If your electricity bill climbs every summer, a smart thermostat could help keep cooling costs in check. The Amazon Smart Thermostat is an excellent option for its price, especially today. It’s down to just $57.99 at Amazon as a part of Amazon’s early Prime Day sale, which is the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday.

For a smart thermostat that costs under $100, the Amazon thermostat offers a lot of helpful features. One of its most useful is its ability to  learn and adapt to your routines, reducing the need to constantly tweak the temperature yourself. It’s also compatible with most 24-volt HVAC systems, and adjusts itself accordingly depending upon whether or not you’re asleep or at home. The app lets you create schedules and monitor energy usage as well, giving you a sense of how much AC you’re using so you can make adjustments before your next utility bill arrives.

Plus, it’s a particularly good buy if you’re embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem. It’s compatible with Amazon’s Alexa, allowing you to adjust the temperature using voice commands or the mobile app. You can also create Alexa Routines so it can work alongside other compatible smart home devices like Amazon’s $44.99 ($25 off) Smart Air Quality Monitor, setting up automations that adjust your home’s temperature when certain indoor air quality conditions are detected. So long as you’re fine going without native temperature sensors, this smart thermostat is an excellent value for the price.

Read our Amazon Smart Thermostat review.

Amazon’s earlier-than-usual Prime Day doesn’t begin until June 23rd, but there are several even earlier deals on must-have products that you can check out right now. To name some examples, Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 are selling at their cheapest-ever price at Amazon and Walmart (though, the sale keeps playing peek-a-boo). Also, you can grab Ring’s latest battery-powered doorbell for $60 off and it includes a free Indoor Cam Plus with purchase. There are also enough early Apple deals and discounts on fantastic robovacs that we’ve spun up coverage ahead of next week.

While the pre-Prime Day deals are looking good so far, you may not see the brands or products you’re looking for — hopefully, those deals will come later in June. Still, we’ve only included early deals that meet the criteria we hold for all our commerce coverage: they’re good products sold at attractive prices.

We’ll update this post frequently ahead of Prime Day.

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Headphone / earbud deals

• Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 have been available at their lowest price to date for the past week or so. Originally $249, the noise-canceling, wireless earbuds are $179 at Amazon and Best Buy — no membership required. Walmart has a product page that lists $169 as a sale price, though it’s out of stock at the time of publication. The AirPods Pro 3 are the latest earbuds from Apple, packing better bass and active noise cancellation than their predecessor, plus the ability to do some light fitness tracking, among other niceties. Read our review.

• The AirPods 4 on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $99 ($30 off). Apple’s entry-level earbuds offer richer bass than previous generations along with a more robust IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. They match the latest AirPods Pro in voice call quality and work well with other Apple devices too, though they lack more advanced features like active noise cancellation. It might be a pro or con to some that this model simply rests in your ear. They don’t create a tight seal like the AirPods Pro.

Smart home deals

• The 8-piece and 14-piece Ring Alarm Pro home security systems have gotten big discounts ahead of Prime Day. The smaller kit of the two is $209.99 ($90 off) and includes a base station (it doubles as a eero 6 Wi-Fi router), a keypad, four contact sensors for doors or windows, a motion detector, and a range extender for the alarm. The 14-piece set doubles the keypads, contact sensors, and motion detectors. Both include a 30-day trial to Ring Protect plan, which will cost $19.99 per month after the trial.

• In addition the Echo Dot Max linked right above, Amazon has switched on several deals for its latest smart speakers and displays. The Echo Show 8 is down to $124.99 (originally $180) at Amazon, and the bigger Echo Show 11 is just a little more, costing $149.99 (down from $219.99) at Amazon. If you want bigger sound than the Echo Dot Max can provide, the Echo Studio is your best bet, costing $174.99 (originally $219.99) at Amazon — its best price yet. Finally, Amazon’s Echo Spot that’s great for nightstands is down to $44.99 from $80 at Amazon.

Smartwatch / wearable deals

• Fitbit’s Charge 6 fitness tracker has dropped to its lowest price yet at Amazon, costing $79.99 (originally $159.99, but usually around $100). It’s a solid alternative to Google’s $99 and screenless Fitbit Air. The 2023 Charge 6 features an OLED screen, a haptics-based button, plus the ability to ping you with notifications. Read our review.

Misc. deals

• While not a gadget deal, Walmart is offering a big discount on annual subscriptions to its Walmart Plus service. Originally $98, it’s $49 for a year, which includes early access to its own Prime Day-equivalent sale, not to mention free shipping on order $35 and up, and a host of other benefits.

