Ordinary Chaos

Tag: Apple

  • OpenAI denies it’s releasing a model called ‘Orion’ this year

    OpenAI denies it’s releasing a model called ‘Orion’ this year

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    Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re looking at OpenAI’s reported plans for its next AI model; a buzzy new messaging app that’s a hit with Gen Z; and Tim Cook discovering that you can name a group chat in iMessage. Let’s get into it.

    The Verge noted this week that OpenAI is reportedly planning to release its next frontier AI model, code-named Orion, by December. An OpenAI spokesperson denied the claim to TechCrunch, saying, “We don’t have plans to release a model code-named Orion this year.” But what that means is anybody’s guess and leaves OpenAI substantial wiggle room.

    Character.AI is being targeted in a lawsuit after the suicide of a 14-year-old boy whose mother says he became obsessed with a chatbot on the platform. The company said it is rolling out new safety features, including “improved detection, response, and intervention” related to chats that violate its terms of service and a notification when a user has spent an hour in a chat.

    More than 100 million individuals had their private health information stolen during the February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare. It’s the first time that UnitedHealth Group, the health insurance provider that owns the company, has put a number on the amount of individuals affected by the data breach; previously the company said it anticipated the breach included data on a “substantial proportion of people in America.”

    This is TechCrunch’s Week in Review, where we recap the week’s biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here.

    News

    Image Credits:Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

    Mira Murati’s next move: Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati is reportedly raising more than $100 million for a new AI startup, which will reportedly focus on building AI products based on proprietary models. Read more

    What’s in a (group chat) name? A recent profile of Tim Cook revealed that he didn’t know you could name your group chats in iMessage. Cook has since named a group chat with his former college roommates as simply “Roommates.” Read more

    Elon Musk’s chats with Putin: Elon Musk has reportedly been in regular contact with Russian president Vladimir Putin since late 2022. The Wall Street Journal reports that the conversations have raised national security concerns among some intelligence officials. Read more

    Let Anthropic control your PC: Anthropic released an upgraded version of Claude 3.5 Sonnet that can understand and interact with any desktop app. The model can imitate keystrokes, button clicks, and mouse gestures, essentially emulating a person sitting at a computer. Read more

    Smart glasses success: The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are proving to be a larger success than Meta originally expected. The glasses are the top selling product in 60% of all Ray-Ban stores throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — even before its AI features roll out. Read more

    Artificial (gut) intelligence: Throne is an Austin-based health startup selling a camera that clips onto the side of a toilet bowl and takes pictures of your poop. Currently in beta, the system utilizes AI to examine your stool and determine things like gut health and hydration. Read more

    Turn your phone into an e-reader: Bookcase, the latest bit of tech novelty from Astropad, is a case with a MagSafe mount and an NFC chip that lets you hold a smartphone like a Kindle for a more comfortable mobile e-reading experience. Read more

    Midjourney comes for the web: Midjourney is releasing an upgraded tool that lets users edit any uploaded images from the web using its generative AI. The upgraded tool will also allow users to retexture objects in images to “repaint” their colors and details according to captions. Read more

    A cheaper way to get gas: Amazon is offering Prime members a 10 cents per gallon discount at around 7,000 Amoco, AM/PM, and BP gas stations across the U.S. to combat high gas prices — and challenge rival service Walmart+. Read more

    A message app for the next generation: Daze is a creative, AI-powered messaging app that is blowing up among Gen Z users, with a waitlist of roughly 156,000 signups before its launch on November 4. Read more

    A closer look at Apple’s hearing aid feature: TechCrunch’s Brian Heater got to test out Apple’s upcoming accessibility features for the AirPods Pro 2 that allow the earbuds to act as a hearing aid and provide hearing tests. Read more 

    Analysis

    a sign outside 23andMe's office in California, featuring the company's office in the background
    Image Credits:David Paul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty Images

    23andMe and you: 23andMe is facing an uncertain future amid efforts to take the company private, intensifying concerns about what might happen to the genetic data of the company’s some 15 million customers. If you’ve shipped your saliva to 23andMe, you may have assumed that this data will remain private under law. But as Carly Page writes, 23andMe is not covered under HIPAA and is largely bound only by its own privacy policies, which it can change at any time. But there is an easy way to request the deletion of your data. Read more 

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  • Chinese Hackers Target Trump Campaign via Verizon Breach

    Chinese Hackers Target Trump Campaign via Verizon Breach

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    The Chinese spy operation adds to the growing sense of a melee of foreign digital interference in the election, which has already included Iranian hackers’ attempt to hack and leak emails from the Trump campaign—with limited success—and Russia-linked disinformation efforts across social media.

    Ahead of the full launch next week of Apple’s AI platform, Apple Intelligence, the company debuted tools this week for security researchers to evaluate its cloud infrastructure known as Private Cloud Compute. Apple has gone to great lengths to engineer a secure and private AI cloud platform, and this week’s release includes extensive detailed technical documentation of its security features as well as a research environment that is already available in the macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta release. The testing features allow researchers (or anyone) to download and evaluate the actual version of PCC software that Apple is running in the cloud at a given time. The company tells WIRED that the only modifications to the software relate to optimizing it to run in the virtual machine for the research environment. Apple also released the PCC source code and said that as part of its bug bounty program, vulnerabilities that researchers discover in PCC will be eligible for a maximum bounty payout of up to $1 million.

    Over the summer, Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post each revealed that they’d been approached by a source offering hacked Trump campaign emails—a source whom the US Justice Department says was working on behalf of the Iranian government. The news outlets all refused to publish or report on those stolen materials. Now it appears that Iran’s hackers did eventually find outlets outside the mainstream media that were willing to release those emails. American Muckrakers, a PAC run by a Democratic operative, did publish the documents after soliciting them in a public post on X, writing, “Send it to us and we’ll get it out.”

    American Muckrakers then published internal Trump campaign communications about North Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson and Florida Republican representative Anna Paulina Luna, as well as material that seemed to suggest a financial arrangement between Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third-party candidate who dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein also received and published some of the hacked material, including a research profile on Trump running mate and US senator JD Vance that the campaign assembled when assessing him for the role. Klippenstein subsequently received a visit from the FBI, he’s said, warning him that the documents were shared as part of a foreign influence campaign. Klippenstein has defended his position, arguing that the media should not serve as “gatekeeper of what the public should know.”

    As Russia has both waged war and cyberwar against Ukraine, it’s also carried out a vast campaign of hacking against another neighbor to the west with whom it’s long had a fraught relationship: Georgia. Bloomberg this week revealed ahead of the Georgian election how Russia systematically penetrated the smaller country’s infrastructure and government in a yearslong series of digital intrusion operations. From 2017 to 2020, for instance, Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, hacked Georgia’s Central Election Commission (just as it did in Ukraine in 2014), multiple media organizations, and IT systems at the country’s national railway company—all in addition to the attack on Georgian TV stations that the NSA pinned on the GRU’s Sandworm unit in 2020. Meanwhile, hackers known as Turla, working for the Kremlin’s KGB successor, the FSB, broke into Georgia’s Foreign Ministry and stole gigabytes of officials’ emails over months. According to Bloomberg, Russia’s hacking efforts weren’t limited to espionage but also appeared to include preparing for disruption of Georgian infrastructure like the electric grid and oil companies in the event of an escalating conflict.

    For years, cybersecurity professionals have argued about what constitutes a cyberattack. An intrusion designed to destroy data, cause disruption, or sabotage infrastructure? Yes, that’s a cyberattack. A hacker breach to steal data? No. A hack-and-leak operation or an espionage mission with a disruptive clean-up phase? Probably not, but there’s room for debate. The Jerusalem Post this week, however, achieved perhaps the clearest-cut example of calling something a cyberattack—in a headline no less—that is very clearly not: disinformation on social media. The so-called “Hezbollah cyberattack” that the news outlet reported was a collection of photos of Israeli hospitals posted by “hackers” identifying as Hezbollah supporters that suggested weapons and cash were stored underneath them and that they should be attacked. The posts seemingly came in response to the Israeli Defense Forces’ repeating similar claims about hospitals in Gaza that the IDF has bombed, as well as another more recently in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut.

    “These are NOT CYBERATTACKS,” security researcher Lukasz Olejnik, the author of the books The Philosophy of Cybersecurity and Propaganda, wrote next to a screenshot of the Jerusalem Post headline on X. “Posting images to social media is not hacking. Such a bad take.”

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  • What is Apple Intelligence, when is it coming and who will get it?

    What is Apple Intelligence, when is it coming and who will get it?

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    After months of speculation, Apple Intelligence took center stage at WWDC 2024 in June. The platform was announced in the wake of a torrent of generative AI news from companies like Google and Open AI, causing concern that the famously tight-lipped tech giant had missed the boat on the latest tech craze.

    Contrary to such speculation, however, Apple had a team in place, working on what proved to be a very Apple approach to artificial intelligence. There was still pizzazz amid the demos — Apple always loves to put on a show — but Apple Intelligence is ultimately a very pragmatic take on the category.

    Apple Intelligence (yes, AI for short) isn’t a standalone feature. Rather, it’s about integrating into existing offerings. While it is a branding exercise in a very real sense, the large language model (LLM) driven technology will operate behind the scenes. As far as the consumer is concerned, the technology will mostly present itself in the form of new features for existing apps.

    We learned more during the Apple’s iPhone 16 event, which was held on September 9. During the event, Apple touted a number of AI-powered features coming to their devices, from translation on the Apple Watch Series 10, visual search on iPhones and a number of tweaks to Siri’s capabilities. The first wave of Apple Intelligence is arriving at the end of October, as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1. A second wave of features are available as part of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas.

