The best Amazon Prime Day deals you can still get

The best Amazon Prime Day deals you can still get

Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge

We’ve now endured two whole days of Amazon Prime Day, which had us poring over thousands of deals and covering hundreds of the best the tech world had to offer — and yet, we’re not quite done here.

As usual, there are still a bunch of lingering discounts to sift through. So if you didn’t yet blow your entire budget on gadgets like wireless earbuds, tablets, e-readers, video games, or fancy smart home accessories, well, there’s still time to make that happen.

Below are the best remaining Prime Day deals for 2023, the stubborn ones that just won’t go quietly into the night, still vying for your hard-earned money. It’s your final chance to consider that big or small purchase and decide whether you’re pulling the trigger or holding out for something better to come along.

After all, Black Friday is only 133 days away.

Apple deals

• If you prefer a pair of noise-canceling headphones over a set of true wireless earbuds, you can also buy Apple’s AirPods Max for $449.99 ($100 off) at Amazon. Along with a premium build quality and terrific sound, the headphones feature a natural-surrounding transparency mode. Read our review.

Headphones, earbuds, and speakers

• The Beats Powerbeats Pro are still $149.95 (about $100 off) at Amazon a substantial. They may be a little older (released in 2019), but if you want your earbuds to stay in during the most rigorous of workouts it’s hard to deny the stability of the Powerbeats’ ear hooks. Read our review.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers

TVs and streaming devices

Phones

• Google’s Pixel 7 is on sale at Amazon for $499 ($100 off). It’s an exceptional phone for anyone who likes Google’s colorful and customizable software design for Android. Read our review.

• Nomad is still running a site-wide 30 percent off sale on its standard edition in-stock smartphone and wearable accessories — including its Apple Watch straps and MagSafe chargers.
• Casetify’s storefront on Amazon is still offering up to 35 percent off many of its phone cases. For example, you can get the Casetify Essential iPhone 14 case in all manner of colorful patterns for $29.25 (about $16 off) if you’re a Prime subscriber.

Laptops and computing

• Logitech’s StreamCam is now $129.99 ($40 off) at Amazon. It’s a fine 1080p webcam for everything from videoconferencing to Twitch streaming, even if its USB-C cable being permanently attached is slightly annoying. Read our webcam buying guide.
• The Elgato Collapsible Green Screen Chrome Key Panel is on sale at Best Buy and Amazon for $117.99 ($42 off).

• The orb-like Creative Pebble Pro are down to $54.99 ($5 off) on Amazon if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive alternative to your computer’s built-in speakers. The basic speakers feature Bluetooth, a 3.5mm input, and subtle lighting on the bottom, which you can easily turn off if you’re not a fan of the RGB aesthetic.
• MSI’s 17.3-inch GF Series laptop with a 12th Gen Intel 12700H CPU, RTX 3050 Ti GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and 144Hz 1080p display is on sale at Newegg for $799 ($100 off).
• For an all-AMD entry-level gaming laptop from MSI, you can get the 15.6-inch MSI Bravo with Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, Radeon RX6500M GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and 144Hz 1080p screen for $699.99 ($200 off) at Best Buy.

Smart home

• The iRobot Roomba j7, our top pick when it comes to robot vacuums, is available in two versions for some of its best pricing to date. Right now, you can get the obstacle-avoiding, auto-mapping bot as a standalone vacuum for $399 ($200 off) or with an auto-emptying station for $649 ($150 off).

Gaming

• You can buy a physical copy of the new Dead Space, the remake of the 2008 sci-fi horror game, for the PlayStation 5 for $34.99 ($35 off) at Target.
• The Last of Us Part I for PlayStation 5 is on sale for $49.99 ($20 off) at Amazon.
• Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut for PS4 and PS5 is $29.99 ($40 off) at Amazon.
• No Man’s Sky is available at Amazon for around $39.99 (about $20 off) for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.
• The PlayStation 5 version of The Nioh Collection, which contains both of Team Ninja’s challenging Souls-like action-adventure games Nioh and Nioh 2, is on sale for $29.99 ($40 off) at Amazon.
• Microsoft’s standard Xbox Wireless Controller is on sale starting at $46.99 ($13 off) at Amazon. The stock controller of the Xbox Series X / S is great for anyone gaming on Xbox or PC, though if you’re not a fan of its AA batteries, you can also get the Remix special-edition Xbox controller in a unique Earth-themed green colorway with a rechargeable battery pack for $71.63 ($14 off).
• The Nacon Pro Compact controller is on sale for $20.48 (about $28 off) in black at Amazon. It may be a wired controller that’s best fit for slightly smaller hands, but it offers a number of customizable options with lots of software tweaks.
• A $50 Nintendo Switch eShop gift card is $45 ($5 off) at Newegg through today when you use promo code SSCUA322. A Nintendo Switch Online subscriber can use two to buy Nintendo’s $100 digital game vouchers and shave even more off the cost of some full-price games.

Chargers

• Google’s latest Pixel Stand is available for $59 ($20 off) at Amazon for Prime members. The second-gen Qi charger works best when paired with newer Pixel models, which are able to take advantage of speedy wireless charging speeds and a few more unique features — including the ability to act as an impromptu photo frame when docked. Read our review.

• If you don’t mind spending a bit more, the Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe is available at an all-time low of $127.08 (about $23 off) at Amazon. This funky-looking tree is our favorite 3-in-1 MagSafe charger for home use, as it simultaneously charges a MagSafe iPhone at 15W, a pair of AirPods / a second Qi-compatible phone, and an Apple Watch (with fast charging).

Verge staff favorites and miscellaneous extras

• The Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker seems like just a simple curved piece of metal with holes in it, but it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to mince garlic. It’s on sale at Amazon for $19.99 ($4 off).

