’t want members of your household to know what you’re up to online.
Geoblocking has also become a popular use case as it helps you reach services in other parts of the world. For example, you can access shows that are only available on streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime, in other countries, or play online games with people located all over the globe.
There are also a few common VPN features that you should consider before deciding if you want to use one, and which is best for you:
What is split tunneling?
Split tunneling allows you to route some traffic through your VPN, while other traffic has direct access to the internet. This can come in handy when you want to protect certain activity online without losing access to local network devices, or services that work best with location sharing enabled.
What is a double VPN?
A double VPN, otherwise known as multi-hop VPN or a VPN chain, passes your online activity through two different VPN servers one right after the other. For VPN services that support this, users are typically able to choose which two servers they want their traffic to pass through. As you might expect, this provides an extra layer of security.
Are VPNs worth it?
Whether or not VPNs are worth it depends how often you could use it for the above use cases. If you travel a lot and rely on public WiFi or hotspots, are looking to browse outside of your home country or want to keep your traffic hidden from your ISP, then investing in a VPN will be useful. But, keep in mind that even the best VPN services often slow down your internet connection speed, so they may not be ideal all the time.
In today’s world, we recommend not relying on a VPN connection as your main cybersecurity tool. VPN use can provide a false sense of security, leaving you vulnerable to attack. Plus, if you choose just any VPN, it may not be as secure as just relying on your ISP. That’s because the VPN could be based in a country with weaker data privacy regulation, obligated to hand information over to law enforcement or linked to weak user data protection policies.
For VPN users working in professions like activism or journalism that want to really strengthen their internet security, options like the Tor browser may be a worthwhile alternative, according to Crandall. Tor is free, and while it’s less user-friendly, it’s built for anonymity and privacy.
How we tested
To test the security specs of different VPNs and name our top picks, we relied on pre-existing academic work through Consumer Reports, VPNalyzer and other sources. We referenced privacy policies, transparency reports and security audits made available to the public. We also considered past security incidents like data breaches.
We looked at price, usage limits, effects on internet speed, possible use cases, ease of use, general functionality and additional “extra” VPN features like multihop. The VPNs were tested across iOS, Android and Mac devices so we could see the state of the mobile apps across various platforms (Windows devices are also supported in most cases). We used the “quick connect” feature on the VPN apps to connect to the “fastest” provider available when testing internet speed, access to IP address data and DNS and WebRTC leaks or when a fault in the encrypted tunnel reveals requests to an ISP.
Otherwise, we conducted a test of geoblocking content by accessing Canada-exclusive Netflix releases, a streaming test by watching a news livestream on YouTube via a Hong Kong-based VPN and a gaming test by playing on servers in the United Kingdom. By performing these tests at the same time, it also allowed us to test claims about simultaneous device use. Here are the VPN services we tested:
Simultaneous connections: 10 | Number of devices: 10 | Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux | Browser extensions: Chrome, Firefox | Dedicated IP addresses: Yes, for business users only | Trial/Money-back guarantee: None/30-day money-back guarantee
The VPNs we tried out ranked pretty consistently across all of our tests, but ProtonVPN stood out as a strong option because of its overall security, usability and privacy features. The Proton Technologies suite of services includes mail, calendar, drive and a VPN known for its end-to-end encryption. This makes it a strong contender for overall security, but its VPN specifically came across as a well-rounded independent service.
ProtonVPN’s no-logs policy has passed audits, and the company has proven not to comply with law enforcement requests. Because it is based in Switzerland, there are no forced logging obligations, according to the company. Plus, it’s based on an open-source framework, and has an official vulnerability disclosure program along with clear definitions on what it does with personal information.
While ProtonVPN offers a free version, it’s limited compared to other options, with access to server networks in just three countries. Its paid version, starting at about $5.39 per month, includes access to VPN server locations in more than 65 countries on 10 devices at a time. For dedicated Proton Technologies users, they can pay closer to $8.63 for a monthly plan to access the entire suite.
ProtonVPN passed our geoblock, streaming and gaming tests with only a very small toll on connection speeds. It also comes with malware-, ad- and tracker-blocking as an additional service, plus it has a kill switch feature on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and the latest version of Android. It’s available on most major operating systems, routers, TV services and more including Firefox, Linux and Android TV. For dedicated Linux users, ProtonVPN added a new Linux-specific app to support its services in August.
Pros
Easy to use
No-logs policy
Based on open-source framework
Kill switch feature on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Simultaneous connections: Unlimited | Number of devices: Unlimited | Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux | Browser extensions: Chrome, Firefox | Dedicated IP addresses: No | Trial/Money-back guarantee: None/None
By signing up for Windscribe’s free plan with your email, users can access 10GB per month of data, unlimited connections and access to more than 10 countries. We selected it as the best free VPN because of its high security and wide range of server locations compared to other free VPNs. It has over 500 servers in over 60 countries, according to the company, and can be configured to routers, smart TVs and more on top of the usual operating systems.
Windscribe doesn’t have a recent independent security audit, but it does publish a transparency report showing that it has complied with zero requests for its data, runs a vulnerability disclosure program encouraging researchers to report flaws and offers multiple protocols for users to connect with.
On top of that, it’s easy to use. The set up is intuitive and it passed our geoblock, streaming and gaming tests. The paid version costs $5.75 to $9 each month, depending on the plan you choose, and includes unlimited data, access to all servers and an ad/tracker/malware blocker. Or, for $1 per location per month, users can build a plan tailored to the VPNs they want to access. Windscribe is still expanding its reach, adding Japan to its list of available spots.
