If you want to add storage space to a Nintendo Switch, GoPro or Raspberry Pi, you need a microSD card. But while several cards will be fast enough for most use cases, some inexpensive options will perform better than others. To help you find a reliable storage booster, we recently put a dozen microSD cards through a range of benchmark tests.

What to look for in a microSD card

Capacity

The first thing to figure out when buying a microSD card is how much space you need. Modern cards are usually available in sizes ranging from 32GB to 512GB, while a handful offer 1TB models as well. 2TB cards are theoretically possible but still in the prototype stage.

For most, a 128GB or 256GB model should be the sweet spot between price and capacity. But if you need more room – say, for stashing a bunch of games on a Steam Deck – a 512GB card could make more sense and often provides a better cost-per-GB ratio. These days, you can find a decent 128GB card for around $15 or less, a decent 256GB card for less than $30 and (with sales) a decent 512GB card could be as little as $40 (though most cost closer to $50 or $60). There’s a starker increase when you go up to 1TB cards, which typically cost around $100.

Note that a microSD card’s performance may differ depending on what capacity you buy. SanDisk says its 128GB Extreme card delivers sequential write speeds up to 90 MB/s, for example, while the higher-capacity models in the same line offer up to 130 MB/s.

When we talk about microSD cards today, we usually refer to cards that use the microSDXC (eXtended Capacity) standard, which have a capacity between 32GB and 2TB. Your device needs to support this for it to work with a microSDXC card. This will almost never be an issue these days, but some older devices (a Nintendo 3DS for instance) are only compatible with microSDHC (High Capacity) cards, which range from 2GB to 32GB.

Read and write speeds

MicroSD cards are primarily judged on their read and write speeds, which are usually measured in megabytes per second (MB/s). Generally speaking, most microSD cards have faster read speeds than write speeds. These metrics can then be broken down into sequential and random performance. Sequential read and write speeds matter when you’re trying to access or save long, constant streams of data, such as opening a large video or copying a big batch of files from a PC. If you want to use a microSD card for media storage, this is particularly important.

Random performance, meanwhile, is about how quickly a card can read and write small files scattered throughout the device. Since random read/write speeds are much lower than sequential ones, storage device makers tend not to advertise them as loudly. But they’re important if you use a card with a gaming device or a single-board computer like the Raspberry Pi, where it often has to rapidly save and access small bits of data in random locations.

SD Association

Speed ratings

If you look at a microSD card, you’ll see a buffet of numbers, letters and symbols. Most of these refer to the card’s speed class and performance ratings, which are determined by the SD Association.

A card’s Video Speed Class, or V-rating, details its minimum sequential write speed, which is especially important when recording video from a camera. It ranges from V6 to V90. Most of the cards we tested had a V30 rating, so they have a sequential write speed of at least 30 MB/s. This should be enough to support up to 4K video at lower bitrates. Higher-rated V60 and V90 cards are usually better for capturing 8K, but they come at a much higher cost.

The UHS Speed Class, or U-rating, also refers to a card’s minimum sequential write speed. It comes in two varieties: U3, which mandates a minimum of 30 MB/s, and U1, which is rated for 10 MB/s.

The older Speed Class rating overlaps with the other two systems. It’s signified by a C symbol and goes from Class 2 to Class 10, with the number (again) indicating minimum sequential write speed. This rating is less relevant nowadays, but you may still see a “C10” logo on some cards.

The Application Performance spec, marked by an A symbol, is an indicator of random read/write speeds. This is measured in IOPS, or input/output operations per second, rather than MB/s. There are two categories here: A1 cards offer a minimum random read speed of 1,500 IOPS and a minimum random write speed of 500 IOPS, while A2 cards bump those up to 4,000 IOPS and 2,000 IOPS, respectively. Both ratings also guarantee sequential write speeds of at least 10 MB/s.

Most people should look for a card with V30, U3 and A2 ratings. It’s totally possible to get a solid card without those: A U1 card might be worth it if you just need a cheap option with a high capacity to hold files, for example. V60 and V90 cards are worth a look if you’re serious about shooting high-resolution photos and video as well. But generally speaking, cards with the certifications above should provide the best blend of price and performance today.

It’s important to emphasize that these ratings are baselines. Many V30 cards offer significantly higher write speeds than 30 MB/s, for instance, and some A1 cards can outperform some A2 models in practice. The speeds advertised by manufacturers aren’t always 100 percent accurate, either: Sometimes the card will be slower in real-world use, other times it may actually be a bit faster.

UHS bus speeds

The other spec to note is the card’s bus interface. Most microSD cards available today are UHS-I, which have a theoretical maximum speed of 104 MB/s. There are also UHS-II cards, which have an extra row of pins on the back and can reach up to 312 MB/s. (A newer UHS-III standard exists as well but hasn’t seen wide adoption just yet.) These are labeled on the card with a Roman numeral I or II.

The absolute fastest microSD cards right now are UHS-II cards, and they’re usually the ones with V60 or V90 ratings. If you shoot lots of 4K to 8K video or frequently use burst mode to capture ultra high-res photos, the performance gains of a good UHS-II card can save you time.

But these are much more expensive than UHS-I cards: This 128GB model from ProGrade Digital, for example, is a relative bargain at $55. You need a device that’s compatible with the UHS-II interface to see any benefits, too, and as we were putting this guide together, stock for UHS-II cards was spotty. For now, the higher speeds aren’t worth the price premium for the vast majority of people, so we mostly stuck to UHS-I options.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

A note on card readers, the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck

While the UHS-I spec has a theoretical maximum of 104 MB/s, some UHS-I cards can exceed that speed through proprietary extensions. You need a compatible card reader and host device to take advantage of that extra performance, though. If you find a UHS-I card advertising speeds higher than 104 MB/s, this is what’s going on. You can see these limits in action with a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck: Both of those gaming devices support the UHS-I interface and don’t go beyond its official speed, flattening any sequential gains some cards may have elsewhere. The broader takeaway: Your microSD card will only be as fast as the slowest link in your chain.

