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Our favorite cheap Android tablet is on sale for $170

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We highlight Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A9+ in our Android tablet buying guide for those who just want a competent slate for as little money as possible. If that describes you, take note: The 11-inch device is now on sale for $170 at several retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. This deal has technically been available for a couple of weeks, but it still represents the lowest price we’ve tracked. For reference, Samsung typically sells the tablet for $220. Both the Graphite and Silver finishes are discounted.

Samsung

This matches the lowest price we’ve seen for the top budget pick in our Android tablet buying guide. Another version with more RAM and storage is also on sale for $220, another all-time low.

$170 at Amazon

Do note, though, that this price applies the base model, which includes 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The latter is expandable with a microSD card, but the limited memory can cause some stutters if you want to push the the tablet for anything beyond casual streaming and web browsing. Samsung sells a higher-spec model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage: That one will be a better buy for gaming and more involved use, and it’s also $50 off at $220, another all-time low.

As my colleague Sam Rutherford notes in our buying guide, the Galaxy Tab A9+ isn’t likely to wow you in any one area, but it covers the basics well. Its 11-inch LCD display is well-sized and has a faster-than-usual 90Hz refresh rate, which helps the UI feel smooth to scroll through. The screen has a wide 16:10 aspect ratio, so it’s better suited to landscape mode than the 4:3 display on an iPad. The metal and plastic frame is slick for the price, while the 7,040mAh battery should hold up for a day or two of casual use. And though no Android tablet really nails the software experience, most people should find Samsung’s One UI to be cleaner than something like Amazon’s Fire OS. The company says it’ll provide OS updates through the eventual Android 16 and security updates through October 2027.

That said, this is still a cheap tablet. The Galaxy Tab A9+’s Snapdragon 695 chip is speedy enough but no powerhouse, and its charging speed tops out at a relatively meager 15W. There’s no fingerprint reader, included stylus or formal water-resistance rating, either. If you’re not beholden to Android, one of Apple’s iPads will still be more well-rounded (though we expect to see new models arrive in the coming weeks). Still, at these prices, the Galaxy Tab A9+ is a solid buy if you’re on a tighter budget.

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Google Podcasts is now officially gone – here are my favorite iPhone and Android alternatives

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Google Podcasts is gone. The streaming platform recently went offline on April 2, bringing the six-year saga to a close. Now it joins the likes of YouTube Stories and the Stadia console over in the Google Graveyard. 

If you open the app or go to the official website, you get a message stating the service is no longer available. Google asks you to transfer your subscriptions to either YouTube Music or export them to a third-party service. 

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Spotify may be raising prices, here are my 3 favorite alternatives

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Spotify is reportedly set to raise the prices again. This news from a recent Bloomberg report that cites anonymous sources who told the publication of the streaming giant’s future plans. 

According to the insiders, Spotify intends to “increase prices by about $1 to $2 a month” across five markets by April 30. These include the UK, Australia, and Pakistan. The other two regions were not mentioned. Users in the United States are slated to see the same changes, but they won’t happen until later in the year.

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Our favorite cheap smartphone is on sale for $250 right now

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You don’t need to shell out a four-figure sum to find a great smartphone. In fact, you don’t even need to spend half of that to snap up one that covers all of the basics and then some. At its regular price of $300, was already our pick for the around. It’s currently on sale for $250 ($50) off, which makes it an even better deal. That’s close to a record low price. The discount is part of a broader sale on .

OnePlus

Our pick for the best cheap smartphone is currently $50 off its usual price.

$250 at Amazon

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G offers great value however you slice it. The phone has a relatively zippy Snapdragon 695 5G processor, along with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is expandable with a microSD card.

You’ll get a 16MP front-facing camera and, on the rear, 108MP main and 2MP macro lenses. The 5,000mAh battery should last you a day of moderate use, while OnePlus says the 50W fast charging support will top it up from a one-percent charge to 80 percent in 30 minutes. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G also has a 6.7-inch, 120Hz IPS display that’s great for gaming.

