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Amazon’s throwing in free smart bulbs with some Echo devices, including the latest Echo Show 8. | Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Amazon Prime Day may not officially kick off until July 16th, but that hasn’t stopped the retailer from dropping prices on a variety of items ahead of the two-day sale. We’ve already published a detailed guide to the best early Prime Day deals, but if you’re just interested in Amazon devices, this is where you’ll find the ones that are actually worthwhile. From Alexa-based Echo smart speakers to video doorbells, Amazon is discounting a wide range of gadgets, some of which are currently seeing their lowest prices to date.

Of course, the main caveat here is you’ll have to be an active Amazon Prime member to take advantage of any and all Prime Day deals. Luckily, Amazon makes it pretty easy to sign up, especially since new members can take advantage of the exclusive discounts with a free 30-day trial.

The best streaming device and TV deals

If you’re looking for a cheap way to beef up the built-in speakers on your TV, Amazon’s 24-inch Fire TV Soundbar is on sale at Amazon for $89.99 ($30 off) — its best price yet. The two-channel speaker doesn’t offer a ton of detail, but it’s still plenty loud with support for ARC, eARC, and Dolby Audio. The Bluetooth-compatible soundbar also works with any Fire TV product, including both streaming devices and TVs. Read our hands-on impressions.

Amazon’s third-gen Fire TV Cube, a streaming device that also doubles as a decent Echo speaker, is down to its all-time low of $99.99 ($40 off) at Amazon. The snappy 4K streaming device integrates well with Amazon Alexa for an excellent hands-free experience while supporting Wi-Fi 6E and all the popular HDR formats, including Dolby Vision. Read our review.

The best smart display and speaker deals

The fifth-gen Echo Dot is available at Amazon in blue, black, and white for an all-time low of $26.98 ($43 off) with a free Sengled smart bulb. The latest Dot delivers good sound quality and supports Alexa like previous models, letting you control smart home devices, play music, set alarms, and perform other tasks with your voice. It also features built-in temperature sensors and can act as a Wi-Fi extender for Eero mesh networks. Read our review.
You can also buy the Echo Pop in black, purple, blue, and white at Amazon with an 800-lumen Sengled smart bulb for $19.98 ($40 off), the bundle’s best price yet. The semispherical speaker doesn’t sound as good as the latest Dot and lacks features like temperature sensors. Nevertheless, it still sounds decent, integrates with Alexa, and comes in multiple colors. Read our review.

You can also pick up the fourth-gen Echo with a Sengled smart bulb in black, white, and blue for $56.98 ($63 off) at Amazon, which is $2 shy of the bundle’s best price to date. It’s still a great smart speaker despite its age, one that offers the same Alexa-enabled capabilities as the Echo Dot and Pop. However, it delivers better sound than Amazon’s entry-level speakers and can function as a smart home hub with Zigbee support; it also includes a temperature sensor. Read our review.

The best smart home deals

Ring’s newest video doorbell, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, is on sale for $149.99 ($80 off) at Amazon, which is a new low. It offers 1536p HD video, a head-to-toe view, and a similar feature set to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2; however, it runs on a rechargeable battery and lacks some functionality, including Alexa Greetings.
The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is also down to an all-time low of $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. Ring’s newer doorbell also supports 1536p HD video and a head-to-toe view, along with color night vision, 3D motion detection for more accurate alerts, dual-band Wi-Fi, color pre-roll, and noise-canceling audio.

The Ring Indoor Cam is on sale for $29.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, which matches its all-time low price. The latest Ring Indoor Cam has 1080p video, a built-in siren, motion-activated recording, and color night vision but now offers a physical privacy cover you can use to disable audio and video recording. If you pay for the Ring Protect Pro subscription, you also get extra features like an SOS button so you can easily request emergency dispatch from a live view or the app.
If you’re looking for a cheap Ring camera you can use indoors and outdoors, Ring’s last-gen Stick Up Cam is matching its all-time low price of $54.99 ($45 off) at Amazon. The 1080p camera can capture motion-activated video in 1080p, runs on batteries, and has multiple mounting options.

The Blink Mini 2 is down to $19.99 (50 percent off) at Amazon, which is a new all-time low. The latest Mini is still a basic 1080p camera, but its IP65 weatherproofing means you can use it both indoors and outdoors if you pair it with a Blink Weather Resistant Power Adapter for $10. It also comes with USB-C, improved audio and image quality, and a wider field of view, making it a great upgrade over its predecessor. Read our review.
If you’re looking for an outdoor security camera, you can buy the Blink Outdoor 4 camera starting at a new all-time low of $39.99 ($60 off) from Amazon. You can also buy it bundled with the latest Echo Show 5 for $59.99 ($129.99 off). The basic 1080p camera offers support for motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. Just bear in mind some features are paywalled, like cloud-based storage.

The best Kindle and Fire tablet deals

Amazon’s last-gen Fire HD 10 tablet is down to a record low of $69.99 ($95 off) at Amazon with 32GB of storage. The ad-free 10.1-inch tablet isn’t as powerful or capable as the aforementioned Max 11, but it’s still a good entertainment device for tapping into Amazon content thanks to its spacious 1080p display and decent camera.
You can buy the latest Fire HD 8 tablet at Amazon with ads and a standing case for $89.99 ($75 off), which is the best price we’ve seen on the bundle. The eight-inch slate isn’t as sharp as the Fire HD 10, but it’s still a reliable performer with good battery life and 64GB of storage, which is more than enough for stowing books, games, and streaming apps.

Miscellaneous early Prime Day deals

Amazon is offering a three-month trial of Audible Premium Plus through July 31st, which saves you about $45 over the three-month window given that memberships normally run $14.95 a month. The plan grants you access to thousands of audiobooks and podcasts as well as one premium audiobook every month.
Prime members can currently get a five-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited for free, which equates to a savings of $50. Non-Prime members are also eligible for the deal, but they’ll only get three months for free. The $9.99 monthly subscription grants you ad-free access to millions of podcast episodes and over 100 million songs.
The orb-like Echo Glow is back to its all-time low of $16.99 ($13 off) at Amazon. The 100-lumen LED lamp — which is designed primarily for kids — can cycle through multiple colors with just a tap, serve as a timer, and dim itself when it’s time to go to sleep. It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, allowing for hands-free control.
Amazon’s Luna Controller is back to its all-time low of $39.99 ($30 off) at Amazon with a free month of Luna Plus (for new subscribers). The wireless controller is designed to work with Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service, but you can also use it to play on PCs, Android phones, Fire TV devices, and Apple devices via Bluetooth and USB-C.

