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SAVE 40%: As of Feb. 19, you can get up to 40% off select Le Creuset items at Williams Sonoma. Shop Dutch ovens, soup pots, and more.

Best Le Creuset deals at Williams Sonoma: Best deal overall Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Shallow Square Covered Baker (2-qt.) $70 (save $30) Get Deal Best bakeware set deal Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Baker Set $55 (save $20) Get Deal Best budget deal Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Round Cocotte (8 oz.) $22 (save $10) Get Deal

You don’t have to be a culinary artist or even a foodie to know that Le Creuset reigns supreme when it comes to high-quality cookware. These iconic French-made pieces are renowned for their exceptional durability, even heat distribution, and timeless aesthetic, but they’re also notoriously expensive. (You get what you pay for, right?)

SEE ALSO: The key to a chef-quality kitchen is the knives

The good news is that you can get your hands on these coveted kitchen essentials for a fraction of the typical cost, because Williams Sonoma is currently offering a 40% discount on select Le Creuset items. There are tons of sets and individual pieces, including everything from their signature Dutch ovens and skillets to their colorful bakeware and grill pans.

Here are the best deals we could find:

Best deal overall Opens in a new window Credit: Le Creuset Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Shallow Square Covered Baker (2-qt.) $70.00 at Williams Sonoma
$100.00 Save $30.00 Get Deal Why we like it

The Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Shallow Square Covered Baker (2-qt.) is ideal for the everyday home cook. You can make lasagna, gratins, casseroles, desserts, and more in this versatile dish that goes from the oven to the table. It’s available in multiple colors, but the lapis, agave, and olive hues will probably impress your dinner guests the most.

The best part? You can get it now for $70 (originally $100).

Best bakeware set deal Opens in a new window Credit: Le Creuset Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Baker Set $55.00 at Williams Sonoma
$75.00 Save $20.00 Get Deal Why we like it

If you thought you couldn’t get a Le Creuset set for less than $100, we found a two-piece Heritage Stoneware Baker Set for just $55. This bundle includes a small and large baker, both of which have the brand's signature enameled exterior and stoneware interior.

This set only comes in three colors (French gray, lapis, and ocean), but the price is unbeatable, and you're bound to get a ton of use out of them.

Best budget deal Opens in a new window Credit: Le Creuset Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Round Cocotte (8 oz.) $22.00 at Williams Sonoma
$32.00 Save $10.00 Get Deal Why we like it

If you just want a piece of Le Creuset for the sake of it, the Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Round Cocotte (8 oz.) is only $22. Even though this dish is on the smaller side, it’s surprisingly versatile. (My mom uses it to roast garlic in her oven.) You can use it for baking, serving sides, making individual desserts, and so much more. It’s also available in multiple colors, with the cerise red and Marseille being two of my personal faves. (Note: Some color options are only available in the larger size.)

At a time when AI is already replacing gig workers, Fiverr says they're taking a different approach.

On Wednesday, the freelancing marketplace announced a program for users to train AI on their own body work and use it for future creative projects. The program, called the Personal AI Creation Model is part of a larger AI initiative called Fiverr Go, designed to let freelancers use AI's automation capabilities as a tool rather than be replaced by it.

"It’s a recognition that there’s a growing demand and cultural headwind behind supporting workers and creators amid the AI blitz," Brian Merchant, tech journalist and author of Luddite uprising saga Blood in the Machine, told Mashable in an X message.

"Instead of letting creators be exploited, Fiverr Go ensures they receive proper credit and compensation while giving them unprecedented tools to scale their work," said CEO Micha Kaufman in the announcement. "This is about making our freelancers irreplaceable, not obsolete."

A late 2024 study from the Harvard Business Review found a "steep decrease" in demand for coding and creative jobs following the introduction of ChatGPT and widescale release of AI image generating tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, and DALL-E. The gig economy is already precarious for workers since they face competition with each other and don't have the benefits and protections that come with full time jobs. Now gig workers are forced to compete with generative AI — often trained on their own work – which can code, write, create images, audio, and video, and doesn't need to sleep or eat.

It's a novel approach to adopting AI, especially since some companies have blatantly opted to lay off and replace workers with AI automation in other industries. Fiverr competitors like Upwork and PeoplePerHour have implemented AI assistants to connect customers with freelancers — something that Fiverr also launched on Wednesday. But as far as we know, none have directly embraced leveraging genAI for its creators.

