Right as Google’s Wear OS is hitting its stride—now feature-rich with robust smartwatches that can go toe-to-toe with the Apple Watch—luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has decided to ditch the operating system altogether for its latest Connected Calibre E5 smartwatch. Instead, it runs a proprietary “TAG Heuer OS” (still based on Android). But unlike many of the latest Wear OS smartwatches designed only for Android phones, this one is compatible with iPhones.

That’s likely one of the biggest reasons for the switch-up, as Google seems to have abandoned making its smartwatch platform compatible with Apple’s hardware (Apple never made it easy, though this could change). It also allows the Swiss watchmaker to be less dependent on the whims of Google, but ultimately, it means TAG’s smartwatch will not have access to the wealth of apps found on Google and Apple’s respective platforms.

I spent a few days with the 45-mm Calibre E5 (there’s also a new 40-mm variant), and this fifth-generation smartwatch feels polished, despite the software change. It’s also striking in its design, unlike any other smartwatch, with premium materials like a ceramic bezel, domed sapphire crystal, and snazzy band options. Unsurprisingly, the version I tried will cost you a punchy $2,000 when it goes on sale this month (and goes up to $2,800 for other variations), though the smaller 40-mm Calibre E5 starts at $1,800.

A Luxe Smartwatch

The Calibre E5 has a nice heft to it that helps make it feel luxe enough to match that price point. A stainless steel polished case, black polished ceramic bezel with silver markings, and flat sapphire crystal also furthers the premium pedigree. TAG has, of course, several other variations. You can get a black diamond-like carbon (DLC) grade-2 titanium sandblasted case, white and green indices, or a domed sapphire crystal over the display, exclusive to the new 40-mm case.

The sloped lugs offer a comfortable fit, and the metal bracelet integrates well with the case. It’s interchangeable (there’s a button you press on the underside to release it), though these straps are expressly designed for the E5. Still, I was able to pop on a 22-mm pin buckle strap from one of my other watches without issues.

Despite being weighty, I didn’t mind wearing this smartwatch to sleep, though you may want a more comfortable strap. However, when I woke up the next morning, I spent a few minutes hunting for my sleep results, only to learn they don’t exist. Yet. TAG says it plans to add sleep tracking, likely in December via a software update, which is important considering this is a staple feature on most smartwatches these days.

One of the boons of smartwatches is you can switch between several watch faces, and the E5 is no exception, but nicely many here mimic designs of TAG’s mechanical watches, such as the Carrera or Aquaracer. It’s fairly simple to customize these on the watch itself, too, choosing different accent colors, backgrounds, and complications.

Tilly Norwood officially launched her acting career this month at the Zurich Film Festival.

She first appeared in the short film AI Commissioner, released in July. Her producer, Eline Van der Velden, claims Norwood has already attracted the attention of multiple agents.

But Norwood was generated with artificial intelligence (AI). The AI “actor” has been created by Xicoia, the AI branch of the production company Particle6, founded by the Dutch actor-turned-producer Ven der Velden. And AI Commissioner is an AI-generated short film, written by ChatGPT.

A post about the film’s launch on Norwood’s Facebook page read,

“I may be AI-generated, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now. I am so excited for what’s coming next!”

The reception from the industry has been far from warm. Actors—and audiences—have come out in force against Norwood.

So is this the future of film, or is it a gimmick?

‘Tilly Norwood is not an actor’

Norwood’s existence introduces a new type of technology to Hollywood. Unlike CGI (computer generated imagery), where a performer’s movements are captured and transformed into a digital character, or an animation which is voiced by a human actor, Norwood has no human behind her performance. Every expression and line delivery is generated by AI.

Norwood has been trained on the performances of hundreds of actors, without any payment or consent, and draws on the information from all those performances in every expression and line delivery.

Her arrival comes less than two years after the artist strikes that brought Hollywood to a standstill, with AI a central issue to the disputes. The strike ended with a historic agreement placing limitations around digital replicas of actors’ faces and voices, but did not completely ban “synthetic fakes.”

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors in the United States, has said:

“To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor; it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation.”

Additionally, real actors can set boundaries and are protected by agents, unions and intimacy coordinators who negotiate what is shown on screen.

Norwood can be made to perform anything in any context—becoming a vessel for whatever creators or producers choose to depict.

This absence of consent or control opens a dangerous pathway to how the (digitally reproduced) female body may be represented on screen, both in mainstream cinema, and in pornography.

Is it art?

We consider creativity to be a human quality. Art is generally understood as an expression of human experience. Norwood’s performances do not come from such creativity or human experience, but from a database of pre-existing performances.

All artists borrow from and are influenced by predecessors and contemporaries. But that human influence is limited by time, informed by our own experiences and shaped by our unique perspective.

