Latest news with #ScottStein
CNET
19-05-2025
- Business
- CNET
Amazon Deals of the Day: Apple's Newest iPad Pro is Back to a Record Low Price
Amazon sells a gazillion products, with new ones arriving daily. The retail giant carries everything from home essentials to tech gear to wellness items. And almost as much as it loves adding new products, Amazon loves cutting prices. Deciding which deals are worth grabbing (and which aren't) is a full-time job -- our job, specifically. That's why we scope out the top deals. Today, we spotted the latest and greatest Apple A17 Pro iPad mini back down to it's record low price. We also found the Philis Hue indoor smart light strip dropped down to a new record low saving you almost 40% off. And finally our favorite pellet grill of the year is $100 off, the lowest price we've seen it all year. This iPad Mini may be tiny but it sure is mighty. It's actually our favorite travel iPad. A lot of this is because of its speedy A17 Pro chip. This chip also features Apple Intelligence. It has 128GB of storage and a beautiful Liquid Retina display. It also has fast Wi-Fi 6E connectivity along with a 12-megapixel ultrawide front camera. The camera even has features like Center Stage for your video calls and a 12MP wide back camera. The iPad comes in four colors so you can chose which one you like the best. It also makes for a great tablet for you kids. In Scott Stein review of this new iPad mini he claims "In the meantime, anyone hoping for a not-too-expensive iPad for kids might consider the Mini for its relative updates and slightly lower cost than the Airs… but it's still not super-affordable enough to replace the basic iPad." But now the iPad just got a $100 price cut on Amazon, bringing the price down to $399, a record low. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. If you're looking to add some spice into a part of your home, a great way to do so is by adding some smart lighting. Philips' Hue has smart bulbs and lighting line that are some of our favorites smart lights on the market, especially this indoor LED light strip. With this lighting, you can set the color and timing of your lights however you like to help curate the right ambiance for any occasion. This light strip is 16 feet long, giving you plenty of coverage in the room of your choice. It's also compatible with Alexa, Google and Apple so you can enjoy a hands free experience and integrate the lights into your other smart home devices. Normally retailing for $90, you can grab it today for just $55, almost a 40% savings and a new low price. Memorial Day is just around the corner, which marks the unofficial start to summer. Many of us, including myself, are planning on having barbecues and outdoor gatherings during the holiday weekend. If you're planning to do so, you'll want to make sure you're grill is still in good condition from last summer. If not, we love pellet grills. Specifically the Traeger Ironwood XL pellet grill. A pellet grill is a great option if you're looking to upgrade your grilling setup as it lets you bring in the rich flavor of the charcoal while still being operated by the convenience of gas. We specifically love the Traeger Ironwood XL pellet grill as it has a mobile app for wireless adjustments, it produces even smoke by the lid seal and it has a light on the lid and pellet hopper. The grill burns through the pellets pretty slowly so you can get a lot of use out of it. Normally running for $1,900 you can grab one for $1,800 right now, saving you $100 and dropping it down to the lowest price of the year. With so many deals on Amazon, deciding which ones are worth your money can be difficult. But CNET combs through what the world's largest online retailer has to offer and gathers the best deals for you.
