The Apple Watch may be the best smartwatch for iPhone lovers, but it's a pretty expensive accessory. With the Series 6 setting users back $400, Apple brought the more affordable Watch SE into its lineup so those with tighter budgets could get the same, core Apple Watch experience. Now you can pick up a Watch SE for even less at Amazon while a couple of models are on sale. Key among them is the 44mm, GPS + Cellular Apple Watch SE in silver for $300 — that's $59 off its normal price and a record low. The same Watch in space gray is as low as $319 right now as well, depending on the style of band you pick.
The Apple Watch SE doesn't look all that different from the Series 6, and it has a feature set that will be more than enough for those new to the smartwatch experience. The Watch SE performed well in our testing, despite running on an older processor than the one found in the Series 6, and it has all of the core features of watchOS 7 including heart rate monitoring with high and low alerts, noise monitoring, fall detection, Emergency SOS and more. The fitness features are almost identical to that of the Series 6 — the only things you don't get on the SE are blood oxygen and ECG measurements.
You also don't get the always-on display that the Series 6 has, but the Watch SE has the same size display, which is noticeably larger than that of the old Series 3. And with these models on sale, you're getting cellular connectivity — that means you can make and receive calls, send text messages and more even when your iPhone isn't around. The Apple Watch is still very much an iPhone accessory, but those with LTE will get the most untethered experience.
Even though you have to give up a few features with the Apple Watch SE, you're still getting one of the best smartwatches available today. But we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Apple may be coming out with new models soon. We typically see new Apple Watches announced along with the latest iPhones in September, but there's no guarantee a new Watch SE will make the lineup this year.
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August impressed us with its 4th-generation WiFi smart lock, which has a subtle design, an easy installation process and a decent price compared to its competition. However, it's normal price of $230 isn't exactly cheap — but now you can get the smart lock for the best price we've seen by going to Wellbots. The online retailer has the 4th-generation WiFi smart lock for $179 when you use the coupon code ENGADGET20 at checkout.
August didn't fix what wasn't broken about its smart lock, but it did take the time to add features that make the 4th-generation feel like a substantial upgrade. It's half the size of the previous generation lock and it no longer requires a bridge thanks to its WiFi connectivity. Installation is pretty quick and easy, thanks in part to the helpful video instructions in the August mobile app, and we appreciate that the company forces you to turn on two-factor authentication during setup. It's an extra security measure that's especially important when you're talking about a device that lets people into your home. In addition to two-factor authentication, the lock also uses Bluetooth encryption, AES 128-bit and TLS encryption.
Once installed, the mobile app can act as your digital keys, remotely locking and unlocking your door at any time. This makes it easy to let a friend or family member into your home when necessary even if you're away. You also don't have to forsake your physical keys all together — you can still use them to unlock your door at any time, so even if you forget to replace the smart lock's dual CR123 batteries, you'll still be able to get into your home. Just make sure to check out August's support page to see if your deadbolt is compatible with the smart lock before you buy it.
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The internet was awash with tech deals this week, with some of the best coming from Apple and Amazon. Apple's AirPods Pro dropped to $180 while the MacBook Pro M1 received at $200 discount. Amazon kicked off its "off to college" sale by reducing the prices of its Echo speakers, including the Echo Dot, Kindle e-readers and a handful of Fire tablets. And those looking for a new streaming gadget can get the Roku Streambar or the NVIDIA Shield TV for less. Here are the best tech deals we found this week that you can still get today.
AirPods Pro
Billy Steele / Engadget
Apple's AirPods Pro are down to $180 right now, or $70 off their normal price. These are the best sounding earbuds you can get from Apple, and we gave them a score of 87 for their better, more secure fit, IPX4 water resistance and solid audio quality.
The MacBook Pro M1 is $200 off at Amazon thanks to a sale price and an automatically applied coupon on top of that. That means you can get the model with 256GB of storage for $1,099 and the 512GB version for $1,299. We gave the Pro M1 a score of 84 for its powerful performance, solid keyboard and trackpad and healthy battery life.
Those looking to invest in an iPad Pro as a laptop alternative need look no further than Amazon's most recent sales on the 1TB models. The WiFi version of the latest 11-inch iPad Pro is down to $1,399 while the WiFi + Cellular version is down to $1,599. These iPad Pros run on Apple's M1 chipset, so you're getting the latest processor technology and formidable performance in these slabs.
The Echo Dot has been discounted to $35 while the regular Echo smart speaker is down to $80 as part of Amazon's "off to college" sale. While not all-time lows, these sale prices are great for those that want to save a bit and add an Echo device to their home, or college students who want a convenience speaker for their new dorm room.
