Author: News Room

Last year, Arturia launched its first stage keyboard, AstroLab. Unlike a synthesizer, stage keyboards are more focused on delivering performance-ready presets than sound design. They’re geared towards touring and performing musicians who need access to a range of sounds with minimal fuss, rather than bedroom tinkerers. But, while the first entries in the series were sizable and pricey — $2,999 for the 88-key model, and $1,999 for the 61-key model — the AstroLab 37 delivers the same sonic repertoire in a smaller, much more affordable package. It’s a portable 37-slimkey instrument that costs only $699.What makes the AstroLab range stand…

Most of us in the Northern Hemisphere spend the holidays indoors, but you can only watch so many TikToks about cute cats and cooking hacks before the need for something a little more substantive kicks in. Choosing the right game or movie to gift is tough, though, especially if you don’t have an exact read on what your friends and family like. And if you choose poorly, remember that you might also be on the hook to play or watch it with them.That’s why, this year, we made it our mission to find gifts that appeal to people with diverse…

It was only just a couple of weeks ago that Apple’s AirPods 4 dropped to a new low price; however, if you missed out on the former deal, you now have a chance to snag the excellent entry-level earbuds for even less. Right now, the AirPods 4 are on sale for around $69 ($60 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Target in the lead-up to Black Friday, which is nearly a 50 percent discount.Whether you’re upgrading from an older model or getting your first pair of wireless earbuds, the standard AirPods 4 are a great option for iPhone owners. They integrate…

A month of Apple TV costs $12.99, which is a good value if you’re into its blend of sci-fi, sports, kids content, and a staggering number of shows and movies that start with “S.” It’s the only major streaming service that doesn’t have ads, and it’ll be the exclusive home to F1 starting in 2026. Oh, and Pluribus rules so far. Foundation and Slow Horses are some of the best TV shows available, too. And, of course, Severance is a must-watch if you haven’t seen it already.While other streaming services like Disney Plus and HBO Max are currently letting shoppers…

One thing we talk a lot about on The Vergecast is how to engage with technology without losing your mind. One version of that discussion has to do with fitness, and the so-called quantified self: what does it take to make use of the tools and trackers available to you, without letting exercise take over your life? It’s a fun, complex topic, and one we come back to often.There is, however, another side to the debate. What if you want the most data, the most insights, the most feedback, the most coaching, whatever it takes to do better, no matter…

We know a little more about Google’s long-gestating plans to combine the best parts of Android and ChromeOS into a single OS thanks to a job listing for a product manager to work on “Aluminium OS.” The job ad describes it as “a new operating system built with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the core.”Android Authority first reported on the job listing, which is two months old, but wasn’t spotted until recently. It gives a name — or more likely codename — to Google’s new operating system for the first time, along with the initialism “ALOS.” It specifically describes Aluminium as…

The first Chinese-made car Omar Rana ever drove was a gas-powered SUV that he rented while on a trip overseas in 2015. To say it didn’t leave much of an impression would be an understatement.“It sucked really bad,” Rana, aka OmarDrives, tells me. “A horrible experience.”Flash forward nearly a decade to last year, when Rana received a DM from a company he’d never heard of called DCar Studio inviting him to check out a few Chinese EVs in Los Angeles. It wasn’t surprising that DCar would reach out to Rana. With his 90,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 280,000 followers…

“We’re treating speakers with the same care as the rest of the home, so they contribute to a room’s atmosphere and personality not only through sound but also through form, colour and character,” says Ikea product developer Sara Ottosson. The company collaborated with designer and colorist Tekla Evelina Severin to achieve that, resulting in devices that look nothing like what typically comes to mind when you think of Bluetooth speakers.The Solskydd is a family of round speakers in three different sizes that could be mistaken for serving trays. The smallest 8-inch model ($79.99) features a single 2.5-inch driver hidden behind…

Signal is launching secure backups on iOS, allowing you to save and restore your messages in case you lose or break your phone. With the free version of the feature, you can store up to 100MB of text messages, along with the past 45 days’ worth of photos, videos, GIFs, and files.There’s also a $1.99 per month option that can back up all of your text messages, in addition to up to 100GB of media beyond the 45-day cap. Signal first launched secure backups on Android devices in September, which store your messages and media using end-to-end encryption. You can…

Editor’s note: Black Friday doesn’t officially take place until Friday, November 28th; however, if you want to shop ahead of time, we’ve rounded up the best early Black Friday deals you can already get.Whether you’re wearing them for the morning commute, while traveling, or if you’re simply trying to find some peace and quiet while working at home, noise-canceling headphones are a more essential piece of kit nowadays than ever before. And you’ve got a slew of great options to pick from; it’s hard to make a bad choice.There are longtime heavyweights like Bose and Sony to pick from. Apple…

OpenAI is making it easier to plan out holiday shopping with ChatGPT’s latest feature called “shopping research.” Any shopping question in ChatGPT will trigger this new feature, which is rolling out to all ChatGPT users on free and paid plans on mobile and web, with “nearly unlimited usage” available during the holiday shopping season.Now, if you ask ChatGPT for “best TVs in bright lighting,” for example, as the company’s announcement video shows, the response will end with a button asking if you want to do additional research. This is where the “personal shopper” aspect comes in, although the blog post…

For the first time, Meta is offering trade-in discounts for its smart glasses with a pilot program that’s only running through December 31st. According to a legal page on Meta’s website, trade-in discounts can be applied to the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 1, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, Oakley Meta HSTN, and Oakley Meta Vanguard. Notably, the Meta Ray-Ban Display didn’t make that list. Limited edition and refurbished glasses also aren’t eligible for the discount.You can trade in your current pair of first-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses if you’re looking to upgrade, but Meta is also surprisingly offering trade-in credit for certain pairs…