While we consider Apple's MacBook Air M1 to be the best in the company's lineup for most people, there are some who will want a beefier machine. That's where the MacBook Pro M1 comes in, and Amazon has the 2020 model for a bit less than usual. The 13-inch laptop with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $150 off right now, bringing it down to $1,150. Only the space gray model has this discount right now, but the silver version is $100 off and down to $1,199.
Keep in mind that this is the 2020 model — not the 2021 MacBook Pro, which features an updated design with more ports and Apple's higher-end M1 Pro or M1 Max chipsets. That's not to say the 2020 model doesn't have its merits. In fact, it earned a score of 84 from us when we first reviewed it thanks to its speedy performance, fast GPU, lovely display, comfortable keyboard and trackpad plus its long, 16.5-hour battery life. And since the Pro is unlike the Air and has a fan inside, it can handle sustained workloads like video encoding better.
There are a few downsides to the Pro M1, namely its support for only one external display and lack of external GPU support all together. And, when compared to the 2021 models, the port selection is lacking. The 2020 laptop only has four Thunderbolt ports, whereas you'll get connectors like an HDMI port, an SD card slot and more on the newer machine. However, those updated MacBook Pros start at $1,999, so this sale on the 2020 MacBook Pro is a good option for those who have a tighter budget but still want an upgraded laptop and feel comfortable skipping the extra ports.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Despite the holidays being behind us, there are still some good tech deals floating around on the internet. While we likely won't see the deep discounts we saw in November and December for some time, the deals that are currently available are noteworthy for this time of year. A number of Google smart devices are on sale, including the second-generation Nest Hub for $60 and the Nest Audio for $75. Apple's Mac Mini M1 is as low as $600 for the base model, while the iPad Air is $60 off. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Mac Mini M1
Engadget
The base Mac Mini M1 is $100 off thanks to a sale and an additional coupon, bringing it down to $600. This model runs on the M1 chipset along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This is Apple's most affordable M1 machine, making it a good option if you're in need of an upgraded desktop. If you'd rather invest in a more powerful version, Adorama has the Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $750, or $150 less than usual.
The 2020 iPad Air is on sale for $539 right now, or $60 off its normal price. We gave the tablet a score of 90 for its fast performance and WiFi speeds, healthy battery life and attractive, updated design.
The 45mm, GPS + Cellular Series 7 smartwatch is $120 off, bringing it down to a record low fo $629. You're getting the latest and great from Apple in the Series 7, and we gave the Watch a score of 90 for its larger display, speedier charging and usefulness of watchOS 8.
Apple's latest iPad with 256GB of storage and cellular connectivity is on sale for $579, or $30 off its normal rate. This model earned a score of 86 from us for its improved front camera, better performance and excellent battery life.
The silver 24-inch iMac M1 is $50 cheaper than usual at Amazon, so you can get it for $1,249. We gave the thin-and-light desktop a score of 89 for its speedy performance, stunning display and easy to move body.
The Nest Audio smart speaker is down to $75, which is $25 off its regular price. While not as good as its Black Friday price, it's still a good discount on one of our favorite smart speakers. It earned a score of 87 from us for its excellent audio quality, stereo mode and minimalist design. You can also pick up the Nest Mini for only $25.
The second-generation Nest Hub has been discounted to $60, or $40 off its normal price. That's also only $10 more than it was during the holiday shopping season. We gave it a score of 89 for its nice 7-inch display, improved performance and audio quality plus its new sleep tracking feature.
Walmart has the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 for $140, or $40 off its normal price. This is only $5 more than its Black Friday price, too, making it a good opportunity to grab a new controller at one of the best prices we've seen. This accessory has a number of premium features including six adjustable-tension thumbsticks, four paddles, two D-pads and support for up to three custom profiles.
The Charge 5 fitness tracker is down to $130 at HSN, which is a return to its Black Friday pricing. We gave the wearable a score of 82 for its accurate GPS, improved design and multi-day battery life.
Logitech's streaming-focused webcam, the Streamcam, is on sale for $150. While not a record low, it's still $20 off its normal price and a decent deal. It made it into our best webcams guide thanks to its excellent 1080p/60fps video quality, solid built-in mics and the ability to record in landscape or portrait orientation.