Amazon’s throwing in free smart bulbs with some Echo devices, including the latest Echo Show 8. | Image: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Amazon Prime Day may not officially kick off until July 16th, but that hasn’t stopped the retailer from dropping prices on a variety of items ahead of the two-day sale. We’ve already published a detailed guide to the best early Prime Day deals, but if you’re just interested in Amazon devices, this is where you’ll find the ones that are actually worthwhile. From Alexa-based Echo smart speakers to video doorbells, Amazon is discounting a wide range of gadgets, some of which are currently seeing their lowest prices to date.

Of course, the main caveat here is you’ll have to be an active Amazon Prime member to take advantage of any and all Prime Day deals. Luckily, Amazon makes it pretty easy to sign up, especially since new members can take advantage of the exclusive discounts with a free 30-day trial.

The best streaming device and TV deals

If you’re looking for a cheap way to beef up the built-in speakers on your TV, Amazon’s 24-inch Fire TV Soundbar is on sale at Amazon for $89.99 ($30 off) — its best price yet. The two-channel speaker doesn’t offer a ton of detail, but it’s still plenty loud with support for ARC, eARC, and Dolby Audio. The Bluetooth-compatible soundbar also works with any Fire TV product, including both streaming devices and TVs. Read our hands-on impressions.

Amazon’s third-gen Fire TV Cube, a streaming device that also doubles as a decent Echo speaker, is down to its all-time low of $99.99 ($40 off) at Amazon. The snappy 4K streaming device integrates well with Amazon Alexa for an excellent hands-free experience while supporting Wi-Fi 6E and all the popular HDR formats, including Dolby Vision. Read our review.

The best smart display and speaker deals

The fifth-gen Echo Dot is available at Amazon in blue, black, and white for an all-time low of $26.98 ($43 off) with a free Sengled smart bulb. The latest Dot delivers good sound quality and supports Alexa like previous models, letting you control smart home devices, play music, set alarms, and perform other tasks with your voice. It also features built-in temperature sensors and can act as a Wi-Fi extender for Eero mesh networks. Read our review.
You can also buy the Echo Pop in black, purple, blue, and white at Amazon with an 800-lumen Sengled smart bulb for $19.98 ($40 off), the bundle’s best price yet. The semispherical speaker doesn’t sound as good as the latest Dot and lacks features like temperature sensors. Nevertheless, it still sounds decent, integrates with Alexa, and comes in multiple colors. Read our review.

You can also pick up the fourth-gen Echo with a Sengled smart bulb in black, white, and blue for $56.98 ($63 off) at Amazon, which is $2 shy of the bundle’s best price to date. It’s still a great smart speaker despite its age, one that offers the same Alexa-enabled capabilities as the Echo Dot and Pop. However, it delivers better sound than Amazon’s entry-level speakers and can function as a smart home hub with Zigbee support; it also includes a temperature sensor. Read our review.

The best smart home deals

Ring’s newest video doorbell, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro, is on sale for $149.99 ($80 off) at Amazon, which is a new low. It offers 1536p HD video, a head-to-toe view, and a similar feature set to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2; however, it runs on a rechargeable battery and lacks some functionality, including Alexa Greetings.
The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is also down to an all-time low of $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. Ring’s newer doorbell also supports 1536p HD video and a head-to-toe view, along with color night vision, 3D motion detection for more accurate alerts, dual-band Wi-Fi, color pre-roll, and noise-canceling audio.

The Ring Indoor Cam is on sale for $29.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, which matches its all-time low price. The latest Ring Indoor Cam has 1080p video, a built-in siren, motion-activated recording, and color night vision but now offers a physical privacy cover you can use to disable audio and video recording. If you pay for the Ring Protect Pro subscription, you also get extra features like an SOS button so you can easily request emergency dispatch from a live view or the app.
If you’re looking for a cheap Ring camera you can use indoors and outdoors, Ring’s last-gen Stick Up Cam is matching its all-time low price of $54.99 ($45 off) at Amazon. The 1080p camera can capture motion-activated video in 1080p, runs on batteries, and has multiple mounting options.

The Blink Mini 2 is down to $19.99 (50 percent off) at Amazon, which is a new all-time low. The latest Mini is still a basic 1080p camera, but its IP65 weatherproofing means you can use it both indoors and outdoors if you pair it with a Blink Weather Resistant Power Adapter for $10. It also comes with USB-C, improved audio and image quality, and a wider field of view, making it a great upgrade over its predecessor. Read our review.
If you’re looking for an outdoor security camera, you can buy the Blink Outdoor 4 camera starting at a new all-time low of $39.99 ($60 off) from Amazon. You can also buy it bundled with the latest Echo Show 5 for $59.99 ($129.99 off). The basic 1080p camera offers support for motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. Just bear in mind some features are paywalled, like cloud-based storage.

The best Kindle and Fire tablet deals

Amazon’s last-gen Fire HD 10 tablet is down to a record low of $69.99 ($95 off) at Amazon with 32GB of storage. The ad-free 10.1-inch tablet isn’t as powerful or capable as the aforementioned Max 11, but it’s still a good entertainment device for tapping into Amazon content thanks to its spacious 1080p display and decent camera.
You can buy the latest Fire HD 8 tablet at Amazon with ads and a standing case for $89.99 ($75 off), which is the best price we’ve seen on the bundle. The eight-inch slate isn’t as sharp as the Fire HD 10, but it’s still a reliable performer with good battery life and 64GB of storage, which is more than enough for stowing books, games, and streaming apps.

Miscellaneous early Prime Day deals

Amazon is offering a three-month trial of Audible Premium Plus through July 31st, which saves you about $45 over the three-month window given that memberships normally run $14.95 a month. The plan grants you access to thousands of audiobooks and podcasts as well as one premium audiobook every month.
Prime members can currently get a five-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited for free, which equates to a savings of $50. Non-Prime members are also eligible for the deal, but they’ll only get three months for free. The $9.99 monthly subscription grants you ad-free access to millions of podcast episodes and over 100 million songs.
The orb-like Echo Glow is back to its all-time low of $16.99 ($13 off) at Amazon. The 100-lumen LED lamp — which is designed primarily for kids — can cycle through multiple colors with just a tap, serve as a timer, and dim itself when it’s time to go to sleep. It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, allowing for hands-free control.
Amazon’s Luna Controller is back to its all-time low of $39.99 ($30 off) at Amazon with a free month of Luna Plus (for new subscribers). The wireless controller is designed to work with Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming service, but you can also use it to play on PCs, Android phones, Fire TV devices, and Apple devices via Bluetooth and USB-C.