• The retro-inspired Polaroid Now Plus is down to $93 ($57 off) at Amazon for Prime Day, its all-time low. As mentioned in our guide to the best instant cameras, the Now Plus is tailored toward those who are a fan of the old-fashioned instant-film experience, one that takes a heavy cue from the classic Polaroid 600 of yesteryear.

• If you’re a huge nerd for the iconic (or infamous, if you prefer) brown-and-tan color scheme of Noctua PC fans and coolers, you can get it in an MT3 keycap set for Cherry-compatible mechanical keyboards for a nice $69 ($61 off) at Drop.

Foundation’s showrunner explains why big book adaptations start so dang slow

Foundation’s showrunner explains why big book adaptations start so dang slow

Lou Llobell in season 2 of Foundation. | Image: Apple

Adaptations of big, complex books tend to start slow — and that’s usually because there’s just so much to explain. It was true of Game of Thrones and The Rings of Power, and it was especially true of Foundation on Apple TV Plus, which took Isaac Asimov’s novels and turned them into prestige television. With unusual concepts like psychohistory (a kind of math that can predict the future) and a genetic dynasty (a never-ending line of clone emperors who rule the galaxy), the first few episodes of season 1 were bogged down by exposition.

According to David S. Goyer, showrunner on Foundation, there really wasn’t a way to avoid that. “I felt like the first three episodes of season 1 were so exposition heavy, but — trust me — we tormented ourselves trying to figure out a way around it,” he explains. “We just decided, screw it, we have to explain this stuff and hope the audience is still around.” He believes that might just be a necessary evil of this kind of adaptation, though. “A lot of the really worthwhile shows that I ended up loving took a while to get going,” Goyer says. “Maybe that’s just what one has to do when you’re doing a big ambitious, novelistic show.”

But with season 2, which premieres on July 14th, Goyer says the team didn’t have that same problem. “I just felt like this massive weight had been lifted from our shoulders. We were unburdened by all of this expositional pipe-laying.”

Photo by Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

David S. Goyer.

The goal with this season is to be more approachable. “I was determined to make season 2 more accessible and to hopefully broaden the audience,” Goyer says. That means things like exploring the internal lives of characters like Hari Seldon, having more action (the first episode includes an excellent fight sequence), and even some sex and — gasp — humor. “I wanted to introduce more levity,” Goyer explains. “We had only a few scenes with a little bit of wry humor in season 1, and people were nervous about that. But I felt that was something that even Asimov himself had done in his writing.”

The goal is not to change what Foundation is, he explains, but to present it in a way that makes it easier for new audiences to get into it.

“Humans are messy — so let’s get messy”

“I think there was a perception among some people that Foundation was really beautiful but it was very cerebral,” Goyer explains. “And hopefully it remains cerebral. But I was determined to say, ‘What are the kinds of scenes that people would not expect from Foundation season 1? And do they have a place in this story?’ We didn’t do them just to be gratuitous. But I thought, ‘Why not?’ We’re telling a story about humans and humans are messy — so let’s get messy.’”

It’s still a complicated show, of course, one that spans many years. Season 2 takes place a century after the first — with time jumps, various warring factions, and all of the other complexity inherent in this kind of story. Goyer and his team used various tools to stay on track, ranging from show bibles and flowcharts to copious Post-it notes. But the complexity is exacerbated by the filming process. The episodes aren’t filmed in order, and most of the time, two units are shooting scenes simultaneously. “It is a logistical challenge,” Goyer says.

The trick, he says, is not letting the actors know too much — even if they really want to. “Many of them are frustrated that I won’t tell them where they’re going in future seasons,” Goyer explains. “Sometimes I don’t even tell them where they’re going at the end of the season. Usually, I hold episode 10 back until I absolutely have to, and I’ll redact it. Or if we have to film a scene with one character, I won’t give it to the other actors until I absolutely have to. I don’t like them to play the future — which is ironic given the nature of our show.”

So far, Foundation has only been confirmed for two seasons, but Goyer has much bigger goals — he’s stated before that the outline is for 80 episodes spanning eight seasons in total. It’s an ambitious plan but also one that he says is somewhat malleable. While there are major plot moments that are firmly in place, the way that characters get to those moments can change depending on how things progress during production.

“I’d say we’re about 85 percent adhering to it so far,” he says of the plan versus the reality of the show. “There are definitely things in season 2 that I intended to roll out in season 3, and I just saw an opportunity to move that moment forward. I said, ‘Screw it, let’s go for it.’ That’s something that I learned from working with [Dark Knight director Christopher] Nolan. He used to say that if you’ve got an idea, burn it now — don’t wait for it.”

Now Google’s Bard AI chatbot can talk and respond to visual prompts

Now Google’s Bard AI chatbot can talk and respond to visual prompts

Illustration: The Verge

Google is adding some new features to its Bard AI chatbot, including the ability for Bard to speak its answers to you and for it to respond to prompts that also include images. The chatbot is also now available in much of the world, including the EU.

In a blog post, Google is positioning Bard’s spoken responses as a helpful way to “correct pronunciation of a word or listen to a poem or script.” You’ll be able to hear spoken responses by entering a prompt and selecting the sound icon. Spoken responses will be available in more than 40 languages and are live now, according to Google.

The feature that lets you add images to prompts is something that Google first showed off at its I/O conference in May. In one example, Google suggested you could use this to ask for help writing a funny caption about a picture of two dogs. Google says the feature is now available in English and is expanding to new languages “soon.”

Google is introducing a few other new features, too, including the ability to pin and rename conversations, share responses with your friends, and change the tone and style of the responses you get back from Bard.

Google first opened up access to Bard in March, but at the time, it was available only in the US and the UK. The company has been rolling out the chatbot to many more countries since then, and that now includes “all countries in the EEA [European Economic Area] and Brazil,” Google spokesperson Jennifer Rodstrom tells The Verge. That expansion in Europe is a notable milestone; the company’s planned Bard launch in the EU was delayed due to privacy concerns.