Warranty

Many microSD cards are designed to be durable, with protection from water, extreme temperatures, X-rays and drops. Still, in case of catastrophe, a long warranty is always good to have. Many manufacturers offer lifetime limited warranties, though we’ve noticed that “endurance” cards marketed to withstand more hours of writing are usually covered for a much shorter period of time.

Avoiding counterfeits

The memory card market has had a particular problem with scammers selling fake products. To guard against this, only buy from a known brand and a reputable retailer such as Best Buy, B&H Photo or Adorama. If you shop at Amazon, only buy if the shipper and seller is Amazon.com. (Though a handful of users have reported receiving counterfeits even from Amazon directly in the past.) Remember: If a price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any retailer offering significantly a lower price than others.

Once you receive a card, check its packaging for any irregularities. You can run benchmark tests like CrystalDiskMark or BlackMagic Disk Speed Test to verify its speeds aren’t drastically lower than what’s advertised (or possible, given its specs). You can also use software that’s designed to verify the true capacity and performance of your card, such as H2testw and FakeFlashTest.

How we tested

We put 12 microSD cards through a series of tests to verify their sequential and random performance. These included benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark, BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, ATTO Disk Benchmark and AJA System Test, as well as a few “real-world” tests. We copied and pasted a small folder of photos about 1.15GB in size to and from each card, then did the same with a larger 12.2GB folder containing multiple file types and subfolders, timing the process each time. We also checked how each card performed on the Steam Deck, downloading games of varying sizes – including Stardew Valley, Aperture Desk Job, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Apex Legends – then timing how long it took to launch each game and load save files.

We used a Kingston USB 3.2 UHS-II reader to test each card on both Windows 11 and macOS Ventura. For the former, we used an Alienware gaming PC with an Intel Core i9-10900F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. For the latter, we used a 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Apple M1 Pro chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. To use our card reader on the MacBook, we used Apple’s USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter.

We tested the 128GB version of each card wherever possible, though for a couple of cards – the SanDisk Extreme and Samsung Pro Plus – we were only able to test their 256GB models. We also reformatted each card before testing with the SD Association’s Memory Card Formatter tool.

Best for most: Samsung Pro Plus

The Samsung Pro Plus offered just about the best sequential write performance of the cards we tested (around 130 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark) and topped them all in terms of random read/write speeds, so it should work well whether you’re buying for a camera, tablet or gaming handheld. Unsurprisingly, it has all the requisite ratings: U3, V30 and A2. Its sequential read performance isn’t quite as quick as some of our alternate picks below, but it’s not far behind. In our large file transfer test, for instance, it was only four seconds off the fastest models.

The Pro Plus currently costs $19 for 128GB, $30 for 256GB and $60 for 512GB, so it’s not the cheapest option available, but it’s still affordable. Samsung also sells the card with a USB reader that’ll help it reach its maximum speeds. Either way, it comes with a 10-year limited warranty.

If you opt to buy the Pro Plus, make sure you get the latest-generation model, which Samsung launched in April 2023. At the moment, the company is still selling the prior iteration of the Pro Plus, which looks identical but isn’t as quick, especially when it comes to random read/write speeds. (Look for the model with sequential read speeds rated at 180 MB/s and sequential write speeds rated at 130 MB/s.) We tested the 256GB version of the Pro Plus due to stock issues with the 128GB model, but this shouldn’t have a major impact on real-world performance, as Samsung rates both cards identically.

Runner up: Kingston Canvas Go Plus

If the Samsung Pro Plus is unavailable or you just want to save a few bucks, the Kingston Canvas Go Plus is a strong alternative. It delivered the highest sequential read speeds of any card we tested across CrystalDiskMark, ATTO and the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, just edging out SanDisk’s Extreme and Nintendo Switch-branded cards. It effectively tied with those two cards in our large file transfer test. Its sequential write speeds (just over 100 MB/s on CrystalDiskMark) are where it lags behind the Pro Plus, but they should still be quick enough for many uses. Its random read/write speeds were only bested by Samsung’s card, too, so it’s still a good option for apps and games.

This is a U3-, V30- and A2-rated card backed by a lifetime limited warranty. At $17 for 128GB and less than $30 for 256GB, it’s slightly cheaper than the Pro Plus and about as affordable as most cards with this level of performance. A 512GB model is available too, though, it’s often priced in the high $60 to $70 range. At that point, you should get one of our alternate picks if they’re cheaper.

Best value: Samsung Evo Select

The Samsung Evo Select is a step behind our top picks, particularly when it comes to sequential write speeds (just under 70 MB/s on CrystalDiskMark), so it’s not an ideal pick for a camera. Still, it’s perfectly usable for many needs, and it’s often available for cheap at both Amazon and Samsung’s online store. As of this writing, its 128GB, 256GB and 512GB models are available for $12, $21 and $40, respectively. All of those are about on par with the SanDisk Ultra, a frequently recommended cheapo card, despite the Evo Select having higher V30, U3 and A2 ratings.

The Evo Select’s sequential read speeds were just about in line with its advertised peak of 130 MB/s, which will be totally fine for many. Its random read/writes clearly trailed the Pro Plus and Canvas Go Plus, but were about on par with pricier cards like the SanDisk Extreme, Lexar Professional 1066x and SanDisk microSDXC for Nintendo Switch. Like the Pro Plus, it’s backed by a 10-year warranty. If you just want to save a few dollars on a chunk of extra storage, it’s a good value.

Another good option: SanDisk microSDXC Card for Nintendo Switch

The SanDisk microSDXC Card for Nintendo Switch is another worthwhile option if you see it available for less than the Pro Plus and Canvas Go Plus. Its sequential read speeds were about the same as the Kingston card in our benchmarks, but its sequential writes were slightly slower (and farther behind the Pro Plus). Its random read/writes were a step behind according to CrystalDiskMark, as well. The 128GB version of this card is usually priced a smidge higher than the Canvas Go Plus, but lately the 512GB version has gone for $10 or so less. SanDisk backs the card with a lifetime warranty, too. Note that we tested the Apex Legends version of the 128GB card. SanDisk also sells a Super Mario model, but we can’t speak to how that one performs.

