Meta’s flagship metaverse app is too buggy and employees are barely using it, says exec in charge
Mark Zuckerberg recently demonstrated the current quality of Meta’s Horizon Worlds avatars. | Mark Zuckerberg / Meta
Meta’s VR social network Horizon Worlds — the company’s flagship “metaverse” app — is suffering from too many quality issues and even the team building it isn’t using it very much, according to internal memos obtained by The Verge.
In one of the memos to employees dated September 15th, Meta’s VP of Metaverse, Vishal Shah, said the team would remain in a “quality lockdown” for the rest of the year to “ensure that we fix our quality gaps and performance issues before we open up Horizon to more users.”
“Since launching late last year, we have seen that the core thesis of Horizon Worlds — a synchronous social network where creators can build engaging worlds — is strong,” Shah wrote in a memo last month. “But currently feedback from our creators, users, playtesters, and many of us on the team is that the aggregate weight of papercuts, stability issues, and bugs is making it too hard for our community to experience the magic of Horizon. Simply put, for an experience to become delightful and retentive, it must first be usable and well crafted.”
Though Meta has teased its work on more lifelike avatars, the current quality of Horizon’s graphics pales in comparison to some of its non-VR competitors like Fortnite. Zuckerberg himself was recently memeified after he posted a screenshot of his Horizon avatar to celebrate the launch of Horizon for Quest users in France and Spain. He quickly posted a follow-up image of a more advanced avatar, saying he would share “major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics” at the company’s annual Connect conference which is scheduled for October 11th.
A key issue with Horizon’s development to date, according to Shah’s internal memos, is that the people building it inside Meta appear to not be using it that much. “For many of us, we don’t spend that much time in Horizon and our dogfooding dashboards show this pretty clearly,” he wrote to employees on September 15th. “Why is that? Why don’t we love the product we’ve built so much that we use it all the time? The simple truth is, if we don’t love it, how can we expect our users to love it?”
In a follow-up memo dated September 30th, Shah said that employees still weren’t using Horizon enough, writing that a plan was being made to “hold managers accountable” for having their teams use Horizon at least once a week. “Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds. You can’t do that without using it. Get in there. Organize times to do it with your colleagues or friends, in both internal builds but also the public build so you can interact with our community.”
He went on to call out specific issues with Horizon, writing that “our onboarding experience is confusing and frustrating for users” and that the team needed to “introduce new users to top-notch worlds that will ensure their first visit is a success.”
Shah said the teams working on Horizon needed to collaborate better together and expect more changes to come. “Today, we are not operating with enough flexibility,” his memo reads. “I want to be clear on this point. We are working on a product that has not found product market fit. If you are on Horizon, I need you to fully embrace ambiguity and change.”
He said that employees working on Horizon will their targets for growing users in VR lowered and that the coming 2D version of Horizon for web wouldn’t likely have a user target but instead a “high quality bar.”
In a statement shared with The Verge, Meta spokesperson Ashley Zandy said the company is “confident that the metaverse is the future of computing and that it should be built around people.” She said the company is “always making quality improvements and acting on the feedback from our community of creators. This is a multiyear journey, and we’re going to keep making what we build better.”
Tesla promises that the Semi can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 20 seconds even when “fully loaded” and keep up “highway-level speeds even up steep grades.” It also promises that you’ll be able to recharge up to 70 percent of its 300 or 500-mile range in 30 minutes. And according to Musk, it’s “super fun to drive.”
There’s also Tesla’s full self driving technology, which Musk promised was just around the corner for years; currently, the feature is in beta (though in some ways that’s a generous term). When it was announced, Tesla said the Semi would feature at least semi-autonomous driving, though there’s currently no information about it on the truck’s webpage.
