Microsoft has a beta test that will finally bring cloud streaming to Xbox consoles. Participants in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha tiers of the Xbox Insiders program can start using this feature now on their Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles.
This news is an extension of the “stream your own game” feature that Microsoft in November. That initial launch allowed Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream select games they’ve digitally purchased to their televisions, Meta Quest VR headsets and to some supported browser setups. The company said at the time that it planned to also bring streaming to Xbox consoles and to the Windows Xbox app in 2025.
While this update is a welcome addition to the “stream your own game” hardware, there are still some caveats on the feature. First, it’s limited to Game Pass Ultimate members. Second, the game needs to support cloud streaming. There’s a short of titles included in the program for now, but several of them are excellent ones that are well worth a look: Baldur’s Gate 3, Balatro, Cyberpunk 2077, Animal Well, Stray and the first six Final Fantasy games, to name a few highlights. Once this goes live to the whole Xbox audience, it should be a useful way to streamline game downloads and to access your whole library without needing to shell out for external storage.
In related Microsoft news, the Windows Xbox app is getting . The new Home screen for the app will highlight curated game collections and suggested titles, as well as recent game news, releases and sales.
Rode just announced the latest iteration of its well-regarded Wireless GO microphone system. The third-gen kit brings plenty of new features to the table, especially when compared to .
The microphone allows for 32-bit float on-board recording and audio can be captured directly to the receiver. The system allows up to 40 hours of footage, stored internally, and includes a new technology called GainAssist.
This is a compression algorithm, of sorts, that will “dynamically balance audio levels on-the-fly.” Rode says the system eliminates “the wild fluctuations typically found in a raw recording.” The company even says that there should be little-to-no editing required in post when using this system. If the algorithm makes a mistake, the microphone includes a secondary storage channel that records a dry copy of the audio.
Rode
Most users will use these microphones connected to a camera of some kind, so on-board storage won’t be needed. Rode says that the new Wireless GO system can operate up to 260 meters from the receiver, so long as it’s in the line of sight. The company also says that it is compatible with all Rode Series IV devices, including the and . This is in addition to offering “universal compatibility with cameras, smartphones and computers.”
There are locking lavalier connectors and an integrated LCD screen for keeping an eye on battery and audio signal levels. Finally, this system is available in a whole bunch of limited-edition colors, including red, orange, pink and purple, among others. The Wireless GO II was only available in black and white.
Rode
This updated Wireless GO microphone kit comes with one receiver, two transceivers, a charging hub, a few windshields and plenty of cables. It’s available for $300. There’s also a dedicated charging case, which is sold separately for $90.
Google Photos just unveiled a yearly recap feature, which is a play on stuff like Spotify Wrapped and PlayStation Wrap-Up. This is a highlight reel of notable photos culled from the entire year, along with “fun graphics and cinematic effects.” I can’t wait to see snazzed-up photos of my cats.
In addition to random graphics and effects, the system will also generate captions to help denote two important events from the year for each user. These captions will be generated by Gemini, though users have to opt in. Google gave us examples of attending a wedding and taking a trip to Seoul.
Google
The Recap feature will even provide “insights” in the form of tidbits about a particular user’s photo-taking habits. This could detail anything from a favorite color to the person a user smiles the most with. Google also promises that Recap will detail a user’s “2024 vibes.” The vibes of 2024? Yikes.
Just like rival yearly recap tools, folks can easily share everything to social media platforms. There’s also a little bit of a competitive element here, as each link will include data as to a particular user’s longest photo streak. Nothing creates more bragging rights than saying “you only took 560 photos this year, whereas I took 570.”
“The Splitter,” as the new content is known, features Van Damme in the role of Max Valliant, a former ICA agent who somehow avoided a previous assassination attempt several years prior. Agent 47 will need to infiltrate the rainy streets and underground data facility of Chongqing, China as he escorts an ICA board member, susses out Valliant’s “sinister agenda,” and finally puts the fellow assassin down for good.
