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Mar10 Day is here and to celebrate gaming's favorite mustachioed plumber, Nintendo is offering a Switch bundled with a free Mario game for $300. The Mario Choose One bundle comes with the Switch system, the Switch dock, Joy Cons in Mario Red and a full-game download of either Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. The deal went live today at Nintendo, Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy.
Nintendo's super-popular gaming console doesn't go on sale often, and while this isn't a discount on the actual device itself, the inclusion of a free game means you'll save up to $60 — assuming you were thinking about grabbing one of the included titles. You'll also get stickers for the upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie which will feature the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi and Jack Black as Bowser.
In anticipation of Mario Day, both Nintendo and Amazon began offering discounts earlier this week on a handful of Mario titles including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for 35 percent off, Super Mario Odyssey for 33 percent off and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope for half price.
If you like the idea of pairing up real live RC cars with in-game Mario Kart action, you may want to bring home the augmented reality set Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. It's down to $60 from its usual $100 price tag — since you just get one car with each set, maybe now's a good time to grab two for better in-home competition. Just note that the discounts on the above titles are set to expire after March 11th, so if one of them is on your list, you may want to grab it now.
Deals on a few other Switch games will stick around longer, with sale prices extending through March 23rd. Both Nintendo and on Amazon are offering discounts on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Party Superstars and Luigi's Mansion 3.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nintendos-mario-day-switch-bundle-comes-with-a-free-game-125941096.html?src=rss
Mar10 Day Choose One Nintendo Switch Bundle
The Choose One Nintendo Switch gaming console box on a white background.
Somehow, it's Friday again (I'm pretty sure someone added an extra Monday to this week) and Friday means it's time for our weekly roundup of the best tech deals we could find. Apple discounts were the most abundant, with sales on the second-gen Apple Pencil, Apple Watch 8 and Apple Watch Ultra, iPad mini, and the MagSafe power bank. All have dropped down to or near their all-time lows. If you're an Android user and considering the latest flagship from Samsung, you may want to check out Amazon's gift card bundle with Galaxy S23 smartphones. Anyone who could use a little help keeping their floors clean might want to take a look at iRobot's Roomba 694. It's our pick for the most affordable ways to enter the robo-vac market and it back down to its lowest price. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
We've tested quite a few robot vacuums over the years and our current favorite budget pick is iRobot's Roomba 694. This week, it dropped back to its all-time low price of $179, which is $95 off and a great price for a solidly performing vac that will do a good job of keeping your floors clean without much effort on your part. It's part of a wider sale on Roombas both at Amazon and on iRobot's site, with discounts of up to 35 percent. Also part of the sale is the best premium robot vacuum we've tested, the self-emptying Roomba s9+. Usually $999, the sale knocks $200 off, making it a little more affordable. We also tried and liked the Roomba Combo j7+ which combines mop and vacuum functions. The sale brings that one down to $849, which isn't cheap, but considerably better than its $1,099 list price.
Amazon is offering a $100 gift card for those who buy an unlocked Galaxy S23, S23+ or S23 Ultra on their site. It's not the $140 discount we saw last week, but $100 might make a difference to someone who's still on the fence about picking up one of Samsung's latest flagships. We gave the S23 Ultra a review score of 89 and liked the bright display, powerful performance from the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip that makes everything smooth and speedy. The massive 200MP sensor camera Samsung added was the big news upon the phone's debut, though it takes some tinkering to get the most out of those extra pixels. The battery lasted an impressive 19 hours and 26 minutes and it's got a great build. One caveat we mention is the high price tag. But perhaps Amazon's gift card offer will ease up on that drawback a little.
If you're looking for FDA-approved, self-fitting hearing aids that are pretty close to invisible, you may like this deal on the new Eargo 7 hearing aid. They're on sale for $360 off the usual price, bringing the $2,950 devices down to $2,590. When we wrote about Eargo last year, we said the brand acts "more like a technology company instead of a stuffy medical-device provider" and that's partly due to its annual release cycle — like you get with Samsung or Apple — that continually improves upon the technology with each new version of a product. This week, our editor James Trew checked out the latest release from Eargo and called the Eargo 7 the best model to date.
Apart from a few set-up snags within the app and the fact that the case deep sleeps when it needs a charge (even if the hearing aids are full), the experience with the devices was smooth sailing. These are CIC or in-canal hearing aids, which tend to be fairly unobvious when you wear them and they're even rated to handle sweat from workouts or minor splashes in the shower. Trew likes how they adequately amplify sound but don't emphasize sharp noises like keys. The battery lasts all day and the customer service is pretty great — important for a medical device that you buy direct from a company, instead of going through an audiologist.
This week, Apple's new M2 Mac mini dropped to its lowest price since its debut earlier this year with the entry level models for $50 off the list price. B&H Photo is applying the discount to the 256GB mini M2 and the 512GB mini M2, both with 8GB of RAM, bringing the tiny but mighty computers down to $549 and $749, respectively. If you'd rather pick them up from Amazon, both the 256GB model and the larger 512GB configuration are $50 off there too. The Mac minis with the M2 Pro chip aren't seeing the same discount, though Amazon is listing those $10 below Apple's suggested price.
The new Mac mini packs Apple's new M2 chip, which you'll also find in iPad Pros and the latest MacBook Pros. Both discounted models have eight CPU cores, 10 graphics cores, 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. As for ports, you get two Thunderbolt 4 UCB-C ports, an HDMI port with 4K output at 240Hz and 8K at 60Hz, two USB-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a gigabit Ethernet port.
The iPad mini is super portable, and now it's a little more affordable with a 20 percent discount on the 64GB model. That brings it down to $400 instead of its usual $499 and matches the lowest price the diminutive slab has ever gone for. If you want the higher capacity 256GB model, that's getting a 15 percent discount, bringing it down to $550, which is also $99 off. The deals apply to the gray, starlight and purple colors, though it looks like pink is only available on the 64GB configuration. We gave the mini an 89 in our review, noting that it received a significant redesign over its predecessors, adding iPad Air-style features like a Liquid Retina all-screen design, USB-C charging, a Touch-ID button and support for the new Apple Pencil.
We think the Apple Watch Series 8 is the best overall smartwatch and right now you can snag the 41mm Product Red version for just $329, which is $70 off the usual price. If you don't mind the color red, you're set. If the hue's not your speed, keep in mind that the bands are swappable, though they're not particularly cheap and the case will remain red. It's still a great watch with excellent health and fitness features, including EKG tests and crash detection. It also has solid GPS tracking and great integration with iPhone apps. Yes, it's only for those who carry iPhones. If you're an Android user, we recommend Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5. The Bluetooth 40mm model is still on sale from last week, down to $220 instead of its usual $280, which is an all-time low for the wearable.
Apple's burliest smartwatch dropped to $749 a couple weeks ago, and now the Apple Watch Ultra is $50 off once again at Amazon. We gave it an 85 on our review, praising the bright screen, extra long, three-day battery life and the impressive array of health tracking, fitness and GPS functions. Even with a $50 discount, it's not a cheap watch, and probably best suited to die-hard adventurers and athletes.
The second generation Apple Pencil had returned to the all-time low it hit during the shopping holidays at the end of last year. Usually $129, a 31 percent discount brings the stylus down to just $89. It's one of our favorite accessories for iPads and comes with a number of improvements over the first generation, including wireless charging that magnetically attaches to your compatible iPad. The second-gen Pencil only works with newer versions of iPad Air, iPad mini, or iPad Pro — the standard iPad still supports the first-gen stylus. If that's the iPad you have, you can grab the first-gen Pencil from Amazon for a $20 discount today.
Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack is currently 20 percent off at Amazon, bringing the charge-anywhere power bank down to $79. That's not the lowest it's ever gone, but it's only $8 higher that its all-time low of $71. The power bank is small and compact, firmly attaching to the back of your iPhone (model 12 and newer) as long as your case isn't too thick. In our tests, it delivered a 43 percent charge to an iPhone 14 Plus — you'll get a smaller or larger charge depending on the model and size of your phone. While it didn't win as the best MagSafe charger, it is well designed and remarkably compact. Our top pick for a MagSafe battery pack, Spigen's ArcHybrid goes for $60, but right now Amazon is offering a coupon for 35 percent off. Just check the box on the product page to apply the discount.
If you want to wirelessly charge your iPhone at your desk or bedside table, you may want the wired, Apple-made MagSafe charger. It's on sale for $31 or 21 percent off.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/irobots-roomba-694-is-back-down-to-its-all-time-low-of-179-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-184532545.html?src=rss
iRobot Roomba 694 Robot Vacuum
A robot vacuum is picking up small pieces of colorful debris on a tan run in a child's room. There's a small bulldozer toy and a toy basket in the background.
Robot vacuums are one of the few sci-fi predictions that more or less delivered — there actually are autonomous machines that can help keep your home clean. We've tested over a dozen robot vacs, and right now our top recommendation for a budget dirt sucker, iRobot's Roomba 694, is $95 off both at Amazon and through iRobot's site. Usually $275, the 694 is just $179 right now, which matches the all time low it dropped to a few times previously. The deal is part of a wider robot vacuum sale with discounts ranging up to $300, depending on which model you pick. If you've been thinking of adding one of these smart devices to your life, this might be a good time to snap one up.
In our tests, the 694 proved itself by being both a powerful cleaner and offering an app that's easy to use — even for robot vacuum newbies. You can set schedules to have the bot clean on regular intervals and it can handle both tiled or carpeted surfaces. We found that it roved around cleaning for around 45 minutes before returning itself to the dock for a recharge, which was plenty of time to maintain an apartment, but may need to a pit stop before it can cover a larger house. Unless it tries to suck up an errant cord, you'll likely only need to interact with it to empty the dirt collection tray. That's something you may need to do every couple days or more often, depending on whether or not you have pets or a lot of tracked-in dirt.
If you'd rather not empty your vac quite so often, you can pick up one that empties itself, like the Roomba s9+. We named this the best premium robot vacuum in our guide and were impressed with both its suction power and navigation abilities. It usually comes with a steep $999 price tag but the sale knocks $200 off the list price, which makes it a little more affordable.