    The features launched first in U.S. English. Apple has since added Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, South African, and U.K. English localizations.

    Support for Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese will arrive in 2025. Notably, users in both China and the EU may not get any access to Apple Intelligence features, owing to regulatory hurdles.

    What is Apple Intelligence?

    Image Credits:Apple

    Cupertino marketing executives have branded Apple Intelligence: “AI for the rest of us.” The platform is designed to leverage the things that generative AI already does well, like text and image generation, to improve upon existing features. Like other platforms including ChatGPT and Google Gemini, Apple Intelligence was trained on large information models. These systems use deep learning to form connections, whether it be text, images, video or music.

    The text offering, powered by LLM, presents itself as Writing Tools. The feature is available across various Apple apps, including Mail, Messages, Pages and Notifications. It can be used to provide summaries of long text, proofread and even write messages for you, using content and tone prompts.

    Image generation has been integrated as well, in similar fashion — albeit a bit less seamlessly. Users can prompt Apple Intelligence to generate custom emojis (Genmojis) in an Apple house style. Image Playground, meanwhile, is a standalone image generation app that utilizes prompts to create visual content than can be used in Messages, Keynote or shared via social media.

    Apple Intelligence also marks a long-awaited face-lift for Siri. The smart assistant was early to the game, but has mostly been neglected for the past several years. Siri is integrated much more deeply into Apple’s operating systems; for instance, instead of the familiar icon, users will see a glowing light around the edge of their iPhone screen when it’s doing its thing.

    More important, new Siri works across apps. That means, for example, that you can ask Siri to edit a photo and then insert it directly into a text message. It’s a frictionless experience the assistant had previously lacked. Onscreen awareness means Siri uses the context of the content you’re currently engaged with to provide an appropriate answer.

    Who gets Apple Intelligence and when?

    iPhone 15 Pro Max in natural titanium, being held, showing the back of the phone
    Image Credits:Darrell Etherington

    The first wave of Apple Intelligence arrives in October via iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18., and macOS Sequoia 15.1 updates. These include integrated writing tools, image cleanup, article summaries, and a typing input for the redesigned Siri experience.

    Many remaining features will be added with the forthcoming release of of October, as part of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1. A second wave of features are available as part of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2. That list includes, Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, Image Wand, and ChatGPT integration.

    The offering will be free to use, so long as you have one of the following pieces of hardware:

    • All iPhone 16 models
    • iPhone 15 Pro Max (A17 Pro)
    • iPhone 15 Pro (A17 Pro)
    • iPad Pro (M1 and later)
    • iPad Air (M1 and later)
    • iPad mini (A17 or later)
    • MacBook Air (M1 and later)
    • MacBook Pro (M1 and later)
    • iMac (M1 and later)
    • Mac mini (M1 and later)
    • Mac Studio (M1 Max and later)
    • Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)

    Notably, only the Pro versions of the iPhone 15 are getting access, owing to shortcomings on the standard model’s chipset. Presumably, however, the whole iPhone 16 line will be able to run Apple Intelligence when it arrives.

    Private Cloud Compute

    Image Credits:Apple

    Apple has taken a small-model, bespoke approach to training. Rather than relying on the kind of kitchen sink approach that fuels platforms like GPT and Gemini, the company has compiled datasets in-house for specific tasks like, say, composing an email. The biggest benefit of this approach is that many of these tasks become far less resource intensive and can be performed on-device.

    That doesn’t apply to everything, however. More complex queries will utilize the new Private Cloud Compute offering. The company now operates remote servers running on Apple Silicon, which it claims allows it to offer the same level of privacy as its consumer devices. Whether an action is being performed locally or via the cloud will be invisible to the user, unless their device is offline, at which point remote queries will toss up an error.

    Apple Intelligence with third-party apps

    OpenAI and ChatGPT logos
    Image Credits:Didem Mente/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

    A lot was made about Apple’s pending partnership with OpenAI ahead of WWDC. Ultimately, however, it turned out that the deal was less about powering Apple Intelligence and more about offering an alternative platform for those things it’s not really built for. It’s a tacit acknowledgement that building a small-model system has its limitation.

    Apple Intelligence is free. So, too, is access to ChatGPT. However, those with paid accounts to the latter will have access to premium features free users don’t, including unlimited queries.

    ChatGPT integration, which debuts on iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, has two primary roles: supplementing Siri’s knowledge base and adding to the existing Writing Tools options.

     With the service enabled, certain questions will prompt the new Siri to ask the user to approve its accessing ChatGPT. Recipes and travel planning are examples of questions that may surface the option. Users can also directly prompt Siri to “ask ChatGPT.”

    Compose is the other primary ChatGPT feature available through Apple Intelligence. Users can access it in any app that supports the new Writing Tools feature. Compose adds the ability to write content based on a prompt. That joins existing writing tools like Style and Summary.

    We know for sure that Apple plans to partner with additional generative AI services. The company all but said that Google Gemini is next on that list.

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  • Apple iPad mini 7 review: Beefed up and ready for AI

    Apple iPad mini 7 review: Beefed up and ready for AI

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    Look, I’m not even mad.

    Apple’s new iPad mini, now in its seventh generation, looks the same as the last one, and while it brings a number of small upgrades across the board, none of them will knock you off your feet.

    It’s hard to blame Apple for not doing more, though. Even though it launched three years ago, the 6th generation iPad mini was a massive upgrade that brought a completely new design, with a larger display, new Touch ID, and a new camera, among other improvements. The 7th generation iPad mini merely builds on that same design, but brings a new chip, more starting storage, and compatibility with Apple’s (yet unreleased) Apple Intelligence features.

    Apple iPad mini 7 price

    The price for the Apple iPad mini 7 is the same as before, starting at $499 for the Wi-Fi version with 128GB of RAM, and $649 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular variant.

    If you want 256GB of storage, you’ll have to add $100 to the starting price, and if you want to max it out at 512GB of storage, that’ll cost you another $200 compared to the starting price. You can also add the Apple Pencil Pro to the mix for $129, and Apple’s Smart Folio cover will cost you an additional $59.

    Apple iPad mini 7 design

    You’ll need a keen eye to notice the differences between the iPad mini 7 and the previous one, but they do exist. The choice of colors is now Space Gray, Blue, Purple (lighter than before), and Starlight. The Pink variant is no longer available. Apple sent me a Starlight-colored unit, so I can’t say how the new colors look in person. I did get the Smart Folio in Sage, which to my eyes appeared more like lime, and I liked the color a lot.

    An Apple iPad mini 7 sitting on a soft surface.

    The iPad mini 7 I reviewed was in Apple’s old Starlight color, but I really digged the Smart Folio’s Sage color.
    Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

    There’s another minor difference here: The previous version had an “iPad” inscription on the back, whereas the one on the new one says “iPad mini.” Nice if you, like me, are a fan of the iPad mini.

    Other than these details, no one will be able to tell that you have the brand new iPad mini. Sorry.

    Apple iPad mini 7 specs

    The new iPad mini is powered by Apple’s A17 Pro chip (the same one that powers the iPhone 15 Pro), which gives it some gaming-related features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and enables (upcoming) AI features. Starting storage is 128GB, and you can now get the iPad mini with 512GB of storage, which wasn’t available until now. There are also indications that the new iPad mini has 8GB of RAM, which doubles the previous model’s 4GB of RAM.

    Other tidbits include faster USB-C data transfer, Bluetooth 5.3 support, and Wi-FI 6E connectivity — all meaningful upgrades, though most users probably won’t notice much of a difference. The cameras — a 12-megapixel shooter on the back, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera on the front — are mostly the same as before, with the most notable upgrades being Smart HDR 4 support.

    A close up of the iPad mini 7's camera.

    The camera is mostly the same, but Apple Pencil Pro support is new.
    Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

    The big takeaways here are the big RAM increase and 128GB of starting storage, which is a huge upgrade as 64GB (the starting storage on the previous generation) was just cutting it way too close for comfort if you have a couple of games installed.

    The new chip is a big improvement over the previous version’s A15 Bionic, but it’s a pity that the new iPad mini doesn’t have Apple’s latest mobile processor, the A18 Pro which is found in the new iPhone 16 Pro. The company probably decided to cut costs on this one, but it does make the new iPad mini just a little less future-proof.

    I tested my unit with a combination of news apps, Chrome, Books, X, and Blizzard’s Hearthstone. Everything felt sufficiently fast but don’t expect iPad Pro performance; this is still a phone chip running things, and even a fairly simple game such as Hearthstone will push it pretty hard on high settings.

    Apple iPad mini 7 battery life

    I didn’t have the iPad mini 7 long enough to properly test battery life, but Apple rates it the same as before (19.3 Wh battery, up to 10 hours of surfing on Wi-Fi, and up to nine hours of surfing on cellular), and I didn’t notice much of a difference compared to the previous version.

    For a day, I used the iPad mini as a secondary display, next to my 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro, and it did struggle to keep up. But in more typical usage — which for me is light reading and a bit of gaming, mostly at home — battery life was never an issue.

    Apple iPad mini AI support

    Apple made its life incredibly complicated with the belated launch of Apple Intelligence. The company’s most important product, the new iPhone 16, launched without it. As for the iPad mini, it will launch at the same time as iOS 18.1 which brings some AI features, but it wasn’t available at testing time.

    SEE ALSO:

    5 most useful features of iOS 18 public beta — and how to use them

    To complicate matters further, Apple Intelligence isn’t currently available in Europe and China, and it won’t be arriving there until 2025 (the UK is the exception here; Apple says AI is arriving there in December). Being in Europe, I have no access to it (unless I go through a number of convoluted steps to enable it), and it would be unfair to test a new device running beta software.