How the Pixel, Apple, and Galaxy watches compare on paper
Breaking down the features and capabilities of the Pixel, Apple, and Galaxy Watches. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Google has announced the Pixel Watch, its first flagship wearable. While it has a clean circular design, the company is just now getting into a field that competitors like Apple and Samsung have been succeeding in for years. While detailed impressions of the Pixel Watch’s real-world performance and battery life will have to wait for a full review, let’s take a look at how it compares on paper.
The Pixel Watch’s design vs. the Apple Watch
Aesthetics are obviously subjective, but there are some design aspects that we can compare and contrast objectively. One of the most notable is shape and controls; like the Galaxy Watch 5 series, the Pixel Watch has a circular design, whereas the Apple Watch’s case is a rounded rectangle. Like Apple’s wearable, though, Google’s adorned its watch with a rotating crown, a button, and a touchscreen for controls, while Samsung uses a two-button plus touch-sensitive bezel and touchscreen interface.
Size is also relatively important when it comes to wearables; big watches can dominate thinner wrists, while small watches can look a bit like toys on larger arms. The Pixel Watch comes in one size, 41mm, which is roughly similar to the smaller sizes of the Apple Watch Series 8, SE, and Galaxy Watch 5. Both Apple and Samsung offer bigger models for a slight price bump, an option Google currently isn’t giving us.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
A look at both the Pixel Watch’s controls, as well as its form factor.
In terms of materials, the Pixel Watch is made out of stainless steel and is available in gold, matte black, and silver. The Apple Watch Series 8 is available in both aluminum and stainless steel (with the latter at a hefty markup), and the SE is only available in aluminum. Samsung builds its standard Watch 5 out of aluminum as well but steps up to titanium for the sports-focused Watch 5 Pro.
How good is the Pixel Watch’s fitness tracking?
Speaking of sports, one of the main selling points of the Pixel Watch (and most smartwatches) is its usefulness as a fitness tracker. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch 5, the Pixel Watch has a similar bevy of sensors; it has an optical sensor for tracking heart rate, can take ECGs, and can read your blood oxygen level. All the watches offer sleep tracking as well. Samsung’s sensor, however, does have some additional capabilities, like the ability to estimate metrics like body fat, mass, and water, and Apple added temperature-based retrospective ovulation estimates to the Series 8.
Image: Google
The Pixel Watch includes Fitbit’s “Active Zone Minutes” system and can track 40 exercises.
It’s worth noting that the Pixel Watch locks some fitness features away behind a $9.99 a month Fitbit Premium subscription while including six months of the service with the watch. After that time period, you’ll have to pay if you want to keep getting a readiness score, sleep score breakdown, or wellness reports. The subscription also offers access to guided workouts and mindfulness exercises, similar to Apple’s $9.99 a month Fitness Plus service — though it’s worth noting that Apple doesn’t gate any data or analytics behind its subscription (not that its watch understands the concept of readiness or rest days). Samsung doesn’t charge extra to give you a sleep score or sleep coaching.
Like the Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch, the Pixel Watch does offer some level of automatic workout tracking for activities like walking and running. It also comes with three free months of YouTube Music.
What sorts of features does the Pixel Watch have versus Apple and Samsung?
The Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch both run the same operating system, WearOS 3, so they should broadly support the same apps and features. All the watches we’re comparing today offer hard fall detection and an emergency SOS feature, though it’s worth noting that Google’s fall detection isn’t coming until later this year. You can also buy a cellular version of each watch as well; here are the carriers Google’s supporting with its wearable.
Unlike the Apple Watch SE, the Pixel Watch features an always-on display, just like the higher-end Apple Watch and Samsung’s models.
Google isn’t currently offering a rugged, sports-focused watch like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro or Apple Watch Ultra (which we didn’t include in this roundup due to its much higher price point). The Watch 5 Pro includes features like a sapphire crystal covering the display — the Pixel has a “Custom 3D Corning Gorilla Glass” — and GPS backtracking, which is also available on the Apple Watches.
What phones can I use the Pixel Watch with?