Both Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite and regular Kindle are on sale right now for $80 and $65, respectively. These are some of the best prices we've seen on both e-readers since Prime Day back in June. We recommend the Paperwhite to those that can afford it, but the standard Kindle is an even better buy now than it was a couple of years ago thanks to its new front light and higher-contrast display.
A number of Amazon Fire tablets are on sale this week, including the new Fire HD 10, which is down to a record low of $100. The Fire HD 8 has been discounted to $60, which is a great price for a basic tablet that we praised for its long battery life, USB-C charging and hands-free Alexa capabilities. And if you've been eyeing a Fire tablet for your child, the Fire 7 Kids Pro and the Fire 8 Kids Pro are both on sale for $60 and $90, respectively.
Amazon knocked $20 off its Fire TV Cube, bringing it down to $100. It's been around for a while, but the Fire TV Cube remains the most powerful streaming device in Amazon's lineup. It has solid performance and supports 4K HDR output as well as voice commands via Alexa for both your TV and other smart home devices.
The NVIDIA Shield TV is $20 off right now, bringing it down to $130. We like it for its Tegra X1+ processor and its support for Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, Chromecast 4K and AI-powered HD-to-4K upscaling.
The Roku Streambar is down to $99 right now, or $30 off its normal price. It's a relatively affordable device to get to upgrade an old TV in your home, or up the audio chops on your main set. We gave it a score of 86 for its compact size, good sound quality and 4K HDR streaming chops.
Samsung's premium Galaxy Buds Pro are on sale for $127 at B&H Photo right now. That's 37 percent off their normal price and close to a record low. We gave them a score of 85 for their comfy fit, good sound quality and wireless charging case.
In this Omaze giveaway you can win two seats on one of the first Virgin Galactic flights to space. In addition, you'll go on a tour of Spaceport America in New Mexico with Richard Branson. You don't have to pay to enter, but funds from all paid entries will support Space for Humanity, an organization that hopes to make space more accessible for all. The sweepstakes is open through September 1, so you still have time to enter.
Through September 18, Omaze is giving away another $20,000 to build your ultimate gaming PC. This sweepstakes is free to enter, but funds donated with purchased entries will benefit Schools on Wheels, an organization that provides free tutoring and mentoring services to children experiencing homelessness across Southern California.
Through December 8, you can enter to win four-day passes to San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Along with the passes, you'll get access to a special preview night, reserved seating in Hall H, a personal concierge, a private tour of the Comic-Con Museum, dinner in Balboa Park and tickets to the "Night at the Comic-Con Museum" event. It's free to enter, but funds from this sweepstakes will go to the San Diego Comic Convention.
Logitech's C922x Pro webcam is on sale for $75, or $25 off its normal price. While not a record low, it's a good sale price on a solid webcam that you'll actually be able to get relatively soon — Amazon estimates orders will ship in the first few weeks of September. This version of the C922 webcam is optimized for streaming, so it could be your Zoom-meeting webcam as well as your main game streaming camera.
One of our recommended VPNs is running a decent sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for $99 for the first two years, which comes out to $49.50 per year, and get three additional months of access for 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.
While Samsung redesigned the latest Galaxy Buds 2 with the budget-conscious in mind, the Galaxy Buds Pro are its complete-package wireless earbuds. They debuted in January and we found them to be Samsung's best wireless earbuds to date — but they're also the company's most expensive at $200. But B&H Photo has a limited-time sale going on right now that knocks 37 percent off the buds, bringing them down to $127. That's close to an all-time low and a great price on the most premium Samsung earbuds.
Samsung had many iterations of its earbuds before the Galaxy Buds Pro came along, and it took all previous criticism to hear when designing the Pros. They have a compact, comfortable design with an IPX7 waterproof rating, so you could use them while working out. Active noise-cancellation is solid, blocking out sounds from things like running dishwashers well, and Android users can download the companion mobile app to change noise-cancellation settings.
The mobile app also lets you do things like enable hands-free Bixby and disable voice detection, which will automatically lower the volume and switch to ambient sound mode when you're speaking. We were also impressed by the buds' sound quality — the 11mm woofer handles the low-end well and highs are crisp and punchy. The Galaxy Buds Pro also support 360 Audio, which is Samsung's equivalent to Apple's Spatial Audio on AirPods Pro.
As far as battery life goes, it's decent but nothing to write home about. You'll get roughly 18 hours of listening time out of the buds, and that includes the extra charges carried by its case. We do like that the case supports wireless charging, though, so you can sit them on any Qi pad in your home to get extra juice. These remains the most premium earbuds you can get from Samsung, and considering B&H's sale makes them more affordable than even the new Galaxy Buds 2, it's a solid buy if you want the best Samsung has to offer.