“Max Valliant is quite the entertaining character, bringing a lot of action movie villain energy, he is ruthless, and of course, he can do the split!” Van Damme said, referring to own penchant for performing the splits in his movies and stunts. “The Splitter is a thrilling mission and like in any good action flick, Hitman players will have a few surprises, but I’ll let them find out by themselves.”
Like all elusive targets, The Splitter cannot be attempted again if failed (restarting is always allowed, of course) and has a hard end date, this time Jan. 12, 2025. Paid downloadable content will provide endless retries in arcade mode as well as a new SMG, kukri knife, and cosmetics based on the mission. And finally, the new “Season of the Splitter” roadmap will feature three missions developed by the Hitman community, new featured contracts, and the return of past elusive targets.
Cyber Monday 2024 is nearly over, but there are plenty of tech deals to consider if you’re looking for a few things for yourself or to give as gifts this year. As it has been for a few years now, Cyber Monday is basically just an extension of Black Friday: most of the best Black Friday deals have now become the best Cyber Monday deals (unless they’ve sold out), and there tend to be a few surprises thrown in as Cyber Monday exclusives.
A number of our favorite gadgets continue to be on sale for Cyber Monday even as the day draws to a close, including earbuds, tablets, robot vacuums and much more. These are the best Cyber Monday deals you can still get right now. We expect most of these sales to expire tonight, so we recommend grabbing what you want before the end of today.
Engadget’s top picks
Disney+ Hulu bundle one-year subscription for $36 ($96 off): This Disney+ Cyber Monday deal gets you the ad-supported tiers of both Disney+ and Hulu (known as the Duo Basic bundle) for only $3 per month for one year. It’s one of the best streaming deals of the seasons since it gives you the ability to catch up on all those classic Disney holiday movies, and the thousands of episodes of TV that Hulu has. If you’re only interested in the Hulu portion of the deal, you can get Hulu’s ad-supported tier for one year for $12 — that comes out to just $0.99 per month.
Apple Watch SE for $149 ($100 off): The most budget-friendly Apple Watch has all of the core features that the flagship one has, but lacks things like ECG monitoring. We consider it to be the best Apple Watch for first-timers, and anyone who’s on a tight budget. Also available at Walmart.
Anker 10K MagGo power bank for $54 ($36 off): This is one of our top picks for the best power banks you can buy today thanks to its versatile capacity, speedy Qi2 charging capabilities, clear screen that shows remaining battery power and its built-in kickstand. The black model has the steepest discount, while the rest are down to $60. Also available at Anker.
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $33 ($27 off): Amazon’s most powerful dongle supports 4K streaming with Dolby Vision, Wi-Fi 6E and live picture-in-picture mode so you can see security camera feeds directly on your TV as you’re watching a show or movie. In addition to being a solid streamer, it also makes a good retro gaming device.
Samsung Evo Select (2024) (256GB) microSD card for $18 ($4 off): The Evo Select is our favorite microSD card in the budget bracket. Its mediocre write speeds make it less-than-ideal in a camera, but it should yield few complaints for most people just looking to add space to a Nintendo Switch or Android tablet on the cheap. Also available at Samsung.
Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum with self-emptying base for $300 ($300 off): A version of one of our top picks, this Shark robot vacuum cleans both carpet and hard flooring well, has an easy-to-use app, a self-cleaning brushroll and a bagless self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days worth of debris before you need to empty it.
DJI Osmo Mobile 6 gimbal for $89 ($40 off): The latest version of DJI’s smartphone gimbal includes improved tracking and a new Quick Launch feature for iPhones that automatically launches the companion app in camera view so you can get to filming. Also available at B&H Photo.
PS5 Slim Digital for $374 ($75 off): If you’ve been unable to get your hands on a PS5 until now, you can get a decent discount for the holiday shopping season. It earned a score of 87 in our original review for its speedy 4K gaming, minimal load times and excellent DualSense controller. Also available at Walmart, Target and Sony.