Another good option: Lexar Professional 1066x

Similarly, the Lexar Professional 1066x is a decent alternative to the Pro Plus if you want to save a little cash. It’s another V30, U3 and A2 card, and like the Pro Plus, its sequential write speeds were a bit faster than the Canvas Go Plus and SanDisk Switch card in our benchmarks. Those write speeds weren’t as quick as Pro Plus, and its sequential reads trailed all three cards. Random read/writes also lagged behind the Pro Plus and Canvas Go Plus, and we noticed its speeds peak and dip more noticeably in our file transfer test. Still, it’s not slow.

The card’s 128GB and 256GB models are currently available for $17 and $22, respectively. The latter in particular might be a good bargain compared to the Pro Plus if you want better write speeds than the Kingston card can offer. The 1066x also comes with a lifetime limited warranty.

Other notable microSD cards

Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget

We didn’t use it ourselves, but if you’re willing to pay for a more powerful UHS-II card built for heavy-duty video recording, the Delkin Devices Power has tested well elsewhere and should deliver significantly faster sequential write speeds than our picks above. It’s one of the few UHS-II cards we could actually find in stock, but it costs a ton, starting at $55 for just 32GB.

The SanDisk Extreme effectively matched the Pro Plus in a few of our sequential write tests and delivered sequential reads about on par with the Canvas Go Plus, but that was partly due to us only being able to secure the card’s 256GB model, which is higher-rated than the 128GB version. Its random performance was well behind the Samsung and Kingston cards, too — and at $26 for a 128GB unit, it’s more expensive as of this writing. In general, stock for the Extreme looks to be spottier at most retailers. If you can find it on sale from a reputable seller, however, it’s another quality option.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro, meanwhile, is rated for even higher speeds (up to 200 MB/s sequential reads), but it also appears to be unavailable at most trusted retailers as of this writing.

The PNY Elite-X wasn’t far off the random read/write performance of the Pro Plus and Canvas Go Plus in CrystalDiskMark, and it often goes for cheap, but it was well behind in our sequential tests.

After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 oz) as particular selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. Yes, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,800 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

After confirming its existence last week, Google has formally introduced the Pixel Fold, its first stab at a foldable phone. Like past foldables, the new Pixel has a vertical hinge that lets it unfurl like a book. When it's folded, you get a more traditional form factor with a 5.8-inch display. Open it up, and you get a wider 7.6-inch screen for multitasking or watching videos. Both OLED panels have 120Hz refresh rates, and the device runs on the same Tensor G2 chip found in last year's Pixel 7 line. Google is pushing the phone's thinness (12.1mm folded, 5.8mm when not), battery ("over 24 hours") and weight (10 ounces) in particular as selling points. It also claims that the near-gapless hinge is built to last over time.

We'll have to review the Pixel Fold before we can speak to that. For now, though, we've laid out how the Fold compares on paper to the most prominent book-style foldable on the market today: Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4. No, specs can't tell the whole story with a form factor like this, and both Samsung and OnePlus are expected to launch new foldables in the coming months. But if you want a sense of what the Pixel Fold's $1,799 starting price will get you, here's a quick rundown. The phone is available to pre-order now and will ship in June. For more impressions, check out our initial hands-on.

Google Pixel Fold vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

Google is ready to give Android tablets another go. Nearly five years after launching the ill-fated Pixel Slate, the company has fully taken the wraps off its latest large-screen device, the Pixel Tablet. Google had teased the device a couple of times over the past year, but now it's official: This is a 10.95-inch tablet that doubles as a Nest Hub-style smart display with an included speaker dock. That dock also charges the tablet, and the slate itself runs on the same Tensor G2 SoC you'd find in a Pixel 7 phone. 

The Pixel Tablet starts at $499 and is available to pre-order starting today, with shipping starting next month. We'll have a full review in the future, but for now, we've laid out how the device compares on the spec sheet to a couple popular alternatives in Apple's 10th-gen iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab A8. The $599 iPad Air and $630 Galaxy Tab S8 are notable options here, too, but since the Pixel Tablet is really two devices in one, we've stuck to sub-$500 options below. You can read our initial hands-on for more impressions.

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.

If your charging gear is in need of a refresh, now might be a decent time to upgrade, as Anker has once again discounted a range of wall chargers, cables and power banks on Amazon. For more heavy-duty needs, a number of the company's portable power stations are also on sale.

Among the noteworthy deals here, the Anker 735 Charger is down to $38.41, which is within a dollar of its all-time low. We've seen this discount a few times before, but normally, the wall charger retails closer to $50. This is a slightly older version of the "best 65-watt charger" pick in our guide to the best fast chargers. The newer device is also called the 735 Charger, confusingly, and features smarter temperature monitoring and power distribution, but the old model delivers the same 65W of power in a similarly travel-friendly frame. Generally speaking, that's enough power to charge many smartphones and tablets around full speed and refill some smaller laptops. 

Both of the charger's USB-C ports can reach that max charging rate, plus there's a USB-A port for topping up lower-power devices. Just note that the each port will output less power if you use multiple ports at once. The updated model is also on sale for $48 with an on-page coupon. 

A couple of hybrid chargers are discounted as well, with the 45W, 5,000 mAh Anker 521 Power Bank down to $42 and the 65W, 10,000 mAh Anker 733 Power Bank down to $70. (Clip the on-page coupon in both cases to see the discount.) These devices are on the larger side, but they can serve as both a portable power bank and a wall charger with fold-up plugs. The 733's discount matches the lowest price we've seen, while the 521 is about $18 below its usual street price.

Beyond that, the company's six-foot PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning cable is down to a low of $9, while the ultracompact 20W Anker 511 Charger is within a dollar of its best price $12. Anker runs these kind of discounts fairly often, but we've found their charging gear to provide good value in severalbuyingguides, so this is a good chance to save. 

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Graduating high school is a huge milestone, but the transition to young adulthood that comes just after can be as overwhelming as it is exciting. If you know a recent graduate, a good gift to celebrate the occasion could also make their next chapter more manageable. We’ve compiled a list of gadgets, gear and services that might help, whether the grad in your life is heading to college or entering the workforce.