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Photographers, videographers, gamers and the like know the sinking feeling of finding out that the SD card or SSD you've been using is all filled up. Having an extra storage device ready to go when this happens can save you a lot of stress, but they can be expensive — especially those with large capacities. That's why we recommend waiting, if you're able, for a sale like the one Amazon has today only on Lexar storage gear to stock up on extra cards and drives.
Of note in the sale is the Lexar Professional 2000x SDXC card in 128GB, which is down to $116 — not a record low, but not far off either. It's a high-speed SD card that supports read transfer speeds up to 300MB/s and can capture high-res images and 4K video. It's also pretty durable with an IPX7 waterproof rating as well as a temperature-, shock- and vibration-proof design.
Those that want to beef up their Nintendo Switch with extra space should check out the Lexar Play microSD cards on sale: you can get 256GB for $25, 512GB for $55 or a whopping 1TB card for $128. The latter is 49 percent off and a record-low, making it a good option for Switch diehards anticipating all of the new games coming out over the next few months.
A couple of internal SSDs are included in this sale, too. Lexar's 1TB NM620 drive is down to an all-time low of $96, while the Lexar NQ100 SSD in 240GB is on sale for $27. The former is a PCIe Gen3x4 drive best suited for power-users and gamers thanks to its read speeds up to 3,300MB/s and write speeds up to 3,000MB/s. The latter is a decent drive to get if you're simply looking to add more space to your desktop or laptop on the cheap — it's a 2.5-inch SATA III SSD with read speeds up to 550MB/s and a shock-resistant design.
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Last month, we saw a number of Roku streaming devices receive big discounts on Amazon — including the Roku Streambar, which went down to $99. Now that sale is back, making it a good time for those who missed it last time to snag an updated streaming gadget. The Roku Streambar is back down to $99, or 24 percent off its normal price, while the Streaming Stick+ and the Express 4K+ are down to $40 and $29, respectively.
If you have an older TV in your home or a smart TV with software that you're not a huge fan of, Roku's Streambar can revamp your system when it comes to audio as well as streaming. It earned a score of 86 from us thanks to its compact size — it'll easily fit into almost any setup — solid audio quality with Dolby Atmos support and its built-in 4K HDR streaming tech.
You're essentially getting a soundbar that doubles as a Roku Ultra (albeit without Dolby Vision support), so movies and TV shows will sound better and you'll have access to all of the streaming services on the Roku platform including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and more. It also works as a Bluetooth speaker as well, but we found the device sounded better when watching action movies than when playing our favorite pop playlists.
The other discounted Roku products are best for those aren't as interested in an audio upgrade as they are in streaming power that comes in a small package. The Streaming Stick+ has ended up in many of our home entertainment guides thanks to its affordability and relatively comprehensive feature set. It supports 4K HDR streaming, long-range wireless connectivity and voice commands with Alexa and the Google Assistant. The Express 4K+ is very similar, but it supports smooth wireless connectivity instead of long-range. Both dongles also come with Roku's voice remote as well.
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Android TV fans looking for something a bit more powerful than a Chromecast should consider the NVIDIA Shield TV. But at its normal price of $150, it's significantly more expensive than Google's streaming dongle. However, now you can grab the NVIDIA Shield TV for $130, or $20 off its normal price. That's almost a record low — we saw it drop to $129 ahead of Black Friday last year — but this is the best price we've seen in 2021, and it's only come around a couple of times so far.
Despite being more expensive than streaming dongles of similar size, the NVIDIA Shield is worth the extra money thanks to its Tegra X1+ processor. It's powerful enough to run the Android TV platform with ease, and it supports Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, Chromecast 4K and AI-powered HD-to-4K upscaling. It also works with the Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, so you can bark orders at it instead of using the triangular remote if you wish.
Don't let the tubular design alienate you either — NVIDIA claims the shape helps avoid wireless interference, and the company still managed to include an Ethernet port, an HDMI connector, a microSD card slot and a power port on the compact device. The microSD card slot lets you expand on the Shield's internal storage, bringing additional content with you for offline viewing, and if you like to hardwire your streaming devices, the Ethernet port makes that possible. Overall, it's a powerful streaming device that's easy to use and can handle most anything you'll throw at it.
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Those looking to snag a new laptop from Apple ahead of the upcoming semester can do so for less if they go through Amazon. The online retailer has the MacBook Pro M1 with 256GB of storage for $200 off right now, bringing it down to $1,099. The sale price is $1,199, but an automatically applied coupon will knock the final cost down to $1,099. If extra storage means a lot to you, the 512GB model has also on sale: it's on sale for $1,299 thanks to a discount plus another automatically applied coupon.