AI has no such limits: just look at Google’s chess-playing program AlphaZero, which learned by playing millions of games of chess, more than any human can play in a lifetime.

Norwood’s training can absorb hundreds of performances in a way no single actor could. How can that be compared to an actor’s performance—a craft they have developed throughout their training and career?

Van der Velden argues Norwood is “a new tool” for creators. Tools have previously been a paintbrush or a typewriter, which have helped facilitate or extend the creativity of painting or writing.

Here, Norwood as the tool performs the creative act itself. The AI is the tool and the artist.

Will audiences accept AI actors?

Norwood’s survival depends not on industry hype but on audience reception.

So far, humans show a negative bias against AI-generated art. Studies across art forms have shown people prefer works when told they were created by humans, even if the output is identical.

We don’t know yet if that bias could fade. A younger generation raised on streaming may be less concerned with whether an actor is “real” and more with immediate access, affordability or how quickly they can consume the content.

If audiences do accept AI actors, the consequences go beyond taste. There would be profound effects on labor. Entry- and mid-level acting jobs could vanish. AI actors could shrink the demand for whole creative teams—from make-up and costume to lighting and set design—since their presence reduces the need for on-set artistry.

Economics could prove decisive. For studios, AI actors are cheaper, more controllable and free from human needs or unions. Even if audiences are ambivalent, financial pressures could steer production companies toward AI.

The bigger picture

Tilly Norwood is not a question of the future of Hollywood. She is a cultural stress-test—a case study in how much we value human creativity.

What do we want art to be? Is it about efficiency, or human expression? If we accept synthetic actors, what stops us from replacing other creative labor—writers, musicians, designers—with AI trained on their work, but with no consent or remuneration?

We are at a crossroads. Do we regulate the use of AI in the arts, resist it, or embrace it?

Resistance may not be realistic. AI is here, and some audiences will accept it. The risk is that in choosing imitation over human artistry, we reshape culture in ways that cannot be easily reversed.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Amazon’s Prime Day sale events seem to come around faster every year, and that’s partly because they are. This is the second Prime Day event of the year, dubbed Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, and we still have Black Friday to come. But decent discounts on some of our favorite tech gadgets are hard to ignore, particularly if you’re feeling the squeeze. We’ve distilled the latest sale down to this flavorsome brew of discounted devices.

You can find more deals in our categorized Absolute Best Prime Big Deal Days picks and our live blog of bargains.

Updated Oct 8: We added the Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe, Sonos Era 100, Eufy E340 Floodlight Security Camera, and Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro.

Phones and Tablets

The Google Pixel 9a is already the best cheap phone you can buy, so another $150 off is not to be sniffed at. Whether you need a new smartphone yourself and don’t want to spend too much, or want to snag it for your partner or kid, the Pixel 9a has loads to offer (flagship Tensor G4 chip, reliable dual-camera system, smart software features, wireless charging, an IP68 rating, and seven years of software support). If you want something a little more powerful, the newer Pixel 10 series is also on sale.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

When the OnePlus 13R came out at the beginning of the year, it was $100 more than its predecessor. Fortunately, the budget-oriented phone is $100 off today, bringing it back down to $500. It gets categorized as a “budget” phone, but with its brilliant 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with its 120-Hz refresh rate really make this feel premium. More than that, it used the same flagship chip Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip in all the best Android phones to come out last year. It’s tough to compete with the incredible deal above on the Pixel 9a, but if you’re looking for something larger and longer-lasting, the OnePlus 13R is also a solid bet.

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Sure, you can get the base 2024 iPad for $279; that’s a great deal on an excellent tablet. But you could also opt for the newer 11-inch iPad Air from earlier this year. It’s much more powerful and future-proof, with support for Apple Intelligence. It can handle the new windowing and multitasking improvements in iPadOS 26 with ease, and it supports the top-of-the-line Apple Pencil Pro that can wirelessly charge and connect to the top of the iPad Air’s edge. Read more about them in our Best iPads guide.

Want an Android tablet instead? The OnePlus Pad 3 is our absolute favorite. It’s a top-of-the-line tablet, meaning performance is stellar thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. It has excellent speakers, and you can pair it with OnePlus’ keyboard and stylus to get some work done (sold separately). I really enjoy OnePlus’ multitasking system, as it makes it easy to use three apps simultaneously. It also supports super speedy charging. Too bad there’s no fingerprint sensor.

Courtesy of Best Buy

A 10-inch tablet for $70, even if it is tied to Amazon’s ecosystem, is a hell of a bargain in 2025. There are other Fire tablets on sale, but the Fire HD 10 is Amazon’s best tablet for most people. An octa-core processor is plenty fast enough for consuming Amazon Prime content, there’s a passable full HD (1080p) screen, and it can double as an Echo speaker.