We picked the best VPN service for travel, gaming and streaming based on which one had access to the most locations with high speed connections and no lag. ExpressVPN met all those criteria and was one of the most premium VPNs we tried, not to mention one of the fastest VPNs, too. Now, it even comes with an in-house password manager, ExpressVPN Keys, to manage and autofill logins across sites included with the subscription. That will make it easier to toggle between streaming and gaming accounts while browsing securely.
An internet speed test measured faster upload and download speed compared to using no VPN, practically unheard of compared to the other VPNs tested. But being this fast is likely a fluke due to the VPN service circumventing traffic shaping by the ISP or another disparity because even top VPNs will in some way slow down speeds. With 2,000 servers in 160 cities, according to the company, it had one of the broadest global reaches. It also passed our geoblock, streaming and gaming tests, and it does regular security audits. Plus, Network Lock is its kill switch feature, which keeps your data safe even if you lose connection to the VPN. Subscription costs range from $8.32 to $12.95 per month depending on the term of the plan, and include a password manager.
With ExpressVPN, users can connect to up to five devices at once, which is on the lower side compared to other services. That said, it works on a bunch of devices from smart TVs to game consoles, unlike some other services that lack support beyond the usual suspects like smartphones and laptops.
Pros
High speed connections with no lag in many locations
Supports Network Lock kill switch feature
Works on a variety of devices like smart TVs and game consoles
Simultaneous connections: 7 | Number of devices: 7 | Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux | Browser extensions: Chrome, Firefox | Dedicated IP addresses: Yes, additional purchase required | Trial/Money-back guarantee: 2 free months/45-day money-back guarantee
Because several of the best VPN services connect to routers, cross-platform accessibility isn’t always necessary. By connecting a VPN to your home router, you can actually connect to unlimited devices in your household, as long as they all access the internet through that router.
But if you use VPNs on the go, and across several devices, being able to connect to a wide range of platforms will be indispensable. CyberGhost offers simultaneous connectivity on up to seven devices for $2.11 to $12.99 per month depending on subscription term. It supports several types of gadgets like routers, computers, smart TVs and more. It’s similar to the support that ExpressVPN offers, but CyberGhost provides detailed instructions on how to set up the cross-platform connections, making it a bit more user-friendly for those purposes. Plus, it just expanded its network of servers from 91 to 100 countries, adding Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to its available locations.
From a security perspective, CyberGhost completed an independent security audit by Deloitte earlier this year, runs a vulnerability disclosure program and provides access to a transparency report explaining requests for its data. An updated version of its transparency report went live in August. While it did pass all of our tests, it’s worth noting that we had trouble connecting to servers in the United Kingdom and had to opt to run our gaming test through an Ireland-based server instead.
Pros
Works well across different kinds of devices/platforms
Provides detailed instructions for setting service up on different devices
As we mentioned before, connecting to a router can provide nearly unlimited access to devices in a single household. But Surfshark VPN is one of few VPN services that offer use on an unlimited number of devices without bandwidth restrictions, according to the company. And you get that convenience without a significant increase in price: Surfshark subscriptions cost about $2.49 to $12.95 for a monthly subscription, and the company recently conducted its first independent audit. It added QR-code-enabled login across devices and expanded support for alternative ID profiles since our initial review, a feature that some of its competitors already had.
We ran into some trouble connecting to Surfshark’s WireGuard protocol, but tested on an IKEv2 protocol instead. The VPN speed was a bit slow and struggled to connect for our geoblock test at first, but ultimately passed. What makes it different from other VPNs with unlimited connection options is that it has access to a larger number of servers and is available on more types of devices.
NordVPN didn’t quite make the cut because it’s overhyped, and underwhelming. As I’ve written in our full review of NordVPN, the pricing, up to $14.49 for a “complete” subscription, seemed high compared to other services, and its free or lower cost plans just didn’t have the same wide variety of features as its competitors.
TunnelBear
Despite the cute graphics and user friendliness, TunnelBear wasn’t a top choice. It failed numerous basic security tests from Consumer Reports, and had limited availability across platforms like Linux. It did, however, get a major security boost in July when it updated to support WireGuard protocol across more of its platforms.
Bitdefender VPN
Bitdefender doesn’t offer support for devices like routers, which limits its cross-platform accessibility. It also lacked a transparency report or third-party audit to confirm security specs.
Atlas VPN
Atlas ranked lower on our speed tests compared to the other VPNs tested, with a notably slower difference on web browsing and streaming tests. It was a good option otherwise, but could easily cause headaches for those chasing high speed connections. Security-wise, an Atlas VPN vulnerability leaked Linux users’ real IP addresses.
VPN FAQs
What are some things VPNs are used for?
VPNs are traditionally used to protect your internet traffic. If you’re connected to an untrusted network like public WiFi in a cafe, using a VPN hides what you do from the internet service provider. Then, the owner of the WiFi or hackers trying to get into the system can’t see the identity of your computer or your browsing history.
A common non-textbook use case for VPNs has been accessing geographically restricted content. VPNs can mask your location, so even if you’re based in the United States, they can make it appear as if you’re browsing abroad and unblock access. This is especially useful for streaming content that’s often limited to certain countries, like if you want to watch Canadian Netflix from the US.
What information does a VPN hide?
A VPN doesn’t hide all of your data. It only hides information like your IP address, location and browser history. A common misconception is that VPNs can make you totally invisible online. But keep in mind that the VPN provider often still has access to all of this information, so it doesn’t grant you total anonymity. You’re also still vulnerable to phishing attacks, hacking and other cyberthreats that you should be mindful of by implementing strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
Are VPNs safe?
