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Engadget
7 hours ago
- Engadget
The best Prime Day 2025 deals under $50: Save on gear from Blink, Anker, TP-Link and others
Big ticket items like TVs and iPads might get the lion's share of the attention during Amazon's sale, but there are plenty of Prime Day deals under $50 to check out, too. We've combed through the pages (and pages) of discounts to find sales on the brands and gadgets we've tested and recommend. Our picks include power banks from Anker, smart plugs from TP-Link and smart speakers from Amazon Echo. We've also linked back to our reviews and buying guides to help with your shopping decisions. Here are the best Prime Day tech deals under $50 you can get right now. Apple AirTag for $23 ($6 off): Here's our pick for a Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users. These little discs have the most accurate finding ability of any fob we tested, thanks to Apple's vast Find My network that taps into all nearby iPhones to track down your missing stuff. They could be louder and hole would be nice, but nothing beats its accuracy. Samsung Fit Plus 56GB flash drive for $23 ($12 off): We named this the best thumbstick drive in our guide to the best SSDs. It has a sleek design, five-year warranty and has a USB 3.1 connection. There's even a small attachment point for a keychain so you can take your extra storage drive with you when you go. Thermacell E55 Rechargeable Repeller for $25 ($10 off): The mosquitos aren't going anywhere. Even places that didn't used to have these evil bloodsuckers are now overrun. If you would like some reprieve from the bites, this is the repeller we recommend in our guide to outdoor tech. TP-Link AC1200 WiFi extender for $20 ($10 off): If you've got some dead spots in your home's internet coverage and aren't quite ready for a mesh setup, a Wi-Fi extender can help. This is our favorite budget option in our guide to these plug-in devices thanks to its easy setup and user-friendly app. Amazon Echo Pop for $22 ($18 off with Prime): The smallest (and cheapest) Echo speaker is ideal for small apartments or rooms. The half-sphere design comes in purple and teal in addition to the standard black and white colorways. Kasa TP-Link Smart Wi-FI outdoor plug for $20 ($5 off): We tested this one for our buying guide to smart plugs and named it the best outdoor pick for HomeKit users — but it'll work with Alexa and the Google Assistant too. The range was decent and setup was easy, like most TP-Link plugs. Grab this now and have automatic control of your holiday lights. Anker Nano USB-C charger block for $16 ($4 off): Remember when tiny bricks like this all maxed out at a dinky five-watts? This tiny but mighty cube is the best cheap fast charger in our guide to fast chargers and it outputs a generous 30 watts, plus the prongs fold down to make it even more teensy. TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $35 ($9 off): This is our favorite smart plug overall because it works with all four major smart home assistants (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and Samsung's Bixby). In our tests, it connected easily and reliably controlled our lamps and other simple appliances. Amazon Echo Dot for $32 ($18 off with Prime): Amazon seems to wait for Prime Day sales to give its smart speakers hefty discounts. We see minor sales throughout the year, but not quite this steep (though it's gone as low as $23 in past sales). So if you want to bring Alexa's peppy helpfulness into your home, this is a good time to do so. The Dot is our favorite smart speaker under $50. Blink Outdoor 4 for $45 ($55 off): We named this outdoor camera the best for Alexa homes in our security cameras guide. It can go just about anywhere you want as the wireless design runs on AA batteries and can last for two years before needing to be replaced. The motion alerts are accurate, but keep in mind you'll need a subscription to enable person detection and cloud storage. Anker Nano 3-in-1 portable charger for $36 ($9 off with Prime): We recommend this one in Engadget's guide to the best power banks. It's a wall adapter and power brick in one and comes with a handy built-in USB-C cable as well as an additional port. The 10,000 mAh capacity will get just about any smartphone from dead to full, with a little left over. HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 gaming headset for $36 ($14 off): In our guide to gaming headsets, we ultimately recommend getting an external mic along with a good pair of wired headphones for chatting. But if you really want a two-in-one, the Cloud Stinger 2 is our pick for a budget gaming headset. Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $40 ($30 off): Some prefer a wired connection when playing games. Razer's Basilisk V3 is our top budget pick for a wired mouse in our gaming mouse guide. It's comfortable, well-built, accurate and a good value — particularly with a Prime Day discount. Amazon Echo Spot for $45 ($35 off with Prime): The Spot speaker was resurrected last year with a slightly different design than it first had. Now the display is a half-circle on the round face of the clock and it can show you the weather, time and song title. The speaker itself brings you all Alexa can do, like setting timers, adding stuff to your grocery lists and answering questions about the weather.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