On the downside, there’s no IP rating for dust or water resistance. And while the handset runs on Oxygen OS 13.1 (which is based on Android 13), OnePlus has only committed to bringing one major Android update to the N30, along with three years of security support. That’s a pity for those looking for something that’ll stay up to date for a few years without breaking the bank, but that level of Android support is typical for budget phones.

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Our favorite air purifier is $30 off right now in a limited time deal

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As clean as your home may be, there are plenty of factors at play that can contribute to the accumulation of pollutants indoors. An air purifier is an easy way to freshen things up and improve the air quality in your home — and one of our favorites, the , is currently 14 percent off. In a limited time deal on Amazon, the Levoit Core 400S in white is down to $190 from its usual price of $220.

LEVOIT

The Levoit Core 400S in white is 14 percent off in this limited time deal. 

$190 at Amazon

The Levoit Core 400S is a standard air purifier in terms of its design, with a cylindrical body that has vents at the top and a simple display that offers touch controls and air quality readings. A color-changing ring at the center of the device surrounding the pollution measurement provides quick information at a glance; it’ll be either blue, green, orange or red depending on the air quality. It has a 360-degree filtration system and is stated to capture over 99.9 percent of pollutants as small as .3 microns, including dust, pollen and pet dander.

The Core 400S is one of our top picks for the you can get this year. It is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant for voice controls, and can perform automatic purification duties. When running on auto, it’ll adjust its fan speeds based on changes in the surrounding air quality. The smart air purifier also connects to an app, where you can check the air quality reports even if you’re not home. It also has a sleep mode for quieter performance at night, and it’ll dim or turn off the display so you aren’t disturbed by bright lights.

The Levoit Core 400S combines pre-filter, activated carbon and HEPA into a ring-shaped filter that can be replaced for $50. The company claims it can purify an area of 1980 square feet once per hour. It may not have a standout design, but it gets the job done.

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Computers

My Favorite Things an Amazon Echo Show Can Do (2024)

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There are a ton of tricks that smart displays can do. But not all of them are created equal or are worth doing on this style of advice.

The basics are easy—just about anyone knows how handy it is to ask any smart speaker or smart display to tell you the weather or play music. And you should! It’s their best use case, especially since smart displays like the Echo Show can give you more weather details onscreen. But that’s not all these handy devices do, and for the price you should get the most out of any smart display you buy.

Amazon’s Echo Shows have their own special tricks and ways to activate them. Here are my three favorite uses for an Echo Show and how to fix my least favorite feature. Do you think you would prefer another system? Don’t forget to check out our guides to the Best Smart Speakers and How to Set Up Your Smart Home.

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Play With Widgets

Widgets are my favorite casual feature of Echo Shows. They’re little squares with shortcut content that you can customize, ranging from a sticky note or calendar to managing your smart home, quick access to certain music, and so much more.

Originally, they were only on the massive Echo Show 15, but they’re now available on the Echo Show 8 and 10 as well. On the Echo Show 15, the widgets are constantly onscreen thanks to the large real estate, and there’s a widget panel that can fit up to 10 widgets. For the Echo Shows 8 and 10, they appear in the slideshow that rotates onscreen. You can display up to four widgets on the Echo Show 8 and up to six on the Echo Show 10.

I love using mine to put a calendar view, my smart-home favorites, and the weather in an easy-to-see place. They’re great for customizing your smart-home control if you want your device to focus on that; the Echo Hub (8/10, WIRED Recommends) depends entirely on widgets as a smart-home-focused device.

Tabletlike device sitting on wooden surface in the corner of a room. The screen displays a schedule the weather and...

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Check on Your Kids and Cats

Echo Shows also have a camera at the top of the screen that can be used for both video calls and as an indoor security camera–well, sort of. There are two main features under this umbrella: Live Feed, which allows you to view live feeds happening from an Echo Show device, and Home Monitoring, which you can use with other smart-home devices and set up routines.