Google pitches the Pixel Watch as a companion to its phones, but its site says the wearable is compatible with any phone running Android 8.0 or newer, the same as the Galaxy Watch 5 (the two watches use the same OS, after all). Unfortunately, that means it’s not compatible with iPhones — and the Apple Watch won’t work with Android phones.
The best anti-Prime Early Access Sale tech deals happening at Target
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge
If you’re not an Amazon Prime member (or prefer not to shop at Amazon), Target’s competing with the upcoming Prime Early Access Sale with deals of its own — no membership needed. Through Saturday, October 8th, the retailer is holding the Target Deal Days event, offering discounts on a variety of tech products. These include gaming accessories, headphones, TVs, and a range of other items that are up to 50 percent off for a limited time. Plus, if you end up finding a cheaper price elsewhere, Target will match it within 14 days of purchase until December 24th. The retailer is also offering free, contactless pickup if you want to go that route.
Sony’s excellent WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds are on sale.
Earbuds deals
Sony’s noise-canceling WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds are on sale for $249.99 ($29 off). These offer some of the best noise cancellation of any true wireless earbuds and terrific sound quality, making them our top pick as a result. Read our review.
Apple’s second-generation AirPods are on sale for $89 instead of $129.99, which is nearly its best price to date. These buds sound good and offer decent battery life, but they lack active noise cancelation and water resistance. Read our review.
You can buy Samsung’s bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live earbuds for $99.99 instead of $169.99. These buds offer a loud, powerful sound, though their active noise cancellation doesn’t rank among the best out there. Read our review.
Target is selling the latest LG OLED C2 4K TV in a number of sizes, but the 55-inch is the one that’s seeing an attractive discount right now. It’s on sale for $1,349.99 instead of $1,799.99. The 4K TV sports a 120Hz refresh rate, low input lag, and new features like a “dark room” setting to reduce eyestrain.
The Fire TV Stick 4K with slightly fewer features is still a good deal. You can get it for 50 percent off at Target, where it is selling for $24.99. Read our review.
You can buy the 58-inch version of Vizio’s M7 Series Quantum TV for $599.99 instead of $769.99. The TV touts FreeSync support and a variable refresh rate (VRR), but keep in mind that it has a 60Hz refresh rate display. It features Chromecast built-in, so you can cast shows and movies from your smartphone and access major streaming services.
Amazon’s smaller, second-generation Echo Show 5 is on sale for $34.99 ($50 off). Compared to the Echo Show 8, this one should be a better fit on a nightstand as a smart alarm, though it lacks support for Zoom calls. Read our review.
While it doesn’t sound as good as the fourth-gen Echo, the fourth-gen Echo Dot still sounds nice for the price. You can buy it for $24.99 ($25 off), and you can also use it to perform tasks like setting alarms via Alexa. Read our review.
The third-gen Echo Dot is also discounted. It offers decent sound (but not as good as the fourth-gen model) and the same Alexa functionality. You can buy it for $17.99 ($22 off). Read our review.
Gaming deals
Target istaking $50 off of the Xbox Series S consoleand throwing in a free Xbox controller to boot. While its 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution isn’t as impressive as the Xbox Series X’s 4K power, the Series S is still a good, tiny, digital-exclusive console.Read our review.
You can also buy the older, unlocked Google Pixel 6A for $349 ($100 off). The phone offers a smaller 6.1-inch OLED display that’s smaller than Google’s other new Pixel phones, but note that it only offers a 60Hz refresh rate and less RAM than either the Pixel 6 or Pixel 7. Read our review.
You can also score discounts on both the unlocked Samsung Galaxy S22 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra unlocked with 128GB of storage. The former is selling for $699.99 ($100 off), while you can purchase the latter for $999.99 ($200 off). Read our reviews of theGalaxy S22andGalaxy S22 Ultra.
Various configurations of the latest iPad Mini are on sale, starting at $399.99 ($100 off) for the Wi-Fi-enabled model equipped with 64GB of storage. The iPad Mini offers a more powerful processor than the base iPad (which starts at $329.99) as well as support for the second-gen Apple Pencil. Read our review.
