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Get Disney+ for $4 per month, if you buy three years upfront
For a limited time, Disney is offering a steep discount on its Disney+ streaming service. When it launches on November 12th, Disney+ is set to cost $6.99 per month, with an option to pay $69.99 for the year. But if users are willing to sign up for the D23 Official Disney Fan Club, Disney has another offer: a three-year commitment for just $140.97. That's $46.99 per year, or $3.92 per month. Demand for the offer was reportedly so high that it temporarily crashed the D23 website.
The safest messaging apps
So you want to send a short, instant, text-based dispatch to another human. The options are endless -- iMessage, Slack, Instagram, WhatsApp, Skype, Snapchat -- but their security is variable. Short of whispering words into another person's ear, it's difficult to guarantee that no one else will ever be eavesdropping. For anything you wouldn't want to be seen by your ISP or used against you in a court of law, end-to-end encryption is necessary. It works by giving every user of an app a public key and a private key. Messages sent to you are encrypted with your public key and can only be opened with the private key. To anybody without your private key -- including the app company or a government that comes for the data later -- the text is indecipherable.
How to make your smart home more secure
Making your house "smart" is an exciting process but you also want to make sure you're keeping your home (and everything and everyone in it) protected. We talked to a security expert about the best ways to keep your smart home secure.
What we're buying: Concept2 Model D with PM5 rowing machine
This month, Senior Editor Dan Cooper tells us about his new (if gently used) rowing machine and what he likes, and dislikes, about it.
Spies, lies and data thieves: It's time to get a VPN
If we've learned anything in the past few years, it's that the internet is full of creeps trying to spy on us. And I don't just mean malicious hackers, scammers, wi-fi snoopers, account hijackers and wankers in trench coats. Often the creeps in question are companies snatching our private data. And advertisers following us around like mouth-breathing Peeping Toms.
5G-friendly OnePlus 7 Pro is now available at Sprint
Sprint just lit up a handful of 5G markets this morning, and that means Sprint customers have reason to start eyeing up new hardware. Lucky for them, the carrier announced that its 5G-friendly version of the OnePlus 7 Pro will go on sale in certain retail locations today, and more broadly online tomorrow. The full, nationwide launch is slated for September 6, and you'll be able to claim this new 5G flagship for $840, if you're so inclined.
The Elgato Stream Deck Mini we just recommended is 50 percent off
Back to school usually means some pretty steep discounts on tech. Yesterday, we spotted deals on the Apple Watch Series 4, Razer gear, the August Smart Lock and more. Today's big sale is $50 off Elgato's Stream Deck Mini at Best Buy. Usually $100, it's on sale for half the price, just $50.
How secure is DNA testing?
Scientists only mapped the human genome 16 years ago, but today you can get a basic test of your genetic code from Walgreens. It's estimated some 26 million people have already sent their spit to direct-to-consumer DNA-testing companies, and the number is predicted to multiply to 100 million by 2021.
Deals roundup: Apple Watch Series 4, August Smart Lock and Razer gear
Late summer can be a good time to shop for tech -- you can score discounts on current-generation hardware if you're more interested in a good bargain than waiting for fall upgrades. And that's certainly true here. We've found particularly sweet deals on the Apple Watch Series 4, Razer gear and August's Smart Lock that could prove tempting, especially if almost-the-latest is more than good enough for your needs.
You need a password manager -- right now
Who loves dealing with passwords? No one. Password managers help by saving all your passwords in one, secure place. Let's break down how they work and the best password manager apps available now.
Engadget is diving into security this week
It seems not a week goes by where Engadget doesn't report on a data breach. Banks. Hotels. Credit monitoring. Medical records. Your smart home. Slack. Here at Engadget, we felt we needed to do more than just summarize the bleak facts of each new case and repeat the same advice (change your passwords, rinse, repeat). And that's to say nothing of the data you're giving up every day through Facebook, DNA tests and mundane web searches. Throughout this week, we'll be publishing a series of stories focused on security -- mostly online security, with a nod to smart home and personal safety in the physical world. Join us as we make a case for password managers, VPNs and secure messaging apps -- and then name-drop the best ones. Speaking of DNA kits, we looked closely at all the major options in an attempt to gauge which has the most robust privacy policies. Last but not least, we spoke to security experts for tips on how to do everything more safely, from shopping online to posting photos on Instagram. Read on (with Do Not Track enabled, of course).
