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The Apple Pencil 2 is a clear winner when it comes to the choice of iPad styluses, for a few reasons, but there’s little doubt that the price is one thing that might put a lot of people off. At $129, it’s a costly accessory, but at the $89 you can grab one for today? That’s a different matter.

That’s the price that Amazon will charge if you order a new Apple Pencil 2 right now, slashing the original price by almost a third. You don’t need to enter any discount codes nor clip any coupons either, just place the order and wait for your new Apple Pencil to arrive on your doorstep. Order it at the right time and you might even get same-day delivery as an option, too.

The Apple Pencil 2 is fully compatible with some of the best tablets around, including the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th generations); iPad Pro 11-inch (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations); iPad Air (4th and 5th generations); and iPad Mini (6th generation).

Connecting to the side of your iPad using the magic of magnets and then charging wirelessly, the Apple Pencil 2 is the perfect stylus for notetakers, artists and doodlers alike, thanks to features like tilt and pressure sensitivity. The flat edge also makes the Apple Pencil 2 easy to hold as well, with the added benefit being that it won’t roll off the table like normal pens.

If you do want to bag a bargain Apple Pencil 2, we’d suggest considering placing that order soon — these deals often don’t last for long, after all.

If you’ve looked at the app logo for X, formerly Twitter, on your phone recently, you may have thought your screen was dirty. I know I did, but after trying to clean my screen more times than I’d like to admit, it appears thats just how the new app tile looks. Unkempt and unwell.

The new logo is just one of a handful of new changes, like the Subscription program and the new verification system, Elon Musk has brought to the platform since purchasing it in 2022. And this isn’t the first time the app logo has changed since the purchase.

On July 23, Musk posted on the platform that Twitter’s bird logo would soon vanish.

And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023

The bird logo was replaced with a simple white ‘X’ from the font Special Alphabets 4 on a black background. And now it appears the black background of the logo has some white streaks in it, which resemble smudges on your device’s screen at best.

See Also: Threads: Everything to Know About Meta’s Twitter Alternative

It’s unclear if this will be the permanent app logo, or if it will change again in a few weeks.

X didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

For more, here’s how you can permanently delete your account on X and what to know about X’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino.

Jujutsu Kaisen took anime fans by storm when season 2 arrived in July and dug into Gojo and Geto’s past. Now that we’ve seen their fight with Toji and were immersed in their bestie relationship, soon it will be time for the next part of the story: the Shibuya Incident Arc.

Viewers will learn the mole’s identity at Jujutsu High as things turn serious and deadly for all sorcerers — and perhaps the general public. Set during Halloween, the arc ups the stakes for a few fan-favorite characters, and you should expect epic battles along with some wins and losses. Tragedy will strike.

Directed by Shota Goshozono with a screenplay from Hiroshi Seko, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 is broken into two consecutive cours. Here’s when and how to watch the newest part of the series, and be sure to check out more anime to watch in August.

Read more: Best Anime Streaming Services for 2023

When to watch Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 left off with episode 5, and the series is streaming exclusively on Crunchyroll for premium subscribers. The next installment will begin airing Thursday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. ET). New episodes will stream each week after they air in Japan.

Viewers can currently watch subtitled or dubbed versions for season 2’s first five episodes.

Read more: Best Streaming Service of 2023

How to watch Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 from anywhere with a VPN

Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Crunchyroll while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the anime series from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming too.

A VPN is the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.

You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are legal in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list such as Surfshark or NordVPN.

Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose a country where Jujutsu Kaisen is streaming on Crunchyroll. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you are connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream the series on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you are signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open Crunchyroll to stream.

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.

Lenovo is making it easier for you to ditch your old device and grab a new PC with its buy more, save more promotion. Right now you’ll get $25 off your purchase of $500 or more, $40 off your purchase of $750 or more, $60 off your purchase of $1,000 or more or $100 off your purchase of $1,500 or more, which makes it easier to snag a new device for you or your student. Just use code BUYMORELENOVO at checkout to take advantage of this deal now through Aug. 20. And if you are a student, you can verify you status with ID.me to get an extra 10% off. Note that some exclusions do apply.

We’ve gone through the sale and have highlighted some of our favorite offers below, but you can check out the entire sale selection at Lenovo.

More Lenovo deals:

• Lenovo 3i 15-inch Chromebook (128GB): $250 (save $190)
• IdeaPad Slim 3 AMD 15-inch laptop (512GB): $465 (save $235)
• ThinkPad Z16 AMD 16-inch laptop (1TB): $1,250 (save $1,549)
• ThinkPad T16 Gen 2 16-inch laptop (512GB): $1,331 (save $1,228)
• Lenovo Tab M8 HD LTE tablet: $99 (save $111)

And if you want to see what discounts are available on other brands, be sure to check out our roundup of the best laptop deals happening now.