"In theory, this seems to be the right way to engage AI, with workers in mind — as long as the terms are good, approved by workers and creators, and actually equitable," said Merchant. "You do worry that this is paying lip service to creators without delivering — as for example Adobe did with its program that offered artists compensation for letting their work be trained but really didn’t benefit them much."

Fiverr's AI Creation Model gives freelancers "control over their creative process and rights," allowing creators to "configure their models" and "set their prices" said the press release. The program will be available in categories including voiceover, songwriting, graphic design, copywriting, and marketing.

Customers can pay to download AI-generated works created by freelancers or "contact the freelancer of an AI-generated work as a starting point for a project, as an example or inspiration, and ask for a specific service," said a Fiverr spokesperson to TechCrunch.

But training AI on your own work and making money from its creations isn't free. AI Creation Models cost $25 a month and are initially limited to "top, vetted freelancers." The AI personal booking assistant is available as part of the Seller Plus Premium plan for $29 a month. So we'll let you crunch the numbers and decide whether it's worth it.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Feb. 19: OUR TOP PICK Eufy Omni C20 hybrid robot vacuum and mop $399.99 (save $250) Get Deal BEST SPEAKER DEAL Ultimate Ears Miniroll $59.99 (save $20) Get Deal BEST KIDS DEAL Amazon Echo Pop Kids $34.99 (save $15) Get Deal BEST GAMING DEAL Logitech G305 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse $29.99 (save $20) Get Deal BEST HOME DEAL Blink Outdoor Floodlight Camera $86.99 (save $42.99) Get Deal

As we patiently await the next big shopping holiday or savings event, we're keeping our eyes peeled for any great deals that may pop up. And lucky for you, we've found a few at Amazon on Feb. 19. After all, there are always deals to be found at Amazon — you just have to do a little bit of digging.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day. If none of these are your cup of tea, be sure to check out our picks from yesterday, Feb. 18. Many of those are still live, including the best price ever on the Garmin Forerunner 955.

Our top pick: Eufy Omni C20 Opens in a new window Credit: Eufy Eufy Omni C20 hybrid robot vacuum and mop $399.99 at Amazon
$649.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal

A hybrid robot vacuum that mops and self-washes its mopping pads typically comes at a steep price (upwards of over $1,500). Even our top pick for a budget model — the Eufy X10 Pro Omni — is $700 on sale. That's what makes this deal on the Eufy Omni C20 so appealing. Back on sale for its Black Friday low of $399.99 (down 38% from $649.99), the Omni C20 has just slightly less powerful suction (7,000Pa vs. 8,000Pa) than the X10 Pro Omni and lacks small obstacle avoidance for cords and pet waste, but otherwise is a similar robot vacuum with a slim build and self-washing and drying mopping pads. Never needing to touch dirty and soggy pads is a game changer.

Ultimate Ears MiniRoll Opens in a new window Credit: Ultimate Ears Ultimate Ears Miniroll $59.99 at Amazon
$79.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal

If you're looking for a tiny Bluetooth speaker that can be worn or attached to just about anything without weighing you down, meet the Ultimate Ears Miniroll. It's on sale for just $59.99 — 25% off its usual cost — and is built to keep the tunes rolling as you're hiking, chilling by the pool, or going for a bike ride. Our sister site PCMag reviewed it and noted that it's not built for audiophiles. But you probably could've guessed that. If you just want to jam out anywhere and everywhere with 12 hours of battery life and a rugged water, dust, and drop-proof speaker, this little guy will get the job done.

Amazon Echo Pop Kids Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Echo Pop Kids $34.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $15.00 Get Deal

The kid-friendly version of the Echo Pop is back on sale for $34.99, down 30% from its usual cost. A fun and affordable way to introduce Alexa to your kiddos through age-appropriate content, audiobooks, music, and more, the Echo Pop is "Amazon's top smart speaker for children," according to our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis). It only comes in Disney-licensed designs (Disney princesses or Marvel), but that also adds to the fun of it. It's equipped with a Disney voice assistant for Alexa that lets kids talk to their favorite characters via Amazon Kids+.

Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse Opens in a new window Credit: Logitech Logitech G305 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse $29.99 at Amazon
$49.99 Save $20.00 Get Deal

Technically a gaming mouse, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed is — you guessed it — super quick and responsive. It lasts up to 250 hours on a single AA battery, has six programmable buttons and a hero sensor, and weighs just 99 grams for swift maneuvering. It also serves as a solid mouse for everyday tasks. Usually $49.99, you can grab the G305 on sale for just $29.99 and save 40% as of Feb. 19.

Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Opens in a new window Credit: Blink Blink Outdoor Floodlight Camera $86.99 at Amazon
$129.98 Save $42.99 Get Deal

The floodlight version of the Blink Outdoor 4 camera adds 700 lumens of motion-triggered illumination to your home security setup, giving you a better view of what's going on outside your home at night. With two-way audio and crisp HD footage, you'll be able to speak to people and pets and get a better idea of whether that noise you heard was an intruder or just a raccoon. With a Blink subscription plan, you can unlock even more features. As of Feb. 19, it's on sale for just $86.99. That's 33% in savings.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

Naysayers might struggle to accept it, but the U.S. electric vehicle market saw a noticeable uptake in 2024. The popularity of EVs is heading one way, and that's up, so here are 2024's best-selling EVs in America.

SAVE 33%: The Dyson V15 Detect Pro cordless vacuum is on sale at Woot for $499.99, down from the standard price of $749.99. That's a savings of $250.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V15 Detect Pro cordless vacuum $499.99 at Woot
$749.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal

Between dust bunnies, dog hair, and crumbly cookies, the floor never feels like it's clean enough. If you have kids, pets, or cook often, high-traffic areas of the house tend to collect life's debris at an alarming rate. If this sounds familiar, check out this deal on a powerful solution at Woot.

As of Feb. 19, the Dyson V15 Detect Pro cordless vacuum is on sale for $499.99, down from the list price of $749.99. That's a 33% discount that'll save you $250. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you're eligible for free shipping at Woot.

SEE ALSO: Best vacuum cleaners 2025, from cordless stick vacuums to robot vacuums

It's hard to beat the functionality of the Dyson V15 Detect Pro. While Dyson designed this model to be used in businesses, hospitality, or educational facilities, it also works perfectly in your home. The major differences between the V15 Detect Pro and a model designed for home use comes down to the battery life and the debris canister's capacity.

Instead of getting under an hour of battery life, like many cordless vacuums, the Dyson V15 Detect Pro comes with two click-in batteries, which means you can clean for up to 120 minutes. The vacuum's digital display shows the run-time countdown, so you can always see how much cleaning time you'll have left. Plus, the debris canister can hold 0.2 gallons of dust, cookie crumbs, and pet hair.

The V15 Detect Pro is designed for both hard floors and carpet, and the Dyson Digital Motorbar is designed to grab hair without getting tangled. The vacuum can also convert into a handheld version, which can be great for cleaning hard-to-reach areas.

Instead of getting overwhelmed by the task of vacuuming, enlist the powerful help of the Dyson V15 Detect Pro. While the cordless vacuum usually costs a steep $749.99, it's on sale at Woot for $499.99 — and you'll get free shipping if you're an Amazon Prime member.

Today, the journal Nature (opens in new tab) is publishing our latest research, which introduces the first World and Human Action Model (WHAM). The WHAM, which we’ve named “Muse,” is a generative AI model of a video game that can generate game visuals, controller actions, or both.

The paper in Nature offers a detailed look at Muse, which was developed by the Microsoft Research Game Intelligence (opens in new tab) and Teachable AI Experiences (opens in new tab) (Tai X) teams in collaboration with Xbox Games Studios’ Ninja Theory (opens in new tab). Simultaneously, to help other researchers explore these models and build on our work, we are open sourcing the weights and sample data and making the executable available for the WHAM Demonstrator—a concept prototype that provides a visual interface for interacting with WHAM models and multiple ways of prompting the models. Developers can learn and experiment with the weights, sample data, and WHAM Demonstrator on Azure AI Foundry (opens in new tab). 

In our research, we focus on exploring the capabilities that models like Muse need to effectively support human creatives. I’m incredibly proud of our teams and the milestone we have achieved, not only by showing the rich structure of the game world that a model like Muse can learn, as you see in the video demo below, but also, and even more importantly, by demonstrating how to develop research insights to support creative uses of generative AI models.

Generated gameplay examples Example gameplay sequences generated by Muse (based on WHAM-1.6B) demonstrate that our model can generate complex gameplay sequences that are consistent over several minutes. All examples shown here were generated by prompting the model with 10 initial frames (1 second) of human gameplay and the controller actions of the whole play sequence. Muse is used in “world model mode” meaning that it is used to predict how the game will evolve from the initial prompt sequence. The more closely the generated gameplay sequence resembles the actual game, the more accurately Muse has captured the dynamics of that game. What motivated this research?