The stylish Fitbit Luxe is one of our favorite Fitbits and is on sale for $99.95 ($100 off). This special edition features a golden band that makes the fitness tracker look even more like jewelry. Pretty is nice, but it also tracks statistics like heart rate, sleep, exercise, and more.
Samsung’s last-gen Galaxy Watch 4 is also on sale in various configurations. You can buy the 40mm, GPS-enabled model for $179.99 ($20 off). This smartwatch is easiest to pair with Samsung phones, though it can work with other Android phones. It runs on Google’s Wear OS 3 platform and offers features like body composition analysis. Read our review.
Home security deals
Ring’s Floodlight Cam Wired Plus is on sale for $139.99 ($60 off). It features a 1080p camera and custom motion detection zones, though you’ll have to pay extra for some Ring features like stored video recording.
Ring’s hardwired Ring Video Doorbell is available for $39.99 ($25 off). This also features a 1080p HD video doorbell as well as night vision support and custom motion detection zones, though again, you’ll need to pay extra for some Ring features.
Target is discounting various Blink Outdoor cameras startingat $59.99 for just one instead of $99.99. These battery-powered cameras offer a 1080p resolution, work with Alexa, and come with motion detection alerts.
The older Roomba s9 Plus is also on sale for $799 ($200.99 off). While it lacks the AI obstacle avoidance the j7 offers, it boasts higher suction.
The iRobot Roomba i3 EVO is discounted to $299.99 ($50 off). Like the j7, it offers the same suction level, almost the same battery life, voice control, and smart mapping capabilities.
If you want a cheaper location tracker (that you don’t need to buy an extra accessory to clip onto your suitcase or a bag), the Tile Mate tracker is on sale for $17.99 instead of $24.99.
The GoPro Hero10 action camera is capable of shooting in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second and is on salefor $399 ($50 off).Read our review.
Excellent battery life and a large display make the 14 Plus upgrade-worthy
This is the new iPhone that most people want. It’s not the iPhone with the neat new display features or a high-resolution camera. It’s the iPhone with a big display and a battery that goes for days.
That’s really all you need to know about it, honestly. If you’d rather have an iPhone with the best possible battery life than an iPhone with the very newest features, then the iPhone 14 Plus is the one for you.
The 14 Plus is the big-screen version of the standard iPhone 14. This year, rather than going iPhone Mini / iPhone Big, Apple went iPhone Big / iPhone Bigger. It shares nearly all the same features but offers a 6.7-inch screen compared to the standard 14’s 6.1-inch display. It also claims the best battery life of any iPhone — officially, Apple calls it “all-day battery life,” but in my experience, you can get much more than that.
Oh, and there’s one more distinct difference: the Plus starts at $899, while the regular 14 starts at $799. That makes it the least expensive 6.7-inch iPhone released yet, but it’s still far from cheap.
What the iPhone 14 Plus doesn’t include are the new display features on the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. That’s the shape-shifting notch called Dynamic Island that displays system status indicators and an always-on display that shows a dim version of your wallpaper even when the screen is locked. They’re handy features, but they’re more of a sign of what’s to come for the iPhone than must-haves. Instead, the 14 Plus provides the kind of quality-of-life upgrades that a lot of people want from a new phone right now.
The 14 Plus’ display features a slightly higher 2778 x 1284 resolution than the 14’s, so even though it’s much bigger, it maintains roughly the same pixels-per-inch (458ppi compared to 460ppi on the 14). That means images look just as sharp on this screen — they’re just, you know, bigger, and you can see more emails or parts of a webpage before you need to start scrolling.
There’s more to see on a bigger screen. iPhone 14 (left) and iPhone 14 Plus (right).
