Technologies

The Best Earbuds for Samsung Users Are Just $165, but for How Long?

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 look and sound great, and this deal smashes the usual $250 asking price.

While it’s true that Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 3 tend to dominate the conversation when discussing premium Bluetooth earbuds, they aren’t the only option. In fact, if you’re ensconced in Samsung’s ecosystem, they’re obviously not going to be a great fit. The solution? Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which you can get on sale right now for just $165 on Amazon.

It isn’t quite the cheapest price we’ve seen, but it isn’t all that far off. And while they might fall slightly during the upcoming Black Friday sales, we don’t expect them to go far beyond their lowest price of around $150.

There are plenty of options out there for non-Apple users looking for a good pair of wireless earbuds. To give you one example, CNET’s own list of the best wireless earbuds named Sony’s WF-1000XM5 as the best pair on the market. Elsewhere on that list, though, CNET also named the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro as the best option for Samsung users, and it’s not hard to see why.

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These earbuds boast a number of features tailored to folks with Samsung Galaxy or any other sort of Android smartphone, most notably support for the «high-resolution» Samsung Seamless Codec for audio quality. Those users will also have access to the Galaxy Wear app, which is the exclusive method the company uses to push through updates. While you can technically connect these buds to an iPhone, you won’t find the Wear app in Apple’s App Store, leaving the experience far from ideal.

Beyond those exclusive perks for Android users, CNET’s audio guru Dave Carnoy said in his review of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro that you can expect a «lightweight and comfortable» feel, excellent audio and call quality, and some solid noise-cancellation to boot. The primary flaw he noted was the price, which this deal definitely helps with.

Why this deal matters

The Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are the top-of-the-line when it comes to Samsung earbuds, which means that most of the time you can expect a top-of-the-line price tag to match. Now, however, you can grab yourself a pair for considerably less.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Oct. 31

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 31.

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.

Happy Halloween! Today’s NYT Mini Crossword features the word «BOO!» in a square on the last line of the grid. That’s not just a Halloween greeting, it’s part of the answer that spans both 9-Across and 10-Across, so read the answers to both those with the «boo» in the middle to solve it. And then, the puzzle-makers use that «BOO!» again, to help make the answer to 3-Down. Read on for all the answers, complete with added boos. 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: Buffalo hockey player
Answer: SABRE

6A clue: «I’ll have the ___» (frequent customer’s order)
Answer: USUAL

7A clue: Contents of a volcano
Answer: MAGMA

8A clue: Adjust to a new environment
Answer: ADAPT

9A clue: With 10-Across, last car on a train
Answer: CA

10A clue: See 9-Across
Answer: SE

(The «Boo!» shown in the grid helps make the word CABOOSE)

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «Poison» shrub
Answer: SUMAC

2D clue: Carne ___
Answer: ASADA

3D clue: Imaginary cause of fear
Answer: BUGA

(The «Boo!» shown in the grid helps make the word BUGABOO)

4D clue: Accessible alternatives to staircases
Answer: RAMPS

5D clue: Make extremely happy
Answer: ELATE

Technologies

Live-Action ‘Call of Duty’ Movie Reportedly Being Co-Written by Taylor Sheridan

The Yellowstone co-creator will reportedly team up with Peter Berg on the Paramount film.

Yellowstone, Landman and, now, Call of Duty. Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of the aforementioned hit shows, will co-write Paramount and Activision’s upcoming live-action video game adaptation, according to a report from Variety on Thursday.

Peter Berg will also co-write and direct the movie, which was announced last month. Berg previously directed films including 2018’s Mile 22, 2012’s Battleship and 2013’s Lone Survivor, while Sheridan’s movie credits include 2016’s Hell or High Water and 2017’s Wind River. Berg, Sheridan and David Glasser will produce the Call of Duty film.

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Call of Duty is a first-person shooter military video game series that debuted in 2003. CNET senior writer David Lumb calls it «arguably the biggest shooter franchise in gaming, with millions of players picking up every year’s new entry to the series.»

Lumb said the franchise is known for its bombastic single-player campaigns, which feature globe-spanning plots that rival those of the Mission Impossible films. «A Call of Duty movie has a lot of material to draw from,» Lumb said.

He also noted that Berg’s direction of Lone Survivor would fit the grim military heroism of Call of Duty, while Taylor Sheridan’s spate of neo-Western films and shows could lend a frontier adventurism to the film.

«Their collective works seemingly harmonize with the jingoistic pro-military tune of Activision’s shooter franchise — which is probably a good thing for Call of Duty fans,» Lumb concluded.

A release announcing Paramount and Activision’s film deal teased that it’ll be «designed to thrill its massive global fan base by delivering on the hallmarks of what fans love about the iconic series, while boldly expanding the franchise to entirely new audiences.» It didn’t include cast or plot information.

The update follows recent news that Sheridan is leaving Paramount for NBCUniversal. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.