Google’s Nest Hub Max is back on sale for $169

If you’ve been looking for a solid deal on a smart display, it’s worth considering the Google Nest Hub Max. It’s on sale for $169, which is $60 less than the regular price, at both Adorama and B&H. We saw it dip to the same price in a one-day sale on Adorama in January.

Buy Google Nest Hub Max at Adorama – $169Buy Google Nest Hub Max at B&H – $169

The Nest Hub Max has a 10-inch HD display on which you can stream shows and movies from the likes of YouTube and Netflix, control your smart home gear and take video calls. Google Assistant is baked in, of course, and the device has stereo speakers.

The built-in camera supports a feature called Face Match. The smart display can recognize who’s using it and tailor information such as messages and calendar alerts to that person. It can also act as a Nest Cam, allowing you to monitor what’s happening in your home while you’re away or keep an eye on family members in another room.

There are some gesture controls as well, which allow you to play and pause media. Those who keep the Hub Max next to their bed can also snooze alarms and dismiss timers without having to groggily find the right prompt on the display.

We gave the Nest Hub Max a score of 86 in our review in 2019. Although we took issue with a couple of aspects, such as gestures not always working properly, we lauded it for the great screen, solid sound quality and fair price. The latter is an even better selling point for the time being.

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Apple Maps now shows Crimea as part of Ukraine

Apple’s tougher stance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine now includes a reversal of its policy on Crimea. Mashablenoticed that Apple Maps once again shows Crimea as belonging to Ukraine, at least for people outside of Russia. The company previously tried to strike a middle ground when it showed the region as belonging to no one, and in 2019 conceded to Russian pressure by showing Crimea as Russian territory when viewed within that country.

It’s not clear when Apple made the change, or whether Maps still includes concessions for Russian users. We’ve asked Apple for comment.

Russia forcefully annexed Crimea in 2014, prompting widespread international condemnation and penalties. Many countries still refuse to recognize Russia’s control of the area, and other technology firms have tried to negotiate the issue in different ways. Google Maps, for instance, continued to display Crimea as belonging to no nation.

The decision comes just days after Apple halted sales in Russia and clamped down on content in the country by limiting Apple Pay and removing the apps for state-backed Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik. The company is no longer willing to be as conciliatory as it once was, even if it means losing business.

Disney+ will add a cheaper ad-supported tier later this year

Disney has announced an ad-supported tier is coming to Disney+ later this year. It will be available to folks in the US at first and there are plans to expand it to other countries starting in 2023.

The company hasn’t revealed pricing for the new tier, though it’ll cost less than the current ad-free plan. That costs $8 per month in the US. Nor did Disney say in its press release exactly when the ad-supported version of the service will be available.

Disney believes the move will help it reach its target of having between 230 million and 260 million Disney+ subscribers by the end of its 2024 fiscal year. As of the end of 2021, the streaming service had 129.8 million subscribers, a third of whom are in the US and Canada.

Hulu, which Disney took full control of in 2019, has long offered an ad-supported tier. The ad-free tier was introduced in 2015.

Microsoft halts all sales in Russia

Apple isn’t the only tech behemoth pulling its products from the Russian market in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Microsoft is ‘suspending‘ all new sales of products and services in Russia, and is halting “many aspects” of its business in the country to honor US, UK and EU sanctions. The move comes days after Microsoft restricted Russian state media across its platforms, and after Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister called on the company to block Russian Xbox accounts.

Microsoft saw the withdrawal as virtually necessary. “Concrete steps” like this would have the most impact, according to company president Brad Smith, and there will be “additional steps” as the Ukraine situation develops. The Windows creator was unambiguous in its criticism of Russia, calling the invasion “unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful” and pointing out its efforts to identify and counter Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine.

The initiative could have a significant impact on Russian use of technology. Microsoft products play important roles for computing in Russia like they do in many countries, including Windows, Office and services like Microsoft 365 or Azure. While existing users might not lose access, this could pose problems for anyone needing to buy a new product or renew a subscription. We’ve asked Microsoft how this might impact Russian PC vendors — they’ll need licenses if they intend to sell Windows-based computers.

Whatever the exact damage, the sales freeze follows a string of crackdowns at tech companies like Google, Meta, Reddit and Twitter. Russia won’t necessarily bend in response to these actions, but there’s clearly concerted pressure on the country to act.

Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite Kids is $50 off for today only

This might be a good time to buy an e-reader and foster your child’s love of reading. Amazon is selling the Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $110 as part of a one-day-only sale, or a full $50 below the usual price. The standard Kindle Kids is also on sale for today at $60 with a similar $50 discount. With both models you’ll get a two-year “worry-free guarantee,” a child-appropriate cover and a year-long Kids+ subscription with access to thousands of books.

Buy Kindle Paperwhite Kids at Amazon – $110Buy Kindle Kids at Amazon – $60

Both Kindle devices should work well if you’re looking for the essentials. They offer a eye-friendly reading experience that will eliminate the distractions of tablets, and their weeks of battery life will spare you from having to plug them in very often. The extras from the Kids versions might also help you save money — particularly a costly replacement if there’s an accident.

Of the two, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is arguably the better value. There’s a larger (and sharper) screen with more LED lights, a waterproof design, an adjustable warm light and a considerably longer 10-week battery life versus the base Kindle’s four. It should be easier to read at any time of the day, and you won’t have to worry if your little one gets it wet. To put it another way, you can focus more on improving your child’s literacy skills instead of managing their gadgets.

