Last year, the Biden administration signed the Secure Equipment Act into law, which aimed to block the authorization of network licenses from several Chinese companies whose hardware has been deemed a national security threat. Today, the FCC announced that it's officially implementing that ruling, which means some future equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua won't be authorized for sale in the US. Existing equipment from those companies, which are all listed under the FCC's "Covered List," aren't affected by the law.
“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”
To be clear, the FCC isn't completely blocking all hardware from these companies. And for some, like Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, Rosenworcel writes that it's specifically focusing on gear related to "the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes." If those companies can show that they're not marketing that equipment for government use — for example, directing it consumers instead — they may be able get authorized by the FCC.
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This latest move follows years of conflict between the US and companies closely tied to Chinese governments. That's included placing several notable Chinese companies, including DJI, on the Department of Commerce's "Entity List," which prohibits US firms from selling equipment to them. The FCC is also calling for $5 billion to help US carriers with the massive task of replacing equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
Going from zero to a fully outfitted smart home is a huge undertaking — and it can get expensive fast. While we don't recommend grabbing every possible smart home device in one go, Black Friday makes smartening up areas of your home a lot easier on your wallet.
Every year, the number of smart devices grows so we waded through the best deals on many of the products we've tried and recommend. Some of our favorite robot vacuums are seeing steep discounts, as is our favorite air fryer and an Echo smart display we found particularly useful. Covering just about every potential room in the home, here are the best robot vacuum and smart home Black Friday deals we could find.
iRobot Roomba 694
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
The iRobot Roomba 694 is currently our favorite budget robot vacuum and is down to $180 for Black Friday. That's 33 percent off for a $95 savings that's close to an all-time low. We liked the way the 694 dependably cleaned both carpet and tile, and appreciated the excellent user interface on the app. Setup is straightforward, even for a robo vac newbie. It doesn't come with extra brushes and the spot-clean function is only available as a button on the unit itself, but we still think it's the best budget vac for most people.
Shark Ion RV765
Shark
The Shark Ion RV765 is the runner up in our guide to budget robo vacs and right now it's down to $150, which is a super low price for any smart vacuum, especially one with a two-hour battery life. We particularly liked the adjustable wheels that automatically reacted to the "terrain" of carpet, rug, or hard floor, and the intuitive app for setting schedules and otherwise controlling the robot.
Shark AV2511AE AI
Shark
If you want a robot vacuum that empties itself, be prepared to pay more, unless you can grab a deal like this one. Normally $600, the Shark AV2511 AE AI robot vacuum is half price right now, bringing it down to $300. As a brand, Shark keeps reaching top spots in our robot vacuum guides thanks to their intuitive app and reliability of the robots themselves. This base here will hold nearly two months of dirt and the advanced navigation technology uses LIDAR to map your home and lasers to detect and avoid obstacles. You can even set no-go zones from within the app, as opposed to using boundary tape or other methods.
iRobot Roomba j7
iRobot
The iRobot Roomba j7 is also on sale, with a 42 percent discount, bringing it down to $250. It's the runner up in our latest guide to the best robot vacuums thanks to its strong cleaning power and accurate home mapping. We liked how easy the app is to use and program and the bot was great at avoiding obstacles, including any robot vac's archnemesis, pet poop.
Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid
Eufy
With a more than 50 percent discount, Eufy's RoboVac X8 Hybrid is down to $320 off its usual $650 sticker. We gave the X8 a shout out in our robo vac guide for its great customization features, including a "tap and go" option that lets you direct the vac to a particular spot for extra on-demand cleaning. Surprisingly, many vacs lack that feature within their app. As a hybrid vac, the X8 can wet-wipe your floors as well as vacuum them, and comes with a fillable tank and swappable cleaning pads to enable the mopping function. If you don't need your vac to mop, the vacuum-only Eufy RoboVac X8 is on sale for 40 percent off, making it just $300 instead of $500 right now.
Meater Plus
Meater
The Meater Plus is the recommended thermometer in our grilling gear guide. For Black Friday, it's down to $80 from its usual $100 price tag. While a wired version is certainly cheaper, we thought the price bump was worth not having to avoid the cables as you work with larger pieces of meat. It's got a 165-foot Bluetooth range and the single probe has two sensors, with one end reading the internal temp of your meat and the exposed end monitoring the ambient temp of your cooking environment. Of course, as a smart home tool, the companion app controls, monitors and offers helpful guides.
