Tag: weeks

The unlocked Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is on sale for $1,100 at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s still pricey, but it’s the biggest outright discount we’ve seen for the base 256GB model, taking $200 off Samsung’s list price.

The S24 Ultra is the “best premium” pick in our guide to the best Android phones. Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, our top recommendation overall, still gets you a slightly better camera and cleaner software at a lower price, but Samsung’s flagship runs on a faster chip (the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), lasts longer and has a gorgeous 6.8-inch OLED display. Its titanium frame feels high-end, and Samsung is promising the same seven years of software updates as Google. It still comes with the company’s S Pen stylus, too. Our chief complaint is that Samsung jacked up its already-high starting price by another $100, but this discount mitigates that at least a little bit.

If you want a slightly more affordable big-screen Galaxy phone, the 6.7-inch Galaxy S24+ is back down to $850 as well. That’s a $150 discount and another all-time low for the unlocked model. The S24+ gets you the same fast chip, update support and AI-touting software as the Ultra, with a vibrant 120Hz OLED display and long battery life. It uses an aluminum frame instead of a titanium one, however, and the Ultra has a more advanced camera system with a sharper main lens and an extra telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. We gave the S24 Ultra a score of 89 in our review earlier this year, while the S24+ earned a score of 87. The standard Galaxy S24 is also on sale for $725, though that isn’t an all-time low.

Anker’s PowerConf C200 webcam is back on sale for $48 at Amazon and Anker’s own online store. At the latter, use the code WS7DEEOYAT at checkout to get the discount. We’ve seen this deal a few times in recent months, but it matches the second-best price we’ve tracked and takes $12 off the webcam’s typical price. The C200 is the runner up in our guide to the best webcams. It’s easy to set up, it records crisp video up to a 2K resolution, and we found its autofocus and integrated mics to perform well. It also has a built-in privacy cover. It still can’t match the image quality of our top pick (Logitech’s Brio 500), but it costs far less, and it’s a clear upgrade over a typical laptop camera. Its biggest issue is that it’s fairly chunky and can’t swivel side-to-side. Its USB cable is fairly short, too.

The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is $30 off and down to $70 at Amazon subsidiary Woot. That’s a new all-time low. This deal applies to the board’s Fami Edition, which is inspired by the Famicom game console Nintendo sold in Japan during the ’80s. A separate model that resembles the American NES is also available, but that one currently costs $90.

You’d get the Retro Mechanical Keyboard for its aesthetics above all else, but the “keyboard” part of it is perfectly solid. It’s a wireless, tenkeyless model with crisp PBT keycaps, a sturdy frame and minimal rattling on larger keys, plus it comes with a pair of giant “Super Buttons” that you can program to perform certain commands. It’s all comfortable for typing, though its default switches make a high-pitch click sound that may aggravate anyone else nearby. There’s no backlighting, either. That said, the switches are hot-swappable, so it’s easy enough to change them down the road if needed. So long as you dig the look, it should be a fun dose of nostalgia. We recommend this device in our retro gaming gift guide.

The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is back down to $49 at Amazon, matching the all-time low we last saw last month. These noise-canceling earbuds have a list price of $100, but they’ve retailed for $59 for most of this year, so you’re really saving about $10. Regardless, the Space A40 tops our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds thanks to its strong active noise cancellation (ANC), pleasant sound and robust feature set. Its design is small and lightweight, it can connect with two devices at once and its compact case supports wireless charging. Battery life sits at a solid eight hours a go. Just know that it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud, plus its mic isn’t the best for phone calls. But if you want to stay under $50, it’s an excellent value. Note that this price applies to the black colorway, while blue and white models are available for $1 more.

In other Anker earbud deals, the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC is the runner up in our guide, and it’s also on sale for $74.50. That’s not quite an all-time low, but it’s roughly $25 off the pair’s typical going rate. This set performs very similarly to the Space A40, but it has a longer “stem” design that’s more in line with Apple’s AirPods, and its sound is more bass-heavy out of the box (though you can customize the EQ on either model).

