Sony’s best ANC headphones are up to 46 percent off right now

With both immersive sound and powerful active noise cancellation (ANC), Sony’s WH-1000XM4 are some of the most desirable wireless headphones out there — but at $350, they’re pretty expensive. If you’ve been looking for a deal, you can now pick up a pair at Amazon for $278, or a solid 21 percent ($72 off the regular price. And if that’s still too much, Sony’s mid-range and budget ANC wireless headphones are also on sale. 

Buy Sony WH-1000XM4 at Amazon – $278

The WH-1000XM4 attained an exceptional 94 score in our Engadget review for good reason. They offer great sound quality with punchy bass, plus ANC that blocks out noise better than other wireless headphones we’ve tested. They also offer multi-device connectivity and Speak-to-Chat, which automatically pauses audio when you talk, along with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio that offers a similar surround-sound experience to Dolby Atmos. You’ll get around 30 hours on a charge and you can eke another five hours from a quick 10-minute charge.

Sony WH-XB910N
Sony

Sony’s mid-range WH-XB910N headphones (above) are also on sale at Amazon for $148, near their all-time low price. They’re obviously not quite up to the level of the much more expensive WH-1000XM4, particularly with the ANC, but they still deliver excellent sound quality and look great. You get clear mids and highs, powerful bass and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio surround sound. Other features include “Precise Voice Pickup” that amplifies your voice on calls, on-board controls, an ambient sound mode and 30-hour battery life.

Buy Sony WH-XB910N at Amazon – $148

Finally, if you’re looking for a budget ANC model, Amazon has another good deal on Sony’s WH-CH710N model. They’re now available for $98 or a solid 46 percent off the regular $180 price. They earned a best alternative spot in our buyer’s guide last year, thanks to the very good sound quality with decent range and clarity. They also feature ANC that can automatically adjust cancellation based on the level of ambient noise, an ambient sound mode and 35 hours of battery life.

Buy Sony WH-CH710N at Amazon – $98

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Halo Infinite’s campaign co-op won’t be available when season two kicks off in May

The last we heard, Halo Infinite‘s campaign co-op was supposed to arrive with season two when it launched in May this year. Now, developer 343 Industries has announced that it won’t be available when season 2 debuts but will instead come “later” at an unspecified date in the second season. 

“We are still aiming to deliver campaign network co-op later in season two, and we will share a release date for that and for split-screen co-op as soon as we can,” said the game’s head of creative, Joseph Staten. “It’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience in the massive, wide-open world of Halo Infinite.”

It seems likely that split-screen for co-op will arrive at the same time, though the company didn’t confirm that. “We’re also committed to a great two-player split-screen co-op experience on all Xbox consoles, from the original Xbox One through Xbox Series X — the non-linear, wide-open sections of the Campaign present some big challenges for split-screen that have taken us more time to solve,” Staten wrote. 

Forge, meanwhile, is still slated to arrive with season three. It’s currently in level editor testing with a small group of players and public flights are set for “later this year,” the company said. 

Season two was supposed to come three months after Halo Infinite‘s launch on December 8th, but it was pushed back by a couple of months as 343 decided to extend season one. What you will see when it launches on May 3rd are new arena (“Catalyst”) and Big Team Battle (“Breaker”) maps. It’ll also feature new game modes known as Land Grab and Last Spartan Standing, which the company calls “a free-for-all elimination mode.”  

Sony and Honda announce plan to build EVs together

Sony and Honda have signed a memorandum of understanding to design and market electric vehicles together, the companies announced. The deal isn’t final, but the aim is to establish a joint venture this year and start selling vehicles by 2025.

Honda would design, manufacture and market the first model, with Sony creating the mobility service platform. The idea is to marry Honda’s car building and sales chops with Sony’s infotainment, mobile and image sensor expertise. 

“Although Sony and Honda are companies that share many historical and cultural similarities, our areas of technological expertise are very different,” said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe. “Therefore, I believe this alliance which brings together the strengths of our two companies offers great possibilities for the future of mobility.”

For Honda, the joint venture might help it achieve its goal of shifting its entire lineup to EVs by 2040. As it stands now, the company has one of the sparsest EV lineups of any automaker, with its only true EV sold in the west being the nichey, Europe-only Honda E.

