Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, priced at $979.99 for Prime Day (was $1,400), still carries the flat sides and a tucked-away S Pen, now inside a body that measures 163.6 by 78.1 by 7.9 millimeters and weighs 214 grams. Outdoor glare has less room to win on the 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel, which shifts between 1Hz and 120Hz, resolves 3120 by 1440, and is rated to a peak of 2600 nits, with an anti-reflective coat and a privacy setting that narrows the viewing angle so a neighbor on the train sees less of the screen. Four cameras sit in the rear island: a 200-megapixel main sensor opened to f/1.4, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel lens at 3x, and a 50-megapixel periscope at 5x opened to f/2.9, covering stills out to a claimed 100x digital reach and 8K video from the main sensor, with a 12-megapixel camera up front. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, built on a 3-nanometer process, pairs with 12GB of memory. A 5,000mAh cell refills at 60 watts on a cable and 25 watts on a Qi2 wireless pad, and the phone carries an IP68 rating for dust and a short dip in water.

5. Meta Quest 3S – $350 $297.49

Meta’s Quest 3S 128GB Gorilla Tag Bundle ships a standalone headset, a pair of Touch Plus controllers, and an Amazon-only set of Gorilla Tag extras, including exclusive in-game items and 1,000 shiny rocks. Play runs on the headset itself, driven by a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip and 8GB of memory, with 128GB of storage for installs and a path to a desktop library over Wi-Fi or a USB-C cable. Each eye looks through Fresnel lenses at an LCD panel of 1832 by 1920, refreshing at up to 120Hz, with a field of view near 96 degrees and three fixed lens positions for different face widths. Color cameras on the front show the room in full color, so a virtual table can sit on a real one, and tracking follows both the controllers and bare hands. A session usually lasts about two to two and a half hours before the included adapter has to refill the battery. Built-in speakers and a microphone cover room sound and voice chat, and the headset weighs about 514 grams with the strap on. This bundle also opens a stretch of Meta Horizon+ with a rotating shelf of more than 40 games from the first setup. Product page.

4. Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) – $279 $229

Apple’s Watch SE 3 in the 44mm GPS size sits in an aluminum case that measures 44 by 38 by 10.7 millimeters and weighs 32.9 grams, finished in Midnight or Starlight. An always-on Retina OLED panel fills 368 by 448 pixels at 326 pixels per inch, brightening to 1000 nits outside and dimming to 2 nits at night, behind Ion-X glass. An S10 chip with a dual-core processor, a 4-core Neural Engine, and 64GB of storage runs watchOS 26, with a Digital Crown, a side button, and gestures for a double tap or a wrist flick. Heart rate, high and low alerts, irregular rhythm notices, sleep stages, a sleep score, and sleep apnea notifications come from a second-generation optical sensor, joined by a temperature sensor, compass, and always-on altimeter. Built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS handle outdoor routes without a cellular radio, so the watch stays tied to a nearby iPhone for calls and messages. A full day of ordinary use is rated at about 18 hours, stretching to 32 hours in Low Power Mode, and a fast charge reaches about 80 percent in 45 minutes. Water resistance is rated to 50 meters, with a speaker and microphone for timers, music, and voice replies. Product page.

3. Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D Printer – $249 – $212.90

Bambu Lab’s A1 Mini is an open-frame 3D printer with a steel and aluminum chassis, a build area of 180 by 180 by 180 millimeters, and a body that measures 347 by 315 by 365 millimeters at 5.5 kilograms. An all-metal hot end with a 0.4 millimeter stainless nozzle reaches 300 degrees Celsius, and the PEI plate tops out at 80 degrees, a pairing suited to PLA, PETG, TPU, and PVA. The toolhead is rated for 500 millimeters per second and 10,000 millimeters per second squared of acceleration, with automatic bed leveling, vibration compensation, and a built-in filament cutter so a first print can start after a short setup. A run-out sensor, a tangle sensor, power-loss recovery, and a camera for time-lapse sit on the machine, while a 2.4-inch touchscreen handles local jobs alongside Wi-Fi, the Bambu Handy app, and Bambu Studio on a computer. One AMS lite can feed up to four colors when that unit is attached, while power draw is rated at 150 watts on a standard wall outlet. Product page.