There’s no ProMotion, super-smooth scrolling 120Hz refresh rate here, which is a shame. Apple’s still reserving that for the Pro models, long after fast refresh rates have become the norm for Android phones at the same price. It’s not something you’ll miss if you’re coming from a phone with the same standard 60Hz refresh rate, but I did notice it when I switched from the 14 Pro — maybe even more so because the screen is so big. On the other hand, the lower refresh rate is less power-intensive and probably contributes to the 14 Plus’ excellent battery performance. I think that’s a tradeoff most people will happily live with.
This is probably an obvious point, but the feeling of having more visual space while using this phone — especially compared to a 6.1-inch model — is real. More text fits onto its screen, and games and videos are a little more immersive. But it also very much handles like a big phone. It’s a real struggle to use it one-handed, even with the iOS 16’s “reachability” UI controls. Lots of people get along with a big phone just fine, but the 6.1-inch 14 and 14 Pro feel much more comfortable in my hand.
Gaming is more comfortable on a big 6.7-inch display.
It may be big, but the 14 Plus is lighter than I expected it to be. It weighs 7.16 ounces (203g), or just about an ounce (28g) more than the iPhone 14 — and a little less than the 6.1-inch 14 Pro. Its light weight was something I appreciated every time it came clattering out of the pocket of my joggers because this phone doesn’t truly fit in any pants pocket I own. In use, it makes the 14 Plus feel a little easier to handle than the Pro Max iPhones.
The screen is this phone’s big draw, but the extra real estate lends itself to the 14 Plus’ other killer feature: battery for days. MacRumors reports that there is indeed a much bigger cell in the 14 Plus than in the standard 14 — on par with the battery in the 14 Pro Max. But because the 14 Plus doesn’t have all of those fancy, new, power-hungry display features, it manages to eke out better battery performance.
The 14 Plus’ battery can deliver multiple days of use on a single charge.
Apple’s claim of the “best battery life in an iPhone” isn’t an exaggeration. Typically, a day of moderate use with about two hours of screen-on time and plenty of time away from Wi-Fi only drained the battery by about 25 percent in my experience. I even managed to get three days of use on a single charge. Reader, I can’t remember the last time I used an iPhone that comfortably made it through multiple days of use.
Not everyone should expect multiday performance. With heavier use like extended periods of gaming or video streaming, two days feels more reasonable, and that might mean pushing into the single digits by the end of day two. My two hours of screen-on time isn’t a whole lot, but I didn’t take it easy on the 14 Plus by any means. Throughout each day, I used some navigation, connected to 5G rather than Wi-Fi as often as I could, and recorded some short video clips. And at the end of every day, I felt like I should have pushed the phone’s remaining battery percentage much lower than I had. Color me impressed.
In every other way, using the iPhone 14 Plus feels like using the iPhone 14, which feels like using the iPhone 13. Performance is snappy, and the A15 Bionic chipset recycled from last year’s 13 Pro keeps up with just about anything you can throw at it. There’s no physical SIM tray, as on the rest of the 14 series, so be prepared to get acquainted with eSIM.
There are a couple of new emergency features included on the 14 Plus (also available on other 14 and 14 Pro models): Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite. Crash Detection uses multiple phone sensors and inputs to automatically detect when you’ve been in a car accident and call emergency services. We haven’t tested it, but early reviews are mixed. On the one hand, it can sometimes work too well. On the other, it seems to rely on a lot of signals to indicate that you’re actually in a moving car, which might cause it to miss some crashes if, for example, you haven’t been driving for very long before an accident.
Satellite SOS is a feature that’s coming in November and helps relay a message to emergency services when you’re out of cellular range. It might cost extra down the line, but for the first two years, it’s included free with the iPhone 14 Plus. Even if you don’t end up needing it, you will likely be able to try it out to see how it works.
The iPhone 14 (left) and iPhone 14 Plus (right) both include a capable A15 Bionic processor.
