Technologies

Prime Day Is Bringing Our Favorite Beats Headphones Back to Their Lowest Price Ever

The Beats Solo 4 headphones have improved sound quality, impressive battery life and a comfortable build. And now they’re back to $100 for Prime Day.

A good pair of headphones makes everything better, from long commutes to gym sessions and even everyday chores. But not everything with two earcups is created equal. The Beats Solo 4 is one of our favorite on-ear headphones, and with Prime Day officially kicking off Tuesday, you can save a huge amount on these headphones.

Amazon is currently offering 50% off the Solo 4, bringing the price down to $100 from $200. And the discount is valid on just about every color, so you can pick the one that best matches your style. Hurry, Prime Day deals won’t last forever.

These headphones feature Bluetooth 5.3 wireless technology to prevent frequent connection drops and 40mm drivers that deliver a more balanced, clean sound. In his review, CNET’s audio expert, David Carnoy, noted that the audio quality and voice-calling performance in Solo 4 are significantly better than its predecessors. They don’t feature active noise cancellation, but you can get decent passive noise reduction with the earcups.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The flex-grip headband and angled earcups in Solo 4 are designed for a more natural fit. Pair this with the soft UltraPlush cushions, and you’ll appreciate how comfortable they feel, especially during long sessions. Speaking of all-day use, the battery lasts up to 50 hours. You can pair these with both iOS and Android devices easily.

If you prefer keeping things wired, the Solo 4 also includes a 3.5mm audio cable. However, if this isn’t the best option for you, take a look at all the best Prime Day headphone deals.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones (Navy):

$298 (save $50)
Soundcore Life Q20 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$40 (save $20)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$300 (save $51)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$299 (save $151)
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$220 (save $180)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Beats makes some of the best headphones out there, and this Prime Day, Amazon brought the price of the Solo 4 down to just $100, which is a rare find for a model like this. It might not stick around for long, so you’ll want to act fast. Since Prime Day kicks off Tuesday, there’s no telling how long this deal will last.

Technologies

You Can Now Watch Mini Dramas on TikTok’s Standalone ‘PineDrama’ App

Single Dad Hunt, Cohabitating Romance and other bite-size sugar fixes have earned their own app.

TikTok looks like it’s doubling down on the «pine» in its mini dramas with the new PineDrama app, now available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. It’s free, likely until the company has amassed a large enough content library worth paying for.

At the moment, everything looks like romantic potboilers, but since microdramas are popular and getting more so even as I type, that’s bound to change. You’ve probably seen microdramas and the various apps with which you watch them in your social media ads — they’re short movies or TV shows that last one or two minutes per episode.

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The PineDrama app is fairly basic. There’s a central Home screen with your feed and trending videos, along with access to your history and all videos. Discover offers just slightly larger thumbnails for browsing all or trending videos. Inbox is for system and new follower notifications, and a Profile view shows you your favorites, how many people you’re following, and your followers and likes.

Though a standalone app, PineDrama uses the main TikTok sign-in system, so you still need a TikTok account to access it. Given that the content looks a little like what’s available in the TikTok app, anyone who wants to use PineDrama probably has an account anyway.

Personally, I’m not a fan of miniseries. I’ve never been able to read comics until they’ve been collected into volumes, and can’t stream shows until an entire season — sometimes every season — is out. (None of which makes sense, given I’ve got the attention span of a cat in a room full of laser pointers.)

But sometimes you need a dopamine hit, and PineDrama lets you watch every single episode sequentially. And viewing just the first frame of each is kind of mesmerizing: From kiss to post-coital to packing a suitcase in just three swipes.

We reached out to TikTok for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Jan. 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 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? You’ll have to know your regional food specialties in order to solve 8-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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: «It’s just so-so»
Answer: MEH

4A clue: «Impression, Sunrise» painter
Answer: MONET

6A clue: Ca on the periodic table
Answer: CALCIUM

8A clue: City that’s famous for its lemon pepper wings
Answer: ATLANTA

9A clue: Reality show episode in which cast members gather again to bicker
Answer: REUNION

10A clue: Common wall coverings in a dorm room
Answer: POSTERS

11A clue: Boxing bout enders, for short
Answer: KOS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Snail, clam or squid
Answer: MOLLUSK

2D clue: 2021 Disney movie with the hit song «We Don’t Talk About Bruno»
Answer: ENCANTO

3D clue: Tushes
Answer: HEINIES

4D clue: San ___, city between San Francisco and Palo Alto
Answer: MATEO

5D clue: Private teacher
Answer: TUTOR

6D clue: Complain
Answer: CARP

7D clue: «Dogs are a ___ best friend»
Answer: MANS

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Technologies

ChatGPT Ads Coming Soon for Free and New $8 Go Tier Users

OpenAI says that it won’t serve ads based on sensitive topics like mental health or politics.

OpenAI has announced that it’s testing ads for its free tier and new $8-per-month Go memberships, and the ads will be based on a user’s current conversation.

OpenAI says the ads will be clearly marked and appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers «when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.»

Meanwhile, the company says the new Go tier enables 10 times as many messages, file uploads, and image creations as the free tier, and also remembers more details about you over time. The new $8 Go tier joins ChatGPT Plus at $ 20 per month and ChatGPT Pro at $ 200 per month.

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The company says it won’t show ads on «sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics.» It also said it won’t show ads to users who tell the chatbot they are under 18 or to users the system predicts are minors. Furthermore, the company says it will keep individual conversations private from advertisers and never sell user data to advertisers.

The company also says that users can turn off personalization and can clear the data used for ads at any time.

Last week, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT Health service, which enables users to upload their health data. However, privacy experts warned that the company wasn’t covered by a health provider’s privacy protections.

(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.)