Generally, yes. VPNs are a safe and reliable way to encrypt and protect your internet data. But like most online services, the safety specifics vary from provider to provider. You can use resources like third-party audits, Consumer Reports reviews, transparency reports and privacy policies to understand the specifics of your chosen provider.
What about Google’s One VPN?
Google One subscriptions include access to the company’s VPN, which works similarly to other VPNs on our list, hiding your online activity from network operators. However, Google announced recently that it plans to shut down the One VPN because “people simply weren’t using it.” There’s no specific date for the shutdown, with Google simply saying it will discontinue the service sometime later in 2024. Pixel phone owners, however, will continue to have access to the free VPN available on their devices.
Update November 10, 2023: This story was updated after publishing to remove mention of PPTP, a protocol that Consumer Reports’ Yael Grauer notes “has serious security flaws.”
In order to get all of the features you’d need to get the most comprehensive listening experience possible, over-ear, noise-canceling headphones are likely your best option. Stellar sound quality, powerful active noise cancelation (ANC), reliable Bluetooth connections and more should all be present on a good pair of wireless headphones that offer the complete package. Of course, some companies do this better than others. At Engadget, we review dozens of Bluetooth headphones each year while testing even more to keep our finger on the pulse. For this guide, we selected our top picks based on the best mix of features, including overall audio quality, ANC performance, comfort, advanced audio tools and more. Our seven favorites offer all of the conveniences we’d expect in a set of high-quality wireless headphones, with a range of prices to help you stay within your budget.
How to choose the best wireless headphones for you
When it comes to shopping for a good pair of wireless headphones, the first thing you’ll need to decide on is wear style. Do you prefer on-ear or over-ear headphones? For the purposes of our buyer’s guide, we focus on the over-ear style as that’s what most noise-canceling headphones are nowadays. Sure, you can find on-ear models with ANC, but over-ear designs are much more effective at blocking sound. Speaking of noise cancellation, you’ll want to determine early on if you even want that. If you frequently crank up the beats in noisy environments, you’ll want to not only make sure it’s there, but also make sure it’s good. If you plan to use your new headphones in quieter spaces, skipping ANC can save you some money.
The next area to consider is features. We recommend trying to get the most bang for your buck, but as you’re shopping around you should determine which items are must-haves and what you can live without. And don’t take basic things like automatic pausing and Bluetooth multipoint connectivity for granted, as not all companies include them. We also suggest reading reviews to see how well a company’s more advanced features work. This will help you decide if those are something you’re willing to (likely) pay extra for. Pay close attention to battery life estimates and don’t be easily swayed by lofty promises about call quality.
Sound can be subjective, so we recommend trying before you buy if at all possible. We understand this isn’t easy at a time when we’re doing most of our shopping online. But trying on a set of headphones and listening to them for a few minutes can save you from an expensive case of buyer’s remorse. We also recommend paying attention to things like Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, 360 Reality Audio and other immersive formats. Not all headphones support them, so you’ll want to make sure a perspective pair does if that sort of thing excites you.
How we test wireless headphones
The primary way we test wireless headphones is to wear them as much as possible. We prefer to do this over a one- to two-week period, but sometimes embargoes don’t allow it. During this time, we listen to a mix of music and podcasts, while also using the earbuds to take both voice and video calls. Since battery life for headphones can be 30 hours or more, we drain the battery with looping music and the volume set at a comfortable level (usually around 75 percent). Due to the longer battery estimates, we’ll typically power the headphones off several times and leave them during a review. This simulates real-world use and keeps us from having to constantly monitor the process for over 24 straight hours.
To judge the best Bluetooth headphones, we consider audio quality by listening to a range of genres, noting any differences in the sound profile across the styles. We also test at both low and high volumes to check for consistency in the tuning. To assess the quality of phone calls, we’ll record audio samples with the headphones’ microphones as well as have third parties call us.
When it comes to features, we do a thorough review of companion apps, testing each feature as we work through the software. Any holdovers from previous models are double checked for improvements or regression. If the headphones we’re testing are an updated version of a previous model, we’ll spend time getting reacquainted with the older set. Ditto for the closest competition for each new set of headphones that we review.
Sony’s 1000X line has been our top pick for best wireless headphone for a long time now. Until another company can pack in as many high-quality features as Sony, and do so with a mix of excellent sound quality and effective ANC, the crown is safe. With the WH-1000XM5, Sony redesigned its flagship headphones, making them way more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. We also noticed in our tests that the company made noticeable improvements to the active noise cancellation, thanks to a separate V1 chip in addition to the QN1 that was inside the M4. There are now eight total ANC mics as well – the previous model only had four. This all combines to better block background noise and high frequencies, including human voices.
The 1000XM5 still has all of the features that typically make Sony’s top-of-the-line headphones showstoppers. That includes 30-hour battery life and crisp, clear sound with balanced tuning and punchy bass. A combo of touch controls and physical buttons give you on-board access to music, calls and noise modes without reaching for your phone. Speak-to-Chat automatically pauses audio when you begin talking, and like previous Sony headphones, the M5 can change noise modes based on your activity or location. Plus, this model offers better call quality than most of the competition. The only real downside is that they’re $50 more than the WH-1000XM4 at full price ($400).
An upgraded version of the Px7 S2, the Px7 S2e’s changes are mostly in the sound department. Bowers & Wilkins updated the digital signal processing (DSP) engine for improved performance when streaming music. The changes it introduced include support for up to 24-bit high-resolution streaming from compatible services. The company says it also re-tuned the acoustics for “unmatched detail, dynamics and spaciousness,” which is the more noticeable tweak compared to the previous model. Those promises hold true, too: the Px7 S2e are at the top of our test unit pile in terms of overall sound quality, just like the Px7 S2 has been since their introduction.
