• iMessage reactions have long been the bane of the Android user’s existence.
• Google Messages might finally get this feature in the near future, as 9to5Google has found strings of code revealing as much by digging through recent updates.
• By all accounts, Google Messages reaction will work the same as iMessage reactions, including sending those reactions as text messages if someone can’t see them.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

One of the main reasons that I refuse to leave Apple’s ecosystem when I’m deciding on which phone I want to use as my daily driver is because I can’t risk losing iMessage. As much as I hate the blue bubble/green bubble debate, every time I come anywhere close to pulling the trigger and leaving Apple’s walled garden for the greener pastures of open source Android, I think about all the friends (and group chats) I’m likely to lose in the process.

Thankfully, not only is Google beginning to ever so slightly consolidate its infinite chat applications, but the main Google Messages app is improving as well, and might soon add one of iMessage’s best features.

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Google Messages may copy one of iMessage’s best features originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 14:08:03 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Christian Bale has been rumored to star in Thor 4 several months ago, although Marvel never confirmed it.
• Reports that followed speculated that Bale could play a key character who will be crucial to the future of the MCU, even beyond the Phase 4 titles.
• A Marvel star has now confirmed that the actor will not be one of the rumored heroes in Thor: Love and Thunder. Instead, he’ll be the villain.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be the last MCU adventure in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’ll likely bring an end to Chris Hemsworth’s tenure as Thor. The actor has played Thor in several movies so far, including three Thor films and four Avengers installments, and he also appeared in Doctor Strange. Endgame already retired three of the original six Avengers, including Black Widow, Iron Man, Captain America. Hawkeye and Thor are on their way out as well, and they’re expected to be replaced by Kate Bishop and the new Thor (Natalie Portman). But there’s another reason why Thor 4 is so important. As the final title in Phase 4, it’ll set up what comes next in Phase 5, and might tease major events and conflicts for the upcoming Avengers teams. That’s also why Christian Bale’s role in the film is so critical.

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Christian Bale’s secret role revealed in Marvel’s last big MCU Phase 4 movie originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 12:57:21 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Netflix has a big week lined up with 18 new releases coming to the streaming service, including the third season of Elite, which is one of the more popular foreign-language originals.
• Elite is a teen drama series following students at an elite secondary school in Spain.
• Other big Netflix releases this week include new seasons of On My Block and Kingdom.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

Everyone with a Netflix subscription knows about popular shows like Stranger Things and Ozark, but I do my best to try to highlight the myriad shows that fly under the radar when I have the chance. This week, I’m going to point you in the direction of a brand new anime called BEASTARS (a photo of which appears at the top of this article). I completely understand the skepticism, but the first season of the show, which aired in Japan last year, was easily one of the best seasons of TV in 2019. It’s about a civilization of anthropomorphized animals as unease between the herbivores and carnivores turns into outright violence with a mysterious murder at the fore.

If anime isn’t your thing, there’s a healthy variety of other content dropping this week as well, including a comedy special from Marc Maron, the third season of the teen drama On My Block, and a ton of originals from other countries, such as Elite season 3, Kingdom season 2, The Valhalla Murders, and The Circle Brazil, which is a new version of the reality competition series that proved popular when it aired in the US earlier this year.

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Netflix arrivals and departures for the week of March 8th, 2020 originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 11:46:29 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• The starting prices for the PS5 and Xbox Series X console are still a mystery, but you should be ready to pay more money for a next-gen gaming experience you expect.
• Both the PlayStation 5 and the new Xbox will support a critical connectivity standard that will require an additional purchase this year, a brand new TV.
• HDMI 2.1 might be the last thing you think of when buying a new console, but the new standard is key for several marquee gaming features that will be introduced by Sony and Microsoft’s new consoles.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

For months now, we’ve been talking about the most important thing when it comes to the upcoming video game console generation, the price. Both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X will feature similar specs, and they’re expected to have similar price tags. But that formidable performance that both Sony and Microsoft teased doesn’t come cheap. You shouldn’t expect the PS5 and Xbox to be as affordable as the current PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Reports say that $499 might be the best price for both devices, although neither Sony nor Microsoft is willing to announce the stating price just yet. But other rumors say the best PS5 and 2020 Xbox versions might cost well over $500, which cheaper versions to hit that sub-$500 price point. Regardless of how much the new consoles will cost, it’s likely that you’ll have to pay even more money this fall to enjoy the sophisticated gaming features both consoles promise. And that’s because the console isn’t the only entertainment upgrade your living room might require.

