It’s been another week packed with tech news, and TechRadar has been covering all the big stories: Prime Day deals, Apple price hikes, new devices from Oura and Sonos, and much more.
If you haven’t been able to check in regularly on our site, this ICYMI weekly digest (in case you missed it) is here to catch you up. You can explore the important headlines below and click on the links to see the full articles.
Sit back and review last week below, and we’ll be back next week for another ICYMI recap.
7. We review the Prime Day offers
You may have noticed that this week has been Amazon Prime Day (it’s now spread out over multiple days, of course) and the TechRadar team has been busy searching all of Amazon’s categories to bring you the best deals – we’ve found discounts on TVs, laptops, headphones, smartwatches, smart home devices, tablets and much more.
No matter what you need in terms of tech right now, our US and UK overview pages have a range of deals to suit – and many of these discounts are really substantial, and many are still going. Along with the latest prices and links for each product, we’ve also included our expert technical advice in each case, so you know exactly why the deals are worth pursuing.
6. We review the Oura Ring 5
The Oura Ring 5 is a substantial step up from its predecessor: it’s thinner, lighter, and more durable, as well as offering extra battery life, and according to our review, you might even forget you’re wearing it. Oura has managed to refine the appearance of the device to make it look like a regular piece of jewelry, even with the cutting-edge sensors inside.
“It’s easily the most stylish and accurate smart ring out there,” our review states, although it’s not perfect, and there’s Oura’s usual subscription fee to consider if you want access to most of the tracking features. If you’re wondering if Oura Ring 5 is the right wearable upgrade for you, we’ll tell you everything you need to know below.
Meta has gifted us with a bumper crop of new smart glasses, starting at $299 / £269 / AU$599 and developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica. We’ve got all the details here, including how they feel when wearing them and a rundown of the design and color variations you can choose from; You certainly can’t complain that there aren’t enough options in this lot.
We also received feedback from Meta CTO and director of Reality Labs, Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, who described the company’s vision of a future with smart specifications and said that “it turns out that it’s pretty easy to make glasses that don’t look good.” This appears to be a humorous dig at some of Meta’s rivals in the space, but see what you think of the new Meta Glasses range.
4. We review the latest Sonos speaker.
The Sonos Era 100 SL wireless speaker is more affordable than the Era 100 that was released before it, but as our detailed review will tell you, Sonos has been able to achieve this without making too many compromises. Most importantly, the sound quality doesn’t diminish even if the price does, so you’ll still get a top-notch listening experience.
Our review takes you through every aspect of the Era 100 SL speaker, from how easy it is to initially set up to the kind of performance you can expect from it (with London Grammar and DJ Shadow included among the artists whose music we used for testing) and there’s praise for the “quality sound”, “great connectivity” and “iconic design” along the way.
3. The Steam Machine has an official price
It’s been a long wait for the Steam Machine, but we’re almost there, and we now know that the starting price is set at $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609, and we can thank price inflation fueled by the RAM crisis for that. If a Steam Machine is still in your budget, you’ll be able to place an order starting June 29, more than seven months after it was first announced.
If you don’t think it’s a good value, we’ve put together a guide below for creating your own Steam Machine alternative. You’ll get full control over the budget and specs of the components you choose, and it can be a lot of fun too (as we can confidently say given the TechRadar team’s years of PC building experience).
2. Apple revealed its painful price hikes
Speaking of the RAM crisis, it also affected Apple: the company has increased the prices of many of its products, including iPads, MacBooks, and even the HomePod. The recently released MacBook Neo, for example, now starts at $699 instead of $599 in the United States, a not insignificant increase of $100 or 17% in a single jump.
We have all the details on how much more expensive each Apple device is now, and these price increases will go into effect immediately on the official Apple Store. We also have some ideas on where you can still find these Apple products at their original prices at third-party retailers, although you’ll have to act fast to get them.
1. GTA 6 pre-orders have finally gone live
After two major delays, GTA 6 It’s finally out on November 19, and you can pre-order now for PS5, Xbox Series
We’ll also be keeping an eye out for bundles offered by these stores, which means you can pick up the game and a console at the same time, so check back often if you’re interested. It’s exciting that pre-orders are now available for what could be the video game of the decade, and we only have five more months to count down until release day.
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