Tag: Anker

A number of Anker power banks and chargers are on sale right now at Amazon. The sale includes 25 percent off the price of the 10,000mAh Qi2 MagGo Power Bank, which brings it down to $67.50 from $90. Just note that the deal only apples to the white model. 

We named the portable charger the best MagSafe-enabled banks in our guide. It’s Qi2-certified and brought an iPhone 15 from four percent to half full in around 45 minutes in our tests. It delivered a full charge plus an additional 70 percent before needing a refill. I also appreciated the display that shows the amount of charge the bank has left and the kickstand so you can watch something while you refuel.

The 552 USB-C Hub is also part of the sale and down to $30 after a big 57 percent discount. You can also save on Anker’s Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank with the 100W Charging Base included. It’s down to $164.50 from $235 and is another top pick in our buyer’s guide to power banks. 

Our favorite smart plug is currently on sale at Amazon. A four-pack of the Kasa EP25 smart plug is down to $32.58 instead of $50 after a 25 percent discount and an on-page $5 coupon. 

The Kasa EP25 works with Alexa, Google Home, HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings. I found the connection to be stable and the initial setup was quick to do through the companion app. Once initialized, it’s easy to add the plug to whichever smart home eco system you rely on. 

Amazon’s Smart Plug is also on sale for $20 instead of $25. Our guide calls it the best smart plug for Alexa-enabled homes, so if you already have a few Amazon Echo speakers at home, the plug will make a good addition. The only real advantage is has over the Kasa plug is its near-instant pairing with Alexa.

Sonos not only makes quality speakers, they also have a respectable refurbished program which can save you some cash on the otherwise pricey audio equipment. Right now, a refurbished Sonos Arc SL soundbar is down to $509, which is $170 off the renewed price and $240 off the speaker’s full $749 price tag when it was new. A decent selection of similarly like-new soundbars and speakers are also on sale, with up to 25 percent off the refurb prices. That includes our pick for a midrange soundbar, the second-generation Beam soundbar. It’s down to $299 after a $100 discount off the refurbished rate.

We named the Sonos Arc the runner-up premium soundbar in our buying guide, praising its stellar sound quality and ability to calibrate its sound to match the room its in. Compared to the standard Arc, the Arc SL lacks a microphone, so you won’t be able to use voice assistants directly from the soundbar. 

Sonos refurbished gear comes with the same, one-year warranty, all necessary cables and manuals plus all-new packaging. They also donate one percent of refurbished sales to environmental non-profits as part of 1% for the Planet.

Right now a code at Wellbots will get you iRobot’s flagship Roomba Combo J9+ for $400 off. The vacuum-mop hybrid robot, which only arrived last fall, automatically empties itself and refills the device’s mopping liquid. That convenience doesn’t come cheap, though. The unit usually sells for $1,399 but enter the coupon code ENGA400 at Wellbots and get it for $999 instead. 

Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar gave the Combo J9+ an 85 review score when it first came out, calling it a godsend for tired parents. It’s also our pick for the best combo vacuuming-mopping robot. It has an upgraded motor and four-stage cleaning system that takes multiple pass-throughs across your carpets and floors.

The base that empties the debris and refills the mop solution also doubles as a storage unit that looks more like living room furniture. Setup is as simple as adding water and cleaning solution to a reservoir and attaching a mop pad. Upkeep is limited to swapping mop pads and leaning the vacuum’s bristles and dust bin.

If you don’t need a mop you can save some cash by going with the standard Roomba J9+ $599, which is $300 with the code ENGA300. It includes all the vacuum-related features from the more expensive Combo variant, including a three-stage cleaning system, multi-surface rubber brushes and stronger suction.

The previous-generation Roomba Combo j7+ vacuum-mop cleaning robot is $200 off with coupon code ENGA200. 

The Blink Mini 2 home security camera was only announced a month ago and it’s already on sale for 25 percent off, making it just $30 instead of $40. It can be used indoors or outdoors, though it needs a weather-resistant power adapter for use outside. A bundle with the adapter is on sale as well. The camera shoots HD footage day or night and has an LED spotlight. 

Amazon-owned Blink announced the Mini 2 camera in March, touting improvements to image quality and the option for HD night view in color thanks to the spotlight. The camera also has motion detection and two-way audio. The camera can detect motion, and alert you when it does, but if you want person detection and the ability to live-stream continuously (up to 90 minutes), you’ll need a Blink subscription. The Mini 2 comes with a 30-day free trial of the Blink Subscription Plan, too. After that, it’s $3 per month per device or $10 monthly for unlimited coverage.

If you’d prefer security cameras made by a different tech company, you can get Google’s wired Nest security camera for $70, which is 30 percent off and its lowest price to date. The deal is available at Amazon, Walmart and directly from Google. 