Increasing speed limits can lead to more crashes and deaths, AAA finds

Increasing speed limits can lead to more crashes and deaths, AAA finds

Photo by Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images

Raising speed limits leads to more frequent car crashes, while lowering them leads to fewer crashes, a new analysis by AAA concludes. It’s the kind of conclusion that seems obvious on the surface but still needs to be highlighted given how many states seem convinced that raising speed limits can save drivers time, when all it really does is endanger the lives of pedestrians and cyclists.

The report is the latest in a growing body of evidence that finds that changing speed limits can have a big impact on road safety in the US. AAA analyzed a dozen roadways of varying types in the US in which half raised their speed limits while the other half lowered the limit. The group then did a before-and-after assessment to see what kind of impact the altered speed limits had on traffic safety as well as commute times.

The report is the latest in a growing body of evidence that finds that changing speed limits can have a big impact on road safety

Two of the three highways that increased speed limits experienced increased numbers of crashes, injuries, or deaths. Meanwhile, commute times remained “comparable” to where they were before the limits were raised — dashing the expectation that increasing speeds would lead to faster trips for drivers. A number of other road types that raised speed limits did not see a corresponding increase in crashes, injuries, or deaths, leading AAA to conclude that more research is needed.

Lowering speed limits also had a marginal impact on commute times, which could help dash arguments that altering limits come at the expense of travel time and driver convenience.

Speeding is a critical factor in traffic crashes in the US. Speeding-related fatalities recently reached a 14-year high, making up almost one-third of all traffic deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is amid an ongoing “crisis” in road deaths in the US, with traffic fatalities peaking in 2021.

AAA recommends that states apply a “holistic approach” to the question of raising or lowering speed limits, including the type of road, surrounding land use, and historical crash data.

“The movement in statehouses to raise speed limits is happening across the country in at least eight states this year,” said Jennifer Ryan, director of state relations for AAA. “But the benefits are overrated, and the risks are understated. Increasing speed limits does not always yield the positive results envisioned by traffic planners.”

FTC is appealing ruling that cleared Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard

FTC is appealing ruling that cleared Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it is appealing a recent US federal court order that cleared the way for Microsoft to purchase Activision Blizzard. The FTC has filed a notice that it’s appealing Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley’s decision, but we won’t know the regulator’s arguments until the full appeal is submitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Microsoft won a grueling fight with the FTC earlier this week, with a federal judge denying a preliminary injunction request from the US regulator. “The Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition,” Judge Corley wrote in the ruling. “To the contrary, the record evidence points to more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”

Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

You can read the full notice of appeal here, but the document doesn’t have much more than this.

If the preliminary injunction had been granted, it would have temporarily blocked Microsoft from closing its Activision Blizzard deal until the result of the FTC’s own administrative case against the company. That separate legal challenge is still due to commence on August 2nd.

Now that the FTC is choosing to appeal Judge Corley’s decision, the regulator needs the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay to extend the existing temporary restraining order (TRO) that is set to expire at 11:59PM PT on Friday, July 14th. It’s not clear if the appeals court will even rule before the deal deadline on July 18th, potentially leaving the door open for Microsoft to close the Activision Blizzard deal on Monday or Tuesday without a restraining order in place.

Microsoft still needs to resolve the issues of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with its acquisition before it can close, after the regulator blocked the deal on cloud concerns earlier this year. Both Microsoft and the CMA almost instantly announced they had agreed to pause their legal battles to negotiate after Judge Corley’s ruling on Tuesday.

In a surprise statement on Wednesday, the CMA then warned Microsoft’s opportunity to restructure its deal could “lead to a new merger investigation,” and that talks between the regulator and Microsoft were still at an “early stage.”

A report from CNBC originally claimed Microsoft and the CMA had agreed on a “small divestiture” to address the cloud gaming concerns, but was later corrected to clarify Microsoft has only offered “a small and discrete divestiture” that the CMA hasn’t necessarily accepted. CNBC didn’t expand on what that divestiture could involve, but such a scenario will likely be specific to the UK and could involve changes to Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming services in the region.

EU regulators also had cloud gaming concerns but approved the deal earlier this year thanks to 10-year licensing deals that Microsoft has offered to cloud gaming competitors. The CMA also warns that Microsoft doesn’t “have the opportunity to put forward new remedies” once a final report is issued.

Microsoft’s deal with the EU included a key remedy that involves a free license to consumers in EU countries that would allow them to stream via “any cloud game streaming services of their choice” all current and future Activision Blizzard PC and console games that they have a license for. Cloud providers will also be offered a free license to stream these games.

All eyes now turn to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Microsoft’s potential deal with the CMA in the UK.

Correction July 12th, 7:33PM ET: Based on a CNBC report, this article originally stated Microsoft and the CMA may have agreed to a “small divestiture.” CNBC has corrected its article, and now says that Microsoft offered the divestiture without saying the change has been accepted.

Democrats call on DOJ to investigate tax sites for sharing financial information with Meta

Democrats call on DOJ to investigate tax sites for sharing financial information with Meta

Photo by Michael A. McCoy / Getty Images

A group of Democratic senators is urging federal law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute some of the most popular online tax filing companies for allegedly sharing millions of taxpayers’ financial data with Meta and Google.

On Tuesday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and others asked the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, Treasury Department, and the IRS to investigate whether TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and TaxAct violated taxpayer privacy laws by sharing sensitive user information with the two tech firms.

Senators also released their own report Wednesday detailing the accusations, first raised by The Markup last November. The report alleges that for years, tax preparation companies infused their products with Meta and Google tracking pixels that revealed identifying information — like a user’s full name, address, and date of birth. The senators also suggest that some of the information provided, like the forms a user accessed, could be used to show “whether taxpayers were eligible for certain deductions or exemptions.”