You can ask any Echo Show to give you the live feed of another Show device, as long as you know the name of the device (or you can just choose it from the device list if you don’t want to use voice commands). This is an easy way to quickly check in on say, pets and kids, without a full-blown security camera. The device will alert anyone in the room that someone is using the Echo Show to monitor the room, so it’s not as discreet as a true security camera.

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Computers

Our Favorite Garmin Smartwatches Are on Sale

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to celebrate the start of the spring season, Garmin is holding a sale on various gadgets and accessories—including a few WIRED-approved smartwatches. Whether you’re a novice runner or a seasoned hiker, we’re confident that at least one of the discounted smartwatches below will make the perfect companion for your next outdoor adventure.

These deals aren’t just at Garmin either—we’ve also linked to other retailers like Amazon and Target. Don’t see anything you like here? Check out our buying guides, like the Best Fitness Trackers, the Best Sleep Trackers, or the Best Camping Tents.

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If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

Garmin Smartwatch Deals

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar

Garmin Instinct 2 Solar Smartwatch

Photograph: Garmin

WIRED senior associate reviews editor Adrienne So says this is currently her favorite smartwatch. The second-generation version (9/10, WIRED Recommends) comes with a high-resolution display, improved solar charging, and an insanely impressive 21-day battery life (even when tracking multiple activities per day), all packed into a compact 40-mm case. (You can also choose a 45-mm or 50-mm size.) It’s a great option for tracking outdoor workouts or activities like camping, trail running, and more. The price has dipped as low as $300 back in November, but this is still a great deal.

Garmin Forerunner 255 smartwatch

Forerunner 255

Photograph: Garmin

The Forerunner 255 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) holds the title of Best Running Watch in our Best Fitness Trackers guide. It packs a ton of great features, including multiband GPS support, a compass, a barometric altimeter, Bluetooth compatibility with a variety of heart rate monitors, and improved sleep tracking. It has excellent battery life, too—WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson says he got about 30 hours of continuous use. You’ll also have access to useful features like Morning Report (which includes a daily greeting, weather, and more) and Body Battery (which measures your energy throughout the day, based on other metrics like activity, sleep, and VO2 Max). It dipped slightly lower to $239 earlier this month, but it’s still a good deal.

Image may contain Digital Watch and Wristwatch

Garmin Venu SQ

Photograph: Garmin

The Venu SQ (8/10, WIRED Recommends) was released back in 2020, but Garmin wearables are known for their longevity. This is still a great entry-level fitness tracker. It has an always-on LCD touchscreen that’s both responsive and bright, along with high-end features like energy level monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, and sleep tracking—in addition to tracking basic metrics like step count, calories, workouts, and more. The Venu SQ often dips to this price at Amazon and reached as low as $116 in January, but this is still a solid deal.

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Some of our favorite portable JBL Bluetooth speakers are up to 34 percent off

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Portable speakers can come in handy in all kinds of situations, from camping trips to simply keeping one with you as you move throughout your home (just don’t use one on public transit unless you like being hated with the fire of a thousand suns). JBL makes some of our top picks for portable Bluetooth speakers, and several models are currently on sale for up to 34 percent off. The has dropped by $50 (or 28 percent) to $130, just $10 more than the lowest price we’ve seen for it to date.

JBL

The JBL Charge 5 is a solid Bluetooth speaker that can actually charge your other devices in a pinch.

$130 at Amazon

This is one of our . It has a battery life of up to 20 hours and, handily, you can use it to charge other devices via USB-C. The Charge 5 is IP67-rated for water and dust resistance too.

There are less expensive and still-capable options out there, but the Charge 5 delivers bigger audio than many rivals. The sound quality is good too, thanks to its bright output and solid low end. What’s more, you can pair two Charge 5 units for stereo listening.