Read More 

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

A few days ago, I misplaced my wallet. I remember having it on Sunday, the night of my friend’s birthday dinner, because I was the one to put my card down. Maybe I had it on Monday. I didn’t spend any money then aside from a Lyft ride home, which famously doesn’t require you to swipe a card, so there’s no way to know for sure. And even when I did spend money — a case of La Croix at the bodega, an iced latte as a reward for going to the laundromat — my wallet never factored into the equation. I use Apple Pay for almost every purchase, both because it’s easy and convenient and because, unlike my wallet, my phone is something I actually can’t live without.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that my lack of a wallet became an issue. I didn’t need it to take the subway to a meeting, nor did I need it to get a coffee at said meeting. I didn’t need it to take the train downtown to The Verge’s office — it turns out I needed my ID to get into the building, but we found a way around that. (I showed the receptionist a photo of my driver’s license on my phone.) My wallet-free existence could have been a problem again that night: as I biked to the bar to meet my friends, I wondered if I’d be turned away at the door or when ordering a drink. I was not. The next day, at a wine bar, I used my phone to pay for my share of the bottle I split with a friend.
Wallet or no wallet, I can still get around. Crucially, I can still spend money. It’s a completely seamless process — one that has enabled me to be more forgetful and more careless about my spending.
Apple rolled out its contactless payment system in 2014, promising to disrupt the “fairly antiquated payment process” of swiping a card. “The whole process is based on this little piece of plastic, whether it’s a credit or debit card,” CEO Tim Cook said at the time. “We’re totally reliant on the exposed numbers, and the outdated and vulnerable magnetic interface — which by the way is five decades old — and the security codes which all of us know aren’t so secure.”
I kept relying on the exposed numbers and outdated interface for years, mostly out of stubbornness. I was 20 years old and terrible with the little money I had when Apple Pay first launched. If anything, I needed my purchases to have more friction, not less. Every penny I spent was precious. I’d write down all my expenses in a little notebook, color-coding them for good measure. By forcing myself to think about where my money was going, I shamed myself into spending less of it.
Even then, I was losing my wallet all the time. There was a two-month stretch the following summer where I left it on the subway, had it returned to me by a kind stranger who tracked me down on Facebook, and then left it at Yankee Stadium, where I never saw it again. But losing my wallet used to have consequences, and the threat of those consequences — losing my MetroCard, not being able to buy myself lunch, not being able to go out with my friends — made me somewhat more careful.
I finally caved in April 2020, though not entirely by choice. You know what was happening then — I don’t need to remind you. But let me set the scene: I had walked 20 minutes to the good grocery store, waited another 30 minutes in line to be let in (it was a different time!), grabbed a week’s worth of food, and got to the front of the checkout line, where I realized… I didn’t have my wallet. I called my roommate, who dutifully read my credit card number to me while I typed it into Apple Pay. Unfortunately, I never looked back.
It’s not Apple’s fault that I lose my wallet all the time, but Apple does bear some responsibility for ushering in this new world where all you need is your phone. In some ways, I’m the kind of model Apple consumer: no wallet, no ID, just Apple Pay and vibes.
And now here I am, more forgetful than ever, aided and abetted by a world where contactless payments have become the norm. I ended up finding my wallet this morning at the bottom of a tote bag. My credit card, however, is still missing, but it doesn’t really even matter.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

A few days ago, I misplaced my wallet. I remember having it on Sunday, the night of my friend’s birthday dinner, because I was the one to put my card down. Maybe I had it on Monday. I didn’t spend any money then aside from a Lyft ride home, which famously doesn’t require you to swipe a card, so there’s no way to know for sure. And even when I did spend money — a case of La Croix at the bodega, an iced latte as a reward for going to the laundromat — my wallet never factored into the equation. I use Apple Pay for almost every purchase, both because it’s easy and convenient and because, unlike my wallet, my phone is something I actually can’t live without.

It wasn’t until Wednesday that my lack of a wallet became an issue. I didn’t need it to take the subway to a meeting, nor did I need it to get a coffee at said meeting. I didn’t need it to take the train downtown to The Verge’s office — it turns out I needed my ID to get into the building, but we found a way around that. (I showed the receptionist a photo of my driver’s license on my phone.) My wallet-free existence could have been a problem again that night: as I biked to the bar to meet my friends, I wondered if I’d be turned away at the door or when ordering a drink. I was not. The next day, at a wine bar, I used my phone to pay for my share of the bottle I split with a friend.

Wallet or no wallet, I can still get around. Crucially, I can still spend money. It’s a completely seamless process — one that has enabled me to be more forgetful and more careless about my spending.

Apple rolled out its contactless payment system in 2014, promising to disrupt the “fairly antiquated payment process” of swiping a card. “The whole process is based on this little piece of plastic, whether it’s a credit or debit card,” CEO Tim Cook said at the time. “We’re totally reliant on the exposed numbers, and the outdated and vulnerable magnetic interface — which by the way is five decades old — and the security codes which all of us know aren’t so secure.”

I kept relying on the exposed numbers and outdated interface for years, mostly out of stubbornness. I was 20 years old and terrible with the little money I had when Apple Pay first launched. If anything, I needed my purchases to have more friction, not less. Every penny I spent was precious. I’d write down all my expenses in a little notebook, color-coding them for good measure. By forcing myself to think about where my money was going, I shamed myself into spending less of it.

Even then, I was losing my wallet all the time. There was a two-month stretch the following summer where I left it on the subway, had it returned to me by a kind stranger who tracked me down on Facebook, and then left it at Yankee Stadium, where I never saw it again. But losing my wallet used to have consequences, and the threat of those consequences — losing my MetroCard, not being able to buy myself lunch, not being able to go out with my friends — made me somewhat more careful.

I finally caved in April 2020, though not entirely by choice. You know what was happening then — I don’t need to remind you. But let me set the scene: I had walked 20 minutes to the good grocery store, waited another 30 minutes in line to be let in (it was a different time!), grabbed a week’s worth of food, and got to the front of the checkout line, where I realized… I didn’t have my wallet. I called my roommate, who dutifully read my credit card number to me while I typed it into Apple Pay. Unfortunately, I never looked back.