Sony pitched the partnership as a bid to “fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology.” That likely means you can expect high-tech interiors and fancy entertainment systems designed to help you forget that you’re stuck in rush-hour traffic. It added that it wants to create a mobility system “centered around safety, entertainment and adaptability.”

The news doesn’t come as a complete shock, as Sony has already showed not just one but two electric vehicles of its own design, the Vision-S EV and Vision-S 02 electric SUV. When it first appeared, the Vision-S was a showcase for all of Sony’s strengths, packing 33 different sensors for 360 Reality Audio tech, wide-screen displays, autonomous driving and other features. Sony promised to debut a new company called Sony Mobility sometime this spring, but it looks like the Honda alliance will serve that purpose instead.

Apple may soon drop mask requirements for retail and corporate employees

Apple is starting to eliminate mask requirements for both retail and corporate US employees, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly told corporate staff that masks are now optional for vaccinated employees in regions where indoor-mask mandates have been dropped. Retail staff at specific locations were also told that masks will be optional starting today. 

The company is following the lead of the CDC and states that are quickly dropping mask mandates as COVID-19 cases plummet around the country. It plans to relax mask rules across more regions as well, depending on local laws. In addition, Apple is reinstating in-person “Today at Apple” classes at US retail stores starting on March 7th, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

Apple has already dropped mask requirements for Store customers in a number of regions, including Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio. Most New York locations don’t require customers to wear masks anymore either, so long as they’ve been fully vaccinated.

Apple previously dropped mask mandates last June, but that didn’t last very long. It reinstated them just a short time later as the Delta variant surged, and kept them on during the spread of the Omicron variant. 

If things go to plan, Apple may also set a deadline for employees returning to the office. It planned to do that in June of 2021, but delayed it once again as cases surged. It then projected a September return, but eventually admitted that employees wouldn’t likely return until 2022.

Airbnb is suspending its operations in Russia and Belarus

Airbnb is halting operations in Russia and Belarus, CEO Brian Chesky announced in a tweet. That includes around 90,000 active short-term rentals across different platforms in Russia and just over 1,800 in Belarus, according to Reuters. 

Chesky brought the situation up yesterday saying “all things are on the table” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Monday this week, Airbnb offered free housing for up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing to European nations including Poland, Germany, Hungary and Romania. 

Airbnb users have been taking things into their own hands, too. Members of the public purchased Airbnb rentals in Ukraine to help get money to residents facing severe economic hardship, as The Guardian reported. “My wife and I have just booked your apartment for one week, but of course we will not be visiting. This is just so you can receive some money,” wrote one user to an Airbnb renter in Ukraine. Airbnb has also agreed to waive guest and host fees on all bookings in the nation.

Over a million refugees have fled the country since Russia’s invasion started, according to the UN, and it estimates that up to four million people could eventually leave.

US Surgeon General orders tech companies to reveal sources of COVID-19 misinformation

President Biden’s Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has formally called on tech companies to provide information on sources and the scale of COVID-19 misinformation, The Washington Post has reported. “This is about protecting the nation’s health,” he told The Post in a written statement. “Technology companies now have the opportunity to be open and transparent with the American people about the misinformation on their platforms.” 

Murthy’s request pertains to social networks, search engines, crowdsourced platforms, e-commerce and instant messaging companies. To start with, he wants data and analysis on typical vaccine misinformation already identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes falsities like “the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous” and “COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips.”

The administration seeks to learn how many users have been exposed to such misinformation, and which demographic groups may have been disproportionally affected. On top of that, it’s looking for data about the major sources of COVID-19 misinformation, including individuals or businesses that sell unapproved COVID-19 products or services. Tech companies have until May 2nd to comply, though they won’t be penalized if they don’t.

Last summer, Murthy called health misinformation an “urgent threat to public health” that tech platforms needed to address, adding that “health misinformation has already caused significant harm.” 

The request is part of the White House’s COVID National Preparedness Plan announced yesterday, designed to achieve “minimal disruption” by COVID-19. The administration also asked health providers to submit statements on how coronavirus misinformation has hurt patients and communities. “We’re asking anyone with relevant insights — from original research and data sets to personal stories that speak to the role of misinformation in public health — to share them with us.”