    This means that all I can say about AI is that this is the first and currently only iPad mini that supports it, and that it is coming soon (in the U.S.). Features will include Writing Tools, which can rewrite, proofread, and summarize your texts, a smarter Siri, Clean Up tool for photos, Genmoji, and integrated ChatGPT, among other features.

    A demonstration of the Apple iPad mini with Pencil Pro.

    When AI launches, the iPad mini will get some cool writing enhancements.
    Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

    Apple iPad mini Pencil Pro support

    The iPad mini 7 supports Apple Pencil Pro, with all the bells and whistles such as hover and squeeze. I don’t have a need for Apple Pencil, and it seems to me that a heavy user would also prefer a larger canvas to draw on, so an iPad Pro would be a better option. Furthermore, the asking price of $129 for the Pencil Pro is a bit steep when compared to the $499 price of the entry-level iPad mini.

    Still, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this feature. I tested the Pencil Pro with the new mini, and it worked as advertised, and it’s nice to have the option to use the company’s best Pencil together with its smallest tablet.

    Is the iPad mini 7 worth getting?

    The back of the Apple iPad mini 7.

    It says “iPad mini” on the back now. Nice.
    Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

    Absolutely.

    If you’re new to the iPad, and you want the most compact one around (or any compact tablet), the new iPad mini 7 is the best choice. If you already rock the iPad mini 5th generation or earlier, it’s also a no brainer; the new one looks better and is a lot more powerful. And if you own the previous, 6th generation iPad mini, it could also be worth upgrading, but if it’s still fast enough for you and you don’t care much about the AI features, you’ll be OK if you sit this one out.



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  • Apple Engineers Show How Flimsy AI ‘Reasoning’ Can Be

    Apple Engineers Show How Flimsy AI ‘Reasoning’ Can Be

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    For a while now, companies like OpenAI and Google have been touting advanced “reasoning” capabilities as the next big step in their latest artificial intelligence models. Now, though, a new study from six Apple engineers shows that the mathematical “reasoning” displayed by advanced large language models can be extremely brittle and unreliable in the face of seemingly trivial changes to common benchmark problems.

    The fragility highlighted in these new results helps support previous research suggesting that LLMs’ use of probabilistic pattern matching is missing the formal understanding of underlying concepts needed for truly reliable mathematical reasoning capabilities. “Current LLMs are not capable of genuine logical reasoning,” the researchers hypothesize based on these results. “Instead, they attempt to replicate the reasoning steps observed in their training data.”

    Mix It Up

    In “GSM-Symbolic: Understanding the Limitations of Mathematical Reasoning in Large Language Models”—currently available as a preprint paper—the six Apple researchers start with GSM8K’s standardized set of more than 8,000 grade-school level mathematical word problems, which is often used as a benchmark for modern LLMs’ complex reasoning capabilities. They then take the novel approach of modifying a portion of that testing set to dynamically replace certain names and numbers with new values—so a question about Sophie getting 31 building blocks for her nephew in GSM8K could become a question about Bill getting 19 building blocks for his brother in the new GSM-Symbolic evaluation.

    This approach helps avoid any potential “data contamination” that can result from the static GSM8K questions being fed directly into an AI model’s training data. At the same time, these incidental changes don’t alter the actual difficulty of the inherent mathematical reasoning at all, meaning models should theoretically perform just as well when tested on GSM-Symbolic as GSM8K.

    Instead, when the researchers tested more than 20 state-of-the-art LLMs on GSM-Symbolic, they found average accuracy reduced across the board compared to GSM8K, with performance drops between 0.3 percent and 9.2 percent, depending on the model. The results also showed high variance across 50 separate runs of GSM-Symbolic with different names and values. Gaps of up to 15 percent accuracy between the best and worst runs were common within a single model and, for some reason, changing the numbers tended to result in worse accuracy than changing the names.

    This kind of variance—both within different GSM-Symbolic runs and compared to GSM8K results—is more than a little surprising since, as the researchers point out, “the overall reasoning steps needed to solve a question remain the same.” The fact that such small changes lead to such variable results suggests to the researchers that these models are not doing any “formal” reasoning but are instead “attempt[ing] to perform a kind of in-distribution pattern-matching, aligning given questions and solution steps with similar ones seen in the training data.”

    Don’t Get Distracted

    Still, the overall variance shown for the GSM-Symbolic tests was often relatively small in the grand scheme of things. OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o, for instance, dropped from 95.2 percent accuracy on GSM8K to a still-impressive 94.9 percent on GSM-Symbolic. That’s a pretty high success rate using either benchmark, regardless of whether or not the model itself is using “formal” reasoning behind the scenes (though total accuracy for many models dropped precipitously when the researchers added just one or two additional logical steps to the problems).

    The tested LLMs fared much worse, though, when the Apple researchers modified the GSM-Symbolic benchmark by adding “seemingly relevant but ultimately inconsequential statements” to the questions. For this “GSM-NoOp” benchmark set (short for “no operation”), a question about how many kiwis someone picks across multiple days might be modified to include the incidental detail that “five of them [the kiwis] were a bit smaller than average.”

    Adding in these red herrings led to what the researchers termed “catastrophic performance drops” in accuracy compared to GSM8K, ranging from 17.5 percent to a whopping 65.7 percent, depending on the model tested. These massive drops in accuracy highlight the inherent limits in using simple “pattern matching” to “convert statements to operations without truly understanding their meaning,” the researchers write.

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  • Apple study reveals major AI flaw in OpenAI, Google, and Meta LLMs

    Apple study reveals major AI flaw in OpenAI, Google, and Meta LLMs

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    Large Language Models (LLMs) may not be as smart as they seem, according to a study from Apple researchers.

    LLMs from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others have been touted for their impressive reasoning skills. But research suggests their purported intelligence may be closer to “sophisticated pattern matching” than “true logical reasoning.” Yep, even OpenAI’s o1 advanced reasoning model.

    The most common benchmark for reasoning skills is a test called GSM8K, but since it’s so popular, there’s a risk of data contamination. That means LLMs might know the answers to the test because they were trained on those answers, not because of their inherent intelligence.

    SEE ALSO:

    OpenAI funding round values company at $157 billion

    To test this, the study developed a new benchmark called GSM-Symbolic which keeps the essence of the reasoning problems, but changes the variables, like names, numbers, complexity, and adding irrelevant information. What they discovered was surprising “fragility” in LLM performance. The study tested over 20 models including OpenAI’s o1 and GPT-4o, Google’s Gemma 2, and Meta’s Llama 3. With every single model, the model’s performance decreased when the variables were changed.

    Accuracy decreased by a few percentage points when names and variables were changed. And as the researchers noted, OpenAI’s models performed better than the other open-source models. However the variance was deemed “non-negligible,” meaning any real variance shouldn’t have occurred. However, things got really interesting when researchers added “seemingly relevant but ultimately inconsequential statements” to the mix.

    Mashable Light Speed

    SEE ALSO:

    Free Apple Intelligence upgrade likely arriving soon, leak suggests

    To test the hypothesis that LLMs relied more on pattern matching than actual reasoning, the study added superfluous phrases to math problems to see how the models would react. For example, “Oliver picks 44 kiwis on Friday. Then he picks 58 kiwis on Saturday. On Sunday, he picks double the number of kiwis he did on Friday, but five of them were a bit smaller than average. How many kiwis does Oliver have?”

    What resulted was a significant drop in performance across the board. OpenAI’s o1 Preview fared the best, with a drop of 17.5 percent accuracy. That’s still pretty bad, but not as bad as Microsoft’s Phi 3 model which performed 65 percent worse.

    SEE ALSO:

    ChatGPT-4, Gemini, MistralAI, and more join forces in this personal AI tool

    In the kiwi example, the study said LLMs tended to subtract the five smaller kiwis from the equation without understanding that kiwi size was irrelevant to the problem. This indicates that “models tend to convert statements to operations without truly understanding their meaning” which validates the researchers’ hypothesis that LLMs look for patterns in reasoning problems, rather than innately understand the concept.

    The study didn’t mince words about its findings. Testing models’ on the benchmark that includes irrelevant information “exposes a critical flaw in LLMs’ ability to genuinely understand mathematical concepts and discern relevant information for problem-solving.” However, it bears mentioning that the authors of this study work for Apple which is obviously a major competitor with Google, Meta, and even OpenAI — although Apple and OpenAI have a partnership, Apple is also working on its own AI models.

    That said, the LLMs’ apparent lack of formal reasoning skills can’t be ignored. Ultimately, it’s a good reminder to temper AI hype with healthy skepticism.

    Topics
    Apple
    Artificial Intelligence



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  • Amazon Prime Day deals still live: Shop 300+ best deals from Apple, Garmin, LG, and more

    Amazon Prime Day deals still live: Shop 300+ best deals from Apple, Garmin, LG, and more

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    Table of Contents

    UPDATE: Oct. 10, 2024, 12:50 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with current deals now that Prime Big Deal Days ended. We’ve also added in the deals our readers loved the most.

    Prime Big Deal Days has come to an end. Live through Wednesday, Oct. 9, Amazon’s members-only “October Prime Day” sale presented shoppers with an opportunity to get an extra-early start on their holiday shopping before the chaos of Black Friday. October Prime Day acts as a sort of unofficial start to Black Friday season, so we’ll likely see Black Friday-esque deals creeping up soon.