It’s not Apple’s fault that I lose my wallet all the time, but Apple does bear some responsibility for ushering in this new world where all you need is your phone. In some ways, I’m the kind of model Apple consumer: no wallet, no ID, just Apple Pay and vibes.

And now here I am, more forgetful than ever, aided and abetted by a world where contactless payments have become the norm. I ended up finding my wallet this morning at the bottom of a tote bag. My credit card, however, is still missing, but it doesn’t really even matter.

Read More 

Image: EA / Respawn Entertainment

Apex Legends can’t seem to catch a break. The game has been plagued with a pair of high-profile issues for the last few weeks.
First up, earlier this week, the hero shooter’s developer, Respawn Entertainment, announced it was retooling the game’s battle pass. For season 22 and beyond, the battle pass will now be split into two halves, with 60 levels for each half. Additionally, players will no longer be able to purchase a battle pass with AC or Apex’s in-game currency. “The decision to move from AC to real world currency is not one that we made lightly, but it does allow us to decrease the price of Premium+ for our community,” the announcement read.

Starting with Season 22, we’re evolving the Apex Legends Battle Pass to improve your experience and progression goals.Read on to learn everything to know about the upcoming changes or check out the infographic below to learn more. : https://t.co/kg5NhlFfVq pic.twitter.com/i516ktP9ma— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) July 8, 2024

Players responded negatively to the changes, accusing Respawn and publisher EA of nickel-and-diming its customers. Respawn touts that the new system is a way to “increase value” for players. But eliminating the ability to pay for the battle pass with currency earned in-game (previously, players could earn enough coins by completing the battle pass progression to purchase another one without spending more real money) is seen by many as a way for the studio to squeeze more money out of a dwindling player base. The backlash progressed to the point where players began review-bombing the game on Steam, taking its former, mostly positive rating down to mostly negative.

Screenshot: Steam

On the esports side, Apex Legends suffered another embarrassment as players participating in the Apex Legends Global Series tournament reported incorrect payments to their accounts. One player received $100,000 in their account after only a few days of play. Other players reported similar erroneous payments totaling either too much or too little. The tournament’s organizer, ESL Faceit, took responsibility, calling it a “systems error” that resulted in incorrect payments. In a statement to Polygon a spokesperson for the tournament wrote, “As the partner responsible for prize fulfillment, we’re working to quickly resolve this issue and ensure that all players receive the correct prize payouts.”

Image: EA / Respawn Entertainment

Apex Legends can’t seem to catch a break. The game has been plagued with a pair of high-profile issues for the last few weeks.

First up, earlier this week, the hero shooter’s developer, Respawn Entertainment, announced it was retooling the game’s battle pass. For season 22 and beyond, the battle pass will now be split into two halves, with 60 levels for each half. Additionally, players will no longer be able to purchase a battle pass with AC or Apex’s in-game currency. “The decision to move from AC to real world currency is not one that we made lightly, but it does allow us to decrease the price of Premium+ for our community,” the announcement read.

Players responded negatively to the changes, accusing Respawn and publisher EA of nickel-and-diming its customers. Respawn touts that the new system is a way to “increase value” for players. But eliminating the ability to pay for the battle pass with currency earned in-game (previously, players could earn enough coins by completing the battle pass progression to purchase another one without spending more real money) is seen by many as a way for the studio to squeeze more money out of a dwindling player base. The backlash progressed to the point where players began review-bombing the game on Steam, taking its former, mostly positive rating down to mostly negative.

Screenshot: Steam

On the esports side, Apex Legends suffered another embarrassment as players participating in the Apex Legends Global Series tournament reported incorrect payments to their accounts. One player received $100,000 in their account after only a few days of play. Other players reported similar erroneous payments totaling either too much or too little. The tournament’s organizer, ESL Faceit, took responsibility, calling it a “systems error” that resulted in incorrect payments. In a statement to Polygon a spokesperson for the tournament wrote, “As the partner responsible for prize fulfillment, we’re working to quickly resolve this issue and ensure that all players receive the correct prize payouts.”

Read More 

The TCL Q6 is solid TV for watching the 2024 Olympics, House of the Dragon, and a wild season of election coverage. | Image: TCL

TCL’s Q6 QLED TV was one of the standout deals from Walmart’s recent “Walmart Deals” event, and the post-event discounts have only gotten steeper. The 65-inch model, for example, has dropped even further at Walmart, where you can currently pick it up for an all-time low of $388 ($312 off). You can also grab it at Best Buy right now for $399.99 ($300 off) if you prefer shopping at a different retailer.

The Q6 was already a decent value before the discounts kicked in, one that makes for a compelling entry-level option for gamers. It’s a cost-effective set that allows you to make the most out of newer consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S. It uses a 60Hz panel, but it can simulate a 120Hz variable refresh rate with upscaling if you don’t mind lowering your resolution. It also has auto low-latency mode to reduce input lag and AMD FreeSync to eliminate screen tearing in games with fluctuating framerates.
You’ll get visual enhancements like Dolby Vision and HDR10 for improved dynamic range and true-to-life colors, which benefit gamers and movie buffs alike. The Q6’s surround sound tech is limited to DTS Virtual:X, though, as it lacks support for the more widely used Dolby Atmos standard. However, that’s of little consequence if you’re using an Atmos soundbar with its HDMI eARC port, and you’re unlikely to notice a meaningful difference when using the TV’s built-in speakers. It’s also running Google’s TV software, which offers excellent curation across streaming apps and built-in Chromecast support.

Three more great deals before the Prime Day flood

The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are down to $84 ($25 off) at Amazon when you clip the on-page coupon. Nothing’s affordable noise-canceling earbuds are our favorite for under $100 and perhaps the funnest pair you can own. They don the brand’s signature translucent design, but with a bolder appearance that emphasizes color (the yellow pair are particularly striking). Even better, they sound nearly as good as the more expensive Nothing Ear (2024) and offer the same ChatGPT integration. However, you’ll have weaker protection against the elements (they’re only rated IPX2) and miss out on wireless charging with the transparent charging case (which adds an extra 30-plus hours of battery life).
The Insta360 Link is on sale with a pack of stickers for $199.99 ($50) at Amazon (with an on-page coupon) or without stickers at B&H Photo and Walmart. It’s still pricey, but the 4K webcam can keep you centered in the frame for work calls and streaming more convincingly than software-based centering techniques. We’ve found it offers some of the best picture quality and low-light performance you can get in a webcam, rivaling other high-end options like the Opal C1. The included PC software is also neat, offering one-click preset angles like a “streamer mode” that points the camera toward your desk and a 9:16 mode to record vertical social media content. Read our review.