If the base iPad doesn't have all of the power or bells and whistles you're looking for, your next best bet is the 2020 iPad Air. We gave the tablet a score of 90 when it first came out thanks in part to its speedy performance, healthy battery life and fun colors. Normally $599, the iPad Air is back on sale at Amazon right now for $539, or $60 off its normal price. Only the silver model has been discounted at the time of writing this, but if you don't mind skipping out on one of the more unique color options, this sale price is one of the best we've seen in months.
The Air sits in between the 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad Pros as Apple's mid-tier option. It runs on an A14 Bionic chipset with a six-core CPU and a four-core GPU, and this particular model on sale has 64GB of storage and WiFi 6 capabilities. Apple refreshed the tablet's design to make it look more like the Pros, complete with flat edges, a USB-C port for charging and a lovely 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display. You won't get FaceID on this machine, but you will get TouchID thanks to the fingerprint reader on the device's power button.
Overall, we found the Air to be zippy both in performance and WiFi speeds, and its battery lasted up to 12.5 hours in our testing. While the latest iPad Pros are better if you're looking for a laptop replacement, you could use the Air as a 2-in-1 while on the go thanks to its compatibility with Apple's Magic Keyboard. It also supports the second-generation Apple Pencil, allowing it to be a digital notebook for those that prefer writing things out by hand.
A discount like this is a good one to consider if you want an all-purpose tablet that's one step up from the base iPad. However, there are a few noteworthy discounts on the 10.2-inch tablet right now, too. The 256GB WiFi model is $30 off and down to $449, while the 256GB, WiFi + Cellular model has hit a record low fo $580.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Those looking to add a speedy desktop to their household, or upgrade from an old machine, should consider Apple's latest iMac. The sleek machine earned a score of 89 from us thanks in part to its fast performance and updated design, and now you can pick up the silver model for less at Amazon. The 24-inch iMac M1 with an 8-core CPU and a 7-core GPU, along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, is down to $1,249, or $50 off its normal price. Only the silver model is this low right now, and the last time it saw a similar discount was back in July of last year.
Apple's M1 chipset powers the latest iMacs, delivering noticeable performance improvements over previous models. The desktop can handle video editing, spreadsheet work and even Apple Arcade gaming without breaking a sweat, and wakes almost instantaneously from sleeping and only takes around 25 seconds to boot in a cold start. It also has a stunning 4.5K Retina Display that can show over one billion colors and reach up to 500 nits of brightness, so everything from photos to videos pops on this screen. Plus, the under-10-pound iMac is pretty easy to move around, so while you may just want to park it in one room of your home, you can move it when necessary without much effort.
Our biggest gripes with the iMac are its lack of vertical screen adjustment and its USB-C only port array. The base model, which is the one on sale, only has two USB-C ports — and you'll have to spring for the $1,499 8-core GPU version in order to get two more. That means that you'll most certainly be living the dongle life if you invest in this laptop, and that's an inconvenience that might be too much for some. You do get the color-matching Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard with this desktop, though, and while there are more comfortable combos out there, they will work just fine for most people.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
While we saw the Mac Mini M1 drop in price during the holiday shopping season, you have another chance to grab the desktop for less right now. Amazon has the base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $649, or $50 less than usual. It's not a record low — the machine dropped to $570 last month thanks to a sale combined with an addition coupon — but it's a noteworthy discount for this time of year in which most gadgets return to normal prices after the seasonal rush.
The Mac Mini M1 runs on the same processor as the latest MacBook Air, which means you should notice a big improvement in performance, especially if you're coming from an aging device. It has an eight-core CPU and an eight-core GPU, along with a Neural Engine that handles machine-learning tasks. In our experience with the Air, the M1 chipset was blazing fast, helping sites load almost instantly and running native apps smoothly. And you'll get all of that in the most affordable M1 machine if you go with the Mac Mini — even at its normal price of $699, the Mini is $300 cheaper than the $999 MacBook Air, making it a good option for those who don't want to break the bank while investing in a newer, faster computer.