The popular JBL Flip 6 is among our picks of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market today and it’s easy to see why. With all the features you might need from a portable device of this type it’s one speaker you shouldn’t overlook — and now it’s an absolute bargain with Amazon bringing it all the way down to just $90.

That price matches the best that Amazon has previously offered this particular speaker and means that you’re saving 31% on the original $130 price tag. Don’t worry, that level of discount doesn’t mean that you have to do anything too special. In fact, the hardest part of this buying process is choosing the color. There are a handful to pick from at this price so it’s worth checking them all out before you put that order through.

The JBL Flip 6 has so much going for it that it can be difficult to know where to start so we’ll begin with the basics. It’s a Bluetooth speaker, obviously enough. But it can also use a feature called JBL PartyBoost that links multiple speakers together for an even more room-filling sound.

Taking your speaker outside the home? Whether poolside or at the beach, the Flip 6’s IP67 dust and water resistance rating means that you won’t have to worry too much about whether it might get wet. Playback won’t be an issue either, with JBL saying that you should expect up to 12 hours of music from a single charge. Need to top things up? A standard USB-C port is ready to get things moving.

All of that and more is waiting but don’t hang around — Amazon’s product page offers no indication of when this deal might end.

Piling on to its BlackWidow line of gaming keyboards for a more mainstream crowd, Razer takes the opportunity to pair its first hot-swappable-switch keyboard with a reintroduction of its tactile Orange mechanical switches — last seen in the productivity-focused BlackWidow Lite circa 2018.

The compact BlackWidow V4 75% wired keyboard is closest in spirit to the 2-year-old wireless 65% BlackWidow V3 Mini, just a little less Mini. The 75% size adds a few more keys, including a multifunction, mute and a volume roller, as well as the accent key (grave/tilde) to the left of the 1 key.The $190 black model is available now, and a $200 white version is slated for mid-September.

Similar to competitors like the Glorious GMMK 2 and the NZXT Function TKL, you can replace the socketed switches — and keycaps — and add screw-in stabilizers, but the rest is fixed. (You can customize the GMMK if you want to, but out of the box it’s a functional keyboard.) Even if you have no desire to swap ’em, it makes replacing busted switches a lot easier, and mechanicals suffer a lot more friction than opto-mechanical or magnetic-mechanical alternatives.

The Razer ships with its Orange switches, and offers packs of its Green clicky and Yellow linear versions for $25; a dual-sided keycap and switch puller comes in the box. The included double-shot keycaps are made of ABS, not the more durable PBT. Unfortunately, the alternate switch kits weren’t available in time for review. But pulling and replacing them is pretty simple and quick, even if you’ve never pulled so much as a keycap before. While you can disassemble the keyboard if you want — six screws sit between you and the circuit board — it will void the warranty.

Out of the box, the 75% feels a lot more like a productivity keyboard than a gaming keyboard, mostly because of the Orange switches. They feel great for typing, with 3.5mm travel a 2mm actuation point and 0.3mm pre-actuation “bump” that adds a little extra tension to prevent random keypresses for those of us who tend to rest our hands on the keyboard. Those also make the Oranges most suited to slower types of games, like walking sims, turn-based strategy and so on.

The feature set is typical for a gaming keyboard at its price, though, including per-key RGB lighting that you can customize in the Razer Synapse software, recordable macros and custom key bindings. Like all of Razer’s keyboards, secondary functions like keyboard brightness, macro recording and a few others don’t get backlit, which is annoying if you work or game in the dark — a big pet peeve of mine. The keyboard includes a magnetically attached, textured pleather, padded wrist rest like the ones bundled with the rest of the family.

If you’re looking for that trademark clicky mechanical sound, these will probably seem too muted. Razer goes all out with the sound dampening, including using a plastic switch plate that lowers the pitch, built-in dampening in the switch (as with the Yellows), a tape-modded circuit board to further alter the sound frequencies and two foam layers to absorb them.

The end result is a little disconcerting. Because they’re tactile, the switches feel like they should sound clickier and instead have a soft landing, both aurally and haptically. It’s loud enough that I’m conscious of it without a headset, but soft enough that it should be relatively unobtrusive during chat (for mics that don’t have noise reduction). If you tend to bang the spacebar, the sound is slightly more hollow sounding.

Hot-swapping aside, the Razer BlackWidow V4 75% is a very nice keyboard if you want something compact and don’t need the number pad. If you type a lot, the Orange switches have a precise, slightly bouncy feel that’s quite pleasing, but if you’re more interested in gaming you might want to swap them out for something yellower or greener.

On Monday Verizon announced that they will be speeding up their 5G network four months ahead of schedule. On Wednesday AT&T confirmed to CNET that they will be doing the same. In a statement, the carrier confirmed that it too now has access to its full C-band 5G portfolio, months ahead of its expected December availability.

