Amazon's plans for yet another sales event

It's Tuesday, September 19, 2023.

Yes, Amazon’s Prime Day already happened in July, but the company’s members-only sales events are apparently not done. Amazon now plans to hold Prime Big Deal Days, another Prime Day of sorts, on October 10 and 11, something it did the same month last year.

Prime Day is two days long, and that’s the pattern Amazon is following here, even hinting at a few early deals on Amazon devices. You can save up to 65 percent on a three-pack of eero Pro Mesh Wi-Fi, select Fire TV devices, Kindles and more. Amazon also promises a $15 credit to Prime members who download its Photos app and upload their first photo, between now and October 7, just ahead of its Big Deal Days.

If you want to know what devices to keep an eye on — check out our Prime Day primer right here.

— Mat Smith

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Microsoft’s Panos Panay leaves after nearly 20 years

And he’s reportedly heading to Amazon.

Associated Press

Panos Panay is leaving Microsoft. After heading the development of the initial Surface line of tablets and hybrid laptops, he became the company’s chief product officer in 2018. His rise continued in 2021 when he moved to executive vice president after a successful Windows 11 launch. He’s also been a mainstay of Microsoft’s livestreams, press events and product launches alongside CEO Satya Nadella.

There’s been no reason given by either party, but Panay said he has “decided to turn the page and write the next chapter” when he announced the move on X. However, Bloomberg subsequently reported he has been poached by Amazon. Panay will apparently replace Dave Limp, the Amazon executive previously in charge of Alexa and Echo, who announced his retirement last month. What makes this more unusual is that Microsoft has a livestream event this Thursday, which will almost certainly focus on the new Surface products.

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MS Paint just got two killer features for a ’90s graphics editor

Microsoft is rolling out layers and transparent PNG support.

Associated Press

iOS updates? Pschh. Tell me more about MS Paint. The ’90s and ’00s distraction is finally getting support for layers. It’s an exciting time to be alive.

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AirPods Pro Adaptive Audio preview

Automatically adjusting to your day.

Alongside the arrival of iOS 17, a firmware update to Apple’s AirPods Pro adds a few new features, most of which will automatically adjust to your environment or activity, so you don’t have to touch the earbuds or reach for your phone. The headline addition is Adaptive Audio, a tool that automatically and “dynamically” blends transparency mode and active noise cancellation (ANC) based on your surroundings. Adaptive Audio gradually starts tweaking the blend of ANC and transparency. So if you enter a loud coffee shop, AirPods Pro gently increases noise cancellation to combat the distractions. Engadget’s Billy Steele tests out all the new features.

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The Google Nest Hub Max is losing some of its video call functionality

It’ll still support Meet, in a more limited capacity.

Google is discontinuing support for Zoom and Google Meet meetings on its Nest Hub Max. Some users have received notifications that they can no longer join meetings from the device beginning September 28. The news follows Zoom’s July announcement that Nest Hub Max support will end for the video calling service on September 30. Google said in a statement that “support for joining meetings via meeting codes and links in Meet” is going away, but also noted, “There is no change to making 1:1 and group video calls to friends, family and businesses with Google Meet.”

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Sonos Move 2 review

Better sound and battery life come at a cost.

When Sonos released its first portable speaker, the Move, four years ago, it was an anomaly. Portable and connectable through Bluetooth, this was a different Sonos product. In 2023, these tricks have proliferated across the Sonos lineup. The more affordable Roam speaker brought the Move’s feature set to a much smaller device, while recent home speakers, like the Era 100 and 300, both support Bluetooth, as well. The Move 2 doesn’t suggest a new direction for future Sonos products, but it does bring the company’s latest tech and design cues to an existing product.

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