For homes with smooth surfaces that could use a wipe down, a hybrid model could be what you're looking for. The Roomba Combo j7+ combines mop and vacuum functions and is $250 off during the sale, bringing the $1,099 unit down to $849. One of our editors used the j7+ in his home for several weeks, and while the initial mapping runs were a bit of a hassle and the noise of the unit emptying into the clean base was loud, he was impressed with the bot's learning capabilities and the fact that it made a noticeable difference in the general cleanliness of his floors.
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Budget robot vacuums
Budget robot vacuums
If you’ve ever been derailed from an on-time departure by a set of lost keys or misplaced wallet, you’ll benefit from a Bluetooth tracker. These small devices attach to your stuff and use your smartphone to keep tabs on where they are. There aren’t a ton of players in the field yet, but we tested out some of the most popular options to see what each tracker does well so you can decide which is the best Bluetooth tracker for you.
Bluetooth trackers are small discs or cards that rely on short-range, low-energy wireless signals to communicate with your smartphone. Attach one to your stuff and, if it’s in range, your phone can “ring” the tracker so you can find it. These devices offer other features like separation alerts to tell you when you’ve left a tagged item behind, or where a lost item was last detected. Some can even tap into a larger network of smartphones to track down your device when you’re out of range. Depending on what you want the tracker to do, there are a few things to look for when deciding which to get.
Like most things from the folks in Cupertino, AirTags only work with other Apple products. The company has opened up access to its Find My network to third-party manufacturers, including Chipolo, though. Its One Spot and Card Spot finders work with Apple's large tracking network, but only pair with Apple devices. Chipolo’s classic trackers will work with either Android or Apple devices, as will Tile trackers.
Crowd-sourced finding capabilities are what make headlines, with stories about recovering stolen equipment or tracking lost luggage across the globe. Using anonymous signals that ping other people’s devices, Bluetooth trackers can potentially tell you where a tagged item is, even if your smartphone is out of range. Apple’s Find My network is by far the largest, with over a billion iPhones in service all running Apple’s Find My app by default. So unless an iPhone user opts out, their phone silently acts as a location detector for any nearby AirTags.
While Android phones outnumber iPhones globally, they don’t have a similar, unified “find-my”network. (Though, reports that Google may be working on AirTag rival means such a system may be coming.) In the meantime, Tile offers the second-largest finding grid, with every smartphone that runs the Tile app acting as incognito locators. After Life360 acquired Tile, the 47 million users of that app were added to the 50 million existing Tile users, creating a sizable network.
In our tests, AirTags offered nearly real-time location data and were quickest to find items abandoned in spots around Albuquerque, including a bar, bookstore and coffee shop in Nob Hill, along with various outdoor hangouts on UNM’s campus. Tile trackers were able to locate our lost items most of the time, though not with the same pin-point accuracy as AirTags. Chipolo’s Spot trackers operate on the same Find My network and perform on par with the AirTags. Chipolo’s classic trackers, on the other hand, don’t have much of a crowd-sourced network to speak of. Yet as we used the trackers, the size of the finding network started to feel less important in the face of typical, everyday use cases. It was their ability to out-perform in every other way that boosted Chipolo’s classic trackers to the top of our list.
Here’s where a tracker’s day-to-day utility really shines. A separation alert lets you know when you’ve traveled too far from your tagged items, which is useful if you want to make sure your laptop bag, or jacket or umbrella always comes with you when you leave the house.
These notifications work when you’re out and about too. If you’ve got a tracker in your wallet and walk out of a restaurant without it, the separation alert should kick in, resulting in less lost stuff. This feature also tells you where your tagged item and phone were last paired, allowing you to retrace your steps if you happen to miss the alert.
Each tracker handles left-behind items differently. Both AirTags and Chipolo include the feature by default. Tile trackers require a yearly subscription to enable the alerts (currently $30 per year). Both AirTags and Tiles allow you to turn off separation alerts at certain locations, meaning you can set your home as a “safe” place where items can be left behind, but alerts will still trigger elsewhere. Chipolo doesn’t offer safe locations, but you can toggle out-of-range alerts on a per-item basis.
In our tests, the Chipolo sent an alert after we got between 250 and 450 feet away from our tagged item. AirTags alerted us between the 600- and 1,400-foot mark. And Tiles sent a notification after about an average of 1,500 feet. The notifications were not consistent on an iPhone, but worked well when operating with an Android phone.
The feature you may use most often is the simple “find my keys” function. If you have your phone, but no idea where your tagged keys are, you can tap a button in the tracker’s app to make the tracker ring. The ability to consistently and quickly connect with your phone is important for making it out the door with less stress. Tile and Chipolo classic trackers will also let you double click the device itself to make your phone ring, but AirTags and Chipolos running on the Find My app don’t offer this feature.
The volume of the tracker may determine whether you can find an item buried in your couch cushions or in a noisy room. AirTags have a reputation for being on the quiet side, and that aligned with what we saw (measuring roughly 65 decibels). Chipolo’s keychain-style tags, both the Apple-only version and the device-agnostic version, and the Tile Slim wallet tracker were the loudest, measuring between 83 and 85 decibels.
Design will determine what you can attach the tracker to. AirTags are small, smooth discs that have no way of securing to anything without accessories, which are numerous, but that is an additional cost to consider. Both Chipolo and Tile offer trackers with holes that easily attach to your key ring, and both companies also offer card-shaped versions designed to fit in your wallet. Batteries are replaceable for AirTags, Chipolo One and Tile Pro. Tile Mate and all card-shaped trackers don’t have replaceable batteries, which means you’ll have to replace the entire unit whenever it dies.
AirTags have recently gotten a lot of attention for bad actors planting them on people in order to stalk them. While this fact may not influence your buying decision, any discussion of Bluetooth trackers should note what steps both Apple and Tile have taken to address the issue. If an AirTag is detected moving with you and apart from its owner, the device will ring to alert you of its presence. If you have an iPhone, as long as you have location services and Bluetooth turned on, you’ll automatically get an alert on your phone, with no further steps required. If you have an Android, you can download a special app that can detect unknown AirTags. Tile offers a similar feature through its standard app, and it doesn’t require a Tile account to search for suspicious nearby trackers.
As far as combating theft goes, a Bluetooth tracker may or may not be a good option. Anecdotal stories abound in which people have recovered stolen goods using a tracker — but other tales are more cautionary. Neither Apple nor Tile promote their trackers or finding networks as a way to deal with theft. GPS trackers, on the other hand, are typically marketed for just that purpose.
Before deciding on which trackers to test, we researched the field, looking at user reviews on Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers, along with discussions on sites like Reddit. We also checked out what other publications had to say on the matter before narrowing down our picks to Apple AirTag, Tile and Chipolo trackers.
Here’s the full list of every tracker we tested:
After acquiring the trackers, I tested each one over the course of a few weeks using both an iPhone 11 and a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. I recreated likely user experiences, such as losing and leaving items behind at home and out in the city. I planted trackers at different spots near downtown Albuquerque, mostly concentrated in and around the University of New Mexico and the surrounding neighborhood of Nob Hill. Each test was performed multiple times, both while walking and driving and I used the measure distance feature on Google Maps to track footage for alerts. I paid attention to how easy the app was to use, how reliable the phone-to-tracker connection was and any other perks and drawbacks that came up during regular use.
Hands-on testing is great at smashing assumptions, and that’s what happened with the Chipolo One. This tracker’s crowd-sourced finding network cannot compare with AirTag or Tile. In fact, when I left the Chipolo for 24 hours just outside the busy student union at UNM, I was never alerted that a member of the Chipolo community had detected my item. But as I used it and pictured how most people would use a tracker on a daily basis, the device proved its worth and earned its spot on my keyring.
The One is a small and colorful plastic disc with a hole. It works with both Apple and Android devices and requires an app which is simple to use and easily pairs new trackers. The app and tracking experience on an iPhone and a Galaxy phone were nearly identical, working equally well on both platforms. It rang the loudest of all the trackers, so hidden items were quickly found around the house. Unlike other trackers, there was never a delay between pressing the Ring to Find button and hearing the trill. The ring delay for AirTag was never more than a few seconds and Tiles would generally connect and ring after no more than ten seconds. While that’s not a deal-breaking delay, it could add to the stress of rushing out the door.
Where the Chipolo One truly set itself apart was with its separation alerts. I would only get a half to two blocks away (or an average of 350 feet) before getting an alert asking if I’d forgotten an item. Neither AirTag nor Tile ever beat Chipolo to the punch. The alerts were consistent whether I was forgetting an item at home, at a coffee shop, or inside my car.
As far as losing stuff out in the wild, it will get you back to the spot where your phone and tracker were last paired. That means if you miss an alert or don’t have them turned on, Chipolo will give you directions (via your maps app) and take you right to where you left your item. In one test, I had a friend hide the tracker nearby when I wasn't looking. I left the area and returned hours later, using the last location information to lead me within a few feet of the tracker. Ringing the tracker then made it easy to find. Of course, if someone walks off with your tracked item, the Chipolo will be harder pressed to help you out.
If you’re concerned about lost luggage when you travel or if you worry you may lose things on trains or buses, this isn’t the tracker for you because of its much smaller finding network. But if you’re looking for a dead simple way to find your keys and make sure your jacket leaves the bar when you do, the Chipolo One is hard to beat.
AirTags work with the Find My app, so they don’t require any additional downloads. If you’ve used the Find My app before, you’ll likely understand how this works. These are the quietest of the trackers we tested and each time you press the Play Sound button, the tags only ring for seven seconds. You’ll need to keep pressing if you don’t find your item right away and AirTags can’t be used to ring your phone.
As for separation alerts, AirTags were consistent, always delivering a “left behind” alert when I traveled about 1,200 feet away, or about three square blocks, without an item. You can turn off separation alerts for any given tracker, as well as designate certain locations, such as your home or workplace, as exceptions for the notifications.