Bowers & Wilkins kept the rest of what was so great about the Px7 S2 as well. Reliable physical controls don’t lead to any frustration when you use them and the ANC performance is good enough to block out a lot of distractions. Factor in the refined design and overall comfort, and you’ve got a great set of headphones that rival the best. The Px7 S2e still doesn’t have a lot of the more advanced features that Sony offers, but they sound so good you might not even notice.
Noise cancellation: No | Multipoint: Yes | Battery life: 60 hours | Weight: 1.42 pounds | Water resistance: None
Audio-Technica has introduced affordable wireless headphones in the past, and while they didn’t offer active noise cancellation, they’re still worth considering. The company’s latest is the M20xBT, a Bluetooth version of the A-T’s popular M20x wired cans. For just $79, you can expect a comfortable fit and up to 60 hours of battery life. Bluetooth multipoint connectivity allows you to connect to multiple devices at once and physical buttons provide reliable on-board control. The design isn’t as refined as the company’s pricer models like the M50xBT2, but you get the bulk of what makes Audio-Technica’s cheaper options so good.
While we haven’t tested the newly renamed QuietComfort Headphones, these cans replace the Bose QuietComfort 45 in the company’s lineup so that’s why they’re on our list. These new wireless headphones are nearly identical to the previous version, except for the added ability to adjust ANC levels and save custom modes. You’ll still get the best noise-blocking performance of any headphone company alongside a supremely comfy fit and 24-hour battery life. Multipoint Bluetooth is here as well.
Back at CES 2022, Panasonic announced the EAH-A800: a new set of active noise canceling headphones under the iconic Technics brand. While most of the features are what you see on any number of wireless headphones, one figure stood out. The company says you can expect up to 50 hours of battery life on the A800, and that’s with active noise cancellation enabled. While we haven’t put them through the full review analysis, I have already tested them on a long flight. The ANC is impressive and they’re comfortable enough to avoid becoming a burden after several hours. Sound quality is also quite good (there’s LDAC support, too) and there are enough features here to justify the premium price tag.
While Master & Dynamic is known for its design prowess, the company’s over-ear headphones were due for a refresh. With the MW75 that debuted in June, the company opted for a look that takes cues from its MG20 gaming headset and mixes them with a combo of aluminum, leather and tempered glass. The company’s trademark sound quality returns with multiple ANC modes and ambient sound options for a range of situations. At $599, the high-end looks don’t come cheap, but if you’re looking for something beyond the pure plastic fashion of most headphones, M&D has you covered.
Apple’s AirPods Max are premium, well-designed headphones that incorporate all of the best features you find on standard AirPods: solid noise cancelation, spatial audio and easy Siri access. However, their $550 starting price makes them almost prohibitively expensive, even for those with Apple devices. There are better options available at lower prices.
Sony WH-CH720N
While the WH-CH720N are a great affordable option, we prefer the Audio-Technica in the budget category. Sony’s cans are lightweight with good sound quality, but ANC struggles at times and they’re made with a lot of plastic.
Beats Studio Pro
The Studio Pro lacks basic features like automatic pausing, and multipoint connectivity is only available on Android. Moreover, they’re not very comfortable for people with larger heads. Overall sound quality is improved, though, and voice performance on calls is well above average.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Bose’s latest flagship model has a lot to offer, but its trademark Immersive Audio feature can be inconsistent across different types of music. There’s still world-class ANC, excellent comfort and a clearer transparency mode, but for the price, the non-Ultra model is a better choice right now.
Master & Dynamic MH40 (2nd gen)
The MH40 are a great set of headphones if you favor crisp, clear and natural sound that isn’t overly tuned. This pair showcases the company’s affinity for leather and metal too, but limited customization and short battery life for non-ANC cans kept this set from making the cut.
Bowers & Wilkins Px8
The company’s trademark pristine sound is on display here, but the Px8 are more expensive and not nearly as comfortable as the Px7 S2.
FAQs
How can you tell the quality of headphones?
I typically look at three factors: design, sound quality and features. In terms of design, I’m usually looking to see if the build quality of the headphones feels cheap and plasticky. Plenty of companies use plastic, but they can do so in a way that doesn’t look or feel like budget models. For sound quality, I want to hear a nice, even tuning where highs, mids and lows are all well represented. No overly boomy bass or scooped out mids. I also want good clarity where you can pick up fine details and an open, immersive soundstage. Features is typically a distant third, but if a company doesn’t cover basic functionality (automatic pausing, transparency mode, multipoint Bluetooth, etc.) it can be an indication of overall quality.
How do I choose the best quality headphones?
“Best” can be pretty subjective, but I always recommend going to a place where you can listen to the headphones you’re thinking about buying before you commit. Sometimes this isn’t possible, so you’ll want to check return policies. I also recommend doing some research to determine what your priorities are in a new set. Are you an audiophile who wants the best sound quality? Is powerful active noise cancellation (ANC) the most important? Would you rather have conveniences like automatic pausing?
Which brand has the best headphones?
Sony consistently tops our list with its 1000X line. This is mostly due to the combination of sound quality, ANC performance and the truckload of features these headphones pack in. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are better sounding options and other companies, like Bose, offer more effective noise cancellation. But when you add everything up, no one comes close to the full slate of tools Sony puts in its premium headphone line.
Do expensive headphones sound better?