“With satellite companies finished clearing the remaining C-band spectrum months ahead of the December 2023 deadline, we got early access to our full C-band spectrum holdings – doubling our available C-band spectrum for deployment,” the company said. “We’ve since re-tuned our previously deployed C-band in the original 46 locations, resulting in notable capacity and speed gains, and ultimately an enhanced customer experience with fast, reliable and consistent performance.”

Among the 46 locations are major metropolitan areas including Austin, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.

The carrier says that it now has access to “a minimum 100 megahertz of total mid-band spectrum in the contiguous United States and an average of 120 Mhz nationwide; that’s bandwidth in every available city, 406 locations in all.”

Having more bandwidth allows wireless networks to improve speeds. While AT&T wasn’t touting any speed expectations, Verizon has talked about being able to offer download speeds above 2 gigabits per second across its network and its average of 161 Mhz of bandwidth.

Both AT&T and Verizon have paid hefty sums to acquire the valuable wireless spectrum in a 2021 FCC auction. AT&T spent $27.4 billion on these midband airwaves that are known as “C-band” and spent another $9.1 billion acquiring some similar, complimentary spectrum in 2022.

The C-band spectrum was previously used by satellite companies, with Verizon last year going so far as to make deals with those users to get them to move off the spectrum sooner. AT&T tells CNET that it did not make any deals with satellite companies to expedite the timeline when it might get access to the airwaves.

Marketed under the name “5G Plus” by AT&T, midband spectrum like C-band has long been viewed as a key piece of the wireless airwaves thanks to its ability to cover large areas while also being able to offer faster speeds than 4G LTE (what AT&T still confusingly calls “5GE”) and what is known as low-band 5G (what the carrier has named just plain “5G”).

Read more: Understanding 5G’s Many Names and Types

AT&T says it covers over 175 million people today with its mid-band 5G networks and roughly 290 million people with its lower-band 5G.

But it’s unclear which AT&T subscribers will benefit from the faster C-band speeds with the devices they currently have or if they will need to upgrade. Unlike Verizon, which has said that at least some of its existing devices would be able to get access to faster connections with a software update, AT&T hasn’t elaborated on if it will do the same.

On the other hand, unlike Verizon, AT&T doesn’t require special or pricier plans to access its faster 5G networks.

School is about to start again, and that means it’s time to stock up on everything your kid will need to feel prepared for the first day. Shopping for school supplies can quickly add up. From buying notebooks and pencils to backpacks and water bottles and everything in between, it’s a lot. But if you do your shopping online at a retailer like Amazon, not only can you score some pretty great deals, but it will also save you a lot of time.

We’ve scoured Amazon to find the best bargains you can get on back-to-school supplies this year. Note that it’s easier to take advantage of these deals if you have a Prime membership. And college students can sign up for Prime Student, which allows them to use Prime at half the cost, or $7.49 a month after a free six-month trial.

Back-to-school supplies deals

• Crayola colored pencils (36-pack): $6 (save $4)

• Ticonderoga wood-cased pencils (12-pack): $3 (save $2)
• X-Acto electric pencil sharpener: $24 (save $13)
• Elmer’s scented clear glue sticks (4-pack): $15 (save $5)
• Five Star spiral notebook, 3-subject, college ruled paper: $5 (save $5)

• Five Star spiral notebook, 5-subject, college ruled paper: $7 (save $5)

• Easthill high-capacity pencil case: $12 (save $4)
• Pilot FriXion ColorSticks erasable gel ink stick pens (16-pack): $20 (save $9)

• Post-It sticky note pads (6-pack): $6 (save $6)
• Prismacolor Premier colored pencils, 72 pack: $50 (save $8)

• Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers (12-pack): $10 (save $3)

Back-to-school tech deals

• Beats Solo3 wireless on-ear headphones: $130 (save $70)
• iWalk LinkPod Y2 portable charger: $26 (save $20)
• Apple Pencil (2nd-gen): $89 (save $40)
• Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook: $398 (save $32)

Backpacks, lunch boxes and water bottles

• Adidas Excel 6 backpack: $42 (save $18)
• Rockland double-handle rolling backpack: $31 (save $49)
• Bentgo Kids lunch bag, multiple patterns: $23 (save $17)
• Bentgo Kids Bento-Style 5-compartment lunch box: $26 (save $14)

• Gatorade 32-ounce sports squeeze water bottle: $13 (save $6)

• Hydro Flask 24-ounce standard mouth bottle: $24 (save $16)

A virtual private network, commonly referred to as a VPN, is a great privacy tool that can help protect your information online. It can encrypt your data and hide your IP address from others.

However, your school or workplace might block VPN use as a way to ensure you stay off certain websites, according to cybersecurity company Fortinet. Some regions may also block VPN usage among citizens for similar reasons. But VPN obfuscation may help you hide that you’re using a VPN, letting you bypass these restrictions.

