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Amazon has cut the price of Intel's Core Ultra 5 250K Plus by 34%, bringing it to $145, its lowest price yet. The 18-core, 18-thread chip originally launched at $200 before its MSRP rose to $220, and it was part of Intel's revamped Arrow Lake lineup alongside the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus.
Skydance, the newly formed company resulting from Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, announced it will combine HBO Max and Paramount Plus into a single streaming platform over time. No timeline or new name has been set, and HBO CEO Casey Bloys will oversee the unified service. CEO David Ellison previously said the merger could yield over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.
Amazon has launched its fall Prime Day sale, known as Big Deals Days, running from October 6 to October 7, exclusively for Prime members. The event features discounts on various tech products, including the Belkin Connect USB-C 11-in-1 Pro GaN Dock, which is now priced at $133 down from $200, among other deals on security cameras, monitors, and household gadgets. The sale also highlights the lowest price since June for the MacBook Air M5, recommended by WIRED for its performance and portability.
Google announced that from October 9, free users will no longer be able to access the Gemini Flash and Pro AI models, with all free inquiries shifting to the more basic Flash-Lite. Subscribers to Google AI Plus will lose access to the Gemini 3.1 Pro model, which is tailored for complex reasoning tasks, unless they upgrade to higher-tier plans like AI Ultra. The company is also introducing adjustable effort levels for each model and plans to release Gemini 4 Argon exclusively to AI Ultra subscribers initially.
The Casio Pro Trek PRG340B-3 solar-powered outdoor watch is now available at $189, marking one of its lowest prices. Meanwhile, the Urevo CyberPad, featuring a 14% incline and adjustable speeds, is discounted to $387, offering a versatile walking solution. Additionally, Theragun massage guns, including the Relief model at $100 and the Mini Plus at $238, are on sale for muscle recovery.
Starting October 9th, Google will restrict free users of Gemini AI to the Flash Lite model, removing access to the standard Flash and Pro versions unless they subscribe to the $4.99/month AI Plus plan. Additionally, Gemini Pro and the 'Deep Think' reasoning feature will only be available to higher-tier subscribers at $19.99 and $99.99 per month. Users will still be able to select different effort levels, but higher effort options may accelerate usage limits.
Several Amazon Echo Alexa Plus speakers have been observed emitting continuous 'lalala' sounds for minutes, often during user conversations. The issue has been widely reported on Reddit, with videos showing the strange behavior, and Amazon confirmed it is caused by a bug affecting a small subset of devices, with a fix underway.
Instagram is exploring a new feature called 'read-only mode' that would let Plus subscribers browse profiles without liking, commenting, messaging, following, or viewing stories. The feature was uncovered through internal testing images shared by leaker Alessandro Paluzzi, but Instagram confirmed it is still in early development and not being tested publicly. The purpose and safety implications of the feature remain uncertain at this stage.
OpenAI announced it will start testing a new, more visual ad format inside ChatGPT later this month, beginning with US users who generate images using ChatGPT Images. The ads will appear clearly labeled and separate from the generated image, and OpenAI says they won't influence chatbot responses. Paying subscribers (Plus, Pro) and enterprise customers will not see these ads.
Google has updated its support documentation to limit which Gemini models free and AI Plus ($4.99/month) subscribers can use. Free users will be restricted to Gemini 3.5-Flash-Lite, losing access to Gemini 3.6 Flash and newer models, while AI Plus subscribers will lose access to Gemini 3.1 Pro and other reasoning models, retaining only Flash and Flash-Lite variants. The changes take effect on October 9th and do not affect AI Pro or Ultra subscribers, who retain full access including a Deep Thinking option.
OpenAI says it will begin testing a new ad format in the US this month that displays images of sponsored products when users generate images in ChatGPT. The company first introduced text-based sponsored links to ChatGPT in February, and says the new visual ads will stay separate from generated content and won't appear for Plus, Pro, or Enterprise subscribers.
Google will limit which Gemini models are available based on subscription tier beginning October 9. Free users will only get Flash-Lite, losing access to Flash and Pro, while AI Plus subscribers ($4.99/month) keep Flash-Lite and Flash but lose Pro access. AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers see no cutbacks and instead gain the Deep Think reasoning option previously reserved for pricier tiers.