Exorbitant price tags don’t mean better audio quality. Bowers & Wilkins’headphones are on the high end for wireless noise-canceling models and they sound amazing. However, Audio-Technica’s M50xBT2 is much more affordable and doesn’t have ANC, but these headphones have a warm, natural sound profile that I find very inviting. At the end of the day, it will come down to personal preference, but you don’t need to spend a lot to find great headphones.
It’s officially ice cream season, and if you’ve been wanting to try your hand at making the dessert yourself, Walmart has a deal you might be interested in. The Ninja Creami ice cream maker is $50 off right now, bringing the price down to $149 — the best price we’ve seen for it all year. The Creami is designed for ease of use and gives you control over the texture of the finished product, so you can make ice cream, sorbet, milkshakes and other kinds of frozen treats.
Ninja
The deal applies to the Ninja Creami model with 5 one-touch progams: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Milkshake, Lite Ice Cream and Mix-in (which lets you toss in embellishments like chocolate chips or nuts). It also comes with two 16oz pints to make and store your ice cream in. The Creami is one of our favorite kitchen gadgets and earned a review score of 90, requiring minimal work on your part to make ice cream with the ingredients of your choice. All you need to do is prep the mixture that will be your base, toss it in the freezer overnight, then pop it in the Creami for processing.
The Ninja Creami won’t take up too much counter space, and most of the parts can go in the dishwasher for an easy cleanup after using it. It operates a bit like a food processor, but uses what the company refers to as a Creamerizer Paddle that has two different types of blades to get a uniform texture. There’s one for shaving the frozen base and another for smoothing it all out. It also has dual drive motors that allow for both a spinning motion and downward pressure to make for a good churn.
In between beach visits and grilling sessions this holiday weekend, it’s worthwhile to turn to the internet to save a little bit on tech you may have had on your wishlist. The Memorial Day sales we’ve seen this year include some of the best prices we’ve seen all year on some of our favorite tech, including tablets, wireless earbuds, power banks and more. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fact that Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner in July (although the exact dates are to be determined), so there’s a good chance we’ll see even steeper discounts during that shopping event. But for now, if you’ve been meaning to pick up a few new gadgets to upgrade your kit, Memorial Day sales have you covered. These are the best Memorial Day tech deals we could find.
Our top picks
Best Apple Memorial Day sales
Apple
Apple
Along with the announcement of the new M4 iPad Pro and the M2 iPad Air, Apple deemed the 10th-gen iPad its new “budget” option and knocked its price down to $350. Amazon has the base model for $329 right now, which is a new record low. We gave the 10th-gen iPad an 85 in our review when it debuted in 2022, thanks in part to its landscape-oriented, front-facing camera, USB-C charging and design refresh.
Amazon has knocked $200 off the M3-powered, 13-inch MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. That’s a top-of-the-line, pre-made model that will be more than enough for most people’s daily driver, and it’ll make a great notebook for creative professionals and those who really push their laptops to the limit. We consider the M3 MacBook Pro to be the best MacBook for creatives thanks to its stellar performance, nearly 24-hour battery life and its crisp, bright display.
You can pick up the AirPods Max for $100 less than usual for Memorial Day, for a final price of $450. One of our biggest gripes with Apple’s over-ear headphones was their sky-high price tag, so this deal makes them a better buy. We praised them for their excellent sound quality and ANC, plus their comfortable design.
The new Beats Solo 4 headphones are $50 off and down to $150 right now. In our review, we praised these updated cans for their improved sound quality, USB-C charging and over 50 hours of battery life.
Elsewhere in Solo Stove’s Memorial Day sale, you’ll find its fire pits on sale for some of the best prices we’ve seen. The Ranger 2.0 is the smallest, full-sized fire pit the company makes, and it’s $30 off and down to $200 for the holiday. Solo Stove fire pits have long been some of our favorites because they keep excess smoke to a minimum, plus their designs are not only attractive, but also fairly easy to clean.
Ooni Memorial Day deals knock up to 30 percent off pizza ovens and accessories, with your most affordable oven option being the Fyra 12, which is down to $245. Ooni makes some of the best pizza ovens on the market right now, and the Fyra is a top pick of ours thanks to its relatively small footprint and the fact that it runs on wood pellets, which make it much easier to maintain a flame while you’re cooking.
The Meater Plus smart thermometer, a previous version of one of our favorites, has dropped to $70 for Memorial Day. Both Amazon and Meater direct have this sale price, which is the best we’ve seen on this particular model. While the upgraded Meater 2 Plus is one of our new grilling favorites, the Meater Plus remains capable, giving you the ability to monitor food temperatures from your smartphone from up to 1,000 feet away.
One of our top picks for the best budget robot vacuums, the RoboVac 11S Max is down to $150 when you clip the on-page coupon to get $100 off its list price. This model doesn’t have Wi-Fi connectivity, but that doesn’t prevent it from being a solid cleaning machine. It comes with a remote that you can use to control it, plus it’s shorter height allows it to better clean under furniture like sideboards, couches and more.
This is the best price we’ve seen on this particular model of the Dyson V15 Detect at Amazon. It’s one of the few variations of our favorite cordless vacuum, which delivers excellent suction power and works with a Fluffy Optic cleaning head that illuminates the floor in front of you so you can better see which spots need more attention than others. If you go directly to Dyson, you can get a slightly different model, the V15 Detect Absolute, for only $600.
This Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum is 42 percent off and down to $350 for Memorial Day, which is only about $50 more than its record-low price. This is a version of one of our top picks for the best robot vacuum you can buy right now, and it comes with a self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days worth of debris.