2. Ninja CREAMi 7-in-1 Frozen Dessert Maker – $220 $169.99

Ninja’s CREAMi 7-in-1 takes a frozen pint and turns it into ice cream, gelato, sorbet, a milkshake, a smoothie bowl, or a lighter ice cream, with a seventh program for folding in mix-ins. A base goes into a 16-ounce pint, spends the night in the freezer, then meets a Creamerizer paddle that works through the solid block in a couple of minutes. Re-spin is there when the first pass comes out too firm, and chocolate, nuts, candy, or fruit can go in on the mix-in setting. The NC301 setup includes the motor base, an outer bowl with a lid, the paddle, and two pints with storage lids, so one flavor can freeze while another is already finished. An 800-watt motor drives the process, and the pints, lids, and paddle can go on the top rack of a dishwasher. The unit stands about 16 inches tall, 12 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep. Product page.

1. 13″ MacBook Air M5 – $1,799 $1,599

Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 packs a 10-core CPU, an 8-core GPU that can be ordered with 10 cores, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 153GB/s of memory bandwidth into an aluminum body that measures 0.44 inch thick and weighs 2.7 pounds. This configuration features 24GB of unified memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina panel that runs at 2560 by 1664 and 224 pixels per inch, peaks at 500 nits, and covers the P3 range with True Tone. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe 3 charger, and a headphone jack handle power and peripherals, and the machine can drive two external displays at once. A 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, a four-speaker system, Touch ID, and a backlit keyboard sit in the same chassis. A 53.8-watt-hour battery is rated for up to 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of wireless web, with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for the connection. Product page.

After introducing the S2 a couple of months back, vivo is introducing the new S2 FE in the Indian market on October 6. This will come alongside another smartphone, the Vivo V80, and will serve as the Fan Edition of the recently released Vivo S2. The company teased the smartphone before its official release, sharing details about its sleek design, large battery, and immersive display. However, the company has not revealed the smartphone’s specs. Leaks suggest the device could have a 10,000mAh battery, along with other hardware details, and a price of around Rs 40,000.

The Vivo S2 FE is expected to feature a 6.7-inch display and the MediaTek Dimensity 7300E chipset. It may also feature a reportedly 3,800 square mm VC cooling mechanism. The smartphone’s battery is set to be one of its most important components. According to one leak, the battery capacity will be 10,000mAh, while another leak suggests it will exceed 7,000mAh. If the 10,000mAh battery turns out to be true, then the Vivo S2 FE will have the largest battery ever on a Vivo smartphone. This would also put the S2 FE close to the Realme P4, which packs a 10,001mAh battery.

Amazon Prime Day is here, and as WIRED’s resident headphone expert, I’ve hunted down the best Prime Day headphone deals for your consideration. Prime Day is a great time to find discounts on all sorts of tech, and while the best deals are often only for Prime Members, it can be hard to tell whether something is truly on sale or just a markdown off an inflated price.

I’ve been covering headphones for over four years, including guides to wireless earbuds, noise-canceling earbuds, open earbuds, and more. I know which headphones are worth your time and which deals aren’t all that good. Below, I’ve curated truly good products on sale that are worth a look.

Be sure to check out our other sale coverage of the Absolute Best Prime Day Deals, the Best Prime Day Tech Deals, the Best Prime Day Soundbar Deals, and more.

Best Prime Day Earbud Deals

Apple AirPods Pro 3 are the best wireless earbuds for iPhone users. This latest model has some of the best noise-canceling and transparency you can find in an earbud, with clear, detailed audio no matter what you are doing. They also come with many unique features like a built-in heart rate sensor and live translation. Plus, they get up to eight hours of battery on a single charge.

Happy IEEE Day 2026!

IEEE Day is an annual event that celebrates the first time in history when engineers worldwide gathered to share their technical ideas in 1884.

One of the IEEE Day’s objectives is to show the ways IEEE members, in local communities, join together to collaborate on ideas that leverage technology for a better tomorrow.