Echo Buds for $25 ($25 off): These are one of our top picks for the best budget wireless earbuds you can get right now thanks to their comfortable design, pocket-friendly case, automatic wear detection, multi-device connectivity and, of course, built-in Alexa voice controls.
Anker Soundcore Space A40 for $45 ($35): The Space A40 is the longtime top pick in our guide to the best budget earbuds, as it delivers the kind of robust feature set we expect from pairs that cost three times as much. Call quality isn’t the best, and it won’t auto-pause when you take out an earbud, but its warm sound, powerful ANC, eight-ish hours of battery life and comfy design all impress for the money. This deal ties the lowest price we’ve seen. Also available at Anker with a coupon.
Bose QuietComfort headphones for $199 ($150 off): The latest version of Bose’s iconic QC headphones, these cans have excellent ANC, a comfortable (if a bit dated) design, 24 hours of battery life and a quick-charge feature that will get you two hours of battery after just 15 minutes of them being plugged in. Also available at Bose.
Bose
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (13.8-inch) for $899 ($300 off): We gave the latest Surface Laptop a review score of 88 earlier this year, and we currently recommend it as a great mainstream ultraportable in our laptop buying guide. The caveat is that it runs on an ARM processor, which performs well but may not work with every app or peripheral you use. If you can live with that, though, the bright 120Hz display, upscale aluminum design and long battery life all impress. If you prefer a bigger screen, a 15-inch version with a quicker Snapdragon X Elite chip and a 256GB SSD is down to a low of $1,053. Also available at Best Buy.
PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller for $54 ($21 off): If someone on your list already has a PS5 (or if that someone is you), now’s the time to stock up on extra controllers. These have a comfortable design and some of the best haptics we’ve tried on any console controller. Also available at Sony.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $30 ($40 off): Its story may run in place at times, but Tears of the Kingdom remains a prime example of an open-world game done right. Its world doesn’t kowtow to the player at every turn, and its delightful contraption-building mechanics provide a similar sense of freedom in solving puzzles. If Walmart runs out of stock, Target and Best Buy also have the game for $40, which is the second-best price we’ve tracked.
Samsung Pro Plus (1TB) microSD card for $90 ($30 off): If you want a 1TB card and don’t mind paying for better performance, the Pro Plus is the top overall recommendation in our microSD card buying guide. It tested faster than the Lexar card above across our benchmarks, with a particular edge in random speeds. That means it should play a bit nicer in a portable gaming PC or a device like the Raspberry Pi, where it’d more frequently have to access smaller bits of data in random locations. This is a new low for the 1TB model, which Samsung released earlier this year. Also available at Samsung and B&H.
Peacock one-year subscription for $20 (75 percent off): The Peacock Cyber Monday deal is back this year, bringing the price of one year of access to the ad-supported tier down to only $20. Note that the subscription will automatically renew at the regular rate after the first year, and the deal is only available to new subscribers who are not currently paying for Peacock Premium or Premium Plus.
Audible Premium Plus for $0.99/month for three months + $20 Audible credit ($64 off): Those who don’t currently subscribe to Audible can get three months of the audiobook service’s Premium Plus plan for $1. Normally, the service costs $15 per month after a 30-day free trial. As a refresher, Premium Plus is Audible’s upper tier: In addition to giving access the full Audible Plus library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. We wouldn’t call it essential, but if you’ve been on the fence, this is a good way to see if it’d work for you. Just note that the plan will auto-renew until you cancel. Plus, you’ll now also get an additional $20 Audible credit to use at your discretion.
Amazon Kindle Unlimited for $1 for three month ($35 off): Amazon’s ebook subscription service gives you access to a catalog of thousands titles for unlimited reading, select Audible audiobooks to listen to and included magazines to read. Prime members can get a different deal: two months for only $5.