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

PS5 and Xbox Series X will be even more expensive than you realize originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 10:55:37 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• A NASA investigation resulted in a long list of things Boeing needs to fix with its Starliner spacecraft.
• A total of 61 “corrective actions” must be performed by Boeing before the project can continue.
• The changes will take months, possibly delaying Boeing’s Starliner timeline even further.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

NASA’s internal investigation into the shortcomings of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has concluded, and the results don’t look great for Boeing. A whopping 61 “corrective actions” have been issued by NASA, and the space agency believes it will take a while for Boeing to fix the lengthy list.

As CNBC reports, Boeing says the 61 items fall into a trio of larger, overarching issues that have to be fixed before Starliner’s next trip skyward. These mandated fixes will likely set back the Starliner program significantly, meaning that the planned crewed flight trials that Boeing was hoping would take place in 2020 could face significant delays.

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

NASA slaps Boeing with 61 ‘corrective actions’ after Starliner failure originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 10:24:36 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Amazon is hosting a one-day Gold Box sale that cuts the cost of two different popular robot vacuum models to their lowest prices ever.
• The best deal is on the ECOVACS DEEBOT 711S Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, an advanced high-end model with a retail price of $550 that is currently on sale for $199.99.
• Budget-conscious consumers who want to spend even less money can forgo some of that model’s more advanced features and get the $280 ECOVACS DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for just $134.99 instead.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

There’s no shortage of robot vacuums on Amazon, and there’s certainly no shortage of deals. That said, it’s rare that you see deals as good as these on two of the most popular robot vacuums out there.

Amazon is running a fantastic one-day Gold Box sale on Sunday that slashes two different Deebot robot vacuum models from Ecovacs down to their lowest prices ever — and by a wide margin, we might add. The better of the two deals is on the higher-end model, a pricey premium robot vacuum that can be had today with a massive $350 discount.

The ECOVACS DEEBOT 711S Robotic Vacuum Cleaner is one of the model powerful robot vacuums Ecovacs has ever made, and it’s also packed with smart features. Among them, you’ll find Smart Navi 2.0 Visual Mapping for pinpoint accurate navigation around your home, a special brush system that’s optimized for carpet cleaning, a long-lasting battery with up to 130 minutes of runtime, and a self-charging feature that returns the robot to its charging base when the battery is running low.

Ecovacs’ Deebot 711S retails for $550, but on Sunday only you can snag one for just $199.99.

ECOVACS DEEBOT 711S Robotic Vacuum Cleaner with Smart Navi 2.0 Visual Mapping, Max Power Suctio…: $199.99

That’s definitely the deal we would choose between the two available robot vacuums that are on sale today in Amazon’s Gold Box, but the second model is no slouch. It’s the $280 ECOVACS DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, which is on sale today with a 52% discount that drops it to $134.99.

This model has the same app control and scheduling features, the same Alexa and Google Assistant voice control support, and the same obstacle detection and anti-drop features as the pricier 711S. It doesn’t have advanced navigation technology though, and it only has 110 minutes of battery life compared with 130 minutes on the upgraded model. It’s still a terrific robot vacuum though, and it has bever been this affordable before.

ECOVACS DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner with Max Power Suction, Up to 110 min Runtime, Hard F…: $134.99

Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

One-day Amazon blowout gets you a $550 Ecovacs robot vacuum for $199.99 originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 09:43:02 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• WWDC is one of Apple’s biggest events every year, a chance for the iPhone maker to show off updated software for its phones and other devices — and to wow us all with a major keynote address.
• Coronavirus has spooked the government of Santa Clara County, however, enough that it’s encouraging companies to keep big events to a minimum or to nix them altogether.
• Apple is based in Cupertino, within Santa Clara County, so it remains to be seen whether the company will take this guidance to heart and allow it to influence the timing of this year’s annual developer conference.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

As the week drew to a close, new confirmed cases of coronavirus continued to be identified around the US as the virus (and the reaction to it) is still dominating so much of daily life here and around the world. At the time of this writing, for example, the death toll in the US from the virus had risen to 14, with more than 225 confirmed cases around the country including the first just announced in Pennsylvania. Worldwide, Johns Hopkins University estimates that more than 100,000 have been infected. On Friday morning, President Trump also signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill to fight the virus.

Outside of its direct health effects, meanwhile, it’s also continuing to cast an ominous shadow across the US economy, with companies canceling travel, meetings, in-person interviews and so much more. Along these lines, the county government in California that encompasses Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino (Santa Clara County) has just issued new guidelines meant to prod companies to keep large-scale meetings and events to a minimum — or to even just go ahead and cancel them altogether.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