    LIVE BLOG: Get the latest news on October Prime Day 2024

    The retail giant was offering “millions of deals” over the course of the 48-hour sale, according to a press release, with new doorbusters arriving “as often as every five minutes” during certain portions of the sale — some totally worth it, some not. The Mashable Shopping team has almost 10 years of experience covering Prime events and knows how to comb through the noise, and kept track of the very best October Prime Day deals throughout the event.

    Now that Prime Big Deal Days is over, the challenge is finding the best deals still live. Fortunately, savvy shoppers can still secure a saving.

    Note: Any deals with a strikeout were either sold out or expired at the time of writing.

    Why people like it

    Out of everything available during Prime Big Deal Days, the item our readers purchased the most was the Apple AirPods Pro 2. And we get it, we love AirPods too. The Pros offer excellent noise cancellation and easy connectivity with iOS devices. In the thick of the event, the AirPods Pro 2 dropped to their lowest price ever. While they’ve ticked back up to $189.99, this is still $10 less than the usual price that hovers around $199. If you’re kicking yourself for missing their low price, now is the time to buy.

    Other deals popular with Mashable readers

    Best Apple deal

    Why we like it

    Read Mashable’s full review of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air (M2).

    “The 13-inch MacBook Air from mid-2022 is a Mashable Choice Award winner that combines “[rock]-solid battery life” with “a keyboard that’s to die for, and enough horsepower to handle everyday tasks with ease,” wrote tech and games reporter Alex Perry. It’s our current favorite ‘budget’ MacBook, and it’s now cheaper than ever before.

    You can snag the base configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $749, or $250 off its $999 MSRP. If it sells out on Amazon, check Best Buy: It was matching the deal at the time of writing.” — Haley Henschel, Senior Shopping Reporter

    AirPods

    AirTags and accessories

    Apple Watches

    • Apple Watch SE, 2nd Gen (40mm, GPS) — $169.99 $249 (save $79.01)

    • Apple Watch SE (40mm, GPS + cellular) — $219.99 $299 (save $79.01)

    • Apple Watch SE (44m, GPS + cellular) — $249.99 $329 (save $79.01)

    • Apple Watch Series 9 (41mm, GPS) — $299 $399 (save $100)

    • Apple Watch Series 9 (45mm, GPS) — $329 $429 (save $100)

    • Apple Watch Series 10 (42mm, GPS) — $380 $399 (save $19)

    • Apple Watch Series 10 (46mm, GPS) — $405.99 $429 (save $23.01)

    • Apple Watch Series 10 (42mm, GPS + cellular) — $470.36 $499 (save $28.64)

    • Apple Watch Series 9 (45mm, GPS + cellular) — $599 $749 (save $150)

    • Apple Watch Ultra 2 (49mm, GPS + Cellular) — $734.89 $799 (save $64.11)

    iPads

    • Apple iPad, 10.2-inch (A13 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $199 $329 (save $130)

    • Apple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $299 $349 (save $50)

    • Apple iPad mini, 8.3-inch (A15 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $349.99 $499 (save $149.01)

    • Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $546 $599 (save $53)

    • Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $749 $799 (save $50)

    • Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $849 $999 (save $150 with on-page coupon)

    • Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,149 $1,299 (save $150 with on-page coupon)

    MacBooks

    • Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $849 $1,099 (save $250)

    • Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $1,044 $1,299 (save $255)

    • Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M3, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,699 $1,999 (save $300)

    • Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M3 Pro, 18GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,799 $1,999 (save $200)

    Best Amazon deal

    Why we like it

    Amazon Music Unlimited provides unrestricted access to millions of songs and thousands of playlists, all without any adverts. Users can stream and download their favorite tracks with unlimited skips and explore a vast selection of podcasts. And Amazon Music Unlimited now offers an exceptional audio experience thanks to HD and spatial audio options.

    That’s a lot of benefits to get for absolutely nothing, but this deal really doesn’t come with a catch.

    More Amazon device deals

    Almost all Amazon devices have returned to their original list pricing, but here’s a glance at what was on sale during Prime Big Deal Days.

    Echo smart speakers

    Echo smart displays

    Kindles

    Fire tablets

    Eero WiFi devices

    Amazon service deals

    Best laptop deal

    For deals on MacBooks, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section. For deals on gaming laptops, scroll down to the “Gaming deals” section.

    Best Windows laptop deal

    Why we like it

    Read Mashable’s full review of the Asus Zenbook Duo (2024).

    “A Mashable Choice Award winner, this unique laptop is ‘a dual-display beauty that can support all of your app-juggling needs,’ wrote Mashable Tech Editor Kim Gedeon. She gave it an excellent 4.8/5 rating, commending its stunning twin OLED screens, ‘decent battery life,’ and solid overall value. (It has a built-in kickstand, and it ships with a free detachable keyboard and stylus.)

    The base configuration with an M2-rivaling Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU is now on sale for $1,264.99, which is a $10 drop from its Prime Day price and a new record low.” — Haley Henschel, Senior Shopping Reporter

    More laptop deals

    Windows laptops

    • Acer Aspire 3 (AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) — $298.15 $329.99 (save $31.84)

    • Asus VivoBook Go (AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $299.99 $389.99 (save $90)

    • Asus Vivobook 16 (Intel Core i5-1235U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $399.99 $549.99 (save $150)

    • Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 (Intel Core i7-13620H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300)

    • LG gram 14 2in1 (Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $759.99 $1,299.99 (save $540)

    • LG gram Pro 16 2-in-1 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,599.99 (save $500)

    • LG gram SuperSlim (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,196.99 $1,799.99 (save $602.01)

    • Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, 13-inch (Snapdragon X Elite, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,699.99 $1,999.99 (save $300)

    • LG gram Pro 17 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $1,996.99 $2,499.99 (save $503 with Prime)

    Chromebooks

    • Asus Chromebook CX1 (Intel Celeron N4500, 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC) — $189.99 $249.99 (save $60)

    • Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook (Intel Celeron N4500, 8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC) — $199.99 $289.99 (save $90)

    • Acer Chromebook 314 (Intel Processor N100, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC) — $199.99 $299.99 (save $100)

    • Acer Chromebook 516 GE (Intel Core i5-1240P, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $509.99 $599.99 (save $90)

    • Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (AMD Ryzen 5 5625C, 8GB RAM, 128GB eMMC) — $549.99 $699.99 (save $150)

    Best headphones deal

    For deals on AirPods, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section.

    Why we like it

    Audiophiles will absolutely love these headphones. Major IV headphones deliver that signature Marshall sound that dedicated followers love. Custom-tuned dynamic drivers deliver roaring bass, smooth mids, and brilliant treble for a rich sound that competing headphones can only dream of providing. Users also get over 80 hours of wireless playtime with quick-charge capability, so they are efficient with that quality sound, as well.

    More headphones deals

    Headphones

    Earbuds

    Best Bluetooth speaker deal

    Why we like it

    “Maybe your Bluetooth speaker kicked the dust this summer after one too many pool parties. If you find yourself in the market for a new one, Prime Day is an especially great time to hit add to cart.

    If you need a speaker for a party, the JBL PartyBox is just that. Despite its large size, the shoulder strap makes it easy to carry. Plus, six hours of battery life keeps it running all night long. Built-in lights and a microphone really keep things turning up all night long.

    This Prime Day, you can find the JBL PartyBox down to $299.95, saving $50 for 14% off.” — Samantha Mangino, Shopping Reporter

    More Bluetooth speaker deals

    Soundbar deals

    Best TV deal

    Why we like it

    “Who says you need to spend a grand to get a nice (and decently sized) 4K TV? With the 35% discount that Amazon slapped on the 55-inch version of its most affordable Fire TV, Prime members could actually get one for two different rooms for way less than $1,000.

    As Amazon’s most basic in-house Fire TV, the 4-Series would be best suited for people who aren’t super picky about saturation or brightness levels as long as it’s a step up from their old LED TV — and this definitely will be. With the intuitive Fire TV platform built-in, the 4-Series can access all of your favorite streaming apps, which you can arrange in whatever layout makes sense to you.” — Leah Stodart, Senior Shopping Reporter

    More TV deals

    50- to 55-inch TVs

    65-inch TVs

    75-inch TVs and up

    • Roku 75-inch Select Series 4K TV — $499.99 $799.99 (save $200)

    • Amazon 75-inch Omni 4K Fire TV — $758.99 $1,049.99 (save $291 with Prime)

    • TCL 75-inch QM7 QLED 4K TV — $998.99 $1,499.99 (save $501)

    • Hisense 75-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $1,341.91 $1,999.99 (save $658.08)

    • LG 77-inch B3 OLED 4K TV — $1,796.99 $2,296.99 (save $500)

    • TCL 85-inch Q65 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,599.99 (save $700)

    • Sony 85-inch X77L 4K TV — $998 $1,498 (save $500)

    • Hisense 85-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $1,797.99 $2,799.99 (save $1,002)

    • Hisense 100-inch QD7 QLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,999.99 (save $1,000)

    Best streaming deal

    Why we like it

    Is the Amazon Fire Stick 4K the best streamer we’ve ever tested? No, Roku takes the cake there. However, it still works perfectly fine, and not to mention, it’s hard to turn away from its delightful $30 price tag on Prime Day. Having tested the Amazon Fire Stick TV, set-up is easy, as simple as plugging it into an HDMI port in the back of your TV.

    While the home screen is a little clunky and slow, full of ads and promotions for Prime Video content, it is a dream for those who primarily stream on the site. The Amazon Fire Stick 4K is down to $24.99, saving you $25 and 50% off.