These 5 Easy Amazon Alexa Tricks Make for a Smarter Smart Home This Summer
With summer now very much around the corner, you've got better things to do than worry about your smart home. But with garden parties and the pool calling your name, there has never been a better time to make sure that your accessories are working for you, not against you. Smart home devices bring a lot of convenience to our day-to-day lives, but that doesn't mean they can't be improved. Amazon's Alexa" target="_self is one of the most popular choices, and you can tell it to turn the lights on or off, play your favorite music, set a timer for you while cooking in the kitchen and more. But you don't have to use the same Alexa as everyone else, and you can really upgrade your experience with just a few customizations. If you've got a smart speaker like the Echo Dot, an Echo Show 15, the powerful Echo Studio or the rotating Echo Show 10, there are plenty of ways to make Alexa feel more helpful and less like just another gadget. A few small changes can seriously improve your experience. From making hands-free calls to connecting Bluetooth and Wi-Fi or even using Alexa in the kitchen, there's a lot worth setting up. It might take a little effort to get everything just right, but once you do, your Alexa devices will feel like they're working for you instead of the other way around. Best Amazon Alexa Devices of 2025 See at Cnet When you ask Alexa to do something, such as play a song or turn on the lights, Alexa will say something like, "OK, turning on the lights." This is to help you determine why Alexa did something if it wasn't what you asked. If you don't want Alexa repeating what you just said, you can change that setting so that it plays a short sound instead of a voice response. To do so, open the Alexa app's More menu and select Settings > Talking with Alexa. Then toggle on the switch for Brief Mode. When you set up your Amazon Echo, the music service defaults to Amazon Music. If you use Spotify, Apple Music or another streamer, you may want to link your Echo to that instead. Go to Settings > Music & Podcasts, then link to a service. On the same page, tap Default Services and switch to your preferred music provider. Now the Echo will play from the music streaming service of your choice when you say, "Alexa, play music." Note that you can select defaults for family or personal listening. 'Alexa, Play Beyoncé': All the Alexa Music Commands You Need to Use See at Cnet If TV commercials keep triggering your Amazon Echo when they say "Alexa," you can change the wake word to something less likely to trigger the speaker. The other traditional options are Computer, Echo and Amazon, but there are several newer wake word additions you can use like Ziggy and Hey, Disney. If you want a change, just say, "Alexa, change the wake word" and make your selection. You can also open the Alexa app, go to Settings > Device Settings. Select your device, then tap the Settings icon and select Wake Word to make a choice. Unfortunately, you can't come up with your own name for the speaker, like "Tallulah" or "Digital Overlord." Best Smart Speakers for 2025 See at Cnet You don't always have time to search Amazon for something you're out of, like toilet paper. That's why it can be helpful to set up voice purchasing on your Amazon Echo, so Alexa can order products for you. To get started, you'll need to turn on voice ordering and 1-Click ordering. Open the Alexa app and navigate to Settings > Account Settings > Voice Purchasing > Purchasing controls > Select who can make purchases. For instance, you can set up a voice code or profile so that only you can make purchases when you type in a four-digit code. If you have multiple people in your house, you'll want to set up voice profiles for each member who uses the Echo speaker. This will help Alexa learn your voice and distinguish you from others in the house. To create voice profiles, go to Settings > Your Profile & Family > Voice ID and follow the onscreen prompts. You can make sure your voice profile is correctly set up by asking, "Alexa, who am I?" The voice assistant will say, "I'm talking to [your name]." If you have favorite customizations and settings, share them in the comments. Now that you've updated these six Echo settings, here are five creative uses for your Amazon Echo device, five essential tips for your new Echo device and CNET's roundup of every Alexa command you can give right now.
