Apple Watch activity accuracy gets mixed scores in new study
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Musk explains why Tesla Robotaxi is not running at night, and lidar is the answer
Elon Musk says the main thing holding back Tesla Robotaxi’s night hours is that the cars have a hard time seeing pets in the dark. His example was “grey kittens on grey tarmac.”
That’s a low-light, low-contrast detection problem, which is the textbook weakness of cameras and the exact thing lidar and radar handle. Musk has spent years calling those sensors a “crutch” and a “fool’s errand.”
Read MoreBest of 9to5Toys – This week’s top deals: Echo speakers, AirTag 2, MacBooks, smart home gear, more
Good morning and welcome to Best of 9to5Toys Weekly – a one-stop shop for all of the week’s best deals on Apple gear, Samsung and Android tech, accessories for smartphones and Macs, intelligent household upgrades, and even deals to update your wardrobe. This week we are in full fall Prime Day mode, with thousands of early deals up for grabs and even some official Prime Big Deal Days offers already live. Just be sure to also scope out the extremely popular new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter before it’s completely sold out too.
Read MoreLand a 5-foot Beats woven USB-C cable right now for just $7.50 (50% off)
Beats 5-foot Woven USB-C Cable
Buy for $7.50 (Reg. $15)
What we love
It’s back again folks. This is a true steal of a deal – a premium 5-foot black woven Beats USB-C cable for $7.50 Prime shipped (50% off the going rate). It’s not the fastest cable out there, but it is one of the nicer looking options you can buy and it is perfectly capable for quick charge-ups, CarPlay setups, and data transfers.
Apple weekend deals: MacBook Pro $500 off, AirTag 2, Prime Day HomeKit discounts, MagSafe chargers, more
While we are still awaiting some of the big fall Prime Day deals on some Apple products, there are already notable discounts up for grabs right now like the $500 price drop on this 2TB M5 Pro MacBook Pro, the new Beats 360 with 80% off the Cushion Kits, and Amazon low pricing on AirTag 2.
We are also already tracking the official fall Prime Day price drops on some of our favorite HomeKit smart home brands like ecobee and a sizable collection of Eve smart plugs, outlets, switches and more, not to mention new all-time lows on many of the latest Belkin 25W MagSafe charging stations. Just be sure to check out the popular new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay adapter at $40 on your way down.
Read MoreUse Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and more with this $70 three-year plan (Reg. $120)
TL;DR: Why pay $20 per month for one AI subscription when you can get three years of Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini for $69.99 (Reg. $119.99)?
Read MoreMiami’s NBA team changing name to Vice City Heat in celebration of GTA VI release
I’m sure you have already seen the gigantic neon pink Vice City signage atop the Kaseya Center in Miami already. Well, it is now lit up and Rockstar has struck some sort of promotional deal with the Vice City Heat for one night only.
Read MoreTarget 35-page Prime Day competitor ad highlights thousands of upcoming deals, live this weekend
The massive Amazon fall Prime early deals are live with the main event on the slate for this upcoming Tuesday. Best Buy and Walmart will also be launching massive sale events the day before, but Target will have a major Circle Deal Days sale of its own and we are now getting look at the deals courtesy of the 35-page deal ad it has now released.
Read MoreApple confirms iPhone 18 Pro Max AT&T cellular issues, affected devices require hardware replacement
Apple has confirmed an issue causing a “small number” of iPhone 18 Pro Max devices on AT&T to lose cellular service.
Apple released software and carrier updates to prevent the issue from affecting additional users, but the company tells 9to5Mac that devices that have already lost service will require a hardware replacement.
Read MoreFriday’s Apple Books and audiobook deals from $1
The early fall Prime Day deals are flying, and Friday’s lineup of the best Apple Books deals is now ready to roll: A Cruise to Die For, A Demon-Haunted Land, A Hat Full of Sky, A River in the Sky, A River of Golden Bones, A Scar in the Bone, After Sundown, Alchemy, and more. Scope out the $500 price drop on this 2TB M5 Pro MacBook Pro and up to $150 off M5 MacBook Air models while you’re at it, but all of the books are waiting below.
Read MoreTwelve South’s new $40 Airfly wireless CarPlay/Android Auto adapter already selling out, score one now while you can
The brand new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter that just launched yesterday at $40 has easily been one of the most popular tech accessories of the last few months (or more) around here. The black model is already “temporarily out of stock” at Amazon, so you might want to go lock one in now before they are completely gone (you can still order the black with a shipping delay and the white model is still in stock).
Read MorePodcast: Tesla Roadster delay, EV deliveries, battery swap comes back, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the Tesla Roadster delay, EV deliveries in the US, battery swap coming back, and more.
Read MoreThis weekend’s top Apple deals: MacBook Pro, AirTag 2, 25W MagSafe chargers, more
The early fall Prime Day sale at Amazon is flying alongside the release of the ultra-popular new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay and Android Auto adapter, and there are some solid Apple gear deals up for grabs. While our collection this week is slightly thinner than usual, that’s just because prices are going to be much better starting next week on some gear (most likely starting Sunday).
That said, you can still score a giant $500 price drop on this 2TB M5 Pro MacBook Pro, the solid launch discount on the new Beats 360 with 80% off the Cushion Kits, ongoing Amazon low pricing on AirTag 2, and some particularly notable all-time low deals on the latest Belkin 25W MagSafe charging gear. All of that and more awaits below.
