Technologies

Prime Day Deal: Two Samsung Battery Packs Are 31% Off Right Now and One Has a Wireless Charger

Both chargers also come with multiple ports so you can charge more than one device at a time for a great deal.

Running out of battery stinks, especially on your smartphone and doubly so when you’re nowhere near a charger. That’s why the power bank business is booming with hundreds of products across dozens of manufacturers. It’s also no secret that mobile accessories like battery banks are often deeply discounted for events like Amazon Prime Day. Samsung is no exception to this rule, and two of the Korean tech giant’s portable battery packs are on sale for about 31% off. Spoiler alert, one of them has wireless charging capabilities too.

The two batteries only have a couple of small differences. The smaller one features 25W charging, 10,000mAh of capacity and two cable ports. Samsung says the extra port is for charging your wireless earbuds alongside your phone, which is a good idea. It also comes with a wireless charging pad, so you can rest your phone on the bank and get a charge that way.

The larger one features 45W charging, 20,000mAh capacity and, somewhat weirdly, omits the wireless charging found on its smaller sibling. Samsung makes up for this discrepancy by including a third charging port.

Both devices have a fairly good discount as well. The 45W version is $38, down from $55, which equates to a little less than 31% off while the 25W version is $31, down from $45, which is just a little more than 31% off.

Samsung clearly designed these for Galaxy devices, per the product image above. However, it should work with any tablet or smartphone. You just might experience a reduction in charging speeds because the Super Fast charging standard is specific to Samsung phones. On a positive note, Samsung claims to make the battery banks out of recycled materials, which is always a plus.

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

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Samsung’s accessories are built for Samsung’s products. If you’re here and you don’t have a Samsung phone, it’s OK. We have a whole list of portable chargers specifically for Android phones and also iPhones that you can sift through. These include power banks and MagSafe chargers, so you should be able to find something you like.

Why this deal matters

For starters, first-party accessories are almost always more expensive than third-party accessories, so the opportunity to get a Samsung-branded battery for your Samsung-branded phone and accessories for a discount is a win. You can use any old power bank on just about any old phone these days. However, the inclusion of Super Fast charging on both battery banks and the wireless charger on the smaller bank presents a unique value proposition for Samsung phone owners. The 45W Super Fast charging is usually only attainable on a wall charger, so having those speeds in a portable package is a nice upgrade from the standard stuff you see online.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

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A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.