The senators claim that the companies did not receive user consent to share this information, which could violate laws banning tax preparers from sharing tax return information with third parties, especially since much of this data could be used for advertising purposes.

“The findings of this report reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms that appeared to violate taxpayers’ rights and may have violated taxpayer privacy law,” the senators said in their Tuesday letter.

TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and TaxAct all confirmed that they shared “extensive taxpayer data” through Meta’s pixel in the senators’ report. After The Markup published its November findings, each of the companies said they had “removed or disabled” it from their websites.

‘An Act of War’: Inside America’s Silicon Blockade Against China

‘An Act of War’: Inside America’s Silicon Blockade Against China The Biden administration thinks it can slow China’s economic growth by cutting it off from advanced computer chips. Could the plan backfire?

F.T.C.’s Lina Khan Faces Fresh Questions After Microsoft Ruling

F.T.C.’s Lina Khan Faces Fresh Questions After Microsoft Ruling Lina Khan has said a fear of defeat should not deter the agency from suing big tech companies. But after Microsoft won a ruling this week, her critics say that strategy is flawed.

OpenAI’s DALL-E will train on Shutterstock’s library for six more years

OpenAI’s DALL-E will train on Shutterstock’s library for six more years

Image: Shutterstock

Shutterstock is extending its partnership with OpenAI for six more years, allowing the AI company to train its models using Shutterstock’s sprawling library of images, videos, music, and metadata during that time.

The stock image site’s partnership with OpenAI first began in 2021. That’s when Shutterstock started letting the company use its images to train its text-to-image model, DALL-E — a deal OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described as “critical” to the model’s training. Last year, Shutterstock launched a “Contributor Fund” to compensate artists when their work is used to train OpenAI’s models.

At that time, Shutterstock also integrated OpenAI’s image generator directly into its website and banned the sale of AI-generated images that weren’t created using its built-in DALL-E tool. But now, Shutterstock is expanding this integration and says it will give users the ability to “edit and transform any image in the entire Shutterstock library.” Shutterstock also plans to bring AI features to Giphy, the GIF-making platform it acquired from Meta earlier this year.

“We’re pleased to be able to license Shutterstock’s high-quality content library,” Brad Lightcap, the chief operating officer of OpenAI, says in a statement. “This extended collaboration not only enhances the capabilities of our image models but also empowers brands, digital media, and marketing companies to unlock transformative possibilities in content creation and ideation.”

Unlike other image-sharing platforms like Getty Images, Shutterstock is fully embracing AI — and all the consequences that may come with it. Artists have expressed concerns about their work getting scraped to train AI models, which Getty Images has addressed by banning AI-generated content from its platform completely. Getty Images also sued Stability AI, the company behind the AI art tool Stable Diffusion, over allegations that it “unlawfully copied and processed millions of images protected by copyright” on its website.

While Shutterstock may see its library grow through its integration with DALL-E, it might not save the platform from the legal gray area surrounding AI-generated content.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals you can get

The best Amazon Prime Day deals you can get

Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge

From earbuds and smart displays to robot vacuums and phones, here’s the best of what Prime Day has to offer on tech and gadgets.

anPrime Day is upon us once again. It’s Amazon’s big, pretend holiday drummed up to generate sales during the slow season, and it brings with it a bevy of deals and discounts on a massive range of tech and gadgets. We’re here to help you sort through all that Prime Day has to offer, separating the wheat from the chaff and helping you not just save money but also spend it wisely (well, as wisely as a borderline-superfluous tech purchase can be).

While Prime Day may be designed to sell Prime memberships, its ripple effects mean there are many equivalent deals at other retailers available to all. Many are just the discounts you can generally find on wireless earbuds, tablets, e-readers, etc. But there’s always a chance of some new, all-time low prices that you might not otherwise see outside of Black Friday times.

We’re on the lookout for it all on your behalf through the curated tastes, watchful eyes, and slightly deranged minds that only The Verge offers. So be sure to check back frequently as we continue tracking, adding, and updating deals through Prime Day — both today and tomorrow because Amazon doesn’t understand pluralization.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on headphones and earbuds

• Amazon’s Echo Buds with Active Noise Cancellation are on sale with a wired charging case for just $64.99 ($55 off) or with a wireless charging case for $84.99 ($55 off). The second-gen wireless earbuds offer a good amount of value for the money, with a comfortable fit, good ANC, and support for hands-free Alexa commands. Read our review.
• The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, which offer the best noise cancellation you can get in a pair of wireless earbuds right now, are on sale at Amazon for $249 ($50 off). They sadly lack wireless charging, but they remain a dependable set of earbuds with a terrific transparency mode that’s designed to keep you aware of your surroundings. Read our review.
• Jabra’s Elite 4 Active are down to $69.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. The durable, gym-friendly pair of wireless earbuds feature a bevy of solid features for the price, including good sound, active noise cancellation, a waterproof design, and what has become a welcome hallmark of most Jabra earbuds in recent years: multipoint Bluetooth support.
• If you’re not a fan of wireless earbuds, Sennheiser’s ultra-comfy IE 200 are matching their all-time low of $99.95 ($50 off) on Amazon right now. Not only do the in-ear monitors offer clean, detailed sound, but they come with a detachable braided cable and six sets of ear tips. Read our review.