As we release our research insights and model today, I keep thinking back to how this all started.  There was a key moment back in December 2022 that I remember clearly. I had recently returned from maternity leave, and while I was away the machine learning world had changed in fundamental ways. ChatGPT had been publicly released, and those who had tried it were in awe of OpenAI’s technical achievements and the model’s capabilities. It was a powerful demonstration of what transformer-based generative models could do when trained on large amounts of (text) data. Coming back from leave at that moment, the key question on my mind was, “What are the implications of this achievement for our team’s work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and video games?”

A new research opportunity enabled by data

In our team, we had access to a very different source of data. For years, we had collaborated with Xbox Game Studios’ Ninja Theory (based in Cambridge, UK, just like our research team) to collect gameplay data from Bleeding Edge, their 2020 Xbox game. Bleeding Edge is a 4-versus-4 game where all games are played online, and matches are recorded if the player agrees to the End User License Agreement (EULA). We worked closely with our colleagues at Ninja Theory and with Microsoft compliance teams to ensure that the data was collected ethically and used responsibly for research purposes.

“It’s been amazing to see the variety of ways Microsoft Research has used the Bleeding Edge environment and data to explore novel techniques in a rapidly moving AI industry,” said Gavin Costello, technical director at Ninja Theory. “From the hackathon that started it all, where we first integrated AI into Bleeding Edge, to building AI agents that could behave more like human players, to the World and Human Action Model being able to dream up entirely new sequences of Bleeding Edge gameplay under human guidance, it’s been eye-opening to see the potential this type of technology has.” 

Muse Training Data Current Muse instances were trained on human gameplay data (visuals and controller actions) from the Xbox game Bleeding Edge – shown here at the 300×180 px resolution at which we train current models. Muse (using WHAM-1.6B) has been trained on more than 1 billion images and controller actions, corresponding to over 7 years of continuous human gameplay. The Game Intelligence and Teachable AI Experiences teams playing the Bleeding Edge game together.

Until that point in late 2022, we had used Bleeding Edge as a platform for human-like navigation experiments, but we had not yet made meaningful use of the large amount of human player data we now had available. With the powerful demonstration of text-models, the next question was clear: “What could we achieve if we trained a transformer-based model on large amounts of human gameplay data?” 

Scaling up model training

As the team got to work, some of the key challenges included scaling up the model training. We initially used a V100 cluster, where we were able to prove out how to scale up to training on up to 100 GPUs; that eventually paved the way to training at scale on H100s. Key design decisions we made early focused on how to best leverage insights from the large language model (LLM) community and included choices such as how to effectively represent controller actions and especially images.

The first sign that the hard work of scaling up training was paying off came in the form of a demo that thoroughly impressed me. Tim Pearce, at that time a researcher in Game Intelligence, had put together examples of what happened early versus later in training. You can see the demo here – it’s like watching the model learn. This led to our follow-up work showing how scaling laws emerge in these kinds of models.

Muse consistency over the course of training Ground truth
Human gameplayGame visuals generated by Muse with 206M parameters
Conditioned on 1 second of real gameplay and 9 seconds of actionsOriginal10k training updates100k training updates1M training updatesCharacter recognizable​Basic movements and geometry​No degeneration over time​✘Correct interaction with power cell​✘✘Models flying mechanic correctly​✘✘Comparing ground truth human gameplay (left) to visuals generated using Muse (using WHAM-206M) when prompted with 1 second of human gameplay (visuals and controller actions) and 9 seconds of controller actions from the ground truth. In this setting, if Muse can generate visuals that closely match the ground truth, then it has captured the game dynamics. We see that the quality of generated visuals improves visibly over the course of training. In early training (10k training updates) we see signs of life, but quality deteriorates quickly. After 100k training updates, the model is consistent over time but does not yet capture relatively less frequent aspects of the game dynamics, such as the flying mechanic. Consistency with the ground truth continues to improve with additional training, e.g., the flying mechanic is captured after 1M training updates. Multidisciplinary collaboration: Involving users from the beginning

We had started to investigate how to evaluate these types of models early on. For example, we wanted to understand the representations learned using linear probing, which was driven by Research Intern Gunshi Gupta and Senior Research Scientist Sergio Valcarcel Macua; to explore online evaluation, driven by Senior Research Scientist Raluca Georgescu; and to generate both visuals and actions, initially termed “full dreaming” and driven by Research Intern Tarun Gupta. But working through how to systematically evaluate Muse required a much broader set of insights. More importantly, we needed to understand how people might use these models in order to know how to evaluate them.  

