Adorama's sale on the AirPods Max wireless headphones may have come and gone, but Amazon's latest sale is almost as good. Every color of Apple's high-end headphones except for space gray are down to $455 at Amazon right now, and that's about $94 off their normal price. It's also only $5 more than a sale we saw at Adorama at the end of last week, so if you missed that chance to grab a pair, you have another opportunity today.
One of our biggest gripes with the AirPods Max is their price. Normally $550, these are the best headphones Apple has to offer — but despite how much we liked them, we still thought they were on the steep side. We recommend waiting for a sale before taking the plunge as AirPods Max are a much better buy when discounted like this.
They earned a score of 84 from us in part due to their excellent sound, solid ANC and reliable touch controls. AirPods Max have more balanced sound than competitors, with bass that comes through nicely but isn't overpowering. The active noise-cancellation on these cans holds its own against that of Bose and Sony devices, even if we slightly prefer the latter two for that feature. The Max also have Transparency Mode, allowing you to easily hop in and out of conversations when necessary. And you're getting spatial audio support on iPhones, iPads, Macs and soon, Apple TV as well.
All of that plus the Max's unique yet elegant design make them solid wireless headphones, but features brought by their built-in H1 chip make them even better for those living in the Apple ecosystem. In addition to hands-free Siri, you'll also get quick pairing and switching between all your Apple devices. While still expensive at this sale price, the AirPods Max are a good option for Apple lovers that want a pair of wireless headphones that both sound great and work seamlessly with their devices.
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If you've been waiting for Apple's AirPods Pro to drop below $197 on Amazon, now's your chance to grab them. The wireless earbuds are back on sale for $190, or $60 off their original price. They've been hovering at $197 for months, only dropping to $190 in June for a short period of time. While not an all-time low, it's a good discount for any iPhone user in need of a new pair of earbuds.
You probably know the deal about AirPods Pro by now, but here's a refresher: they're the best sounding earbuds in Apple's lineup, plus they fit the best in various ear shapes thanks to their interchangeable tips. Sound quality is noticeably better than previous AirPods models, thanks in part to a built-in amplifier and Adaptive EQ, which automatically tunes low- and mid-range frequencies to your ears. Active noise-cancellation does a good job blocking out surrounding sounds and the earbuds' touch controls let you quickly enter Transparency Mode whenever you need to hear the world around you.
But the AirPods Pro carved out a spot on our favorite wireless earbuds list because of how easy they are to use with other Apple products. The H1 chip inside allows them to pair and switch easily between iPhones, iPads and Macs, so you can go from taking a call on your iPhone to listening to music from your Mac pretty seamlessly. We also like their hands-free Siri feature, which lets you call upon the voice assistant without tapping the earbuds.
AirPods Pro are one of the best pairs of earbuds you can get if you live in the Apple ecosystem — but there are other options, too. If you care more about sound quality or ANC power, both the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the Jabra Elite 85t are good alternatives.
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There's a lot to love about Apple's AirPods Max, but their high price tag isn't one of them. At $550, they're more expensive than even competitors from Bose and Sony, but you can get the cans for $100 less right now at Adorama. The online retailer is having a sale on all available colors of AirPods Max, dropping them to $449. That's the best price we've seen on these headphones and $30 less than the sale going on at Amazon right now.
Despite how expensive they are, AirPods Max earned a spot on our favorite headphones list thanks to their excellent sound quality, comfortable fit and good active noise-cancellation, among other things. They have an eye-catching design, but it doesn't impede their comfort — we liked their breathable mesh fabric and large ear cups. They also have a rotating crown of sorts for onboard controls, and while that may be unfamiliar to some, it's quite reliable and easy to use.
AirPods Max sound more natural than other headphones we've tested, and they have bass that's prominent but not overpowering. While we prefer the ANC quality of Sony's WH-1000XM4, AirPods Max can hold their own, blocking out most environmental noise. And just like other AirPods, the Max have Transparency Mode so you can easily join conversations when you need to and quickly go back to jamming out at your desk with no distractions. While these headphones won't support Apple's lossless audio, they do support Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio on iPhones, iPads, Macs and soon, Apple TV as well.