CNET
19-05-2025
- CNET
Dear Apple, Please Make Our WatchOS 12 Wish List Come True
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is still a few weeks away but that doesn't mean we can't start daydreaming about the features we want for WatchOS 12, the next version of Apple Watch software. With Apple Watch sales down 19% in 2024 and new competitors like the Oura ring gaining market share, WatchOS 12 could be a chance for Apple to show that it hasn't been asleep at the wrist. I teamed up with a few longtime Apple Watch users and fellow CNET editors to put together a wish list of the most requested (and most realistic) features we hope to see in 2025. We'll save the holographic FaceTime calls for another list. Improved battery life A long battery life may not sound as exciting as some of the flashier features on this list but it easily wins the popularity contest among our editors (myself included). We didn't have a wish list when the Apple Watch launched a decade ago but if we had, I'd bet battery life would've been at the top -- because that's how long we've been asking for it. CNET editor-at-large Scott Stein wants a longer battery life and faster charging, especially if Apple wants people to really take advantage of sleep tracking. The Series 10 charges faster than earlier Apple Watches but the battery lasts the same length of time. Celso Bulgatti/CNET A dream scenario would be for the regular Apple Watch and SE version to have the same three-day battery life of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. But software alone can't work miracles; it still has to operate within the limits of the physical battery. So we'd settle for incremental improvements and optimizations to WatchOS 12 that minimize how much power gets used. That could come in the form of smarter battery-saving modes that automatically kick in when power-hungry features aren't needed or a more efficient bedtime mode that doesn't leave the battery drained by morning. At a prequel to its developer's conference, Google announced that its own Wear OS 6 will boost battery life by up to 10 percent. It's not a huge leap, but it's a welcome one -- and a good reminder that meaningful improvements are possible through software alone. UI tweaks and customization Apple's come a long way with letting us customize the Apple Watch's UI but there's still room for improvements. The app list, for example, is in desperate need of a refresh. You're still limited to viewing it as either a grid or list and there's no way to organize apps by how you actually use them. CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland suggests adding options to sort by favorites or most used to cut down on the endless scrolling it takes to find what you need. Grid view and list view are still the only two options to sort apps on the watch. hocus-focus/Getty Images Watch faces are another area that still feels locked down compared to other platforms like Wear OS. It's a long-standing request from Stein, who's been asking for a watch face store since reviewing the original Apple Watch in 2015. We've gotten a lot more watch face options since then with customizable widgets and design features but you're still limited by the templates Apple provides. CNET health editor Anna Gragert also suggested more watch face collections by artists from underrepresented communities, similar to what the company did with the Black Unity watch at the beginning of the year. Gestures that go further Apple first introduced gesture control with WatchOS 10 and the Series 9 and Ultra 2, and it's been gradually expanding the feature ever since. Now that we've had a taste of what one-handed control feels like, we're ready for more. CNET senior writer Jeff Carlson admitted he was skeptical of gesture controls at first: "Before I got a Series 10, I thought it was a dubious addition," he said. "But I use it a lot (especially turning off timers) and want more control than just 'highlight the main control' or 'scroll down the Smart Stack.'" I'm right there with him. I'd like more gestures beyond the double pinch and the ability to program a gesture to ping my iPhone, because nine times out of 10, I'm rushing out the door with my hands full and don't have a spare hand to tap the screen. Apple Intelligence features The Apple Watch is still notably AI-free -- and that might not be a bad thing. The reality is, while the Watch is powerful, it doesn't yet have the processing muscle to handle Apple Intelligence tasks on its own. But that doesn't mean it can't lean on the iPhone for a few features we'd love to see make their way over. One of the top ones on my list? Genmoji. The ability to create your own emoji on the fly feels like it belongs on your wrist. Apple already brought Memojis and Animojis to the Watch, so this would be a natural next step that would bring more personality to text messages or replace the need for text altogether. Genmoji uses Apple Intelligence to create custom emojis from prompts. Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET And while we're on the subject of Apple Intelligence, the Watch could benefit from a smarter approach to notifications. Notification summaries on the iPhone are still hit-or-miss, but on a tiny screen they could actually be more helpful if done right. The current notification layout on the Watch feels crowded, and it's hard to separate the important alerts from the rest of the noise. Spam handling on the watch is another area that could use attention. "I'd like to be able to delete and report spam texts and calls the way you can in Messages or Phone on the iPhone -- preferably right from the notification," says Carlson. Right now, blocking a sender on the Watch requires several steps which defeats the purpose of having quick interactions on the wrist. Smarter Siri Offline Siri has been a welcome improvement (Series 9 and later). But even offline, Siri is not the brightest bulb. And Apple's voice assistant is long overdue for an upgrade. At the very least, it would be great if Siri could understand requests on the first try. But as this is a wish list, why not ask for more? Smarter, more context-aware responses would make Siri far more useful, especially if the assistant can tap into its new Apple Intelligence tools. And please: fewer website links as answers. I'm not about to open a full webpage on my wrist. Customizable workouts I also wish the Apple Watch had a way for me to flag external factors like weight or resistance that could impact workout metrics. This could be running or walking with a weighted vest, which in my case is a human child on a harness, or pushing a stroller while on a run. Heart rate zone view lets you see the intensity of your workout as it's happening but it's up to you to interpret. Vanessa Hand Orellana Right now, there's no way to flag added weight or resistance to your workout beyond changing your weight in the settings. So instead the Watch just assumes I'm out of shape when my heart rate spikes higher than average as I'm hiking uphill with an additional 35lbs on my back. I'd like to get the extra calorie credits on my move ring, thank you very much. Smarter coaching for fitness and sleep The Apple Watch gives us plenty of training tools for heart rate zones, activity rings, VO2 max, and more. But turning all that data into a personalized training plan still feels daunting. I'd love to see a smarter, more proactive coaching system: something that could tell me, in real time, how many minutes I should aim to stay in each heart rate zone to hit my goal. Even better would be a dynamic workout plan that adjusts based on my calendar and energy levels that day. The same goes for sleep. It's nice to see my sleep stages but what am I supposed to do with that information? What's the ideal balance of REM versus deep sleep and how do I improve it? The Apple Watch added sleep tracking to its list of metrics and can now track sleep stages. CNET Gragert would also like to see the Apple Watch take a cue from other wearables and offer energy and sleep scores based on the data it collects. The sleep coach would then help interpret the data and give tangible recommendations on how to improve toward better recovery and energy. And no, the current bedtime reminder doesn't count. That's just a glorified alarm and a pretty annoying one at that. Smarter vitals and health coaching We're already seeing Apple bring more health data together on the Watch, thanks to the Vitals app, which combines metrics like heart rate, sleep, respiratory rate and skin temperature. But for now, it's still up to us to figure out what that data actually means and what to do with it. The Vitals app is the same on the Series 10 and the Ultra 2. Carly Marsh/CNET What's next? Apple could take a similar approach to what it already does with heart rate notifications. The Watch alerts you when your heart rate is too high or too low -- now imagine that same kind of proactive insight but for your overall vitals. Other wearables are already heading in that direction. The Oura Ring, for example, uses a Symptom Radar that can flag when your body shows signs of strain, like when you might be getting kind of heads up landing on your wrist first thing in the morning could help you plan your day better and maybe call in sick to the office before you drag your coworkers down with you. Rumor has it some of this smart coaching is already well underway. According to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a top secret project code named "Project Mulberry" which seeks to revamp the Health app with smart coaching and personalized recommendations. Just don't make me pay for another subscription please. We'll find out what Apple actually has in store for us on June 10 during WWDC. Until then, there's nothing stopping us from dreaming big.
CNET
15-05-2025
- CNET
What We Expect From Android XR at Google I/O
What We Expect From Android XR at Google I/O What We Expect From Android XR at Google I/O Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:37 / Duration 3:37 Loaded : 46.51% 0:37 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 3:00 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. What We Expect From Android XR at Google I/O What We Expect From Android XR at Google I/O May 15, 2025 Tech Show Transcript The next wave of AI headsets and glasses looks like it's just around the corner. Let's get into what we already know and what we think will happen, with CNET's Scott Stein.