MasterClass Premium for $10/month ($10 off): Premium subscriptions, which include access for up to six devices and offline mode, are half off for the holidays when billed annually. MasterClass’ other subscription tiers are also discounted. Those who love learning and want to pick up a new hobby (or refine an existing one) can take courses with some of the best in their respective fields.
reMarkable 2 bundles starting at $529 ($89 off): Our top pick for the best E Ink tablet for most people has now been discounted when you pick up one of its folio cases and a marker to go along with it. The reMarkable 2 provides an excellent, distraction-free reading and writing experience, plus it has handy integrations with Google Drive and Dropbox.
Dyson Airwrap for $490 ($110 off): This multipurpose styling tool uses the Coanda effect to create curls without excessive heat. It comes with a bunch of other attachments so it can be used as a hairdryer, heated brush and more.
Google Pixel Watch 3 for $280 ($70 off): Google’s latest smartwatch is down to an all time low price. This is the model we recommend for anyone with an Android phone in our guide to the best smartwatches and it earned an 84 in our review. It detects workouts quickly, has an extra long battery life and is one of the more attractive smartwatches on the market. The deal applies to the 41mm size with GPS only but the larger and cellular-enabled models are on sale too. Also at Best Buy and Target.
Theragun Mini 2.0 for $149 ($50 off): This compact massager makes a great gift for a beloved parent or anyone else you think could use a little more TLC. It supports a couple of different head attachments that help relieve different muscles of the body and it’s arguably the easiest of Thergun’s devices to throw into a carry on or gym bag. Also available at Therabody.
Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer for $280 ($70 off): One of our favorite air fryers, this machine does a lot more than just air fry thanks to its 11 cooking modes, and while it’s larger than a typical air fryer, that means it can cook larger things like a full turkey or chicken.
Kindle Paperwhite (2024) for $130 ($30 off): The latest version of the Paperwhite has speedier performance, a higher-contrast screen, a built-in warm light and 12 weeks of battery life.
Echo for $55 ($45 off): We consider this to be the best smart speaker for $100 or less at the moment thanks to its loud audio with good bass quality, the ability to pair two together for stereo sound and Alexa’s utility.
Amazon Echo Spot for $45 ($35 off): This recently revived smart display is billed as a smart alarm clock, and it features a customizable screen, big sound for its size and all the perks for Alexa voice commands.
Ring pan and tilt security camera for $50 ($30 off): This security camera joined the Ring lineup only a few months ago, and this is the best price we’ve seen on it. It’s part of a larger Ring sale that discounts home security gear by up to 50 percent.
Blink Mini 2 (two-pack) for $35 ($35 off): The newest Blink Mini wired security camera came out earlier this year and it supports 1080p video recordings, a wider field of view than the previous model and improved low-light performance. It may be wired, but you can use it outside if you wish provided you have the separate $10 weather-resistant adapter.
Billy Steele for Engadget
Beats Pill for $100 ($50 off): Beats came back to the Bluetooth speaker market with the completely redesigned Pill — and we think it was worth the wait. The durable unit earned a spot on our Bluetooth speaker guide and an 83 in our review. It offers much improved sound quality with impressive bass and full mids. You also get a long, 24-hour battery life and lossless audio over USB-C. Also at Walmart.
JBL Clip 5 for $50 ($30 off): It’s tiny, portable and brings its own clip along with it. You’ll get 12 hours of listening from its waterproof body and the whole thing weighs just over half a pound.
Sonos Era 100 for $199 ($50 off): The Sonos Era 100 is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker. We like the excellent sound quality plus it pairs well with other Sonos devices. It has Alexa built-in, so it can handle regular smart home duties, but it’ll also make your music sound far better than any spherical Echo can.
Hisense U8N 4K TV (55-inch) for $649 ($450 off): The U8N is the next step up from the U7N in Hisense’s TV lineup, so it should provide better colors, contrast and brightness across the board. If you don’t mind buying a smaller panel for around the same price, this is another new low. Also at Best Buy.