The kicker for most people when it comes to AirPods of any kind is the H1 chip, which allows them to quickly pair with and switch between Apple devices. The Max has this chip, so you'll be able to use them to go from taking a call on your iPhone to listening to music from your Mac without any hiccups. While the sale price remains high in comparison to competing headphones, a $100 discount is nothing to scoff at. This sale is a good opportunity to grab the AirPods Max at a much friendlier price if you've had your eye on them since launch.
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Amazon kicked off this week with a sale on its kids-focused tablets, speakers and other devices. Parents looking to replace old slabs or gift their kids new ones can still get Fire Kids Pro tablets for less, including the new Fire HD 10 Kids Pro for $130. Also, the base Mac Mini M1 remains discounted to $600 and the well-loved Google Pixel 4 smartphone is still half off at B&H Photo, coming in at $400. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Apple's Mac Mini M1 is down to $600 thanks to an automatically applied coupon that knocks $59 off the sale price. In addition to the M1 chipset, you're also getting 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in this model. If you've wanted to upgrade your aging desktop to something more modern and powerful, this is a good option.
The pink model of Apple's AirPods Max are down to a new all-time low of $466. The other colors are also on sale, but for $479. We gave these headphones a score of 84 for their excellent sound quality, good ANC, reliable controls and solid battery life.
Apple's 10.2-inch iPad is still on sale for $299, or $30 off its normal price. It's arguably the best iPad for new tablet owners and we liked its improved performance, familiar design and support for the first-generation Apple Pencil.
The latest MacBook Air M1 is down to $899 at Amazon, or $100 off its regular price. It's one of the best laptops for most people, and the M1 chipset only makes it a better buy. The Air M1 earned a score of 94 from us for its incredibly fast performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good battery life and lack of fan noise.
The new Acer Chromebook Flip 713 is on sale for $619 at Best Buy, which is $80 off its normal price. While still pricey for a Chromebook, this is a high-end model that has enough power to be some people's daily driver. We gave it a score fo 85 for its sold performance, good keyboard and trackpad and excellent display.
Those looking for a budget smartphone can grab the Google Pixel 4 for $400, or half off its original price. If you can live with a two-year-old handset, you'll still get a well-powered smartphone with a great camera experience and a smooth display.
Jabra's solid Elite 85h wireless headphones are down to $150 right now, or $100 off their normal price. We gave them a score of 84 for their custom EQ and ANC modes, attractive and comfortable design and insane 36-hour battery life.
The Thermapen Mk4 has been discounts to $69 as ThermoWorks makes room for the new Thermapen One thermometer. The Mk4 is the best instant-read thermometer we've used so far —the backlit display makes it easy to read in almost any situation and the display rotates depending on how you're holding the pen. Plus, you never have to remember to turn it off because the pen automatically turns on when you pick it up and will shut off after some time of no use.
If you're on a tight budget, an open-box sale on the ThermoPop thermometer just started and it knocks the price of most colors down to $25. It doesn't have as many "smart" features as the Thermapen Mk4, but it's still a solid food thermometer with a splash-proof design and the ability to provide readings in 3 to 4 seconds.
The Eero 6 three-pack with one router and two extenders has returned to its Prime Day price of $181 — but at Best Buy rather than Amazon. This system supports WiFi speeds up to 500 Mbps and can cover p to 5,000 square feet. Plus, it has a Zigbee smart home home built in, so you can use it as the starting point for the smart home system you want to create.
In Omaze's latest 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.
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.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
New tech deals
HomePod Mini
Through July 19, B&H Photo has Apple's HomePod Mini speaker for $90, or $10 off its normal price. It's not a huge discount, but it's a good one on a gadget that rarely goes on sale. Aside from a few exclusive Costco discounts, this is one of the best prices we've seen on the HomePod Mini. We gave it a score of 84 for its solid audio quality, attractive and compact design, stereo mode when two are paired together and Siri smarts.
Through the end of August, new Tidal users can get a three-month free trial of either Premium of HiFi subscription tiers. Premium is Tidal's basic music service that normally costs $10 per month, while the HiFi tier includes high fidelity and master sound quality audio and typically costs $20 per month.
Fitbit's Charge 4 tracker is back down to its record-low price of $100. If the smartwatch life isn't for you, this might be a good fit because it does a good job marrying fitness tracking with handy smart features. We gave it a score of 82 for its accurate built-in GPS, standard Fitbit Pay and multi-day battery life.