    More streaming deals

    Best gaming deal

    “The Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini is a high-end gaming keyboard that’s going for under $100 on Prime Big Deal Days (usually $199.99). The low-profile keyboard features wireless support, a lengthy battery life, and some of the best RGB customization in the business. If you’re serious about PC gaming but don’t have a lot of desk space, this gaming keyboard is the way to go, and it’s an absolute steal at the moment.” — Dylan Haas, Lead Shopping Reporter

    More gaming deals

    Gaming consoles

    Gaming laptops

    • Asus TUF Gaming A15 (AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $599 $699.99 (save $100.99)

    • Acer Nitro 16 (AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $799.99 $999.99 (save $200)

    • Asus ROG Strix G17 (AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $949.99 $1,199.99 (save $250)

    • Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (Intel Core i7-13650HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $949.99 $1,149.99 (save $200)

    • Asus ROG Strix G16 (Intel Core i7-13650HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,399.99 (save $300)

    • Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499.99 $1,899.99 (save $400)

    • Dell G16 7630 (Intel Core i9-13900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,299.99 $1,749.99 (save $450)

    Gaming headsets

    Gaming keyboards and keypads

    Gaming mice

    Gaming monitors

    Best board game deal

    Why we like it

    “Catan is a classic strategy game that’s perfect for families and game nights. And, at almost 50% off — down to just $32.99 — it’s a steal. (You can get the five-to-six-player extension for $27.21). In this game, you’ll need to collect resources, settle the land, and trade with other players to build the biggest settlements. If you like any of the digital empire-building games, Catan is a great tabletop version that requires tight strategy, some luck, and a good dose of diplomacy to win.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More board game deals

    Best drone deal

    Why we like it

    “If you’re really into drones, the name Holy Stone should be on your radar. This brand is known for making high-end drones that are feature-packed and, at times, super affordable.

    The HS175D RC Quadcopter is currently $169.999 at Amazon, which is [$100 off its true MSRP on the Holy Stone website. (Amazon’s list price is deflated.)] It’s a solid mid-range drone option that shoots 4K videos, has a 46-minute flight time, and a special flight mode where you can direct its movement — whether you want it to follow you or fly along a specific path.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More drone deals

    Best robot vacuum deal

    Why we like it

    “Ecovacs wasn’t lying when it came up with the term ‘all-in-one cleaning hub’ here, considering that this robot vacuum not only empties itself and washes and dries its own mopping pads, but also has another sweet feature tacked onto the dock: a handheld cordless vacuum. If your main hesitation with robot vacuums was that they can’t scale a staircase, sweep under couch cushions, or detail corners up to your standards, this is the one robot vacuum purchase that can — now for well under $1,000.” — Leah Stodart, Senior Shopping Reporter

    More robot vacuum deals

    Robot vacuums that don’t mop

    Robot vacuums that do mop

    More vacuum deals

    More home deals

    Best Dyson vacuum deal

    Why we like it

    “The Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum (silver/nickel) is lightweight and powerful and can handle most daily cleaning tasks. It has a detachable wand for cleaning stairs, upholstery, and hard-to-reach areas, and it converts to a handheld vac for quick cleanups. It comes with four accessories, including a hair screw tool for pet hair.

    With a runtime of up to 40 minutes on a single charge, this little vac is ideal for small apartments and quick cleanups.

    You can get it at Amazon for just $299.99 in a Big Prime Deal (originally $469.99). It’s out of stock at Dyson.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More Dyson vacuum deals

    More Dyson deals

    Best fitness tracker deal

    For deals on Apple Watches, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section.

    Why we like it

    “Ideal for smaller wrists, the Garmin Venu 3S is about .2 inches smaller in diameter and .3 oz lighter than the standard Venu 3. It still offers the same advanced features, like a built-in speaker and microphone to take calls, the ability to store music, and an abundance of health and fitness tools and insights. The only real difference besides the size is that the 3S has a slightly shorter battery life (about 10 days in smartwatch mode versus the 3’s 14 days), but it still blows the Apple Watch battery out of the water. It’s usually $449.99, but you can save $55 during the October Prime event and get it for only $395. That’s a new all-time low.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More fitness tracker deals

    Garmin deals

    Google Pixel and Fitbit deals

    Samsung Galaxy Watch deals

    Smart ring deals

    Best kitchen deal

    Why we picked this

    A great espresso machine can make a world of difference when it comes to actually enjoying your morning. Breville is known for their pricier machines, which makes this deal on the Barista Touch a nice Prime Day surprise — and it’s at its lowest price ever at Amazon. With a single touch, brew up your coffee house order right on your own countertop. Choose between Americano, flat white, cappuccino, latte, and more with this super convenient machine that includes a built-in conical burr grinder.

    More kitchen deals

    Air fryers

    Blenders

    Coffee makers

    Espresso machines

    Multicookers

    Stand mixers

    Mashable Deals

    Miscellaneous kitchen deals

    Best Beauty deal

    Why we like it

    Mashable’s Bethany Allard has spent a lot of time with the Dyson Supersonic, assessing its performance and value. While Allard commends the hair dryer for its lightweight design, quick drying, and user-friendliness, its downfall comes with its $429.99 price tag.

    During Prime Big Deal Days, the Dyson Supersonic was listed for $329.99, $100 off the usual price. Included with the hair dryer are several magnetic attachments including a diffuser, styling concentrator, flyaway attachment, gentle air attachment, and a wide tooth comb attachment. Unfortunately, this deal is no longer available at Amazon or alternative retailers, but Walmart has refurbished models for $239.99.

    More beauty deals

    Skincare

    Lip care

    Body care

    Hair care

    Make-up

    Best book deal

    Why we like it

    “Even if self-help isn’t your usual genre, James Clear’s Atomic Habits deserves a spot on your bookshelf. This is one of the best nonfiction titles to come out within the past few years, and it’s currently 65% off in hardcover [thanks to a coupon on its product page].

    This book is all about teaching yourself to build good habits, break bad ones, and generally become more focused, productive, and successful in your daily life. And at just $9.33 for the hardcover, it’s a steal.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More book deals

    Kindle book deals

    Best home security deal

    Why we like it

    “If you only need a single security camera, the TP-Link Tapo MagCam is a reliable choice. While we haven’t had the chance to test it out, our friends at PCMag (owned by Mashable’s publisher, Ziff Davis) have done the honor and awarded it a 4.5 outstanding rating. ‘It’s an excellent value for a battery-powered camera that offers color night vision, built-in spotlights, local and cloud storage options, free intelligent alerts, voice control, and many other features,’ the review states, all of which earned the camera an Editors’ Choice award. The TP-Link Tapo MagCam security camera usually sells for $119.99, but during Prime Big Deal Days, the camera is down to an all-time low of $59.99, according to Amazon price history. Just be sure to select the on-page coupon before adding it to your cart.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More home security deals

    Video doorbell deals

    Single security camera deals

    Home security bundle deals

    Best printer deal

    Why we like it

    The HP Envy 6055e wireless color inkjet printer can print quickly, going through five pages a minute in color, and eight and a half pages in black and white. It also comes with three months’ worth of ink through HP+. You just have to activate your subscription to get it — it’s pretty easy to do through the app. This compact printer is ideal for at-home printing or dorm room use.

    More printer deals

    3D printer deals

    Best Samsung Galaxy deal

    Why we like it

    “Samsung’s Galaxy A35 is a ‘strong buy for the price,’ as our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) said in their review. The budget-friendly Galaxy phone was released as a more affordable alternative to the Galaxy S24. As a budget phone, it doesn’t offer the same speed and performance as the S24, but it also doesn’t cost over $1,000. It packs a gorgeous 6.6-inch display, Samsung’s Exynos 1380 processor, a 50 MP wide-angle camera with optical image stabilization, and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery that supports fast charging. It’s not the most impressive phone on the market, but on sale for [under $300], it’s a pretty hard deal to beat.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More Samsung Galaxy deals

    Galaxy Buds deals

    Galaxy phone deals

    Galaxy Tab deals

    Galaxy Watch deals

    Best keyboard deals

    Why we like it

    “For under $90, you’re getting a hot-swappable keyboard with a 96% layout, a knob, a small display, and a Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and USB-C connection. In other words, this Royal Kludge keyboard is a great affordable mechanical keyboard, whether you’re into gaming or just want something cute for your desk. There are also four different keycap colorways available, but the coupon amount may vary depending on which you choose.” — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

    More keyboard deals

    Best deals under $50

    Note: This section may have repeat deals from the above list.

    Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Wireless Over Ear Bluetooth Headphones, 40H Playtime, Hi-Res Audio, Deep Bass, Memory Foam Ear Cups, for Travel, Home Office

    Why we like it

    “Noise-cancelling headphones can easily cost a couple hundred bucks, even on sale. When I tested noise-cancelling headphones to determine which were the best for travel, I found that the Anker Soundcore Life Q20 headphones already offered a pretty good value, even at their full price of $59.99 (and frequently discounted price of $49.99).

    At nearly $40 flat, these are a steal. I was able to wear them comfortably for long periods of time, and get plenty of battery life off a single charge. Their ANC can hiss a little, but it also does a pretty good job of blocking out atmospheric sounds, and for $40, you really can’t complain.” — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

    More deals under $50

    Best deals under $25

    Note: This section may have repeat deals from the above list.