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
World Music Day 2025: Tech That Changed How We Listen to Music
From the Sony Walkman in 1979 to the rise of Spotify and smart tech like Amazon Echo, music listening has evolved drastically. On this World Music Day, we look back at iconic technologies that transformed the way we enjoy music today.
Mint
20-06-2025
- Mint
Waiting for Alexa+? Make your Echo speaker smarter with these 3 hacks
Amazon's new Alexa Plus upgrade is gradually making its way to Echo users, with the rollout expanding since its launch in late March 2025. According to Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum, more than a million users now have access to Alexa Plus, a significant jump from the 'hundreds of thousands' reported just a month ago. Sveum confirmed to The Verge that Alexa Plus is being deployed to compatible Echo speakers and smart displays 'at an increasing pace,' and will continue to be 'more broadly available over the summer.' Despite this progress, many Echo users are still awaiting the update. While Alexa Plus promises a more conversational, generative AI-based assistant experience, the staggered rollout means not everyone will get it at the same time. In the meantime, there are still several ways to get more from your current Echo setup. Here are three features users can activate today to enhance their Alexa experience while waiting for Alexa Plus. 1. BBC Sounds integration for podcasts and radio Echo speakers work seamlessly with streaming services, but adding the BBC Sounds skill offers a wider variety of live radio and podcast content. To enable it, simply go to the 'Skills & Games' section in the Alexa app and search for 'BBC Sounds.' Once signed into a BBC account, you can access BBC Radio stations or resume podcast episodes by voice commands. You can try voice commands like: 'Alexa, play BBC Radio 1' 'Alexa, launch BBC Sounds' BBC Sounds is especially great for listeners who enjoy music-focused channels, current affairs or entertainment podcasts 2. Control your TV using Alexa, no remote needed If you own a smart TV and an Amazon Echo speaker, you can control your TV completely hands-free using Alexa voice commands. It's a simple setup that can make everyday entertainment more convenient, from turning on the TV to launching apps like Netflix or YouTube, all with just your voice. To get started, open the Alexa app on your smartphone, tap the '+' icon in the top-right corner, and select 'Add Device.' Choose 'TV' from the list and select your TV brand. You'll be guided through a few steps to link your TV with Alexa. Most brands require enabling a specific Alexa Skill to complete the process. If you have a Samsung TV, you can use the Samsung SmartThings, likewise, for an LG TV, you can use LG ThinQ. Once your TV is paired and recognised, it's helpful to rename your device to something easy to remember, like 'Living Room TV' or 'Bedroom Screen.' to make your commands sound more natural. 3. Get daily news in seconds with Custom Flash Briefings Don't have time to scroll through news apps every morning? Alexa's Flash Briefing feature is a simple and effective solution. It delivers short, personalised audio news updates directly through your Echo speaker with a single voice command. To set it up, open the Alexa app, go to Settings, scroll to News under the 'Alexa Preferences' section, and tap My News Channel. Here, you can choose from a range of news sources, including BBC News, NPR, CNBC and more, depending on your region and preference. Once set, you can simply say: 'Alexa, what's my Flash Briefing?' Or, 'Alexa, play the news.' Alexa will then play a short summary of the day's top headlines from your selected source. You can even add multiple sources for a more diverse update and Alexa will play them one after another in a single briefing.