Satechi’s Vegan Leather Magnetic Wallet Stands are on sale in select colors at Amazon for Prime members starting at $33.99 ($6 off). They hold up to four cards and support NFC passthrough, so you aren’t sacrificing Apple Pay or other contactless features. The wallet also doubles as a kickstand, letting you prop up your iPhone either horizontally or vertically.

The TCL Q6 is solid TV for watching the 2024 Olympics, House of the Dragon, and a wild season of election coverage. | Image: TCL

TCL’s Q6 QLED TV was one of the standout deals from Walmart’s recent “Walmart Deals” event, and the post-event discounts have only gotten steeper. The 65-inch model, for example, has dropped even further at Walmart, where you can currently pick it up for an all-time low of $388 ($312 off). You can also grab it at Best Buy right now for $399.99 ($300 off) if you prefer shopping at a different retailer.

The Q6 was already a decent value before the discounts kicked in, one that makes for a compelling entry-level option for gamers. It’s a cost-effective set that allows you to make the most out of newer consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S. It uses a 60Hz panel, but it can simulate a 120Hz variable refresh rate with upscaling if you don’t mind lowering your resolution. It also has auto low-latency mode to reduce input lag and AMD FreeSync to eliminate screen tearing in games with fluctuating framerates.

You’ll get visual enhancements like Dolby Vision and HDR10 for improved dynamic range and true-to-life colors, which benefit gamers and movie buffs alike. The Q6’s surround sound tech is limited to DTS Virtual:X, though, as it lacks support for the more widely used Dolby Atmos standard. However, that’s of little consequence if you’re using an Atmos soundbar with its HDMI eARC port, and you’re unlikely to notice a meaningful difference when using the TV’s built-in speakers. It’s also running Google’s TV software, which offers excellent curation across streaming apps and built-in Chromecast support.

Three more great deals before the Prime Day flood

The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are down to $84 ($25 off) at Amazon when you clip the on-page coupon. Nothing’s affordable noise-canceling earbuds are our favorite for under $100 and perhaps the funnest pair you can own. They don the brand’s signature translucent design, but with a bolder appearance that emphasizes color (the yellow pair are particularly striking). Even better, they sound nearly as good as the more expensive Nothing Ear (2024) and offer the same ChatGPT integration. However, you’ll have weaker protection against the elements (they’re only rated IPX2) and miss out on wireless charging with the transparent charging case (which adds an extra 30-plus hours of battery life).
The Insta360 Link is on sale with a pack of stickers for $199.99 ($50) at Amazon (with an on-page coupon) or without stickers at B&H Photo and Walmart. It’s still pricey, but the 4K webcam can keep you centered in the frame for work calls and streaming more convincingly than software-based centering techniques. We’ve found it offers some of the best picture quality and low-light performance you can get in a webcam, rivaling other high-end options like the Opal C1. The included PC software is also neat, offering one-click preset angles like a “streamer mode” that points the camera toward your desk and a 9:16 mode to record vertical social media content. Read our review.

Satechi’s Vegan Leather Magnetic Wallet Stands are on sale in select colors at Amazon for Prime members starting at $33.99 ($6 off). They hold up to four cards and support NFC passthrough, so you aren’t sacrificing Apple Pay or other contactless features. The wallet also doubles as a kickstand, letting you prop up your iPhone either horizontally or vertically.

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Image: Amazon

Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, is rolling out to all users in the US on Amazon’s mobile app. You can pull up the shopping assistant by tapping the orange and blue icon in the right corner of the app’s navigation bar, where Rufus can answer questions, draw comparisons between items, and give you updates on your order.
Amazon first introduced Rufus in February but only made it available to a small group of users. Rufus uses Amazon’s product listing details, reviews, and community Q&As, along with some information from the web, to inform its answers.

Image: Amazon

You can ask the tool things directly related to a product, like “Is this coffee maker easy to clean and maintain?” as well as recommendations about the best outdoor speaker or even more general questions about the products you might need for a summer party. You can also ask Rufus for the status of a recent order.
After updating my Amazon app, I got to try Rufus for myself. I navigated to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 I’ve been eyeing and found the Rufus automatically surfaces some questions, like “How long does the battery last on a single charge?” While it came up with the answer (40 hours), it failed to mention that this is only true with always-on display turned off (otherwise, it’s around 30 hours).

Image: The Verge
It’s pretty easy to get Rufus off the topic of shopping.

I also found that you can use it to answer questions completely unrelated to shopping, such as the US elections. When asking about the candidates’ key issues, Rufus referred me to Amazon search results containing books on abortion rights and gun control. It also provided me with detailed information about President Joe Biden’s stance on gun control when asked, while linking me to Amazon search results containing gun safety locks and biometric gun safes.
That’s a little bit concerning for a chatbot that’s just been made available to everyone. It is still in beta, though, so guardrails on certain topics like the election may not be fully refined yet.

Image: Amazon

Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, is rolling out to all users in the US on Amazon’s mobile app. You can pull up the shopping assistant by tapping the orange and blue icon in the right corner of the app’s navigation bar, where Rufus can answer questions, draw comparisons between items, and give you updates on your order.

Amazon first introduced Rufus in February but only made it available to a small group of users. Rufus uses Amazon’s product listing details, reviews, and community Q&As, along with some information from the web, to inform its answers.

Image: Amazon

You can ask the tool things directly related to a product, like “Is this coffee maker easy to clean and maintain?” as well as recommendations about the best outdoor speaker or even more general questions about the products you might need for a summer party. You can also ask Rufus for the status of a recent order.

After updating my Amazon app, I got to try Rufus for myself. I navigated to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 I’ve been eyeing and found the Rufus automatically surfaces some questions, like “How long does the battery last on a single charge?” While it came up with the answer (40 hours), it failed to mention that this is only true with always-on display turned off (otherwise, it’s around 30 hours).

Image: The Verge
It’s pretty easy to get Rufus off the topic of shopping.