    Why we like it

    “Have you ever heard the crash of a YETI Rambler as it connects with concrete as you drive down the street, blissfully unaware you left it on top of your car? I assure you, it’s very loud. So loud, in fact, I expected my water bottle to be too damaged to use — I know a HydroFlask wouldn’t have survived that fall. But when I circled back to collect my YETI from the middle of the road, the bottle had one small scratch, and one small dent, and two years later, is still perfectly usable. What I’m saying is, if you want a water bottle that’s built to last, a YETI Rambler is a pretty good bet.” — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

    More of the best deals under $25

    Best deals under $10

    Why we like it

    If you’re looking to start building out a smart home, a cheap smart bulb is a good way to test out the waters. Though you can use it with Amazon Echo devices and other smart home hubs and speakers, you don’t need to have one to use this sub-$7 bulb. Just use the Alexa app on your phone, and you can use voice control to turn your lights on and off, change the color of your lighting, and more.

    More deals under $10

    Tech

    Household essentials

    Beauty



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  • Amazon Prime Day: Shop the 300+ of the best deals from Amazon, Apple, Garmin, LG, and more

    Amazon Prime Day: Shop the 300+ of the best deals from Amazon, Apple, Garmin, LG, and more

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    Table of Contents

    UPDATE: Oct. 8, 2024, 7:25 p.m. EDT This story has been updated with the latest Prime Big Deal Days deals.

    LIVE BLOG: Get the latest news on October Prime Day 2024

    Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale is back. Live now through Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 11:59 p.m. PT, this members-only “October Prime Day” event presents shoppers with an opportunity to get an extra-early start on their holiday shopping before the chaos of Black Friday. (Head to our live blog to read all the latest live coverage of the event.)

    The retail giant plans to offer “millions of deals” over the course of the 48-hour sale, according to a press release, with new doorbusters arriving “as often as every five minutes” during certain portions of the sale — some totally worth it, some not. The Mashable Shopping team has years of experience covering Prime events and knows how to comb through the noise, and we’ll be keeping track of the very best October Prime Day deals right here.

    Prime Day deals you can shop right now

    Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

    PROMOTED

    Canon Pixma TR8620 Wireless Home Office All-In-One Inkjet Printer

    Peloton Bike+

    robot vacuum

    Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission or other compensation.

    What are the best October Prime Day deals?

    Unsurprisingly, Amazon has reserved a lot of really good deals for itself: Select devices across its Echo, Fire, Kindle, Blink, and eero brands are on sale for up to 58% off on Prime Big Deal Days, including dirt-cheap Fire tablets and Echo smart speakers that come with free smart bulbs. Prime members can snag four free months of Amazon Music Unlimited, three free months of Kindle Unlimited, and a $10 discount on one GrubHub order of $15 or more; don’t forget to use the coupon code PRIME10 at checkout.

    Beyond that, we’ve seen a slew of TVs, laptops, tablets, headphones, and fitness trackers on sale on Amazon. Of note, that includes new all-time lows across the Apple lineup: Several MacBooks, the latest iPads, and the all-new AirPods Max with USB-C have never been cheaper on Amazon before today. Extra-deep discounts on robot vacuums are also making appearances, to the tune of up to $850 off.

    Scroll down to check out our massive running list of the best deals in each category.

    When does Prime Big Deal Days end?

    Prime Big Deal Days is live through Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 11:59 p.m. PT (aka Oct. 10 at 2:59 a.m. ET). That said, some deals — definitely not all of them — may stick around for longer.

    Here’s what was live at the time of writing:

    Best Apple deal

    Why we like it

    Read Mashable’s full review of the 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M3).

    “The latest 14-inch MacBook Pro features an M3 chip that supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing for rendering lifelike lighting, plus a bright 120Hz mini-LED display, tons of ports (including an SDXC card slot), and a battery that lasted over 16 hours per charge in our testing. It’s another Mashable Choice Award winner.

    All configurations of the 14-inch M3 Pro are now on sale at all-time lows on Amazon (including the base model, which is now just $1,299). However, we’re partial to the bumped-up version with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage: that extra RAM is necessary if you’re going to be using it for multitasking and/or creative work. Normally $1,999, it’s now just $1,699 — a 15% savings. Note that it’s technically $100 cheaper at Best Buy, but only for paid members of its My Best Buy program.” — Haley Henschel, Senior Shopping Reporter

    More Apple deals

    AirPods

    AirTags and accessories

    Apple Watches

    iPads

    • Apple iPad, 10.2-inch (A13 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $199 $329 (save $130)

    • Apple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $299 $349 (save $50)

    • Apple iPad mini, 8.3-inch (A15 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $349.99 $499 (save $149.01)

    • Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $546 $599 (save $53)

    • Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $749 $799 (save $50)

    • Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $849 $999 (save $150 with on-page coupon)

    • Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,149 $1,299 (save $150 with on-page coupon)

    MacBooks

    Best Amazon device deal

    Why we like it

    “The new Fire HD 8 has the same display, processor, 13-hour battery life, and storage options as the older model, but Amazon’s added a gig of extra RAM for “enhanced performance while streaming, gaming, browsing, or downloading photos and videos.” (Don’t expect it to be super powerful, but more memory never anyone.) Its rear camera has also gotten a bump from 2MP to 5MP, which should translate to slightly better shots. On the software side, its newly added generative AI features include Writing Assist, Webpage Summaries, and a Wallpaper Creator.

    No need to upgrade if you already own the previous model, but those in need of a new portable, affordable tablet should consider short-listing this guy. The 32GB base model is on sale for $54.99 through Oct. 9 (the second half of Prime Big Deal Days), which works out to a 45% savings.” — Haley Henschel, Senior Shopping Reporter

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    Echo smart displays

    Kindles

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    Amazon service deals

    Best laptop deal

    For deals on MacBooks, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section.

    Why we like it

    “Portability and versatility are the names of the game for this 14-inch hybrid laptop, which weighs about the same as a 13-inch M3 MacBook Air. This particular configuration packs a newer Intel Core Ultra 5 155H processor with 16GB of memory, which are solid specs for multitasking. It also comes with a compatible LG Stylus Pen for drawing and taking notes on its IPS touchscreen.

    Amazon currently has it priced at $759.99 for Prime members, which is a whopping 42% off its $1,299.99 MSRP and its lowest price to date. For comparison’s sake, it was listed for $799.99 on the LG website when we last checked.” — Haley Henschel, Senior Shopping Reporter

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    Best headphones deal

    For deals on AirPods, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section.

    Why we like it

    Read Mashable’s full review of the Amazon Echo Buds with Active Noise Cancellation.

    Simply put, you really don’t see earbuds with halfway decent active noise cancellation below $50, much less below $40. In my testing of budget noise-cancelling headphones, I found that the Anker Soundcore Life P3i earbuds fared well with noise-cancelling and audio quality for around $50. I opted for them instead of the Echo Buds because of the price discrepancy, but with the Echo Buds at a whopping 71% off, it’d be hard to recommend another pair of earbuds if you’re looking for the cheapest way to get the best ANC possible.

    You’ll deal with some quirks like Amazon wanting you to lean heavy into using Alexa, and a battery life that’s nothing to write home about, for $35 you could do a lot worse. — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

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    Headphones

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    Best Bluetooth speaker deal

    Why we like it

    “Maybe your Bluetooth speaker kicked the dust this summer after one too many pool parties. If you find yourself in the market for a new one, Prime Day is an especially great time to hit add to cart.

    If you need a speaker for a party, the JBL PartyBox is just that. Despite its large size, the shoulder strap makes it easy to carry. Plus, six hours of battery life keeps it running all night long. Built-in lights and a microphone really keep things turning up all night long.

    This Prime Day, you can find the JBL PartyBox down to $299.95, saving $50 for 14% off.” — Samantha Mangino, Shopping Reporter

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    Best TV deal

    Why we like it

    “Who says you need to spend a grand to get a nice (and decently sized) 4K TV? With the 35% discount that Amazon slapped on the 55-inch version of its most affordable Fire TV, Prime members could actually get one for two different rooms for way less than $1,000.

    As Amazon’s most basic in-house Fire TV, the 4-Series would be best suited for people who aren’t super picky about saturation or brightness levels as long as it’s a step up from their old LED TV — and this definitely will be. With the intuitive Fire TV platform built-in, the 4-Series can access all of your favorite streaming apps, which you can arrange in whatever layout makes sense to you.” — Leah Stodart, Senior Shopping Reporter

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    50- to 55-inch TVs

    65-inch TVs

    75-inch TVs and up

    • Roku 75-inch Select Series 4K TV — $499.99 $799.99 (save $200)

    • Amazon 75-inch Omni 4K Fire TV — $758.99 $1,049.99 (save $291 with Prime)

    • TCL 75-inch QM7 QLED 4K TV — $998.99 $1,499.99 (save $501)

    • Hisense 75-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $1,341.91 $1,999.99 (save $658.08)

    • LG 77-inch B3 OLED 4K TV — $1,796.99 $2,296.99 (save $500)

    • TCL 85-inch Q65 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,599.99 (save $700)

    • Sony 85-inch X77L 4K TV — $998 $1,498 (save $500)

    • Hisense 85-inch U8 Mini LED ULED 4K TV — $1,797.99 $2,799.99 (save $1,002)

    • Hisense 100-inch QD7 QLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,999.99 (save $1,000)

    Best streaming deal

    Why we like it

    Is the Amazon Fire Stick 4K the best streamer we’ve ever tested? No, Roku takes the cake there. However, it still works perfectly fine, and not to mention, it’s hard to turn away from its delightful $30 price tag on Prime Day. Having tested the Amazon Fire Stick TV, set-up is easy, as simple as plugging it into an HDMI port in the back of your TV.

    While the home screen is a little clunky and slow, full of ads and promotions for Prime Video content, it is a dream for those who primarily stream on the site. The Amazon Fire Stick 4K is down to $24.99, saving you $25 and 50% off.