Anker Soundcore Life Q30

A good set of noise-canceling headphones can help your grad get in the zone while studying, quiet the bustle of a new commute or just keep them relaxed on a flight back home. Anker’s Soundcore Life Q30 are some of the few worthwhile noise-cancelers available for less than $100. Their cushy design is comfy to wear for hours at a time, and their 40+-hour battery life is excellent. While their active noise cancellation isn’t as robust as a higher-end pair like the Sony WH-1000XM5, it’s effective enough to be useful. The sound here is very bass-heavy out of the box, but it’s possible to customize that to something more measured through Anker’s mobile app. If your grad would prefer a set of wireless earbuds, Anker’s Soundcore Space A40 are a similarly impressive value.

OluKai Kipuka Hulu/Ku’una slippers

For keeping warm during the cold winter months or simply not walking around the dorm barefoot, a set of OluKai slippers should make your grad’s day-to-day more comfortable. The Kipuka Hulu (for men) and Ku’una (for women) both slip over the whole foot easily and have delightfully soft interiors (the latter has a bit more fuzz around the heel). Both have simple yet attractive leather exteriors, plus sturdy rubber outsoles that will allow your grad to make quick jaunts to the bodega or around campus with minimal discomfort.

LapGear Designer lap desk

When your grad doesn’t feel like sitting at their actual desk, a lap desk can make working from the couch more comfortable. If nothing else, it’s a more organized solution than having them prop their laptop up on a throw pillow. If you think the graduate in your life could use one of these, the LapGear Designer is a fine choice. Its underside is soft yet stable, while its smooth top surface is easy to clean and large enough to fit a 17-inch laptop. There’s a stop at the bottom that helps keep their stuff from sliding off when the desk is slanted at an angle, as well as an elastic band for holding pens and notepads and a storage slot for phones. The accessory only weighs about two pounds on its own, while a built-in handle makes it easier to carry around.

Google Chromecast with Google TV

Cable TV isn’t known for being reasonably priced, but with a media streamer like Google’s Chromecast, your grad can cut the cord without missing what’s on. Though it launched back in 2020, the Chromecast still runs fast enough, supports all the major apps and can stream video in 4K and HDR (including Dolby Vision). Its Google TV interface does well to personalize its home screen and suggest new content based on your viewing habits, and its search results are generally sensible. You can also search by voice through its remote. Naturally, the UI integrates well with Google services like YouTube and Nest cameras.

Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K is another commendable option in the same $50 range. It has a simpler interface built around a basic grid of apps, and it also supports Apple’s AirPlay protocol, so your grad can beam content right from their iPhone. It’s just not as adept at searching for or proactively suggesting content as Google’s streamer.

Anker 733 Power Bank

A portable power bank will keep your grad’s devices alive while they’re out of the house (and save you a little stress in the process). Anker’s 733 Power Bank is a particularly versatile take on the concept, as it can plug into an outlet and double as a wall charger. It has two USB-C ports and a USB-A port, so your grad can top up multiple devices at once. In wall-charger mode, it can deliver up to 65W of power, which is enough to charge some smaller laptops. As a portable battery, this drops to 30W, but that’s still enough to charge any iPhone at full speed. The 733 itself is fairly compact given its functionality, but if you think your grad would prefer something more pocketable, the Anker 511 Power Bank is a much smaller 2-in-1 option that we recommend in our guide to the best power banks.

Timbuk2 Lane Commuter Backpack

There are any number of backpacks that could work for a graduate in need of a bag refresh, but Timbuk2’s Lane Commuter Backpack is one we’ve recommended before. This 18-liter bag isn’t the largest pack, but it’s light, comfy and sturdily constructed, with a pair of bottle holders, a compartment for a 15-inch laptop and enough pockets for carrying the essentials to work or class. It has reflective panels on the front and shoulder straps to keep itself visible at night, and while it’s water-resistant on its own, it comes with a removable sleeve for full protection from heavy downpours.

If your grad needs more space for stuffing lots of tech, Timbuk2’s Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe (28L) might be a better buy. SwissGear’s 1908 ScanSmart is another hefty option (32L) that has served yours truly well for years and costs less than $100, though it doesn’t look as nice and is more likely to show more signs of wear over time. You can read our roundup of our favorite backpacks for other suggestions, too.

Tomtoc Defender A-13 laptop case

Having a dedicated sleeve for their laptop can give your grad an extra bit of protection for one of the most important (and expensive) gadgets they have to carry around every day. There are a ton of suitable options here, but we’ve found Tomtoc’s Defender A-13 series to offer a tight yet secure fit, enough protection to fend off scuffs and scratches and enough water resistance to withstand spilled drinks. Plus, it has a pouch for holding accessories. Several colors and sizes are available, and at $30, it’s relatively affordable.

Hulken bag

The Hulken bag is a big rolling tote that your grad can use to more comfortably wheel around groceries, laundry or any other large hauls. It’s available in three sizes, and while it’s not exactly cheap, it feels comfortably durable. (Anecdotally, mine has shown little sign of wear after about a year of weekly use.) The bag folds up for tidier storage, and there are a few built-in handles that make it easier to lift up stairs or carry around campus. All told, Hulken says the bag can carry up to 66 pounds. Something like this might be most useful for city dwellers, but if your grad hasn’t done their own laundry and grocery shopping much before, it should take some weight off their shoulders, literally and figuratively.

Away Carry-On suitcase

The popular Away Carry-On is a stylish and sturdy hard-sided suitcase your grad should appreciate when it’s time to come back home. Its polycarbonate shell is tough but not overly stiff, and it’s available in several bold colors. Its zippers, adjustable handle and fully rotatable wheels all feel substantial. As a 40-liter suitcase, it can fit enough items to last a week or so on the road, plus it comes with a breakaway bag for dirty laundry. Away sells larger models as well, and it backs all of them with lifetime limited warranty.

The Carry-On has been my personal suitcase for several years now, and while it has caught some scuffs over time (like most polycarbonate cases), it hasn’t shown any major signs of degradation after several international trips. You can get luggage with more compartments if efficiency is your main concern, and it’s hard to call this a strong value, but as a gift, the Carry-On should delight any grad who’d like a fashionable and lightweight suitcase.

