Technologies

Grab 2nd-Gen Echo Buds Noise Canceling Earbuds and a 3rd-Gen Echo Dot for $70 (Save $90)

Whether you want to stream your music at home or on the go, this deal has you covered.

If you’ve been wrangling with a decision on investing in a smart speaker for the home or true-wireless earbuds you can take on the go, Amazon has you covered. Right now you grab a pair of Echo Buds 2 and a 3rd-gen Echo Dot bundle for just $70 — saving you $90 off the list price. Essentially, you’re getting a smart speaker free with your purchase of Amazon’s noise canceling earbuds, so you don’t have to choose. This deal expires tonight, so be sure to get your purchase in before then if you want to snag this bundle at this price.

See at Amazon

Amazon’s second-gen Echo Buds are a good option if you want true-wireless headphones with noise canceling ability that don’t cost an arm and a leg. These buds have an improved design and fit over their predecessors; are compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri, allowing you to operate the earbuds via hands-free voice commands; and have an IPX4 water-resistance rating, meaning they’re protected against sweat so you can wear them during your workouts without worry. These earbuds also get up to five hours of playback on a single charge, with up to 15 hours of listening time total with the charging case.

The 3rd-gen Echo Dot is no longer the latest and greatest Echo Dot model on the market, but it is still a solid smart speaker. The fabric design provides a richer sound than previous models and you can even pair it with other Echo Dot devices and Bluetooth speakers for stereo audio or Alexa access all around your home. Whether you want to play music, check the weather, set reminders or more, you can do it all hands-free.

So don’t stress about whether you prefer to listen to your streaming services at home or on the go — with this deal, you don’t have to choose.

Technologies

AT&T Says It’s Pumping $250 Billion Into New Infrastructure Improvements

Technologies

Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.