This was where the opportunity for multidisciplinary research became crucial. We had discussed aspects of this work with Senior Principal Research Manager Cecily Morrison and her Teachable AI Experiences team for several months. And we had already partnered on an engagement with game creatives (driven by Cecily, Design Researcher Linda Wen, and Principal Research Software Development Engineer Martin Grayson) to investigate how game creators would like to use generative AI capabilities in their creative practice.

“It was a great opportunity to join forces at this early stage to shape model capabilities to suit the needs of creatives right from the start, rather than try to retrofit an already developed technology,” Cecily said. 

Linda offered some valuable insights about how we approached the work: “We’ve seen how technology-driven AI innovation has disrupted the creative industry—often catching creators off guard and leaving many feeling excluded,” she said. “This is why we invited game creators to help us shape this technology from the start. Recognizing that most AI innovations are developed in the Global North, we also made it a priority to recruit game creators from underrepresented backgrounds and geographies. Our goal was to create a technology that benefits everyone—not just those already in positions of privilege.” 

Unlocking new creative use cases with the WHAM Demonstrator

Now, with the model’s emerging capabilities and user insights in mind, it was time to put all the pieces together. The teams joined forces during a Microsoft internal hackathon to explore new interaction paradigms and creative uses that Muse could unlock. As a result, we developed a prototype that we call the WHAM Demonstrator, which allows users to directly interface with the model.

“The Global Hackathon was the perfect opportunity for everyone to come together and build our first working prototype,” Martin said. “We wanted to develop an interface for the WHAM model that would allow us to explore its creative potential and start to test ideas and uses we had learned from our interviews with game developers.” 

WHAM Demonstrator

For interacting with World and Human Action Models like Muse, the WHAM Demonstrator provides a visual interface for interacting with a WHAM instance.

In this example, the user is loading a visual as an initial prompt to the model, here a single promotional image for the game Bleeding Edge. They use Muse to generate multiple potential continuations from this starting point. The user explores the generated sequences and can tweak them, for example using a game controller to direct the character. These features demonstrate how Muse’s capabilities can enable iteration as part of the creative process. Identifying key capabilities and how to evaluate them

The hands-on experience of exploring Muse capabilities with the WHAM Demonstrator, and drawing on insights we gained from the user study, allowed us to systematically identify capabilities that game creatives would require to use generative models like Muse. This in turn allowed us to establish evaluation protocols for three key capabilities: consistency, diversity, and persistency. Consistency refers to a model’s ability to generate gameplay sequences that respect the dynamics of the game. For example, the character moves consistently with controller actions, does not walk through walls, and generally reflects the physics of the underlying game. Diversity refers to a model’s ability to generate a range of gameplay variants given the same initial prompt, covering a wide range of ways in which gameplay could evolve. Finally, persistency refers to a model’s ability to incorporate (or “persist”) user modifications into generated gameplay sequences, such as a character that is copy-pasted into a game visual. We give an overview of these capabilities below. 

Muse evaluation of consistency, diversity and persistency Consistency We evaluate consistency by prompting the model with ground truth gameplay sequences and controller actions, and letting the model generate game visuals. The videos shown here are generated using Muse (based on WHAM-1.6B) and demonstrate the model’s ability to generate consistent gameplay sequences of up to two minutes. In our paper, we also compare the generated visuals to the ground truth visuals using FVD (Fréchet Video Distance), an established metric in the video generation community. Diversity Muse (based on WHAM-1.6B) generated examples of behavioral and visual diversity, conditioned on the same initial 10 frames (1 second) of real gameplay. The three examples at the top show behavioral diversity (diverse camera movement, loitering near the spawn location, and navigating various paths to the middle jump pad). The three examples below show visual diversity (different hoverboards for the character). In the paper, we also quantitatively assess diversity using the Wasserstein distance, a measure of distance between two distributions, to compare the model-generated sequences to the diversity reflected in human gameplay recordings. Muse generated examples of behavioral and visual diversity, conditioned on the same 10 frames of real gameplay. Three examples of behavioral diversity show diverse camera movement, loitering near the spawn location, and navigating various paths to the middle jump pad. Three examples of visual diversity show different hoverboards for the character.