• Sony’s last-gen WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones are on sale for $248 at Amazon for Prime members or $249.99 at Best Buy for anyone. They may not have the newer design or improved mics of the XM5s, but they’re still a great pair of cans, and they actually fold down for smaller storage and easier travel.
• Bose’s QuietComfort 45 are on sale at Amazon for $199 ($130 off) in white and blue or $229 ($100 off) in black or gray. They offer terrific active noise cancellation and a useful transparency mode; however, it’s their best-in-class comfort that really cements them as some of the best headphones you can buy. Read our review.
• The Sony Linkbuds — arguably the company’s strangest pair of earbuds in years — are on sale at Amazon right now for just $128 ($52 off), matching their best price to date. The unique earbuds don an open-style design, yet they’re surprisingly comfortable and offer top-notch voice call quality in addition to solid sound. Read our review.
• Amazon is dropping Google’s premium Pixel Buds Pro to $132.99 ($67 off) in gray and lemongrass (the best color) or $138.99 ($61 off) in coral or black. The well-rounded wireless earbuds are the best pair you can get if you’re a Google Pixel owner, owing to their impressive sound quality, great battery life, and a number of Pixel-exclusive conveniences. Read our review.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on smart speakers and smart displays

• The jumbo-size Echo Studio is on sale with a Sengled smart bulb for $154.99 (about $60 off). The Studio may do most of what an Echo Dot does — execute voice commands, tell you the weather, play music, etc. — but it gets loud enough to really fill a room with sound.

• Amazon’s latest Echo Show 5 is selling for $44.99 ($45 off). We haven’t reviewed it yet, but the new model boasts improved sound over its predecessor. The Show 5 has been a mainstay choice for an Alexa-infused display in a small space or at your bedside.
• The rotating Echo Show 10 with a Ring smart bulb is $162.99 (about $102 off). Yes, Ring makes bulbs, too, and the Show 10 is a nifty display if you like to move around while on a video call or cooking a recipe you’re viewing on its movable screen.

• The Echo Show 15 with an included remote is $181.98 ($98 off). It’s the largest Echo smart display and the only one that’s wall-mountable. It’s also the only model that doubles as a Fire TV streaming device for more versatile content consumption.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on TVs and streaming devices

• The Alexa Voice Remote Pro is down to an all-time low of $27.99 ($7 off). It takes largely after the default clicker that comes bundled with Fire TV devices (surprise, surprise), though it introduces backlighting, customizable buttons, and a handy feature that allows you to ping the remote when you inevitably lose it. Read our review.
• The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is one of the best streaming devices you can buy, and it’s on sale at Amazon for $24.99 ($20 off). Amazon’s streamers are a little heavy on promoting its own shows and content, but the 4K Max has excellent voice controls with Alexa.
• Hisense’s 65-inch U8H Mini LED TV is now $899.99 (about $150 off) at Amazon. The U8H offers a lot of bang for the buck with its bright and contrast-rich Mini LED panel, with Google TV software onboard to handle the streaming duties.

• Vizio’s Elevate soundbar with a 5.1.4 audio setup and rotating, up-firing speakers is on sale for a new low of $590.99 (about $395 off) at Amazon. The high-end speaker — which comes with a dedicated subwoofer and two satellite speakers — offers a more immersive surround sound experience than soundbars with just virtual Dolby Atmos, not to mention support for both Google Cast and Bluetooth.

The best Prime Day deals on phones

• You can pick up an unlocked Google Pixel 6A at Amazon right now for just $249 ($100 off), which is nearly its best price to date. The last-gen Android phone is a bit of a step down from Google’s newer 7A since it lacks some newer specs — including a 90Hz display and wireless charging — but it’s still the best phone you can get for under $400 thanks to its excellent performance and battery life. Read our review.
• Samsung’s Galaxy A54 5G is on sale for Prime members right now for $349.99 ($100 off). It’s equipped with an exceptional screen for a midrange Android phone, not to mention an IP67 rating, a strong support policy, and dependable performance, making it a good pick as long as you’re okay with middling camera performance. Read our review.
• Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are on sale at Amazon for $499 ($100 off) and $649 ($250 off), respectively. Both of them are exceptional phones for anyone who likes Google’s colorful and customizable software design for Android, with the 7 Pro offering an extra-large display, a telephoto camera, and a bigger battery. Read our review.
• Motorola’s unlocked Moto G Stylus is down to just $139.99 ($160 off) at Amazon, exclusively for Prime subscribers. It may not have a very good camera or the best screen, but the massive 6.8-incher sports a built-in stylus and exceptional battery life for a very, very low price. Read our review.
• The Samsung Galaxy S23 is on sale at Amazon right now with 256GB of storage for $659.99 ($200 off). That’s quite a low price for Samsung’s latest 6.1-inch model, which is not overly big like its Plus and Ultra counterparts but still offers four years of promised OS updates. Read our review.
• If you want the best slab phone Samsung has to offer, Amazon is selling an unlocked Galaxy S23 Ultra for $949.99 ($250 off). The S23 Ultra may fake some photos of the moon, but it’s an impressive flagship with pretty much every top-of-the-line feature crammed into its large 6.8-inch frame. Read our review.
• Nomad is running a site-wide 30 percent off sale on its standard edition, in-stock smartphone and wearable accessories — including its Apple Watch straps and MagSafe chargers.

The best Prime Day deals on laptops and computing accessories

• Logitech’s StreamCam is now $129.99 ($40 off) at Amazon. It’s a fine 1080p webcam for everything from videoconferencing to Twitch streaming, even if its USB-C cable being permanently attached is slightly annoying. Read our webcam buying guide.
• The Elgato Facecam is on sale for $119.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, which is a new low. The 1080p-capable Facecam is a little on the jumbo size for webcams, but it has a great selection of adjustable software controls and features an ultrawide 82 degree field of view.
• The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor combines a computer monitor and smart TV into a single 32-inch package, making it great for people who consume content on the same machine that they get their work done on. It’s currently $379.99 (about $117 off) at Amazon for Prime members. Read our review.
• Elgato’s excellent Stream Deck MK.2, which features 15 LCD macro keys and swappable front cosmetic faceplates, is on sale for $109.99 ($40 off) in white or $114.99 ($35 off) in black at Amazon. There are many Stream Deck owners here at The Verge, namely because it’s as great for desktop power users as it is for streaming.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on smart home tech

• The Kasa Smart Plug Mini is available in a two-pack for $12.99 ($7 off), a three-pack for $17.49 ($7.50 off), or a four-pack for $20.99 ($9 off). Apple Home users also have a compatible option on sale in a four-pack for $34.99 ($15 off). All four of these deals are exclusive to Prime members, and any of them can bring smart functionality, including scheduled timers, to your basic outlet.
• The Evovacs Deebot X1 Omni is on sale at Amazon for $854.99 ($695 off), which is the best price to date. The stylish robot vacuum/mop hybrid is still pricey at nearly $900, though it’s loaded with plenty of bells and whistles, including AI obstacle avoidance, an effective self-cleaning function, and the ability to moonlight as a security camera with two-way audio. Read our review.

