Technology

We sifted through the deals to find the products actually worth shopping this Prime Day. Photo: Amazon The sixth-annual Prime Day has arrived — a few months later than last year, but just in time to kick off what’s possibly the earliest holiday shopping season in history. All those deals can be overwhelming, but we at the Strategist (as well as our friends at The Cut) are here to help suss out the best deals worth taking advantage of. And Prime Day always presents a, well, prime opportunity to secure one-of-a-kind deals on kitchen items and top-of-the-line appliances, whether that’s finally springing for the stand mixer that’ll revolutionize your baking abilities or investing in an Instant Pot that can replace your takeout habit. Note that everything will be on sale only until supplies las...

The Oculus Quest 2, Facebook’s new virtual reality headset, has started shipping today. The Quest 2 is a cheaper, revamped version of the original 2019 Quest. It’s got the same untethered standalone design but with a new chipset and a big bump in screen resolution and controller battery life. And it’s starting at $299 for the base 64GB model and $399 for a 256GB version, a $100 drop from the original Quest. Quest 2 preorders have been open since September, and it’s available through Oculus’ own site and stores like Best Buy and Walmart, with a full list of retailers in Oculus’ announcement post. It was difficult to buy an original Quest over much of the past year, thanks to persistent supply problems, but the Quest 2 still appears to be widely in stock. As we wrote in September, the Quest ...

Apple has revived its MagSafe charging brand with a twist: it’s no longer for its MacBook line but instead for the new iPhone 12 line. The announcement, made during the company’s annual iPhone reveal, confirmed rumors from last week that Apple would be bringing back its magnetic charging cable that it began phasing out of its laptop line starting in 2016 with the first USB-C MacBook. The new MagSafe brand will come with a whole new set of accessories. Those include a magnetic wallet that connects to the back of the new iPhones, a new leather cover that switches the phone into what appears to be a new clock mode for iOS with just the time showing, and a combo folding charger for both the iPhone and Apple Watch. Grid View It’s not yet clear what kinds of chargers or cables will be bundled wi...

Apple is announcing a new iPhone 12 mini today. It’s the first time Apple has used the “mini” moniker on its iPhone line, after using it on the iPod mini, iPad mini, and Mac mini previously. The new iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch screen, which means Apple has squeezed a larger display than the 4.7-inch screen found on this year’s iPhone SE into an iPhone 12 mini handset that’s smaller overall. Apple has made the $699 iPhone 12 mini smaller by removing Touch ID and replacing it with Face ID, alongside a significant reduction in bezels around the display. Apple claims it’s the smallest, thinnest, and lightest 5G phone in the world. iPhone 12 mini vs. iPhone SE (2020)Apple Like the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 mini uses Apple’s A14 Bionic, a 5nm chip with better energy efficiency and performance t...

Netflix has removed the option for potential subscribers in the United States to test the service with a free trial, the company confirmed to The Verge. The company started phasing out the option for US-based subscribers this month, but has spent the last couple of years phasing out the option in a number of countries around the world. To replace the free trial, Netflix is introducing new ways to try and attract potential subscribers, including posting some educational content on YouTube for free and other forms of content sampling. “We’re looking at different marketing promotions in the US to attract new members,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Verge. With the free trial offer gone, Netflix is going to test even more forms of content sampling promotions With the free trial offer gone, Ne...

Apple has officially announced its 2020 flagship iPhones: the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, featuring support for 5G and a new squared-off design that’s reminiscent of the iPhone 4. It’s also the first major redesign for Apple’s full-screen smartphones since it introduced the bezel-less design with the iPhone X in 2017. Both the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max are bigger than last year’s 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro and 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max. The 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, in particular, is notable for taking the crown as Apple’s biggest phone to date. The Pro models features a stainless steel design (instead of the aluminum on the iPhone 12), in four colors: gray, stainless steel, gold, and a new blue. The new iPhone 12 Pro models will feature Apple’s A14 Bionic chip...