Elsewhere as part of a , the Xtreme 3 has . That’s 34 percent off and just $20 more than a record low.

This is another of our picks for the . It too is IP67-rated and while it won’t run as long as the Charge 5 before you need to top up the battery (it’ll run for up to 15 hours on a single charge), the Xtreme 3 offers more volume. That could make it a solid choice for a picnic or a backyard get together. However, we reckon it sounds best in close proximity or even indoors, where you can get the most of the bass tones.

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One of our favorite headphones for running is 20 percent off in the Amazon Big Spring Sale

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Spring is officially here and if you’ve been itching to get back outside for a run, or you want to start a new workout regimen, the Amazon Big Spring Sale might have just what you need to upgrade the music portion of your routine. A number of Jabra earbuds have been discounted for the sale, including a couple of our top picks for the best headphones for running. Key among them is the Jabra Elite 8 Active, which is on sale for $160 — only $10 more than its record-low price. The same sale price can be found direct at Jabra as well.

Jabra

Pick up one of our favorite headphones for running while they are down to a near record-low price.

$160 at Amazon

These nearly bested the Beats Fit Pro for the top spot in our guide. Not only are the Elite 8 Active buds comfortable and secure when doing any kind of workout, but they’re also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. Jabra also put these earbuds through military-grade testing to protect them from extreme humidity, high temperature, rain and altitude, so it’s fair to say these buds can take a beating (probably way more than what you’d put them through even during your sweatiest runs).

The Elite 8 Active have solid sound quality and ANC out of the box, but you can customize EQ settings using its companion mobile app. If you prefer bassy sounds to get you in the zone before a workout session, you can change the sound profile to accommodate that. They also support spatial sound with Dolby Audio, which is a great perk to have and it will make the Elite 8 Active an even better option for those who want just one pair of buds to use all day, every day, not only during workouts. Jabra’s HearThrough transparency mode is also handy, especially for runners who often train outside, since it lets some sound in so you can stay more aware of your surroundings.

Our biggest gripe with the Elite 8 Active buds is that HearThrough doesn’t sound quite as natural as the transparency mode on our top pick, the Beats Fit Pro. Otherwise, they’re a fantastic option for runners or anyone else who wants a solid pair of wireless earbuds that provide a complete package when it comes to sound quality, ANC and protection against sweat and the elements.

If you’re looking to spend even less, it’s hard to find a better value in Jabra’s lineup than the Elite 4 Active earbuds. Those are on sale for $90 right now — not a record low, but close to it. They’re our budget pick in the same guide thanks to their comfy, IP57-rated design, good sound quality and ANC, solid battery life and support for multipoint connectivity. And even though you don’t get spatial audio on the Elite 4 Active, they do support custom EQ with the Jabra mobile app.

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

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One of our favorite mesh Wi-Fi systems is down to a record low for the Amazon Spring Sale

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The Amazon Big Spring Sale features deals on many fun products but also some important, practical devices. Take TP-Link’s Deco XE75 AXE5400, far from a flashy new tech toy but one of the best mesh Wi-Fi router systems of 2024. The three-pack Wi-Fi 6E system is currently down to $310 from $351 — a 12 percent discount and a record-low price for the trio. A single TP-Link Deco XE75 is also on sale, with a 24 percent discount cutting its price to $130 from $170.

TP-Link

We gave the TP-Link Deco XE75 an 87 in our review thanks to its nice balance between quality and affordability. The three-pack covers up to 7,200 square feet and provides up to 5,400Mbps for 200 devices. It doesn’t just cover that space but does so reliably and with a fast connection. Plus, it offers basic security and parental controls at no extra cost.

We found the setup to be pretty easy overall. You just have to plug in one of the TP-Link Deco XE75 routers to get started. From there, you just set up your Wi-Fi name and password before plugging in the other nodes. Each one will need its own name based on where you place them. The connection took about 10 minutes to kick in from there.

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring salesc event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

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