One feature that AirTags have that no other tag offers is the ability to tap into the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless protocol. This allows you to play a fun game of hot and cold with an item when it’s within about 25 feet of your iPhone. Directional arrows and a diminishing distance meter on your iPhone’s screen point you to an item without having to ring it. This worked reliably about 75 percent of the time in my tests; sometimes it was just easier to ring the item when the directional finding couldn’t keep a lock on the tracker. UWB is supported by iPhone models 11 and later and while newer Galaxy and Pixel phones also support UWB, no Android-compatible tracker has been released, though, Tile has announced one that will.
AirTag’s ability to locate a lost item out in the city is almost eerie. I had someone (who was not carrying an iPhone) take my bike with a tracker hidden under the seat to a location a little over a half mile away. I set out a few minutes later and toggled on Notify When Found in the Find My app. Within three minutes, I received a notification that the bike had been “seen” near an address. Tapping on Directions navigates to Apple Maps, which took me to a spot about 30 feet from the bike. Had it been obscured from view, I could have then used the Find Nearby button to activate the UWB locating features. Ringing the tag was too quiet to hear on the sidewalk.
If you want the same scary-precise community finding features, but with a louder ring and a hole in the tracker, the Chipolo One Spot is a solid option. It doesn’t offer UWB capabilities, however, and the separation alerts are the same as with AirTags (letting you get 1,200 feet away before a ping, versus an average of 350 feet with our top rec, Chipolo One classic).
Tile will work with either Android or Apple devices, but the experience is much better on Android. Certain connectivity issues and a lack of alerts that plagued the iPhone experience did not show up in tests with the Galaxy phone. One caveat to note is that Tile requires a subscription to enable separation alerts. Tile Premium goes for $3 per month or $30 per year and includes location history and item reimbursement of up to $100 on items that you register with the company, they’ll also send out a fresh battery once a year. Tile stands out as the only tracker company offering reimbursement — even without a subscription, they’ll pay out up to $25 for items that you register with them.
The Tile Pro is a key-fob shaped device with a metal keychain hole that feels sturdy. The Pro’s ring was just a few decibels quieter than the Tile Mate (78 versus 82 decibels), but the connectivity range was better with the Pro, and it was more accurate in finder network tests. On top of that, this is the only current Tile device with a replaceable battery, which lasts about one year.
For the lost-item tests, I had a friend take the Pro to random locations. After turning on the Notify When Found feature, an alert would arrive between five and ten minutes later saying my lost item was “found by the community.” The map details were typically accurate within about 100 feet or so, though it occasionally thought the Tile was at a business next door to where it actually was. Without the UWB feature, precision finding of an item was trickier. In one test, the tracker ended up in a noisy pub. While the directions pointed me to the right location, it would have been difficult to find the item if I hadn’t spotted my friend, as the ring function was useless among the din.
The Tile Slim is louder than both the Pro and the Mate, and nearly equals the loudest tracker we tested, the Chipolo One. It works with both Android and Apple devices and its thick credit card shape fits in the slots of a typical wallet (though it often won’t connect when inside an RFID-blocking wallet). The separation alerts you’ll get if you pay for a Tile subscription activate at about the same distance as the Tile Pro, letting you get around 1,500 feet away before pinging you about a left-behind item. When using an iPhone with Tile trackers, separation alerts rarely came and connectivity between the phone and tracker was spotty at best, even in close proximity. If you use an iPhone, the Chipolo Card Spot is equally loud, runs on Apple’s vast Find My network and consistently gives you a left-behind alert at around 1,200 feet.
Bluetooth trackers
An assortment of Bluetooth trackers on a colorful background with a circular pattern. Trackers include a round blue Chipolo key chain tag, two white and silver AirTags, a black key-fob Tile tracker and a black wallet with a card-shaped tracker poking out.
President's Day might not be the hugest event for tech deals — the holiday typically brings out deals on large home appliances and the like. But it's still possible to save some money on devices you may have had your eye on. Right now we're seeing a $50 discount on the Apple Watch Ultra. Other Apple products, including the iPad Air, Apple Pencil, and the Apple Watch SE are also seeing some nice sales. Samsung products, like the Galaxy Buds 2, the M8 hybrid TV/monitor and the T7 Sheild portable SSD are between 18 and 44 percent off. And it's a good week to grab one of our favorite midrange smartphone, the Pixel 6a for just $300. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Apple's latest, biggest and consequently most expensive watch is now a little cheaper thanks to a $50 discount at Amazon. That brings the wearable down to $749 instead of its usual $799. It dipped $10 lower during Black Friday sales, but this is the cheapest it's been outside of the holidays.
The Apple Watch Ultra earned a review score of 85 from us when we tested it out upon its debut. We liked the extra long battery life —with a charge lasting three days even while tracking daily workouts — and the bright display. The extensive tracking and GPS functions are impressive, but might be better suited to frequent hikers, runners and outdoor adventurers. The Ultra may be overkill for anyone just looking for a competent smartwatch. For that, you can go for the Series 8, which Target has for $70 off. It's Apple's second-newest smartwatch and may be the better bet. For an even cheaper Apple wearable, Target is also discounting the Apple Watch SE, which we gave a high score of 89 in our review.
Right now at Amazon, the latest generation iPad Air is down to $500 for the 64GB model, which matches the lowest price we've seen for the tablet. Note that Amazon's $100 discount only applies to the Space Gray color. You can snag that same $100 discount on all colorways right now at Target, and the sale applies to both the 64GB size and the larger 256GB model.
We think 2022's iPad Air M1 is the best iPad for most people. We called it "almost future-proof" in our review, thanks to the super fast M1 chip, combined with a quality build and strong battery life. It's got an excellent display and supports the latest peripherals, including the Magic Keyboard and second-generation Apple Pencil. That useful-but-pricey accessory is 31 percent off right now, bringing it down to just $89.
If you're looking for something a little cheaper, the 2022 10th generation 10.9-inch iPad is seeing a $50 discount at Target, on both the 64GB and 265GB models, bringing those dow to $400 and $550, respectively. The discount is part of a larger 4-day sale at Target, which also includes deals on wearables like the Apple Watch SE and the Fitbit Charge 5.
Blink security devices went on sale this week, with discounts between 20 and 40 percent off. Amazon bought Blink back in 2017 and has continued to expand the lineup of security cameras, positioning them as a less expensive alternative to the online giant's other security acquisition, Ring. But less expensive doesn't mean less capable.
Blink Outdoor cameras are our top picks for wireless security cameras and right now, they're 30 percent off, or $70, for a single unit, and 44 percent off a four-pack. The weather-resistant cams will run up to two years on a set of AA batteries and require no professional installation. They have built-in mics and speakers that allow you to see, hear and speak to whomever wanders in front of the camera, and you can set zones so you're only alerted when motion is detected in more critical areas.
If you want to keep tabs on who's at the front door, the Blink Video Doorbell is also getting a 30 percent discount, bringing it down to $60. The unit ships with Blink's Sync Module 2, which lets you locally store video clips, no subscription required — though you'll need to provide a flash drive to save the files indefinitely. The doorbell works either wired or on batteries and can send you real-time 1080p video during the day and infrared night vision after dark.
Keep in mind that Blink devices are only compatible with Alexa and Echo hubs. If you've set up your smart home to work with the Google Assistant or Apple Homekit, Blink devices won't natively integrate with them. For that, you might look to a brand like Arlo. Their cameras and doorbells will pair up with Google, Apple and Amazon home ecosystems. This week, you can snag their Wireless Video Doorbell and other security products for up to 50 percent off.
Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 are on sale at Amazon for just $89. That's a 40 percent discount and matches the lowest we've seen on the buds yet. The discount applies for the all four colorways, including green, white, purple and black. We gave the buds a solid score of 84 when we reviewed them, saying they were premium-level buds at an affordable price — and now that's even more true.
While they offer active noise cancellation, it doesn't match the world-silencing ANC of top-tier (and more expensive) buds, but they do an okay job of muffling distractions. The sound quality is improved over the previous generation, offering ample base and balanced levels, especially with the EQ presets. The buds are also smaller and more comfortable than their predecessors. The Galaxy Buds 2 only sport a IPX2 rating, which is fine for going out in a drizzle, but might not stand up to sweaty workouts.
The buds work great with a Samsung phone and integrate nicely with Samsung's Galaxy Watches. If you use an iPhone, they'll pair up, but you'll miss out on a lot of control. Those who've adopted Apple's ecosystem are probably better off going with Apple's AirPods. The second gen AirPod Pros are also on sale this week, for a tidy 20 percent off.
If you're reaching capacity on your computer or need to transfer and store files, check out Samsung's storage device sale. Many of their SSDs and microSD cards are dipping down near their all time lows, including the portable SSD T7 Shield. The 2TB size is down to $150 and the 1TB size is now $90, or 44 percent off it's usual price at Amazon. The T7 is our pick for the best portable drive in our SSD storage guide thanks to its fast read/write speeds and tough exterior.
MicroSD cards can give you more space on your phone or tablet. Samsung's 128GB Evo Select is 33 percent off, bringing it down to just $14, which is close to an all time low. The larger 256GB size is perfect for adding storage to your Switch or GoPro and it's seeing the steepest discount with 43 percent off. If you'd rather pick up your new storage devices from Best Buy or direct from Samsung, the discounts apply at those outlets too.
The line between TVs and monitors can sometimes get pretty thin, with the latter getting bigger and the former getting thinner. Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 erases the line completely. Ably performing the functions of a TV, monitor and smart home hub, it usually sells for a round $600, but Amazon has it for $350, which is a new all-time low. Note that the $350 price tag only applies to the white version, and only on the configuration that includes the VESA adaptor along with the stand.
It has a bright display that delivers deep blacks, but only offers a 60Hz refresh rate, which isn't ideal for gaming. It has two USB-C ports and one micro-HDMI port — not a ton of inputs but it does help the screen keep its sleek design. It also includes a detachable webcam that can mount up top.
Unlike a standard monitor, the M8 comes with Samsung's Tizen OS built in, as on a Samsung smart TV. That means you can easily run streaming apps without being connected to a computer. Also like a TV, it comes with a remote. As a home hub, Samsung's SmartThings capabilities are built in, so you can keep tabs on and control your compatible smart speakers, cameras and other smart home devices.