Here’s what you need to know about VPN obfuscation.

What is VPN obfuscation and how does it work?

Simply stated, VPN obfuscation hides your VPN usage through a little deceit that the Norse trickster god Loki would be proud of.

When you’re browsing the internet, your computer is transmitting information to the server you’re connecting to, and this information is sent in “packets.” Packets contain identifying information, and if you’re using some VPNs the packet will include that information as well.

But according to the cybersecurity company TorGuard, VPN obfuscation ensures your packet hides the information that you’re using a VPN. Instead, your traffic is registered as regular, non-VPN traffic.

Read more: How to pick the right VPN for you

What are the benefits of VPN obfuscation?

According to NordVPN, VPN obfuscation can help you sidestep VPN blockers, thus protecting and preserving your privacy. Some internet service providers, websites and regions employ VPN blockers to enforce VPN bans. Obfuscation might help you get around these blocks and make your traffic appear “non-suspicious.”

VPN obfuscation might also give you more protection online. Anyone dealing with sensitive information, like journalists and political activists, might depend on a safe and secure internet connection for their work. VPN obfuscation can help protect you by giving you an extra layer of security.

What are the drawbacks of VPN obfuscation?

Because VPN obfuscation employs an additional layer of protection, it will also slow your internet speeds.

According to tests run by VPN Central, VPN obfuscation can cause internet speeds to drop by from 11% to 44%, depending on where you live. However, it only tested obfuscated NordVPN servers in the US, UK and Germany. So while VPN obfuscation will likely slow your internet speeds, the details of how much will vary.

Will VPN obfuscation let me unblock streaming services?

Not necessarily.

Most streaming services block VPN IP addresses by checking them against IP blacklists — directories of known VPN IP addresses. That means if you use VPN obfuscation and your IP address is one known to be connected to a VPN, you could be punished by the service.

Even if a certain IP address isn’t on an IP blacklist, the service could see a number of connections to that particular address, guess that it’s connected to a VPN and punish you for that, too.

Neither of these methods are based on detecting VPN traffic, so VPN obfuscation won’t help protect you. However, if a service uses some other methods, like deep packet inspection, VPN obfuscation could help protect you.

Which VPN services offer obfuscation?

Many of the best VPN services, like ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark, offer obfuscated servers. However, some services call obfuscated servers “stealth mode,” so be on the lookout for either phrase when comparing services.

Is VPN obfuscation illegal?

VPN obfuscation isn’t illegal — unless using a VPN is illegal in your country — but it could lead to other ramifications.

Using a VPN could violate a site or service’s user agreement, and you could face punishment for doing so, like account termination or suspension. You could also face legal trouble if you use a VPN to access content that is illegal in your area.

We advise reading through a site or service’s user agreement before using a VPN. It’s also important to remember that illegal activity is still illegal, even if you’re masking your location with a VPN.

For more, check out the best VPNs of 2023 and what to know about geo-blocking and split-tunneling.

Amazon is raising its monthly cost for Amazon Music Unlimited, and the price increase will affect Prime members who are on the individual plan as well as people with the Amazon Music Unlimited family plan.

The news was earlier reported by The Hollywood Reporter, and the new prices are now listed on the home page for Amazon Music. New customers will begin seeing the new price now, and existing customers will see the change on their first bill on or after Sept. 19.

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Amazon Music Unlimited promises unlimited access to 100 million songs, touting its on-demand, ad-free access, plus access to ad-free top podcasts. There’s a 30-day free trial.

The Amazon Music Unlimited individual plan for Prime members was $9 per month and will now cost $10. The annual cost is going up from $89 to $99. Non-Prime customers pay $11 per month, so there’s still a slight savings for those with Prime.

The Amazon Music Unlimited family plan doesn’t have a special price for Prime members. That cost will go up from $16 to $17 per month, with the annual cost moving from $159 to $169 per year. The family plan allows up to six accounts under the same plan, each with personalized libraries and recommendations, and offers 90 million songs, as opposed to the100 million songs for Prime members.

Students currently enrolled at a degree-granting university or college can get the Individual Plan for $6 per month, upon verification of their student status.

Music lovers have a wide variety of streaming services to choose from, each with its own pros and cons. CNET offers a guide to the best in streaming music, including our takes on Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Spotify and more.

And while Amazon Prime is best known for offering subscribers fast shipping on many Amazon products, the company has added plenty of extras to Prime to entice you to subscribe. In addition to music streaming, Prime includes digital photo storage, free PC games, the streaming video service Prime Video and more.

Here’s our guide to what Prime offers these days, including some hidden perks you might not know about. And here are 5 things you perhaps didn’t know about Amazon. Plus, here’s a look at Amazon’s back-to-school deals.