Fortnite is bringing its current chapter to a close with a live concert event featuring music from the late rapper Juice WRLD, as well as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Ice Spice. The in-game event, Remix: The Finale, kicks off at 2PM ET, but it’s recommended that you log on early to ensure you get in on time. Fortnite’s tribute to Juice WRLD began earlier this month with a Juice WRLD skin and a number of related items.
Juice WRLD (Jarad Higgins) died in 2019 at age 21, and while the practice of using a celebrity’s digital likeness after their death generally rubs me the wrong way, he was apparently a big Fortnite fan, so this collab at least seems to make sense. His mother, Carmela Wallace, said in a statement shared by Epic that “Jarad always loved to play Fortnite — it was more than just entertainment for him, it was a way to connect with others. From a young age, video games were a part of how he bonded with friends and family, and being in Fortnite is an incredible tribute to that connection.”
Epic Games
The rapper’s estate has released three posthumous albums since his death, and another new track, “Empty Out Your Pockets,” will premiere at the Fortnite event. “I know he would be overjoyed to see how his love for games continues to bring people together across different spaces, just like his music does,” Wallace said. The event will also showcase a new single from Snoop Dogg called “Another Part of Me,” which features Sting. If you miss the live event, Epic says it plans to run an encore later in the day barring any technical issues.
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Bluesky has updated its impersonation policy to be "more aggressive" after third-party analysis highlighted its verification problem. The Bluesky Safety account said that the social media service is removing accounts that are impersonating other people and those squatting on handles. Bluesky doesn't have a conventional verification system, so it's easy for unscrupulous users to pretend to be someone else either for attention or to scam other people. That may not have been a serious problem in the past, but the recent influx of new users threw the issue into stark relief.
While users can verify their identities on Bluesky by linking their account to a domain name, the process isn't as straightforward as paying for a checkmark. They'd have to add a string of text to the DNS record associated with their domain so that they could claim their URL. For instance, we could claim the Engadget.com handle on Bluesky if we go through this self-verification process. Individuals can link their accounts to personal domains or pay for Bluesky's custom domain service. In its new announcement, the platform say's it's working with organizations and high-profile individuals to set up their verified handles.
That said, when a user verifies their account, their old handle (typically username.bsky.social) gets freed up and becomes available to other people who sign up. Alexios Mantzarlis, the third party from Cornell Tech who analyzed the app's userbase, found that 44 percent of Bluesky's 100 most-followed accounts have a doppelganger. That is why Bluesky now requires parody, satire or fan accounts to label themselves as such in both their handles and their bio. If they don't, or if they only indicate the nature of their account in one of those elements, then they'll be treated as an impersonator and will be removed from the platform.
Bluesky now explicitly prohibits identity churning, as well. Accounts that start as impersonators with the purpose of gaining new users, and who then switch to a different identity in an attempt to circumvent the ban, will still get booted off the app. Finally, it says it's exploring "additional options to enhance account verification," though they're not quite ready for rollout.
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Though Black Friday itself is still a couple days away, several retailers have already started their annual holiday sales. That’s means it’s a decent time to be in the market for new storage equipment. If you’re looking to get more out of a PC, tablet or gaming handheld, we’ve rounded up the best Black Friday SSD and storage deals we could find.
Before you browse, keep in mind that storage prices have generally trended upwards over the past several months, so many of these discounts aren’t the lowest prices we've ever seen. Still, all of the SSDs, portable drives, microSD cards and other devices we highlight below are at least cheaper than they’ve been in several months. We'll continue updating this post through Black Friday as prices change and more deals spring up.
Crucial T705 (1TB) PCIe 5.0 SSD with heatsink for $130 at Amazon ($136 off): Most people don’t need to pay extra for a superfast PCIe 5.0 drive like the T705, but if you want the absolute best — and you have a compatible motherboard — its raw performance is almost unmatched. This is the lowest price we’ve tracked for the 1TB model with a heatsink. If you already have a compatible heatsink, the standard version is available for $10 less, which is another all-time low. Also at B&H.
