There are a lot of earbuds out there to choose from, but if you're as entrenched in the Apple ecosystem as I am, AirPods make a ton of sense. Apple, of course, designs it to be that way, but it helps that it makes some genuinely great earbuds. The second-gen AirPods Pro are especially great, albeit a bit expensive. That's why when they drop in price, like they have during Black Friday, it's a fantastic opportunity to pick them up. AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) $169.99 at Best Buy $249.99 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $169.99 at Best Buy $249.99 Save $80.00 Currently, Amazon has AirPods Pro 2 available for 32% off, dropping them to $169.99 from $249. That's a sizable deal, but it's not quite as much of a price drop as Amazon implies. These AirPods tend to hover around $199 on Amazon, sometimes dipping below that price. That being said, they haven't been this cheap since Prime Day. In fact, Amazon briefly had them at $159.99 earlier today. It's not clear whether Amazon will drop to that price again, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Apple might slap its "Pro" moniker on most product categories these days, but AirPods Pro at least come with a lot of features to live up to the name. They may not be for "professionals," but you do get features you don't get on other AirPods models. For one, AirPods Pro come with excellent noise cancellation. Although, honestly, the in-ear seal from the silicone tips blocks out enough background noise that I hardly ever turn on Noise Control. In fact, because the seal is so good, you also get Transparency Mode, an option that pumps in the sounds around you, so you can be aware of your surroundingsor even have a conversation with your earbuds in. Speaking of conversations, one excellent feature exclusive to the second-gen Pros is Conversation Awareness: When you start talking while listening to something, your AirPods turn down the volume and boost the voices of the people you're talking to. When everyone stops speaking, your AirPods return to normal. It's great. Another automatic feature is "Adaptive Audio" (previously Adaptive Transparency) which can reduce any sound above 85 dB, while maintaining other sounds at the typical volume. That way, you can follow a conversation or even watch a TV show with your AirPods in, but if an ambulance races by you, its sirens will seem to be a very tolerable 85 dB. You'd think you'd get these two features on AirPods Max, Apple's flagship over-the-ear headphones, but you don't: You need the second-gen Pros for that. Like all AirPods, the Pros easily jump among all your connected Apple devices. You could be watching a video on your Mac, then take a call on your iPhone and start chatting through your AirPods. If you have an Apple TV, you can switch to your AirPods, too, which I frequently do, since I prefer the experience to my soundbar. While all these features are awesome, what it really comes down to for me is sound quality: The Pros just sound great, especially for such low-profile earbuds. And, because they block out so much sound on their own, I feel like I can appreciate the quality of the music I'm listening to in a variety of situations. I used to pause my music with my old AirPods whenever a loud truck or bus would drive past me on a walk. That's not a problem with the Pros.Last but certainly not least, you can now use these AirPods as hearing aids. That isn't marketing nonsense from Apple, either: The FDA cleared these earbuds to be used as hearing aids. Not a bad perk for $169.99. The Best Black Friday Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 ANC Earbuds With USB-C Charging Case $169.99 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 64GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet $149.99 (List Price $219.99) Fire TV Stick 4K Streaming Device With Remote (2023 Model) $21.99 (List Price $49.99) Blink Outdoor 4 1080p Security Camera (3-Pack) $99.99 (List Price $259.99) Dell Inspiron 15 3535 Ryzen 7 1TB SSD 16GB RAM Laptop $449.99 (List Price $699.99) Seagate Portable 4TB External USB 3.0 Hard Drive $99.90 (List Price $124.99) Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones $199.00 (List Price $349.00) Deals are selected by our commerce team

Four years after Tesla filed a lawsuit against Rivian alleging that the company poached its employees with a goal of obtaining trade secrets, the two appear to be nearing a resolution. According to Bloomberg, Tesla says its reached a conditional settlement with Rivian and expects to seek the cases dismissal by December 24. In the lawsuit filed in 2020, Tesla claimed Rivian encouraged exiting Tesla employees to steal information, and that it caught three employees taking highly valuable, confidential information as they left for Rivian. Rivian has denied the allegations from the start, calling them baseless.Rivian filed a motion for the lawsuit to be dismissed, but this was denied by a California judge who tentatively ruled earlier this year that Rivian would have to face a trial. The trial was expected to take place in 2025, but it now looks like the matter may be wrapped up before the end of the year without coming to that.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-and-rivian-have-reached-a-conditional-settlement-in-lawsuit-over-trade-secrets-214721559.html?src=rss

New releases in fiction, nonfiction and comics that caught our attention this week. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-a-visual-history-of-futurama-and-more-193047965.html?src=rss

Check out UPP's VFX breakdown of its (mostly) invisible effects for papal mystery thriller Conclave.Watch the full video on the Universal Production Partners Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/1031473873

Discover how PFX recreated 1940s Bratislava in its VFX breakdown of its invisible effects for period drama The Hungarian DressmakerWatch the full video on CG Channel: https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/11/how-pfx-created-its-invisible-effects-for-the-hungarian-dressmaker/

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

Crypto showed up in force this election cycle, raising tens of millions to vote out the industry's critics and vote in its friends.

Microsoft on Friday finally started letting people test Recall, a so-called photographic memory search feature for the latest Copilot+ PCs. It's not perfect.

From Vanity Fair.The post On The Set Pic: The Gorge appeared first on befores & afters.