Jabra's Elite 85t wireless earbuds are down to $180 again, or $50 off their normal price. These are some of our favorite wireless earbuds thanks to their powerful ANC, comfortable size and long battery life. If you can live without the wireless charging case, the Jabra Elite 75t in gold beige are down to $113 right now, too.
A bundle including Google's Nest Hub and the Nest Audio smart speaker is only $139 on eBay, or $60 off what they would be if you purchased them separately. If you already rely on the Google Assistant for all your voice commands, this bundle is an affordable way to expand your smart home with a few solid, Assistant-friendly devices.
Amazon has a bundle including the latest Echo Dot plus a four pack of Tile Bluetooth trackers for $80, which is $40 off its normal price. The Echo Dot is a handy smart speaker to have in your home if you use Alexa to control smart home devices, set timers and alarms and more, and Tile's trackers make it easier to keep track of your keys, bags and other belongings.
One of our recommended VPNs is running a good sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for only $89 for the first two years, which comes out to $44.50 per year — and an additional summer promotion adds three free months on top of that. 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.
A number of new tech deals came up across the web this week, plus there are a few July 4th sales that are still going on. Apple's 10.2-inch iPad is down to $300, and Amazon and Best Buy discounted a bunch of Nintendo Switch games to $45 — including Animal Crossing. If you missed it over the holiday weekend, you can get Solo Stove's Bonfire for $120 less than usual and ThermoWorks' Thermapen Mk4 is down to $69. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Nintendo Switch games
Both Amazon and Best Buy have a number of Switch games on sale right now, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons for $45. That's the lowest we've seen it, so now's a good time to grab the title if you somehow haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet. Also discounted are Super Smash Bros. Ultimateand a bunch of Mario games like Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
You can still get Apple's 10.2-inch iPad for $299, or $30 off its normal price. It's arguably the best iPad for new tablet owners and we liked its improved performance, familiar design and support for the first-generation Apple Pencil.
Apple's Mac Mini M1 is down to $600 thanks to an automatically applied coupon that knocks $59 off the sale price. In addition to the M1 chipset, you're also getting 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in this model. This machine is a good upgrade for those with aging desktops as well as those that want a bit more flexibility than the new, colorful iMacs allow.
The latest MacBook Air M1 is down to $899 right now, or $100 off its regular price. It's one of the best laptops for most people, and the M1 chipset only makes it a better buy. The Air M1 earned a score of 94 from us for its incredibly fast performance, excellent keyboard and trackpad, good battery life and lack of fan noise.
Apple's colorful iMacs with 8-core GPUs are $50 off right now at Amazon, bringing them down to $1,450. We gave this desktop a score of 89 for its remarkable performance thanks to the M1 chip, lovely 24-inch Retina Display and its thin-and-light design.
The GPS + Cellular models of the Apple Watch Series 6 Product Red Edition are $100 off at Amazon. The 40mm is down to $399, or close to a record low, while the 44mm version has hit an all-time low of $429. We gave the Series 6 a score of 89 for its speedier performance, quicker charging and slightly improved battery life.
The OnePlus 9 Pro smartphone is $100 off right now, bringing it down to $970. The regular OnePlus 9 is also on sale, but it's only $80 off. We gave the 9 Pro a score of 88 for its fantastic display, stellar performance and much-improved main camera.
Samsung's T7 Touch portable SSD in 500GB is down to $90, which is close to its all-time-low price. This palm-sized drive has read speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, and in addition to password protection, it also has a built-in fingerprint reader for extra security.
Solo Stove's Bonfire remains $120 off even after the July 4th holiday has passed. These are smokeless, portable fire pits that we've recommended in the past as an easy way to upgrade your backyard setup.
The Thermapen Mk4 is still on sale for $69 as ThermoWorks makes room for the new Thermapen One thermometer. The Mk4 is the best instant-read thermometer we've used so far —the backlit display makes it easy to read in almost any situation and the display rotates depending on how you're holding the pen. Plus, you never have to remember to turn it off because the pen automatically turns on when you pick it up and will shut off after some time of no use.
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.
Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes.See official rules on Omaze.
New tech deals
Philips Hue White and Color Ambience smart lights
A three-pack of the Philips Hue White and Color Ambience smart light bulbs is on sale for $99, or $35 off its normal price. While not a record low, this is a great sale on smart bulbs that don't often see steep discounts. In addition to standard white light, you're getting 16 million colors in these bulbs and they can be controlled with your smartphone.