If you’re willing to pay more for a set of true wireless earbuds, the Google Pixel Buds Pro are also on sale for $135 at Wellbots. Just use the code ENGPIX65 at checkout. This isn’t an all-time low, but it’s the best deal we’ve seen for the earbuds in 2024 and $65 off Google’s list price.

We call the Pixel Buds Pro the best option for Android users in our wireless earbuds buying guide, and they indeed offer several conveniences when used with Google’s mobile OS. You can access the Google Assistant hands-free, for example, or use a live translation tool through Google Translate. With Google’s own Pixel phones, the earbuds’ settings and features are accessible on a system level, similar to how the controls for Apple’s AirPods are baked into iOS. There’s a robust ANC mode beyond that, and the default sound profile should suit those who like a hyped-up bass and bright treble. (Though you can customize the sound with a graphic EQ.) Wireless charging, multi-device pairing and reliable touch controls help as well. However, call quality isn’t great, and the design might be tricky for some smaller ears. There’s also no support for higher-quality Bluetooth audio codecs like aptX or LDAC. Still, this is a well-rounded choice for Google diehards. We gave the Pixel Buds Pro a review score of 87 back in 2022.

Wrapping up this week’s standout headphone deals are Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which are $50 off and down to $249 at Amazon, Walmart, Bose.com and others. We’ve seen this deal on numerous occasions since the earbuds arrived last year, but it nevertheless matches their lowest price to date. Bose’s pair earned a score of 88 in our review, and we recommend it in our buying guide for those who specifically want the strongest ANC possible. It does a superlative job of muting the outside world, and Bose’s app lets you adjust the intensity of the ANC if the effect ever feels uncomfortable. It’s another one with a bass-heavy sound profile out of the box, though that can be tweaked, and while the earpieces are fairly large, they’re comfortable. There’s no wireless charging or multi-device connectivity, however, and both the battery life and mic quality could be better. But if you absolutely must have top-notch ANC performance, you might be able to look past that. This discount comes as part of a wider range of discounts on Bose headphones and speakers.

The entry-level configuration of the latest 13-inch MacBook Air is down to $989 at Amazon. While that’s just $10 less than the sale price we’ve seen for the past couple of weeks, it represents a new all-time low all the same. For reference, Apple sells the notebook for $1,099. We gave the MacBook Air a review score of 90 last month and currently name it the top pick in our laptop buying guide. This config is limited to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, so you should only grab it if you’ll stick to less intense workloads. For everyday use, though, the Air continues to provide a slim and sturdy frame, long battery life, a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, an accurate display and steady performance from its new M3 chip.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the previous-gen MacBook Air is still on sale for $849 as well. That model can’t output to two external monitors and technically has slower storage, but the performance gap between its M2 chip and the M3 isn’t huge, and its design is virtually identical. It’s not quite as futureproof, but it’s still a great buy if you really want to save an extra $140. Apple reportedly plans to release a faster M4 chip later this year, but those aren’t expected to hit new MacBook Airs until 2025, so neither of the current models should feel out of date anytime soon.

A few older yet still worthwhile Anker chargers are at or near their respective all-time lows, too. Here’s a quick rundown:

The Anker 735 Charger is down to $32, which is $8 less than usual. This is a three-port wall charger (2x USB-C, 1x USB-A) that can supply up to a combined 65W of power.

The Anker Nano 3 wall charger is also on sale for $14. That’s roughly $5 below Anker’s typical street price. This one maxes out at 30W and only has a single USB-C port, but it’s highly compact, and that charging rate is still enough to refill recent iPhones (but not all Android phones) at full speed.

The Anker 525 Charging Station is back down to $40, which is about $15 off the device’s average street price in recent months. If you need one place to charge several devices simultaneously, this unit includes two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports and three AC outlets. The USB ports can split up to 67W of power, which isn’t class-leading by any means but is enough to not feel slow with many phones, tablets and smaller laptops.