• The Baseus AM52 10,000mAh power bank that can deliver Qi2.2 25W wireless charging speeds is cheaper than ever for Verge readers. Through June 30th, you can head over to Amazon and use the code THEVERGECODE to nab one for $42.99 — considerably cheaper than the $63.99 price that Prime members have access to. Read about the AM52’s performance here.

Tablets and e-reader deals

• Amazon’s Fire 7 Kids tablet is steeply discounted ahead of Prime Day. The 32GB tablet that includes a bumper case, one year of access to a suite of kid-friendly content, and a two-year hardware warranty is down to $64.99 at Amazon (originally $129.99). There’s nothing spectacular about the specs, but it’s a good-enough tablet to withstand whatever your kiddo does to it. The two-year warranty is “worry-free,” which Amazon defines as “if it breaks, we will replace it.” The 16GB version is $54.99.

• While Amazon’s latest 16GB Kindle Paperwhite typically costs $159.99 on its own, there’s now a fantastic deal happening on the 32GB Signature Edition tablet that supports wireless charging. A $154.98 bundle that also includes a metallic jade cover and a Kindle-branded, cream-colored sling bag is available now at Amazon.

Gaming deals

• For a limited time, you can get a $15 promotional gift card when you buy a $100 Newegg gift card. It’s always nice to get a little more for your money, especially if you plan to buy pricey PC components, be it RAM, an SSD, or a graphics card.

• Through June 19th (or until supplies last), Woot is offering new customers a small, but welcome $15 discount on the Nintendo Switch 2 console. The $449.99 device drops to $434 with the code NEW15 used at checkout. I know, I know — it’s not much. It may not even cover sales tax associated with the purchase, but a deal’s a deal.

Home entertainment deals

• Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus that also includes a wireless subwoofer and two satellite speakers is down to $379.99 (originally $489.99), it’s best price to date. It’s a solid sound system if you don’t want to spend a bunch of money. The soundbar supports HDMI eARC and optical audio for inputs, and it can connect to devices via Bluetooth. My interest in this model has been piqued ever since RTINGS named it one of its favorite budget-friendly soundbars.

• Marshall has knocked down prices for some of its home audio products, including its amp-inspired Acton III plug-in speaker. Originally $299.99 (though frequently $200 or so), it’s down to $179.99 in all colorways at Amazon. The Stanmore III that’s bigger and even more powerful, with RCA inputs for plugging in a record player, is $249.99 at Amazon. It’s a much bigger price drop for this one, considering it typically sells for around $300.

Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, is an important form of Japan's Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) that fosters creativity, mindfulness and aesthetic sensitivity. Also known as "Kado," or way of the flower, ikebana offers people living in metropolitan areas a way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and connect with nature, which significantly benefits mental well-being.

There are many features that the $800 Apple Watch Ultra from 2022 won’t receive.

A report suggests ties between Meta's facial recognition technology and a company that sells surveillance tools to military and police.

A new AI system can convert social media discussion about a product into a new design that takes into account user needs more accurately than earlier approaches, according to research published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology.

In the famous French play Cyrano de Bergerac, the brilliant but insecure Cyrano lends his eloquence to the handsome, tongue-tied Christian to help him woo his lover. Today, a remarkably similar scene is playing out among millions of dating app users, with the role of the lovelorn poet played not by a human but by AI. New research from Constructor University professor Dr. Lennart Ante analyzes the growing impact of dating app users outsourcing the delicate work of courtship—from the witty opening line to the flirtatious reply—to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini or even specialized "wingman" apps like Rizz and Winggg.

Opponents of new developments often argue that more construction will bring more traffic, frequently convincing developers to reduce the scale of their projects or seek out less densely populated areas to build. Although such compromises may lead to less congestion on the road, they don't necessarily reduce driving and driving's associated environmental effects. But what if how much a community actually drives provides a better measure of how a new development stands to affect a neighborhood?

I recently published a buying guide on the best Qi2 power banks. Out of seven feature-packed batteries, I really dug the Baseus AM52 10,000mAh power bank that has a built-in USB-C cable. It’s fast at Qi2.2 wireless charging for iPhones, and it’s quick with wired charging, too. And now, it’s an unbeatable value thanks to a new exclusive deal. Verge readers can use the offer code THEVERGECODE at Amazon to get one for $42.99 (usually $20 more for Prime members, or $80 outside of a deal).

The AM52 is far from the only choice that iPhone users have when it comes to a MagSafe-compatible power bank. In addition to its charging merits, the Baseus model is easy to recommend for those who don’t use a case. It’s the only model I tried that has a soft-touch material where it connects magnetically, nixing the possibility of scratching your iPhone.