Miami Herald
16-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Amazon tries to make its most annoying service less terrible
My Amazon Echo works well as a speaker to play music and podcasts while I'm cooking. It also gets heavy use as a timer while I'm making dinner. Alexa, the digital assistant inside the Echo, can theoretically do more than serve as a stopwatch or countdown clock for me, but that's the only consistent use I've ever had for it. Related: Why now may be the best time to buy a luxury watch That's the problem Amazon (AMZN) and CEO Andy Jassy have with Alexa; it's a product many consumers have tried and not many have found overly useful. The digital assistant isn't that great at playing the song I'm asking for, so I'm not confident it will be great at organizing my day. It can tell me the weather, maybe give me a sports score, but I rarely use it for any of those things. It does politely greet me if I mention my sister-in-law Alexis, and it sometimes makes noise for no reason. Amazon and Jassy, if they want to save Alexa, they have to fully change consumer behaviour around the device. It may not be a Clippy-level failure, but it's a failure, and Clippy was at least cute. Now, the company is back with a revised Alexa, and Jassy seems pretty excited that it can go from annoying novelty (my words) to useful AI-driven personal assistant (a paraphrase of his words). "I want to briefly mention a few other items. As I've referenced a couple of times, in Q1, we introduced Alexa+. Our next-generation of Alexa personal assistant was meaningfully smarter and more capable than our prior self, can both answer virtually any question and take actions, and is free with Prime or available to non-Prime customers for $99 a month," CEO Andy Jassy said during Amazon's first-quarter earnings call. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter You may not have access to the new Alexa yet. "We are just starting to roll this out in the U.S., and we'll be expanding to additional countries later this year. People are really liking Alexa+ thus far," he added. Jassy tried to explain why the new Alexa will succeed where the old one failed. "On the Alexa question, we're really excited about Alexa+. And as I mentioned earlier, she's much more intelligent, much more capable, and able to take real action. And to date, most of the agents that have been out there have really just been able to answer questions, which when it came out was very remarkable and, I think the future of agents is not just being intelligent, but also being able to take action," he said. Related: Amazon Prime quietly makes a harsh change to beloved service Making the service actually useful is not easy, and he acknowledged that things could easily go wrong. "And that's, actually, it requires a great model, but it also requires the ability to sync that model and to align that model with being able to take the right action and execute and implement the right APIs, or you can have, very suboptimal results. And so, we've worked hard on that in Alexa+. We've been -- we started rolling out over the last several weeks. So, it's with now over 100,000 users, with more rolling out in the coming months. And so far, the response from our customers has been very, very positive. People are excited about it," Jassy added. The CEO also made it clear that he needs to get consumers to change their behavior. "I think that it does a lot more things than what Alexa did before. And we're very fortunate in that we have over a half billion devices out there in people's homes and offices and cars. So, we have a lot of distribution already, but there will be to some degree, there will be a little bit of rewiring for people on what they can do because you get used to patterns," he shared. Jassy did share some of the actual improvements made to the digital assistant. "I mean, even the simple thing of not having to speak Alexa anymore where we're all used to saying Alexa before we want every action to happen. And what you find is you really only have to do it the first time, and then really the conversation is ongoing where you don't have to say Alexa anymore. And I've been lucky enough to have the alpha and the beta, that I've been playing with for several months, he said. More Retail: Costco quietly plans to offer a convenient service for customersT-Mobile pulls the plug on generous offer, angering customersKellogg sounds alarm on unexpected shift in customer behavior Jassy did finally share an example of how the new Alexa might be put to use. "So, you can do things like you have guests coming over on a Saturday night for dinner and you can say Alexa, please, open the shades, put the lights on in the driveway and on the porch, increase the temperature five degree and pick music that would be great for dinner that's mellow. And she just does it. And like, when you have those types of experiences, it makes you want to do more of it, he shared. Jassy has put the revised Alexa to the test. "When I was in New York, when we were announcing, I asked her what were the, we did the event way downtown. I asked her, what was great Italian restaurants or pizza restaurants. She gave me a list and then she asked me if she wanted me to make a reservation. I said yes and she made the reservation, confirmed the time," he added. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