With our evaluation framework in place, and access to an H100 compute allocation, the team was able to further improve Muse instances, including higher resolution image encoders (our current models generate visuals at a resolution of 300×180 pixels, up from the 128×128 resolution of our earliest models) and larger models, and expand to all seven Bleeding Edge maps. To show some of the capabilities of the model we are publishing today, we have included videos of 2-minute-long generated gameplay sequences above, which give an impression of the consistency and diversity of gameplay sequences that the model can generate.

According to Senior Researcher Tabish Rashid: “Being handed an allocation of H100s was initially quite daunting, especially in the early stages figuring out how to make best use of it to scale to larger models with the new image encoders. After months of experimentation, it was immensely rewarding to finally see outputs from the model on a different map (not to knock the lovely greenery of Skygarden) and not have to squint so much at smaller images. I’m sure at this point many of us have watched so many videos from Muse that we’ve forgotten what the real game looks like.”

One of my favorite capabilities of the model is how it can be prompted with modifications of gameplay sequences and persist newly introduced elements. For example, in the demo below, we’ve added a character onto the original visual from the game. Prompting the model with the modified visual, we can see how the model “persists” the added character and generates plausible variants of how the gameplay sequence could have evolved from this modified starting point.

Persistency Demonstrations of how Muse (based on WHAM-1.6B) can persist modifications. A visual is taken from the original gameplay data and an image of an additional character is edited into the image. The generated gameplay sequence shows how the character is adapted into the generated gameplay sequence. Conclusion

Today, our team is excited to be publishing our work in Nature and simultaneously releasing Muse open weights, the WHAM Demonstrator, and sample data to the community.

I look forward to seeing the many ways in which the community will explore these models and build on our research. I cannot wait to see all the ways that these models and subsequent research will help shape and increase our understanding of how generative AI models of human gameplay may support gameplay ideation and pave the way for future, novel, AI-based game experiences, including the use cases that our colleagues at Xbox (opens in new tab) have already started to explore.

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The post Introducing Muse: Our first generative AI model designed for gameplay ideation appeared first on Microsoft Research.

Apple's got a new iPhone, but not the one you think.

On Wednesday, the company launched the iPhone 16e, which Apple CEO Tim Cook called "the newest member of the family."

This means the iPhone SE, which was widely expected for today, has been retired in favor of the iPhone 16e. And it's potentially a pretty huge deal. But first, let's talk about the phone itself.

The iPhone 16e has the same size as the iPhone 16, with a 6.1-inch OLED display but with a notch on top instead of the Dynamic Island, and just a single camera on the back. That camera is something Apple calls a 48-megapixel 2-in-1 camera system, as it doubles as a regular camera and a 2x telephoto camera.

No Dynamic Island on this one. Credit: Apple

Inside, the iPhone 16e has Apple's powerful A18 chip, as well as the Apple C1, which is the first cellular modem designed in-house by Apple. This also means that the iPhone 16e can support Apple Intelligence, just like its other iPhone 16 brothers.

Storage starts at 128GB, but you can also get the iPhone 16e with 256GB or 512GB of storage.

Battery life is going to be a big selling point for the iPhone 16e, as Apple claims that it has "the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone. Compared to the old iPhone SE, that's 12 hours more of battery life.

Apple iPhone 16e only comes in two color variants: matte black, and matte white. Credit: Apple

As far as colors go, you don't get a lot: The iPhone 16e is only available in matte white and matte black - an interesting choice given the far more colorful iPhone 16.

Other tidbits of note: The iPhone 16e is splash, water, and dust resistant. It has the Action Button (just like the other iPhone 16 models), and yes, it also has satellite connectivity.

So why is this launch a big deal? Well, the iPhone SE was always in its own limbo, doing its own thing, mostly unrelated to whatever the main iPhone lineup was at any given time. But the iPhone 16e signals that Apple might turn this late winter launch into a regular thing, with the iPhone 16e being followed up by the iPhone 17e next year, and so forth.

SEE ALSO: Is this the iPhone 17 Pro's design?

The phone itself is also more powerful than was expected, and more similar to the iPhone 16 lineup. This is another big change, and it means that from now on, there will always be a "cheap" but current iPhone you can choose if the main lineup is too price (remember, a new iPhone SE only showed up every couple of years, like a comet).

The Apple iPhone 16e starts at $599, and will be available for pre-order on February 21, with availability starting on Friday, February 28.

Whether you’re someone invested in technology or you simply desire a comfortable place to sit during your daily commutes, the luxury segment offers tons of high-end vehicles. However, the premium on these cars is something that few can afford, with new models threatening to empty your bank account.