Use the code ENG425 at checkout to get a whopping $425 off the Roomba Combo j9+, one of our favorite robot vacuum-and-mop devices. This robovac is smart enough to know when it’s cleaning hard floors or carpet, and it will automatically deploy its mopping pad when it’s cleaning tile, hardwood and other similar floors. The self-emptying base not only holds dry debris, but it also hold additional liquid cleaning solution to keep mopping abilities going for longer.
Our favorite MagSafe-compatible power bank is 22 percent off and down to $70, which is one of the best prices we’ve seen. Anker MagGo Power Bank has a 10,000 mAh capacity and is Qi2-certified. In our testing, it recharged an iPhone 15 from zero to nearly half full in only 45 minutes. This model also has a small screen on it that will show the remaining juice in the battery itself, and a kickstand that makes watching videos on your phone while powering up much easier.
Another one of our top picks for best power banks, Anker’s Prime Power Bank has a 27,650 mAh, more than enough to charge up small mobile devices like phones as well as larger gear like tablets and some laptops. The built-in screen also shows you how much power is flowing to each device you’re charging simultaneously.
Clip the 30-percent-off coupon here to get this 3-in-1 Anker charging stand for $70, an all-time-low price. This accessory is Qi2 certified and supports 15W charging for iPhones, and it can also charge an Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods at the same time. Another perk is that it comes with its power cable and adapter, so you don’t need to worry about providing your own.
This 65W GaN charger from Anker is on sale for only $43 right now. It’s able to quickly power up laptops, tablets, phones and other gear, and Anker’s ActiveShield 2.0 technology monitors temperatures while powering things up so it can dynamically adjust output as needed. With two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, you’ll be able to charge up three devices at once.
Best Memorial Day sales on streaming services and devices
Paramount+
Until July 14, new and returning subscribers can get one year of Paramount+ with Showtime for only $60 — that’s half off the usual price and one of the best streaming deals we’ve seen in a bit. In addition to access to Showtime content, you’ll get ad-free viewing with this tier (except on live content), along with the ability to download content for offline watching. Just make note when your subscription renews next year because you’ll be charged the standard amount ($120) after the discounted period ends.
One of our favorite streaming devices, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, has dropped to only $34 for Memorial Day. Not only is this dongle easy to set up and use, but it also provides access to a ton of free content via Roku’s interface and channels, plus. On top of that, this streaming stick supports 4K, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Apple AirPlay 2.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Amazon’s most capable dongle, is down to a record low of $40 for the holiday weekend. It supports 4K, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Wi-Fi 6E, plus it comes with double the internal storage than the other, cheaper Fire TV Sticks.
Amazon has discounted the Roku Express streamer by 37 percent, bringing it down to only $19. This is one of our top picks for the best streaming devices you can get right now thanks to the breadth of free content Roku’s OS provides and its ultra-affordable price.
Our pick for the best wireless headphones you can buy are $72 off and down to $328 right now. Sony’s WH-1000XM5 impress with excellent sound quality, stellar noise cancellation and a super comfortable design. They also have the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously, and can last up to 30 hours on a single charge.
The Soundcore Space A40 are our top pick for the best budget wireless earbuds you can buy at their normal price of $100, but they’re an even better bargain when half off like this. They have a warm sound profile and provide excellent noise cancellation for their price. On top of that, they can connect to two devices at once, and they have strong battery life — eight hours on a single charge, plus 40 additional hours with their charging case.
One of our top picks for the best running headphones, the Jabra Elite 8 Active are $50 off right now and down to $150. Along with a comfortable, compact design, these buds have an IP68 rating, which means they’re durable enough to withstand contact with dust, debris and water and keep on working. The buds also have good sound quality, strong ANC, pretty good transparency mode and multipoint connectivity.
LG’s latest C4 OLED TVs are on sale at the moment, so you can pick up a 55-inch model for $1,597, just about $400 off its list price. These are the brands latest, 2024 OLED sets and they boast improved brightness and and updated processor when compared to previous models. They also support 144Hz refresh rates and G-Sync and Freesync compatibility, making them even better options for gamers now.
You can pick up the Galaxy S24+ smartphone for a record low of $800 right now, which is $200 off its regular price. It earned a score of 87 in our review thanks to its clean, minimalist design, slick UI and handy, built-in AI features.
Amazon’s latest Echo Show 8 is on sale for $95 right now, only $5 more than its all-time-low price. This Alexa-enabled smart display has an 8-inch 1280 x 800p touchscreen, an improved speaker array, a front-facing camera with auto-framing for better video chats and a built-in Zigbee smart home hub. The latter allows you to connect devices like smart lights directly to the Show 8, eliminating the need for a separate hub.
As part of a larger sale on Ring cameras, you can pick up the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus for $120, which is an all-time low. It records 1536p video and supports two-way audio, quick replies and motion and package alerts. You can choose to hardwire this video doorbell when you install it, or keep it running on its rechargeable battery pack.
Amazon-owned Blink smart home security devices have been discounted for the holiday weekend, with one highlight being a five-camera system for half off, bringing the final price down to $200. You get everything you need to set up a security camera system for the first time with this set: five cameras, mounts and the Blink Sync Module that ties them all together. These Outdoor 4 cams can be used inside or outside and each have a two-year battery life, so you won’t have to worry about changing them for a while.
Elon Musk told investors this month that his startup xAI is planning to build a supercomputer by the fall of 2025 that would power a future, smarter iteration of its Grok chatbot, The Information reports. This supercomputer, which Musk reportedly referred to as a “gigafactory of compute,” would rely on tens of thousands of NVIDIA H100 GPUs and cost billions of dollars to build. Musk has previously said the third version of Grok will require at least 100,000 of the chips — a fivefold increase over the 20,000 GPUs said to be in use for training Grok 2.0.