As you’ll see if you read through the buying guide, other power banks with similar specs are just as fast at charging gadgets. Some are faster, particularly when it comes to wired charging (I used a USB-C power meter to verify speeds). However, what the AM52 lacks that some of its competitors have — a cooling fan, a kickstand, a display for charging remaining — isn’t as much of an issue with a big discount.

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From the day it was announced, on June 16th, 2025, the Trump phone sounded ridiculous. The T1 Phone 8002 (gold version), as it was officially called, was a combination of contradictory specs, product images that were clearly not photographs of a real phone, and the worrying requirement of a $100 deposit to secure a preorder of a $499 phone with no release date. But none of Trump Mobile's outlandish announcements were as bold as the claim that the phone would be "designed and built in the United States."

The US has next to no phone manufacturing infrastructure, few engineers with the required expertise, and little of the affordable, flexible …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Through more than two decades of travel for both work and leisure, my packing list has evolved from a random assortment of gadgets and accessories thrown together at the last minute into a refined checklist of gear honed by trial and error. The right packing list, I've found, can be the difference between a good trip and a great one. Or at least the difference between hectic trips to the local Best Buy and some extra time by the pool.

My family's summer vacation this year will involve lots of hiking and exploring the great outdoors, but it will by no means be an attempt to disconnect from our favorite devices. Convenience, comfort, and peac …

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On paper, the Honor Magic V6 sounds like a tremendous leap forward for foldable phones: It's the thinnest one yet, with the biggest battery, and the best water-resistance ever. In practice, only the bigger battery feels like a meaningful improvement. The other upgrades are only fractionally superior to what came before.

This isn't entirely Honor's fault. It's getting harder to make a foldable phone stand out; even last year's offerings felt like complete flagship phones. Huawei's Pura X Max stood out for its odd new aspect ratio, which we're expecting to see both Samsung and Apple replicate later this year. Then there are the trifolds, whic …

Read the full story at The Verge.

While routine inspections used to be the standard for pest detection efforts, modern approaches go a step further.

A Delhi facility fire has disrupted regional cloud connectivity, exposing how third-party data-centre dependencies, thermal stress and routing

The drone industry has evolved far beyond its origins in aerial photography and recreational flying. Today, drones are

Hoping to catch some World Cup matches while spending as little money as possible? You have a few options for finding a few days of free streaming, although you may choose to eventually pony up some money. That, or get creative by combining multiple offers to make it through the whole tournament.

We found a handful of streaming services that are showing all of the World Cup matches. Most of these free trials require you to be a new subscriber, though you might just be able to use a different email address than before.

FuboTV

All FuboTV plans can stream every World Cup match, and each includes a five-day free trial for new members. The least expensive plan is $9.99 for the first month after the trial period, then $19.99 per month after that. Paying for one month after the trial should cover you through all (or most) of the finals, and is likely the least expensive way to watch every match.

My Best Buy Plus and Total members can claim an extended 30-day free trial, as long as they’re new to FuboTV.

Peacock

There’s a Peacock Premium Plus trial offer if you sign up using your Amazon account that will grant you seven days of free access before you’re charged $15.99 per month. I was able to access the offer on an Amazon account without Prime, but your mileage may vary.

We also found multiple ways to potentially claim free Peacock through other paid subscriptions. Some Xfinity Internet plans include Peacock Premium, which you can learn more about on the company’s support page. Walmart Plus members can claim either Peacock Premium or Paramount Plus Essential, but only one at a time, with a 90-day cooldown between switching.

YouTube TV

New YouTube TV subscribers can access a 10-day trial for the Sports plan, which includes Fox and 35 other networks. After the trial, the membership will renew for $54.99 per month for the first year, a $10 per month discount from the normal membership.

Fox One

The Fox One streaming service includes World Cup matches, and new subscribers can access a three-day free trial when signing up. After that, the plan costs $19.99 per month to continue watching, and includes both live and on-demand content from Fox.

The new Sonos Play can act as a portable speaker inside and outside your home.

You don't really ever have to explain why a universal remote is a good idea. You have a bunch of stuff that needs controlling; this thing controls them all. Many companies have set out to build a product worthy of this idea, and one product came much closer than most. It was called the Harmony, and for many years it was the best universal remote on the market. Maybe the only one that mattered. And still, even the Harmony couldn't make it work.

On this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the Harmony. The Verge's David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and John Higgins are joined by Matt Rogers, the CEO of Mill and former cofounder of Nest, t …

Read the full story at The Verge.

There’s a delicate art to teaching robots, even when you’re preparing them for predictable environments like factories, where

New York wants the machine itself to say no. A first-of-its-kind state law could require 3D printers sold