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Ubisoft explores ‘strategic options’ as it reports lackluster September quarter results

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Sneak!

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, said the French video game publisher is exploring its strategic options as it reported lackluster results for the first half of the year.

For the second fiscal quarter, Ubisoft report its net bookings were €352.3 million ($382 million), in line with revised guidance but lower than previous expectations. The company said lower-than-expected results for Star Wars: Outlaws were to blame. In the first half, net bookings were €642.3 million ($697 million), down 22% from a year ago. The net loss was $1.94 a diluted share.

During the past year, Ubisoft reduced its overall employment from 19,410 to 18,666, reducing staff by 744 positions. As for the options, Ubisoft didn’t say but it is reportedly exploring plans to take the company private. The company’s recent struggles are emblematic of the tough time the game industry has seen as demand has changed in the wake of the pandemic. Ubisoft also needs to execute on delivering great content for gamers even as it tries to rein in its costs.

In a statement, Guillemot said, “Despite recent setbacks, we are continuing to deeply transform Ubisoft in order to restore the level of creativity and innovation that built Ubisoft’s success while delivering stronger execution and predictability. Even if our first-half performance fell short of our initial expectations, the double-digit growth of our back catalog excluding partnerships reaffirms the quality, uniqueness and value embedded in our brand portfolio and the strength of our live services. This highlights our potential to deliver more recurring revenue, sustainable growth, and long-term value for our stakeholders.”

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In addition to weaker Star Wars results, Guillemot said

He said that Ubisoft must redouble its focus on execution and reinforce a player-centric mindset in everything it does.

“For example, we are improving the quality of Star Wars Outlaws, including actively addressing player feedback through title updates as we get ready for the Steam launch, the first story pack, and the upcoming holiday season,” Guillemot said. “We are also taking the additional time to ensure that the upcoming very ambitious opus in our flagship franchise, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, is a highly polished, exceptional experience on day one and that it resonates strongly with players.”

Ubisoft delayed the launch of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, pushing it out of the holiday season into the next year.

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“Over the past semester, we also further advanced our cost reduction plan thanks to strict control on recruitments, targeted restructurings and lower external spend,” Guillemot said. “This is the fruit of a group-wide effort, and I would like to thank the teams as we are transforming the company into a more efficient and agile organization. Over the first semester, we have already achieved more than €200 million ($217 million) savings versus two years ago on an annualized basis. There still remains work to be done to support robust cash-flow generation in the future.”

Guillemot added that the executive committee review, aimed at improving Ubisoft’s execution focused on a player-centric and gameplay-first approach, is progressing. This notably includes actions aimed at tackling the dynamics behind the polarized comments around Ubisoft so as to protect the Group’s reputation and maximize our game’s sales potential, he said.

“We remain committed to making decisions in the best interests of all of our stakeholders. In this context, as we have already indicated, the Company is also reviewing all its strategic options,” Guillemot said.

Results for the first half ended September 30

Sneak!
Sneak!

In the first half, Ubisoft said console and PC games saw playtime increase 9% in the first half ended September 30, and session days were up 6% from a year ago.

This was driven by by Rainbow Six: Siege playtime and session days both up double-digit year-on-year. Monthly active users were 37 million, up 3% year-on-year, and included close to 3 million new accounts per month. Excluding partnerships, back-catalog net bookings were up 12% year-on-year.

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In the last 12 months, Ubisoft attracted 138 million unique players across console and the PC, up 4% year-on-year. The Assassin’s Creed franchise and Rainbow Six Siege both benefited from strong audiences, with more than 30 million unique active users each.

While it is perceived as having too many people and a low market value ($1.75 billion today), Ubisoft said it has a lot going for it. Over the past decade, the Assassin’s Creed franchise has generated around €4 billion ($4.3 billion), Rainbow Six Siege has generated over €3.5 billion ($3.8 billion) and Far Cry has topped around €2 billion ($2.17 billion). Including The Division, Ghost Recon and Just Dance, Ubisoft has six brands that have surpassed €1 billion ($1.09 billion) in consumer spending.