A color Kindle—what everyone always wanted, especially if you’re a comic reader. That’s exactly what the Kindle Colorsoft is. It otherwise looks and feels very similar to the popular Kindle Paperwhite with its 7-inch screen, only with vibrant color added to the glare-resistant screen. This model includes 16 GB of storage, and it’s now just $200. There’s also a more premium model, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, which has more storage, longer battery life, and wireless charging. It even comes with 3 months of free Kindle Unlimited at no extra cost.

Mobile Accessories

Courtesy of Belkin

Belkin

2-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad

Belkin makes a ton of great wireless chargers, but this one neatly bridges new and old devices. It supports the Qi2 charging standard with a magnetic 15W Qi2 pad for your phone, alongside a smaller 5W pad for AirPods or other wireless earbuds. There’s even a spare USB-C port, but because it’s a horizontal pad, you can also charge older Qi devices on it.

The Hero 13 Black is the best GoPro, with a new interchangeable lens system that’s far more versatile than any other action camera. You can add an Ultra Wide ($100), Macro ($120), or Anamorphic ($150) lens, and all are automatically detected by the Hero 13 when you connect them. Simple, slick, and satisfying to use.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Sharge

Shargeek 170 Power Bank

Many of the best portable chargers work great at charging up your gadgets but look so boring. This one is a translucent prism with a handy display packed with geeky charging stats. It’s not style over substance either, because this delivers 170 watts, has a 24,000-mAh capacity, fast charges most smartphones, and boasts an IP66 rating for water resistance. It’s one of the best power bank Prime Day deals we’ve spotted.

This handy, vegan leather wallet magnetically attaches to your phone to ensure all your most valuable belongings stay together. Of course, there are tons of great MagSafe wallets out there that we’ve tested, but this one is really affordable and easy to use. You don’t even have to remove the wallet to access one of the three cards this wallet can hold.

Courtesy of Twelve South

Twelve South

HiRise 3 Deluxe

Don’t miss out if you’re in the market for a wireless charger, this compact 3-in-1 can charge your iPhone, AirPods, and an Apple Watch, and it’s at an even 50 percent off for Prime Day. It doesn’t support the latest Qi2 wireless charging standard, but for Apple loyalists, the HiRise 3 Deluxe is a compact wireless charger that’s chic to boot.

Home and Outdoor Tech

The best Prime Day tech deals tend to be on Amazon’s devices, and our favorite Echo Show is a real Goldilocks device: not too small to use, but not so large you can’t fit it on the counter or shelf. The best smart display for Alexa fans, this screen is handy for everything, from asking for recipes to playing music for your kids.

One of the more affordable options on our list of recommendations for best TV, the TCL QM8K QLED has been a surprise hit with our reviewers, thanks to its incredible performance and brightness, making it a perfect option for brightly-lit rooms. Even better, just this weekend, TCL’s QM8K QLED TV was selling for its full price of $1,500, and now it’s only $948. This is the lowest price we’ve seen this bezel-less, 65-inch 4K TV selling for.

Courtesy of Sonos

Discounts on Sonos smart speakers are rare, but you can snag the entry-level Era 100 for less right now. This speaker sounds fantastic, looks stylish, and responds to voice commands. It works with all your favorite streaming services, has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and can be tuned for your room.

The Yale Approach Lock is currently our number one pick for best overall smart lock. It’s a deadbolt adapter that can retrofit your dumb door into something safer and more convenient. It can even magically unlock your door when it sensors you coming near. Our tester said it was ideal for those who don’t want to have to swap out their front lock and keys. The biometric model is a whopping 47% off right now, while the keypad-less model is the cheapest way in (and is also on sale).

The Wi-Fi 7 Netgear Orbi 770 Series is simply the best mesh Wi-Fi system for most folks right now, and it has never been cheaper. A tri-band mesh (2.4-, 5-, and 6-GHz) that’s simple to set up and use, the Orbi 770 delivers speedy internet over a wide area. Upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 for new features like MLO (Multi-Link Operation) to enable Wi-Fi 7 devices to connect on multiple bands simultaneously. Basic security is built in, but you need to subscribe if you fancy enhanced security and parental controls (not required).

Photograph: Simon Hill

After testing many, this is my pick of the best indoor security cameras because it offers crisp video, local storage, and accurate AI to detect subjects. Video resolution goes up to 2K, there’s color night vision, and it recognizes people, pets, and vehicles pretty accurately. Throw in two-way audio support and a siren function for scaring intruders away, not to mention up to 512 GB microSD card support, and you have an irresistible deal.

If you’re okay with a subscription, the Arlo Pro 5 (or 5S, they are identical) is the outdoor security camera to buy. Great quality footage, color night vision, a spotlight and siren, and a slick app that’s quick to load the live feed are all tempting reasons to buy, but it’s the accurate AI detection and rich notifications that make this the best of the best.