The 14 Plus includes the very same cameras as the 14, which means a 12-megapixel f/1.5 main camera with sensor-shift stabilization, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera with autofocus. There’s no high-res, 48-megapixel sensor here (or the nice 2x crop for Portrait Mode that comes with it), but the 14 Plus does gain the benefits of Apple’s updated image processing called Photonic Engine.
What that boils down to is better low-light performance, especially from the ultrawide and selfie cam, even though the hardware isn’t exactly new or special. You can read a little more in-depth analysis in my iPhone 14 review, but the short version is that this is a very good camera system — not solely worth upgrading for, but it’ll be a pleasant update if you’re coming from an iPhone 11 or older.
When I reviewed the iPhone 14, I couldn’t find a compelling reason to pick it over the iPhone 13. The 14 Pro, maybe, if you want the latest and greatest features. But the standard 14’s improvements over the 13 are so minor that most people would be better off living without them and saving a little money.
The iPhone 14 Plus, on the other hand, actually does make an argument for spending a little more. Its $899 price tag is nothing to sneeze at, but it’s lower than the iPhone 14 Pro’s starting price of $999 — and lower still than the $1,099 you’d need to pay for the 6.7-inch 14 Pro Max. For $899, you get a significant boost in battery life, no matter what iPhone you’re upgrading from. And a phone with good battery life now stands a better chance of providing healthy battery life a few years down the line when it inevitably degrades. Given that Apple will likely support the 14 Plus with at least five years of software updates, this device could really go the distance.
There’s the screen, too, and as we learned from the iPhone Mini Experiment, people don’t want small phones. Big screens let you see more and scroll less — the fact that the phone isn’t really pocketable or usable with one hand doesn’t seem to bother most people. This isn’t the best big phone screen Apple offers, but it’s still very good.
If it’s time for an upgrade and you’ve been eyeing the big iPhone, but you’d rather get the best battery life possible than the very latest features, then the iPhone 14 Plus is for you. It is an iPhone with a really big screen and great battery life for under $1,000. That’s a combination of features that a lot of people will find appealing, and the 14 Plus delivers on its promises.
In terms of the connection issues and long queues for entry that are keeping many of us stuck at the loading screen (Login queues, server crashes, and stability problems), a critical login server has been patched to help it hold up under the load. Blizzard says it’s also slowly scaling up the nodes in its player databases to help them handle the onrush of players diving in.
Beyond the ability to connect to the servers is issue number one for a game that takes place entirely online, but there are other major headaches for Overwatch fans, and Blizzard discussed those too. For the SMS Protect system, which required all Overwatch 2 player accounts to have a registered postpaid phone number (blocking some prepaid services like Cricket Wireless and VOIP setups like Google Voice in an attempt to cut off smurfs, trolls, and hackers), it’s relaxing that requirement for any people who’ve both played Overwatch 1 and have a connected Battle.net account.
If you ever played the first game on PC then that definitely includes you, while anyone who played the console editions since June 9th, 2021, is also definitely in that group. The change won’t take place immediately but is expected to roll out on Friday.
Hopefully, it should address players who found themselves cut off from the game, as well as accounts they’d poured time and money into when Overwatch 2 launched on Tuesday. It’s unlikely to fix everything for everyone, however, and restricting the game to only people who have approved postpaid phone service is still going to be an issue for many people in the US and around the world who either share a phone number, don’t have one at all, or simply use a provider Blizzard doesn’t approve of.
We want to provide an update on what we have been doing behind the scenes to get more players into #Overwatch2 and make your play experience smoother.
Last but not least, for those of us who have overcome all of those hurdles and logged in only to find our accounts missing many items, play history, and other associated data, Blizzard says there are a few problems it’s working to fix, with about half of the reports concerning accounts that haven’t been merged, and the other half are accounts that have merged, but the data hasn’t populated within Overwatch 2 yet.
