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With the holidays quickly appro aching, everyone will soon be on the hunt for gifts and the fastest way to get them. Thankfully, many retailers offer generous shipping policies for their products, with some even providing free two-day shipping or even same-day delivery if you’re willing to pay a little extra. And just in case the gift you choose isn’t quite right, many retailers offer extended return policies so your giftee can get something more to their liking. For your convenience, we’ve compiled the current shipping and return policies for all the big-name retailers, from Amazon to Walmart. A few of them already have policies in place regarding the holidays, but we’ll be keeping tabs on them and updating our list accordingly. Hopefully, knowing more about how much leeway you have to make a return will help lessen that inevitable holiday angst (fingers crossed). Amazon Apple  Target  Walmart  B&H Best Buy  Costco  GameStop  D...

Dolby Atmos, the dominant name behind spatial audio in theaters and the home, has become a fixture in luxury cars from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, Cadillac, and Lucid priced upwards of $70,000. But now, Hyundai is including Dolby Atmos audio in the new entry-level Elexio EV - a China-exclusive (for now) SUV that costs between RMB 119,800 and 149,800 (or $16,800 to $21,000). Unlike the more luxury vehicles that have included Atmos as part of a premium package, the Hyundai Elexio will offer it as standard on all trims through its six built-in speakers. There is the option of increasing that to eight speakers with an external amplifier … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Pd2vzUR

Microsoft has officially released its Windows 11 remote desktop feature across Meta’s Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets. The feature can beam multiple high-resolution monitors to your Quest headset, while also allowing you to try an immersive ultrawide mode, similar to what you can do on Apple’s Vision Pro . Microsoft first launched its virtual desktop feature on Quest headsets in preview in December 2024, and Meta started rolling it out more broadly over the past few weeks with the Horizon OS v81 update. The feature initially only supported multiple desktop displays, but UploadVR spotted an option to transform your virtual desktop into an ultrawide display that curves around your field of view. After downloading Mixed Reality Link on a Windows computer, Quest 3 and 3S wearers can look at their keyboard and select “pair” to view and interact with their desktop display from their headset. Meta notes that you can either immerse yourself in your virtual desktop or use passthrough so ...

New iPhones for the AI era. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge If you’ve been holding off on getting a new iPhone, now’s the perfect time to size up your options. Apple recently launched its 2025 iPhone lineup, which includes the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and a brand-new model, the ultra-thin iPhone Air. These new phones offer a number of new features over their predecessors, such as upgraded cameras, faster chips, better battery life, and even better screens — Apple Intelligence, however, is still a work in progress . Alongside the new hardware, Apple also launched iOS 26 (yes, the numbering system has changed and we’re jumping from iOS 18), which includes a new Liquid Glass user interface , live translation, wallpapers in messages, and more. The software marks Apple’s biggest visual redesign since iOS 7 , and despite some very polarizing reactions, we think it looks fine . If your current iPhone is humming along, there’s no need to rush out and get a new one. But if you’r...

AOL will soon have a new owner. Bending Spoons, the Italian software company that has bought up a range of other digital businesses like Evernote , MeetUp , WeTransfer, and soon Vimeo , announced plans to purchase AOL from Yahoo after securing a $2.8 billion debt financing package. Over the past couple of decades, AOL has been passed from company to company, merging with Time Warner in 2001 before getting spun off and sold to Verizon in 2015 for $4.4 billion. Verizon merged AOL and Yahoo into a new company, called Oath, which it offloaded to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for around $5 billion in 2021 . AOL was placed under the Yahoo umbrella following the acquisition. AOL still offers a web portal and email service, though it recently shut down dial-up internet service after more than three decades. Bending Spoons has made a flurry of acquisitions in recent years, a few of which were followed by layoffs and, in some cases, higher prices for customers . The co...

Abxylute’s M4 Snap-On phone controller trades clamps for magnets. | Image: Abxylute Abxylute, a company known for its Android-based handhelds , has announced a new compact mobile controller for smartphones. Unlike controllers from companies like Backbone and 8BitDo that use an expanding mechanism to clamp onto phones, Abxylute’s smaller and lighter M4 Snap-On controller uses a Q-shaped mount to magnetically attach to mobile devices that are compatible with Apple’s MagSafe or the Qi2 standard, which now includes Google’s Pixel 10 series . Like clamp-on controllers, Abxylute’s new game pad is designed to be used with phones in a horizontal orientation, but it positions the controls beneath the screen, instead of splitting them up on either side. Those controls include a D-pad, ABXY action buttons, a pair of shoulder buttons, two tiny joysticks, and additional navigation buttons including quick access to a home screen. Abxylute says the controller’s rechargeable battery will be g...