I don’t hate using the Surface Laptop Go. It didn’t give me any problems. But I do have an issue with it, philosophically. I really liked the Surface Laptop 3; I’m looking forward to an eventual Surface Laptop 4. Microsoft hasn’t announced one, though. Instead, it’s announced the Surface Laptop Go, a smaller, lower-priced laptop. It’s intended to be a budget option that competes with Chromebooks and other student-y offerings. Well, “budget.” There’s an asterisk. Verge Score 6 out of 10 Good Stuff Compact and light 3:2 aspect ratio It has a real processor Bad Stuff No backlit keyboard Low-resolution screen Limited port selection There are three models of the Surface Laptop Go, and I can really only see myself recommending one of them in good conscience. The base model is $549, and it only i...

Photos of Apple’s next smart speaker, the HomePod mini, have leaked hours ahead of the company’s big product event happening today. The images, published by Evan Blass, reveal a smaller device than the original HomePod — though it’s still covered in the familiar mesh fabric and has a small display at the top. The original HomePod was announced at WWDC 2017 and went on sale in early 2018, positioned as a high-end speaker centered on Apple Music and the company’s Siri voice assistant. Since then, Apple has added additional features to the HomePod. But this new version will presumably cost less and help the company better compete against Amazon’s Echo lineup and new products like the Nest Audio from Google. Image: @evleaks It seems Apple won’t be offering new color options beyond the space gr...

Amazon Prime Day 2020 is here, and the retailer has slashed the prices across a slew of items and categories, including Amazon’s own devices. Whether you are looking for a Fire tablet to read ebooks, a Ring device to protect your home, or you simply want to add an Alexa device to a part of your house, here are the best deals on Amazon’s own tech. A standout deal includes the third-gen Echo Device, which is the lowest it has ever been previously. In addition, a lot of the Echo and smart home deals allow you to add an Amazon smart plug or other accessories for just $5 more. Of course, if you are not a fan of the older Echo Dot design, you can also preorder this year’s Echo Dot model, which features a spherical design with a two-pack costing $80 on Amazon right now. Third-generation Amazon Ec...

The newest character to join the fantasy strategy game League of Legends is a pop star who started out as a social media influencer. League developer Riot has officially unveiled Seraphine, a mage described as “the starry-eyed songstress.” You can get a full run-down of her in-game abilities right here. While she looks like a unique addition to the game, one of the most interesting things about the character is how she was revealed. For months, a virtual influencer named Seraphine was posting photos and music on Twitter and Instagram, and fans slowly started to realize she was part of the League universe, though it wasn’t until last month that Riot confirmed it was behind the character. (If you’re wondering how this ties into the ever-expanding League lore, her backstory is particularly in...

Amazon Prime Day 2020 is here, starting right now and lasting until 11:59PM PT on October 14th. We’ve listed the best deals below happening in all of the major tech categories, including phones, gaming, storage, PC, TVs, tablets, drones, headphones, and more. We’ve highlighted particularly good deals. Looking for non-Amazon retailers? Check out our anti-Prime Day deals. Most of what you’ll find below will be on sale throughout both days of Prime Day 2020. However, we’ll be putting limited time Lightning Deals up near the top so you can easily find (and, if you want, buy) those products. For all of our coverage, including what kinds of deals are happening outside of Amazon, you can see it all here. Current Lightning Deals: The next Lightning Deals are coming at 9:15AM ET Phones Samsung’s Ga...

eBay is launching a new sneaker authentication service to verify that shoes sold on the platform match what their listings claim. According to CNN, the service will start the week of October 25th and cover the most popular sneaker styles and brands. But by early 2021 it will expand to cover all sneakers sold for over $100 on eBay in the US. Collectible sneakers are big business. TechCrunch notes that some shoes are limited to just a few thousand or even dozens of pairs, meaning popular editions can sell for up to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, this means the market is also ripe for counterfeiting. In one incident from last year, US Customs and Border Protection officers seized over 14,000 fake Nikes shipped from China to LA. Sneakers are shipped to an authen...