• The iRobot Roomba j7, our top pick when it comes to robot vacuums, is available in three versions for some of its best pricing to date. Right now, you can get the obstacle-avoiding, auto-mapping bot as a standalone vacuum for $399 ($200 off), with an auto-emptying station for $649 ($150 off), or as a Combo model with a built-in mop for $799 ($300 off).
• Google’s Nest Thermostat may be a little basic when it comes to features, but it’s currently on sale for just $84.99 ($45 off) at Amazon, making it a little easier to forgive its simpler setup. It’s fine for controlling your home HVAC from your phone, but it doesn’t adapt to your behavior like Google’s fancier Learning Thermostat. Read our review.

• The Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Door Opener can ensure you always remember to close your garage door when leaving the house, even from afar, and it’s on sale for just $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon.
• The Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wired is down to just $49 ($100 off) at Amazon. That’s quite a low price for a quality, platform-agnostic doorbell, though keep in mind that Apple Home users need a $100 hub to integrate it.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on tablets and e-readers

• The new entry-level iPad — aka the 10th-gen model from last year — is down to an all-time low of $379 ($70 off) in the 64GB / Wi-Fi configuration at Amazon. The 10.9-inch tablet is somewhat of an odd duck in Apple’s current lineup given its typical price and confusing ecosystem of accessories, but it still offers USB-C charging, plenty of optimized apps, and zippy performance courtesy of Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. Read our review.
• If you prefer a smaller Apple tablet, the redesigned iPad Mini from 2021 is also on sale at Amazon, where you can pick it up in its base configuration starting at $379.99 ($120 off). Like the newer entry-level model, the latest Mini offers a great screen and USB-C, though in a more diminutive form factor that’s capped at 8.3 inches. Read our review.
• The Kindle Scribe, Amazon’s biggest Kindle, is on sale starting at $254.99 ($85 off) for Prime members, which is one of the e-reader’s better prices to date. Admittedly, it’s still a little lackluster when it comes to note-taking despite recent software updates, but it still offers a large 10.2-inch E Ink display, great battery life, and a handy pen. Read our review.
• Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is on sale at Amazon with ads starting at $89.99 ($50 off), which is the lowest price to date on what we consider to be the best e-reader for most people. It’s got a great combo of features for the price, including months-long battery life, USB-C support, and a crisp, 6.8-inch display that’s a joy to read on. Read our review.

• If Amazon’s Fire HD 10 tablet isn’t budget enough for you, the newest Amazon Fire HD 8 is also on sale at Amazon with ads right now starting at just $54.99 ($45 off). The latest model is faster than its predecessor but is otherwise pretty much the same, which means it’s still a good option for kids or anyone who wants a basic slate for consuming Amazon content and other media. Read our Fire HD 8 Plus review.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on smartwatches and fitness trackers

• Apple’s second-gen Watch SE can be had for as low as $199 ($50 off) on Amazon. The latest SE is still plenty fast despite being considerably cheaper than the Series 8, and it still can leverage most features of watchOS 9. Sure, it doesn’t have an always-on display or some of the more advanced sensors found on the more premium models, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better entry-level smartwatch for the price. Read our review.
• The lightweight Fitbit Charge 5, one of our favorite Fitbit trackers, is on sale at Amazon for $99.95 ($50 off), matching its lowest price yet. It’s a nice bit of hardware overall, with long battery life, a bright OLED screen, and the ability to handle all the usual heart rate and activity tracking you’d expect in a capable fitness band. Read our review.
• Amazfit’s GTR 4 is on sale for $30 off at Amazon, dropping the price to a cool $169.99. The platform-agnostic smartwatch is a solid Fitbit alternative if you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck, especially since the Alexa-enabled wearable packs an OLED display, blood oxygen monitoring, stress tracking, and a whole bunch of features typically reserved for more premium wearables. Read our review.
• Amazfit’s Band 7 is now just $39.99 ($10 off) at Amazon. If you just need a simple fitness tracker but you’re on a tight budget, the Band 7 packs a lot of features, including heart rate tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, cycle tracking, sleep tracking, and a battery that lasts up to two weeks with the always-on display turned on. Read our review.

• The unique Aura Strap 2 body composition monitor for 41mmApple Watches is $119 ($30 off) at Amazon. The replacement strap has sensors of its own for bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) to detect your body fat percentage, muscle mass, and even water level to give you a more well-rounded measure of your health and fitness — though some of its extras require a subscription. Read our review.

