This week saw some great deals during Amazon’s early Prime exclusive sale, the Oura Ring 4 was announced, and Sonos said its app is mostly fixed.
In case you missed these and other biggest tech stories from this week, we’ve compiled eight of the most important ones here to help you stay up to date.
Once you’ve done that, you might want to get some information about the new Mac computers that Apple plans to introduce later this month. You can also check out our picks for 7 new movies and TV shows streaming this weekend.
8. Voting has started for TechRadar Choice Awards 2024
(Image credit: Future)
The TechRadar Awards will be back in 2024, and this year, winners will be determined in a record 90 categories, divided into the following sections:
You can vote in all categories or in just a few categories, but all votes will be cast on Friday, October 11, 2024 at 12:01 AM PT / 3:01 AM ET / AM Please make sure to vote by 8:01 pm Pacific Standard Time (BST). Otherwise it will not be counted.
Once the votes have been counted, the scores will be combined with the expert judges’ rankings to determine the final winners. The only exception is the Readers’ Choice Award, which is 100% decided by readers. Winners in each category will be announced during the big TechRadar Choice Awards Week starting Monday, October 28th.
7. Amazon Big Deals Day early sale starts
(Image credit: Future)
Amazon Big Deals Day – a sort of Prime Day 2 that precedes this year’s Black Friday sale – officially begins on October 8th, but there are still plenty of discounts running across Amazon US and Amazon UK as part of the early bird sale. I couldn’t stop it.
With a wide range of products powered by Amazon’s proprietary technology, you’ll find great savings on your favorite gadgets like LG TVs and Ninja kitchen appliances, as well as up to 50% off on brand-new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablets.
However, just like Prime Day, you’ll need to be a Prime member to access exclusive Big Deal Day discounts. However, some items are on sale for everyone, so you may be able to save big on the items you want without spending a dime. Prime member registration.
6. The end of Sonos’ app apology tour is in sight.
(Image credit: Sonos)
Sonos’ May app release was one of the biggest tech fiascos of 2024, but this week the company said 100% of the app’s missing features will be restored “in the coming weeks” and 80% announced that it has already been revived.
Additionally, as an apology to dissatisfied customers, Sonos announced that it is extending the warranty for all Sonos products under warranty by one year, and is currently offering four products with the goal of “addressing the root cause of problems.” I am making an oath. Resolve any issues with your app’s release to ensure it never happens again.
Reading what reportedly went wrong with the release of the Sonos app, it sounds like some of the new initiatives are just trying to get the company culture back to where it was before the recent big shake-up. But words are words and actions remain the same. action. In that regard, we’ll have to wait and see if Sonos can keep its promise and start winning back consumer trust after what has been, to say the least, a tough few months.
5. Disney responded to fans after canceling highly rated shows and movies
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Ivan Marc)
I’m back here again, everyone. The physical vs. digital media debate reared its ugly head again this week after fans noticed that Disney Plus and Max had removed some highly rated and popular movies and TV shows from their back catalogs.
After recent streaming library culls particularly angered fans, Disney responded by saying that “less than 2% of all titles” had been removed, a predictable decline for many subscribers. said. With more movies and series being permanently banned from the world’s best streaming service, it might be time to start buying DVDs and Blu-rays again.
4. Reviewed Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
(Image credit: Future)
Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 FE alongside the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra last week. Since then, we have subjected the new phone to a full review process. What’s the verdict? It’s a “shining example of how to build smartphones correctly on a lower budget.” The Galaxy S24 FE offers a high-quality display, strong performance levels, and a capable set of cameras at a lower price than the standard Galaxy S24. Not to mention, it has the full range of Galaxy AI features that have become synonymous with the best of Samsung. phone.
According to our testers, Samsung’s latest FE is a “low-sacrifice, high-value AI-powered smartphone,” so if you’re looking for a near-flagship upgrade without breaking the bank, look no further than the Galaxy. S24 is the best choice. FE is definitely worth considering.
3. Introducing Oura Ring 4 with new sensor design
(Image provided by Oura)
Some new challengers may have entered the smart ring, the Erring, but Oura isn’t going down without a fight. Oura Ring 4 was announced this week. On the outside it’s not a huge redesign – I think there’s only so much you can do to tweak a simple band shape – but under the hood the Oura improves the device’s measurement accuracy (regardless of orientation) . , a more comfortable fit and a refreshed app.
This recalibrated sensor array, called smart sensing, seems to have the potential to bring great convenience to users. If you’ve never used a smart ring before, here’s a quick explanation. This means that the smart ring has a specific orientation so that the sensor is placed in the right position for accurate measurements. If the ring rotates out of this desired position, your measurements will be less accurate, and even a perfectly fitting ring can rotate out of place throughout the day as you use your hands or turn over. .
With Oura Ring 4, removing the need to wear your ring perfectly all the time is a step in the right direction, and we’re even more excited to hear that the price won’t be increased. Available to pre-order from $349/£349 in sizes 4 to 15 (silver, brushed silver, stealth, black, rose gold or gold) ahead of the October 15th release (not available in Australia).
2. It doesn’t cost a penny to use Gemini Live
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Gemini Live, the chatty version of Google AI, is now free to all Android users. Initially reserved for paid subscribers only, now anyone can access the voice assistant by downloading the Gemini app. However, at the moment I can only speak English.
Choose one of 10 different voices to start a conversation with AI in a more natural way than with Google Assistant or Alexa. In addition to responding to direct commands, Geminis may also respond in more human ways, such as using casual language or sounding like they’re brainstorming.
If you’ve been wanting to try Gemini Live, now is the best time.
1. Verizon has hit a serious roadblock.
(Image credit: Getty)
If you live in the US and use Verizon, here’s one story you won’t want to miss. Starting around 10 a.m. ET on September 30, Verizon’s network experienced several severe issues that were fixed over nine hours later.
Affected customers cannot make calls, send texts, or use data, and cannot use AT&T or T-Mobile to accept calls or messages from unaffected customers. I couldn’t even receive it.
The FCC has reportedly launched an investigation into the cause of the outage, but as of this writing, it is not known what went wrong and may not be known for some time.