I also found that you can use it to answer questions completely unrelated to shopping, such as the US elections. When asking about the candidates’ key issues, Rufus referred me to Amazon search results containing books on abortion rights and gun control. It also provided me with detailed information about President Joe Biden’s stance on gun control when asked, while linking me to Amazon search results containing gun safety locks and biometric gun safes.

That’s a little bit concerning for a chatbot that’s just been made available to everyone. It is still in beta, though, so guardrails on certain topics like the election may not be fully refined yet.

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Despite a $100 price tag, these 8BitDo gamepads don’t include any wireless functionality. | Image: 8BitDo

8BitDo’s shiny silver- and gold-finished 11th anniversary SN30 Pro gamepads feature housings and controls made of so much metal that they weigh in at 381 grams — almost an entire pound.
As spotted by Polygon, the company went nearly all in on the metal facelift for its SN30 Pro gamepad, with the D-pad, action buttons, shoulder triggers, and even joysticks all made of a metal “zinc-alloy material.”

Image: 8BitDo
The D-pad, ABXY buttons, joysticks, and triggers are all metal on 8BitDo’s shiny new controllers.

This controller won’t just feel satisfyingly hefty in hand for its size (the beefy Xbox Duke controller weighed 425 grams while the original SNES gamepad was just 79 grams) but it also may be durable enough to outlive your other gaming hardware — and possibly even you.
But for $99.99, the limited-edition gamepad is lacking some modern features. There’s no mention of including Hall effect joysticks like the $39.99 plastic version of the SN30 Pro, there’s no wireless connectivity, and compatibility is limited to only the Nintendo Switch and Windows PCs. The colors should pair well with the new “Hyrule Edition” Switch Lite, but you can get so much more for much less.

Despite a $100 price tag, these 8BitDo gamepads don’t include any wireless functionality. | Image: 8BitDo

8BitDo’s shiny silver- and gold-finished 11th anniversary SN30 Pro gamepads feature housings and controls made of so much metal that they weigh in at 381 grams — almost an entire pound.

As spotted by Polygon, the company went nearly all in on the metal facelift for its SN30 Pro gamepad, with the D-pad, action buttons, shoulder triggers, and even joysticks all made of a metal “zinc-alloy material.”

Image: 8BitDo
The D-pad, ABXY buttons, joysticks, and triggers are all metal on 8BitDo’s shiny new controllers.

This controller won’t just feel satisfyingly hefty in hand for its size (the beefy Xbox Duke controller weighed 425 grams while the original SNES gamepad was just 79 grams) but it also may be durable enough to outlive your other gaming hardware — and possibly even you.

But for $99.99, the limited-edition gamepad is lacking some modern features. There’s no mention of including Hall effect joysticks like the $39.99 plastic version of the SN30 Pro, there’s no wireless connectivity, and compatibility is limited to only the Nintendo Switch and Windows PCs. The colors should pair well with the new “Hyrule Edition” Switch Lite, but you can get so much more for much less.

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Image: HoYoverse

I’ve given up on trying to understand Zenless Zone Zero. In every other cutscene, I’m bombarded with in-game jargon about inter-knots, proxies, hollows, and w-engines that I just cannot keep straight. Meanwhile, my patience withers to dust as my eyes flit about the screen trying to make sense of the literal deluge of resources — dennies, polychromes, investigator logs, master tapes, and so, so much more — the game requires you to accumulate in order to progress. It is so overwhelming that the only time I feel a sense of peace is during the breakneck combat sequences filled with their own complicated waltz of combos, parries, and special attacks. It’s just too bad that those moments are few and far between.
Zenless Zone Zero is the latest game from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse (previously known as MiHoYo). It combines action RPG combat with gacha game mechanics (gacha referring to the type of game where characters and resources are doled out randomly via loot boxes and other kinds of microtransactions). The game takes place in a futuristic urban setting where you play as a Proxy who controls a bangboo to guide your team of operators through a hollow to complete commissions taken from the inter-knot. And though this seems like a string of incomprehensible garbage, this is actually the easiest part of the game to understand.
Commissions work like daily quests and are categorized as to whether they’re story, combat, or exploration missions. No matter what type of mission it is, though, it seems like they all follow the same basic structure. First is the exploration part. The screen turns into a giant wall of TVs that you move your little rabbit avatar (called a bangboo… seriously) across to reach the goal. It looks kinda like a board game, with each TV representing some kind of event. Some TVs will have resources to pick up, while others hide combat encounters. If you run into a combat TV, the game changes, dropping your party into an arena with a bunch of monsters to fight.

Image: Hoyoverse

An example of Zenless Zone Zero’s exploration minigame.

Usually, the highly polished, action-filled trailers of most free-to-play games conceal actual gameplay that’s either nothing like the trailer or nothing more than a mindless clickfest. So, I was not prepared for how engaging ZZZ’s combat really is. It’s fast and fluid, with a bunch of different actions you can string together to execute slick-as-hell combos. Add to that the ability to switch to any one of your party members mid-combo, and it makes for an experience that could stand next to any blockbuster action RPG game. It’s a hoot landing a dodge just right to chain together devastating attacks from each party member again and again. Pure gas.

But for some reason, the game is determined to keep that gas away from me as much as possible. There are so many other elements to the game that interfere with what’s most fun. While I appreciate that you can visit a noodle shop where the food buffs your party and that there’s an arcade with little minigames you can play with your party, it all feels like too much fluff. All I want to do is lead my little bangboo around collecting items and fight monsters with my party members, and all the game wants me to do is run a Blockbuster — really.
Why am I running a Blockbuster? I have no idea, and I’ve given up trying to figure it out. The game’s insistence on throwing so much at you upfront and its inability to explain anything coherently are so bad that I don’t even know how the gacha mechanics work.
Each combat mission comes with information like the type of enemies you’ll face and their weaknesses, while your party members have their own unique abilities and affinities. The appeal, then, is to acquire as many different operators to mix and match your party so you’ll have the right tool for each job. There are scores of interestingly designed characters — like the superhot wolfman with ice powers and an exquisitely tailored waistcoat — that I don’t know how to acquire because I’m still busy fussing with what movies to rent out at my Blockbuster.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe HoYoverse is trying to curtail the criticisms a lot of gacha games get for being naked cash grabs by obscuring the function of its microtransactions to all but the most motivated of spenders. I can see the shop, but where I’m at in the way-too-long tutorial, I don’t have the faintest idea of how to use it.
I recognize that as video game trends evolve while I get older, there will be some games that I’ll never be able to comprehend. Despite my best intentions and as open a mind as I could muster, Zenless Zone Zero is that game. And if I don’t get that wolfman soon, I’m content to leave the game for the people who get it.
Zenless Zone Zero is available now on Android, iOS, PC, and PlayStation.