WWDC 2020: Is this a clue that one of Apple’s biggest events might get canceled? originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 09:02:51 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday is here and it brought a ton of great daily deal along with it! Highlights from today’s roundup include an awesome bundle that gets you a $50 Fire TV Stick 4K and a $50 Echo Dot for just $79.98 total, the crazy $36 wireless camera that lets your smartphone see anywhere for $28.79 or the brand new upgraded model with a 5-megapixel camera that can actually zoom for $49.49 instead of $66, the popular $280 ECOVACS DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for $134.99 and the more powerful high-end $550 ECOVACS DEEBOT 711S Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for $199.99 (that’s a crazy deal!), a one-day sale on Greenworks 40V outdoor power equipment that’ll get you ready for spring, an awesome 15-piece Instant Pot accessory set for only $29.99 when you clip the on-site coupon, the best-selling Wi-Fi range extender on Amazon’s entire website for only $15.99, top-rated Wi-Fi mini smart plugs that work with Alexa and Google Assistant for just $6 apiece when you clip the 20% coupon, and the Seagate FireCuda Gaming 2TB Solid State Hybrid Drive for only $59.99. Check out all of today’s best bargains below.

Fire TV Stick 4K bundle with Echo Dot (3rd Gen – Charcoal): $79.98

DEPSTECH Wireless Endoscope, IP67 Waterproof WiFi Borescope Inspection 2.0 Megapixels HD Snake…: $28.79

DEPSTECH Wireless Endoscope, 5.0MP Ultra-Thin HD Borescope, Zoomable Snake Inspection Camera wi…: $49.49

ECOVACS DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner with Max Power Suction, Up to 110 min Runtime, Hard F…: $134.99

ECOVACS DEEBOT 711S Robotic Vacuum Cleaner with Smart Navi 2.0 Visual Mapping, Max Power Suctio…: $199.99

Save on Greenworks 40V Outdoor Power Equipment: $99.86 – $349.99

Accessories for Instant Pot 5,6,8 Qt,PECHAM Pressure Cooker Accessories Set Including 2 Steamer…: $29.99

TP-Link | N300 WiFi Range Extender | Up to 300Mbps | WiFi Extender, Repeater, Wifi Signal Boost…: $15.99

Aoycocr Wi-Fi Smart Plugs – 4 Pack No Hub Required 2.4Ghz Outlet with Remote Control, Schedule/…: $23.99 ($6 each)

Seagate FireCuda Gaming (Compute) 2TB Solid State Hybrid Drive Performance SSHD – 2.5 Inch SATA…: $59.99

Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Sunday’s top 10 deals: Surprise Fire Stick sale, $6 smart plugs, $16 Wi-Fi range extender, $135 robot vacuum, more originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 8 Mar 2020 at 08:19:34 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• In response to the quarantine implemented in Wuhan, China — the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak that’s now spread around the world — schoolkids there had a brilliant response.
• They bombarded an app called DingTalk that was meant to help them continue school remotely with bad reviews. Why? Hoping that the flood of reviews would cause the app to be taken offline.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

One of those bits of wisdom you hear especially from anyone who travels frequently is about how people, by and large, are the same wherever you go. People want to live in safe communities, they love their families — and schoolkids, basically everywhere, will stage quiet rebellions against the strictures of the classroom. Whether they live in Witchita or Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak that’s now spread around the world.

A new report in the London Review of Books paints a compelling picture of what life has been like in the quarantined city, and it includes one eye-opening detail about how schoolkids there have reacted to the quarantine: In short, they bombarded the mobile app that they were given to use for their schoolwork, in lieu of physically going to school, with negative reviews. Hoping that would get the app killed, and then voila! No more app, no more school. Brilliant, right?

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Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Everyone loves how these Wuhan kids reacted to the coronavirus quarantine originally appeared on BGR.com on Sat, 7 Mar 2020 at 19:41:22 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• The ice cream and fast-food chain Dairy Queen is celebrating its 80th birthday this month.
• In honor of that milestone, Dairy Queen is offering a delicious BOGO deal — buy one Blizzard, get a second for only 80 cents.
• Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

One of the many things that always gets the Internet excited, with the regularity of clockwork, are BOGOs and all sorts of deals to get free food, sweet treats and the like — and the ice cream and fast-food chain Dairy Queen is stepping up this month on that score. The chain is celebrating its 80th birthday this month, and in honor of that anniversary it’s running a temporary buy one, get one discounted offer for its delicious Blizzards: You can buy one at full price and get the second for a mere 80 cents.

The offer applies to the chain’s entire lineup of Blizzards — including Mint Oreo, March’s flavor of the month, which includes vanilla ice cream, creme de menthe sauce, and real chunks of Oreos. This is a limited-time offer, however. It runs now through March 15.

Continue reading…

Today’s Top Deals

1. This $16 clip-on lens kit fits the iPhone or any Android phone, and it’s awesome
2. Amazon deal offers a 7-inch Android tablet for under $43
3. Save 61% on a 6-port USB rapid charger on Amazon

Dairy Queen Blizzards are deliciously cheap this month for its 80th birthday originally appeared on BGR.com on Sat, 7 Mar 2020 at 18:18:48 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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