If you appreciated the minimalist design of previous Mac Minis, you'll like the latest model because it hasn't changed much. Its silver exterior is only interrupted on one edge by the machine's port array, which includes two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-A connectors, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you've been itching to update your family's computer, or you just want to add a capable desktop to your home without spending too much money, this sale on the Mac Mini M1 is worth considering.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Apple's AirTags can be a good way to keep track of that new backpack or wallet you were gifted during the holidays, and now you can grab one of the trackers for less. Amazon has a single AirTag for $24, which is $5 less than usual and a new record-low. The only time we've seen AirTags for less than this was during a Woot sale on a four-pack. This, however, is the best price we've seen if you want just one of the trackers — and while it's a relatively small discount, it's a good deal on an accessory that rarely goes on sale.
AirTags are designed to work with iPhones, which means you'll get a pretty seamless experience from the moment you take the coin-sized tracker out of the box. The Find My app will immediately recognize the AirTag and you can label it with the name of whatever it's attached to. Since there's no keyhole on the AirTag, you will need some sort of case or holder if you want to secure the tracker to your keys, but you can find affordable AirTag accessories easily across the web. Given how small AirTags are, they'll easily slip into a pocket of your bag or a fold in your wallet without trouble.
Once set up, you can return to the Find My app to locate your missing things and you can force the AirTag to emit a chime so you can more easily find your stuff if you're still relatively close to it. Plus, if you have an iPhone that supports ultra-wideband, the AirTag's Precision Finding feature can lead you directly to your stuff with directions on your handset's screen. You may have to wait a bit to get the AirTag as Amazon's estimated delivery time is at the end of January, but now's a good opportunity to add an AirTag to your Apple setup and save a bit of money while doing so.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
Most of Google's Nest devices went on sale for the holiday shopping season and, while those deep discounts have come and gone, we're already seeing new sales pop up across the web. Both Best Buy and Adorama have the second-generation Google Nest Hub for $60, which is $40 off its normal price and only $10 more than it was on Black Friday. The Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $190, while the Nest Audio and Nest Mini are down to $75 and $25, respectively.
Our favorites of the bunch for most people are the Nest Hub and the Nest Audio. The former is Google's most recent smart display and it earned a score of 89 from us. It has a minimalist design, a lovely 7-inch display, clearer and louder audio than its predecessor and faster performance as well. It's just the right size to fit into any room without taking up too much space, and you can even place it on your nightstand and it will track your sleep. The feature was a bit finicky when we tested it, but as long as it's place precisely, you should get data on your sleep duration, quality, schedule and even snoring information.
The Nest Audio is Google's $100 smart speaker that competes with Amazon's Echo and Apple's HomePod mini. It holds its own against both of those devices and it earned a score of 87 from us for its solid audio quality, charming design, good Google Assistant performance and stereo mode when two of the speakers are paired. It's the smart speaker to get if you care at all about audio quality and already rely on the Google Assistant a lot. The Nest Mini may seem like an attractive option at $25, but you get what you pay for. Like its Amazon counterpart, the Echo Dot, the Nest Mini is an affordable way to get the Google Assistant into a small place but you'll sacrifice quite a bit on sound quality.
The Nest Hub Max is for those who want to go all in on both sound and Google smart devices. It has the best audio quality of them all plus a 10-inch display, gesture controls and the ability to double as a Nest Cam. It would make a good home-base smart display, one that sits in your living room or kitchen so everyone in your family has access to it when necessary.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
If you're looking for a more engaging way to work out in the new year, Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure could do the trick. The game forces you to do things like squat, jog in place and more to move your character through a fantasy world, making it a more interesting way to work out at home, especially during the winter months. Amazon has the pack for $55, or $25 off its usual price, and it's currently in stock as of writing this, so you can get your hands on it fairly quickly. The price only appears on the product page if you're a Prime subscriber, but it's available for all and it will show up once you have the game in your cart.
Designed to work with the Nintendo Switch, Ring Fit Adventure tracks motion using the console's Joy-Cons. One straps to the provided ring while the other attaches to a leg strap so it can keep track of both upper- and lower-body movements. Like regular games that don't have a sneaky exercise component, you'll design your character when you first boot up the title and they'll immediately be plopped into a new world that's ready to be explored. Only here, you'll do so by running in place and completing exercises like leg lifts and crunches to defeat enemies.