For the fiscal year, Ubisoft expects net bookings of around €1.95 billion ($2.11 billion) and around break-even non-FIRS operating income and free cash flow.

Frédérick Duguet, Chief Financial Officer, said in a statement, “Our Q2 net bookings are in line with our revised guidance. We are reaffirming our full-year objectives, with net bookings expected to reach approximately €1.95bn as well as around break-even non-IFRS EBIT and free cash flow. This outlook reflects robust free cash flow generation in the second half of the year. In addition, we continue exploring the sale of non-core assets as part of our broader strategy to focus on our two core verticals, Open World Adventures and GAAS-native experiences, as well as enhance financial flexibility.”

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In a conference call with analysts, Duguet said the company continues to focus on cost reductions and said that staff has been reduced by 2,000 in the two years.

The 3D environment of Assassin's Creed: Shadows.
The 3D environment of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows.

In a challenging FPS environment, Rainbow Six: Siege delivered a solid performance despite a strong comparable base, leading to playtime and session days growing double digit year-on-year over the first semester.

The Rainbow Six: Siege Year 9 Season 3 Battle Pass achieved the second-best ever conversion rate and the newly introduced operator, Skopós, was highly appreciated by the community notably thanks to its innovative gameplay, contributing to Sessions Days per Player slightly up in Q2.

Adoption for the recently introduced membership service grew solidly this quarter, and the marketplace continued to establish itself within the game’s ecosystem, engaging a significant number of players. The team continues to broaden engagement services by launching the Siege Cup beta on PC, a new competitive format.

Other Live titles across the portfolio of games demonstrated strong engagement and activity. The Crew franchise attracted over eight million active players this quarter and saw strong growth in engagement thanks to the announcements made during The Crew showcase as well as promotion initiatives for The Crew 2.

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Players were introduced to the extensive content of Year 2 coming on November 6, and the addition of the new island of Maui accessible to all players for free, on top of the final season of content for Year 1 for The Crew Motorfest: Riders Republic benefitted from its inclusion in the Xbox Game Pass, generating a strong uplift to Session Days and profitability, and has now surpassed 10 million players.

For its part the Ghost Recon franchise also delivered a strong performance, growing both in terms of activity and net bookings over the first half, Ubisoft said.

New releases

A girl and her alien ... dog ... thing.
A girl and her alien … dog … thing.

This quarter saw the release of Star Wars: Outlaws, which Ubisoft admitted underperformed sales expectations.

Ubisoft said the open world action-adventure game achieved solid reviews and user scores across first party and the Epic Games Store.

Teams are fully mobilized on implementing changes to enhance game mechanics and overall polish. Since launch, the team has delivered three title updates focused on quality-of-life features and bug fixing, notably improvements in stealth mechanics, NPC AI and save features.

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This has produced initial tangible results, with a meaningful community sentiment improvement. The most significant update yet will be released on November 21 with the fourth title update that will include further improvements to combat and stealth, and will launch alongside the release on Steam as well as the first story pack, Wild Card, with fan-favorite Lando Calrissian from the original trilogy.

This should engage a large audience during the holiday season and position the game as a strong long-term performer, Ubisoft said.

Cost reduction plan

Ubisoft said the cost reduction plan, that has the objective of protecting our production and creation capacity while being more selective in our investments and simplifying the organization, is well on track.

With the continued tight control on recruitments as well as targeted restructurings, the total number of employees worldwide stood at 18,666 at the end of September 2024, compared to 19,410 at the end of September 2023. This represents a decrease of more than 2,000 over 24 months.

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The H1 FY2024-25 fixed cost base[1] stood at around €770 million ($836 million), down €46 million ($49.9 million) and 6% year-on-year. This represents a €106 million ($115 million) reduction versus H1 FY23 meaning that on an annualized basis, we have already achieved more than €200 million ($217 million) savings, including a favorable foreign exchange impact. There remains work ahead of us to support robust cash-flow generation.

