Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones are on sale for $228 right now

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones have been some of our favorites since they first came out in 2020. While the company has since moved on to the XM5, which build upon the solid foundation of the XM4, the 2020 version remains a great options for those who prefer over-ear headphones and want strong ANC in a comfortable package. Thanks to Amazon Prime Day deals, you can pick up the WH-1000XM4 for only $228, which is a new record-low price and $120 off their usual rate. Those who like wireless earbuds more can also snag the WF-1000XM4 buds for only $198 right now, too.

Buy WH-1000XM4 at Amazon – $228Buy WF-1000XM4 at Amazon – $198

We gave the WH-1000XM4 a score of 94 when they first came out. We liked their comfortable design with padded earcups and headband, and the new matte finish they have. You’ll be able to wear them for hours on end, and their battery life will support that, too. The XM4 should last up to 30 hours on a single charge, so you could wear them a few hours a day for more than a week before they’ll need more juice.

These headphones also excel when it comes to sound quality and ANC. Audio is immersive with excellent clarity and detail, plus these cans support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio as well. ANC is strong and adjustable via the companion app, and you can even turn on a feature that will automatically change the ANC levels depending on your location.

Sony added a few new features when it debuted the XM4, namely multi-device connectivity and Speak to Chat. The former lets you connect to two devices at once, switching between them as needed. This feature works quite well as you can seamlessly go from listening to music on your laptop to taking a call on your smartphone. Speak to Chat, when enabled in the mobile app, will automatically pause audio when the headphones’ mics sense that you’re speaking.

We should note that Sony’s new XM5 did dethrone the XM4 as our current favorite pair of wireless headphones. The $398 cans have all of the same features as the XM4, but they have a more refined design, additional mics and even better sound quality and ANC. But those upgrades do come at a hefty price, so if you’re willing to skip them, you can get an excellent pair of cans for much less right now.

As for the WF-1000XM4, they are the true wireless earbud equivalents to Sony’s over-ear headphones. You’ll get a lot of the same features on these buds too, including 360 Reality Audio support, solid ANC, great sound quality and a formidable battery life.

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The best Amazon Prime Day 2022 deals in the UK we could find

Amazon Prime Day is officially here and a number of our favorite gadgets are on sale. If you’re a Prime member, you can save hundreds on devices from Sony, Razer, Apple and others over the next 48-hours, plus Amazon has discounted most of its own devic…

Amazon Prime Day knocks up to $600 off some of Sony’s best mirrorless cameras

Sony’s popular full-frame mirrorless cameras rarely go on sale, so if you’ve been eyeing one, now might be the time to act — multiple models have discounts for Amazon Prime Day. The best deals are on the high-resolution “R” models, with the current A7R IV on sale at $2,998 ($502 off) and the A7R III available for just $2,198 ($602 in savings). You can also find great deals on desirable Sony lenses like the 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master zoom ($300 off) and Sony 24-105 f/4 G zoom ($300 off). 

Buy Sony A7R IV at Amazon – $2,998Buy Sony A7R III at Amazon – $2,198

The Sony A7R IV received one of Engadget’s highest camera review scores ever thanks to the fast and accurate autofocus, superb high-resolution photo quality, a bright and sharp viewfinder and great handling. I was particularly impressed with the high burst speeds considering the huge RAW file sizes on the 61-megapixel images. It can even handle video reasonably well for a high-res camera. The downsides are a mediocre menu system and high price, but the Prime Day discount helps take the sting off the latter. 

The older A7R III offers a lower 42-megapixel resolution, but it’s also a highly-rated camera with excellent autofocus performance, 5-axis stabilization and more. And along with the two high-res models, Sony is also offering a $200 discount on its stalwart A7 III ($1,798) and has dropped the price on the aging, but still very useful A7 II model to just $900 — making it one of the cheapest new full-frame cameras you can get. 

If you’re more in the market for lenses, Sony has you covered there, too. Along with the $300 price drops on the 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master zoom and 24-105 f/4 G zoom, you can grab $100 discounts on highly desirable models like the Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master ($1,898) and FE 35mm F1.4 GM G Master ($1,298). The sale ends on July 17th but the best deals are liable to get snapped up well before then, so it’s best to act soon. 

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Sony’s new portable speakers are waterproof and better with calls

As it does every year around this time, Sony has introduced new entries in its wireless speaker lineup. The company debuted three new models today, all of which are designed to be used outside thanks to both portable sizing and the proper dust and mois…

The best dorm room essentials for college students

College will be back in session soon enough, which also means a new batch of freshmen will start living the dorm life. If that applies to you, we think it’s a good idea to stock up on a few essentials for your new tiny abode before you get there, espec…

Sony’s LinkBuds S are cheaper than ever ahead of Prime Day

Sony released its LinkBuds S less than two months ago, but you can already pick up the true wireless earbuds for a solid discount on Amazon. Just ahead of Prime Day, they’re down to $157. That’s a drop of 22 percent from the regular price of $200. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen to date for LinkBuds S and the discount applies to both the white and black variants.

Buy Sony LinkBuds S at Amazon – $157

The LinkBuds S have a more regular closed design rather than the open wear format of the standard LinkBuds that Sony unleashed earlier this year. The company claims the more recent model is smaller and lighter than other earbuds that have active noise cancellation (though it admits the ANC isn’t as sturdy as on its WF-1000XM4 model).