According to The Information, Musk also told investors in the presentation that the planned GPU cluster would be at least four times the size of anything used today by xAI competitors. Grok is currently in version 1.5, which was released in April, and is now touted to process visual information like photographs and diagrams as well as text. X earlier this month started rolling out AI-generated news summaries powered by Grok for premium users.
Russia has reportedly found new, more effective ways to knock out Ukraine’s Starlink service. The New York Timessaid on Friday that the increased interference has disrupted communications at critical moments and is posing “a major threat to Ukraine,” putting the country further on its heels more than two years into the war. How Russia is jamming Elon Musk’s satellite internet terminals is unclear.
The New York Times said Russia’s ability to jam communications has thrown off Ukraine’s ability to communicate, gather intelligence and conduct drone strikes. Ukrainian soldiers told the paper that jammed Starlink service stunts their ability to communicate quickly, leaving them scrambling to send text messages (often extremely slowly) to share intel about incoming or ongoing Russian maneuvers or attacks.
The jamming was reportedly repeated across Ukraine’s northern front line, often coinciding with Russian advances. The new outages are the first time Russia has jammed Starlink reception that widely and frequently. If it continues, it could “mark a tactical shift in the conflict,” highlighting Ukraine’s dependence on SpaceX’s internet technology. Without competing choices of similar quality, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s democratic nation is left without many options that could work at the scale Ukraine needs.
Russia has tried to disrupt Ukraine’s comms since the war began, but Starlink service has reportedly held up well in the face of them. Something has changed. Ukraine’s digital minister, Mykhailo Federov, told The New York Times this week that Russia’s recent jamming appeared to use “new and more advanced technology.”
Federov told The NYT that Vladimir Putin’s army is now “testing different mechanisms to disrupt the quality of Starlink connections because it’s so important for us.” The digital minister didn’t specify the exact weapons Russia has been using, but a Russian official in charge of the country’s electronic warfare told state media last month that its military put Starlink on a “list of targets” and that it had developed ways to disrupt the service.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Armed Forces of Ukraine)
The disruptions highlight the power that one mercurial billionaire can have over the pivotal Eastern European war. Ukrainian officials have reportedly “appealed directly to Mr. Musk to turn on Starlink access during military operations” ahead of crucial drone strikes, and he hasn’t always obliged.
The Wall Street Journalreported in February that concern has grown that Musk could harbor at least some degree of Russian sympathies. He has posted comments on X that could be viewed as taking a pro-Russian stance, and disinformation experts worry that the way he runs the social platform could be friendly to Russian interference in the pivotal 2024 elections, including those in the US.
Musk spoke out earlier this year against the US sending more aid to Ukraine. Putin’s army also reportedly began using its own Starlink service, although Musk says he wasn’t aware of the terminals being sold to the Slavic nation. Ukrainian officials raised concerns earlier this year that Russia was buying Starlink tech from third-party vendors.
However, the Pentagon said earlier this month that the US has been “heavily involved in working with the government of Ukraine and SpaceX to counter Russian illicit use of Starlink terminals,” and a departing space official described SpaceX as “a very reliable partner” in those operations.
French for “under vacuum,” sous vide cooking involves immersing vacuum-sealed food in a temperature-controlled water bath until the food is cooked to your liking. It might sound intimidating, and it’s true that this cooking method was once the province of professional cooks with expensive equipment. But that’s not the case anymore — not only is sous vide cooking more accessible than ever now, but there are a number of sous vide machines out there that don’t cost a fortune. And, like a lot of kitchen tools now, many sous vide devices even have companion apps and Wi-Fi connectivity that make the process even more automated. If you’re curious about giving sous vide cooking a go, we’ll walk you through the process of choosing the right machine for you and share some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned through our own experiments.
How to pick a smart sous vide machine
If you’re going to choose a sous vide machine, we definitely recommend getting a smart one, which means it either has Bluetooth or WiFi capabilities (or both). That’s because this often adds a whole lot more features than you might otherwise have. We suggest getting models with a companion app that will help you set up and monitor your sous vide temperature remotely. Bluetooth-only models work when you’re within 30 to 40 feet of the cooker, while those with WiFi let you supervise your food from anywhere in your home, or as long as you’re on the same network. We also tend to prefer apps that come with recipes already on it, especially if you’re new to sous vide cooking and need some help getting started.
Other factors to consider
At a minimum, the other items you need to cook sous vide are a large metal pot (big enough to fill with water) and zipper-lock freezer bags to put the food in. Alternatively, you can use reusable silicone bags such as these from Stasher. Rather than using a vacuum sealer to get rid of air, you would use the water displacement method: Immerse the bagged food in the water while partially unsealed, and water pressure will push the air through the opening. Once everything is mostly underwater, you can seal the bag and it’ll stay submerged.
If it still floats, you can stick one or two spoons in the bag, and that will hopefully weigh things down. (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt from Serious Eats also suggests using a large binder clip attached to the bottom of the bag along with a heavy spoon.) If you’re concerned about water getting in the bag, you can attach the bag tops to the pot with binder clips, thus keeping the bag upright.
If you’re really serious about sous vide, you might want to invest in some specialty equipment. Instead of pots, for example, you could opt for large restaurant-grade plastic containers by Cambro or Rubbermaid. Not only is plastic a better insulator than metal, but there’s generally more space for more food, which is handy when you’re cooking for a crowd.