Ask Engadget: What are the best outdoor navigation apps?
The support shared among readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. We truly value the time and detail you all spend in responding to questions from your fellow tech-obsessed commenters, which is why we've decided to bring back our "Ask Engadget" column. This week's question asks about outdoor navigation apps. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! I've been doing a lot of hiking and walking outdoors, as well as some bird watching. But Google Maps has turned out to be really unhelpful when it comes to walking directions, especially when it comes to trails in parks. What is the best app for navigating outdoors?
Are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds the wireless headphones you’ve dreamed of?
While Samsung has dabbled in true wireless headphones before, this year it finally released a set designed specifically for its Galaxy lineup: the Galaxy Buds. The $130 headphones include many standard features like a charging case, on-board controls and access to virtual assistants. But they also distinguish themselves from the competition with their small size, light weight and EQ presets. While our reviewer Billy Steele enjoyed the reliable connection and decent battery life, he was disappointed by the touch controls and audio quality. Despite calling the wireless headphones a solid options for Galaxy owners, Billy handed the Galaxy Buds a cutting score of 69.
Spotify triples its free Premium trial period to three months
Spotify is fighting back against the threat of Apple Music by extending free trials of its Premium subscription to match its rival. Both companies want not only to bring in paid users, but also to keep those users coming back over the long term.
Tesla delays price hike for self-driving upgrade
You'll still have at least a few more weeks to order a Tesla with the Full Self-Driving upgrade before the price hike kicks in. Elon Musk said Tesla had "postponed" the $1,000 increase until cars received version 10 software with "smart summon" (aka Enhanced Summon) enabled. He expected that to happen within four to eight weeks, although that depended on how well early access testing went.
SiriusXM's student plan only costs $4 per month
SiriusXM thinks it has a simple way to get the back-to-school crowd listening to radio: offer it at an extremely steep discount. The satellite radio pioneer has introduced a Student Premier subscription that offers all the 200-plus music channels (plus talk) of the usual Premiere Streaming package for $4 per month, or less than a third of the $13 you'd normally pay. You could wind down with Kevin Hart's comedy channel or psych yourself up with BPM for about the price of nice coffee.
B&H sale cuts up to $350 off Apple's 2019 iMacs
B&H is running a sale that might be too good to pass up if you're in the market for an all-in-one desktop. The 9to5Toys team has noticed that the electronics store is offering sizeable discounts on Apple's 2019 iMacs, making a purchase decidedly easier to swallow. The largest discount is for a high-spec 27-inch 5K model with a 3.6GHz Core i9, 16GB of RAM, Radeon Pro Vega 48 graphics and a 1TB SSD -- it's selling for 'just' $3,299, or $350 off the usual sticker.
Apple Card launch expands to all US iPhone users
Apple has announced its Apple Card is available to everyone in the US starting today, expanding on the limited launch earlier this month. If you didn't see the many signup tutorial videos provided by Apple, you can apply by opening the Wallet app on your iPhone to start. The full rollout comes alongside an extra benefit for those happy to bank with the tech company: a three percent "Daily Cash" return offer that works with both Uber and Uber Eats.
IFTTT tells Nest users not to move their accounts over to Google
Back in May Google announced it was phasing out its Works With Nest program in favour of a Works With Google Assistant framework. Unsurprisingly, users that had invested time and money into their smart home systems weren't too impressed by this move, largely because the change stands to impact a number of smart home tie-ins. Or more specifically, it will "break IFTTT," according to Google. But IFTTT has some good news: IFTTT applets designed for the Nest Thermostat, Nest Protect and Nest Cam will continue to work after August 31st, when Google plans on shutting down the Works With Nest Program.
NVIDIA's game streaming service comes to Android this fall
Consoles and gaming PCs aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future -- but as compression algorithms and internet connections improve, game streaming is almost ready for prime time. Earlier today, Google announced that Cyberpunk 2077 and other processor-hungry games would be coming to their upcoming Stadia platform. And now NVIDIA has announced it will bring the GeForce NOW streaming platform to Android. GeForce NOW, which is still in beta, enables users without gaming rigs to essentially rent high-powered NVIDIA servers, install PC games from various digital distributors and stream them to their devices.