Image: HoYoverse

I’ve given up on trying to understand Zenless Zone Zero. In every other cutscene, I’m bombarded with in-game jargon about inter-knots, proxies, hollows, and w-engines that I just cannot keep straight. Meanwhile, my patience withers to dust as my eyes flit about the screen trying to make sense of the literal deluge of resources — dennies, polychromes, investigator logs, master tapes, and so, so much more — the game requires you to accumulate in order to progress. It is so overwhelming that the only time I feel a sense of peace is during the breakneck combat sequences filled with their own complicated waltz of combos, parries, and special attacks. It’s just too bad that those moments are few and far between.

Zenless Zone Zero is the latest game from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse (previously known as MiHoYo). It combines action RPG combat with gacha game mechanics (gacha referring to the type of game where characters and resources are doled out randomly via loot boxes and other kinds of microtransactions). The game takes place in a futuristic urban setting where you play as a Proxy who controls a bangboo to guide your team of operators through a hollow to complete commissions taken from the inter-knot. And though this seems like a string of incomprehensible garbage, this is actually the easiest part of the game to understand.

Commissions work like daily quests and are categorized as to whether they’re story, combat, or exploration missions. No matter what type of mission it is, though, it seems like they all follow the same basic structure. First is the exploration part. The screen turns into a giant wall of TVs that you move your little rabbit avatar (called a bangboo… seriously) across to reach the goal. It looks kinda like a board game, with each TV representing some kind of event. Some TVs will have resources to pick up, while others hide combat encounters. If you run into a combat TV, the game changes, dropping your party into an arena with a bunch of monsters to fight.

Image: Hoyoverse

An example of Zenless Zone Zero’s exploration minigame.

Usually, the highly polished, action-filled trailers of most free-to-play games conceal actual gameplay that’s either nothing like the trailer or nothing more than a mindless clickfest. So, I was not prepared for how engaging ZZZ’s combat really is. It’s fast and fluid, with a bunch of different actions you can string together to execute slick-as-hell combos. Add to that the ability to switch to any one of your party members mid-combo, and it makes for an experience that could stand next to any blockbuster action RPG game. It’s a hoot landing a dodge just right to chain together devastating attacks from each party member again and again. Pure gas.

But for some reason, the game is determined to keep that gas away from me as much as possible. There are so many other elements to the game that interfere with what’s most fun. While I appreciate that you can visit a noodle shop where the food buffs your party and that there’s an arcade with little minigames you can play with your party, it all feels like too much fluff. All I want to do is lead my little bangboo around collecting items and fight monsters with my party members, and all the game wants me to do is run a Blockbuster — really.

Why am I running a Blockbuster? I have no idea, and I’ve given up trying to figure it out. The game’s insistence on throwing so much at you upfront and its inability to explain anything coherently are so bad that I don’t even know how the gacha mechanics work.

Each combat mission comes with information like the type of enemies you’ll face and their weaknesses, while your party members have their own unique abilities and affinities. The appeal, then, is to acquire as many different operators to mix and match your party so you’ll have the right tool for each job. There are scores of interestingly designed characters — like the superhot wolfman with ice powers and an exquisitely tailored waistcoat — that I don’t know how to acquire because I’m still busy fussing with what movies to rent out at my Blockbuster.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe HoYoverse is trying to curtail the criticisms a lot of gacha games get for being naked cash grabs by obscuring the function of its microtransactions to all but the most motivated of spenders. I can see the shop, but where I’m at in the way-too-long tutorial, I don’t have the faintest idea of how to use it.

I recognize that as video game trends evolve while I get older, there will be some games that I’ll never be able to comprehend. Despite my best intentions and as open a mind as I could muster, Zenless Zone Zero is that game. And if I don’t get that wolfman soon, I’m content to leave the game for the people who get it.

Zenless Zone Zero is available now on Android, iOS, PC, and PlayStation.

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Image: Archer

Today, Southwest Airlines became the latest major carrier to join forces with a so-called urban air mobility startup. The Dallas-based airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer Aviation to draw up plans for an air taxi service.
The service will operate using Archer’s battery-powered, four-passenger, tilt-rotor Midnight aircraft, which are designed to take off and land vertically from a landing strip like a helicopter. As part of the deal, the aircraft will get access to 14 California airports where Southwest operates.
This is the latest deal between a major airline and an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) startup, signaling a growing confidence in the ability of these small companies to make their dreams of intercity air travel a reality. Archer claims that trips that normally take 60–90 minutes by car can be done in 10–20 minutes in the company’s air taxis.
As part of the deal, the aircraft will get access to 14 California airports where Southwest operates
Archer came out of stealth in spring 2020 after having poached key talent from Wisk and Airbus’ Vahana project. (That fact spurred a lawsuit from Wisk for alleged trade secret theft, which was finally settled last year.) The company has a $1 billion order from United Airlines for its eVTOL aircraft and a deal to mass-produce its eVTOL craft with global automaker Stellantis.
Archer recently received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which the company will need to operate an on-demand air taxi service. Archer has said it plans on launching before the end of 2025.
Alongside Archer, other electric vertical takeoff and landing companies hope to eventually win full FAA approval, but that process is slow-going. It may be a few more years before the FAA grants full certification to an eVTOL company — which it has yet to do. Changes to the certification process have created uncertainty about commercialization after the FAA recategorized eVTOL as a “power lift” aircraft rather than an airplane.
As part of the deal, Archer will work with Southwest and its partners on the development of an air taxi network across California. That includes the unions of Southwest employees, like the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.
“Southwest is eager to explore the convenience Archer’s air taxis could provide customers flying Southwest at airports in busy urban areas,” said Paul Cullen, vice president of real estate at Southwest Airlines.

Image: Archer

Today, Southwest Airlines became the latest major carrier to join forces with a so-called urban air mobility startup. The Dallas-based airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer Aviation to draw up plans for an air taxi service.

The service will operate using Archer’s battery-powered, four-passenger, tilt-rotor Midnight aircraft, which are designed to take off and land vertically from a landing strip like a helicopter. As part of the deal, the aircraft will get access to 14 California airports where Southwest operates.