The Anker 622 Magnetic Battery is available for $35, which is a deal we’ve seen a few times before but takes $15 off Anker’s MSRP. This wireless power bank doesn’t support the faster Qi2 standard and maxes at a meager 7.5W, but it can still work as a cheap, pocket-friendly way to extend a dying iPhone’s battery through MagSafe. We’ve highlighted it before.

Google’s entry-level Nest Thermostat is on sale for $90 at various retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy and Google’s online store. Again, that’s not an all-time low, but the device has fluctuated between $100 and $130 for the past few months, so this is a better price than usual. This model comes with a few trade-offs compared to the higher-end Nest Learning Thermostat: It has a cheaper plastic frame with no rotating dial; it doesn’t support remote temperature sensors; and it can’t learn your heating and cooling habits to make automatic adjustments over the course of the day. All that said, it still lets you control your home’s climate and schedule changes remotely, and it still has features like HVAC monitoring and voice controls. Unlike the pricier Nest, it also supports the Matter standard, so it can work with a wider range of smart home platforms such as Apple Home. Its biggest selling point, though, is its price, and this deal furthers that.

Apple’s HomePod mini speaker is now on sale for $70 at Best Buy, a rare $30 discount and the lowest price we’ve seen to date. For Apple loyalists, the mini remains the best value smart speaker more or less by default. It provides just about all the same features as the standard HomePod — letting you use Siri to play music, answer questions and control other Apple Home devices — but at a much lower price, and in a much smaller form factor. It’s generally improved over time as well, as it now supports Matter and can utilize temperature and humidity sensors. That said, you have to be deep into Apple World to get the most out of it. If you’re not completely tied to Apple, we recommend Amazon’s Echo in our smart speaker buying guide for offering more powerful sound and being more platform-agnostic. But if you want a dedicated hub for HomeKit or Apple Music, this deal should make the mini a little more palatable.

Best Buy is selling the 65-inch version of Samsung’s S90C OLED TV for $1,500, which is $100 below the set’s usual going rate over the past several months, and the retailer is throwing in a $100 gift card alongside the purchase. The TV is available for the same price at several other retailers without the gift card. A similar deal is available for the 77-inch model: That one is down to $2,000, which is $300 off the TV’s recent street price, and again it’s available with a bonus $100 gift card at Best Buy.

The S90C is a year old and still far from cheap, but it’s received consistently positive reviews for delivering a premium image. The key is that it uses a QD-OLED panel, which blends the high contrast and wide viewing angles of a traditional OLED TV with a layer of quantum dots that boosts its peak brightness and color saturation. It’s an excellent option for gaming, too, as it includes four HDMI 2.1 ports that can play up to a fast 144Hz refresh rate. The main downside, as with all Samsung TVs, is that it doesn’t support Dolby Vision, which many consider to be the richest HDR format.

It’s worth noting Samsung recently released this TV’s successor, the S90D. That series is also on sale this week, but the discounts only bring the 65-inch model down to $2,500. Early reviews suggest that the S90D isn’t a major upgrade, so for now, the older set should remain the better value. On top of that, Samsung has attracted controversy for releasing the S90D with both QD-OLED and more traditional WOLED panels, with no obvious way to know which one you’re buying with certain sizes. That means the new model could wind up being a downgrade over last year’s set in some cases.

It feels like the PlayStation Store pushes a new sale every other week, but its current “May Savings” event includes a few PS5 game discounts that are actually worth considering. The bombastic action-RPG Final Fantasy XVI is down to an all-time low of $35, for one, while the recently acclaimed fighting game Tekken 8 is available for a new low of $49. (The latter is also on sale at Amazon for $1 more, if you’d prefer a physical copy.) Jusant, a soulful platformer we highlight in our list of good relaxing games, is at a low of $17.49, while last year’s Resident Evil 4 remake is down to a low of $20. A couple of recent Xbox ports (and staff favorites) in Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment are also on sale for $21 and $13.39, respectively; the former is another all-time low. Beyond PSN, the delightfully punishing RPG Elden Ring is worth a shout at $40, which is a roughly $10 discount.