Crucial P3 (2TB) PCIe 3.0 SSD for $105 at Amazon ($50 off): If you’re looking to upgrade an older system, the Crucial P3 is the PCIe 3.0 pick in our SSD buying guide. This deal is well off the 2TB version’s all-time low — it sat in the $75 range this time last year — but it’s the best price we could find since February. Also at B&H, Best Buy and others.
Kingston XS1000 (1TB) portable SSD for $64 at Amazon ($21 off): The Kingston XS1000 is the runner up in our portable SSD guide. It performs similarly to the X9 Pro across the board, but it’s not water-resistant, it doesn’t come with a USB-C to USB-C cable and it gets a little toastier with extended use. Still, it’s a great value. This deal comes within a dollar of the 1TB model’s all-time low. If you want something roomier, the 2TB version is about $18 off its usual street price at $102. Also at Kingston and B&H.
Crucial X10 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $91 at Amazon ($59 off): The X10 Pro is essentially a faster version of our favorite portable SSD, though you’ll only see the difference if you have a device that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 speeds. This deal beats the 1TB drive’s previous low by a buck. Also at Crucial, B&H and Best Buy.
The Crucial X9 Pro.
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Samsung Fit Plus (256GB) USB flash drive for $19 at Amazon ($6 off): The ultracompact Fit Plus is the thumb drive we recommend in our SSD buying guide. It’s not crazy fast, but it’ll do the job for the basics, and it’s small enough to fit on a keychain. While not an all-time low, this modest discount brings the 256GB variant down to its lowest price since January. Also at B&H.
Kingston Canvas Go Plus (128GB) microSD card for $11 at B&H ($6 off): We call the Canvas Go Plus a strong choice in our guide to the best microSD cards. Its sequential write speeds aren't the best, so it’s not great for recording video or downloading lots of media, but it’s close enough to our top pick otherwise. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the 128GB version.
Samsung Evo Select (2024) (256GB) microSD card for $18 at Amazon ($4 off): The Evo Select is our favorite microSD card in the budget bracket. Its mediocre write speeds make it less-than-ideal in a camera, but it should yield few complaints for most people just looking to add space to a Nintendo Switch or Android tablet on the cheap. We’ve seen the last-gen version of the card sell for less, but this is a new low for the “new generation” 256GB model, which brings the sequential reads more in line with the higher-tier Samsung Pro Plus. Also at B&H and Samsung.
Samsung Pro Plus (1TB) microSD card for $90 at Amazon ($30 off): If you want a 1TB card and don't mind paying for better performance, the Pro Plus is the top overall recommendation in our microSD card buying guide. It tested faster than the Lexar card above across our benchmarks, with a particular edge in random speeds. That means it should play a bit nicer in a portable gaming PC or a device like the Raspberry Pi, where it’d more frequently have to access smaller bits of data in random locations. This is a new low for the 1TB model, which Samsung released earlier this year. Also at Samsung and B&H.
SanDisk Ultra (1.5TB) microSD card for $89 at Amazon ($21 off): The Ultra is slower than the cards we recommend in our buying guide, particularly when it comes to write speeds, so you won’t want to stress it too hard with large file transfers. But if you don’t really care about raw performance and want a huge chunk of space for as little cash as possible, it should be fine enough. This deal comes within a couple bucks of the 1.5TB model’s lowest-ever price. Also at SanDisk and B&H.
WD Black C50 Expansion Card for Xbox (1TB) for $99 at Amazon ($59 off): It’s aggravating, but the only way to fully increase the storage of an Xbox Series X/S is to use a proprietary expansion card. Only two of those currently exist, but the C50 is one, and this discount drops the 1TB model to a new low. It’s normally sold for about $40 more in recent months. Is this still expensive compared to many SSDs with the same capacity? Sure. But any extra savings should be welcome. A 512GB model is a couple bucks above its all-time low at $68 as well. Also at B&H and Best Buy.
Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S (2TB) for $193 at Amazon ($167 off): Seagate makes the other official storage expansion card for the Xbox Series X/S. This discount isn’t the best we’ve ever seen, and it’s been live for most of the month, but it’s still roughly $45 below the 2TB model’s typical street price. There’s little performance difference between this and the C50, so which is best merely comes down to how much space you need and whatever one costs less. Also at Best Buy.
Black Friday is usually the best sale of the year on cameras and accessories and this year there are some particularly great deals this time around. Most of the major manufacturers including Sony, Canon, DJI, Nikon and GoPro are offering substantial discounts across a wide range of products, whether you're looking to spend a couple hundred dollars or several grand. Those include multiple options from our guide to the best cameras of 2024, so you'll get great value for tried and tested gear. These are the best Black Friday camera deals we found for 2024.
Black Friday action cam and drone deals
GoPro Hero 13 Black accessory bundle for $349 (22 percent off): GoPro's best deal in my opinion is the Hero 13 Black accessory bundle pack. It not only gives you the company's awesome video camera with up to 5.3K capture, but two enduro batteries, the "Handler" handle, two curved adhesive mounts, a 64GB microSD card and a carrying case for the same price as the camera alone.
DJI Mini 4K drone for $239 (20 percent off): It's right there in the name, as the DJI Mini 4K can shoot 4K30p or 27K 60p video. That's not bad at all at this price and quality is surprisingly good. Best of all, it weighs less than 250 grams so you don't need any kind of a permit to fly it. If you want to get it with extra batteries and a carrying case, the Fly More Combo is also discounted 20 percent to $359.
DJI Osmo Action 4 action cam for $209 (30 percent off): Even though it was superceded by the Action 5, DJI's Osmo Action 4 is still a great action cam. It has a relatively large 1/1.3-inch sensor so it's great in low light, and offers 4K 120p video. You also get DJI's Rocksteady 3.0 stabilization, long battery life and a nifty magnetic locking system.
Insta360 Ace Pro action cam for $300 (14 percent off): The Ace Pro is the first action camera with 8K recording, something we've still yet to see from GoPro or DJI. Another unique feature is the flip-up selfie screen that eliminates the need for a front screen. This is the lowest price we've seen yet for this model.
Insta360 X4 action cam for $425 (15 percent off): Insta360's X4 sets the standard for 360 video with up to 8K of resolution, and it's now on sale at the lowest price we've seen yet. Rugged and waterproof, it offers powerful image stabilization, an invisible selfie stick and fun video modes.
Black Friday mirrorless and compact camera deals
Canon EOS R100 camera with two lenses for $499 (40 percent off): This is one of the best camera deals going right now, letting you pick up Canon's small but powerful EOS R100 plus two lenses that cover from 18mm up to 210mm (27-315mm full-frame equivalent). Its size makes it ideal for travel and the lens selection will let you shoot anything from people pics to wildlife or bird shots.
Nikon Z8 camera for $3,497 (13 percent off): The Nikon Z8 is the most powerful hybrid camera you can get for the money, thanks to the 45.7-megapixel stacked sensor, incredible burst speeds, high image quality and 8K RAW video capture. It stacks up feature-for-feature against Canon's slightly better R5 II, but currently costs a whopping $800 less.
Sony ZV-1 II camera for $698 (22 percent off): The ZV-1 II is an ideal vlogging camera thanks to features like product showcase and background defocus that make it easy for creators to grab the perfect shot. The latest model features a wider zoom lens and more intuitive touchscreen, so it's better than ever for creators on the go.
Canon EOS R8 camera for $1,199 (20 percent off): The R8 has Canon’s excellent Dual Pixel AF with subject recognition AI, and can shoot bursts at up to 40 fps. It's equally strong with video, supporting oversampled 10-bit 4K at up to 60 fps.