Read MoreApple says it’s tightening macOS privacy controls amid the rise of AI agents
Amid the rapid rise in AI agents requesting “Full Disk Access” to your Mac, Apple says it is making changes to macOS to protect user privacy.
While the company hasn’t shared specifics, Apple says users should understand what it means to give an app such “extraordinary” access to their Mac.
Read MoreHere are all of the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models carrying launch deals at Amazon today
Alongside some of the clearance deals on Ultra 3 and the ongoing early fall Prime Day deals, Amazon is still serving up a rotating door of early discounts on the brand new Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4.
Read MoreFriday’s Android app deals and freebies: ISLANDERS, Newtro Boxing, Planescape, more
Alongside the early fall Prime Day deals at Amazon, all of the best Google Play app and game deals are now ready, including ISLANDERS: Mobile, Cell Clone Wars:Pro, Minabo: A walk through life, Unreal Life, Planescape: Torment: Enhanced, Kero Blaster, Newtro Boxing, and more. Just be sure to dive into the new $40 Airfly Drive wireless Android Auto adapter from Twelve South, and a chance to score the 45mm Pixel Watch 5 at $138 off. The apps await below.
Read MoreUK EV sales surge 36% to record high in September
UK EV sales hit a new all-time record in September. The country registered 99,199 battery-electric cars last month, up 36.3% from a year ago and good for 28.3% of the market, according to preliminary data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Tesla’s Model 3 was the best-selling EV and the second best-selling car overall. And yet the auto industry’s own lobby group is using the record month to argue that the UK’s EV targets are too hard.
Read MoreApple now sells Aqara Adaptive Temperature thermostat and seven more accessories
This week Apple refreshed its third-party accessories lineup to include eight additional products. This includes the Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 and more.
Read MoreFriday Apple TV deals: Up to 50% off horror collections, Casino, The Equalizer, Hunger Games, more
Friday’s lineup of the best Apple TV deals is now ready to roll, including titles like A Few Good Men, American Made, Casino, Interview With the Vampire, One Battle After Another, The Equalizer flicks, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, The Mummy (2017), and more. Just be sure to scope out the early fall Prime Day sale at Amazon and the new new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay adapter as well as up to $150 off M5 MacBook Air models while you’re at it.
Read MoreDeals: Pixel Watch 5 up to $138 off, Belkin 25W 3-in-1 magnetic charger for Android, OmniBook 3 $150 off, more
Joining the launch of the all-new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless Android Auto adapter at $40 and Amazon’s updated early fall Prime Day sale, today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is headlined by the 45mm Pixel Watch 5 at one of the best prices ever (up to $138 off), the all-new Fire TV Stick 4K 50% off, and this all-time low on Belkin’s 25W 3-in-1 magnetic charging station for Pixel and Galaxy users at $50. We also have the epic Sharge metal 300W smart display power bank returning to the all-time low at $50 off, HP’s OmniBook 3 Snapdragon X laptop at $150 off, and loads more waiting down below.
Read MoreDeals: M5 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, AirTag 2, smart display power bank, early Prime Day deals, more
Alongside the launch of the all-new Twelve South Airfly Drive wireless CarPlay adapter at $40, Amazon has once again updated its early fall Prime Day sale with fresh deals. Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is headlined by M5 MacBook Air models up to $150 off as well as the ongoing $500 price drop on this M5 Pro 2TB model and the single 2026 Apple AirTag 2 down at Amazon all-time low pricing. We also have Sharge’s metal 300W smart display power bank at $50 off, loads of new all-time lows on Belkin’s 25W MagSafe charging stations, and the now live official fall Prime Day deals on the Eve Matter/HomeKit plugs, light switches, outlets, and more from $32. Scope it all out below.
Read MoreYou can score the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster for FREE on Epic Game Store
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster
FREE (Reg. $30)
What we love
A remastered edition of one of the best immersive sims out there if you ask me, the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is completely FREE on the Epic Games Store right now – go grab it while you can.
Texas school district ditches Chromebooks, approves $11M iPad and MacBook Neo deal
A Texas school district is going all-in on the iPad and MacBook Neo as part of a new $11 million deal. The Beaumont Independent School District is ditching its Chromebook fleet and opting for Apple gear going forward, citing better reliability, lower costs, and performance.
As reported by the Beaumont Enterprise this week, the Beaumont Independent School District’s board has approved an $11.19 million four-year lease to upgrade its technology ecosystem.
Read MoreTesla might charge you up $25,000 if you use its latest feature
Tesla says its new “Emergency Drive Away” feature can do up to $25,000 in damage to a Supercharger every time someone uses it, and the car needs a mandatory service visit too.
Tesla has since released more details about the feature in response to owner questions. But Tesla hasn’t said who gets that bill.
Read MoreDon’t pay full price for iPhone Duo-ready Apple Pencil (USB-C), Amazon has it for less
iPhone Duo is coming very soon now, with pre-orders set to go live in two weeks. One of the best accessories you can score for your new Duo, outside of, perhaps, a case to protect it, is Apple Pencil USB-C and you can land one for $10 less over at Amazon than you can from Apple.
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