While it can be tricky to find the right smart lock for your door, August's WiFi smart lock is one of the most versatile out there since it fits over most regular deadbolts. Its easy installation process is one of the reasons why we gave it a score of 80 when we first reviewed it, but we also knocked it for its higher price tag. But now you can grab the capable smart lock for $50 less at Amazon while it's down to a record low of $180. It hasn't gone on sale like this in months, so now's the time to buy one if you've been eyeing it for a while.
August didn't mess with the good stuff when updating its WiFi smart lock. The fourth-generation device is smaller than the previous and it doesn't require a bridge thanks to its WiFi connectivity. Like most smart home devices, you'll follow a few setup videos in the companion mobile app to set the lock up, and during that process you'll have to turn on two-factor authentication. It's a necessary step and we were glad to see it as that extra layer of security is important for all connected devices — especially those that lock and unlock your home. And on top of that, the WiFi smart lock also has Bluetooth encryption plus AES 128-bit and TLS encryption.
After setting it up, August's device can be controlled from its companion app, allowing you to remotely lock and unlock your door. This lets you easily let friends and family members in when you're not home, and its Auto-Lock feature can detect when you've shut the door and automatically secure it. And your old-school keys aren't suddenly useless either — you can still use them with the WiFi smart lock installed, so if you ever forget to replace the lock's dual CR123 batteries, you can still get into your home. Before you decide to buy, check out August's support page to double check that your deadbolt is compatible with the smart lock.
November has begun with a bang when it comes to tech deals. A whole slew of early Black Friday deals are available right now, making it a good time to cross some items off your gift list. Unsurprisingly, Amazon and Best Buy are the places to go for the best tech deals right now. Some of our favorite headphones and earbuds have hit record-low prices, and there are bunch of discounts on everything from smartwatches to OLED TVs to Instant Pots. Here are the best early Black Friday tech deals you can get right now.
Sony WH-1000XM4
Billy Steele / Engadget
Our favorite pair of Sony headphones, the WH-1000XM4, are down to a record low of $248 right now. We gave these cans a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
Sony's excellent WF-1000XM4 earbuds are down to $248 during this sale. We gave them a score of 86 for their great sound quality, powerful ANC and improved battery life.
The Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds are down to $128, or more than $70 off their usual price. We gave these buds a score of 89 for their excellent sound quality, great battery life and comprehensive companion app.
Bose's QuietComfort earbuds are down to $199, which is a record low. These are some of the company's best true wireless earbuds and they earned a score of 87 from us for their clear sound, powerful ANC and comfortable size.
The Instant Pot Duo Plus dropped down to its all-time-low price of $60. This multicooker has functions for pressure cooking, slow cooking, yogurt making, sous vide and more, and its six-quart capacity should make enough food for four to six people people.
Jabra's Elite 85t earbuds are on sale for a new record-low price of $150, which is $80 off its normal price. These earbuds impressed us with their strong ANC, comfortable size and wireless charging case.
JLab's already affordable Go Air Pop earbuds are down to only $13 right now. These colorful true wireless buds sport an eight-hour battery life, a small and comfortable design and touch controls.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is on sale for $200 right now, which is a new record low. The Watch 4 Classic is also on sale for $320. These remain the best smartwatches for Android users and we gave the Watch 4 a score of 85 for its bright screen, comprehensive health tracking and improved third-party app support.
Samsung's Tab S7 and S7+ are down to $500 and $700, respectively, during this sale. We gave these Android tablets a score of 80 for their lovely build, striking 120Hz displays and long battery life.
Google's Nest Audio is down to an all-time low of $60. This is one of the best smart speakers you can get, especially if you already use the Google Assistant. We gave it a score of 87 for its solid audio quality, attractive design and good performance.
The latest Nest Hub is half off, bringing it down to only $50. It earned a score of 89 from us for its speedy performance, clearer and louder audio and accurate sleep tracking sensor.
The Nest Hub Max is on sale for $180 right now. This is the biggest version of Google's smart display and we gave it a score of 86 for its excellent sound quality, great display and handy gesture controls.
Google's Nest WiFi system with one router and one access point is on sale for $180. We gave this mesh system a score of 84 for its lovely hardware, simple installation process and built-in smart speaker capabilities.
A 55-inch LG G1 OLED TV will set you back $1,700 if you grab it during this sale. It's part of the "gallery" series and it uses OLED evo panel technology, which provides better brightness and clearer whites than standard OLED displays. It also runs on LG's a9 Gen4 AI Processor 4K and supports features like G-SYNC, FreeSync, OLED Motion Pro and voice commands via Alexa and the Google Assistant.