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    Best gaming deal

    “The Razer BlackWidow V3 Mini is a high-end gaming keyboard that’s going for under $100 on Prime Big Deal Days (usually $199.99). The low-profile keyboard features wireless support, a lengthy battery life, and some of the best RGB customization in the business. If you’re serious about PC gaming but don’t have a lot of desk space, this gaming keyboard is the way to go, and it’s an absolute steal at the moment.” — Dylan Haas, Lead Shopping Reporter

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    Gaming consoles

    Gaming laptops

    • HP Victus 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i5-12450H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $579.99 $699.99 (save $120)

    • Asus TUF Gaming A15 (AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $599 $699.99 (save $100.99)

    • Acer Nitro 16 (AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $799.99 $999.99 (save $200)

    • Asus ROG Strix G17 (AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $949.99 $1,199.99 (save $250)

    • Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (Intel Core i7-13650HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $949.99 $1,149.99 (save $200)

    • Asus ROG Strix G16 (Intel Core i7-13650HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,399.99 (save $300)

    • Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499.99 $1,899.99 (save $400)

    • Dell G16 7630 (Intel Core i9-13900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,299.99 $1,749.99 (save $450)

    Gaming headsets

    Gaming keyboards and keypads

    Gaming mice

    Gaming monitors

    Best board game deal

    Why we like it

    “Catan is a classic strategy game that’s perfect for families and game nights. And, at 50% off — down to just $29.99 — it’s a steal. (You can get the five-to-six-player extension for $24.49). In this game, you’ll need to collect resources, settle the land, and trade with other players to build the biggest settlements. If you like any of the digital empire-building games, Catan is a great tabletop version that requires tight strategy, some luck, and a good dose of diplomacy to win.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

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    Best drone deal

    Why we like it

    “If you’re really into drones, the name Holy Stone should be on your radar. This brand is known for making high-end drones that are feature-packed and, at times, super affordable.

    The HS175D RC Quadcopter is currently $135.99 at Amazon, which is [$134 off its true MSRP on the Holy Stone website. (Amazon’s list price is deflated.)] It’s a solid mid-range drone option that shoots 4K videos, has a 46-minute flight time, and a special flight mode where you can direct its movement — whether you want it to follow you or fly along a specific path.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

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    Best robot vacuum deal

    Why we like it

    “Ecovacs wasn’t lying when it came up with the term ‘all-in-one cleaning hub’ here, considering that this robot vacuum not only empties itself and washes and dries its own mopping pads, but also has another sweet feature tacked onto the dock: a handheld cordless vacuum. If your main hesitation with robot vacuums was that they can’t scale a staircase, sweep under couch cushions, or detail corners up to your standards, this is the one robot vacuum purchase that can — now for well under $1,000.” — Leah Stodart, Senior Shopping Reporter

    More robot vacuum deals

    Robot vacuums that don’t mop

    Robot vacuums that do mop

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    Best Dyson vacuum deal

    Why we like it

    “The Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum (silver/nickel) is lightweight and powerful and can handle most daily cleaning tasks. It has a detachable wand for cleaning stairs, upholstery, and hard-to-reach areas, and it converts to a handheld vac for quick cleanups. It comes with four accessories, including a hair screw tool for pet hair.

    With a runtime of up to 40 minutes on a single charge, this little vac is ideal for small apartments and quick cleanups.

    You can get it at Amazon for a whopping 299.99 in a Big Prime Deal (originally $469.99). It’s out of stock at Dyson.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

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    Best fitness tracker deal

    For deals on Apple Watches, scroll back up to the “Apple deals” section.

    Why we like it

    “Ideal for smaller wrists, the Garmin Venu 3S is about .2 inches smaller in diameter and .3 oz lighter than the standard Venu 3. It still offers the same advanced features, like a built-in speaker and microphone to take calls, the ability to store music, and an abundance of health and fitness tools and insights. The only real difference besides the size is that the 3S has a slightly shorter battery life (about 10 days in smartwatch mode versus the 3’s 14 days), but it still blows the Apple Watch battery out of the water. It’s usually $449.99, but you can save $55 during the October Prime event and get it for only $395. That’s a new all-time low.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    Mashable Deals

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    Google Pixel and Fitbit deals

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    Best kitchen deal

    Why we picked this

    “Espresso machines can easily run you near $1,000, and though Breville is known for their pricier machines, this Duo Temp Pro deal sits squarely in the middle of the budget range for most consumer espresso machines. You’ll get the low-pressure pre-infusion designed to help you achieve even extraction, a milk frother, and a machine that heats up quickly. If you’re not a huge coffee drinker or prefer as minimal effort as possible, one of the under $200 options or a Nespresso might work better for you. However, if you’re looking to level up your espresso game but don’t want to pay $500-plus, then the Duo Temp Pro is a solid pick.

    According to the price tracker camelcamelcamel, this machine has dropped lower in price only one time before for a record low of $279.99.” — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping reporter

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    Air fryers

    Blenders

    Coffee makers

    Espresso machines

    Multicookers

    Stand mixers

    Miscellaneous kitchen deals

    Best book deal

    Why we like it

    “Even if self-help isn’t your usual genre, James Clear’s Atomic Habits deserves a spot on your bookshelf. This is one of the best nonfiction titles to come out within the past few years, and it’s currently 49% off in hardcover.

    This book is all about teaching yourself to build good habits, break bad ones, and generally become more focused, productive, and successful in your daily life. And at just $13.79 for the hardcover, it’s a steal.” — Tabitha Britt, Mashable Shopping Contributor

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    Best home security deal

    Why we like it

    “If you could put a price tag on peace of mind, it’d be pretty close to this Blink Whole Home Bundle deal. It includes the Blink Outdoor 4, Mini 2, Video Doorbell, and Sync Module 2, all for just $89.97. That’s 55% off the retail value and the lowest price we’ve seen on this particular bundle. The Blink Mini 2 can take care of the inside of your home, day or night, while the Outdoor 4 can keep an eye on things outside. Paired with the Blink app, the video doorbell can show you who shows up at your door (even at night). And the Sync Module 2 will let you keep track of all the action in one place (and store your clips locally). It’s one of the most affordable ways to keep an eye on every part of your home.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More home security deals

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    Home security bundle deals

    Best printer deal

    Why we like it

    The HP ENVY 6055e wireless color inkjet printer can print quickly, going through five pages a minute in color, and eight and a half pages in black and white. It also comes with three months’ worth of ink through HP+. You just have to activate your subscription to get it — it’s pretty easy to do through the app. This compact printer is ideal for at-home printing or dorm room use.

    More printer deals

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    Best Samsung Galaxy deal

    Why we like it

    “Samsung’s Galaxy A35 is a ‘strong buy for the price,’ as our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) said in their review. The budget-friendly Galaxy phone was released as a more affordable alternative to the Galaxy S24. As a budget phone, it doesn’t offer the same speed and performance as the S24, but it also doesn’t cost over $1,000. It packs a gorgeous 6.6-inch display, Samsung’s Exynos 1380 processor, a 50 MP wide-angle camera with optical image stabilization, and a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery that supports fast charging. It’s not the most impressive phone on the market, but on sale for [under $300], it’s a pretty hard deal to beat.” — Christina Buff, Mashable Shopping Contributor

    More Samsung Galaxy deals

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    Best keyboard deals

    Why we like it

    “For under $90, you’re getting a hot-swappable keyboard with a 96% layout, a knob, a small display, and a Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and USB-C connection. In other words, this Royal Kludge keyboard is a great affordable mechanical keyboard, whether you’re into gaming or just want something cute for your desk. There are also four different keycap colorways available, but the coupon amount may vary depending on which you choose.” — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

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  • 15 Best Prime Day Apple Deals on MacBooks, iPads, More (2024)

    15 Best Prime Day Apple Deals on MacBooks, iPads, More (2024)

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    On its own, Apple isn’t a fan of discounts. Thankfully, you can rely on third-party retailers to hold sales on all of its devices. That’s where Amazon comes in. Amazon’s Prime Day sale runs October 8 to 9, and you’ll find a variety of Prime Day Apple deals on MacBooks, AirPods, iPads, and more.

    We don’t recommend anything we haven’t tested, and we test year-round. Want to read the full reviews? Check out our guides to the Best MacBooks, Best AirPods, Best iPads, and Best Apple Watches. You have to be a Prime member to access the deals during the sale, which is technically called Big Deals Days, but you can get a free trial, and Prime offers a lot of fun perks. Below, we’ve gathered all of the best discounts on our top-rated devices.

    WIRED Featured Deals

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

    MacBook Deals

    2023 Apple MacBook Pro M3

    Photograph: Apple

    According to rumors, M4-powered MacBooks could be launching as soon as this month. But the MacBook Pro with M3 launched just a year ago—so it’s still a great choice. It packs a bright display with a mini LED panel and a 120-Hz refresh rate, along with a 1080p webcam. It comes with plenty of ports too, including two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI, a MagSafe charging port, a high-impedance headphone jack, and an SD card slot. We recommend it if you’re looking for a MacBook Pro without spending $2,000 or more.

    The M3-powered MacBook Air (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t all that different from the M2 model, but it’s a great option—especially if you want a reliable laptop for everyday tasks and slightly more. It has a 13.6-inch LCD screen and a notch with a 1080p webcam, while the M3 also provides a nice boost in performance compared to the original M1. You can also use it with two external displays, which is an upgrade from the single external display support with the older chips.

    Slim silver laptop open on a wooden surface with a countryside as the screen background

    Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

    The 15-inch MacBook Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great choice if you want a larger screen, but don’t want to spend money on a MacBook Pro. It packs all the same features 13-inch MacBook Air, including a modern build and a 1080 webcam, along with an M3 chip. The base model comes equipped with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU which handles tasks with ease. We recommend upgrading to at least 16 GB of unified memory to ensure that it can smoothly handle dozens of apps and tabs running at the same time.