Photograph: Simon Hill

Security cameras with floodlights are great for your garage or backyard, since motion triggers light and color video. The E340 is a dual-lens camera with a 3K wide angle lens and a 2K telephoto lens for up to 8x zoom to capture details up to 50 feet away. Adjustable light panels provide up to 2,000 lumens. It also pans 360 degrees and tilts 120 degrees, and records locally to a microSD card or to a HomeBase 3 (both sold separately).

Courtesy of Fitbit

We’ve liked the Fitbit Charge 6 ever since its launch back in 2023, and it’s still the best fitness tracker you can buy. Our reviewer calls this model the “sweet spot” between attractiveness, affordability, accessibility, and ease of use.” Unless you’re an ultra-marathoner, this is likely as much tech as you need to hit your lofty fitness goals.

Photograph: Simon Hill

You can go off-grid or work through a power cut with one of the best portable power stations, and Anker’s Solix C1000 is my pick for happy campers. Molded handles for easy carrying, a handy LED bar on the front with three brightness levels, and a chunky 1,056-watt-hour capacity make this worth packing for your next trip. It can also double as an uninterruptible power supply with a 20-millisecond delay.

Photograph: Govee

Govee

Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro

Light up your home for Halloween or just whenever with these fun lights from Govee. You can snag 100 feet, sporting 60 RGBIC LEDs, or double that, both at a hefty discount. Like all of our favorite Govee smart lights, you can choose colors, brightness, animated scenes, and automations in the jam-packed app. These IP67-rated lights are designed to be permanently attached to the outside of your home for all your holiday celebrations or just classy lighting year-round.

Laptops

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Apple

MacBook Air (M4, 2025)

Need a new laptop? Your best bet is Apple’s MacBook Air. It was released earlier this year and is powered by the latest M4 chip. It’s plenty powerful, and the 13-inch screen is nice and bright. Apple updated the webcam, so you’ll look sharper, and there’s now double the RAM. You’ll have to get used to the limited two USB-C ports, but this is otherwise an incredible value at $799. Read our Best MacBooks guide for other options.

Photograph: Brenda Stolyar

Microsoft

Surface Laptop (7th Edition, 2024)

Our resident laptop expert says the Windows-powered Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a fantastic MacBook alternative with a Snapdragon X Elite chip, and a 120-Hz, 13.8-inch touchscreen with a unique 3:2 aspect ratio, giving you more vertical height than the average laptop. Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon X2 chips aren’t due for a while, so this is worth biting on. Just make sure you get the right model (not the newer, cheaper Surface Laptop 13).

Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster

Lenovo

Chromebook Duet Gen 9 (11 Inch, MediaTek)

If you need a laptop more as a travel companion or study buddy, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 has a unique mix of affordability and portability. It’s only an 11-inch screen, so the detachable keyboard is a little cramped, but outside of an iPad, you won’t find anything quite so charming and fun to use. It has a surprisingly good display for a cheap Chromebook too.

PC Accessories

The Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED is one of the few OLED monitors not aimed at gamers, making it tempting for home workers, video editors, and content creators. It boasts over 1,000 nits of peak brightness in HDR, strong audio, and beautifully crisp 4K image quality. It’s one of the best monitors on the market right now, and it’s actually pretty good for gaming, too.

Photograph: Razer

This mechanical keyboard is our favorite for gamers. The BlackWidow V4 75% has a smaller, more compact layout, which is great for tiny desks. The factory-lubed Razer Orange switches have a nice tactile bump, and it’s satisfying to type on. The RGB lighting is customizable, and the 8,000-Hz polling rate is more than enough for fast-paced games. It’s not wireless, but that means you won’t have to keep it charged.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Logitech

MX Master 3S For Mac

Supremely comfortable, this do-it-all office mouse might just be the best ergonomic mouse you can buy. With well-placed thumb buttons, a horizontal scroll wheel, and gesture buttons that can all be configured to your preferences, there isn’t much to complain about. This version is optimized for use with a Mac. (Keep in mind that Logitech just released the MX Master 4, which is just $20 more.)

Courtesy of Elgato

You can snag yourself a desktop productivity boost with this diminutive gadget that offers tailored shortcuts at your fingertips (it can do a bunch of stuff). Speed up your creative process, use it as media controls, or configure complex Excel functions: the choice is yours. You can get far bigger, more complicated, and more expensive Stream Decks, but this is a good option for most folks.

Photograph: Western Digital

Western Digital

Elements Desktop Hard Drive (14 TB)

It’s not sexy ,and the transfer speeds are nothing to write home about (120 megabytes per second for sequential writes on Windows), but this drive is a great way to back up your digital life. Set up overnight incremental backups, and you’ll squeeze value from this reliable digital filing cabinet. It supports USB-C and USB 3 and works with Windows, macOS, and Linux.

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