Author: News Room
I admire birds as much as the next person, but taking up birdwatching isn’t something I’ve considered. I don’t have the patience, nor do I own a good pair of binoculars — which is necessary for seeing the majestic, winged creatures up close. What I might sooner settle on, however, is the Bird Buddy Pro, a smart bird feeder with an integrated camera that can give you a much, much closer look at birds as they munch (and identify them using AI). Normally $299.99, the video-equipped feeder is matching its all-time low of $199 at Amazon as part of its…
If you’re new to vinyl or have never touched a turntable before, the prospect can be daunting. Even the best turntables can be tricky to wrap your head around. Pro-Ject just launched a new version of its affordable Automat turntable. Not only does it make listening easier, but also makes your records sound better thanks to new components such as a redesigned platter. The A1.2 is a refresh of the original A1, which was already a decent shout for anyone new to vinyl. Instead of just slapping a new sticker on the box, Pro-Ject reworked some of the key components – starting…
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella moved quickly to get DeepSeek’s R1 deployed on Azure in January. Nadella appeared to have anticipated the rise of a breakthrough like R1, and now he says a new bar has been set for the company’s own AI work.Speaking at an employee-only town hall last month, Nadella and his senior leadership team discussed DeepSeek and the company’s own $80 billion investment into AI at length, answering questions from employees about the giant spend and its effect on Microsoft’s carbon-free goals, sources at the company tell me.DeepSeek made headlines earlier this year after doing a bunch of…
Unless the case for your wireless earbuds has Tardis-like qualities, it’s probably not much use for charging your phone – but the HMD Amped Buds are different. Rather than breaking the laws of physics to make them, HMD has instead decided to give the charging case the Amped Buds live in reverse wireless-charging skills and a massive 1600mAh battery. That translates to a whopping 95 hours of listening time if you use it exclusively for the headphones, but plonk an iPhone 16 on it and you can use that juice to top the battery up by as much as 20%…
Ahead of Star Wars Celebration Japan getting underway on April 18th in Tokyo, Audio-Technica has announced four new limited edition versions of its ATH-CKS50TW2 wireless earbuds that originally debuted at CES 2025. Functionality is the same, but the earbuds have gotten a Star Wars-themed makeover with new colors and details inspired by R2-D2, Grogu, the Mandalorian, and Darth Vader plus custom audio alerts that play sound effects like Vader’s ominous labored breathing or a sad whistle when the Artoo version disconnects from a device.The limited edition Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW2 are priced a bit higher than the standard versions: $179 up from…
What are the essential features of a smartphone? That’s not a rhetorical question, and it’s actually a useful exercise: if I were to take away everything but the things you truly need on your phone, what would those things be? And how might you interact with your phone differently if those things were all you had?The $599 Light Phone III is one attempt to answer those questions. The Light Phone III is substantially more powerful, functional, and smartphone-ish than anything Light has shipped before. (It’s also substantially more expensive.) It has a camera now, and a fast and colorful touchscreen.…
Bluetooth headphones have been around for over 20 years now, so in a way the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi (£189) are long overdue. They’re the first earbuds in the world to offer Wi-Fi connectivity, with Qualcomm’s XPAN tech enabling 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio at up to 4.2Mbps – that’s more than double the bandwidth of Bluetooth 5. They’ll also last marginally longer, with better battery life when using Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately there’s a catch. To begin with, the only phone that’s compatible with them is Xiaomi’s 15 Ultra (with the standard model waiting for an…
As if things weren’t embarrassing enough for national security adviser Michael Waltz, what with inviting a journalist into a private policy group chat and all, Wired discovered that his Venmo account was wide open, revealing the names of “hundreds of Waltz’s personal and professional associates.” Venmo is a popular and convenient way to transfer money to friends and vendors, but it’s a good idea to keep it as closed down as possible, as it is with any online banking institution. To keep your Venmo account as secure as you can, here are some ways to avoid exposing your contacts, and…
As much as I love travel, frequently the logistics side of things is far from ideal. Whoever said it’s all about the journey, not the destination, clearly never visited Heathrow Terminal 5 in the summer holidays. One of my favourite travel accessories to make things easier is the AirFly Pro. This device lets you connect your Bluetooth headphones, specifically AirPods, to in-flight entertainment systems that don’t support Bluetooth. And with the second version that just released, the accessory is even better than ever. Let’s start with what hasn’t changed: the AirFly Pro 2 still lets you use your own Bluetooth headphones with…
Instacart is introducing a new way for shoppers to make money: taking videos of store shelves “one aisle at a time.” The new earning opportunity, called Store View, will allow Instacart to determine which products are available, as well as which ones are out of stock.Instacart says Store View will also help its predictive models estimate when a store will restock a particular product. “If you place an order at night for early next-day delivery, we can predict whether the item is likely to be back on the shelves when the store reopens, and then verify that information in the…
At first glance you might see this turntable and assume somebody forgot to finish assembling it – but the Waiting for Ideas PP-1 isn’t missing anything at all. Rather than having a tonearm on top like practically every other turntable you can buy, the elliptical diamond stylus is hidden underneath the platter, which means you have to put your records on the ‘wrong’ way up to play the side you want. When it’s not in use, a small set of metal doors cover the cartridge to stop it from picking up dust and other detritus. No doubt tedious audiophiles will…
Apple’s MacBook Air has been refreshed with M4, and as a laptop, it’s the complete package. In fact, I’d go as far as calling it the best MacBook you can buy. In our review, we said “the MacBook Air is still the everyday laptop to beat.” Which is why I can’t believe that it’s already discounted just a few weeks after launching. But it is! And you can pick up the new M4 MacBook Air for less in Amazon’s Spring Sale. Right now, you can score the M4 MacBook Air for £929 on Amazon UK – a £70 saving from…