Panasonic Lumix S9 camera with 20mm-60mm lens $1,498 (17 percent off): This is one of the best deals on a full-frame creator camera that we've seen. After testing one recently I found it to be small but powerful, with reliable autofocus, awesome video quality and those famous real-time LUTs so that creators can get the perfect look with no fuss.
Sony A7 IV camera for $2,098 (16 percent off): Sony's 33-megapixel A7 IV is the best mid-range mirrorless camera you can get, thanks to a great mix of speed, resolution and video powers. The biggest selling point is the reliable autofocus that ensures you'll get sharp photos nearly all the time.
Black Friday camera accessory deals
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 19 Studio $236 (20 percent off): DaVinci Resolve 19 is the best alternative to Adobe's Premiere Pro for video editing and unlike the latter, doesn't lock you into a subscription. The latest version offers a host of new AI-powered features like motion tracking and color grading.
Pixel G1s RGB video light for $56 (30 percent of): Pixel's G1s RGB video light is a must have for serious shooters, offering both a second illumination source and a colorful background light. Unlike many of the knockoffs, it exudes quality, and this is the lowest price I've seen yet.
Black Friday officially starts tomorrow, but here’s the deal: Nearly all of the best deals are live now, and we don’t expect further major price drops. Really. And that goes for Cyber Monday as well. So for Thanksgiving, we thought we'd give you a sort of executive summary of the best tech deals this year. This list includes some Engadget team favorites (and some personal ones) along with a bevy of alternate picks, as well as a large swath of Apple deals. That final one is notable because we're seeing some of the best prices of the year — in some cases, the best prices ever — on a wide range of current Apple gear, including AirPods, iPads and MacBooks, all of which Engadget readers have been scooping up over the past few days and weeks, and the price drops have settled in.
If you're looking for a more comprehensive list, check out our best Black Friday tech deals roundup, which has more than four dozen picks and growing. And we've linked to several of our other deal roundups below, too, if you want some more specific breakouts.
PlayStation
PlayStation 5 Slim game console: As a longtime Xbox guy, it pains me to say this: The PS5 is the game console you probably really want. That's largely due to its impressive list of exclusive titles that you can’t play on Microsoft’s (or Nintendo’s) rival gaming machines — franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, Helldivers and Marvel’s Spider-Man, to name some of the most noteworthy. If you haven’t yet taken the PS5 plunge, now’s a better time than ever: The “Slim” version of the console is slightly less chunky than the 2020 original in both girth and cost, starting at just $375 for the all-digital version, and $424 for the PS5 model with a built-in Blu-ray drive. (Get the latter if you want to play disc-based games or movies.) Alas, there are no discounts on the $699 PS5 Pro, but that's overkill for all but the most hard-core PlayStation fans. See more Black Friday video game deals.
AirPods Pro 2 earbuds: Apple’s best earbuds are now on sale for nearly $100 less than their price at the Apple Store, despite being more full-featured than ever. And while the latest firmware update lets them work as hearing aids, average users will be more impressed with their top-notch noise-canceling, as well as their effortless compatibility with Apple devices, from iPhones, iPads and Macs. Want Android compatibility? Go for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra for 23 percent off, or opt for full-size headphones like the Beats Solo 4 (down to $100) or the superb Sony WH-1000XM5 (25 percent off).
JBL Clip 5 Bluetooth speaker: Yes, you can get Bluetooth speakers for as little as $20 this Black Friday. But we’d recommend spending up for something like the JBL Clip 5. I own — and love — the predecessor, but this new-for-2024 model adds stereo pairing (if you get a second set) and an adjustable EQ via JBL’s app. It’s also fully dust- and waterproof, in addition to being partially made from recycled plastics. Sealing the deal? It’s currently discounted 37 percent. Save a bit more with the even smaller stepdown model, the JBL Go 4, now marked down to $40. See more Black Friday deals under $50.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Apple iPad (10th generation): For the past several months, Apple has been blowing out its discontinued 9th generation iPad for as little as $199. But now the current baseline model has dipped down to $250, making it even more appealing. This 2022 model doesn’t have the computing muscle to run current or future Apple Intelligence apps, but it’s otherwise a solid entry in the company's touch-screen computing line, with a Touch ID power button, a big 10.9-inch screen and compatibility with the Apple Pencil (sold separately). Need more storage? The 256GB model is down to $410 — twice as much space as you’ll get with the admittedly nicer and newer iPad Air (also currently on sale for $100 off). See more Black Friday Apple deals.