The best Amazon Prime Day Bluetooth speaker deals

• The tried-and-true JBL Charge 5 is on sale at Amazon for $119.95, which is $60 off and just $10 shy of its best price to date. The powerful Bluetooth speaker is a good pick if you’re looking for a waterproof option with good sound and marathon battery life, especially since it can also charge your phone in a pinch thanks to a built-in USB-A port.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on games and gaming accessories

• Sony’s InZone H3 Wired Gaming Headset for the PlayStation 5 and PC is now just $58 ($40 off) at Amazon. These are the most budget-minded of Sony’s InZone headset trio, and while it’s not wireless like the H7 and H9, it’s got a similar build quality with soft, comfy ear pads and a boom mic that auto-mutes when you lift it up and away from your mouth.
• The HyperX QuadCast condenser mic for PC, PlayStation, and Mac is selling for $89.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. The bold, red-colored mic has four selectable pickup patterns, an internal pop filter for taming plosives, and a headphone jack for self-monitoring.
• Microsoft’s standard Xbox Wireless Controller is on sale starting at $46.99 ($13 off) at Amazon. The stock controller of the Xbox Series X / S is great for anyone gaming on Xbox or PC, though if you’re not a fan of its AA batteries, you can also get the Remix Special Edition Xbox controller in a unique Earth-themed green colorway with a rechargeable battery pack for $71.99 (also $13 off).

• Octopath Traveler II for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 / 5 is selling for $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon. The old-school, tactical RPG has some lovely sprite graphics with an engrossing, detailed story.
• The Logitech G Fits wireless earbuds are down to $159.99 ( $70 off) at Amazon, matching their all-time low. Like the UE Fits, the G Fits custom-mold to your ears for a personalized fit, and they feature a low latency mode for gaming.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on charging accessories

• Anker’s 715 USB-C Charger is currently on sale at Amazon for $33.99 ($16 off). Like other Anker chargers, the 65W offering uses GaN tech to squeeze more power from its compact package, allowing you to quickly charge everything from your phone to a 13-inch MacBook.
• If you’re working with Apple’s latest MacBook Air — or really any laptop with a limited port selection — you can grab Anker’s 341 USB-C Hub on Amazon for just $25.69 (about $9 off). In exchange for a single USB-C port, the expansive hub outfits you with two USB-C and USB-A ports, as well as both an SD card reader and an HDMI output.
• Google’s latest Pixel Stand is available for $59 ($20 off) at Amazon for Prime members. The second-gen Qi charger works best when paired with newer Pixel models, which are able to take advantage of speedy wireless charging speeds and a few more unique features — including the ability to act as an impromptu photo frame when docked. Read our review.

The best Amazon Prime Day deals on Verge favorites and other miscellaneous tech

• The Aeropress Original is currently selling for $29.16 (about $10 off) for Prime members. The portable, single-cup coffee maker can make standard coffee or espresso and is great for home use, travel, or camping.

• If you’re someone who’s prone to aches and pains — and who isn’t, honestly? — the latest Theragun Mini is on sale at Amazon for $169 ($30 off). The handheld massage gun puts out a surprising amount of power for its pocketable size, though, thankfully, you can always ratchet it down if you find the higher speeds to be too intense.
• The 2022 Tile Mate is back down to $17.99 ($7 off) on Amazon. Tile’s OG Bluetooth tracker is still quite handy despite the arrival of Apple’s AirTags and other tracking solutions, especially since it lets you keep tabs on your keys, a bag, and other items from up to 250 feet away regardless of whether you’re using Android or iOS.
• Of all the ships in recent Star Wars history, none of them are quite as iconic as Din Djarin’s ship from the first season of The Mandalorian. And right now, the Lego Razor Crest is on sale at Amazon for $97.99 ($42 off), which matches the 6,187-piece kit’s best price to date.
• The Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker seems like just a simple curved piece of metal with holes in it, but it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to mince garlic. It’s on sale at Amazon for $19.99 ($4 off).

• LifeStraw’s newer Peak Series Straw is available to Prime subscribers right now for $17.46 (about $7 off). The latest model features an improved flow rate and a more rugged design than the original model, but like previous iterations, it can still filter out bacteria and other potentially hazardous materials from any water source you encounter.
• The PetCube Bites 2 Lite, a notable alternative to Furbo’s aforementioned offering, is on sale at Amazon for $79.96 (about $69 off). It’s got a lot of the same features — including a 1080p camera, two-way audio, and a built-in treat dispenser — but it offers a wider field of view and better digital zoom. The tradeoff, however, is that it doesn’t swivel.

• The retro-inspired Polaroid Now Plus is down to $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon for Prime Day, which is a mere $3 shy of its all-time low. As mentioned in our guide to the best instant cameras, the Now Plus is tailored toward those who are a fan of the old-fashioned, instant-film experience, one that takes a heavy cue from the classic Polaroid 600 of yesteryear.
• If you want a more sustainable method for stowing food, you can grab one of Stasher’s reusable sandwich bags on sale at Amazon starting at $9.09 (about $4 off). The silicone pouches are great for meal prep or taking your lunch to go; plus, unlike your standard Ziploc, Stasher’s durable bags come in an array of vibrant colors.

• If you’re a huge nerd for the iconic (or infamous, if you prefer) brown-and-tan color scheme of Noctua PC fans and coolers, you can get it in an MT3 keycap set for Cherry-compatible mechanical keyboards for a nice $69 ($61 off) at Drop.
• Speaking of keyboards, Keychron is offering a 20 percent off sale on its site and on Amazon, which includes many of its pre-built and barebones mechanical keyboards as well as colorful keycap sets. Keychron’s Q Pro line is sadly excluded from the deal, but many other excellent boards, like the Q1, are discounted (it’s now $143.20 or $151.20 with a handy knob).

Popular AO3 fanfiction site goes down in wave of DDoS attacks

Popular AO3 fanfiction site goes down in wave of DDoS attacks

The group taking credit for the attack is threatening to keep the site down for weeks. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The popular fanfiction platform Archive of Our Own (AO3) is currently experiencing a wave of distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that have forced the website offline since Monday. AO3 first acknowledged the outage on the company’s official Twitter account on July 10th at 8.24AM ET, later confirming that the issue was caused by “a DDoS attack” — a malicious cybercrime in which threat actors overwhelm a server with traffic — “causing the servers to fall over.”

A group claiming to be Anonymous Sudan has taken credit for the attack, and is demanding a ransom to stop the ongoing operation.