Instant Pot Duo
Instant Pot
The Instant Pot Duo makes an excellent gift for just about anyone, but it's also a great way to add some extra capacity to your kitchen for holiday cooking. Right now, it's down to $79 for Black Friday, a 21 percent discount and a great buy, considering all it can do. It features seven functions in one unit, and can act as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker and warmer. Customizable programs take the guesswork out of cooking common items, helping you out just like a smart appliance should.
Instant Vortex Plus
Instant Brands
If you somehow don't already have one or are looking to give one of this year's best gifts, here's a great deal on the Instant Vortex Plus air fryer. Usually $170, it's down to just $100 for Black Friday. We named it our favorite overall pick when we tested out many of the air fryers on the market today. We loved the ample size, intuitive controls and how easy it was to clean. Plus, there's virtually no waiting for pre-heating.
Echo Show 8
Engadget
The Echo Show 8 earned a score of 87 when we reviewed it upon its debut and Amazon is knocking 46 percent off the standard $130 list price to make it just $70. We liked the beautiful touchscreen display and impressive sound quality for the size. It's extra useful when it acts as a sort of command center for your connected smart home devices, with Alexa's helpful AI guiding the way. Amazon's new home screen has a better feel to it too, giving you a lot of info at a glance. The Echo Show 8 can even act as a smart cam to let you check in at home when you're away.
Google Nest Hub
Google
If you'd rather rely on the Google Assistant for your smart display needs, the latest generation of the Google Nest Hub is half price, bringing it down to $50. The seven-inch screen is one inch smaller than the Echo Show 8, and the Google Hub doesn't have an on-board camera, which some might prefer. As a smart display, it'll happily act as a hub to control compatible smart home devices using just your voice.
Google Nest Audio
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
We called Google's Nest Audio smart speaker "a steal at $100" when we reviewed it, giving it a score of 87. And now it's half that price for Black Friday. For just $50, you get a smart speaker powered by the AI of the Google Assistant, plus a speaker that delivers surprisingly good sound quality for its size and price point. We did note that the Nest Audio sounds even better as a pair, and now might be a good time to grab two.
Blink Mini camera
Amazon
Adding a few smart cameras to your smart home setup lets you keep tabs on things when you're gone (or even in another room) and can alert you when there's unexpected movement. Blink Mini cameras are usually $35 each, but right now Amazon is selling two for less than the price of one. On the same product page, you'll notice a one-camera configuration option, that's $30, so this really is a case where it's a better deal to get two. The Minis are motion-activated devices (as, in they aren't always on)and have built-in speakers and a mic so you can hear and talk to people (or pets) remotely using your phone.
Google Nest Cam
Google
Again, if you prefer talking to Google's Assistant over Amazon's Alexa, the Google Nest Cam battery is your best bet for indoor and outdoor monitoring. While they usually go for $180, Black Friday takes $60 off that price to make them $120 each. Unlike the wired and indoor-only Blink Minis above, these run on batteries and are rated to handle the weather outside, but they're quite a bit more expensive. They send high def 1080p video to your phone or smart display when they're triggered and are smart enough to tell the difference between pets, cars and people.
Google Nest Doorbell
Google
To keep tabs on package deliveries and other interesting goings on at your front door, a video doorbell works great. Again, if you're invested in Google's ecosystem, you'll want Google's Nest Doorbell. The Google Nest Doorbell battery runs on a rechargeable battery and is $120 for Black Friday, after a 33 percent discount. The Google Nest Doorbell wired version uses your existing doorbell wire and is on sale for $169 against its usual $180 list price.
Ring Video Doorbell
Ring
For an Amazon doorbell, you have two brand options, Blink and Ring. Right now the Ring Video Doorbell is 40 percent off, making it just $60. It records 1080p video after being triggered and sends alerts and feeds to your phone or other display (like a Fire TV or Echo Show). You don't have to decide when you buy whether you want to wire it in or run it on the included battery, this unit is capable of both.
Amazon Smart Plug
Amazon
A smart plug means you'll never have to come home to a dark room again. The Amazon Smart Plug is just $13 right now, instead of its usual $25. You can speak commands to Alexa to control whatever you plug in, like lamps, fans and holiday lights. Or you can also set up routines and schedules from within the Alexa app. It can even be used to start your coffee maker in the morning (as long as it has a mechanical switch), just remember to add your beans and water the night before.