According to the post, “In all cases, no player data has been wiped or lost. We have a client-side fix for this that cannot be deployed until next week, so we are exploring server-side fixes and will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
It’s also already rolled out one UI fix to help console players get their prompt to merge accounts if necessary, but the basic details on cross-progression and account mergers are listed here. If you’re still not getting the prompt, Blizzard said there are more fixes on the way. It’s also resolved a bug that stopped many people with properly merged accounts from logging in at all. For people who are missing characters that should be unlocked, logging back in should fix it, and if it doesn’t, then they’re encouraged to open a ticket with support.
Former Uber security chief found guilty of concealing data breach
Joe Sullivan failed to report a cybersecurity incident to authorities in 2016
A San Francisco jury has found Uber’s former chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, guilty of criminal obstruction for failing to report a 2016 cybersecurity incident to authorities.
Sullivan, who was fired from Uber in 2017, was found guilty on counts of obstruction of justice and deliberate concealment of felony, a spokesperson from the US justice department confirmed on Wednesday.
Elon Musk Offered to Buy Twitter at a Lower Price in Recent Talks Before Mr. Musk renewed his $44 billion proposal, he and the company haggled in discussions that ultimately did not advance.
Know the price-matching policies for Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Nothing is more frustrating than buying a new pair of headphones, an OLED, or a backpack just to find out that you could have gotten it for a lot cheaper somewhere else. In order to keep customers happy — and prevent them from going elsewhere — many retailers offer price-matching policies where they promise to match a lower price that you’ve found elsewhere. That’s information that could come in handy, especially given Black Friday is right around the corner and Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale kicks off on October 12th.
What follows are the price-matching policies for a variety of major retailers. There are a few things to make note of here. First, all price-matching policies have a number of rules attached to them. We’ve summarized some of the rules here, but you’d be advised to go to the links that we’ve provided and read the policy carefully. Second, and logically enough, retailers that serve as marketplaces for other sellers, such as Amazon or Costco, don’t have price-matching policies.
Finally, some retailers that do have price-matching policies suspend them for special occasions, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day. But at other times of the year, these price matches can save you a nice amount of cash. So keep them in mind.
Another thing to keep in mind: there are exceptions to most rules. So if you’re looking for a deal on a product and you know of a lower price elsewhere (or one that was offered previously at the same retailer), it never hurts to call (and in some cases, live chat from your PC or phone) and ask if they’ll match the price. After all, what do you have to lose?
Price-matching policies for retailers and companies
If Best Buy offers a better discount than Target on the new Kindle Paperwhite, Target will refund you the difference.
Target will match the price of an item that you find for less either at Target or at a select list of competitors if you ask for it at the time of or within 14 days of your purchase. You can either bring your proof into the store or call for online purchases at 1-800-591-3869.
If you buy a product in-store or online starting October 6th, Target will match it until December 24th. However, this price-matching policy does not apply to doorbusters and competitors’ lightning sales, like those Amazon offers.
Best Buy’s Price Match Guarantee states that a product could be eligible for a price reduction if it’s new, identical to the competitor’s product, immediately available at a qualifying competitor’s store or on its site, and not shown on Best Buy’s exclusion list (which includes “items for sale the Friday before Thanksgiving Day through the Monday after Thanksgiving”).
You have to either communicate with Best Buy via its on-site chat, making sure you’re able to show the ad or website with a lower price, to get the difference. Alternatively, you can call 1-888-237-8289 or visit any Best Buy or Pacific Sales store.
Walmart’s online store offers price-matching on items purchased from Walmart stores if the item is in stock at Walmart.com, however, the policy doesn’t apply to those who live in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.
Image: Nilay Patel / The Verge
Apple doesn’t offer a price-matching policy, though you can price match on devices like the iPhone 14 Pro elsewhere.
While we’ve seen some claims that Apple will price-match up to 10 percent for products bought at certain major retailers, there is no official policy on the company’s website.