Dyson knocked $80 off its V10 Allergy cordless vacuum, bringing it down to $400. This model includes the V10 motor with 14 cyclones and a filtration system that claims to expel cleaner air as it traps 99 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. In addition to the vacuum, you're getting the drop-in dock plus five different cleaning head tools.
A handy Anker fast charger is back down to its Prime Day price of $39. That's an all-time low and nearly $22 off its normal price. This slim brick has two USB-C ports and two USB-C ports, so it can juice up to four devices at once with a total of 63 watts of power.
The Microsoft store just kicked off its back-to-school sale, which includes discounts on Surface devices, gaming gear and more. Of note is a deal that knocks up to $100 off the price of a Surface Go 2 + Type Cover bundle, and you can get up to $500 off gaming laptops from various brands.
One of our recommended VPNs is running a good sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for only $89 for the first two years, which comes out to $44.50 per year — and an additional summer promotion adds three free months on top of that. 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.
Amazon reduced the price of Apple's AirPods Pro to $190 during Prime Day last month, and now you can get the same sale price through Woot. The Amazon-owned retailer has an exclusive deal for Prime members that knocks $60 off the normal price of the AirPods Pro — and while that's not the cheapest we've seen them (they hit $169 during Black Friday last year), it's still a solid sale for those that missed the previous opportunity.
While the AirPods Pro are nearly two years old at this point, they remain the best sounding earbuds that Apple makes. The Pros have a built-in amplifier and they use Adaptive EQ, which automatically tunes low- and mid-frequencies to each wearer's ear. They also fit much better than standard AirPods thanks to their replaceable ear tips and they make decent workout earbuds thanks to their IPX4 water resistance.
We also appreciate the active noise-cancellation on the AirPods Pro — it's strong enough to block out the noises around you in your home or at the offie, and you can quickly jump into Transparency Mode when you need to participate in a conversation. And like other Apple headphones, the AirPods Pro use the embedded H1 chip to work seamlessly with Apple products. Those who primarily use iPhones, iPads and Mac computers will enjoy how easy it is to switch between taking a call with your AirPods Pro from your iPhone to listening to music from your MacBook Air.
In fact, we think the AirPods Pro are the best wireless earbuds for Apple lovers — but there are a few out there that are better for sound and other features. If you're not a Prime member or simply aren't sold on the AirPods Pro, you could consider the $150 Jabra Elite 75t or the new, $280 Sony WF-1000XM4, both of which have good sound quality, excellent ANC and solid battery lives. But if you do go for Woot's deal, just remember that Woot may be owned by Amazon, but it has a totally different return policy that's more specific and less forgiving. We recommend checking it out before making your final decision.
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Apple's colorful new iMac may be too flashy for some, and those people should look to the Mac Mini M1 for a similarly powerful desktop experience. Normally starting at $700, the Mac Mini M1 has been discounted to $659 at Amazon — but an automatically applied coupon knocks the price down even further to $600. That gets you Apple's latest M1 chipset along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The Mac Mini is a great option if you want to customize your desktop experience to a certain extent. You don't get a 4.5K Retina Display like you do with the latest iMacs, but that's not a huge deal if you have a monitor that you already love — plus your preferred keyboard and mouse setup as well.
Aside from its compact size, this Mac Mini's biggest draw is the new M1 chipset, which has proven to be blazing fast on every machine we've tested with it. Switching between apps is a breeze, systems wake almost instantaneously and playing Apple Arcade games won't make the Mac Mini break a sweat. It's also worth noting that the Mac Mini M1 comes with an 8-core GPU, which is slightly better than the 7-core GPU on the base iMac.
Apple focused on the internals here, so the exterior design of the Mac Mini hasn't changed. It's still a sleek square on which the back edge houses all of its ports: an Ethernet connector, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one HDMI 2.0 connector, two USB-A ports and a headphone jack. That's another perk of the Mini when compared to the new iMac, which only has two or four Thunderbolt ports depending on the configuration. Overall, Amazon's sale is a good opportunity for those with aging desktops to get an M1 machine as a replacement for less.