The latest LG OLED lineup just became available a few months ago and now you can grab the 48-inch A1 model for $900. The A1 series is the most affordable of the bunch, making these sets good options for anyone looking to upgrade to OLED while on a tight budget.
Vizio's 55-inch OLED 4K TV is down to $1,000 right now, or $300 off its normal price. This set supports HDR and Dolby Vision, DTS Virtual X surround sound audio and AirPlay and Chromecast technology built in.
Lenovo's Smart Clock Essential is $20 off, bringing it down to $30. We gave this compact smart alarm clock a score of 83 for its minimalistic design, built-in nightlight, tap-to-snooze feature and good smart home controls.
The new Smart Clock Gen 2 is on sale for $70, or $20 off its normal price. This model has a better processor plus a wireless charging pad that you can use to juice up your smartphone, earbuds or other devices.
Amazon's latest Echo smart speaker has been discounted to $60, which is a new record low. We gave the orb-shaped device a score of 89 for its good audio quality, solid Alexa performance and stereo pairing option.
The previous-gen Echo Show 8 has fallen to $60 in this sale. While it doesn't have the improved video camera that the new version does, it's still a good option if you're looking for a mid-sized smart display to put in your kitchen, office or elsewhere in your home.
The base Kindle is $40 off, bringing it down to a new low of $50. That's a great deal if you don't need the bells and whistles that come with the new Paperwhite edition. We gave the Kindle a score of 91 for its front-lit display, improved contrast panel and sleeker design.
The Eero Pro 6 mesh WiFi three-pack is just about $150 off, bringing it down to an all-time low of $449. This pack can cover 6,000 square feet, supports WiFi 6, has a speedy setup process and works with Alexa.
Facebook's Portal smart display is on sale for $80, or $100 off its normal price. We gave it a score of 79 for its HD display, smart camera tracking, bevy of video chat features and good sound quality.
The Portal TV has been discounted by $70, bringing it down to $80. This device basically turns your TV into a giant video chat screen and we gave it a score of 78 for its smart camera tracking and immersive video chat experience.
The Fitbit Sense is back down to its record low of $200. This is the company's most capable smartwatch and it earned a score of 82 from us for its big, sharp display and comprehensive health tracking features.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 tracker is down to a record low of $60 right now. This is one of the Fitbit bands to get if you want a device that lasts up to 10 days on a single charge while tracking daily activity, steps and sleep.
Logitech's C922 Pro webcam has been discounted to $80, or $20 off its normal price. Recording in up to 1080p/60fps, this webcam is a good one if you want just one gadget for both Zoom calls and game streaming.
This Razer mechanical keyboard is on sale for $80, which is $60 off its normal price. It boasts programmable backlit keys, anti-ghosting with 10-key rollover and an included wrist rest.
Nanoleaf's Hexagon pack is down to $170, or $30 off its normal price. You can hang these up in your own, unique pattern and they can shine in over 16 million colors. The companion app allows you to create scenes, set schedules and program the lights to change with music you may be playing.
Best Buy slashed $250 off the Ninebot ES2-N electric scooter, bringing it down to $400. This foldable scooter uses 700W of power to reach a max speed of 15.5mph, and its non-pneumatic tires keep you stable even on rough terrain. It also has a built-in headlight for safer riding in the evening and an LED display that shows speed and battery level.
iRobot's latest Roomba that can detect obstacles — including pet poop — along its cleaning journey is cheaper than ever right now. Both Amazon and Wellbots have the Roomba j7 and j7+ for $150 less, so you can grab them for $499 and $699, respectively. Both robots are the same, but you'll get the clean base with the j7+ model, allowing you to set and forget the robot and only empty the clean base about once every 60 days.
The j7 series builds upon the Roomba i7 robots with more powerful cameras, better sensors and more power. The AI-driven computer vision technology allows the device to detect obstacles and move around them as it cleans, and you can label those obstacles as permanent (in the case of a chair or another piece of furniture) or temporary. Not only does this mean the j7 robots should better navigate around things like piles of clothes and charging cords, but they can also detect a robot vacuum's arch nemesis: pet poop. iRobot even has a Pet Owner Official Promise (yes, P.O.O.P.) which states that you'll get a new robot vacuum if your j7+ runs into poop in the first year of you owning it.