Whether you use a pot or a plastic container, it’s best to cover the vessel with plastic wrap when cooking for long periods, to keep evaporation to a minimum. Some companies, like Chefsteps, offer custom silicone pot lids that are made specially to accommodate their sous vide cookers. Alternatively, Lopez-Alt offers a much cheaper and more ingenious solution: cover your water in ping pong balls. They’ll slow down evaporation.
Additionally, while zipper-lock bags work well for most tasks, it’s still not a bad idea to get a vacuum sealer along with thicker plastic bags designed specifically for sous vide. For one, this lets you sous vide vegetables or braised meats, which typically require a higher temperature. (Zipper-lock bag seams might fail when it’s that hot.) This also lets you freeze a bunch of food, vacuum seal them and sous vide packets straight from the freezer, which is convenient for batch cooking.
You likely already have this at your disposal, but another handy tool is a good skillet to sear your meat. That sous vide device might be able to cook your steak to medium rare, but it won’t be able to brown it. A cast iron skillet, on the other hand, will. You could also consider a torch like the Bernzomatic TS8000, and we’ve seen others use a Searzall — but a cast iron skillet is far more affordable than either option. Of course, if you have a grill, you can use that too.
There are other miscellaneous items that could prove useful. Lopez-Alt likes having a pot lid organizer immersed in the container to help separate several submerged bags. If you want to make custard, yogurt or breakfast cups with your sous vide cooker, you should get yourself some mason jars too.
One more indispensable item worth considering: a trivet to rest your water vessel on so you don’t destroy your countertop.
Sous vide recipe resources
Since affordable sous vide cookers have been in the market for a few years now, there’s no shortage of recipes and guidelines online to help you figure out what to do with your newfangled kitchen gadget. The links below are some of our favorites, though bear in mind that a lot of this is based on personal taste. Your mileage may vary.
It only makes sense that the maker of one of the most popular sous vide machines also has a deep library of sous vide recipes. If you’re ever at a loss as to what to make via sous vide, simply peek at this website, where you can search for recipes from professionals and amateurs alike.
We’ve mentioned it several times here already in this guide, but Serious Eats truly is a remarkably useful resource for all things sous vide. Its guide to sous vide steak is a favorite among Engadget staffers, as is its take on slow-cooked sous-vide style eggs, which results in some of the best eggs I’ve ever had.
Years before making the Joule, Chefsteps made a name for itself as a cooking school with a heavy emphasis on food science, tech and molecular gastronomy. That’s probably why the sous vide recipes from Chefsteps are some of the more creative ones we’ve seen. One recipe, for example, teaches you how to make that perfect chicken breast along with the perfect accompaniment for said chicken breast — perhaps a crunchy apple fennel salad and a buttery carrot puree. Other favorite recipes include wonderfully tender salmon filets, juicy pork chops and Chefsteps’ own interpretation of the “sous vide egg bites” you sometimes find in certain Starbucks shops.
This is actually a cookbook from the people behind the Nomiku WiFi sous vide machine (which has since been discontinued), but the recipes in it will work with any sous vide device. Not only does it have beautiful photographs, but it also offers fantastic recipes like jerk chicken wings, duck confit and chocolate pots du creme.
Other noteworthy recipes:
Sous vide alternatives
Instant Pot / Best Buy
(Instant Pot / Best Buy)
Aside from immersion circulators like the ones mentioned here, you could also opt for multi-purpose appliances that offer sous vide-like functions. Several Instant Pots, for example, offer such a feature. Unfortunately, however, they do not circulate the water like the aforementioned immersion circulators, and the temperatures aren’t quite as precise (which is a definite downside if you need something cooked to a specific temperature). But if you don’t really care about that, or you just want to dabble occasionally in sous vide, this might be a viable option.
If you’re dead set on a multi-tasking appliance and you have the money to spend, consider the Anova Precision Oven. Thanks to its use of steam, you can indeed use it to cook foods via sous vide but without the need for plastic bags. It also uses a fan to circulate the moist air around the food and a probe thermometer helps keep foods at a precise temperature. And, of course, the Precision Oven can be used as a regular oven as well, and is great for baking breads and bagels. It is, however, quite expensive at $700 and takes up a lot of counter space.
Images: Will Lipman for Engadget (Anova / holiday light background)
Meta and Google are offering Hollywood studios millions of dollars with the hope of striking licensing deals that could improve their models for AI-generated video, according to a in Bloomberg. The companies have reportedly offered “tens of millions of dollars,” though it’s unclear what will come from the talks.
According to the report, Netflix and Disney “aren’t willing to license their content” but have “expressed interest in other types of collaborations.” Warner Brothers Discovery has reportedly indicated “a willingness to license some of its programs.”
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment. Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The companies, it seems, are hoping such deals would help advance their video generation tools. Google recently showed off a text-to-video model, , and tapped Donald Glover to promote its capabilities. Meta is also AI-generated video.
There’s been something of an arms race among AI firms to forge licensing deals with media companies. OpenAI and NewsCorp a multi-year deal to bring news content to ChatGPT earlier this week. Meta is also considering paying publishers to access “news, photo and video content” to train its AI models, Business Insider.
But, as Bloomberg points out, Hollywood studios may have some reservations about such deals. Though AI-editing tools may be appealing, there has been widespread concern in the entertainment industry about how AI companies might use their creative work. That tension burst into full view this week when Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of copying for its “Sky” assistant in ChatGPT after she declined to partner with the company herself. OpenAI has claims that it tried to mimic her voice, though the company has yet to explain that one Sam Altman .