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The OnePlus 9 Pro holds its own against the stiff competition from Apple and Samsung, and that's more than most competing smartphones can say. If you're looking for a different sort of handset with all the premium features typically found in a smartphone made by the usual suspects, the OnePlus 9 Pro could fit the bill. But just like Apple's and Samsung's flagships, the 9 Pro doesn't come cheap with a starting price of $1,070. But Amazon has the 9 Pro for $100 less right now, bringing it down to $970 — the cheapest we've seen it since launch. And if you want to spend even less, the regular OnePlus 9 is on sale for $650, or $80 off its normal price.
The OnePlus 9 Pro impressed us with its comprehensive set of features and (for the most part) it's excellent cameras. While slimmer than previous models, the 9 Pro doesn't look drastically different than other OnePlus smartphones and that's a good thing. It has a lovely 6.7-inch, 3,216 x 1,440 AMOLED display that supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate and a brightness up to 1,300 nits. OnePlus also includes a bunch of customizable screen settings that can help you do things like get the best mobile gaming experience or increase battery life when necessary. The IP68-rated handset also has dual speakers, a microSIM card slot and one Warp Charge-compatible USB-C port.
OnePlus collaborated with Hasselblad on the 9 Pro's rear camera array, which includes a 48-megapixel main camera, 50MP ultra-wide lens and an 8MP telephoto lens. Overall, the system produces lovely images with true-to-life colors, and it's capable of shooting video in up to 8K 30fps. Our biggest gripe was with the telephoto lens, which had a tendency to take overexposed images in bright environments.
Thankfully, we had no complaints about the OnePlus 9 Pro's performance. It runs on a Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and there's very little that combination of specs can't handle. The 9 Pro's highly responsive display only helps the smartphone feel ever fast, too. Battery life is also quite good as the dual 4,500mAh cells lasted at least a full day without breaking a sweat, and you'll get even more juice out of them if you leave the display on Full HD.
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Google came out with the latest version of the Nest Thermostat at the end of last year. While it was already a tempting gadget for those looking to save energy and make their homes smarter, Google sweetened the deal by pricing the thermostat at $130. It has since gone on sale a few times, but today you can grab the snow color option for $88, which is 32 percent off its normal price and a record low. Also, the snow Thermostat with a Trim Kit is on sale for $103, or $12 less than the other Trim Kit packages. Other colors are down to $100, which is the same sale price we saw back in April around Earth Day.
Compared to previous Nest thermostats, this one is slimmer, has a touch-sensitive edge and a mirrored display that both looks lovely and automatically wakes up when you approach it. In addition to looking better than most conventional thermostats, the Nest Thermostat is much smarter as well, allowing you to control via on-device controls, Google's Home app and even with Assistant or Alexa voice commands. The device itself has a redesigned controller view too, which makes it easier to quickly set the temperature in your home.
But the automatic features are likely the biggest selling points for a device like the Nest Thermostat. It recognizes when you've left your home and will automatically go into Eco mode, keeping your home at a specific temperature until you return when it will either raise or lower the temperature based on your preferences. This Nest Thermostat also has Savings Finder, a feature that continuously looks for ways to reduce your energy bill throughout the year. For example, the device will suggest adjustments based on weather conditions — think reducing your home heat usage during a particularly warm winter — that you can choose to accept in order to potentially decrease your energy costs. Although a smart thermostat like Nest's takes a bit more installation that a standard smart light bulb, it's a good entry point into the smart home world — and it's even better when on sale like this.
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If you have somehow not jumped on the Animal Crossing bandwagon yet, now's your chance to do so for less. Amazon and Best Buy have the popular Nintendo Switch title for $45, or $15 off its normal price. It's also a new low since we've only seen the game drop to $50 in the past. The only caveat is that the sale is only on the physical version of the game, not the digital download.
New Horizons came out in March 2020, which meant millions of players found an escape from the pandemic in its adorable animations, pleasant music, ASMR-like sound effects and its open-island gameplay. You're tasked with building your personal island from the ground up with seemingly endless customizations, while you spend your days fishing, catching bugs, making friends with your neighbors and more. And with online multiplayer mode, you can visit your friends' islands at your leisure.
If you've already devoted countless hours into your Animal Crossing island, there are a bunch of other Switch games on sale right now as well. Super Mario 3D World + Bower's Fury, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Snap are all down to $45. That's a record-low price for all of those titles, so it's a good time to stock up on new games if you've been waiting for a decent sale.