True, it's an older phone, but Google's Pixel 6a still ranks as our favorite mid-range Android smartphone and right now it's cheaper than it's ever been. Amazon is selling the unlocked phone for $299, or $150 off the list price. Best buy has the mobile for $50 cheaper, but only if you activate with a carrier upon checkout. If you're not ready to activate yet, the price is also $299 directly from Google.
If you want Google's latest phone, that's on sale too. We called the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro the best bargain in flagship phones. Right now the Pixel 7 is $100 off at Amazon and on Google's own store, while the Pixel 7 Pro is $150 off. Best Buy is offering a steeper, $300 discount on the Pixel 7 Pro, but again, only if you activate today.
Samsung's new S23 series of flagship phones that were announced at its Unpacked event earlier in February have already been released, but the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra is still available for pre-order. If you order through Samsung, you'll get an upgrade to 1TB of storage for the price of the 512GB model. That's a $200 savings if you were planing on going for the bigger capacity unit. Plus Samsung is throwing in a $50 store credit.
We spent a little time with the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra after the event, and thought it was a beast of a machine. This configuration runs on Intel’s Core i7 processors, using NVIDIA’s RTX 4050 graphics cards. It's got 16GB of RAM, plus the aforementioned terabyte of storage. Overall, it's thin and light, weighing just shy of four pounds and measuring 0.64 inches thick.
Ports include HDMI, a microSD slot, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, one USB-A and a 3.5mm audio jack. The keyboard is roomy and the trackpad is huge. It also packs a 1080p webcam and an updated quad speaker system. While we haven't had the chance to fully test and review the Book 3 Ultra, if you can't wait for the full verdict and want it soon after it releases on February 22nd, you can snag a free storage upgrade with a pre-order.
When we reviewed OnePlus's latest phone, we liked the fact that you got a good amount of phone for a competitive price. And now the company is offering a free storage upgrade on the OnePlus 11 for the next few days. That gives you 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $699, which is the price of the smaller, 8GB/128GB model.
The standout feature of the OnePlus 11 is the incredibly fast charging. When juicing up using the included cable and adapter, 100W charging gets the phone from empty to full in about 25 minutes. That said, there's no wireless charging. But with a battery that lasted 20 hours in our rundown test and only needs 10 minutes on the cable to get to 50 percent, it's easy to overlook the absence.
The Android phone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and comes with a great, 6.7-inch 2,048 × 1,080 OLED screen that can reach up to 120Hz refresh rates. The camera array includes a primary 50-megapixel sensor, a 115-degree ultrawide 48MP camera and a 32MP telephoto camera.
Image quality has always sets Sony TVs apart in the past and, while other companies are closing the gap, higher end Sony's will never disappoint. This week, we're seeing a big 44 percent discount on Sony's Bravia A90JvOLED 4K TV, bringing the $2,500 set down to $1,398. The set takes advantage of the company's new Cognitive Processor XR chip, an advancement that uses AI to create a more realistic and dynamic picture. You also get Google TV built in and Alexa integration for voice control. That said, LG's C2 TV is a comparable set and is $100 cheaper, even when it's not on sale.
If you're willing to spend a little more, our dive into the reviews suggest that Samsung's S95B OLED 4K TV is a better bet and it's seeing a 23 percent discount right now, bringing it down to $1,698. That's not an all-time low, but puts it just $300 over the Sony, which may make it worth the investment.
Sony's WF-1000XM4 are among the best Bluetooth earbuds you can buy, but they can be expensive. Thankfully, Amazon has included them in its President's Day sale. After a $52 discount, you can buy the earbuds for $228. That's not the lowest price we've seen for the WF-1000XM4, but it does make them a fair bit more affordable than their usual $280 starting price.
Engadget gave the WF-1000XM4 a score of 86 in 2021. If you can get over their clunky design, Sony's flagship earbuds offer stellar sound quality and excellent noise-canceling capabilities. They also offer up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge, and you can get up to 36 hours of use with the included charging case.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice. Check out Yahoo for more President’s Day lifestyle sales and Autoblog for the best President's Day automotive sales.
Apple Watch Ultra
Side view of the Apple Watch Ultra on a person's wrist, showing the apps gallery on its screen. Facing the camera are the watch's Digital Crown with an orange ring on it, as well as the dock button.
An estimated two thirds of the US population watched the Super Bowl last year – and it didn’t even have Rihanna. Super Bowl 2023 will take place in Glendale, Arizona at the State Farm Stadium on Sunday, February 12th with a kick off time of 4:30pm Mountain (or 6:30pm Eastern/3:30pm Pacific). The Philadelphia Eagles will play against the Kansas City Chiefs to see who takes home the Lombardi trophy this year. Whether you show up for the snacks, the halftime show or actual football, here are all of the ways to watch Super Bowl 2023.
Fox will televise the game this year, and have confirmed it will air in 4K as the network did in 2020. Airing rights to the Super Bowl rotate annually between broadcasters and since 2007, the game has alternated between CBS, Fox and NBC (ABC will get a turn in 2027). As it’s Fox’s year, you can watch the game on local Fox broadcast stations and on Fox channels offered through your cable or satellite TV provider, including Fox Sports 1 and the Spanish-language Fox Desportes. You can also watch through certain live TV streaming services and the NFL+ app on mobile. If you’re watching outside the US, here is a list of international channels that will carry the game.
If you already pay for cable, you’re set. Even basic cable services include access to your local Fox channel, and most also include Fox Sports 1, both of which will air the game. You can find your local Fox channels here. Having a cable or satellite subscription also means you can log into the standalone Fox Sports app and watch via your smart TV or computer.
For those who’ve cut the cord, live TV streaming offers a bunch of ways to watch. A few – but not all – of those services will let you watch the Super Bowl this year. Here’s a list of providers that carry Fox Sports, along with their monthly subscription fees:
Sling Blue - $40 per month, $20 first month
YouTube with Live TV - $65 per month
Hulu with Live TV - $70 per month
FuboTV (Pro tier) - $75 per month
DirecTV Stream (Entertainment tier) - $75 per month
Sling TV is the cheapest way to watch the game with live streaming, and the channel lineup confirms access to Fox Sports 1 with their Blue package. Many of these services also include a free trial period, so you could sign up before the game and cancel afterwards to avoid a charge.
If it’s just you watching and you’re thinking of using your smartphone or tablet, NFL+ is an over-the-top subscription app that’s $5 per month or $13 for the NFL season (which ends with the Super Bowl). We should note that the app won’t work on a TV and doesn’t support casting, so this is only a good option if you were already planning on watching on mobile.
Local Fox stations will broadcast the Super Bowl over the airwaves and access is free, provided you have a way to receive the signal. Indoor HD digital antennas are available for between $20 and $100. These devices plug into your RF connection input (the coaxial port) on your TV and tend to work best when placed in a window. They’re not all that beautiful to look at, and there is an initial cost, but they do give you the ability to grab content out of the air for (almost) free.
Making a field goal/extra point during an American football night game in stadium
Making a field goal or extra point through the goal post during an American football game at night in stadium with lens flare from the lights.
If you've been thinking about adding Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint to your home office, this may be a good day to sign up. Today only, Amazon is offering a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365 Family bundled with a $50 Amazon gift card for $100. The price of the yearly subscription is usually $100, so you're essentially getting a free gift card for signing up. The deal is only good through the end of the day and the subscription will auto-renew at the end of the year, so set a reminder if you want to cancel before that kicks in.
The year-long subscription will come as a digital download and runs on PCs or Macs as well as smartphones and tablets running Apple's iOS or Android OS. It covers up to six people and can run on five devices at the same time, with offline access included. Microsoft 365 is the new branding for the well-known Office software and the Family subscription includes access to Word, Excel, Outlook email and PowerPoint. It also comes with the Microsoft Teams video calling app, which updated last year to include a Live Share feature enabling easier real-time collaboration. You also get Clipchamp video editor, which Microsoft acquired in 2021. Included security add-ons like Microsoft Defender and ransomeware protection will help protect your data and devices.
Each person gets 1TB of OneDrive personal cloud storage, which not only lets you store a large amount of files in the cloud, it lets you share photos and files with other OneDrive users, across pretty much any device.
The Microsoft 365 family subscription is activated as a digital download, but the $50 gift card will arrive as a physical card in the mail. And as we said, the deal ends today, so take advantage if you want to add Microsoft's productivity apps to your setup.
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Microsoft Family 365
Offer for Microsoft Family 365 with $50 amazon gift card. Logos of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be behind us, but many of the deals are still live as of today. A few deals even popped up after the shopping holidays ended, keeping our deals radar from getting rusty. Samsung still has a few good discounts including the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Frame TVs. Apple's latest iPad is $30 off and sales on a few games for the PS5 and Nintendo Switch are still going strong. If you missed out on Black Friday or still have some shopping to do, now is a good time to grab an Instant Pot for holiday cooking, a Roomba to keep the floors spotless or a great pair of earbuds to unwind with some music. Here are the best deals from Cyber Week that you can still get today.
Most of Roku's streaming devices are still on sale. Including the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which is half price. At just $25, it matches the price of Amazon's 4K stick, and it's our current favorite streaming device. The Roku Streambar is down to $80, which is $50 less than usual and a record low. Roku's 2022 Ultra set-top box has dropped to a new low of $69.
Roku's Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $25 right now, which is half off its usual price. This small dongle connects directly to your TV's HDMI port and streams content in 4K, supports Dolby Vision and offers voice command capabilities via its remote. And finally, Roku's Express has dropped to $18 which is one of the best prices we've seen. If you just want an inexpensive streaming device with basic features, the Express is a solid option.
Shop the Roku sale at AmazonThe Galaxy Z Fold 4 is $450 off right now, bringing the rather expensive foldable phone down to $1350 for the 256GB configuration. That includes a $100 "not trade-in" credit. If you do have an old phone to turn in, you'll get at least $300 credit (if it's a Galaxy device) and up to $1,000, depending on the phone and condition. We gave it an Engadget score of 86 with particular praise for the longer zoom on the upgraded cameras and an improved battery life that lasted 17 hours and 13 minutes in our test, which is three more hours than the previous generation. The Z Fold 4 is also great at multitasking. In the end, we called it "a cutting-edge device that’s actually ready for the mainstream."
Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 at Samsung - $1,350Apple's 2022 standard-model iPad is the 10th generation of the multipurpose slate, earning an 85 in our review back in October. We were concerned at the price hike over the previous generation, which brought it to a steep $449. But now that it's going for $419, it's a little easier on your wallet. What we did like was the complete redesign, the solid 10-plus hours of battery, and the addition of a landscape-oriented front-facing camera. Note that the iPad standard only works with the first generation of the Apple Pencil.
Buy iPad (10th gen) at Amazon - $419The Xbox Series S is down to $240 at Amazon, and Woot has the device available for $220 outright — albeit for an international model, which means your instruction manual may be in Spanish — but it's a full $80 off the usual $300.
The Series S is good value for PlayStation or Switch users who want a cheaper way into the Xbox ecosystem. We gave the Series S a review score of 85 at launch, noting that while it isn't doesn't handle 4K gaming and won't play physical games (just digital versions), it can still play all the same games as the pricier Xbox Series X and offers incredibly smooth gameplay.
Buy Xbox Series S at Amazon - $240Anker’s 577 Thunderbolt docking station is what we recommend getting for people who work from home. It's a multi-purpose, powerful brick into which you can plug all of your necessities. With 13 ports, there’s a good chance every peripheral you use will find a home. Plus it supports 85W laptop charging power your your machine as you use it.
Buy Anker 577 docking station at Amazon - $240Right now, Woot is running a sale on Samsung's 2022 Frame TVs that includes some of the best prices we've seen. The best value is the 50-inch model, which is down to $870 — a healthy 33 percent off. You'll see steep discounts across the range, though, including the sweet-spot 55-inch and 65-inch models (now $1,100 and $1,490). We like the Frame for its ability to look convincingly like art when you're not watching it.
Buy 2022 The Frame TV (50-inch) at Woot - $870If you want to experiment with using an iPad Pro as a laptop, Apple's Magic Keyboard is one of the best typing solutions out there. However, like most first-party Apple accessories, it'll cost you. But you can get the 12.9-inch model for $100 less than usual from Amazon. Right now the white keyboard is down to $250, which is the lowest price we've seen it. We gave it an Engadget score of 84, appreciating the luxurious feel of the keys and precision of the trackpad.
Buy Apple 12.9-inch Magic Keyboard at Amazon $250If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox or PC, Microsoft's wireless Xbox Series X/S controller is available for $40 at Microsoft. That's about $20 below the controller's usual going rate. The sale applies to multiple finishes, though some colors are priced at $45. Just note that these pads still rely on AA batteries by default; if you want one rechargeable battery, that'll cost you another $25.
Buy Xbox Wireless Controller at Microsoft - $40If you're looking to build out your game library, this week saw several sales on games for all three of the major consoles. Some were at or near their lowest prices to date and a few are still going on as of today. One of the most acclaimed and popular games of 2022, Elden Ring for PS4 or PS5 is currently on sale for $35 at Walmart, which is $15 below the usual going rate. One of our favorite sequels of the year, the robot-battling open-world game Horizon Forbidden West, is down to a new low of $35 for PS4 and $40 for PS5.
For Switch, the over-the-top hack-and-slasher Bayonetta 3, which only became available about a month ago, is available for $45. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, another recently released hack-and-slasher, is at an all-time low of $28, which is lower than it was for Cyber Monday.
Buy Elden Ring at Walmart - $35Razer's Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 3070 Ti GPU is currently down to $2,000 at Amazon. That's about $350 off its average price and tied for the best price we've tracked. We gave the Blade 14 a review score of 84 last year, and we've recommended the similar Blade 15 in recent buying guides and gift guides. It can run hot, and you can still get similarly powerful gaming laptops for less cash, but the Blade still packs enough power to play demanding games at higher settings in a slim and slick-feeling design that weighs less than four pounds.
Buy Razer Blade 14 at Amazon - $2,000The HyperX Cloud Alpha is down to $55 at Best Buy which is $45 below the wired headset's list price and close to the best price we've tracked. It's a sturdy, no-frills gaming headset that's comfortable to wear for hours. A good set of non-gaming headphones will sound better for the price, but the profile here is still relatively well-balanced, and the included mic is perfectly fine for everyday party chats.
Buy HyperX Cloud Alpha at Best Buy - $55Most of Hisense's TVs are on sale for Cyber Week. If you're looking to spend as little as possible on a still-decent TV, then you can't get much better than Hisense's 43-inch R6-Series Roku TV for $200. It supports 4K content and Dolby Vision, plus it runs on Roku's smart TV operating system.
Shop Hisense Cyber Week TV deals at AmazonAmazon's most affordable streaming stick, the Fire TV Stick Lite is still going for just $15 right now, which is half off its usual price. This is a good option if you want to upgrade an old, "dumb" TV in your home into a smart one. If you have a 4K screen, grab the Fire TV Stick 4K, which has dropped to $25 or 50 percent off its normal price. For Amazon's most capable streaming stick, grab the Fire TV Stick 4K Max. It's down to $35 right now. It has all of the features of the standard Fire TV Stick 4K: UHD streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support, and the live picture-in-picture feature. But on top of that, it has WiFi 6 support and a bit more RAM than all other Fire streaming sticks, improving its overall performance.
Shop the Fire TV Stick sale at AmazonThe Vizio V21t-J8 soundbar is our favorite budget-friendly soundbar and it's down to $120 right now, which is 26 percent off its usual price and a near record low. You're getting a 2.1-channel setup with this accessory, plus a 4.5-inch wireless sub along with it. It may not have WiFi connectivity, but that's the main tradeoff you'll have to make. Otherwise, it supports HDMI ARC/eARC, DTS Virtual:X and Bluetooth, and it has a 3.5mm aux jack as well.
Buy Vizio V21t-J8 soundbar at Amazon - $120If you aren't worried about having the latest model, the 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is on sale for just $799. We gave it an 94 in our review, calling it the best MacBook for most people when it first hit the scene, especially those looking for a casual computer. The M1 chip will still feel like a big upgrade if you're coming from an aging Intel machine, and we also liked this laptop's lovely display, lack of fan noise and good battery life.
Buy MacBook Air at Amazon - $799Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro is a still on sale for a whopping $500, bringing it down to $2,000. We gave it and the 16-inch model scores of 92 in our review, with appreciation for the fast M1 Pro and Max processors, excellent display and solid battery life.
Buy MacBook Pro (14-inch) at Amazon - $2,000Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 2 is still down to $600. This configuration has a Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. We gave this 12.4-inch notebook a score of 86 earlier this year, and it earned a spot in our guide to the best cheap Windows laptops. It impressed us with its slick design, bright screen, good battery life and USB-C charging.
Buy Surface Laptop Go 2 at Amazon - $600The 13-inch Surface Laptop 5 with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is on sale for $1,000, which is the best price we've seen. We gave this machine a score of 83 for its elegant design, bright display, Thunderbolt 4 support and solid performance. We weren't as impressed by its 720p webcam and its non-backlit keyboard, but this notebook is definitely a step up from the Surface Laptop Go 2 and a great pick for daily productivity .
Buy Surface Laptop 5 at Amazon - $1,000A number of Surface laptops and bundles are still on sale for Cyber Week, direct from Microsoft. The new Surface Pro 9 and the Surface Laptop 5 are up to $200 and $300 off, respectively, while you can save more than $600 on Surface Laptop 4 bundles. We recommend checking out all of Microsoft's discounted bundles, because they are some of the best ways to get all of the things you'd need — like keyboard attachments, styluses and more — to make a Surface machine truly your own.
Shop Microsoft Cyber Week dealsThe Roomba s9+ has been around for a couple of years and it's probably overkill for most people. At $999, it's certainly not cheap, but it did earn a spot in our list of best robot vacuums. Right now, you can pick up the high-end machine for $220 off at Wellbots when you use the code ENG220 at checkout. A final price of $779 is the best we've seen on this smart home gadget, In our testing, we found the s9+ to be an incredibly capable cleaner, and while on the loud side, it's no more noisy than other robo-vacs in this price range.
Buy Roomba s9+ at Wellbots - $779The latest entry in Elektron's midrange groovebox series is a lot of things — an analog synth, a digital drum machine, an absurdly powerful sequencer. But one thing the Syntakt is not, is cheap. Right now though, the Syntakt is down to $799 across a number of shops. And while it's definitely focused on percussion, a recent firmware update added two new "machines" that focus on more melodic sounds.
Buy Elektron Syntakt at Reverb - $799Buy Elektron Syntakt at Perfect Circuit - $799When the Minilogue XDlaunched for just $650 it staked a pretty convincing claim to the best bang-for-your-buck synth. A few years later, and it's no less impressive. But its price has crept upwards to $730, but now it's down to $600. Korg is offering a number of discounts across its range, but the clear stand out is this 18-percent off on an incredibly versatile synth. It combines four voices of true analog polyphony with a digital synth engine and effects.
Buy Korg Minilogue XD at Perfect Circuit - $600The Universal Audio Volt 76 series stands out from the audio interface pack with a stylish look, low noise and latency, and large easy to use controls. What sets the 76 apart, from even its cheaper Volt brethren is the all analog modeling of its legendary 1176 compressor. The Volt 476 and 276 are both on sale, marked down to $329 and $269, respectively.
Buy Universal Audio Volt 476 at Reverb - $329Buy Universal Audio VOLT 476 at Perfect Circuit - $329Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Reverb - $269Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Perfect Circuit - $269While its not meant to take on the road, the Monoprice Soundstage 3 is an excellent pick for at-home listening. Usually $250, the sale price is down to $200 right now. We like its minimalist design and clear, balanced sound. It gets 10 hours of play on a charge, but also has plenty of hard-wire ports if its staying in one place.
Buy Monoprice SoundStage 3 at Monoprice - $200Bose SoundLink Revolve II is great for bringing your music outside and we found it had a loud and bright sound that carries nicely through the out of doors. It pumps out 360-degree sound and gets 13 hours of play on a charge. It's usually $220 but is still down to $180 right now.