This is the latest deal between a major airline and an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) startup, signaling a growing confidence in the ability of these small companies to make their dreams of intercity air travel a reality. Archer claims that trips that normally take 60–90 minutes by car can be done in 10–20 minutes in the company’s air taxis.

Archer came out of stealth in spring 2020 after having poached key talent from Wisk and Airbus’ Vahana project. (That fact spurred a lawsuit from Wisk for alleged trade secret theft, which was finally settled last year.) The company has a $1 billion order from United Airlines for its eVTOL aircraft and a deal to mass-produce its eVTOL craft with global automaker Stellantis.

Archer recently received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which the company will need to operate an on-demand air taxi service. Archer has said it plans on launching before the end of 2025.

Alongside Archer, other electric vertical takeoff and landing companies hope to eventually win full FAA approval, but that process is slow-going. It may be a few more years before the FAA grants full certification to an eVTOL company — which it has yet to do. Changes to the certification process have created uncertainty about commercialization after the FAA recategorized eVTOL as a “power lift” aircraft rather than an airplane.

As part of the deal, Archer will work with Southwest and its partners on the development of an air taxi network across California. That includes the unions of Southwest employees, like the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.

“Southwest is eager to explore the convenience Archer’s air taxis could provide customers flying Southwest at airports in busy urban areas,” said Paul Cullen, vice president of real estate at Southwest Airlines.

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Image: Analogue

The Analogue Pocket is getting yet another iteration — but this time, it’s a little more than a refreshed color scheme. An aluminum edition is coming out this month, and the company says that the new handhelds “are
precision CNC’d entirely in aluminum.” They come in four colors — natural, noir, black, and indigo — and will be available to preorder on July 15th at 8AM PT / 11AM ET, with units expected to ship on July 17th.
That metal body doesn’t come cheap, though. The aluminum Pocket will cost $499, a big boost over the $219 of the standard version. Analogue says that the new version will be “available in highly limited quantities and will never be sold again.”
Here’s a look at all the aluminum parts of the device:

Image: Analogue

Since its launch in 2021, Analogue has released a handful of other special editions of the Pocket, including some bright colors, a glow-in-the-dark version, and the always-popular transparent shell. The device allows gamers to play old Game Boy cartridges (as well as other carts, with the right adapters) on a handheld with modern touches like a crisp LCD screen.
The Pocket was the company’s first handheld device after previously releasing high-quality recreations of consoles like the NES (which also came in aluminum), SNES, and Sega Genesis. Up next is the Nintendo 64 with the Analogue 3D, which was originally planned for a 2024 release.

Image: Analogue

The Analogue Pocket is getting yet another iteration — but this time, it’s a little more than a refreshed color scheme. An aluminum edition is coming out this month, and the company says that the new handhelds “are
precision CNC’d entirely in aluminum.” They come in four colors — natural, noir, black, and indigo — and will be available to preorder on July 15th at 8AM PT / 11AM ET, with units expected to ship on July 17th.

That metal body doesn’t come cheap, though. The aluminum Pocket will cost $499, a big boost over the $219 of the standard version. Analogue says that the new version will be “available in highly limited quantities and will never be sold again.”

Here’s a look at all the aluminum parts of the device:

Image: Analogue

Since its launch in 2021, Analogue has released a handful of other special editions of the Pocket, including some bright colors, a glow-in-the-dark version, and the always-popular transparent shell. The device allows gamers to play old Game Boy cartridges (as well as other carts, with the right adapters) on a handheld with modern touches like a crisp LCD screen.

The Pocket was the company’s first handheld device after previously releasing high-quality recreations of consoles like the NES (which also came in aluminum), SNES, and Sega Genesis. Up next is the Nintendo 64 with the Analogue 3D, which was originally planned for a 2024 release.

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There wasn’t a Factory Reset option, previously. | Photo: David Pierce / The Verge

Since the launch of the Rabbit R1, the AI assistant device has been storing users’ chat logs on-device with no way to erase them, according to a company security bulletin. Rabbit is now addressing the issue with a software update that includes a new Factory Reset option in settings to wipe the device. Previously, you could only unlink your account from an R1, which did not erase all user data.
Along with the new ability to fully delete local user data, the software update also addresses another eyebrow-raising behavior of the R1. Prior to the update, stored pairing data that lets the R1 hardware add things to the Rabbithole journal also had permission to read the journal as well. That means a stolen and hacked R1 could potentially have handed over users’ saved requests, photos, and more.
With the update, R1’s pairing data can no longer read the journal and is no longer logged to the device, and Rabbit has reduced the amount of log data stored on the device. The company says there’s “no indication that pairing data has been abused to retrieve rabbithole journal data belonging to a former device owner.”
Rabbit’s security bulletin paints the issue as a relatively inconsequential risk with its example that a stolen and jailbroken R1 could reveal to a bad actor the last weather log asked by the original owner. Security researchers last month found that a jailbreak of the device could also hand out hardcoded API keys. The company promises to improve security practices and “prevent similar issues in the future,” saying it’s performing a full review of device logging practices to ensure it aligns with its standards “set in other areas.”

There wasn’t a Factory Reset option, previously. | Photo: David Pierce / The Verge

Since the launch of the Rabbit R1, the AI assistant device has been storing users’ chat logs on-device with no way to erase them, according to a company security bulletin. Rabbit is now addressing the issue with a software update that includes a new Factory Reset option in settings to wipe the device. Previously, you could only unlink your account from an R1, which did not erase all user data.

Along with the new ability to fully delete local user data, the software update also addresses another eyebrow-raising behavior of the R1. Prior to the update, stored pairing data that lets the R1 hardware add things to the Rabbithole journal also had permission to read the journal as well. That means a stolen and hacked R1 could potentially have handed over users’ saved requests, photos, and more.

With the update, R1’s pairing data can no longer read the journal and is no longer logged to the device, and Rabbit has reduced the amount of log data stored on the device. The company says there’s “no indication that pairing data has been abused to retrieve rabbithole journal data belonging to a former device owner.”

Rabbit’s security bulletin paints the issue as a relatively inconsequential risk with its example that a stolen and jailbroken R1 could reveal to a bad actor the last weather log asked by the original owner. Security researchers last month found that a jailbreak of the device could also hand out hardcoded API keys. The company promises to improve security practices and “prevent similar issues in the future,” saying it’s performing a full review of device logging practices to ensure it aligns with its standards “set in other areas.”

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