Aside from that, the j7 series takes advantage of iRobot's improved mobile app, which lets you schedule cleanings and set routine triggers. You can also label rooms in your home after the robot has created a map, so you can better direct it to a specific room when you only need a quick clean.
While the clean base included in the j7+ package isn't necessary, it takes the convenience level up a notch. Instead of emptying your robot's bin after every job, the j7+ will automatically empty its contents into the clean base when it's done. You then only have to worry about emptying the base once every two months.
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November is right around the corner and, if you weren't already thinking about all of the gifts you have to buy this year, now's the time to start. Black Friday sales have started earlier than ever, and we anticipate more to come once November 1st hits. This week, we saw the updated AirPods Pro with the MagSafe wireless charging case drop to $220, while Samsung knocked hundreds off one of its high-end projectors. Blink home security cameras have hit near record-low prices and you can still grab a Shark robot vacuum for $150 off. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods Pro (with MagSafe case)
Billy Steele / Engadget
Apple's updated AirPods Pro with the new MagSafe charging case are $30 cheaper right now, bringing them down to $220. The earbuds themselves have not changed, but now you'll be able to magnetically attach them to MagSafe wireless chargers. We gave them a score of 87 for their better fitting design, good ANC and handy Siri access.
Apple's latest MacBook Pros are already $50 less on Amazon even though they just became available this week. We gave the laptops a score of 92 for their excellent performance, lovely Liquid Retina XDR displays, good battery lives and new bevy of ports.
The 1TB 11-inch iPad Pro is $200 off right now, bringing it down to $1,300. It's still quite expensive, but with that much storage, this iPad could make a great laptop replacement with the right accessories. We gave the 2021 iPads a score of 87 for their powerful performance and new Center Stage cameras.
The second-generation Apple Pencil is on sale for $100 right now, which is an all-time-low price. It works with all iPads except for the latest 10.2-inch entry-level model, which still supports the first-gen stylus. It's a must-have if you plan on taking notes or creating artwork with your iPad.
Shark's AV970 robot vacuum is $150 off, bringing it down to a near record-low price of $250. It has a self-cleaning brush roll, IQ navigation and Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, plus an extra-large bin that will hold more debris than other robo-vacs.
You can still grab a 55-inch The Frame smart TV for less than $1,000 in Samsung's latest early Black Friday sale. These TVs use Art Mode to show artwork and photos when you're not actively watching something, and they support 4K QLED set with 100 percent color volume, 4K AI upscaling and Alexa voice commands.
Samsung's high-end Premiere Projector is on sale for as low as $2,498. That's for the model with a 2.2 channel sound system, but the one with a 4.2.2 channel system is a whopping $1,500 off, bringing it down to $4,998. Both projectors support HDR10+ and up to 2,800 lumens of brightness, plus they both have separate red, green and blue lasers to cover the full Rec.2020 color range.
Amazon knocked up to 33 percent off Blink security cameras this week and you can still get a camera for as low as $25. Blink Outdoor and Indoor cameras are wireless and support 1080p video, motion detection, two-way audio and Alexa commands. If you plan on watching over the outside of your home, the weatherproof Outdoor cameras as they ones to get.
Arturia has a promotion going on right now that gives you three plugins for free when you buy a MiniLab MkII, KeyLab Essential or KeyLab MkII controller. The plugins themselves are worth over $400, so they're solid freebies to grab if you're already set on getting one of the company's devices.
NordVPN, one of our favorite VPNs, is running a sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up and pay $99 for two years, plus you'll get an extra three months free. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
Another one of our top VPN services, Tunnelbear, is offering a two-year subscription for $100. You'll save 58 percent if you sign up with this deal, and we think Tunnelbear is one of the easiest VPNs to use, especially for those that don't want to go crazy configuring their connections.
If you've been holding out for a better price on a high storage capacity iPad Pro, Amazon may have you covered. The latest 11-inch iPad Pro with 1TB of storage is $200 off right now, bringing it down to $1,299. That's the best price we've seen and $100 cheaper than its previous low.
There are very few differences between this year's 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros. The larger model has Apple's new Liquid Retina XDR display, which will improve your video-watching experience. But just because the 11-inch model doesn't have the latest display tech doesn't mean it has a paltry screen. You're still getting a 2,388 x 1668 resolution Liquid Retina panel with ProMotion and True Tone technology, which is to say, it's still a lovely screen.