Buy Bose SoundLink Revolve II at Bose - $180Solo Stove's fire pits remain up to 40 percent off right now. We like these fire pits because, while on the expensive side, they are good options that don't smoke you out. Aside from the small table-top Mesa, the most affordable of the bunch is the Solo Stove Ranger, which is on sale for $180.
Buy Solo Stove Ranger at Solo Stove - $180Like the Fire TV and Roku sticks above, the Chromecast with Google TV 4K turns a "dumb" TV into a smart one, and right now it's just $40, down from $50. We reviewed it when it first came out and gave it a score of 86, particularly impressed with the Google Assistant integration.
Buy Chromecast with Google TV 4K at Amazon - $40Crucial's MX500 internal drive is down to a new low of $68 for the 1TB version, and you can find discounts on the other configurations, too. We've long recommended this drive for its standard form factor, its sequential read/write speeds of up to 560/510 MB/s and its AES 256-bit hardware encryption. It also has integrated power loss immunity, which saves all of your work even when there's a power outage.
Buy Crucial MX500 at Amazon - $68We were impressed with the Jabra Elite 3 earbuds at their list $80 list price, giving them an 88 in our review. Now that they're below $50, it's still a good day to get a pair. We called them the "new standard for affordable wireless earbuds" because they offer detailed and balanced sound with a booming low end. We got right around the estimated seven-hour battery life and liked Jabra's comfortable new design for the Elite 3 buds.
Buy Jabra Elite 3 earbuds at Amazon - $50Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones are down to $348 right now, which is the best price we've seen since they came out earlier this year. These are our current favorite wireless headphones, and Sony essentially changed only a few things about the previous WH-1000XM4 to make this generation even better. They have improved noise cancellation and sound quality, plus a slick new design and a solid battery life. We also appreciate their Speak-to-Chat feature and multi-device connectivity.
Buy Sony WH-1000XM5 at Amazon - $348You can pick up the OnePlus 10 Pro smartphone for only $549 right now, which is the lowest we've seen it. The standout feature of this handset is its remarkably fast charging technology. You can get a full charge in just over a half hour using 80W SUPERVOOC charging. However, US users are capped at 65W SUPERVOOC, but that's still the speediest charging standard available stateside. Otherwise, we also appreciated the 10 Pro's lovely 120Hz display and its fast face-unlock feature.
Buy OnePlus 10 Pro at Amazon - $550iRobot's Roomba j7 is on sale for $349 right now, which is the cheapest we've seen it, and you can get the j7+ for $599. This is one of iRobot's latest robo-vacs and it has enhanced obstacle avoidance which lets it navigate around a robot vacuum's arch nemesis: pet poop. It also has 10 times the suction power of a standard Roomba, plus support for smart mapping and Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. With the j7+ model, you're also getting a clean base into which the robo-vac will empty its bin after every job.
Buy iRobot Roomba j7 at Amazon - $349Blink 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.
Buy Blink Mini camera 2-pack at Amazon - $30If you're still looking to pick up a new smart display ahead of the holidays, a newer deal on Amazon's Echo Shows may be of interest. The retailer is currently offering a bundle that pairs its Echo Show 8 with the Kids edition of its Echo Show 5 for $70.
We've seen the Echo Show 8 alone go for $70 for much of the last two months, but that still equals the lowest price we've tracked. Normally, it retails closer to $100. With this deal, you're effectively getting an Echo Show 5 Kids thrown in at no extra cost. That device is currently available on its own for $40, but its average street price over the last few months has sat closer to $60.
Buy Echo Show 8 + Echo Show 5 Kids at Amazon - $70Disney+ will switch to a two-tier model on December 8th. After that, the ad-free version, which is the only way the service is currently offered, will increase to $11 per month instead of $8. The new ad-supported plan will then go for $8. If you want to hang on to that $8 per month price for an ad-free plan, you can sign up before December 7th and pay $80 for a year of ad-free streaming. That works out to a 39 percent discount over the elevated $11 per month plan. If you didn't already know, Disney+ includes a dominating trove of content from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic.
Subscribe to a year of Disney+ (ad-free) for $80Switching to an all-streaming diet often means forgoing live TV and other content cable offers. YouTube TV is one way to get back some of the live sports, live news and "cable channels" you're missing. YouTube's limited time offer is still going and gives you your first three months for $55 per month, with no contract required. If you decide you like what you're seeing, don't cancel and the price will revert to the regular $65 per month.
Subscribe to 3 months of YouTube TV for $55 per monthWhile some subscription deals time out after a few months, Alo Moves is still offering half-off annual subscriptions for life. The going rate for a yearly membership is currently $200, so this brings it down to $100. The online fitness service currently has more than 3,000 classes, and new classes are added weekly. You can watch on your laptop or via app on an iPhone or iPad. Yoga, pilates, HIIT, and core classes are available, along with meditation and mindfulness sessions, including a power nap sound bath.
Subscribe to a year of Alo Moves - $100Masterclass memberships are annual and include access to all 180 classes they offer. Right now when you buy any membership plan, which range from $180 to $276 per year, you'll get a second free membership to give away. There are classes from Martin Scorsese, Usher, Carlos Santana, Questlove, Alice Waters, David Lynch and 100 other people you've heard of. Classes range from a little over two hours to five-plus hours and are broken into between 12 and 30 lessons each.
Buy two MasterClass subscriptions - $180 per yearLike Masterclass above, this Rosetta Stone membership doesn't make you decide what you want to learn up front. And instead of a yearly membership, this one is for life. The usual price for a lifetime membership is $300, but is still half price right now. With it, you get access to all 25 languages Rosetta Stone offers, complete with customizable lesson plans and immersion learning methods. The deal runs from now through Friday, December 2nd.
Buy a lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone - $149Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps includes more than 20 apps, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator and InDesign. From now through December 4th, Adobe's sale takes 25 percent off the monthly price for your entire first year. That brings the price down from its usual $55 per month to just $40 per month.
Subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps - $40 per monthYou can think of Tidal's HiFi membership as Spotify for audiophiles and music super fans, delivering up to 1411 kbps of lossless audio quality to your Android, iPhone or desktop. A membership also includes curated playlists, access to Tidal original documentaries and interviews with musicians, and of course it's all ad free. The holiday deal gives you two months for $2, and bumps up to $10 a month after that.
Subscribe to Tidal HiFI - $2 for two monthsThe iRobot Roomba 694 is currently our favorite budget robot vacuum and is down to $180 right now. 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.
Buy iRobot Roomba 694 at Amazon - $179The 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.
Buy Shark Ion RV765 at Walmart - $150With a more than 50 percent discount, Eufy's RoboVac X8 Hybrid is down to $320, which is 51 percent 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. The hybrid 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.
Buy Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid at Amazon - $320The Meater Plus is the recommended thermometer in our grilling gear guide. It's still down $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.
Buy Meater Plus at Amazon - $80The 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. It dropped down to $79 for Black Friday and is still on sale. That's 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.
Buy Instant Pot Duo at Amazon - $79If you like 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.
Buy Google Nest Hub at B&H Photo - $50The Google Nest Cam battery is your best bet for Google Assistant-controlled indoor and outdoor monitoring. While they usually go for $180, they're $60 off right now, making them $120 each. These run on batteries and are rated to handle the weather outside, but they're quite a bit more expensive than some other cameras. 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.
Buy Google Nest Cam at B&H Photo - $120When Amazon's Echo Dot first unveiled its new spherical shape in 2020, we tried it out and thought it was a well-rounded speaker in all senses of the word, awarding it a score of 88. For Black Friday it was 50 percent off, putting Amazon's smallest smart speaker down to just $25. Today it's bumped up to $28, which is still a fairly good deal on a speaker that'll let you control your music, lights, thermostats and more with your voice. The Echo Dot even acts as a WiFi extender, adding up to 1,000 square feet of extra coverage, if you use the brand's Eero WiFi routers.
Buy Echo Dot at Amazon - $28The Blink Video Doorbell is the least expensive doorbell in Amazon's lineup, and right now is down to $35 from its usual price of $50. You can use it wired to your existing doorbell wiring or run the unit on two AA batteries. Your first set of batteries is included and can last up to two years. The unit wakes up with a doorbell press or when it detects motion, enabling two-way talk. Wiring the unit allows it to activate your built-in doorbell chime. On batteries, you'll get alerts via the Blink app.
Buy Blink Video Doorbell at Amazon - $35Logitech's G435 gaming headset typically goes for $80, but right now they're just $49.88. They connect via Bluetooth or with the USB-A dongle for a lower-latency wireless connection. The built-in mics allow for in-game chat and post-game Discord discussions. They'll pair up with a PC and both PlayStation 4 and 5 using the wireless dongle, or via Bluetooth with PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch. You can pair them with your phone too, but keep in mind these don't have active noise cancellation.
Buy Logitech G435 gaming headset at Amazon - $50Razer's Kishi mobile controller turns your smartphone into a Switch-like gaming device. It's usually $100, and Black Friday knocked 55 percent off the list price. Now the Android version is just a tad cheaper, bringing the sticker to $40. It's the same $45 for the iPhone version as it was for the shopping holiday. The Kishi connects via your phone's charging port, as opposed to via Bluetooth, so there's no wireless latency. Note that this is the original version of the device, not the recently released V2. That version isn't budging from its $99 MSRP.
Buy Razer Kishi mobile controller at Amazon - $40The Razer Orochi gaming mouse has an MSRP of $70, but right now that's down by half. This mobile mouse made the cut in our search for the ultimate productivity mouse. Even though we called it the most "forgettable-looking option," we were impressed by how lightweight and capable it is. It connects via Bluetooth or wireless dongle and runs on ether an AA or AAA battery, with up to 950 hours on a battery.
Buy Razer Orochi gaming mouse at Amazon - $35The Tile Pro tracker usually goes for $35, and was down $28 for Black Friday, but now it's even more affordable at just $25. The BlueTooth tracker has a convenient lanyard hole making it ideal for a set of keys, but you can also attach it to a pack or luggage. Regardless of what item you attach it to, the Tile app makes sure that item never goes missing. Using Bluetooth when it's within 400 feet, you can make the Tile Pro ring to find things that way. When an item is farther away, the Tile app uses the Tile network to locate the item by anonymously pinging the phones of other Tile users.