The Ring Fit Adventure won't replicate a treadmill run or even a strength-training workout video you can follow along, but that's ultimately the point of an exercise-based game like this. It's designed to provide a unique workout that doesn't feel like a regular fitness routine. We also appreciate that the game targets all part of the body with the moves it asks you to do, and you can customize it a bit by choosing the exercises you want to run through. There's also a handy "quiet mode" that removes actions like jumping up and down and instead focuses on lower-impact moves.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
With Christmas right around the corner, now's the time to make sure you have all your gifts in check and grab any last-minute holiday gifts you may need. Thankfully, there remain a good number of tech deals available, and a good portion of them are still slated to arrive before the holiday if you're quick to order. Apple's second-generation AirPods are still on sale for $90, while a couple of colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are $50 off. NVIDIA's Shield TV Pro streamer remains on sale for $180 and you can get $230 off one of the latest Roomba robot vacuums at Wellbots. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods (3rd gen)
Billy Steele/Engadget
Apple's latest AirPods are down to $140, which is $40 off its normal price and a new low. We gave them a score of 88 for their more comfortable design, much improved audio quality and longer battery life.
The previous-generation AirPods are down to $90 right now, or $70 off their normal price. While not the latest models, these are still decent earbuds that we liked for their improved wireless performance and good battery life.
The latest Apple Watch Series 7 is on sale for $350, or $50 less than usual. It's the most comprehensive wearable Apple makes and it earned a score of 90 from us for its larger screen, faster charging and handy features in watchOS 8.
The Mac Mini M1 is down to a new low of $570, while you can get the model with extra storage for $750. Adorama even has the desktop with 16GB of RAM for $100 less than usual, too. This is the most affordable M1 machine you can get right now, and it's a good option if you prefer a desktop and want all of the performance improvements that come with one of Apple's latest chipsets.
Apple's 24-inch iMac M1 is $100 off, bringing the 8GB RAM/256GB storage model down to $1,399. We gave the colorful desktop a score of 89 for its speedy performance, stunning Retina display and thin design.
The high-end NVIDIA Shield TV Pro streamer is down to $180 right now, or $20 off its normal price. It's on the expensive side, but it's one of the best streaming devices you can get at the moment thanks to its Tegra X1+ processor, 16GB of expandable storage and support for 4K upscaling, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, Chromecast technology and more.
Amazon's most powerful streaming device, the Fire TV Cube, has dropped to a new record low of $75. It supports 4K streaming, Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus hands-free Alexa controls.
iRobot's latest vacuum, the Roomba j7+, has dropped to $619 at Wellbots when you use the code 30VAC at checkout. You can also still get the robot without the clean base for $449. This is one of the higher-end robo-vacs the company makes and it has new AI-driven computer vision technology that can detect objects and move around them as it cleans. That means it'll better avoid things like chairs and table legs, as well as unexpected obstacles like pet poop. The j7+ also comes with a clean base into which the robot will empty debris at the end of every cleaning job.
GoPro's Hero 10 Black action cam is $100 cheaper at Amazon right now, bringing it down to $399. This model has the updated GP2 processor, support for 5.3K max resolution at 60fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K and 240 fps. We also liked its Hypersmooth 4.0 feature, which stabilizes bumps while you're recording. While that's a great deal on the camera alone, you can spend $50 less and get the camera with a 1-year GoPro subscription if you shop directly at GoPro's website.
You can pick up the Fitbit Charge 5 for $130 right now, or $50 off and the same price as it was on Black Friday. This is Fitbit's most comprehensive fitness band and it earned a score of 82 from us for its full-color touchscreen, built-in GPS, onboard EDA sensors for stress tracking and multi-day battery life.
You can grab the standard Kindle for $55 and get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with it. We gave this e-reader a score of 91 for its improved contrast display, extra front lights and sleeker design.
A bunch of Fire tablets are on sale again — you can get the Fire 7 for only $35, the Fire HD 8 for $55 and the Fire HD 10 for $100. These are all close to Black Friday prices, so you're still getting a good deal even if you missed the sales a few weeks ago. We gave the Fire HD 8 a score of 81 for its refined design, good performance and new USB-C charging.