Roku Ultra: Engadget’s list of best video streamers is littered with Roku models, including this new-for-2024 Ultra box. And with good reason: This latest high-end Roku pretty much erases complaints from the previous version, with a full range of HDR compatibility, an updated rechargeable voice remote (USB-C, finally) and both Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 support. The 20-percent Black Friday discount gets it to $80, but if you’re on a tighter budget, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K ($29) will get you most of the same features at less than half the price. And we'll give an honorable mention to the Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max — currently on sale for just $33 — which is a better choice for anyone who uses a VPN to increase their streaming options. And whether you're buying a new streamer or you're already covered on that front, note that Disney/Hulu, Peacock and Max all have some solid Black Friday specials worth checking out.
Apple Watch 10: The Apple Watch got a nice redesign for 2024, with a thinner body and larger face — the “small” one is now 42mm while the larger one is 46mm, effectively eclipsing the Apple Watch Ultra. Yes, you’ll still need to recharge it almost every day, but the always-on screen and more efficient battery make this a nice upgrade for anyone who’s still rocking a Series 7 or earlier. With the starting prices down to $329 for Black Friday, it’s a great time to buy. It's worth noting, though, that the Apple Watch SE has dipped as low as $149, if you don’t need all the latest and greatest features.
MacBook Air: There are at least three “new” MacBook Airs you can buy right now, with prices starting as low as $600 for the M1 model at Walmart. My advice? Splurge not only for the latest M3 model, but pay a bit extra to get it with half a terabyte of storage. That 512GB MacBook Air M3 model, paired with the now-standard 16GB of RAM gets you an extremely capable Apple laptop for just $1,049. That’s $250 less than the Apple Store price, and a cool $150 lower than what I paid when I purchased that configuration at Amazon last March. Of course, the inevitable M4 version of this product is expected by next spring — but that won’t help you hit your gifting deadlines, will it? See more Black Friday laptop deals.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
Meta Quest 3S: Yes, a standard Xbox, PS5 or Switch will never disappoint under the tree, but if you’re aiming for bleeding-edge gaming, it’s hard to beat the Quest VR headset. The latest 3S model delivers most of the same experience as the earlier Quest 3 model at a much lower starting price, and the Black Friday deal — Amazon is throwing in a free $75 credit on top of the bundled Batman: Arkham Shadow game — makes this a great time to jump in. See more gift ideas for gamers.
Apple AirTags (4-pack): This is pretty much the only Apple product priced to qualify as a “stocking stuffer,” but it’s a can’t-miss gift for anyone who’s got an iPhone. Drop one of these little half dollar-sized trackers anywhere — a purse, backpack, suitcase or even a keychain — and you’ll be able to track them down using your Apple device. At $24 for a single tag, the better deal is to go for a 4-pack, which is currently hovering at a record-low $73. See more gift ideas under $25.
LG OLED TV: The axiom of TV shopping for the past several years still applies: OLED TVs offer the best overall image quality and black levels, bar none. While Sony and Samsung have finally brought some competition to this space, LG remains the go-to choice — and the Black Friday season is still the best time to buy. The top of the line evo C4 model will run you close to $1,500 for 65-inch screen, but the very similar LG B4 OLED has dipped under $1,200 at the same screen size. And bargain hunters shouldn't ignore the 2023 B3 OLED, which is currently under $1,000 for the 65-incher at Walmart. If those price tags are all too rich, or if you're not enough of a videophile to care about perfect black levels, don't fret: We've got plenty of other, more affordable Black Friday TV deals, too.