Philips Hue smartbulbs
Philips
Smart bulbs not only offer control using your phone, a voice assistant, or a smart display, many also come in a near-limitless number of colors. The Philips Hue smart bulb supply 16 million color options so so you can dial in whatever ambiance you're in the mood for. These are usually $135 for the three-pack, but are down to $90 for the set right now. They're compatible with both Alexa and the Google Assistant, and are rated to last over 20 years.
Amazon Smart Thermostat
Amazon
Smart thermostats can help you save energy by making sure you're not overly heating or cooling an empty house. The Amazon Smart Thermostat is $18 off for Black Friday, bringing the price down to $42. You can use the Alexa app to control the thermostat, sets schedules and more, but keep in mind the thermostat itself doesn't have a mic, so it can't take voice commands directly.
Eero Pro 6E WiFi mesh router
Amazon
To handle all of this smart home connectivity, you might be in the market for an upgraded WiFi router. The Eero Pro 6E supports WiFi 6E, which lets compatible devices access the newly opened up 6 GHz wireless band. it's $120 off its usual $300 sticker price, which makes this a good time to upgrade to the latest and fastest WiFi iteration. One Eero router covers up to 2,000 square feet and can support more than 100 connected devices.
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, so you’ll likely find great deals on current-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X. However, you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold membership to enter matchmaking lobbies in paid titles. If you’re unsure if online multiplayer is for you or are simply looking for a great sign-up deal, we’re offering a three-month Gold subscription for just $10, the lowest price it’s ever been. This discount is only available this Black Friday, so here’s your chance to go gold!
Free-to-play games like Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 don’t require a Gold membership. But as previously mentioned, you’ll need to be subscribed if you want to play online in paid games like Warzone 2.0’s sister title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. That’s despite both Warzone 2.0 and MWII utilizing the same Battle pass, but this deal allows you to avoid the confusion while opening matchmaking in hundreds of other titles. You can invade a player’s world in Elden Ring, for instance, or play online co-op in Flying Wild Hog’s recently released Evil West.
Multiplayer isn’t Xbox Live Gold’s only selling point. Xbox One and Series X|S owners also partake in Games with Gold, which grants two to four free titles each month. This month’s downloads include Praetorians – HD Remaster and Dead End Job, providing a good mix of real-time strategy and top-down dungeon crawling.
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Finally, Gold members are treated to exclusive markdowns. Microsoft discounts select content each week, and Deals with Gold gives players up to 75 percent off on games in the Xbox Store. The money you save might offset your subscription cost entirely, even if you were to pay full price.
If you have your eye on an Xbox Series X|S this Black Friday, don’t forget to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for just $10 or 60 percent off. No coupon is necessary, but this deal is only available today.
Prices subject to change. Engadget is teaming up with StackSocial to bring you deals on the latest headphones, gadgets, tech toys and tutorials. This post does not constitute editorial endorsement, and we earn a portion of all sales. If you have any questions about the products you see here or previous purchases, please contact StackSocial support here.
Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard is facing scrutiny from antitrust investigators in several countries. In the US, for instance, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started looking into the acquisition shortly after it was announced. Now, the FTC is reportedly ready to take action and will likely file an antitrust lawsuit to block Microsoft's massive purchase, according to Politico. Microsoft failed to convince the FTC staff reviewing the deal with its arguments, Politico's sources said, but the agency's commissioners have yet to vote on filing a complaint or to meet with lawyers.
While a lawsuit is not 100 percent guaranteed yet, the commission is reportedly done with the biggest parts of the investigation, including with the depositions of the Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. If the FTC ultimately decides to file a lawsuit, it could do so as soon as next month. The publication says the commission will likely file the case in its own in-house administrative court, since it doesn't have to bring it to federal court first to seek a temporary injunction. Seeing as other regulators are also looking into the acquisition, it wouldn't be able to go through (if it's ultimately allowed to do so) until sometime next year.
In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth investigation of the deal in September. And more recently, the European Commission announced that it will carry out a full-scale probe into Microsoft's purchase. Like these two European regulators, the FTC is concerned that the acquisition will give Microsoft an unfair advantage in the gaming sector and that it may significantly reduce competition in the market.
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Sony has been one of the loudest voices opposing the deal and has expressed concerns that Microsoft might make valuable IPs like Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive. Jim Ryan, Sony PlayStation's CEO, previously revealed that Microsoft only offered to keep Call of Duty available on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement ends. But Xbox chief Phil Spencer said more recently that the company is "not taking Call of Duty from PlayStation." In Microsoft's latest filing with the CMA, it argued that the acquisition won't give it an unfair advantage: Sony has more exclusive games than the Xbox, it said, and many of them are of "better quality."