The Nest Cam uses AI to discern between people, animals and vehicles and sends alerts via the Google Home app, and, unlike Blink cams, you don’t need a subscription for that. The Nest Aware plan does let you save 60 days of video history, however, otherwise you get three free hours of history. It also has two-way audio function and the ability to view live video feeds on mobile devices and compatible smart displays.

For keeping an eye on your outdoors, you can grab the Outdoor Nest Cam with Floodlight which is 29 percent off and down to $200. 

Annual subscriptions to the budgeting app Quicken Simplifi are half off through April 21. It has dropped from $4 monthly to $2 per month, billed annually at $24. 

Quicken Simplify topped both our list of the best budgeting apps and our collection of the best apps to replace Mint. We like the user-friendly interface and instantaneous access to various metrics, like top-line balances, net worth, recent spending, upcoming recurring payments and more.

It also lets you set up customized savings goals and the clean UI keeps things interesting with playful animations. .You can also invite a spouse or a financial manager to co-manage the account. 

The 10th-gen Apple iPad is on sale for $349 at Amazon and Best Buy, which matches the lowest price we’ve seen from major retailers. The deal applies to the base model with 64GB of storage. The 256GB model is also $100 off the list price and down to $499.

Keep in mind that Apple reportedly plans to release new iPad Airs and iPad Pros in early May, so you may want to wait to see what is announced — and whether today’s models drop even further. The standard iPad may not be refreshed until later this year. 

We gave the 10th-gen iPad a review score of 85 in late 2022. Its aluminum design feels premium, it gets a solid 10-plus hours of battery life and its A14 Bionic chip is still plenty fast for media consumption — though its the only remaining iPad without an M-series chip and it only works with the older generation Apple Pencil and requires an adapter. 

8BitDo’s Ultimate Bluetooth Controller is $60 right now on Amazon. Last week it dropped to $59.49, but only for Amazon Prime members. Neither deal is an all-time low, but still around $10 off the list price.

Engadget’s Jeff Dunn is a fan of the wireless Switch and PC gamepad and its Hall effect joysticks, which use magnets to read inputs, making them less susceptible to “drift” over time. While it may be a touch small for those with especially large hands, it has a sturdy design, customizable buttons and comes with a charging dock. 

If you’re looking for a smart TV streaming dongle and don’t need 4K video, check out this sale on the Chromecast with Google TV (HD). It’s dwon to $20, which is $10 off the list price and close to the all-time low. You can get the same deal from Amazon, Target or directly from Google.

This is the HD version of our top choice for streaming devices. We were impressed by the user interface which does a good job of integrating all the various services you subscribe to in one place. There’s a universal search function and the setup is relatively easy: Just plug it into your TV’s HDMI port and give it power with the included USB cable and power adapter. Then use the Google Home app to get things going. 

Of course, if you’ve got a 4K TV and want to see that higher def content, you’ll want the more expensive model, though that one isn’t on sale. 

The newest Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is still sale for $40, which ties the lowest price we’ve tracked. The 4K Max is Amazon’s fastest and most featured streaming stick and supports HDR formats, Dolby Atmos audio and WiFi 6E. The user interface isn’t as streamlined as other streaming devices and the homepage and search heavily promote Amazon’s own content. But the sticks recommended in our buying guide — from Roku and Google — aren’t on sale right now. 

The standard Fire TV Stick 4K is also back on sale for $30. That’s not an all-time low, but the only time it’s been cheaper was during Black Friday. 

The USB-C AirPods Pro are back down to $189, which is $10 more than the all-time low we saw last month but $10 less than their usual street price on Amazon and $60 less than buying from Apple direct. Best Buy has the pair for a dollar more. Engadget’s Billy Steele gave the second-gen AirPods Pro a score of 88 back in 2022 and they’re our top pick for iOS devices. Note that new AirPods are likely on the horizon, but new AirPods Pro reportedly aren’t coming until 2025.

The 55-inch Hisense U6K TV is down to an all-time low of $350 at Best Buy, which is roughly $50 below the average street price we’ve seen over the last few months. The U6K is a budget-level TV from 2023 that’s received almost universally high marks from reviewers we trust. It’s one of the only TVs in its price range with quantum-dot color, a mini-LED backlight and full-array local dimming, so it should provide better contrast and color volume than most cheap sets. It’s still not ideal for gaming, as it lacks HDMI 2.1 features and is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. Its brightness levels won’t blow anyone away, either. But at this price, it looks to be a great value. 

It’s worth noting that this TV’s successor, the U6N, recently went on sale and promises even better brightness and contrast. However, that one currently costs $600 for a 55-inch set. For now, the older model should remain the better value for most people. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Commerce Writer