IEEE Day 2026 – October 6, 2026. Stay tuned as we continue this journey of innovation, connection, and global celebration.IEEE

Celebrate IEEE Day with colleagues from IEEE Sections, Student Branches, Affinity groups, and Society Chapters. Events happen both virtually and in person all around the world.

IEEE Day 2026 Events

Explore IEEE Day 2026 events taking place around the world from 4 – 17 October 2026. The event listing is dynamically updated as new events are registered.

View events →

Compete in contests and win prizes!

Have some fun and compete in the photo and video contests. Get your phone and camera ready when you attend one of the events. This year we will have both Photo and Video Contests. You can submit your entries in technovation, raise your flag, and social categories.

View contests →

Special Offers & Activities

Check out our special offers and activities for IEEE members and future members. And share these with your friends and colleagues.

View offers →

Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design built a small robot that leaves a drone, spins on the way down, and keeps moving once it meets the water. They named it ALBATROSS, short for Airborne Lander with Buoyant AuToROtating Sailing Sensor. Lead author Shane Kyi Hla Win, working with professor Foong Shaohui, describes the machine in Science Robotics as a way to put sensors on a lake or a sheltered stretch of sea without sending a boat out to meet them.

A drone raises the one-kilogram prototype about 150 meters and then releases it. The inflexible wingsails attached to one side of the hull grab some air and begin spinning within a few seconds, much like a maple seed does on its journey to the earth. During tests on a reservoir, the craft settled into a very constant glide of around 7.4 meters per second, or roughly 26 kilometers per hour. According to Foong’s team, an identical hull without the spin would smack into the sea with nearly 18 and a half times the force, so the wings effectively negate the need for a parachute.

Sale

LEGO Icons Transformers: Soundwave – Building Set W/Sound Effects for Adults, 18+ – Model Kit W/Ravage…

• MODEL KIT FOR ADULTS – Relive 80s science fiction glory with the LEGO Icons Transformers: Soundwave (10358) building set for adults 18 years old and…
• AUTHENTIC TRANSFORMING ACTION – Build Soundwave with his rocket pod, laser blaster, and dart accessories, then transform him from robot and cassette…
• INTERACTIVE SOUND EFFECTS – Press Soundwave’s play button to activate specially recorded voice and sound effects that capture the character’s iconic…

The weight is responsible for landing the thing. A good heavy keel and ballast will turn the boat upright in approximately a second after it enters the water, and no power is required to flip it over. Once it floats, those same wings transform into sails. The main sail just turns freely with the help of a tail rudder, whilst a smaller front sail can alter angle to maintain the spin stable and catch any wind on the sea. To complete the task, only three actuators and three navigation sensors are required, which is quite small when compared to some air-and-water machines that require six to eight actuators.

Once it reaches that threshold, the wind takes over. Trials on Singapore’s Bedok and Pandan lakes revealed that a larger test version could reach a top speed of roughly a kilometer per hour and maintain that speed for nearly three hours while recording humidity, heat, and wind direction. Not bad given it only consumed almost half of its main battery. When the air lowers, a rudder shaped like a fish tail starts rotating and can provide the ship a moderate push forward at up to 0.4 meters per second, allowing it to make some headway when operating upwind.

Currently, the limit is relatively calm water. The design is primarily intended for still reservoirs and peaceful areas of coastline, and the team believes it would not last long in severe swell. Future versions are expected to be able to stay out for weeks, monitoring things like algal blooms, oil spills, trash, and the flow of heat between the sea and the air, and having a rapid release mechanism will come in useful if they need to conduct a search or inspect a remote beach. For now, though, it’s all about the sequence: one set of wings, one drop, one smooth landing, and a miniature boat that sails away on its own.

Felix at Billet Labs set out to park a real gaming PC in a living room and leave the fans off. A Ryzen 9 9800X3D and an RTX 5080 share a Gigabyte AORUS Pro B850 board, fed by a 600 watt Flex ATX supply, and the pair can pull well past 500 watts once a demanding game settles in. Air coolers handle that load by moving a lot of air. Moving a lot of air makes noise. An earlier attempt had hung the same idea on a cast iron radiator and ended near 100 kilograms, so this version started over on a hand-worked aluminum block that brings the finished machine down to about 15.7 kilograms once the loop holds roughly two liters of water.