Most people would probably be best served by the MacBook Air M1, but the Pro M1 is a good option for those that want extra graphics power and better cooling. Notably, the Pro M1 has a built-in fan, something that Air M1 lacks, and it helps the laptop handle tough work like 3D rendering and laborious video encoding. In our testing, the MacBook Pro M1 performed similarly to the Air M1 — Apple's SoC allows it to be incredibly fast and efficient, and it'll last all day with its 16.5-hour battery life.
But there are a few limitations to the Pro M1 that are worth considering before buying. Namely, the laptop only supports one external display and there's no external GPU support at all. While the latter is a bit of a niche concern, it's a bummer for those that rely on external cards to boost performance. If you can live with those tradeoffs, the MacBook Pro M1 should make a good workhorse.
If you're looking to move away from traditional laptops all together, Amazon also has some of the highest-powered iPad Pros on sale right now, too. The latest 11-inch iPad Pro with 1TB of storage is $100 off, bringing it down to $1,399. The WiFi + Cellular model has also been discounted by $100, dropping it down to $1,599. These both run on M1 chipsets, so they could easily replace your aging laptop, especially when paired with an accessory like the Magic Keyboard.
While nothing can replicate holding a new hardcover book in your hands, you can't beat the convenience of an e-reader. Devices like Amazon's Kindles let you take your whole library with you, so you're never without options when picking your next read. They also make good student devices if you have a lot of digital textbooks available to you. Those looking to pick up a new e-reader for work or play can get a Kindle for less right now — Amazon just knocked the price of its Kindle Paperwhite down to $80 and its standard Kindle down to $65. While not a record low for the Kindle, the $50 discount on the Paperwhite brings it back down to its Prime Day price.
The Paperwhite may be three years old at this point, but it remains one of the best e-readers you can buy. Not only is it compact, but it has a waterproof design that will protect it against accidental splashes. Amazon updated it a few years ago with a higher-contrast display plus Audible support, which means you can listen to audiobooks when you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones connected to the device.
While we recommend the Paperwhite to those that can afford it, Amazon's standard Kindle is a much better buy now than it was a couple of years ago. When last updated, the Kindle received a higher-contrast display, a new front light that makes reading in dark places much easier and a smaller, sleeker design. It may not have the bells and whistles that the Paperwhite has, but it does its one and only job of displaying ebooks well.
That said, if you're still happy with your old yet trusty e-reader, it's probably not necessary to upgrade. Kindles have received some convenient new features over the past few years, but none fundamentally change the experience of reading an ebook. But for those that haven't yet taken the plunge, Amazon's latest sale is a great one to consider if you want to bring an e-reader into your life. The biggest caveat to keep in mind is that these discounts are on the ad-supported Kindles, so you'll have to deal with Amazon's "special offers" and lock screen ads on your e-reader.
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Regardless of if you're personally heading back to school in a few weeks, Amazon's latest sale is a good opportunity for anyone to grab a new Echo device. In addition to Fire tablets and Fire TV devices, both the Echo Dot and the regular Echo smart speakers have been discounted — the Echo Dot is down to $35 while the Echo is on sale for $80. The sale also includes kids' devices, so you can grab an Echo Dot Kids Edition for $45, or 25 percent off its normal price. These are not record low prices, but they are the best deals we've seen since Prime Day in June.
The Echo Dot is a good pick for dorm-room dwellers and others short on space. We included it in our back-to-school gift guide because it's a handy little speaker to have for impromptu dance parties, plus it it takes up very little space on a desk and it's quite cheap even when not on sale. Alexa can also answer basic questions that could help students in the middle of a study session, although we wouldn't recommend relying on the personal assistant for homework answers. Overall, we gave the Dot a score of 88 from us for its solid audio quality for the price, tap-to-snooze alarm and attractive orb-like design.
if you have more space to spare, the Echo is one of our favorite smart speakers as of late. It combines a three-inch woofer with two 0.8-inch tweeters to produce louder sound than both Google's Nest Audio and the HomePod mini. The audio quality is great, and if you have two in your home, you can use them as a stereo pair for an even better experience. We also appreciate that, like the Echo Dot, the standard Echo has a 3.5mm audio jack, letting you connect the speaker to another playback device like a turntable.
Ultimately, though, an Echo device is best if Alexa is your virtual assistant of choice. Alexa has gotten more useful over the years and there are thousands of Skills that you can install and use to make your experience more personalized. If you've been meaning to add to your smart home system, or you've wanted to build one from the ground up, an Echo device is a good place to start — especially when you can grab a few at a discount.
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