Solo Stove’s fire pits are up to 56 percent off for Prime Day

Solo Stove products are joining the Prime Day follies with a bunch of products on sale at up to 56 percent off. The best deal is on the popular Solo Stove Campfire that normally sells at $150 but is marked all the way down to $66, for a savings of $84 (56 percent). You’ll also find savings from 30 to 47 percent on the Ranger Backyard Bundle ($287), Bonfire with stand ($250), Bonfire Shield ($110) and Roasting Sticks/Fire Pit Poker accessory combo ($90).

Shop Solo Stove Prime Day sale at Amazon

We’ve recommended the stainless steel Solo Stove fire pits before because of the advantages over standard fire pits. They actively channel smoke away from the user thanks to a double-walled design that pulls hot air through vent holes and back into the fire. This keeps flames hot while reducing smoke and creating fine ashes.

The Campfire model is the number one wood-burning camp stove out there and comes recommended by Backpacker Magazine and others. Along with the double-walled design, it’s lightweight at just 2.2 pounds and designed to burn twigs, leaves, pinecones and wood as fuel, eliminating the need carry heavy and polluting cannister fuel. For serious campers, the Prime Day deal of $66 should be a no-brainer. 

The Ranger ($287, sold with a stand, shield and shelter) and Bonfire ($250, sold with a stand) are larger at around 21 pounds each, but they’re still light enough to move around the yard, bring camping or pack over to a friend’s house. And if you opt for the Bonfire model, you can grab the Bonfire Shield for $110 (31 percent off) to stop hot embers from escaping. Finally, Solo Stove’s Roasting Sticks and Fire Pit Poker combo is on sale for $90, netting you a $40 discount. 

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Universal Audio’s amp sim pedals are an affordable route to convincing tube amp sounds

I bought my first tube amp last year, after playing guitar for about 25 years. Before then I’d been completely reliant on solid-state amps and digital models. It was a revelation. And then a few weeks ago I had an almost equally revelatory experience w…

The Meta Quest 2 VR headset comes with a $25 gift card for Prime Day

The Meta Quest 2 is already pretty affordable at $299, but now Amazon is sweetening the deal by bundling it with a free $25 gift card. While you still have to pay its full price upon checkout — that’s $299 for the headset with 128GB of storage — the deal still translates to seven percent in savings when you factor in the gift card you’re getting from the purchase. You can also get the 256GB version of the headset formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2 with a free $25 gift card, though that option will set you back $399.

Buy Meta Quest 2 128 GB with $25 Gift Card at Amazon – $299

We found the Meta Quest 2 to be an excellent standalone VR headset when we reviewed the device back in 2020. It’s smaller than its predecessor and around 10 percent lighter, making it more comfortable to use. It has fast-switching LCDs with a resolution of 1,832 x 1,920 per eye and have 50 percent more pixels than the previous model. Shortly after the device’s release, Meta rolled out an update that enabled 90Hz refresh rate for games, as well. 

We also praised Meta for addressing people’s concerns with the first Quest’s hardware. That said, you need a Facebook account to be able to use the headset, at least for now. The company is changing that requirement soon and will instead require users to have a Meta account, which doesn’t have to be linked to Facebook. 

Amazon’s free $25 gift card offer will only be available until the end of the day. Take note that the gift card might ship separately from the headset itself and might arrive at a different date.

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

Google slows hiring and says the company needs to be ‘more entrepreneurial’

Google has announced that will slow its pace of hiring for the rest of 2022 and told employees to “be more entrepreneurial,” Bloomberg reported. Much like Meta and other tech companies, CEO Sundar Pichai cited an “uncertain global economic outlook” for the change of pace and said that the company would consolidate operations and streamline “where investments overlap.”

Google’s pace of hiring was also torrid in the second quarter of 2022 as the company added 10,000 new employees to its 163,906 workforce, up 17 percent year over year. For the rest of 2022, however, Google will focus hiring on engineering, technical and other crucial roles.

Moving forward, we need to be more entrepreneurial, working with greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days. In some cases, that means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes. In other cases, that means pausing deployment and re-deploying resources to higher priority areas.