Amazon's new smart thermostat is down to $48 right now, or 20 percent off its normal price. Like similar gadgets, it's designed to save you money on your home heating and cooling by automating the process. it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that other, more expensive thermostats do, but it's Energy Star-certified and supports a feature called Hunches, which will automatically adjust the temperature based on your habits. You can also control it with Alexa if you have an Echo speaker or smart display in your home.
Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to $248 right now, which is just about $100 off their regular price. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
Walmart has an exclusive version of the 8-quart Instant Pot Duo Nova for $59. That's nearly half off the price that the normal model is going for on Amazon right now. You'll get seven cooking modes along with additional one-touch programs that make it easy to prepare things like soups, stews, porridge and more.
Samsung’s EVO Select microSDXC card in 128GB is down to $16, or 20 percent off its normal price. This is the latest model and while you can find microSD cards for less, EVO is a reliable brand and you're getting a full-sized adapter with this one.
The Chromecast with Google TV has dropped to $40, which is $10 cheaper than usual. We gave the device a score of 86 for its 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support plus its much needed and very handy new remote.
Samsung's 980 Pro is one of the best internal SSDs you can get right now and a 1TB model is on sale for $170 right now. It has sequential read speeds up to 7,000MB/s and it'll work with the PS5 as long as you have a heatsink attached.
Crucial’s P5 NAND NVMe SSD in 1TB is on sale for $145 right now, or 19 percent off its regular rate. This drive can reach sequential read speeds of up to 3,400MB/s and its M.2 format makes it a good option for both desktop and laptop users.
Razer's Wolverine Ultimate gaming controller is down to $81, or nearly half off its normal price. The controller that comes with your Xbox is pretty good, but sometimes you might need a little more features from your gamepad. The Wolverine Ultimate may be wired, but it also has interchangeable thumbtacks and d-pads, so you can actually tweak the controller’s layout according to the games you play and your own personal preferences.
Amazon's Echo smart speaker is on sale for $60 right now. We gave it a score of 89 for its solid audio quality, attractive design and inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack.
The tiny Echo Dot has dropped to $30, and you can grab the Echo Dot with Clock for only $35. We gave it a score of 88 for its good audio quality for the price, compact design and tap-to-snooze feature.
The Nest Mini is down to $25. It's the affordable speaker to get if you want to put the Google Assistant in your home without dropping too much money, or taking up too much space.
A three-pack of Philips Hue White and Color bulbs is down to about $77 thanks to a sale price and an additional 15-percent-off coupon that you can clip on the product page. That's the best price we've seen on this bulbs-only pack, making it best for those that already have a Hue bridge. You'll just have to wait a bit to get them as they will not ship until early January.
For those curious about Tidal's HiFi service, you can take advantage of the company's holiday sale and get three months of the music service for just $1. Three months of the HiFi Plus Plan is also on sale for $2, and it gets you everything in the standard HiFi plan along with Master Quality audio with Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio support and other extra perks.
While the Mac Mini M1 on sale at Amazon continues to come in and out of stock, you can grab a version of the desktop with extra RAM for less at Adorama. The online retailer has the Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $799, or $100 off its normal price. That's double the RAM in the base model and a configuration that's not as readily available at third-party retailers.
You can still get the desktop with 512GB of storage for $750 at Amazon if you prefer to bulk up on storage. But extra RAM can be quite useful as it'll help make multitasking smoother. Base on our experience testing out other M1 machines like the MacBook Air, the Mac Mini M1 should already feel speedy and smooth thanks to the performance gains brought by Apple's updated chipset. It has an eight-core CPU and an eight-core GPU, plus a Neural Engine for handling machine-leaning tasks. Adding extra RAM into the mix will only improve the experience, especially when doing things like video editing, running dozens of browser tabs and more.
The latest Mac Mini is all about the performance enhancements, which is to say that it doesn't look all that different from previous models. It's designed to be compact so it should fit in even the most cramped work-from-home spaces, and it has a number of ports including two USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port and a headphone jack. It's a good option for those who don't have a lot of space but want to invest in an upgraded, all-purpose machine for their home.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