Xbox Game Pass subscription

Xbox Game Pass remains a great value for any grad who owns an Xbox or gaming PC. The subscription’s library includes big-name series like Halo and Minecraft alongside more experimental gems like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, and it still gets you access to first-party Xbox games on day one. Everything is available to download on-demand. The Ultimate tier includes perks like cloud gaming and online play, but there are cheaper options for just Xbox consoles or PCs as well.

If your graduate plays more on PlayStation or the Nintendo Switch, there are similar services you can gift: PlayStation Plus for the former, Switch Online for the latter. These will almost certainly be appreciated if you’re buying for someone who games frequently, though they’re not quite as strong a value as Game Pass in terms of cost or included games.

Moshi Digits touchscreen gloves

Your grad probably won’t need them for a few more months, but the Moshi Digits are the rare winter gloves that are both warm and not impossible to use with a smartphone. Their knitted exterior and microfleece lining are sufficiently protective from the cold, while a set of rubber strips make it easier to keep hold of a phone. Typing with the Digits on isn’t as fast as using your bare hands, but it’s responsive enough to pull off brief texts and searches without constant typos. The gloves aren’t perfect: They’ll run tight for those with large hands, and they can be susceptible to loose threads. But if your grad is heading somewhere cold and needs to text on the go, they should help.

Instant Pot Vortex Mini Air Fryer

An air fryer is a no-go in many college dorms, but for grads moving into a new apartment, it’s a fast and accessible tool for cooking many smaller meals. Among these, the Instant Pot Vortex Mini is a good option for cramped living spaces that we recommend in our guide to the best air fryers. It’s a two-quart model that takes up very little countertop space, and while it can’t cook a ton of food at once, it can still prepare things like wings, tofu and roasted veggies with minimal fuss. Its controls and pre-programmed settings are all dead simple to operate, and like most air fryers, it’s not a pain to clean. For grads who could use something beyond a microwave, it should make meal time easier. If you’d rather buy something bigger, consider the top pick in our guide, the Instant Vortex Plus.

GrubHub gift card

Here’s a simple one: Regardless of their current culinary skills, your grad is probably going to use a food delivery service like GrubHub sooner rather than later. We’ve yet to find a young adult who will say no to free food, so gifting them a couple of meals is an immediate and practical way to make their early days of independence more manageable.

It's Friday, which means it's time for another roundup of good deals on recommended tech. Among this week's highlights, the second-gen Apple Pencil is back down to an all-time low of $89, while the latest Echo Dot is within $5 of the best price we've tracked at $30. If you need to upgrade the storage of an Xbox Series X or S, Seagate's 1TB storage expansion card is at least a little more palatable at $150, while Samsung's 256GB Evo Select is a good value at $18 for Switch owners in need of a microSD card. Beyond that, we're also seeing deals on MasterClass and Apple Music subscriptions, Anker wireless headphones, Samsung's S95B OLED TV, Shark robot vacuums and Amazon's Kindle Scribe. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Apple Pencil (2nd Gen)

The second-gen Apple Pencil is back on sale for $89, matching the lowest price we've tracked. That's $40 below Apple's list price and about $15 below the iPad stylus' average street price on Amazon in recent months. We recommend the latest Pencil in our guide to the best iPad accessories. It's a consistently accurate tool for digital artists and heavy note-takers, and it's the only stylus to offer pressure sensitivity across iPadOS. Since it can attach to the side of an iPad magnetically, it's also easy to charge and pair. Just make sure your iPad will work with the device before you buy.

Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S

For better or worse, the only way for Xbox Series X/S owners to fully expand their console's storage for current-gen games is to use a proprietary storage card. Seagate's Storage Expansion Card remains the only official one of those, but right now both its 1TB and 2TB models are down to all-time lows. The former is available for $150, which is $45 below its typical street price, while the latter is $80 less than usual at $280. While that's still pricey compared to traditional (and PS5-compatible) SSDs, it's at least some savings for those tired of uninstalling games to save space. Recent leaks suggest that cards from other manufacturers are on the way, but it's unclear if they'll cost less than these discounts at launch.

Anker Soundcore Life Q30

Anker's Soundcore Life Q30 is one of the few sets of wireless noise-cancelling headphones worth recommending that cost less than $100, and currently they're down to $68 at Amazon with an on-page coupon. While this isn't the absolute lowest price we've seen, it's $12 below the pair's typical going rate. The Life Q30's active noise cancellation isn't as comprehensive as our favorite wireless headphones, but for a fraction of the price, it's strong enough to be useful. The whole thing is comfortable to wear for hours at a time, and it can last a superb 40 to 50 hours on a charge. Be warned that the pair is extremely bass-heavy by default, but it's possible to even out its sound through Anker's companion app. Call quality and the included transparency mode are just so-so, however.

Samsung Evo Select

The 256GB model of Samsung's Evo Select microSD card is down to $18, which is an all-time low and roughly $6 below its typical street price. This isn't the fastest microSD card on the market, but it's performant enough for devices like the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck, and this deal gets you a good chunk of storage space for relatively little cash. Samsung backs the card with a 10-year limited warranty, too. If you need more room and want something with faster read and write speeds, the previous-gen Samsung Pro Plus is a solid value at its current deal price of $47.

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)

The latest Amazon Echo Dot is down to $30, which is $5 more than its all-time low but still $10 to $15 below its usual street price. The Dot is the top budget pick in our guide to the best smart speakers: It delivers surprisingly clear and well-balanced sound for its size and remains an accessible entry point for anyone looking to use Alexa to stream music, control smart home devices and do other smart assistant things. The Google Nest Mini remains a worthy alternative for those who prefer the Google Assistant, but the Dot sounds better. If you'd like an LED display that can display the time, weather and other bits of information at a glance, the Echo Dot with Clock is on sale for an all-time low of $40.

