Technologies

At Just $54, Our Favorite Budget ANC Earbuds Have Never Been Cheaper

These days, you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a pair of wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation.

Choosing a pair of wireless earbuds can be difficult, especially if you don’t want to spend the big sums needed for some of the most popular models. But you don’t have to spend a lot to get some top-tier features, and the EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds prove it. They were already our favorite budget earbuds, but we can help make them even more affordable. Enter our special discount code (EAP4CNET) and you’ll pick them up for just $54. That’s a new low, but keep in mind that it’s only available on the black earbuds.

Despite the bargain price, these wireless earbuds support advanced features, including active noise cancellation tech. But that isn’t all, and you’ll find many of the features that you might expect to be reserved for earbuds from Apple, Sony and others.

CNET’s David Katzmaier says that the EarFun Air Pro 4 earbuds «have every other feature I’d expect, including the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and programmable touch-sensitive controls on the buds.» There’s more, too, with Katzmaier pointing out that «battery life has been more than ample for me» even when using the ANC feature to block out a noisy household.

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EarFun says that these earbuds can block up to 50 decibels of noise thanks to adaptive ANC technology, while support for aptX lossless audio and up to 52 hours of battery life round out the most notable features. Need to stretch those batteries a little further? A 10-minute charge will get you an additional two hours of listening time.

Why this deal matters

Whether you’re commuting through a busy city or work in a noisy office, a pair of noise-canceling earbuds can be a real lifesaver. Enjoying music, audiobooks and podcasts is much easier when you don’t have to crank the volume just to be able to hear them. At just $54. you really can’t argue with the value proposition on offer here. But if you are looking for savings on other models, we’ve rounded up all the best deals on earbuds and headphones.

Technologies

Meta Reportedly Eyeing ‘Super Sensing’ Tech for Smart Glasses

The company is reportedly pulling back on some privacy concerns to give its smart glasses lineup a bigger AI boost.

Meta is reportedly developing what it calls a «super sensing» type of facial recognition technology to its smart glasses lineup. A new report from The Information said Meta is developing software for the glasses that has the ability to recognize people by name and keep better track of what users are doing throughout the day.

The company originally planned to include similar technology in its first wave of smart glasses, but abandoned that effort due to privacy concerns.

Now, however, the tech appears to be back on the table. Meta is reportedly working on two new pairs of smart glasses, internally known as Aperol and Bellini, and is also re-evaluating its privacy policies and potential safety risks associated with the technology, the report said.

The report also said the feature would be opt-in only.

It’s part of Meta’s larger strategy to expand its smart glasses lineup and integrate AI more deeply into the products. It follows news that rivals like Google — now developing its first smart glasses since Google Glass — are boosting their push into the category.

It’s also said to be integrating this same «sensing» recognition capability into AI-powered earphones, which are said to include embedded cameras and sensors.

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

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 9, #1420

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,420 for May 9.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle could be tricky. It’s not a super-common word, though the letters aren’t especially unusual. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter T.

Wordle hint No. 4: Nonsense

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to something ridiculous.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to an unusual ingredient used in Mexican and other dishes.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is TRIPE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, May 8, No. 1419, was BALMY.

Recent Wordle answers

May 4, No. 1415: TROUT

May 5, No. 1416: SHUSH

May 6, No. 1417: SUITE

May 7, No. 1418: MACHO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 9, #698

Hints and answers for Connections for May 9, No. 698.

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.

Today’s Connections puzzle has one category that might remind you of grade-school math. 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 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: Adjust the picture.

Green group hint: Starting to fade.

Blue group hint: Do the math.

Purple group hint: Not on the door, but…