The Format Painter in Excel lets you copy formatting from one cell or group of cells to another cell or group of cells without copying their contents. Cell formatting includes everything from font size and color to borders, number formats, and conditional formatting.

Instagram wants to be your hub for messaging, a priority made all the clearer on Wednesday when it launched five new features with the help of global superstars JENNIE and Doechii.

Users can now translate messages in 99 different languages within their DMs. All you have to do is hard press on the message you want translated — similar to what you'd do if you wanted to reply, forward, or copy the message — and click "translate." You can also schedule messages up to 29 days in advance on Instagram DMs, a move that shortly follows the similar "Send Later" feature on iMessage.

SEE ALSO: How to speed up an Instagram Reel

Pinning messages is coming to Instagram DMs, too, and this feature doesn't seem to be directly inspired by one of Meta's competitors. Nice! Much like translating, all you have to do is hard press on the message you want pinned and select "pin."

You can share music in DMs now, too, which was launched with an IG broadcast from JENNIE and Doechii. You can find this by clicking the sticker icon in the bottom right of a DM and clicking the music icon.

Finally, in a move that's going to revolutionize stickers in dive bar bathrooms, you can invite people to a group chat with a QR code.

A few of these features have already been rolled out in some countries, but this announcement shows the testing was successful enough to roll them out globally.

SAVE $158.01: As of Feb. 19, get the Apple Watch Series 9 for $370.99 at Best Buy, down from its usual price of $529. That's a discount of 34%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Apple Watch Series 9 $370.99 at Best Buy
$529.00 Save $158.01 Get Deal

If you find yourself shopping for a new smartwatch, you can always count on the Apple Watch. The line has plenty of options to choose from, whether you need a reliable budget pick or the most rugged, fitness-focused pick Apple has to offer. But right now, it's also a good option if you want to save some cash, with the most recent non-Ultra Apple Watch on sale for an excellent price at Best Buy.

As of Feb. 19, get the Apple Watch Series 9 for just $370.99 at Best Buy, down from its usual price of $529. That's $158.01 off and a discount of 34%.

SEE ALSO: The best smartwatch for every wrist

The Apple Watch Series 9 is still a fantastic contender, even with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 on the market. It has everything you need in a smartwatch, starting with its wide range of fitness features. Track your heart rate, sleep, workouts, and just about everything else you can think of with options for runs, swimming, and beyond. You can have your watch monitor a wide range of movements and report back to you so you can keep an eye on how your body's moving and all the measurements in between.

But beyond that, it can also handle all the normal day-to-day functions you'd expect from a smartwatch, thanks to its S9 chip and GPS, with IP6X certification against dust, and its waterproof build with up to 50 meters of protection. Call and text, pay for items, get reminders, listen to music, control your phone's camera, and much more. For all under $400, this is a great deal that you won't want to miss out on.

If you're ready to lock in a smartwatch, this is one of Apple's best at the moment, so make sure you grab one if you're ready to part with some cash – less than you usually would for this model.

It's time, folks: Apple Store is down in anticipation of a new iPhone.

This time, we know we're getting something today, as Apple CEO Tim Cook took the rare step to tease the launch beforehand.

Tweet may have been deleted

"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he tweeted last week.

That newest member is likely an affordable iPhone, though we're not sure about the name. Up until a few days ago, everyone thought it was going to be the new iPhone SE, but recent rumors say that it'll be called the iPhone 16E, potentially placing it at lot closer to the top of Apple's lineup.

SEE ALSO: Apple Maps may get paid placements as part of new ad strategy

In any case, now that Apple Store is down, the launch is imminent, so we'll see what Apple's got cooking in a couple of hours.

If you have a tax refund burning a hole in your pocket and you're looking for the best tech deals and discounts, we have you covered. This week, score DJI's latest affordable gimbal, save big on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, new headphones, and so much more.

SAVE $585: The EcoFlow Delta 2 portable power station is on sale at Amazon with an on-page coupon for just $414, down from the list price at EcoFlow of $999. That's a 59% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: EcoFlow EcoFlow Delta 2 portable power station $414.00 at Amazon
$999.00 Save $585.00 with on-page coupon Get Deal

Life is full of surprises. Some are welcome, while others — like a surprise storm that knocks out power — are less of a thrill. If you've been dealing with outages during winter storms, or you have big road trip plans in the future, check out this deal on a portable power station at Amazon that will make life so much easier.