The AO3 team is currently trying to defend against the attack and restore the platform, warning that users may experience various error messages or encounter display issues with the site layout in the meantime. (The site has been completely unreachable for hours in our testing.) The company said that because DDoS attacks don’t compromise private user data, there’s no need for users to change their password in response to the outage. At the time of writing, no estimated timeline has been provided regarding when the archive will be back online. We have reached out to the Organization for Transformative Works, the non-profit parent organization of AO3, for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

We're trying a new approach to defend against the ongoing DDoS attack, so you may see error messages that say "429" instead of "Retry later." (429 is the error code for too many requests.)

— AO3 Status (@AO3_Status) July 11, 2023

A group on the Telegram messaging service claiming to be ‘hacktivist’ organization Anonymous Sudan has taken credit for the attack. According to threat intelligence vendor Flashpoint, Anonymous Sudan has been active since January 2023, claiming responsibility for DDoS attacks against Microsoft and various companies around Europe, though it appears that the group has no credible affiliation with the country of Sudan or the previous Anonymous group that operated within it.

AO3 has warned that these claims should be taken with a pinch of salt. “A group presenting themselves as a collective of religiously and politically motivated hackers has claimed responsibility for the attack,” the platform tweeted on Monday. “Cybersecurity experts believe the group claiming responsibility is lying about their affiliation and reasons for attacking websites. View the group’s statements with skepticism.”

The Anonymous Sudan group initially claimed the attack would persist for up to 24 hours, but has since issued a ransom demand for $30k worth of Bitcoin, threatening to keep AO3 down for weeks if the company doesn’t comply. The Organization for Transformative Works (and its AO3 project) is entirely supported by user donations and run by volunteers, which means the company is unlikely to be able to afford such a ransom even if this threat is revealed to be genuine.

Something odd is happening when you try and search Twitter for Threads links

Something odd is happening when you try and search Twitter for Threads links

Twitter users trying to find links to Meta’s microblogging rival Threads are finding that the Elon Musk-owned social media network appears to be limiting results. That’s despite Twitter currently being filled with links to Threads content, which you’d expect to be able to find via search. We spotted the behavior via a Threads post from Andy Baio, but the behavior is also being widely reported by Twitter users.

The issue was first noticed when using the “url:” search operator, which is normally used to search for links to a specific URL. For example, searching “url:theverge.com” on Twitter brings up every single tweet that links to any page on The Verge, regardless of whether the URL has been shortened. But searching for “url:threads.net” returns zero results, despite there being plenty of tweets that link to the domain.

Likewise, searching for “threads.net” without the “url:” operator turns up dozens of irrelevant results from users with their Threads account in their display name, or who are talking about the service without linking to it — it doesn’t surface any linked Threads posts.

It’s still possible to find links to Threads posts on Twitter, but you’ll have to get creative. Searching for “url:“threads net”” with a space between “threads” and “net” is the best workaround we’ve seen, and you can also still search for specific Thread post URLs (like this). But the apparent restriction adds friction to the process, making it harder to easily find a broad array of Threads links on Twitter.

It’s unclear how intentional this behavior is, and an enquiry sent to Twitter’s press line returned the customary poop emoji auto-reply. But Twitter owner Elon Musk has been intensely critical of Threads and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Competition is fine, cheating is not,” Musk tweeted on July 6th. “Zuck is a cuck,” was his less measured response three days later. Twitter has also threatened to sue Meta over Threads, claiming Meta has engaged in “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”

If it is intentional, however, it wouldn’t be the first time Twitter has limited the visibility of other services on its platform. In early April Twitter limited how users could engage with posts containing links to Substack on the eve of the newsletter service’s launch of its Notes microblogging service. Users were unable to like, reply to, or retweet tweets containing Substack URLs, and Twitter then started marking Substack links as unsafe. Twitter also redirected searches for “Substack” to the much more general “newsletter.”

Elon Musk attempted to justify the limitations placed on Substack links by saying the service “was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone.” But his concerns appeared to be short-lived: a day later Substack said “the suppression of Substack publications on Twitter” appeared to be over.

EA is making a single-player Black Panther game

EA is making a single-player Black Panther game

No screenshots yet, so you’ll have to put up with this logo for now. | Image: EA

Another big Marvel property is being turned into a video game. This time, EA is developing what it calls “an original, third-person, single-player Black Panther game.” We don’t have many other details just yet — not even a screenshot — but development is being handled by a new EA studio called Cliffhanger Games in partnership with Marvel Games. Cliffhanger is led by Kevin Stephens, who was previously studio head at Shadow of Mordor developer Monolith Productions.

“We’re dedicated to delivering fans a definitive and authentic Black Panther experience, giving them more agency and control over their narrative than they have ever experienced in a story-driven video game,” Stephens said in a statement. “Wakanda is a rich superhero sandbox, and our mission is to develop an epic world for players who love Black Panther and want to explore the world of Wakanda as much as we do.”

That’s about all of the detail we have right now. There’s no word on when the game might launch nor what platforms the studio is targeting. EA and Marvel previously announced a deal last year to develop at least three more titles as part of an ongoing partnership.

The announcement of Black Panther is part of a relatively recent trend from Marvel parent company Disney, which has been partnering with major studios and publishers to make games based on its biggest properties. That includes Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac making titles starring Marvel characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man; an Iron Man game from EA’s Motive Studio; Eidos Montreal’s take on Guardians of the Galaxy; Star Wars games from Respawn, Ubisoft, Quantic Dream, and Amy Hennig’s new studio; Ubisoft’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora; and even an upcoming Indiana Jones game from the team behind Wolfenstein.

U.S. and E.U. Finalize Long-Awaited Deal on Sharing Data

U.S. and E.U. Finalize Long-Awaited Deal on Sharing Data The agreement ends legal uncertainty for Meta, Google and scores of companies — at least for now.