Robotaxi fever is back, baby! After a bunch of automaker-led autonomous driving projects shut down amid concerns over safety and costs, car companies are expressing a renewed interest in self-driving cars, and robotaxis specifically. Stellantis, which oversees brands like Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler, announced today a “new collaboration” with a diverse range of firms, including Nvidia, Foxconn, and Uber, to launch its own robotaxi service. It will work something like this: Stellantis will build the vehicles, Nvidia and Foxconn will install the self-driving systems, and Uber will deploy them on its ridehailing platform. Stellantis says it vehicles platforms are “AV-Ready,” including its K0 Medium Size Van and STLA Small. These vehicles are designed for “maximum flexibility” and can be built to accomodate multiple passengers. These vehicles are designed for “maximum flexibility” and can be built to accomodate multiple passengers. The autonomous driving technology will be power...

You can now watch your favorite video podcasts on your big screen with Spotify’s new tvOS app update. | Image: Spotify Spotify has announced a redesigned version of its Apple TV app that the company says has been “rebuilt from the ground up for a faster, smarter, more visual experience.” The tvOS version of the Spotify app is also gaining several welcome features from the mobile version, but the biggest updates include the addition of video podcasts and music videos.  Some users have had access to the update for a few days already, but the new version is now available to download for everyone through Apple’s App Store, while devices using automatic updates should get the new experience by mid-November. Users of the old version of Spotify’s tvOS app have previously taken to online forums, including Reddit , to complain about everything from its frustrating navigation to missing features that have long been included in the Google TV version of the app, but it looks like this ver...

Haven’t you heard? Phones are boring now . And that’s just fine! Most people buying a new phone just want something familiar that works better than the device they’re replacing. If that’s your MO, then you’re sure to find something reliable in my recommendations below. But even if you’re looking for something a little more extra , you’ve got some great options. They’re going to be pretty iterative compared to whatever you’re using now — we’re in more of a software era than a hardware innovation cycle these days — but you can still find a delightful new device. We finally have a folding phone that offers full water and dust resistance , there are flip phones that offer more than just nostalgia , and you can still buy a phone with no fewer than four cameras on the back . Not bad for a boring season of phone hardware. A lot of people in the US get their phones through carrier deals, and no judgment here if that’s the route you take — it’s how I bought mine . Just be sure you know what ...

The last-gen Kindle is a great budget-friendly e-reader. In case you didn’t know, the last-gen Kindle is nearly just as good as the current model. Not only is the reading experience nearly identical, it also has the same sharp 300PPI display with dark mode, an adjustable front light, and USB-C charging. If you want a great e-reader, but you also want to save some money, you can grab the refurbished 2022 Kindle with ads and 16GB of storage at Woot with a 90-day Amazon warranty for just $64.99 through October 30th when you apply the promo code FIREFIVE at checkout.  2022 Kindle (with ads) Amazon’s last-gen entry-level Kindle comes with a host of much-needed upgrades, including a better display, longer battery life, and USB-C charging.  Read our review . Where to Buy: $99.99 $64.99 at Woot (with code FIREFIVE) The $109.99 2024 model is my current favorite budget-friendly e-reader , thanks to its slightly brighter, faster display, its slightly improved battery, a...

Last week, General Motors CEO Mary Barra caused a stir when she said that the company would eventually kill Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in all of its gas cars . The company had already successfully removed phone mirroring capabilities from most of its electric vehicles, and now it was plotting how to drop support from its internal combustion engine vehicles too. But today, the company is clarifying that this won’t happen overnight. “We are not making any changes to existing vehicles,” Malorie Lucich, a spokesperson for GM, said in a statement. “If your car supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, that will continue. Both will remain available in all GM gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future. As we advance toward our centralized computing platform, we’ll gradually move to a better, more deeply integrated experience — a direction the broader industry is taking as vehicles become more software-defined. This will happen over time, not overnight. We value our collaboration wit...

The OnePlus 15 has a redesigned camera with a rounded square module. After a steady stream of spec teases, OnePlus has launched its new OnePlus 15 flagship in China today. Release plans elsewhere are still unconfirmed, but the company promises that the phone’s global launching will be “soon.” We’ve known what the 15 would look like since September , when OnePlus also confirmed it would be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and have a fast 165Hz refresh rate display — a jump from the 120Hz on last year’s OnePlus 13 , though there are still few games that support those speeds. The large 7,300mAh battery is the other big draw, the latest in a trend for 7,000mAh+ cells in Chinese flagships this year. Those big batteries are often exclusive to China though, and it’s not guaranteed that European and US models will get the same battery life. A triple 50-megapixel rear camera with an upgraded periscope lens, IP69K durability rating, and 120W wired charging round o...