As of Feb. 19, the EcoFlow Delta 2 portable power station is on sale for just $414 at Amazon with the on-page coupon. That's a massive savings of $585, or 59% off, compared to the $999 price listed at EcoFlow.

SEE ALSO: Snag the Blueair Blue 211+ air purifier for 25% off and get ahead of allergy season

The EcoFlow Delta 2 is all about massive AC output — we're talking about 1800W with 1024Wh capacity powerful. Those numbers mean the portable power station is capable of keeping 90% of your home's appliances powered up. EcoFlow breaks down the numbers for us further, explaining the Delta 2 can keep your refrigerator going for up to 14 hours, your WiFi router connected for 58 hours, or your phone recharged 89 times.

The output of the EcoFlow Delta 2 means it's a great thing to have around the house should the power cut out. But it can also be a wonderful option for those who have road trip plans, live the RV or van life, or those who camp often.

The Delta 2 is well-equipped with charging ports. You'll have six AC outlets, two USB-C, two USB-A, two DC ports, and a car charger. That means your family won't argue over who gets to charge their phone first on the single port.

The EcoFlow Delta 2 is also impressive when it comes to recharging. On AC power, the portable power station can charge to 100% from nothing in just 1.3 hours. Car charging also takes about the same time. With a solar setup, expect to get a full recharge in about 2.5 hours.

With the EcoFlow app, you can easily monitor the battery status and control which outlets receive power.

Say goodbye to nights spent in the dark during a power outage by equipping your home with the EcoFlow Delta 2 portable power station. With the on-page coupon at Amazon, you'll be able to grab this powerful model for just $414 instead of the standard list price of $999.

TL;DR: Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League for free on Virgin Media Player. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Sporting Lisbon need a miracle in the second leg of their Champions League playoff round fixture against Borussia Dortmund. The German side won the first leg 3-0, and will be confident of finishing the job in front of their own fans. But anything can happen in the Champions League.

If you want to watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon?

Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League kicks off at 5:45 p.m. GMT on Feb. 19. This fixture takes place at the Signal Iduna Park.

How to watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon for free

Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon is available to live stream for free on Virgin Media Player.

Virgin Media Player is geo-restricted to Ireland, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Ireland, meaning you can unblock Virgin Media Player to stream the Champions League for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in Ireland

4. Visit Virgin Media Player

5. Watch Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the Champions League without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon (plus more Champions League fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for Virgin Media Player?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on Virgin Media Player, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Ireland

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Borussia Dortmund vs. Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $250: As of Feb. 19, you can snag an eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum mop combo for just $399.99, down from $649.99 at Amazon. That's a 38% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: eufy eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum mop combo $399.99 at Amazon
$649.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal

One of the best purchases I’ve made to date is on my robot vacuum cleaner. It’s helped me keep my floors at least semi-presentable with little beagles running around. If you’ve been holding off on getting a robot vacuum for one reason or another, I have 250 reasons why you should reconsider: The eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum mop combo is currently on sale for $250 off its usual price.

As of Feb. 19, you can score the eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum mop combo for just $399.99, down from $649.99, at Amazon (it’s the same price on the retailer’s website). That’s a $250 discount, or 38% off, and the lowest price we’ve seen it go for on Amazon since last November.

SEE ALSO: The 3 best Shark robot vacuums will make you say 'Roomba who?'

This little gadget is a two-in-one robot vacuum and mop combo, which makes your life even easier. It has a self-emptying base and an auto-washing and auto-drying system for the mopping pad, so it takes care of itself in between cleanings. The eufy Omni C20 also lets you set no-go zones, scheduled cleanings, and custom cleaning patterns, all from the app on your phone (or via voice assistant, if that's your thing).

There's a lot to love about the new Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung's One UI 7 update (based on Android 15) delivers a slew of helpful features, controls, and customization, but multiple changes are baffling or outright bad. I just got a Galaxy S25+ and changed these settings immediately, and you should too.

Microsoft has just announced a significant update to Excel that uses AI to tackle menial, time-consuming data-importing tasks. Copilot in Excel can now pull in snippets of information from various sources, saving you the hassle of creating and preparing your figures manually.

Humane, the company that developed a widely-covered AI pin, is shutting down and selling its assets to HP for $116 million. This sale includes Humane’s CosmOS operating system, more than 300 patents and applications, and its technical staff.

Back when I got my Steam Deck, I tried installing Windows on it just for fun, but the experience was anything but positive. Almost two years later, I still believe that Steam Deck and Windows are anything but a good match.