Ubisoft said that its retention has continued to improve significantly over the period and is now close to the historical-best levels observed during the 2010-2020 decade that was the foundation for Ubisoft’s success. Additionally, hundreds of former Ubisoft employees have rejoined the company, notably at senior levels, bringing significant expertise and know-how that strengthens the triple-A core teams. This makes sense in the context of Ubisoft replacing employees who left even as it tries to reduce the overall workforce.

“We have a big pipeline of products to come over the next years,” Guillemot said. “We must redouble our focus on execution and reinforce the player-centric mindset in everything we do.”

Looking at FYQ3, Ubisoft said it expects net bookings of approximately €380 million ($412 million), which will represent the annual increase of around 39%. That includes solid expected sales from Star Wars: Outlaws. And it expects a record fourth fiscal quarter (ended March 31, 2025) by the year versus last year with net bookings of around €900 ($978 million), thanks to the launch of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. Analysts asked if Ubisoft plans to sell any of its franchises but the company declined to answer except to say it would sell assets that are not part of its overall strategy.

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Ubisoft has about €930 million ($1 billion) in cash.


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The best early Black Friday 2024 deals we could find from Amazon, Best Buy and more

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The best early Black Friday 2024 deals we could find from Amazon, Best Buy and more

With each passing year, Black Friday seems to turn more and more into “Black November,” with many retailers starting their holiday sales weeks before the day itself. But while the bombardment of promos can be annoying, it also presents a good chance to beat the rush and finish holiday shopping ahead of time, without paying more than you have to.

To help you cut through the noise, we’re rounding up the best early Black Friday deals we can find in one easy place. While most major tech retailers haven’t started their early sales in earnest just yet, we’ve seen more than a few new discounts on gadgets we recommend pop up this week, bringing the iPad Air, Bose QuietComfort Headphones and Hisense 4K TVs, among others, down to their lowest prices to date. We’ll continuously update this post as more Black Friday sales pop up, so if you’ve been eyeing something else, be sure to check back.

Photos of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Air, released in 2024

The Apple iPad Air (M2). (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget)
  • Apple Pencil Pro for $93 at Amazon ($36 off): While this deal is a couple bucks higher than the lowest price we’ve ever seen for Apple’s top-of-the-line iPad stylus, it’s still a sizable drop compared to buying from Apple directly. Just be aware that Pencil Pro is only compatible with the most recent iPad Airs and iPad Pros. Also at Walmart.

  • Apple AirTag (4-pack) for $74 at Amazon ($25 off): The AirTag is, unsurprisingly, the top pick for iPhone users in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers, as it uses Apple’s giant network of Apple devices and ultrawideband tech to locate items accurately. Its effectiveness has had deeply unfortunate side effects, but if you use it as intended, it can provide a little extra peace of mind. While not an all-time low, this deal is a welcome drop from the usual $80 street price we’ve seen for a four-pack in recent months. Also at Best Buy.

  • Apple MacBook Air (13.6-inch, M2) for $700 at Amazon ($300 off): This matches the all-time low for Apple’s last-gen MacBook Air, which remains a perfectly competent notebook for everyday use. The caveat is that this model only comes with 8GB of RAM, so it’s really only meant for lower-power tasks. Apple (finally) made 16GB of memory the standard across its MacBook lineup earlier this week, so this might be an instance of Apple trying to clear out old inventory. Still, this is a great value if you only need a laptop for basic web browsing, emailing and word processing. Clip the on-page coupon to see the full discount.

Beats Solo 4 headphones laying on a wooden table with a notebook and an iPhone underneath.

The Beats Solo 4. (Billy Steele for Engadget)
  • Anker Soundcore Space A40 for $45 at Amazon ($35 off, Prime only): The Space A40 is the longtime top pick in our guide to the best budget earbuds, as it delivers the kind of robust feature set we expect from pairs that cost three times as much. Call quality isn’t the best, and it won’t auto-pause when you take out an earbud, but its warm sound, powerful ANC, eight-ish hours of battery life and comfy design all impress for the money. This deal ties the lowest price we’ve seen — it’s only available to Prime subscribers at Amazon, but you can also grab it at Anker’s online store with an on-page coupon.