Otherwise, the 2021 iPad Pros are much the same. Both run on M1 processors, giving them powerful performance and making them the best laptop alternatives Apple has made yet. They also have 5G support, a USB-C port that double as a Thunderbolt connector with USB 4.0 compatibility and new Center Stage cameras. The latter works to keep you in the center of the frame when on video calls, and that will make a big difference whether you're on a Zoom meeting or just FaceTiming with your family.
Most people probably don't need 1TB of space, but it'll be useful if you're a creative professional using the iPad Pro for both work and play, or someone who wants to ditch their old laptop for a hybrid device. Paired with the right accessories, this iPad Pro would make a solid laptop replacement.
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Black Friday has come a few weeks early for Google fans. A bunch of Google devices are on sale today at B&H Photo, including the Nest Audio smart speaker, which is only $60 right now if you go for the chalk or charcoal colors. That's $40 off its normal price and the lowest we've seen in a long time. The second-gen Nest Hub is half off, bringing it down to $50, while the Nest Hub Max is on sale for $180.
If you're an Android user or a Google Assistant fan, you can't go wrong with the Nest Audio as your main smart speaker. It earned a score of 87 from us and we considered it to be a steal at its normal $100 price point. Not only does it have solid sound quality on its own, but two paired together in stereo mode sound even better. We also like its minimalist design and how speedily the Google Assistant responds to commands.
Either of the Nest Hubs on sale would make great additions to your smart home, but which you choose will likely depend on how much you value affordability and sound quality. The second-gen Nest Hub is a great deal at $50 because you're getting a faster device overall, much improved audio quality and new sleep tracking abilities. For the latter, if you put the Nest Hub next to your bed, it'll track how long you've been asleep and even if you snore during the night. And regardless of where it sits in your home, the smart display can show video camera feeds from Nest Cams, so you can see who's at your front door without actually answering it.
As for the Nest Hub Max, it's the better choice if you want a smart display that can also hold its own against some high-end speakers. It includes two front-facing tweeters and a rear-facing woofer and they work together to pump out strong, clear sound. It's not a replacement for a couple of Sonos speakers spread throughout your home, but it's one of the best options if you want one device that can be your main speaker and smart display.
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Robot vacuums can be expensive, and if you want one with a base that automatically collects dirt, it'll cost you even more. But now you can get one of Shark's most advanced models for the lowest price we've seen. The Shark IQ RV1001AE robot vacuum with clean base is 47 percent off, bringing it down to $319. That's more than $280 off its normal price and the lowest we've seen it — not to mention that also makes it even cheaper than most iRobot devices that come with clean bases, even when they've been on sale.
We've been fans of Shark's robot vacuums since one of its cheaper models made it into our budget robot vacuum guide. Originally priced at $600, the RV1001AE is one of Shark's higher-end robo-vacs with powerful suction and a self-cleaning brush roll. The latter ensures that hair won't get tangled in the brush, making this vacuum a good pick for pet owners. In addition to Shark's IQ navigation, it also maps out your home as it cleans so you can tell it to only clean the living room or the kitchen by using the mobile app. And if you don't want to bother with manual cleanings, you can set a schedule in the mobile app, too, and let the robot do all the work.
This robot vacuum also cleans itself — it'll automatically empty its bin into the clean base that comes with it. Yes, you'll have to empty the base once every month or so, but that's much more convenient than having to remember to dump out the robot's contents every time. Also, Shark's clean base is bagless, so you don't have to buy proprietary liners like you do with other robots that come with similar bases.
If you can live without the clean base, a few other Shark vacuums — both robot and not — are on sale right now, too. Of note is the Shark IQ AV970, which is down to $250. That's $150 off its normal price and close to its all-time low of $230. It has many of the same features as the RV1001AE, including a self-cleaning brush roll, IQ navigation and Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands. Aside from the clean base, you'll have to forgo home mapping with this model, but you'll get an extra-large dust bin, which allows the robot to suck up more dirt and debris before you need to empty it.
The holiday shopping season is a good time to invest in smart home gadgets since many are heavily discounted. And with the season starting earlier than ever this year, we're already seeing good discounts on things like home security cameras. Amazon has a good sale right now on Blink cameras, knocking them down to near record lows. A one-camera Blink Outdoor kit is down to $70, while it's Indoor equivalent is on sale for $60 — both were $10 cheaper on Prime Day back in June, but this is the best price we've seen since then. Also, the Blink Mini is down to $25, which is only $5 more than it was on Prime Day.