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Audi’s RS E-Tron GT makes the case for EVs on ice

The Audi Avant RS6 wagon is quick, it handles magnificently and it’s a powerful wagon – it’s an enthusiast’s dream car. The RS E-Tron GT is an EV sports sedan that stays true to the automaker’s performance lineage. Audi offered both vehicles up for a day of performance ice driving and the big takeaway (besides that I need to work on drifting around corners) was that an EV makes for a more stable ride on ice.

Both vehicles have all-wheel drive systems but where the RS6 Avant is mechanical with a locking rear differential, the E-Tron GT is powered by two electric motors, one at each axle. The wheel control of those motors can’t be replicated by the mechanical system and the extra heft of the battery made for a drive experience that was equal parts exciting and also eye-opening. Watch the video above for the full story.

Google’s Nest Thermostat is on sale for $93 right now

If you missed the sale last month on the Nest Thermostat, you have another chance to grab the smart home gadget for even less now. Amazon has the snow colored WiFi thermostat for $93, or 29 percent off its normal price. This isn’t an all-time low — the device briefly dropped to $80 during Black Friday weekend last year — but this is the best price we’ve seen since then.

Buy Nest Thermostat at Amazon – $93

Google debuted the Nest Thermostat in 2020 as an affordable alternative to the Nest Learning Thermostat. You’ll notice a big difference in the design of the two gadgets: the Nest Thermostat is slimmer than its Learning counterpart and has a mirrored display, along with a touch-sensitive bezel that you can use to manually adjust temperature settings. You could shell out more money for the higher-quality display and better materials in the Learning Thermostat, but ultimately both gadgets are designed to do the same thing: help you save money on energy costs.

The Nest Thermostat is Energy Star-certified and uses a feature called Savings Finder to learn about your home system and suggest ways to conserve energy. Using the Google Home app, you can create schedules for your home that optimize energy usage, like turning the temperature down when you’re out of the house and turning it up when you come back. The app also lets you remotely control your home’s environment, making it easy to adjust temperatures when you’re away. And you can use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice commands to adjust settings when you’re home, too. An IoT gadget like this is a good one to build your smart home ecosystem around if you’re new to the space, and a good one to add to an existing system if you already use a lot of Google devices.

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Engadget Podcast: A not-so Mobile World Congress 2022

In spite of everything else going on in the world, Mobile World Congress 2022 took place this week. Companies like Oppo, Huawei, TCL, Samsung and Lenovo showed off a ton of new products, ranging from laptops and tablets to foldable concepts and some phones. While it felt strange to cover the news coming out of the show, especially from a distance, we were still able to check out some interesting tech. UK bureau chief Mat Smith joined us to make sense of all the news.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

Subscribe!

Topics

  • Samsung A not-so Mobile World Congress – 2:23

  • Huawei MatePad – 5:27

  • Oppo Find X5 – 15:26

  • Honor Magic 4 – 20:04

  • TCL’s latest foldable concept – 31:18

  • The ThinkPad X13s is powered by Snapdragon – 40:53

  • Apple’s “Peek Performance” event is scheduled for March 8th – 53:27

  • Multiple disability organizations call on US DOJ to finalize accessibility rules – 1:00:37

  • Biden wants to end targeted ads that are aimed at children – 1:07:46

  • Thermacell’s smart mosquito repellent system – 1:08:37

  • Working on – 1:12:30

  • Picks – 1:16:33

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Mat Smith
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Brian Oh
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

Brandon Sanderson’s secret novels break Pebble’s Kickstarter crowdfunding record

Over half a decade later, a new Kickstarter campaign has finally eclipsed Pebble’s crowdfunding record on the website. Fantasy and sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson set up a campaign to raise $1 million within 30 days to fund four secret books he intends to release every quarter next year. It didn’t take 30 days to blow past that goal, though — it took only 35 minutes. And three days on, as of this writing, the campaign has already made $20.4 million, almost $100,000 more than what the Pebble Time e-paper smartwatch raised when it was up for funding.

While Sanderson is self publishing the four books included in the project, he’s not a little-known indie author. Raising over $20 million in just three days was possible because he already had a solid fanbase who knows he can deliver, seeing as he’s famous for being a fast writer who can quickly churn out new books. He’s known for his novels set in the Cosmere universe, which he likens to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive series. Three of the secret books in the campaign are also set in the Cosmere universe, with each story taking place on a different fantasy planet. Sanderson is known for finishing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, as well.

The author told The New York Times that one of his objectives for launching this project is to see what it would be like to challenge Amazon. The e-commerce and cloud giant dominates the printed book and ebook market, and it accounts for 80 percent of Sanderson’s sales. “If Amazon’s grip on the industry is weakened, that’s good for the publishers — they are very much under Amazon’s thumb right now. I don’t want to present this as ‘Brandon versus Amazon.’ Amazon’s great. But I think that in the long run, Amazon being a monopoly is actually bad for Amazon. If they don’t have competition, they will stop innovating,” he said.

To get Sanderson’s secret books, fans will have to pledge a minimum of $40 for ebook copies. The audiobook versions will set them back $60 at least, while they’ll have to pledge a minimum of $160 (not including shipping costs) for the premium hardcovers. Sanderson plans to release one book each in January, April, July and October 2023.

Those interested can either go in blind and just wait for the deliveries or read an excerpt from the first book on Sanderson’s website. They can also listen to him read the first book’s opening chapter on YouTube.