    If you’re looking for an external display to pair with your MacBook, the Studio Display (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great choice. It has a large 27-inch screen that’s great for showcasing multiple apps simultaneously, and the sharp screen delivers accurate colors. There’s also a 12-megapixel camera, along with built-in mics and speakers, making it ideal for video calls. It doesn’t have HDR—so colors look slightly more saturated and contrasty to the neutral tones you’ll find on Apple’s Pro Display XDR—but the 5K resolution is stunningly sharp.

    iPad Deals

    2 tablets sidebyside with abstract designs on each screen

    Photograph: Apple

    This is Apple’s latest iPad Pro tablet (6/10, WIRED Review). It comes with the largest number of upgrades in a while, including a bigger and brighter display, an upgraded OLED screen, and a front-facing camera that’s been moved to landscape mode. It’s also powered by the M4 chip (which launched in May), which delivers smooth and snappy performance. It’s not all that different than the M2-powered tablet, so if you don’t need the latest version, we still highly recommend its predecessor if it’s also on sale.

    This is the latest iPad Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which came out back in May. It comes in two sizes: 11 inches and 13 inches. The latter is not only bigger but also brighter, making it excellent to use as a secondary display for work or to watch TV. It also comes equipped with an M2 processor (the same one that powers the 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro from 2022), that delivers smooth performance. Apple moved the front-facing 12-megapixel camera to landscape orientation, so it’s less awkward to use on video calls. It has a USB-C port, slim bezels, and Touch ID built into the top power button.

    5 stacked tablets spread out like cards with the top one screenside up and the other 4 facedown in a variety of colors

    Photograph: Apple; Getty Images

    The iPad (10th-gen) (7/10, WIRED Review) is our top pick for most people. It comes with a large 10.9-inch Liquid Retina (IPS LCD) display, a touch-ID sensor integrated into the power button, a USB-C port instead of Lightning, and a 12-megapixel rear camera (an upgrade from the 8-megapixels). The 12-MP selfie camera has been moved to the center of the iPad. It’s powered by an A14 Bionic chip, which delivers slightly faster performance and a bump in graphics over its predecessor.

    We no longer think the ninth-generation iPad (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best for most people (mainly because it’s three years old and packs an older, A13 Bionic chip). But it’s still a solid option if want a budget tablet. It’s affordable and comes with a ton of great features like 64 GB of storage on the base model, a 12-megapixel rear camera (with support for Center Stage), a physical Touch ID-enabled home button, and a True Tone display. It’s also compatible with various accessories including the first-generation Apple Pencil and Apple’s Smart Keyboard.

    iPad Mini

    iPad MiniPhotograph: Apple

    Apple is expected to announce a new iPad Mini in November or early next year, so I recommend waiting on this one if you can. But if you can’t, this is still a great tablet. The 8.3-inch display is great for sketching, notetaking, reading ebooks, and watching movies. It also has Touch ID built into the power button, a front-facing camera with Center Stage, and an A15 Bionic processor (as seen on the iPhone 13) that can handle taxing apps or games.

    This is the latest and more feature-packed Apple Pencil. It comes with a “squeeze” capability that triggers the tool palette (but you can still use double-tap), a haptic engine inside that delivers feedback when you squeeze the stylus, and a built-in gyroscope sensor that allows you to change the orientation of the tools as you twist it for finer control. It also comes with support for Apple’s Find My Network in case you lose it. However, it only works with the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Pro (M4).

    The second-generation Apple Pencil is a step below the newer Apple Pencil Pro. It comes with tilt sensitivity, pressure sensitivity, handwriting support, and a double-tap feature that lets you switch quickly between tools by tapping the stylus twice. It also has support for wireless pairing and wireless charging—which means it automatically charges magnetically when attached to the top edge of supported iPads. As for compatibility, it works with the iPad Mini (6th Gen), iPad Air (4th Gen and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st Gen and later), and the 12.9-inch (3rd Gen and later).

    AirPods Deals

    White earbuds floating above a white opened ovalshaped case. Decorative background red pink and blue smoke clouds.

    Photograph: Apple; Getty Images

    In addition to above-average sound quality—with crisp highs, authoritative bass, and excellent noise cancellation—the AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) come with a ton of useful features. There’s Conversation Awareness, which lowers your music and background noise when it detects you’re having a conversation, along with Adaptive Transparency mode that combines noise cancellation and transparency to adjust audio. Thanks to the U1 chip, they also have support for the Find My app in case you lose the buds.

    Apple’s AirPods Max (8/10, WIRED Recommends) deliver rich bass, fantastic noise cancellation, and a massive soundstage. They have great build quality too, with soft fabric earcups (that are replaceable) and a springy mesh headband. They integrate with iOS devices seamlessly, with the ability to automatically switch back and forth between iOS devices. Last month, Apple launched a USB-C version. They’re identical to the Lightning version aside from the charging port. Those are also on sale in select colors.

    Apple Watch Deals

    Black and gold smartwatches with large digital screens

    Apple Watch Series 10

    Photograph: Apple

    The Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has been out for only a month, but it’s already on sale. It’s our top pick of all the Apple Watches. It’s thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and it has fast charging and support for watchOS 11, so you’ll have access to features like Vitals (to check whether you’re off your baseline each morning) and Training Load (where you can see how your workouts impact your fitness). The standout feature, however, is Breathing Disturbances, which utilizes the built-in accelerometer to notify you if you have sleep apnea.

    The Ultra 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite smartwatch for outdoor sports. It has onboard precision dual-frequency GPS, offline maps (you’ll have to download them to your iPhone though), and the ability to see your cycling session as a Live Activity on your iPhone. It also has an Action button, which you can use to start Backtrack (Apple’s navigation feature that creates virtual breadcrumb trails on the Compass app that you can follow back home). It’s powered by the S9 chip for performance, along with an ultra-wideband chip with enhanced precision finding.

    Apple Accessory Deals

    Black stand with 2 extending arms to hold devices

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    If you already work on a MacBook and have an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, then you probably need a tidy 3-in-1 charger for your desk or nightstand. This is our favorite one, and it can charge your iPhone at the fastest speed that Apple allows and also fast-charge your Watch Series 7 or newer. Look for a charger with Qi2 certification, which allows for faster, more efficient magnetic charging.—Adrienne So

    This is the best charger if you have other MagSafe accessories that you want to store, like a wallet or tripod (it will not charge your power bank). It’s also relatively compact, and Spigen’s accessories are reliable.—Adrienne So

    This is the best 3-in-1 charger for traveling, since it folds up very compactly and allows you to fast-charge your Qi2-certified iPhone. You have to fold out the Apple Watch charger.—Adrienne So

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  • The Best Tested Apple 3-in-1 Wireless Chargers (2024)

    The Best Tested Apple 3-in-1 Wireless Chargers (2024)

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    If you have an iPhone, AirPods, and an Apple Watch, congrats! You have the holy trinity of Apple products. But keeping all these gadgets powered up can be annoying, since they all have individual cables and proprietary charging solutions. Why deal with all that hassle when a single 3-in-1 wireless charger can accommodate everything?

    A Quick Primer on MagSafe

    Most of the wireless chargers in this guide are MagSafe wireless chargers or Qi2 certified. That means they take advantage of the magnets embedded in the back of the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 range. I cannot stress this enough: If you buy a case, ensure it is a MagSafe case. We have several third-party options in the linked case guides above. A normal iPhone case will weaken the pull of the magnets in the device and will not stick to MagSafe accessories well.

    What’s the point of MagSafe? You don’t have to worry about misalignment with the wireless charger, meaning you won’t wake up to a dead iPhone. Technically, this perfect alignment means chargers can provide faster 15-watt charging, but Apple has restricted this perk to select products from a few brands. MagSafe is available in the AirPods charging case as well (depending on your model). Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Pro with the wireless charging case will work with nearly all of the standard Qi wireless charging pads on these chargers (as will many third-party wireless earbuds), but if you have AirPods with MagSafe, then you can hook it up to the magnetic mounts as well. If you don’t have a MagSafe iPhone, then your device won’t be able to attach to these chargers, though we do have some recommendations for older iPhones (and the iPhone SE).

    What Are StandBy Mode and Nightstand Mode?

    You’ll see us bring up two specific modes throughout this guide: StandBy mode and Nightstand mode. What are they?

    StandBy mode was introduced in iOS 17. When you place your iPhone on a charger in landscape orientation, it will turn the screen into a dock of sorts, showing the clock (with different designs you can choose from), photos from your library, or widgets. If you have an iPhone that supports an always-on screen, you can choose to have the display automatically turn off after some time when the iPhone isn’t in use or if the room is dark. Head to Settings > Standby to customize it.

    Nightstand mode has long been around on the Apple Watch. Basically, when the watch is sitting upright and charging, the clockface will stay on so you can always tell the time. You can customize this on your Apple Watch by heading to Settings > General > Nightstand mode.

    Our Best Wireless Chargers guide has a few recommendations, but many more great docking systems exist for Apple devices. After years of testing, these are our favorites. Be sure to read our other Apple guides, including the Best MagSafe Wireless Chargers, Best MagSafe Accessories, Best iPhone 16 Cases, Best iPhone, Best Apple Watch, and Best AirPods.

    Updated October 2024: We added chargers by Spigen, Anker, and Zens, including some new honorable mentions and some chargers to avoid, removed a couple of discontinued models, and updated prices.

    Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that’s too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

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