Buy Tile Pro tracker at Amazon - $25This Samsung microSD card is still on sale, with a 38 percent discount on the 256GB size bringing it down to just $25. It offers transfer speeds of up to 130MBps and even includes a SD adapter so you can use it with more of your devices.
Buy Samsung EVO Select MicroSD card at Amazon - $25A doorbell that works with either Alexa or the Google Assistant, the Kasa Smart Video Doorbell is on sale for just $42, down from its usual $60. In addition to offering app-controllable two-way audio and 1296p video from the 3MP camera, the Kasa doorbell comes with a plug-in chime to let you know when someone rings your bell. This model doesn't have a battery option, so it'll only work by hooking up to your existing doorbell wire.
Buy Kasa Smart Video Doorbell at Amazon - $42The rugged Samsung T7 Shield portable SSD in 1TB is on sale for $100 right now, which matches its record-low price. We've been fans of the T7 lineup for quite some time, and the latest edition has a rubberized exterior that helps protect it from drops from almost 10 feet high. It's also IP65 water- and dust-resistant, and supports 1,050/1,000 MB/s read/write speeds.
Buy T7 Shield (1TB) at Amazon - $100If you need a solid drive for your new PS5, Samsung's 980 Pro is a good choice. The 1TB version with an included heatsink is on sale for only $120, and since it comes with that accessory, it'll be ready to go for your console. We like its read speeds of 7,000MB/s, its smart thermal control and the fact that you can maintain and customize it using Samsung's Magician software.
Buy Samsung 980 Pro (1TB) at Amazon - $120Crucial's X8 portable drive in 2TB is on sale for $140, which is a record-low price. We like this drive for its compact yet durable design that's drop-, shock- and vibration-resistant, plus its read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. It also comes with a USB-C to A and a USB-C to C cable, so you can use it with almost any device.
Buy Crucial X8 (2TB) at Amazon - $140SanDisk's 2TB Extreme portable SSD dropped to $145 for Black Friday, which was the cheapest we've seen it. Since then, it creeped up by $5, but is still a healthy 67 percent discount. You get up to 1,050MB/s read and up to 1,000MB/s write speeds with this pocket-friendly drive, plus a design that's IP55 water and dust resistant, that's able to withstand drops from up to two meters. We also like that it has a carabiner loop built in so you can attach it to your bag.
Buy SanDisk Extreme SSD (2TB) at Amazon - $150Perfect for bumping the capacity of a Nintendo Switch, Lexar's Play microSD card is on sale for only $15 right now. That'll get you the 128GB model, but this card goes up to a whopping 1TB of storage, and that version is down to $100, which is even cheaper than it was for Black Friday. This card supports 150MB/s read speeds and comes with five years of limited product support.
Buy Lexar Play microSD card (128GB) at Amazon - $15Buy Lexar Play microSD card (1TB) at Amazon - $100Bose's QuietComfort 45 headphones are available for $249, which is $20 more than their all-time low but still roughly $60 off their average street price. This is an alternative pick in our guide to the best wireless headphones. We liked that the QC 45s have a more neutral sound out of the box, still-capable ANC and a design that's comfortable without sacrificing the ability to fold up. They also use physical buttons instead of touch controls. We gave the QuietComfort 45 a review score of 86 last year.
Buy Bose QuietComfort 45 at Amazon - $249Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless 3 are on sale for $200, which is $40 off the usual going rate and tied for the best price we've seen. These are the wireless earphones we recommend if detailed sound quality is your chief concern. Their adaptive ANC is effective, their eight-ish hours of battery life is solid and their default sound profile should satisfy if you enjoy a boosted low-end.
Buy Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 at Amazon - $200Another honorable mention in our guide to the best wireless headphones, Sennheiser's Momentum 4 is down to $276, which is an all-time low and $25 cheaper than they were for Black Friday. We gave this pair a review score of 82 this past August, admiring the stellar 60 or so hours of battery life per charge and great sound quality right out of the box.
Buy Sennheiser Momentum 4 at Amazon - $276The Echo Studio is a bigger and louder version of the standard Echo smart speaker, built to deliver hi-res audio. It's usually $200 and doesn't often go on sale, but for Black Friday, it's $40 off the list price. We gave the Studio an 88 in our review, saying Amazon had finally nailed the audio element of its smart speaker lineup. With the larger build and speaker array, it's clear Amazon is trying to compete with other smart speaker manufacturers like Sonos and Bose with this one, and for the most part, it does a fine job of it.
Buy Echo Studio at Amazon - $160Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K seen against a purple gradient background.
This week, Apple announced and set the release date for the new MacBook Pros and both Amazon and Best Buy rushed to offer a slight discount on pre orders. Amazon also knocked a hefty 40 percent off many of their Fire Tablets, including the new Fire HD 8. Bose's QC II earbuds are back down to $250, and a couple robot vacuums are on sale, including the best budget vac we've tried, iRobot's Roomba 694. We also found a few deals on SSD cards from both Samsung and Crucial, plus a tidy 32 percent discount on one of our favorite tiny Bluetooth speakers. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Amazon's own tablets are already among the most affordable out there but right now, you can grab the latest eight-inch HD model for just $60. That's a 40 percent discount off the usual $100 price tag and while it's not quite the all-time low we saw for Black Friday, it's still an extremely low price for a tablet. For a moderate upgrade the Fire HD 8 Plus adds an extra gigabyte of ram, wireless charging and improved cameras. Right now it's 33 percent off, for a sale price of $80. You can save a larger percentage on the 10-inch models like the Fire HD 10. It's down to $85, or 43 percent off the list price. It's important to note that these are all ad-supported models, meaning you'll see ads from Amazon on your lock screen. The non-ad-supported models are currently full price.
While Fire tablets don't have the level of processing power or performance that you'd get from a more expensive iPad or Galaxy Tab, they're decent options for casual web browsing, e-reading and video streaming. The Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is what we recommend for kids in our latest tablet guide and the sale brings it down to $140 or $60 off the list price. Fire tablets for kids don't have ad-supported versions and include a year of Amazon Kids+ which offers thousands of kid-oriented games, apps and videos. Plus it comes with a protective case with a handle that doubles as a kickstand.
It was just released back in September, but the new 2022 Kindle Kids just got its first discount at Amazon. The kid-focused e-reader is $85 right now, which is $35 less than its usual $120. The Kindle Paperwhite for Kids is also on sale for $110, or $50 off the usual price. The Paperwhite edition adds waterproofing, adjustable warm light, and a slightly larger screen (6.8 inches vs the Kindle Kids' 6-inch screen). The deal isn't the lowest we've seen, but it's only $5 more than its all-time low during last year's holiday sales.
Both kid-focused Kindles include a year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which grants access to thousands of age-appropriate e-books and audiobooks. They also have a Parent Dashboard to set age filters and device time limits. The new Kindle Kids ups the storage capacity to 16GB, while the Paperwhite is available in either an 8GB size or a 16GB size. You can also snag the same deals on the Kindle Kids at Best Buy or Target if you prefer.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 usually retails for $1,100, but right now it's $ 929, which is cheaper than it's been since its release back in October. The slab is our current favorite Windows tablet thanks to its laptop-like capabilities with a slim tablet design. With Windows 11 and a 12th-gen Intel Evo i5 processor, the tablet is built for productivity. You also get a beautiful display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and improved stereo speakers. There's a front-facing camera that allows for facial recognition for easier log-ins. Unlike many tablets, you can access and upgrade the SSD as needed. The larger app icons and touch-friendly controls in Windows 11 make it easy to use as a tablet, or you can add a keyboard and mouse for a full laptop-like experience.
If you want to shut out the world, we recommend going with Bose's QuietComfort Earbuds II. They usually sell for $300, but right now at Amazon the earbuds are down to $250. We've seen the buds dip to this price a few times in the past, and it matches their sale price for Black Friday last year. While $250 still isn't cheap, if you're ready to invest in a set of earbuds with the best noise cancellation we've tried, saving $50 could help. We gave them a score of 87 in our review, giving them kudos for their sound quality, comfort and ambient (transparent) sound — in addition to the phenomenal ANC.
The latest Apple laptops haven't even been released, yet the base configuration of the new MacBook Pro with the brand's fastest M2 Pro processor chip is seeing its first discount both on Amazon, which has it for $50 off, and Best Buy, where members can get a $100 gift card along with a pre-order. It's rare for new Apple products to get discounts this early, but the two retailers are hoping the savings will help you click Add to Cart through their sites. Announced earlier this week, the new computers have the new, faster M2 Pro chip, plus support for WiFi 6E and an HDMI port that supports 8K up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz. Battery life has also been upgraded with lifespans of up to 22 hours, the longest ever on a Mac, according to Apple.
Note that Amazon's $50 discount applies to the space gray colorway in the base configurations of the 14- or 16-inch models. The 14-inch base model has a 10-core CPU, 16‑core GPU and 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. The 16-inch model has 12-core CPU, a 19-Core GPU, 16GB RAM and 12GB of SSD storage. The Best Buy gift card offer applies to more configurations, but is only available to TotalTech members, a $200-per-year membership that you can sign up for with your pre-order. Compared to the list price of $2,000 for the 14-inch base model, these aren't huge discounts, but if you were planning on getting Apple's latest release anyway, you may as well save yourself a little cash. The computers will release next Tuesday, January 24th.
Sony's 65-inch X95K Bravia mini LED TV is $1,000 off right now, bringing the price down to $1,798. That's the lowest price the set has gone for since its release last May. If you want a bigger screen, the 75-inch model is $500 off, bringing that one down to $2,498. Amazon is offering other Sony sets at a discount as well, including some high-end OLED and 4K LED sets like the 55-inch Sony Bravia XR A80K Series 4K Ultra HD TV, which is 35 percent off or $1,298.