The biggest selling point for these cameras is that they're wireless. Both the Outdoor and Indoor models are untethered and run on AA batteries, so you can place them almost anywhere you want with or without the help of mounts. Aside from the Blink Outdoor being weather resistant, the two types of cameras are mostly the same. Both record 1080p video, have infrared night vision and can send motion detection alerts to your phone. They also support two-way audio, so you can speak to the person (or animal, even) on the other end of your video feed if you wish. And as with most Amazon-backed gadgets, these cameras support Alexa voice commands and you can view video feeds from any Echo Show devices you may have around your home.
The Blink Mini is a bit different in that it actually is a wired camera and it's also more compact. While it's less versatile than the standard Blink devices, it's the better choice if you want to give the system a go before investing in a bunch of additional cameras. Plus, you're not missing out on any features: the Blink Mini also records in 1080p, supports motion alerts and two-way audio, and it works with Alexa.
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Apple's latest pro-level notebooks are barely one week old and they've already received a discount on Amazon. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M1 Pro CPUs are $50 off right now — that means you can grab the 512GB 14-inch model for $1,950 or the 512GB 16-inch version for $2,450. Is it a huge discount? No, but it's notable for Apple's newest laptops for which price might be a big barrier to entry for some. Both laptops will ship starting tomorrow.
Despite being announced just last week, we managed to check out the latest MacBook Pros and gave them a score of 92. Apple addressed a lot of complaints people had with its high-end laptops here, namely their lack of ports. Both machines have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI connector, a MagSafe power port, a headphone jack and an SD card reader. The only thing missing is a USB-A port, but that's a small sacrifice to make when you have so many connectivity options that you didn't have on previous MacBook Pros.
To house these bevy of ports, the new MacBook Pros are thicker and slightly heavier than previous editions, but they remain portable (the 14-inch a bit more so than the 16-inch). They also have lovely Liquid Retina XDR displays capable of reaching 1,600 nits of brightness thanks to their Mini-LED backlighting. They also support 120Hz refresh rates with ProMotion, which will help prevent your eyes from getting fatigued after hours of scrolling through documents and web pages. The webcam notch is a noticeable difference as well, albeit one that might frustrate some, but at least the 1080p webcam is a big upgrade from the 720p camera in previous models.
Unsurprisingly, the new MacBook Pros have stellar performance. While the M1 chipset in last year's laptops fell a bit short when it came to heavy duty creative work, the M1 Pro processors remedy that and we found the SSDs in these Pros to be speedy as well. While those who need serious power for 3D renderings and similar tasks may still want to consider machines with dedicated GPUs, others will find the power provided in the new MacBook Pros to be more than sufficient. And they last long, too — the 14-inch model survived over 12.5 hours in our testing, while the 16-inch machine lasted over 16.5 hours. If you knew during Apple's event last week that the latest MacBook Pro was the laptop for you, now's a good time to grab one while you can save a few dollars in the process.
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The latest Samsung early Black Friday sale brings The Frame smart TVs down to some of the lowest prices we've seen in a while. Both Amazon and Samsung's own website have the deals right now, which include the 55-inch The Frame 4K smart TV for just under $1,000 — that's $500 off its normal price and the lowest we've seen it. The most affordable of the bunch is the 32-inch set, which is down to $450, and you'll find the 75-inch TV for $2,200 on the high end of the spectrum.
If you aren't familiar, Samsung's The Frame TVs stand out because they aren't basic black voids when you're not watching something. Instead, they use Art Mode to display various pictures and pieces of art, allowing it to blend better into your living room. You can even send your own photos to the screen, turning it into a super-large version of those small, digital photo frames that are quite popular now. Built-in sensors optimize the picture to your environment, and they can tell when you're away, turning the screen off automatically. On top of all that, you're getting a 4K QLED set with 100 percent color volume, 4K AI upscaling and Alexa support.
While a bunch of other Samsung TVs are also on sale right now, the Premiere Projector with a 4.2.2 sound system is noteworthy because it's been discounted to just under $5,000. That's $500 cheaper than it was back in September when it was last on sale, and a total discount of $1,500. Yes, it's still an expensive piece of home theater equipment, but it's a much better buy at this price. It includes separate red, green and blue lasers so it can cover the full Rec.2020 color range, and it supports HDR10+ and up to 2,800 lumens of brightness. If you're willing to compromise a bit on sound, the model with a 2.2 channel system is down to a new low of $2,498 as well.
