The Google Pixel 9 is without a doubt one of this year’s best smartphones, and Amazon is offering a really good limited-time deal on it right now that you do not want to miss out on. Normally, the 256GB Google Pixel 9 would end up costing you $899. However, Amazon has it on sale right now for only $749, and that’s the lowest price we’ve ever seen this phone since it launched just a couple of months ago. This is also the all-time low price from Amazon according to price tracking from Camel Camel Camel.

While there are lots of things to love about the Pixel 9, one of its best features is the longer battery life. Compared to past Pixel devices like the Pixel 8, the Pixel 9 has noticeably longer battery life. Google says it will last for 24+ hours, and we found that to be more than true. With a decent amount of screen-on time. The Pixel 9 is also packed with Gemini AI integration. And that’s on top of the already available AI features from last year’s phones.

And of course, it has one of the best smartphone cameras available on the market. The Pixel 9 has a 6.3-inch Actua display and it comes unlocked which means you can use it on most US carriers. This includes AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Metro, Mint Mobile, Cricket, Google Fi, and many others.

While all of that stuff is nice, the best feature of the Pixel 9 is unquestionably its long update support. Google will support this device with OS version and security updates for seven whole years. So you can buy this phone in 2024, and it’ll get updates all the way until 2031. Which means you won’t have to upgrade for quite a long time if all you’re worried about is new software.

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This time of year has a lot of merry and bright things to be excited about, but it can be stressful if you’re stumped on what to get your mom, dad, best friend, coworker or kids’ teacher as a holiday gift. Whether you enjoy or dread buying gifts for people, it’s safe to say we all want to give our loved ones things they will enjoy and appreciate. But there’s a lot of noise, junk and bad deals disguised as good deals to sift through as we get closer and closer to the holidays.

Allow us at Engadget to help you through it. Here, you’ll find all of our holiday gift guides collected in one place, so you can more easily find the best Christmas gifts you need this year. Are you looking for white elephant gift ideas? Are you struggling to come up with a good gift for the father figure in your life? Are you just looking for a good board game to pick up for your own family? We’ve got you covered with gift ideas for all of those scenarios and more. We’ll update this post as more of our gift guides hit the internet, so check back for even more gift ideas throughout the season.

Table of contents

Best white elephant gift ideas

According to legend, the King of Siam would give a white elephant to courtiers who had upset them. The recipient had no choice but to simply thank the king for such an opulent gift, knowing that they likely could not afford the upkeep for such an animal. It would inevitably lead them to financial ruin. This story is almost certainly untrue, but it has led to a modern holiday staple: the white elephant gift exchange. These gift ideas will not only get you a few chuckles, but will also make your recipient feel (slightly) burdened.

Read more: The best white elephant gift ideas

Best board game gifts

We could all use more time away from screens of all types and sizes, and board games are a fun way to do that and bond with friends and family. You can find plenty of unique sets out there now, from word puzzles to whodunnits to calming playthroughs that showcase the beauty of the little things in life. From games with giant monsters to those with haunted mansions, we’re sure at least one of our suggestions will be a hit with you and your loved ones.

Read more: The best board games to gift this season

Best retro gaming gifts

A million new video games seem to come out every week, but for some of us, nothing beats the classics. If you know someone who is way into retro gaming but don’t feel like hunting through eBay and local shops for gear to add to their collection, we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite gift ideas for the nostalgic gamer in your life, from video upscalers for old consoles to retro-themed books and artwork.

Read more: The best retro gaming gifts for the holidays

Best gifts for coffee lovers

When it comes to making a great cup at home, coffee nerds are constantly learning and love to try new things. Whether the person you’re shopping for is a newly indoctrinated pour over lover or obsessive over every brewing parameter, we’ve compiled a list of the best gear for coffee geeks that you can get this holiday season.

Read more: The best gifts for coffee lovers

Best cooking gifts

There are few things more rewarding than making good food for your friends and family. But after a while, it’s easy to get bored with the same tried and true recipes. And what better way to inject some fun into your favorite home chef’s routine than with a brand-new kitchen gadget? To help you find the right gift for the cook in your life, we’ve put together a list of our favorite kitchen gadgets across a wide range of prices and categories.

Read more: The best cooking gifts

Best tech toys for kids

We’re all having a bit of a budget crunch this year, but the good news is that when it’s time to bestow presents on the young ones (or young at heart), you don’t have to break the bank. Our list of our favorite tech, science and design toys is stacked with items under $100, with plenty of reuse packed in so the fun can extend far beyond the holiday season.

Read more: The best tech toys for kids

Best gadgets for your pets

In Engadget’s Slack rooms, our pets are high on the list of stuff we chat about — just behind work-adjacent tech stuff, insane current events, video games and food. We’ve bought plenty of high- and low-tech stuff to keep our furry friends fed, occupied, safe and happy and we’ve put together the best of what we tried here. Perhaps you’re shopping for your own very good boy or girl, or maybe you have a dutiful pet parent on your list — either way, the gadgets gathered here will make great gifts, according to the enthusiastic tail wags (or aloof meows) of our own fur babies.

Read more: The best gadgets for your pets

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

You know that thing where, just after you’ve opened Instagram and become invested in whatever video was already loaded, a new video pops in and seemingly yeets the old video into the void, never to be seen again? That’s a thing of the past, according to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri, who says in an AMA from his Instagram Story yesterday that the app now waits for you to scroll to show you the new stuff.

That behavior — which Instagram apparently called “rug pull” internally — wasn’t just some weird bug. Mosseri says the app did it “because we were trying to load new content, and it was taking a while, so we showed you something that was already downloaded in the meantime, and it is generally good for engagement.”

But that’s “really annoying,” he acknowledges, “so we stopped doing it.”

Instagram has taken “a little bit of an engagement hit for this,” Mosseri concludes, saying it’s a much better experience for those of us using the app.

Viewing the Taurids may be affected by the illumination of the Moon, which could obscure some of the fainter meteors. The Moon will be in a waxing gibbous phase – going from half moon to full moon.

Plus, as we have seen recently, it is hard to see anything in the sky if there is a blanket of low cloud. However, there could be some timely changes in cloud amounts at the time of peak viewing.

A weather front crossing the UK on Sunday will bring a change in air mass. Even though an area of high pressure will build again, it may not contain as much cloud.

It is possible that the clouds will part on Monday night and give us a better chance of seeing some spectacular meteor displays.

Keep across your local forecast on the BBC Weather website or app.

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need clues.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Wordle hints and answers, Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too.

Although there’s been a dearth of new romance shows on Netflix this fall, one of the streamer’s biggest hits of the year is a romantic comedy: Nobody Wants This. Maybe that should tell Netflix something about what its fans want to see. Beyond that show, there’s really nothing new to report. Instead, we’ll just have to feature Ginny & Georgia, a romantic dramedy that follows a mother and daughter and their respective romances. That’s an older series, but it’s been renewed for two more seasons.

Since there aren’t many new romance shows to dive into, you’ll just have to settle for some of Netflix’s originals, including Bridgerton and Eva Lasting, as well as Grey’s Anatomy and Outlander. Those series and more can be found among the best romance shows on Netflix right now.

Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on Max, and the best shows on Disney+.