A slightly more affordable TV, Sony's Sony 65 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV is 30 percent off its usual $1,000 price tag, bringing that set down to $698. All the sets come with Google's smart TV OS, Google TV, which we liked for its super simple streaming interface. And since Sony also makes the PlayStation, many of these sets include bonus features designed to enhance the look of your PS5 gaming. With the Super Bowl in the US around the corner, this might be a good week to upgrade if you've had your eye on a Sony.
When your PC or console edges close to its storage limits, it might be time to grab an SSD or memory card. Right now Amazon is hosing a sale on Samsung storage options, including the 980 Pro SSD in the 2TB capacity. We named it the best SSD for your PS5 in our guide (and included instructions on how to install it). Right now it's a steep 53 percent off, bringing it down to just $180. It's a fast PCIe Gen4 NVMe drive with read speeds up to 7,000MB/s, but it also has a reputation for reliability. Also on sale is the 256GB Evo Select microSD card for just $20, that's a 52 percent discount on a card that'll expand the storage of a tablet, Android phone or a Nintendo Switch.
Storage from Crucial is also on sale at Amazon right now, with the 1TB option down to $62, which beats its Black Friday price. The MX500 SSD is a good option for adding extra storage to a computer that's nearing capacity, either extending the life of an older device or simply upgrading what you've recently picked up. The 2.5-inch design should fit most laptops and desktops, and it supports read speeds up to 560MB/s and write speeds up to 510MB/s. AES 256-bit hardware encryption is built in and also comes with power loss immunity to protect your saved data it the power goes out. We also appreciate that the MX500 comes in a number of capacity options. The 1TB is arguably best for most people, but you can get it as low as 250GB or as high as 4TB — and all configurations are discounted right now.
This turned out to be a great week for anyone looking to dive into automated cleaning for their floors. Our current "best overall" pick in our budget robot vacuum guide is just $174 at Amazon right now. That's $95 off its usual price and just $4 more than it was for Black Friday. We like iRobot's Roomba 694 machine for its good cleaning power and simple app. We think iRobot's app is great, and even those new to robot vacuums will feel comfortable setting schedules for a mostly hands-free experience (you'll still need to empty the vac once its full).
We had a chance to try the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ a couple of months ago and liked the way it worked its way into a daily cleaning routine with minimal fuss (after contending with the initial mapping of the floor plan). The unit self-empties into the base and the app is "beautifully simple." We feel that the water reservoir might need refilling to get a full clean in larger homes, but the fact that it lifts up the mop pad when not in use to avoid dripping on your carpet is a nice touch. The price is steep, usually going for $1,100, but right now both Wellbots and Amazon are knocking $200 off the list price, making it a slightly more manageable $900.
One of our favorite mice for general productivity is the Pebble mouse from Logitech and right now, the blue and tan colorways are down to $22. We liked the mobile mouse for its slim portability that still had enough heft to feel reassuring in the hand. It's got a simple, two button plus a wheel configuration and can connect via Bluetooth or with the included USB dongle (which conveniently stores in the battery compartment). The long battery life can get up to 18 months on a single AA and while it might not be the most comfortable for extended use, you can't beat the price for an on-the-go mouse.
A carryover that's still going strong this week, Tribit's StormBox Micro 2 is down to $48 from its usual $70 at Amazon right now. It's one of of the Bluetooth speakers we recommend in the sub-$200 range thanks to its compact size that manages to pump out decent volume. It'll get up to 12 hours of play time on a charge and you can even use the unit as a USB-C power bank to charge your phone. Pair up two of them for stereo sound and is waterproof enough to handle a dunk into water.
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Amazon Fire Tablets
An assortment of Amazon Fire Tablets, including the kid's tablet.
Smartphones may mean never having to ask for directions, but it can still be tricky to relay exactly where you are at any given moment to friends and family trying to find you. iPhone users can share their current location using Messages, Apple Maps, Google Maps and Apple’s Find My app. While Apple makes it easiest to share locations with other iPhone users, there are a number of ways to send your position to someone who uses an Android device as well. We covered four different methods in the steps below, along with a way to share from your Mac and how to stop sharing your location when you need to.
This might be the easiest method, as you’re probably already texting the person with which you want to share your location. To text someone exactly where you are, follow these steps:
1. Open a conversation in Messages and tap the recipient’s name/image at the top of the screen.
2. Tap Send My Current Location.
3. A map thumbnail of your location will immediately appear in your conversation.
If your recipient has an iPhone and they tap the map, an info screen will open with an option to get directions via Apple Maps. If your recipient does not have an iPhone, they will receive an Apple Maps link that will open in their browser.
If you want to share your location for a longer period of time:
1. Tap on your recipient’s name/image in your Messages conversation.
2. Tap on Share My Location.
3. Choose Share for One Hour, Share Until End of Day or Share Indefinitely (which remains active until you turn sharing off).
4. They will receive a notification that you are sharing your location with them and you will be added to their Find My app.
Just keep in mind that this only works with other iPhone users.
If you have your address saved under your own contact, you can send your home address via Messages by typing the words “my address is” Messages will auto-suggest your home address to fill in. This also sends your address as a link your recipient can tap on to open their default map app.
Find My lets you locate your Apple devices as well as other iPhone users. The app is a combination of two former Apple offerings, Find My iPhone and Find My Friends. As you may expect, this also only works with other iPhone users.
Tap on the Find My app from your home screen.
Tap on People on the bottom left.
Tap the + symbol at the top of the list of contacts.
Select Share My Location from the pop-up box.
Type the name of the person you want to share your location with. Note that only your contacts with iPhones or email addresses will appear.
6. Tap the name of the contact and tap send. Select whether you want to share for an hour, the rest of the day or indefinitely until you turn location sharing off.
7. You’ll receive a pop up box that says you’ve started sharing your location and your recipient will receive a notification that you’ve shared your location with them and your information will appear in their Find My app.
Currently, all iPhone 14 models have the ability to both message with emergency services and share your location when you are outside of cellular coverage areas. That means you can send your location via the Find My app even when you are off the grid. You can read more about the limitations and other factors in Apple’s press release.
Family Sharing is an Apple service that allows you to share things like subscriptions, media purchases and photo albums with up to five people in your family. This is also another way to let your family know where you are.
Go to Settings then tap your Apple ID, iCloud+, Media & Purchases button at the top.
Tap on Family Sharing.
Choose the friends or family members you want to use Family Sharing with from the list (note that Family sharing only works with other iPhones).
Tap the blue arrow to send. Your recipients will receive a text invitation to join Family Sharing.
5. Once you are sharing with someone, you can enable Location Sharing at the bottom of the Family Sharing menu (Settings > Apple ID > Family Sharing).
6. Tap on Location Sharing at the bottom of the screen.
7. You’ll see an information panel about Family Sharing and your location. Tap Share Location.
8. The next time you tap Location Sharing from the Family Sharing menu, you’ll be directed to a screen that allows you to toggle location sharing on and off.
9. People who are connected with you through Family Sharing (provided you have location sharing toggled on) will be able to see you in the Find My app and in your profile panel in Messages.
You can also share your whereabouts directly from the apps that many people use for navigation. To send a location via Google Maps, you’ll need to be logged in with your Google account within the Maps app. Once you’ve logged in, follow these steps to start location sharing:
Open the Google Maps app on your iPhone.
Tap on your account image in the upper right corner.
Tap Location sharing.
You’ll see a location sharing information panel. Tap the Share Location button.
5. From here, you can choose to share with your contacts from within Google by selecting a duration and the icon of the person you want to share with. Your recipient will receive a Google Maps notification (provided they have Google Maps installed and notifications turned on for that app). They will also receive an email with a link to view your location on Google Maps.
6. Alternatively, you can tap More Options below your contacts to share your location with a link.
7. You’ll see a pop-up window asking if you want to share with a link. Tap Share.
8. Select from the suggested contacts (the small icon at the lower right of each contact’s image indicates which method will be used to send the link). Or select an app, such as Messages or Gmail to open those apps and enter your contact’s information.
9. Your contact will receive a link via the method you chose. When they tap the link it will take them to the Google Maps app (if they have it installed) or to Google Maps within the browser.
If you prefer using Apple Maps for navigation, here’s how to use the app to send your location details:
Open Apple Maps
Tap the arrowhead icon to center the map on your current location.
Drag up on the panel at the lower half of the screen.
Scroll down to Share My Location and tap.
Choose the person you want to share your location with from the suggestions menu or choose an app, such as Messages or Mail. You can add a comment if you want, and press the blue send arrow.
6. If you choose to send via Messages, your recipient will receive a map thumbnail of your location. If they tap that, it will open their Apple Maps app. If they don’t have Apple Maps, your location will open using Apple Maps in their browser.
Click Launchpad from the Dock.
Open the Find My app.
Click on Share My Location in the lower left corner.
Type in the name of the person you want to share with. Similarly to the Find My app on an iPhone, the Find My app on a Mac can only share your location with other Apple devices.
5. Your recipient will receive a notification that you’ve shared your location with them and your information will appear in their Find My app.
If you’re having trouble sharing your location, make sure Location Services is on for the app you want to use.
Go to Settings.
Tap on Privacy & Security.
Tap on Location Services.
Make sure Location Services is toggled on.
Ensure the app you want to use is set to While Using.
If you’ve shared your location for a duration of time through Find My, Family Sharing or Google Maps, you can stop sharing at any point. If you’ve shared using a one time link to your location, via Messages, Apple Maps or the link option in Google Maps, you can’t undo that action, just as you can’t unsend a text or an email.
Via Find My: Open the Find My app and tap the name of the person you want to stop sharing with. Drag up on their info panel and tap Stop Sharing My Location.
Via Family Sharing: Open Family Sharing by opening Settings and tapping your Apple ID panel at the top of the Settings menu. Tap Family Sharing then Location Sharing and toggle off Automatically Share Location.
Via Google Maps: Open the Google Maps app and tap on your profile image at the top right. Tap Location sharing. You’ll see a list of people you’ve shared with. Tap the person you want to stop sharing with, then tap the Stop button at the bottom of the screen.
Woman using map application in smartphone to navigate city
Woman using map application in smartphone to navigate city, concept with geo location icon on mobile phone screen
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