  • Beats Solo 4 for $100 at Amazon ($100 off): The Solo 4 is light on features and may be uncomfortable on larger heads, but its even-handed sound and 50+-hour battery life make it worth considering if you prefer a more compact on-ear design instead of traditional over-ears. We gave it a score of 79 in our review. This discount ties an all-time low and is also available at Walmart, Target and Best Buy. The full-size Beats Studio Pro is discounted as well, but that pair is a bit harder to recommend over the top picks in our wireless headphone buying guide.

  • Bose QuietComfort Headphones for $199 at Amazon ($150 off): This ties the lowest price we’ve seen for Bose’s mid-tier noise-canceling headphones. At this price, their effective ANC and light fit make them a worthy alternative to higher-end pairs like the Sony WH-1000XM5 (our favorite pair overall). That said, their bass-heavy sound won’t be for everyone, and the XM5 has a more comprehensive feature set. Also at Bose.com, Target and Best Buy. The higher-end QuietComfort Ultra, meanwhile, are $100 off and put out even stronger ANC, though we still prefer the XM5 for around the same price.

  • Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $69 at Amazon ($31 off): We recommend the Soundcore Motion+ in our guide to the best portable Bluetooth speakers. While it isn’t especially light or compact, it pumps out a more spacious sound than most speakers in its price range, it’s waterproof and it lasts a decent 12 to 15 hours per charge. We’ve seen this discount a few times before, but it comes within a few bucks of the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at Anker’s online store with an on-page coupon.

Anker's Soundcore Motion+ portable Bluetooth speaker.

The Anker Soundcore Motion+. (Photo by Jon Turi / Engadget)
  • Amazon Fire HD 10 for $75 at Amazon ($65 off): No Fire HD tablet comes close to matching the performance, build quality and app support of an iPad, but they’re significantly more affordable, and they still work well enough if all you need is something for casual streaming, e-reading and web browsing. At this price, the 10.1-inch Fire HD 10 is likely a better value than the smaller Fire HD 8, as it has a sharper display, it’s a tick faster and it can last slightly longer on a charge. Just be ready to deal with a bunch of ads for Amazon’s own apps and services. This discount ties an all-time low, and it’s also available at Best Buy and Target.

  • Amazon Echo Show 5 for $50 at Amazon ($40 off): We highlight the Echo Show 5 in our guide to the best smart displays. While the Echo Show 8 — which isn’t majorly discounted yet — has a roomier display, louder speakers and sharper cameras, this 5.5-inch model provides most of the same functionality in a design that’s easier to fit on a nightstand. If you’re already onboard the Alexa train, it’ll work nicely as a smart alarm clock. This deal is $10 more than the all-time low we saw last Black Friday, so it may drop further in the weeks ahead, but for now it matches the best price we’ve seen in 2024. Also at Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy.

  • Blink Outdoor 4 (6-pack) for $180 at Amazon ($300 off): The Outdoor 4 is a wireless, IP65-rated outdoor security camera we highlight in our guide to the best smart home gadgets. It captures decent (if not class-leading) 1080p video, it’s relatively painless to install and it supports features like night vision, motion alerts, local storage and two-way talking. The catch is that it locks things like person detection and cloud storage behind a subscription plan. Still, it’s a solid value on balance, and this deal furthers that. We’ve seen this price on a six-camera bundle for a few weeks, but it’s still an all-time low. An eight-camera pack is also on sale for $250, another low.

  • Audible Premium Plus (3-month) for $1 at Amazon ($29 off): Those who don’t currently subscribe to Audible can get three months of the audiobook service’s Premium Plus plan for $1. Normally, the service costs $15 per month after a 30-day free trial. As a refresher, Premium Plus is Audible’s upper tier: In addition to giving access the full Audible Plus library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. We wouldn’t call it essential, but if you’ve been on the fence, this is a good way to see if it’d work for you. Just note that the plan will auto-renew until you cancel.

A small smart display with a white border, the Amazon Echo Show 5, sits on a wood table next to various desktop accessories, displaying the time and the title of a currently playing podcast.