Samsung 980 Pro SSD

The 2TB model of Samsung's 980 Pro SSD is on sale for $140, which is within $5 of its lowest price to date. The drive has typically sold between $150 and $160 in recent months. While it isn't the newest PCIe 4.0 SSD Samsung offers, the 980 Pro is still a decent value for those looking to expand the storage of a PlayStation 5. You'll just need to grab a heatsink along with it for another $10 or so. (Samsung sells a version of the 980 Pro that comes with a heatsink in the box, but its 2TB model currently costs $170.) If you only need 1TB of space and want a faster PCIe 4.0 drive, SK Hynix's Platinum P41 is good alternative at its current deal price of $90, which is a new low. If you just want to upgrade an older PC, meanwhile, a less expensive PCIe 3.0 drive like the ones in our best SSDs guide will still work just fine.

Samsung T7 Shield 

Samsung's T7 Shield is a ruggedized version of our favorite portable SSD, and right now its 1TB model is down to a new low of $75. That's about $10 less than this model's average street price over the last few months. Alternatives like the SanDisk Extreme can squeeze out a bit more performance, but the T7 Shield is fast enough for most needs, and its thick rubber shell should provide some extra peace of mind if you ever want to take the drive on the road. It's also water-resistant with an IP65 rating. 

iPad deals

It's a decent time to be in the market for a new iPad, as the iPad Air, iPad Mini and 10th-gen iPad are all at or near the lowest prices we've tracked. The Air is down to $500, which matches the best price we've seen outside of a brief drop to $479 last year, while the Mini and 10th-gen iPad are each at a previous low of $400. As we note in our iPad buying guide, the Air should provide the best blend of price and performance for most people, but the Mini is still worth buying if you'd prefer a more compact tablet. The 10th-gen iPad is more of a compromise, as it doesn't support the latest Apple Pencil and lacks a laminated display, but the broad strokes of its design are similar to the Air, and its landscape-oriented front camera is convenient. We gave the Air a review score of 90 last year, the Mini a score of 89 in 2021 and the 10th-gen iPad a score of 85 this past October.

Anker PowerLine III USB-C cables

If you need to stock up on USB-C cables, this two-pack of Anker's PowerLine III is worth a look at $13. Both cables are six feet long and rated for up to 100W charging, so they can charge many beefy laptops at, or at least close to, full speeds. Anker covers them with a lifetime warranty as well. The one hang-up is that they're limited to USB 2.0 data transfer rates, so they aren't the quickest for moving large files around. But if you already own a fast charger and need some backup cables for the road, this is a nice value. This deal marks the bundle's lowest price to date and comes in about $5 below its usual price. 

Samsung S95B OLED TV

The 55-inch version of Samsung's S95B OLED TV is down to $1,279 at Amazon, which is the lowest price we've seen outside of special discounts for education customers. Though we haven't reviewed this TV, other siteswe trust have consistently praised the S95B for delivering the high contrast expected of any good OLED set without sacrificing too much in the way of brightness. Samsung has replaced this 2022 model with the new S95C, but the upgrades don't appear to be massive, and the S95B is a much better value at this price for those willing to pay for a premium TV. (The 55-inch S95C currently retails for $2,500.) Note that Samsung TVs do not support Dolby Vision HDR, however.

Apple Music 4-month subscription

We recently named Apple Music the most well-rounded music streaming service thanks to its extensive library, lossless streaming support, ability to upload local files, helpful curation and not-overly-cluttered UI. If you've been thinking of switching over, Best Buy is running a promotion that gives new subscribers four months of the service for free. If you've subscribed to Apple Music in the past and are now looking to come back, you can get a three-month trial. For reference, Apple normally gives new members one month of Music for free, then charges $11 a month for an individual plan. Just be aware that the subscription will be set to auto-renew after the trial period ends.

MasterClass

MasterClass has rolled out a Mother's Day promo that brings the price of its annual Duo and Family memberships down to $180. Normally, a year of the Duo plan (which makes the service accessible on two devices) costs $240, while the Family plan (which bumps the device limit up to six) goes for $276. The standard Individual plan, which normally costs $180, is not part of the offer. MasterClass itself is far from essential, but it still offers a wide range of specific celebrity-taught courses, from cooking with Gordon Ramsay to songwriting with John Legend. If you and a loved one (or five) have been curious to try it out, this is a nice chance to save; just note that the membership will auto-renew by default.

Shark robot vacuum sale

We recommend a couple of Shark devices in our guide to the best robot vacuums, and right now a handful of similar robovacs from the company are heavily discounted. Of note is the Shark AV2501AE, which is about $250 off its usual street price at $350. Like the top midrange pick in our guide, it offers LiDAR navigation sensors to more precisely map out your floors and a bagless, self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days of debris. It can also work with Alexa or the Google Assistant. If you want to save a few bucks, the Shark AV911S is another solid buy at $300, though it has a simpler mapping system by comparison and a smaller self-emptying base. 

Amazon Kindle Scribe

Amazon's Kindle Scribe is down to $283 for a 16GB model, which is $57 off its normal price and a new low. Higher-capacity models are also on sale. The catch is that each deal is only available to Amazon Prime members. Either way, the Scribe is Amazon's highest-end Kindle and the first to support note-taking with its included stylus. With its 10.2-inch display, it's also the largest e-reader Amazon makes. While this isn't the most advanced e-ink tablet for writing, being able to mark up e-books and jot down to-do lists has its conveniences, and it still offers all the same reading benefits of any other Kindle. Amazon has steadilyupdated the device in recent months, too. The downside, besides the extreme cost, is that it's not waterproof. We gave the Kindle Scribe a review score of 85 last November. 

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Another Friday, another roundup of the best tech deals we could find. Our latest selection includes the iPad Air for $500, which is $99 off Apple's list price and a good value for a tablet we've called the best iPad for most people. Beyond that, the 55-inch LG C2 OLED TV is down to a near-low of $1,067, Google's Nest Thermostat is $50 off at $80, and the 128GB Samsung Evo Select microSD card is on sale for a new low of $12. GameStop is still running a buy-one-get-one-free sale on several video games of note, plus various picks from our Bluetooth speaker, gaming mouse, air fryer and gaming laptop buying guides are also on sale. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Apple iPad Air

Apple's iPad Air is back on sale for $500, which matches the lowest price we've seen outside of a very brief drop to $479 last year. Apple normally sells the 10.9-inch tablet for $599, though it's often available around $550 on Amazon. The Air is the top pick in our guide to the best iPads and earned a review score of 90 when it launched last year. While it lacks the M2 chip, higher 120Hz refresh rate and improved speakers of the iPad Pro, it provides a similarly elegant design at a much lower price, with a better display, faster processor and wider accessory support than Apple's lower-end tablets.

Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer

The top budget pick in our guide to the best air fryers, Instant's Vortex Mini is down to $40 at Amazon. This is a two-quart model, so it's not ideal if you want to cook for several people, but we've found it effective for smaller servings and side dishes like french fries, tofu, wings and the like. Its dial controls and four preprogrammed settings (air fry, bake, roast, reheat) are simple to use, and the whole thing takes up little countertop space. This deal is $5 more than the device's all-time low but roughly $10 less than its typical street price. Just note that the discount only applies to the aqua blue model.

Samsung Evo Select

The 128GB model of Samsung's Evo Select microSD card is down to $12, which is a new all-time low. On average, the U3- and V30-rated card has typically retailed for $15 over the last few months. This isn't the fastest option on the market, but it's still fast enough for most things you'd do with a Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, GoPro or Raspberry Pi. It's also backed by a 10-year warranty. If you more storage space, the 256GB and 512GB models are down to $21 and $40, respectively.

Google Nest Thermostat

The Google Nest Thermostat is on sale for $80 at B&H, which is $50 off its typical going rate. Note that this is not the Nest Learning Thermostat, which is Google's higher-end model. By comparison, the standard Nest Thermostat has a less premium design and can't learn your heating and cooling habits to make automatic adjustments. It also doesn't support remote temperature sensors, so it's less convenient for fine-tuning the temperature in specific rooms. 

That said, it still lets you control your home's climate remotely and can help you save on energy costs. It carries over features like HVAC system monitoring and voice assistant control as well, and unlike the pricier model, it supports the new Matter smart home standard. Google rolled out the latter for the Nest Thermostat just this week, allowing it to work with more platforms such as Apple HomeKit and Siri. We've highlighted the Nest Thermostat in past roundups.

Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro

Amazon has the white Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro on sale for $120, which is a new low and $30 below its usual price. The device is also available for $2 more at Best Buy. This is the "best premium" pick in our guide to the best gaming mice, as it offers exceptionally responsive performance in a comfortable and ultralight (63g) design. It lacks bells and whistles like RGB lighting and support for multiple control profiles, and most people still don't need to pay this much to get a good gaming mouse, but it's tailor-made for competitive-minded players who spend most of their time in twitchy FPS games.

SK Hynix Gold P31

SK Hynix's Gold P31 is a well-reviewed, power-efficient SSD that should represent a nice upgrade for anyone looking to boost the storage performance of their laptop. Its 2TB model is down to a new all-time low of $108, which is about $60 below the drive's average street price in recent months. If you don't need that much capacity, the 1TB model is available for $65. This is a PCI Express 3.0 drive, so it's not as performant as a higher-end PCIe 4.0 model, nor will it work with a PS5. But it's still fast enough for most people looking to load up games or transfer large files on the go, and at this price it offers a better cost-per-gigabyte ratio than most of its peers. It also comes with a five-year warranty.

Anker 715 USB-C Charger

If you're looking for a compact USB-C charger, the Anker 715 Charger is a nice value at its current deal price of $35. We've seen this discount a few times before, but it represents a roughly $10 drop from the device's average street price in recent months. This is a travel-friendly GaN charger (1.65 x 1.42 x 1.74 in.) that can deliver up to 65W of power, which is enough to charge many smartphones, tablets and smaller laptops at full speed. It only has one port, though; if you need something that can top up multiple devices at once, consider some of the alternatives in our guide to the best fast chargers.

Anker Soundcore Motion+

The Anker Soundcore Motion+ is down to $80, which is about $20 below its usual going rate. This is a recommendation from our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers: It can easily supply enough volume to fill a room, and compared to other portable speakers in this price range, it gives tracks an impressive sense of space. It's not the smallest device, and it can lack some detail in the treble, but it's well-built and sounds smooth on the whole. Beyond that, it's water-resistant with an IPX7 rating, so you can safely take it in the pool or shower, and it has a 3.5mm input for wired connections.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

Best Buy has a version of Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, Radeon RX 6700S GPU, 14-inch 120Hz display, 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM down to $1,000, which is a new low. The G14 is the top pick in our guide to the best gaming laptops and earned a review score of 85 last year.

Note that this is the 2022 model; if you're willing to pay more for a brawnier Ryzen 7000 series CPU and Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU, Asus has refreshed models on the way (which likely explains the deal here). Nevertheless, the older Zephyrus G14 is a good value at $1,000, as it can still deliver perfectly playable frame rates with many modern games in 1440p. Relative to other gaming notebooks, it's also decent for everyday use, with a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, plenty of ports and roughly 7-10 hours of battery life when you aren't gaming. Its 3.6-pound chassis isn't a complete anchor, either.

Apple Mac Mini

Apple's latest Mac Mini is back down to an all-time low of $500. This deal applies to the entry-level version of the compact PC, which includes Apple's M2 chip, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. With those specs, you'll want to stick to lighter workloads, especially since you can't upgrade the Mini's memory or storage over time. But if that's all you need, this is the most affordable way into a competent Mac desktop. If you want more storage space, a model with a 512GB SSD is on sale for $690, which is another all-time low. We gave the version of the Mac Mini with Apple's faster M2 Pro chip a score of 86 in January, but the two devices are similar outside of that processor bump and a couple extra Thunderbolt ports. As of this writing, Amazon's listing says the device won't ship until the end of May.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is once again on sale for $219. This is a deal we've seen on-and-off for the past few months, but it falls within $10 of the smartwatch's all-time low and $30 below Apple's list price. We gave the latest SE a review score of 89 last September and call it a standout option for first-time buyers in our best smartwatches guide. Compared to the Apple Watch Series 8 (our top pick), it lacks an always-on display mode, fast charging and advanced health features like an ECG monitor, skin temperature sensor and blood oxygen sensor. However, it still provides most of the core Apple Watch feature set and the same processor as the Series 8 at a far lower cost. 

