Technologies
Score $250 Off Google’s Flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL While You Still Can
Best Buy has slashed the price of the Pixel 9 Pro XL to just $849 for the 128GB model.

When you’re shopping at the high end of the Android phone market, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is one option you should definitely consider. It’s fast, has a huge display and gets all the latest Android updates as soon as possible. And right now, Best Buy is offering the flagship phone with a huge $250 discount.
This deal means that you can now get the 128GB model for just $849, rather than the usual $1,099. Need more space? The 256GB version is just $949, down from the usual $1,199. Both deals are part of a larger Android savings event that Best Buy is running, so check the full collection out if you don’t want to go the Pixel route.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL comes with a huge 6.8-inch display that looks stunning whether you’re inside or outdoors, even in bright sunlight. It packs a 42-megapixel front-facing camera for great selfies, while the main rear camera uses a 50-megapixel sensor. That’s backed up by 48-megapixel telephoto and ultrawide cameras.
Wireless connectivity includes support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology, while both wired and wireless charging are supported. As we’ve come to expect from modern flagship phones, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is IP68 dust and water resistant, so you need not worry about trips to the beach or pool.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
Fans of AI will enjoy a ton of Google features, not least the Gemini assistant. AI-powered features can also be found throughout Android, including phone call screening and advanced image-editing options.
This phone is unlocked, so can be used on all major US carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Alternatively, you can use it with prepaid carriers including Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, Google Fi, Total Wireless, Tracfone and Mint.
SMARTPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$870 (save $330)
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$599 (save $200)
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$449 (save $50)
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$300 (save $100)
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$342 (save $287)
Why thisdeal matters
Getting a Pixel phone means you’ll get all of the latest Android improvements and features first. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is also at the top of its game with fast performance, a stunning display and all of the AI features that you could possibly want. The chance to pick one up for just $849 shouldn’t be ignored, especially if you’re in the market for a new, premium phone already.
Technologies
Amazon Prime Day Swells to a 4-Day Event, With Tariffs Still Looming Large
Against a backdrop of potential price hikes on imported goods, the dates are now confirmed for Amazon’s big annual sales event for Prime members.
Amazon Prime Day is getting even bigger this year. Amazon announced its summer shopping event will take place July 8-11 — ballooning from two to four days. The mega retailer’s sale, exclusive to Prime members, offers some of the best Amazon deals of the year.
And while the sale days promise bargains and special offers, looming price hikes due to tariffs could impact how much of a savings shoppers can expect. Amazon launched Prime Day back in 2015, and savvy shoppers have eagerly anticipated this annual event ever since. The wait it almost over.
Our CNET Deals team will be tracking all the best deals throughout the event so you can score the lowest prices, helping you navigate the sale and get ahead of any tariff-based price rises.
How could tariffs affect Prime Day deals?
Prices on everything, including electronics, are expected to rise as a result of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which he originally announced on April 2. He quickly followed with a 90-day pause for most of the tariffs, leaving a 10% baseline tariff for goods imported from most countries. Trump recently announced a trade deal with China that put a total tariff of 55% in place — although 25% of that was put in place during his first term.
The administration has since said that it’s in the process of making deals with many countries to ease tariffs, but the original pause on tariffs is set to expire July 9 — right in the middle of the Prime Day shopping event. Import taxes could see double-digit increases if countries are unable to reach an agreement.
If retailers pass along the full cost of the tariffs, it could mean we’ll be paying a lot more for products manufactured in other countries.
After launching the original Prime Day in 2015, the retailer has expanded the number of its sales events, including a Big Spring Sale in March and Prime Big Deal Days in October. Last year’s Prime Day sale took place July 16-17.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, June 17
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 17.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? The clues are kind of upper-crusty, with Boston Brahmins, the stock market and upscale magazines among the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Boston Brahmin types
Answer: WASPS
6A clue: Look forward to
Answer: AWAIT
7A clue: Stock market bounceback
Answer: RALLY
8A clue: Whimsically amusing
Answer: DROLL
9A clue: Hearing or sight
Answer: SENSE
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Voting districts
Answer: WARDS
2D clue: «Oh, I’m well ___!»
Answer: AWARE
3D clue: Establishment offering chemical treatments
Answer: SALON
4D clue: Contents of a box labeled SMTWTFS
Answer: PILLS
5D clue: Focus of Vogue and Elle
Answer: STYLE
Technologies
How Did ChatGPT Get ‘Absolutely Wrecked’ at Chess by an 1970s-Era Atari 2600?
The console Gen Xers used to play Pac-Man and Pitfall on apparently was better than anyone knew.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT has some major AI chatbot competitors in the market: Gemini, Copilot, Claude. Now add to that list the Atari 2600. The OG video game console, which was first released in 1977, was used in an engineer’s experiment to see how it would fare playing chess against the AI chatbot.
By using a software emulator to run Atari’s 1979 game Video Chess, Citrix engineer Robert Caruso said he was able to set up a match between ChatGPT and the 46-year-old game. The matchup did not go well for ChatGPT.
«ChatGPT confused rooks for bishops, missed pawn forks and repeatedly lost track of where pieces were — first blaming the Atari icons as too abstract, then faring no better even after switching to standard chess notations,» Caruso wrote in a LinkedIn post.
«It made enough blunders to get laughed out of a 3rd-grade chess club,» Caruso said. «ChatGPT got absolutely wrecked at the beginner level.»
Caruso wrote that the 90-minute match continued badly and that the AI chatbot repeatedly requested that the match start over.
For decades, the ability for computers to defeat humans at chess has been a measure of their power. In 1997, IBM made headlines when its Deep Blue technology defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in a series of matches.
Caruso’s experiment doesn’t mean ChatGPT is useless for chess, but because it’s more of a language model than a supercomputer, it’s less likely to serve that purpose well. A few years ago, a developer created a ChatGPT plugin called ChessGPT. But it may be better to discuss chess with OpenAI’s chatbot than to try to play against it.
A representative for OpenAI did not immediately return a request for comment.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
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