The Amazon Echo Show 5. (Amazon)
  • Hisense U7N 4K TV (65-inch) for $700 at Amazon ($300 off): Various reviews around the web suggest that the U7N is one of the year’s better TV values, with impressive brightness and contrast for the money. It supports up to a fast 144Hz refresh rate in 4K, which is great for gaming, and it runs on the easy-to-grok Google TV platform. Its image can wash out when viewed at an angle, though, and it’s limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports. This discount is a new low for the 65-inch model. Also at Best Buy.

  • Hisense U8N 4K TV (55-inch) for $728 at Amazon ($371 off): The U8N is the next step up from the U7N in Hisense’s TV lineup, so it should provide better colors, contrast and brightness across the board. If you don’t mind buying a smaller panel for around the same price, this is another new low. Also at Best Buy.

  • Backbone One (PlayStation Edition) for $60 at PlayStation Direct: The Backbone One is an comfy gamepad that snaps around your phone and lets you play mobile or cloud-based games without having to rely on touch controls. We’ve recommended it before. This deal on the PlayStation-themed version isn’t an all-time low, but it’s $10 to $20 less than the usual discounts we’ve seen over the past year. Sony’s listing doesn’t specify whether this is the first- or second-gen model — the latter can fit a wider range of phones and cases — but that shouldn’t be a major hindrance if you use an older iPhone or Android device. Both the USB-C and Lightning variants are on sale.

Black Friday 2024 lands on November 29 this year.

We expect some Black Friday deals to start as early as November 1. Over the past few years, retailers have been kicking off the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier. This trend will continue in 2024, and you’ll likely find early Black Friday deals available online and in stores in the weeks before the actual shopping event.

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Some Black Friday deals will end immediately on Saturday, November 30. But those will likely be few and far between. Along with starting deals earlier and earlier, retailers have also extended Black Friday deals past the day for a while now, too. In the tech space, we’ve seen many Black Friday deals in the past run through Cyber Monday.

There is no one place to buy all of the best Black Friday deals, but you can expect the big retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target to have many of the same Black Friday deals available — both in the lead up and on the day itself. We also recommend checking direct-to-consumer sites like Apple, Samsung, Sonos and others to make sure you’re getting the best deal before you cross things off your list.

You typically will not find cash discounts on Apple’s website for Black Friday, though it has offered various gift card bundles during Black Friday in recent years. You may be able to find local Apple store discounts on accessories, but Apple isn’t a retailer known for slashing prices on its products. However, you can find more traditional Apple Black Friday deals at other retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

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Is Amazon’s robotaxi company trying to sidestep federal safety laws?

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Is Amazon’s robotaxi company trying to sidestep federal safety laws?

This week, Zoox cofounder and CTO Jesse Levinson announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 that it would start rolling out its purpose-built autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and Las Vegas in the coming weeks.

But little was said about the ongoing investigation into the Amazon-owned company’s claims that its vehicles — which are shaped like giant toasters and lack traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals — comply with federal safety rules.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an open investigation into Zoox’s claim that its vehicles are self-certified, a spokesperson confirmed this week. And NHTSA has not granted the company an exemption from these rules. The spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation itself.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an open investigation into Zoox’s claim that its vehicles are self-certified

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Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) require vehicles to have certain traditional controls, like steering wheels (which include airbags), pedals, and rear and sideview mirrors. The rules are very specific, often detailing the exact position of certain controls down the centimeter. Automakers who build vehicles without these controls are supposed to file petitions with the government for temporary exemptions to these rules so they can deploy their steering wheel-less vehicles.

Zoox, however, contends that it won’t need exemptions because it self-certifies that its vehicles meet current safety standards. “From the beginning, we challenged ourselves to create a vehicle that would be compliant with FMVSS requirements within the current regulatory structure,” the company wrote in a July 2022 blog post. And then later, in November 2023, Zoox said it had achieved this goal.

“Today, Zoox has reached a critical milestone in our journey to launch our robotaxi on public roads: becoming the first company to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS),” the company wrote on November 3rd.  