Samsung QN90D QLED TV (43”) for $848 ($450 off): The Samsung QN90D is another high-end LED TV for those willing to trade the deep contrast and wide viewing angles of a good OLED set for higher brightness. There’s still no Dolby Vision, and most reviewers we trust suggest that the Hisense U8N is a better value. This set has two more HDMI 2.1 ports, though, plus it comes in a wider range of sizes, all of which offer similar performance. Also available at Samsung and B&H.
Dyson V15 Detect Absolute cordless vacuum for $500 ($250 off): This is our top pick for the best cordless vacuum you can get right now thanks to its excellent suction power, relatively light weight and good battery life. This model comes with a Fluffy Optic cleaning head that illuminates the ground in front of you so you can see where the most debris lies, and the pack-up includes three additional cleaning head attachments.
Elden Ring for PS5 for $20 (67 percent off):Elden Ring is one of our favorites for most consoles, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find it cheaper than this right now. It offers a rich, open world to explore and, depending on your play style, you can pursue a path as difficult as you want.
Apple MacBook Air (M3, 13-inch) for $899 ($200 off): The latest MacBook Air is our top pick for the best laptop for most people, and this model has 16GB of RAM built in — double the previous base amount. If you’re ok with getting an M2 processor, that 13-inch MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM is also on sale for $749.
Xbox Wireless Controller for $40 ($20 off): This is another deal we’ve seen a few times before, but it’s a decent $5 to $15 off the Series X/S pad’s typical street price, depending on which color you pick. Several different models are on sale, with some of the more vibrant colorways available for $45 or $50. Also available at Best Buy, Target and others.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $154 ($96 off): The best AirPods you can get right now, these offer a secure, comfortable fit, good sound quality and ANC, plus excellent transparency mode. Thanks to a recent software update, the Pro 2 earbuds can be used as hearing aids if the user takes Apple’s new hearing test and it discovers mild to moderate hearing loss.
Bluesky has updated its impersonation policy to be “more aggressive” after third-party analysis highlighted its verification problem. The Bluesky Safety account said that the social media service is removing accounts that are impersonating other people and those squatting on handles. Bluesky doesn’t have a conventional verification system, so it’s easy for unscrupulous users to pretend to be someone else either for attention or to scam other people. That may not have been a serious problem in the past, but the recent influx of new users threw the issue into stark relief.
While users can verify their identities on Bluesky by linking their account to a domain name, the process isn’t as straightforward as paying for a checkmark. They’d have to add a string of text to the DNS record associated with their domain so that they could claim their URL. For instance, we could claim the Engadget.com handle on Bluesky if we go through this self-verification process. Individuals can link their accounts to personal domains or pay for Bluesky’s custom domain service. In its new announcement, the platform say’s it’s working with organizations and high-profile individuals to set up their verified handles.
That said, when a user verifies their account, their old handle (typically username.bsky.social) gets freed up and becomes available to other people who sign up. Alexios Mantzarlis, the third party from Cornell Tech who analyzed the app’s userbase, found that 44 percent of Bluesky’s 100 most-followed accounts have a doppelganger. That is why Bluesky now requires parody, satire or fan accounts to label themselves as such in both their handles and their bio. If they don’t, or if they only indicate the nature of their account in one of those elements, then they’ll be treated as an impersonator and will be removed from the platform.
Bluesky now explicitly prohibits identity churning, as well. Accounts that start as impersonators with the purpose of gaining new users, and who then switch to a different identity in an attempt to circumvent the ban, will still get booted off the app. Finally, it says it’s exploring “additional options to enhance account verification,” though they’re not quite ready for rollout.
Amazon has some excellent Black Friday deals on our picks for best smart speakers. There’s a range of Amazon products on sale, including the Echo Pop, which is available for $18, down from $40. The 55 percent discount brings the Amazon Echo Pop to a record-low price.
