Technologies

The Amazon Prime Perks Not Everyone Knows About

Here’s how to put your Amazon Prime membership to good use in 2023.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

The new year is finally here, and there are Amazon deals going strong with more to come over the next few months. If you’re a Prime member, there are a slew of perks included with your subscription that you’ll want to use all year round.

No, we’re not just talking about free two-day shipping. Amazon Prime members have access to tons of other perks and bonuses you might not know about.

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For example, Amazon Prime members can get deliveries much faster than two days, sometimes in a few hours. They can also schedule delivery dates for convenience or to avoid times when they’ll be away from home. And they even get exclusive deals simply by using Alexa on an Amazon Echo.

If you’re thinking about signing up for an Amazon Prime account (here’s how) or don’t know much about all of the included features, here are some ways you can get the most out of your membership.

You can get free same-day delivery on qualifying items

If there’s a product you want immediately, you can see if it’s available for delivery the same day you order. To check a product’s eligibility, look for delivery that’s marked as «Prime FREE Same-Day» while shopping. Note that your order will need to contain over $35 of qualifying items. If not, you’ll have to pay a small fee.

Amazon will deliver from morning until evening, so you won’t have to worry about receiving your order at 3 a.m. However, same-day delivery isn’t available in all locations, so enter your ZIP code on the Amazon Same-Day Delivery page to see if you’re eligible.

Alexa can share extra discounts when you shop on Echo

You can use your Amazon Echo to ask «Alexa, what are my deals?» anytime. Alexa will then share Prime-exclusive deals and you’ll have the option to add the item to your cart, buy it now or move on to the next deal.

Schedule a convenient shipping date for your package

Everyone knows about Amazon’s free two-day shipping, but another option is to choose a delivery date during checkout. It’s called Amazon Day and it’s helpful if there’s a specific day you know someone will be at home to answer for packages — especially if it’s something pricey that you don’t want to risk leaving unattended.

If you order multiple items on different days, you can have them delivered on the same day as long as they’re eligible for this offer.

Use your Amazon Echo to help track packages

If you have an Amazon Echo of any kind, you can use it to track your orders.

Just say «Alexa, where’s my package?» and your Echo will let you know where it is, who it’s for and when it’ll arrive. Once your order has been delivered, the Echo’s ring light will pulse yellow and if you have the Echo Show, the delivery notification will appear on the screen.

Shop Early Access deals before non-Prime members

If something you’ve been eyeing says «Prime Early Access,» as a Prime member you can shop that sale 30 minutes before non-Prime members. However, you’ll still have to compete with other Prime members who are interested in the product before it sells out.

Amazon can leave your package inside your house

When you know you’re not going to be home for a while and you’ve got a shipment on the way, it’s much safer to have an Amazon employee leave your items inside your house to avoid theft.

For in-home delivery, you’ll need a Key-compatible smart lock and an (optional) Amazon Cloud Cam. The Amazon driver will send you a notification when they’ve arrived at your house and will request to unlock your door. Amazon will verify the package is at the right address and the driver is near the door, then will turn on Amazon Cloud Cam and unlock your door.

If you’re wary of letting a complete stranger into your home, keep in mind that you’ll also receive notifications during the entire process. Note that you can opt to block delivery access to your home — for example, if you know you’ll be home during that time.

You can also have packages delivered inside your garage

«Porch pirates» — thieves who steal packages left in front of homes — are no joke. Security site SafeWise told CNET that about 260 million packages have been stolen from home exteriors in 2022. The Amazon Key in-garage delivery service can stop porch theft completely and is free for all Amazon Prime members.

When you use Amazon In-Garage Delivery, select Key Delivery at checkout. The garage kit is $26 right now and turns your garage into a smart garage. It works the same as in-home delivery so Amazon will do all the verifying for you.

Send a gift to someone without knowing their address

An Amazon Prime feature lets you send someone a gift, even if you don’t have their address. For instance, if you’d like to send a coworker something for the holidays or their birthday but don’t know what their address is, you can still send a gift. But there’s a catch — that person must also have a Prime account and you need either their phone number or email address associated with the account.