The enormous black block on the floor is the case’s base, and 6 mm of thermal paste rests underneath the motherboard, while a big ol’ glob of paste is put under the power supply, allowing heat to be poured directly into the metal. Three radiators sit on top of the motherboard on brackets he built himself, with the paint stripped and the metal polished nicely: a large 200 x 400 mm unit at the bottom, followed by two smaller 140 and 120 class radiators laid flat so warm air can rise naturally through the fins. He closed the loop by soldering old copper piping from the home to brass fittings. A separate length of pipe capped at one end serves as a reservoir and feeds the pump. The pressure and temperature gauges are right up front. Motherboard fans are actually disabled in the bios, therefore they do not turn on. The thermal paste on the supply base is only there to keep the fan from spinning up (which it probably shouldn’t anyhow).

Sale

msi Cyborg 17 17.3″ FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop: Intel Core 7-240H, NVIDIA Geforce RTX 5060, 16GB DDR5, 1TB…

• Thin & Light 17.3” Gaming Powerhouse: Experience big-screen immersion in a surprisingly portable design—just 0.83 in thin and 5.5 lbs—making it…
• Powered by Intel Core 7-240H for Smooth, Responsive Play: The latest Intel Core 7-240H delivers fast hybrid-architecture performance so games load…
• RTX 5060 Graphics for Next-Gen Gameplay & AI-Boosted Performance: Unlock advanced gaming with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, featuring real-time ray…

The first few runs were relatively smooth, but then things became a little wacky. Even when idle, the water in the loop was exactly 28 degrees Celsius. A simple game barely put a dent in it. Cinebench, on the other hand, raised the temperature of the water to around 39.5 degrees Celsius, with processor cores reaching the low 90s. Halo remained playable, however. Cyberpunk 2077, on the other hand, raised the water temperature to 55.5 degrees, and by the end, the processor was approaching 95 degrees as the power draw dropped from 110 to 100 watts. A combined stress test eventually drove the water up to 56 to 60 degrees, just shy of the pump’s capacity.

As the water heated up further, he began to notice some cavitation. The small radiators were having problems allowing air to rise beyond the dense fins, so heat was simply creeping past them rather than through. The flow order was also contributing to the problem, because the warmest water was not being directed to the top radiator first. The pressure gage was loud enough to be heard across the room, and he had nearly punctured a radiator with a screw while assembling the entire thing. That is a very good technique to melt copper pipe, though; simply pass a long, hot torch over it, and the copper absorbs all of the heat.

One 120mm Noctua fan, a small black one that blends well with the metal background, sits neatly between the two smaller radiators and draws air through the fins to provide airflow that would ordinarily be insufficient to clear them. The gage is removed, and with it, the ticking sounds. The idle water temperature drops to 22 degrees. When you run cinebench, the coolant temperature maintains at 25 degrees, the cores are in the upper 70s with a brief peak of 82, and the processor is still only drawing 129 watts without needing to be cooled.

A full stress test that had been approaching 60 degrees finally settles at around 40, a full 20 degrees cooler, while the graphics card max out at 61. In ordinary games, the fan runs at a low speed and is almost inaudible, since it is quieter than the old gage even when it spins up slightly. The aluminum block already effectively cools the board and card, so all that was required was a single fan between the smaller radiators to complete the loop.

You can get by with a completely silent loop that can idle and handle some light gaming, but if you try to run a 9800X3D and a 5080 through a long gaming session, the water temperature will start to rise into the 50s and the processor will begin to fail. One quiet fan, directed at the radiators that were seriously impeding airflow, transformed the entire copper and aluminum configuration into a living room PC that looks good on a shelf and can even finish a session without crashing.
[Source]

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 is live now, with two days of discounts running October 6th and 7th on headphones, loudspeakers, smart speakers, TVs, streaming gear, and other consumer electronics. Often referred to as Amazon’s “October Prime Day,” the sale is limited to Prime members and includes some of the lowest prices we’ve seen this fall on products we actually recommend.