Other companies have sought exemptions, with varying degrees of success. Nuro received the first exemption in 2020 to produce its R2 delivery vehicles, which lack traditional controls and aren’t even large enough for a human operator. Meanwhile, GM sought a similar exemption for its Origin vehicles, submitting a request to NHTSA in 2022. But while Cruise seemed confident it would eventually receive the exemption, the company became bogged down in controversy after a pedestrian was injured by one of its robotaxis in San Francisco. (GM eventually put the Origin vehicle on indefinite hold.)

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“The first company to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle”

Zoox’s shuttles are similar to the Origin, designed to travel in either direction, with a cabin featuring passenger seats facing each other. The vehicles are currently permitted by the California DMV to operate in a “limited area” in Foster City, California, where the company is headquartered.

At Disrupt, Levinson said Zoox would start out with employees as passengers in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco as well as the Las Vegas Strip. But safety advocates say that the company is skipping a key step in its rush to launch a commercial service.

“Our belief is that a deployment of these vehicles on public roads is a violation of the Safety Act,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. “Zoox isn’t so much exploiting a gray area as they are putting a foot over the red line and challenging NHTSA to call their bluff.”

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Of course, the burden is on NHTSA to enforce its own rules — and the agency has only recently started to show more backbone in how it approaches autonomous vehicle operators. NHTSA is currently investigating Waymo and Zoox for alleged safety lapses, as well as Ford and Tesla for fatal crashes involving their driver-assist features. If it determines there’s a problem, it could force a recall.

During Disrupt, TechCrunch transportation editor Kirsten Korosec asked Levinson whether he was worried the federal government could derail Zoox’s planned rollout. He maintained that the company’s vehicle is “fully FMVSS compliant” and that Zoox would continue to address NHTSA’s concerns as they emerge. But ultimately he was confident in his company’s approach to the rules.

“We’ve spent an incredible amount of money and time and people complying with the FMVSS regulations as they are,” Levinson said, “and because there aren’t traditional manual controls, in some cases, that requires, you know, interpreting them in a way that is relevant to a robotaxi.”

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Quordle today – hints and answers for Sunday, November 3 (game #1014)

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Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

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NYT Crossword: answers for Sunday, November 3

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NYT Crossword: answers for Monday, September 23

The New York Times has plenty of word games on its roster today — with Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword, there’s something for everyone — but the newspaper’s standard crossword puzzle still reigns supreme. The daily crossword is full of interesting trivia, helps improve mental flexibility and, of course, gives you some bragging rights if you manage to finish it every day.

While the NYT puzzle might feel like an impossible task some days, solving a crossword is a skill and it takes practice — don’t get discouraged if you can’t get every single word in a puzzle.

If you’re having trouble completing today’s NYT Crossword, we’re here to help. We’ve got all the answers for today’s clues down below.

NYT Crossword answers today

New York Times Crossword logo.
New York Times

Across

1 Early electric lights : ARCLAMPS

9 Modest home in Modesto, say : CASITA

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15 Direct marketing tactic : COLDCALL

16 First act : OPENER

17 Sub’s reference : CLASSROOMROSTER

19 What always ends well? : ELS

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20 Spendy : STEEP

21 ___ May Gaskin, author of “Spiritual Midwifery” : INA

22 Puzzle (out) : SUSS

24 Fly traps? : MITTS

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25 Fed : GMAN

26 Ward off bad luck, in a Greek tradition : SPIT

27 Noted name in lithographs : IVES

28 English folk singer Billy : BRAGG

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29 Inveigled : COAXED

31 Just so : TOATEE

32 They’re not afraid to take charge : FEARLESSLEADERS

35 Media-based learning sites, informally : AVLABS

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36 Word on many “No Trespassing” signs : POSTED

37 Hanes brand once sold in ovoid packaging : LEGGS

38 90° : EAST

39 Team that briefly changed its name during the 1950s to appease McCarthyites : REDS

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42 The case, so to speak : TRUE

43 Jumps from one foot to the other : JETES

44 Break off : STOP

45 Record company behind (and inside) Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” : EMI

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46 1988 Summer Olympics host : SEOUL