The earbuds have a passthrough/transparency mode too, so you can hear “natural” ambient sound. With the Adaptive Sound Control feature, Sony says the LinkBuds S can learn your preferences over time and automatically tweak the sound settings based on your location or activity.

They have 5mm drivers that provide what Sony claims are “powerful bass and stunningly clear vocals.” With the Integrated Processor V1, which is also found on Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones, the company aims to bolster sound quality, mitigate distortion and boost ANC. There’s support for high-resolution audio as well, powered by Sony’s LDAC codec and DSEE Extreme upscaling.

In addition, LinkBuds S have Sony’s Speak-to-Chat feature. The idea is that the earbuds will be able to automatically detect your voice. They will pause the audio and switch on the passthrough mode when you start talking. There’s a feature called Auto Play as well. This allows LinkBuds S to play or resume audio based on your activity when you put them in or end a call. However, the functionality is somewhat limited for now — it currently works with Spotify and Endel.

Elsewhere, the earbuds have an IPX4 water resistance rating, so they should be able to withstand bad weather and workouts. There’s built-in Alexa functionality too.

Sony says LinkBuds S have a battery life of six hours if ANC is switched on. You’ll get another 14 hours of ANC listening time thanks to the charging case. Through a quick-charge function, you’ll get up to an hour of extra use after five minutes of charging time.

Get the latest Amazon Prime Day offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Amazon makes ‘Mass Effect Legendary Edition’ and over 30 other games free for Prime Day

Amazon’s free Prime Gaming downloads for Prime Day this year include some pretty well-known titles, though this round’s heavy hitter is BioWare’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition. The compilation bundles all the single-player base games of the original Mass Effect trilogy, remastered with improved graphics optimized for 4K Ultra HD and with adjusted gameplay. It also comes with over 40 items of downloadable content, such as promo weapons and armor. 

Free Amazon Prime Gaming titles for Prime Day 2022

BioWare tweaked the elements that made us not want to replay the original games, including their clunky gunplay and the Mako all-terrain vehicle that’s hard to navigate in certain terrains. As we noted in our review, the remastered games feature refined handling and aiming, as well as a less erratic cover mechanic. Levels and across-the-galaxy jumps also load more quickly than in the original games. 

In addition to Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the 30-plus free titles for Prime Day also include Grid Legends, the Grid franchise entry released in 2021. The racing game will give you access to more than 100 vehicles from the start and has over 250 events you can participate in. If you’re a racing game fan, you can also get Need for Speed Heat, which was released in 2019 and was the first EA title to offer cross-play between gaming systems. Finally, if you’re a shooting game fan, take note that the list also includes three Star Wars games, namely Jedi Knight — Jedi Academy,Jedi Knight II — Jedi Outcast and Republic Commando. You can download all the aforementioned games for free if you’re a Prime subscriber.

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The Chromecast with Google TV is on sale for $40 right now

Early Prime Day deals keep popping up as we get close to the two-day shopping event, and this time they discount the Chromecast with Google TV by $10. You can pick up the streaming device for $40 right now, which is a return to its record low. Not only does this gadget give you access to services like Netflix, YouTube TV and others, but it also supports classic casting from your smartphone and other devices.

Buy Chromecast with Google TV at Amazon – $40

The latest Chromecast came out in 2020, but it remains a great option for those who already rely on the Google Assistant or those who prefer the Android TV ecosystem. Like most streaming devices in this price range, it supports 4K HDR content as well as Dolby Vision and Atmos. It’s just as easy to install as other streaming dongles, but one of the best things about it is its voice remote. That makes it much easier to navigate the Android TV interface, and it has a voice button that you can press when you want to search for content using voice commands.

When you’re not binge-watching your favorite show, you can also use the Chromecast with Google TV to turn your set into something like a huge smart display (sans touch capabilities). Using Assistant commands, you can ask the Chromecast to display forecasts on your TV, show live feeds from compatible security cameras and control smart lights and other accessories. We also like that it supports Ambient Mode, which lets you display Google Photos on your TV when you’re not actively using it.

Get the latest Amazon Prime Day offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Samsung’s next Galaxy S flagship could drop Exynos chips from global variants

Samsung’s next Galaxy S series phone could mark the end of an era. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company is likely to single-source the processor for its next S series flagship from Qualcomm. That would be a significant departure for Samsung. …

Ford recalls 100,000 hybrid vehicles over fire risk

Ford has issued a recall for certain 2020 to 2022 model Corsair, Escape and Maverick hybrid vehicles over concerns that they could catch fire. According to UPI, the recall affects 100,689 vehicles in the US, all with 2.5-liter hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric engines. The automaker told the news agency that in the event of an engine failure, the affected vehicles could release a significant amount of engine oil and fuel vapor. Both substances could then accumulate near the vehicles’ ignition sources and cause a fire under the hood or melt the components inside. 

Ford said engine failures involving the recalled vehicles are caused by isolated manufacturing issues. The company added it hasn’t received any reports of injuries or accidents associated with the problems that compelled it to issue a recall. The automaker has already notified dealers about its decision, and owners are slated to be notified by August 8th. Dealers will fix recalled vehicles when owners turn them in by modifying their under-engine shields and active grille shutters. 

Last month, Ford also recalled 49,000 Mach-E EVs, citing concerns about the possibility of their high-voltage battery connectors overheating. In that particular case, the issue could prevent the vehicle from starting or cause them to lose propulsion power while on the road. Unlike the hybrid vehicles that have to be physically modified, the recalled Mach-Es only need an over-the-air software update that Ford rolled out a few days ago to fix the issue.