CNET
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
An Insider's Guide to Epic Universe, as the New Universal Theme Park Opens Next Week
A brand new theme park is opening next week in Orlando, and CNET has been there already. We're here to provide you with an insider's guide to Universal Resort Orlando's Epic Universe, which has five lands: Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic and Celestial Park. Opening May 22, Epic Universe will be the fourth Universal Orlando theme park after Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and water park Volcano Bay. Universal says it's hoping to become "a weeklong vacation destination," much like its main competitor Walt Disney World, which has six theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, along with water parks Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Part of Universal's expansion also includes three new hotels: Universal Helios Grand Hotel, Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort, bringing its total to 11 hotels. (Disney World has more than 20 hotels, for comparison.) Check out CNET's guide below for what you need to know about Epic Universe, including ticket prices, new rides, restaurants and opening dates. And read here for more on Universal's planned UK theme park. Now Playing: Up Close With Dragons and Frankenstein: Epic Universe Tech That Blew Us Away 54:29 Super Nintendo World and Donkey Kong Country Princess Peach's castle in Super Mario World at Epic Universe. Scott Stein/CNET Universal Orlando is finally joining Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood in opening a Mario-themed land. Much like in the Japan and Hollywood parks, the marquee ride is Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, where you hop inside a kart, collect coins and throw shells to try to win the cup. There's also Mine Cart Madness, a Donkey Kong-themed roller coaster, and Yoshi's Adventure, where you board a Yoshi and go egg-spotting through the Mushroom Kingdom. There'll be meet and greets with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad, and the Toadstool Cafe for your dining needs. Buy a Power-Up Band and you'll be able to collect coins throughout the land and rides on the wearable wristband. It works throughout all three Super Nintendo World locations. How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk Wooden dragons in How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk land. Scott Stein/CNET How to Train Your Dragon is finally getting some space in a Universal theme park, 15 years after the original movie (which still has 99% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes) was released in 2010. The much-loved DreamWorks movie, which featured Hiccup the teenage Viking and his quest to befriend rather than kill a dragon he names Toothless, spawned two sequels (both with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes), as well as 10 seasons of two separate animated series and a live-action version of the first movie, which releases in 2025. Now, you'll be able to visit Berk (Florida's version). It won't be as cold, but it will be filled with Viking characters walking around the land, dragon robots you can greet on the ground and dragons flying over the colorful wooden buildings. Hiccup's Wing Gliders is the main attraction, a roller coaster that simulates the experience of riding on a dragon. A second ride, Dragon Racer's Rally, will see each rider strapped into an individual dragon-shaped seat attached to a pendulum arm, flipping upside down as the arm swings up and around. There's also a water ride called Fyre Drill, where you'll board a Viking longboat and shoot water cannons at the dragon targets and other boats you sail past, while you in turn get soaked. For the younger visitors, Viking Training Camp is an adventure playground where they can climb, run, slide and play with interactive elements. Rounding out the land is a live show starring Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Gobber, and Mead Hall, a dining option serving Scandinavian offerings like fish, meat, ale and mead. Dark Universe: classic Universal monsters The entrance of the Curse of the Werewolf ride. Scott Stein/CNET This sinister-sounding land is dedicated to all the classic Universal monsters out there, with villains from Frankenstein's monster to Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon roaming Darkmoor Village. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is a ride inside a spooky Victorian manor, where you need to escape the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. A second ride, Curse of the Werewolf, is a coaster that soars through the forest as you escape a pack of werewolves. You can also experience the wonders of theatrical makeup and be transformed into a werewolf, vampire or mummy with the Monster Makeup Experience. There are two dining locations in Dark Universe: Das Stakehaus, a vampire-themed restaurant. The Burning Blade Tavern, a more casual eatery inside a windmill that catches fire several times each hour. Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic An animatronic house elf in line for the Battle at the Ministry ride. Scott Stein/CNET This is the third Harry Potter location at Universal Orlando, after the Diagon Alley area in Universal Studios Florida and the Hogwarts/Hogsmeade area in Islands of Adventure. It'll span both the Fantastic Beasts movies and the original Harry Potter series, meaning most of the land is themed after Paris in the 1920s, from where you can travel by the Métro-Floo network to the British Ministry of Magic in the 1990s. The main attraction is the Battle at the Ministry ride, where you'll help the trio fight Dolores Umbridge. It's similar to the mechanics of the Hogwarts ride, except you'll be in an elevator compartment at the Ministry of Magic, and it also features much-updated technology so it's even more immersive. There's also Le Cirque Arcanus, a live show with performers, puppets and special effects, and is set in the Fantastic Beasts universe. There'll be plenty to explore in this new area, including a new wand store called Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique, more interactive wand locations and a French restaurant called Café L'air De La Sirène. It's not connected to the Hogwarts Express train ride that connects the other two Harry Potter lands in Orlando, however, due to the park's distance from Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Celestial Park, and that double roller coaster The