If you're willing to pay for the most rugged and longest-lasting Apple Watch, meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra is more modestly discounted at $749. That's about $30 below its usual street price.

LG C2 OLED TV

The 55-inch LG C2 OLED TV is on sale for $1,067, which is about $200 off the average street price we've seen in recent months and only $30 more than the lowest price we've tracked. The 65-inch version is also down to one of the best prices we've seen at $1,397. LG has replaced this 2022 model with this year's C3 OLED TV, which looks to be a marginal upgrade on the whole but promises improved image processing. This is also a step down from the Samsung S95B and newer S95C in terms of brightness and color saturation; those should be better for brightly-lit rooms. 

That said, the C2 is still excellent, offering the kind of deep contrast, smooth motion, low input lag and wide viewing angles you'd expect from a good OLED panel. And at this price, it costs far less than the C3 and Samsung'smodels. We previously recommended the C2 in our gaming TV buying guide.

GameStop BOGO sale

If you've been looking for games to play before the new Zelda drops, GameStop is running a buy-one-get-one-free sale that includes 40 different titles. Not every game in the sale is a winner, but the selection includes the PS4 version of the giant action-RPG Elden Ring, recent releases like the Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin! and the turn-based RPG Octopath Traveler II, plus Switch exclusives like Bayonetta 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, among others. Just note that the discount will only apply to the cheapest game you add to your cart.

PlayStation and Nintendo Switch game deals

Outside of GameStop's sale, we're seeing good prices on a number of recommended PlayStation and Nintendo Switch games. On the PlayStation side, the colorful action game Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and challenging roguelike Returnal are each down to $29, while the brutal sequel The Last of Us Part II is back down to $10. For Switch, several notable indie games are at or near all-time lows, including Celeste and Golf Story for $5 each, Hollow Knight and Spiritfarer for $7.50 each, Untitled Goose Game for $10, Hades for $12 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge for $20. We highlight many of these titles in our guides to the best couch co-op games, best PS5 games and best Switch games.

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We've previously found the Beats Studio Buds to be a well-rounded and relatively affordable set of true wireless earbuds for most people. If you've been thinking about picking up a pair, they're currently on sale for $100 at multiple retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. That's $10 more than the earbuds' all-time low but still about $30 below their average street price in recent months. For reference, they originally launched at $150. The deal applies to each color finish.

We gave the Studio Buds a review score of 84 when they launched in mid-2021. The best thing they have going for them is their design: They're small, lightweight and more than comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time. The shape is cleverly angled so that inserting and removing the earbuds feels natural. They're not as stable for jogging as Beats' Fit Pro, but their IPX4-rated water resistance means they can survive workouts all the same. Their case isn't oversized, either, and it charges over USB-C.

The Studio Buds have a mellow and fairly well-balanced sound profile with bass that's punchy but not overbearing. They underemphasize the treble range a bit, so things like vocals can sound less detailed, but in general it's a pleasant listen with most types of music. There are active noise cancellation and transparency modes as well; neither is as effective as higher-end models like Apple's AirPods Pro or Sony's WF-1000XM4, but they're passable. (If you want superior ANC for less than $100, Anker's Soundcore Space A40 is a better buy.) Like other Beats earbuds, the Studio Buds pair quickly with iPhones and support Apple-friendly perks like Find My device tracking and hands-free Siri access. But they also play well on Android, with similar fast-pairing and device-finding features.

There are some caveats, though. The Studio Buds' battery life is just OK, lasting around eight hours with ANC off and around five hours with it on. Call quality is similarly middling, and while the design is comfortable, it lacks features like wireless charging, automatic pausing when you remove an earbud and multipoint connectivity. Though the earbuds are easier to use with iPhones than most, they don't use one of Apple's proprietary wireless chips — ignore the Amazon listing that says otherwise — so they lack some features that you'd get with the Fit Pro or AirPods Pro, such as audio sharing and automatic switching between Apple devices. On the plus side, Apple has added support for onboard volume controls and instant iCloud pairing since the Studio Buds launched.

The other possible hang-up is that Apple seems likely to launch a revised model of the Studio Buds in the near future. Reports from 9to5Mac and The Verge say that these will be called the Studio Buds+ and feature improved ANC and transparency modes in a largely identical design. Exactly how much these will cost and whether they'll replace the current pair is unclear, but we may know soon, as FCC filings for the device were spotted just this week. Nevertheless, if you want a stylish pair of lightweight earbuds, the existing Studio Buds remain a solid value when they're discounted to this extent.

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If you've been eyeing a new air fryer but don't want something too large or pricey, Instant's Vortex Mini is the top budget pick in our air fryer buying guide, and it's currently down to $40 as part of a new sale. While this isn't the lowest price we've seen, it's within $5, and it represents a roughly $10 drop from the 2-quart air fryer's typical street price. Just note the deal only applies to the aqua blue model.

As a refresher, an air fryer works like a smaller, pod-shaped convection oven. It can cook smaller foods better than a microwave, and it's typically faster and more energy-efficient than a traditional oven. The Vortex Mini is among the most compact models we've tested, so it can't cook a ton of food at once, but we've found it to perform well for single servings and side dishes like french fries, tofu, pizza slices or roasted veggies. It has four preprogrammed buttons — air fry, bake, roast and reheat — and we generally found it simple to operate. Because it's only about a foot tall and nine inches wide, it doesn't take up much countertop space, nor is it a hassle to clean. All of this makes the Vortex Mini a decent accessory for those living in smaller spaces who mainly cook for themselves.

This deal comes as part of a couple of wider sales on Instant kitchen accessories at Amazon. If you're looking for a larger air fryer, the top pick in our guide, the six-quart Instant Vortex Plus, is on sale for $130, which is about $20 less than usual. If you're after an electric pressure cooker, meanwhile, the Instant Pot Pro is the upgrade pick in our Instant Pot buying guide, and it's back down to $130 as well.