Microsoft also plans to cut a small number of jobs due to a realignment in its business groups, according to Bloomberg. Those will affect groups including consulting and partner solutions around the world. However, the company plans to continue hiring in other roles and will finish 2022 with a higher number of employees. 

Other tech firms have said that the slowing economy will affect hiring. Yesterday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned employees that “one of the worst downturns [it has seen] in recent history” could affect the company, while telling managers to “move to exit” poor performers “who are unable to get on track.” Netflix, Unity, Coinbase and Paypal have all recently cut jobs as well.

Owlet’s Cam 2 baby monitor uses AI to predict if a child is truly crying

Owlet is giving tired parents new tools they can use to (hopefully) get little bit more sleep than what they’re getting with a baby in the house. The company has launched the Owlet Cam 2, which uses AI and machine learning to decipher sounds from the nursery and determine whether the baby is truly crying. It sends parents notification through the Owlet Dream App when it detects sounds, motion or crying from the baby’s room. The camera can also send parents video clips of sound and movement that they can watch on their phone anytime. 

The 1080p HD camera comes with the features its predecessor has, including 4x zoom, night vision, two-way talk and room temp reading. However, unlike the previous version that only comes in white, it’s also available in Sleepy Sage, Dusty Rose and Bedtime Blue.

Owlet has also rolled out a new predictive sleep technology feature for its system that automatically tracks the baby’s sleep and wake windows when used with the company’s Dream Sock. As its name implies, it can predict when the baby might be ready for sleep and can let parents know through the Owlet app — it can even adjust the child’s anticipated sleep window as they age. That way, parents can plan their own rest periods and other activities around the baby’s sleep schedule.

Predictive sleep will be available to both new and existing Dream Sock users through a firmware update slated for release today. Those who don’t have a Dream Sock can still take advantage of the feature, though, by manually adding sleep sessions through Owlet’s app. 

The company originally sold its monitoring device as the Smart Sock, but it had to pull it from US shelves after getting a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While the FDA did not identify any safety concerns, the agency argued that it should be classified as a medical device due to its heart rate and oxygen level monitoring features. Owlet stopped selling the sock in the US last year to pursue the authority to market those features as part of the device’s offerings. But company made it available for purchase in the US again earlier this year under a new name: the Dream Sock.

The Owlet Dream Duo that bundles a set of socks with a second-gen cam is now available for $439, but those who already have socks can get the the second-gen cam alone for $159. In the US, buyers can purchase the devices from Owlet’s website, as well as from retailers like Amazon, Target, Walmart and Best Buy.

Google files a lawsuit that could kick Tinder out of the Play Store

Google has counter-sued Match seeking monetary damages and a judgement that would let it kick Tinder and the group’s other dating apps out of the Play Store, Bloomberg has reported. Earlier this year, Match sued Google alleging antitrust violations over a decision requiring all Android developers to process “digital goods and services” payments through the Play Store billing system. 

Following the initial lawsuit in May, Google and Match reached a temporary agreement allowing Match to remain on the Play Store and use its own payments system. Google also agreed to make a “good faith” effort to address Match’s billing concerns. Match, in turn, was to make an effort to offer Google’s billing system as an alternative. 

However, Google parent Alphabet claims that Match Group now wants to avoid paying “nothing at all” to Google, including its 15 to 30 percent Play Store fees, according to a court filing. “Match Group never intended to comply with the contractual terms to which it agreed… it would also place Match Group in an advantaged position relative to other app developers,” the document states.

Match group said that Google’s Play Store policies violate federal and state laws. “Google doesn’t want anyone else to sue them so their counterclaims are designed as a warning shot,” Match told Bloomberg in a statement. “We are confident that our suit, alongside other developers, the US Department of Justice and 37 state attorneys general making similar claims, will be resolved in our favor early next year.”

Match is referring to an antitrust action launched last year by States and the federal government probing Google’s Play Store fees. Shortly before that, Google dropped its fee on app developer revenue to 15 percent on the first $1 million, and 30 percent after that. At the same time, it announced it would enforce a policy requiring all developers to process payments through the Play Store’s billing system. Earlier this year, a Senate bill moved forward targeting in-app payments in both Google and Apple’s stores.