dueling coasters in Celestial Park. Scott Stein/CNET Celestial Park is themed as a cosmic getaway, where you can ride a rocket at speeds of up to 62mph on the dual-launch roller coaster Stardust Racers -- or if something slower-paced is more your thing, you can ride the Constellation Carousel. There are also two restaurants -- Atlantic and The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant -- as well as a shopping location called the Nintendo Super Star Store. Celestial Park is the hub of the new theme park: you'll enter Epic Universe into Celestial Park, and from there can take one of the four portals into the other lands. How much do Epic Universe tickets cost? The portal into Super Nintendo World, which has an escalator taking you up into the sub-park. Scott Stein/CNET Ticket pricing depends on how many days you want to spend at Universal Studios Florida, as well as which parks you want to go to, and whether you want to visit more than one park each day. Here are the options and starting prices. Keep in mind that pricing will change depending on what day of the week and time of year you visit, too. For now, you can only purchase multiday park tickets to visit Epic Universe, unless you're a Universal passholder. In future, Universal will allow you to buy a single-day ticket only to visit the new park, but that option is not yet available. 3-day park tickets 3 day, 4-park hopper: $452/adult, $442/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other two days you can hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay). 3-day, 3-park hopper: $412/adult, $402/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other two days you can hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure). 3-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $352/adult, $342/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, one day at Universal Studios and one day at Islands of Adventure). 4-day park tickets 4-day, 4-park hopper: $486/adult, $476/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other three days you can hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay). 4-day, 3-park hopper: $436/adult, $426/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other two days you can hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure). 4-day, 4 parks, one park per day: $421/adult, $411/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, one day at Universal Studios, one day at Islands of Adventure and one day at Volcano Bay). 4-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $371/adult, $361/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, one day at Universal Studios and one day at Islands of Adventure). 5-day park tickets 5-day, 4-park hopper: $522/adult, $512/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other four days you can hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay). 5-day, 3-park hopper: $462/adult, $452/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, while on the other four days you can hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure). 5-day, 4 parks, one park per day: $452/adult, $442/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, and then choose between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay for your other one-day tickets). 5-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $392/adult, $382/child (Note: you can only spend one day inside Epic Universe, and then choose between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for your other one-day tickets). Express Pass and VIP tours at Epic Universe You can now also purchase a 1-day Express Pass for Epic Universe that'll allow you to skip the lines at each attraction once. The cost is between $130 and $310 per person (on top of your regular ticket), depending on what date you go. And if you want a truly luxe experience, you can fork over between $390 and $650 per person (also on top of your ticket) for a 4-hour VIP guided walking tour of the new park. With a VIP package, you'll also get priority entrance to the rides, a discount on merchandise, complimentary valet parking and more.
CNET
10-05-2025
- CNET
Battling Customer Service Chatbots is Getting Worse with AI
Customer service chatbots are notoriously aggravating as they waste time hitting you with questions that trap you in prompt loops, often designed to delay and deflect you from speaking with a human agent. But I dove right into the dark pits of hold-music hell this week, because I moved homes and needed to set up Internet service at a new location. After spending over three hours on the phone, with multiple phone calls to two Internet service providers, I can confidently say that the chatbots are not up to the task of doing what a human representative can accomplish. But those bots are good at one thing: wearing down our sprits. In this episode of Tech Therapy, embedded above, I needed to vent about the odyssey of finding knowledgable humans on a customer service call, and how the tech barriers are increasing. Without speaking to a human, at one point I was asked if Verizon could use my voice data as a security fingerprint for my next call. No, thanks -- I don't need to give up my voice data without knowing what is being done with it, only to have service denied the next time I catch a cold and sound stuffy. In the end, the relief of reaching helpful humans won my business. But, as my co-host Scott Stein points out, sometimes the only way to get to a human is to be nice to the robots blocking your path. I don't see the situation getting any better for customers, as AI is being used in more chatbot agents, which can get answers completely wrong — as the New York Times pointed out in its reporting on problematic AI hallucinations. Will we eventually be dealing with chatbots that sound human, like overly agreeable ChatGPT voices, but will we be able to tell it's AI? Maybe not -- unless the voice glitches out and becomes a demon. But Scott shows off some tech that is going in the right direction with Spacetop. The new AR laptop software creates a 180-degree virtual desktop with floating monitors, using one pair of glasses. Maybe it's a tool for travel. Maybe it's for the workspace of the future. But maybe I'll be using it the next time I need tech help, as I will need multiple monitor windows open to research and troubleshoot the answers to my questions -- all while circumventing the inevitable useless AI support bots. Ready for another session? Catch up on past Tech Therapy podcast episodes and subscribe on our YouTube channel.