47 Word that’s a homophone of its middle letter : ARE

48 Spin right round? : ROTATECLOCKWISE

53 What might remove all of your problems? : ERASER

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54 Went after : ASSAILED

55 Cleans up like the Pied Piper : DERATS

56 Band aids : SETLISTS

Down

1 What passwords unlock : ACCESS

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2 Arrive curbside : ROLLUP

3 Andrés Segovia won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for it : CLASSICALGUITAR

4 Temple Square letters : LDS

5 Window installations, in brief : ACS

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6 Sully : MAR

7 P, B, D, T, K and G : PLOSIVES

8 Kitchen flippers : SLOTTEDSPATULAS

9 De-centers? : CORES

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10 Per : APOP

11 Its in French : SES

12 Juicy stuff : INTIMATEDETAILS

13 Outspoken parenting critic, maybe : TEENAGER

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14 Sets up : ARRANGES

18 Subject of the 2021 documentary “Once Upon a Time in Queens” : METS

23 Cyber space? : STORAGE

24 Socializes : MIXES

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25 Teaching assistants, often : GRADERS

28 Certain Thanksgiving dish : BOAT

30 Mass apparel : ALBS

31 Pilots, e.g. : TESTS

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32 Had a hiccup : FALTERED

33 Till the end of time : EVERMORE

34 Doubly disadvantageous : LOSELOSE

38 Fair-hiring agcy. : EEOC

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40 Home to England’s Jurassic Coast : DORSET

41 Fan settings : SPEEDS

43 Unhappy chorus : JEERS

46 Galley command : STET

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49 Arkansas pol Hutchinson : ASA

50 New Orleans setting: Abbr. : CST

51 Carrier to 46-Across, for short : KAL

52 Device sold with a remote : WII

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Some Google One subscribers getting a $150 discount on Pixel 9

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Some Google One subscribers getting a $150 discount on Pixel 9

While the Google One subscription has lost some perks over time, it’s still pretty useful. The extra cloud storage alone has made it a must-have subscription for many people. However, customers also get other added benefits, such as special discounts on products in the Google Store. In line with this, it seems that Google is sending out a nice $150 discount for the purchase of a device in the Pixel 9 series in the United States.

Currently, subscribers to Google One plans already receive a 10% discount when purchasing products in the Google Store. However, if you were interested in a Pixel 9 series device but were waiting for a good discount, Google seems to want to help you take the plunge.

$150 discount code for buying a Pixel 9 device reaching some Google One subscribers

In the last few hours, some users on Reddit have been reporting receiving a $150 discount for the purchase of Pixel 9 devices. The discount comes in the form of a coupon code via email to use during the checkout process, so it’s not applied automatically. The offer appears to be limited to Google One subscribers in the US. Also, it doesn’t seem like everyone is receiving it, as reports about it are scarce at the moment.

We don’t know what parameters Google is using to decide which subscribers receive the discount coupon. One of the people who received the offer is a Google Pixel 7 user. Perhaps Google is attempting to encourage those who own older Pixel phones to upgrade to a new model. According to reports, the offer is available until November 14.

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It’s noteworthy that current trade-in values to buy a Pixel 9 device are higher than usual. This particular promo started in October and will be available until November 7. The discount coupon can be combined with the trade-in offer for an even better price. Basically, some lucky folks could get a flagship phone for the price of a mid-range device.

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Apple is buying the developer of one of the iPhone’s best photo-editing apps

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Apple is set to buy a notable developer of photo-editing apps. The company is acquiring Pixelmator, pending regulatory approval. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed.

While it seems likely that Apple will eventually bake some of Pixelmator’s tech into its own Camera and Photos apps, the latter said “there will be no material changes to the , and Photomator apps at this time.” However, it promised there will be “exciting updates” in the future.

Pixelmator that it has taken inspiration from Apple since the very beginning of its 17-year existence and that it has similarly focused on “design, ease of use and performance.” After the deal closes and it joins Apple, Pixelmator expects to “have the ability to reach an even wider audience and make an even bigger impact on the lives of creative people around the world.”

For quite some time, Pixelmator’s apps have been a popular alternative to the likes of Photoshop within the Apple ecosystem. Its tools are available on Mac, iPhone, iPad and even Vision Pro.

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