Amazon launched the Echo Pop in May 2023 as a new entry-level option for Alexa-powered devices. It features a 1.95-inch front-facing speaker which could work well in a small room like a study or a dorm room. It uses Amazon’s AZ2 Neural Edge processor to allow for on-device tasks and lets you do all the standard commands with Alexa. Plus, you can get it in four colors: Charcoal, Glacier White, Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal.
Amazon
The Pop isn’t the only Echo device on sale ahead of Black Friday. Right now, you can get the fifth-generation Echo Dot for $23, down from $50 — a 44 percent discount. The Echo Spot is also on sale, dropping to $45 from $80 and the fourth-generation Echo is $55, down from $100.
Little by little, countries around the world are taking steps to change how Apple’s App Store functions. The most recent development comes from Brazil, where the nation’s antitrust regulator Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica (CADE) on Monday issued Apple an ultimatum of sorts. CADE has given Apple 20 days to make changes that allows for purchases from third-party app developers without going through Apple or face a fine of 250,000 Real ($43,000) each day after. Candidly, given the amount of money Apple makes every, $43,000 could probably come from Tim Cook’s Diet Mountain Dew expense account.
More specifically, Apple must take steps such as allowing third-party developers to tell their users about alternative locations to purchase their goods or services and to include buttons, external links and other calls to action that show users alternative ways to access their products, rather than just in-app. Developers would also be able to use other in-app purchasing systems (Apple charges a 30 percent fee when using its system), distribute their apps in places other than Apple’s App Store, and more. The ruling stems from e-commerce company MercadoLibre’s 2022 filing alleging Apple restricts goods distribution and purchase methods.
This decision follows changes earlier this year to how Apple can operate its app store in the European Union. The bloc’s Digital Markets Act forced Apple to allow developers to receive payments and distribute apps outside the company’s App Store. Apple has also faced pushes to change its systems in the US, most notably through a lawsuit brought by Epic Games.
Teamfight Tactics’ Into the Arcane set may have come out last week, but like everything that comes into contact with the Arcane, it’s not quite done evolving yet. To celebrate the release of the final episodes of Arcane, TFT’s developers have released a new video announcing that some of the show’s most important characters are coming to the game next week. (If you haven’t finished the show yet, tread lightly — spoilers are in the video).
If you’re an Arcane fan who’s already played TFT set 13, you’ve likely been wondering where characters like Viktor and Warwick are, or how exactly they missed the cut. Thankfully, the game’s upcoming update should make sense of that for you. In the above announcement video, set 13 lead designer Shawn Elizabeth Main revealed that Viktor, Mel, and Warwick are coming to Into the Arcane as new 6-cost units.
This is the first time that TFT has added 6-cost units to the game, and their power level appears to fit their high price. The video shows off some of the abilities of all three champions — each in their final forms from the last act of Arcane — and they seem capable of totally turning the tide of a TFT match all on their own. Of course, to counteract that power, these units will be exceedingly rare, only available in the endgame of a match — and even then you, might not see them.
The video announcement itself has a few more interesting insights into how the team balanced releasing the set and hiding some of its most exciting units, as well as how they designed these new characters to feel as exciting and powerful as they look in the show.
These 6-cost units will be added to Teamfight Tactics in its next patch, which is set for release on Dec. 5.
It’ll soon be possible to replace the speakers in recent MacBook Pro models without having to replace the entire top case, as has long been the procedure. A memo seen by reportedly informed Apple Stores and Authorized Service Providers this week that speakers will be available as standalone components for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 family of chips. A source also told the publication that this will be an option for repairs on earlier MacBook Pro models with Apple silicon as well.
The change should make for a less expensive repair. Up until now, the process entailed replacing the whole top case, including the battery and other parts, which works out to be pretty costly. It’s been that way since 2016. The with the new steps for speaker replacement is available online now from Apple Support. It may not necessarily be a simpler repair — the guide shows a process that’s rather involved — but not having to also replace other parts like the battery just to change out the speakers should cut costs significantly.