Just note that not every item on Amazon is eligible.

Share Prime perks with family

If you’ve got another adult living in your household, like a significant other or friend, you can share your Prime membership with them. You’ll still be able to keep your personal accounts separate, but you’ll both have access to all the same Prime benefits.

You can also share your account with up to four teens and up to four children in your household. While they’ll have their own logins, you can still manage their profiles.

For more shopping tips, here’s how to send your Amazon packages back the fast, easy and free way.

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Technologies

How to Enable the New AI Notification Summaries on Your Pixel Phone

The feature is disabled by default. Here’s how to turn it on.

One of the best aspects of owning a Pixel phone is that Google releases periodic «Pixel Drop» updates, which introduce new software features between major operating system updates. November’s Pixel Drop brings a slew of new features, including one that’ll be familiar to iOS users: AI-powered notification summaries.

We won’t lie — we weren’t big fans of how AI notification summaries worked when they first launched on iOS. They often left out crucial information, resulting in summaries that were either dramatic or alarmist. This prompted some people to turn them off completely, but they’ve improved a bit since launch. Google’s lead in the AI game may give it an advantage, but only time will tell.

These Pixel AI summaries will appear for popular messaging apps when you receive either multiple or lengthy messages, so that you can quickly get a gist of the conversation.

The feature appears to be rolling out in a server-side update, so don’t worry if you don’t see the option right away. It’s also disabled by default, so we’ll show you where to check and how to enable notification summaries on your Pixel phone when it arrives.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Which Pixel phones will get the new notification summaries?

Google’s been pretty good about getting new features to older Pixel phones, but notification summaries don’t seem to be one of them.

The new feature is available on the Pixel 9 series, excluding the Pixel 9a, and the latest Pixel 10 line of phones. For now, the feature is only available in English.

While the Pixel 8 series did introduce some AI-powered features during its lifecycle, it was the Pixel 9 that truly felt like Google’s first «pure» AI phone, so the limitation makes sense.

Here’s how to enable notification summaries on your Pixel

If Notification summaries are available for your Pixel, the option will appear under the Manage section of the Notification settings page. Here are the steps to turn the feature on:

Go to Settings.
Tap Notifications.
Tap Notification summaries.
Toggle Use notification summaries on.

That’s it. Now you’ll receive summaries from popular messaging apps when the conversation gets too lengthy.

Technologies

Dim Lighting? No Problem! Edge Light Serves as a Virtual Ring Light for Macs

The ring light-like feature can spruce up your appearance on video calls.

Every content creator out there knows the value of a good ring light, which provides smooth, even illumination for a more flattering look. Apple is aiming to improve your appearance in low-lit Mac video calls with Edge Light, a video effect that adds light to your face using the edges of your Mac’s display. Call it a virtual ring light.

Edge Light is coming later this year in MacOS 26.2, and is available now in the current beta. When using Edge Light, you can adjust the brightness level and light tone, allowing you to choose between a warmer or cooler look.

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Edge Light is available on all Mac models that include Apple silicon. Owners of Mac models from 2024 and later can choose to have Edge Light turn on automatically when ambient light is low.

The feature uses the Mac’s Apple Neural Engine to detect your face. The Mac’s Image Signal Processor understands light levels and adjusts the auto brightness level accordingly. When your pointer is near the edge of your Mac screen, the light will recede from your pointer, allowing you to access content without interruption.

HP debuted a similar feature on its laptops in 2021 called Enhanced Lighting. Other built-in video conferencing effects on MacOS include Studio Light, Portrait mode, virtual backgrounds and Voice Isolation.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 14, #887

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 14, #887

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Movie buffs, today’s NYT Connections puzzle is for you. The two toughest categories, blue and purple, are both film-related. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: To assess something.

Green group hint: Want to listen to some music?

Blue group hint: Lights, camera…

Purple group hint: Heart-pounding movies.