Apple does say that if it reduces its price on an Apple-branded product within 14 days from when you received your item, you can visit an Apple Store or contact the Apple Contact Center at 1-800-676-2775 to request a refund or get credit for the price difference. However, that doesn’t apply to special sales like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
B&H says that it might be able to honor a current lower price or match the price of a competitor, but it does so on a case-by-case basis. You have to contact its Customer Service team using the on-site chat, email, or by calling (800) 606-6969 / (212) 444-6615.
Costco does not price-match with competitors. However, according to the website, it will issue a credit for the difference between the price you paid and a promotional price if you bought the item online at Costco and requested the credit up to 30 days before the change in price. If you bought the product from a Costco warehouse location, visit the membership counter at the store where you made the purchase.
Before you make a purchase, Dell will price-match a new computer that shares the same key features and specs as the one you bought (such as memory, hard drive capacity, processor, etc.) from Dell, HP, Apple, or Lenovo. You can call 1-888-969-4503 or chat online to run a price check, but you’ll need to provide a link to the competitor’s product.
You can also contact the company about a price difference within 30 days of purchase. However, there is a long list of restrictions, and none of this is available between Thanksgiving Day and the Monday following Thanksgiving (or on Green Monday).
Image: Sean Hollister / The Verge
If DJI reduces the price of the new DJI Avata within seven days after you buy it, you could receive some store credit.
We could not find any evidence of a price-matching policy at DJI. However, if DJI reduces the price on a product within seven days from when you received it, you can contact the company within that time at http://www.dji.com/contact to request a refund or credits for the difference between the price you have been charged and the current selling price. This doesn’t include special sales events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
If you find a lower price from a qualifying competitor on an eBay Deal item that you bought within 48 hours — or on another product with the “Best Price Guarantee” symbol attached to it — you’ll get “110 percent” of the difference. That means eBay will give you an eBay coupon for the difference in price between what you bought the item for and what the competitor is selling it for, plus an additional 10 percent of that price difference. Note, however, these coupons will expire within 30 days of being issued.
The products must be new and unopened and identical to the competitor’s item. You have to contact eBay Customer Service, and if they verify your claims are legitimate, you will receive the coupon and be able to use it toward your next eBay purchase.
GameStop does not mention an official price-matching policy on its website. In August, however, GameStop tweeted that the store will price-match items sold and shipped by Amazon as long as they’re available online or in-store. Although GameStop only mentioned Amazon in the tweet, others have reported that the store will price-match items purchased from Target and elsewhere.
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You could potentially buy HP’s Spectre x360 14 at a lower price thanks to HP’s price matching policy.
According to HP’s website, the company will match the current pre-tax price for new comparable PCs and identical HP printer, display, and accessory model numbers from nationally recognized online retailers, such as Dell, Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy. The specs have to be the same; however, the product model number does not need to be identical for computers. You have to ask for the match at the time of purchase by calling 1-800-888-0229. You can’t request a price match via email or chat, though, and the policy does not extend to items bought during promotional periods.
If you find a comparable product at a lower price during the return period, you can email HP at myhpsales@hp.com. This only applies to branded HP products and doesn’t apply to products purchased during certain sales events, like the week of Thanksgiving and the week afterward.
Historically, Lenovo has offered a price-matching policy, but right now its website doesn’t mention one. That said, we will update this article if anything changes.
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If Microsoft lowers the price of its new Surface Laptop Go 2, Microsoft could refund you the difference.
Microsoft will refund you the difference if you discover a lower price on a product purchased at the Microsoft Store until January 2nd.
At other times, Microsoft will refund you the difference if it lowers the price of a product within 30 days of purchase, though this doesn’t apply to special sales events like Black Friday.
You can contact Microsoft’s Sales and Support team at 1-877-696-7786 to get a refund.
Newegg offers price-matching on select items; these products are identified by the label “Price Match Guarantee” that appears in the price box on the right of the product page. This applies whether you find that lower price on Newegg or at what Newegg judges to be a major retailer. You need to notify Newegg of the lower price within 14 days of purchase.
The price-match guarantee is not valid during major holiday sales events, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Green Monday.
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