We’re tracking the best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 audio and tech deals as they appear, with a focus on products that offer genuine value rather than inflated “discounts” that look better on the screen than they do at checkout. Some of the strongest deals may disappear before the sale ends — and with Black Friday still weeks away, waiting could mean paying more or finding the product sold out.

Revel M146

The Revel M146 bookshelf speaker redefines spatial audio. Engineered with a 6.5-inch Deep Ceramic Composite woofer and 7th-Gen Acoustic Lens Waveguide, its pure sound warps time—suspending reality as tracks pull you effortlessly into the exact moment they were recorded. Pure acoustics, absolute immersion, right on your desktop or stand.

$2,999/pair at Crutchfield | Audio Advice | Music Direct | Sweetwater

Advertisement

ARCAM AVA15

Unleash true cinematic power with the ARCAM AVA15. Delivering pristine audiophile clarity, immersive Dolby Atmos, and effortless room calibration, it turns any living room into a high-end private theater. Elite Dirac-tuned engineering rarely comes at this price—grab the ultimate audio upgrade before stock runs out!

$4,499 at Crutchfield | Best Buy | Audio Advice

AWOL Aetherion Max

A flagship 4K RGB Triple Laser UST projector designed for bright living rooms, larger screens and shared entertainment. It delivers 3,300 ISO lumens, 6,000:1 native contrast and 110% Rec.2020, with PixelLock™ Technology for sharp 4K images up to 200″. It also features Anti-RBE Technology, Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, VRR, ALLM and 1ms ultra-low latency for movies, sports and gaming.

$4,499 $3,599 at AWOL Vision | Amazon

Audioengine HD4

Give the music lover on your list something they’ll use every day. The Audioengine HD4 Home Music System in Hi-Gloss Piano White is 20% off for Prime Day. Big sound, easy setup, and a gift that makes every playlist, album, and favorite song sound better.

$429 $343 at Amazon

Advertisement

Technics EAH-AZ100

The Technics EAH-AZ100 True Wireless Earbuds deliver premium sound with Magnetic Fluid Drivers for rich bass and crystal-clear detail. Adaptive Noise Cancelling and Dolby Atmos® with head tracking create an immersive listening experience, making them an exceptional gift for music lovers. During Prime Big Deal Days, save $65.

$299 $234 at Amazon

Andover SpinBase 2

SpinBase 2 delivers powerful, full-range 270° sound in a sleek, space-saving design. Featuring Andover’s patented IsoGroove® Technology for noise-free performance and a built-in phono preamp, it sits seamlessly under your turntable. Get SpinBase 2 for as low as $289 this Prime Day! Click HERE for all Andover Prime Day deals – offers end 10/8/26.

$349 $289 at Amazon

ZVOX AccuVoice AV855

Can’t hear voices on TV? The AccuVoice AV855 Soundbar delivers unparalleled dialogue clarity with 20 levels of voice enhancement. The AV855 features dual built-in woofers for rich bass and HDMI-ARC compatibility for easy connection with your TV’s remote. Just $299 this Prime Day! Click HERE for all ZVOX Prime Day deals – offers end 10/8/26.

Advertisement

$349 $299 at Amazon

Sony WH-1000XM5

Although a generation behind, Sony’s award-winning WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones deliver the best bang-for-your-buck in noise-cancellation this Prime Day. Available in smoky pink, midnight blue, black, or silver.

$399 $199 at Amazon

TCL QM8L

The 75-inch 2026 TCL QM8L offers the best value for performance among the TVs we’ve tested this year. It’s now half-off for Prime Days in other sizes too!

$2,999 $1,497 at Amazon

Advertisement

Note: Some of these deals are only available to Amazon Prime Members during October 6-7, 2026. Check Amazon for the latest Prime Day Deals.

Need more gift giving ideas?

Disclosure: The products listed above are approved by our Editors, but may be requested by our sponsors. When links to buy are provided, we’ll direct you to the lowest price at time of publication. In doing so, eCoustics may earn a small commission from the associated retailer if purchased.