Right around the Super Bowl is typically a good time for TV deals, as the major brands often lower prices on their older models in order to clear out inventory for their newer (and subsequently more expensive) sets arriving later in the year. In many cases, though, those older TVs can still represent good value. We're seeing this trend again this week, with well-reviewed options from LG, Samsung, TCL and others all available for all-time lows. We've noted a few highlights below, including a 48-inch LG C2 OLED TV for $947 and a 55-inch TCL 5-Series Roku TV for $370. And besides TVs, our weekly deal roundup includes Amazon's Fire HD 10 for $85, plus discounts on a handful of Anker chargers and Samsung storage devices, among others. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

The 48-inch version of LG's C2 OLED TV is down to a new all-time low of $947. While LG is promising improved brightness with its 2023 lineup, last year's C2 should still offer an excellent image in darker or moderately-lit rooms, with the kind of high contrast, deep black tones, and wide viewing angles that are expected from a premium OLED panel.

If you want a larger step up, Samsung's S95B is generallyregarded as a superior TV overall, one that can get bright and saturated enough to look good in well-lit rooms but doesn't sacrifice the typical benefits of an OLED display. It's back down to $1,448 for a 55-inch panel and $1,798 for 65-inch panel; neither of those are cheap, but both deals match the lowest prices we've seen.

If you're looking to pay less than $500 on a new TV, reviewers we trust at Rtings, Wirecutter and elsewhere have praised TCL's latest 5-Series TVs for delivering impressive contrast and color performance at an affordable price. The panel tops out at a standard 60Hz refresh rate, but it has full-array local dimming and supports all the major HDR formats. Both the 55- and 65-inch 5-Series TVs are down to new lows at Amazon and Best Buy this week, coming in at $370 and $500, respectively.

Just note that these are Roku TVs. If you prefer the Google TV interface, Hisense's U6H is a good alternative that's available for the same prices, but it doesn't get as bright as TCL's model.

Amazon's entry-level Fire HD 10 is on sale for $85, which is $10 more than the 10.1-tablet's previous low at the retailer but still about $30 below its typical street price in recent months. This is the slate to get if you just want something competent for less than $100: Its hardware is nowhere near as nice as an iPad, but its 1920x1200 display is perfectly serviceable, it gets 12-ish hours of battery life, and it's performant enough for basic streaming and web browsing. Just remember that, like all Amazon tablets, it it comes with lockscreen ads unless you pay extra and lacks (official) access to Google's Play Store.

Anker's Nano II 65W is an ultracompact GaN charger with enough power to charge most phones, tablets and even many laptops at full speed. Right now it's on sale for $35, which is $3 above the lowest price we've seen but $15 off its usual going rate. This deal comes as part of a wider range of discounts on Anker charging gear going on this week; other standouts include a multi-port variant of this charger for $46 (with an on-page coupon), and a MagSafe-compatible wireless charging pad for $45.

The 512GB version of Samsung's Evo Select microSD card is currently on sale for $47, which is only about $2 more than the lowest price we've tracked. Typically, it retails closer to $55. The U3- and V30-rated Evo Select isn't the absolute fastest microSD card in a vacuum, but it's still more than capable of handling 4K video or storing games with minimal fuss. At this price, it's a good value if you just want to dump a bunch of storage into a GoPro, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or the like.

Along those lines, the 2TB version of Samsung's 980 Pro SSD is on sale for $180, which is roughly $25 below the NVMe drive's average street price over the last few months. If you don't need that much space, the 500GB model is also on sale for $75, which matches an all-time low. A PCIe 4.0 drive like this isn't essential for most, and the 980 Pro is technically an older model now, but we note it here because it meets Sony's requirements for expanding the PlayStation 5's storage. You'll just need to add a cheap heatsink along with it. (Samsung sells a variant with an integrated heatsink, but it costs more.)

If the 980 Pro runs out of stock, note that the WD Black SN850X is also on sale for $10 more at Best Buy. That one is a bit faster than the 980 Pro, though its gains aren't as noticeable in the context of a PS5. If you're looking to upgrade an old computer's HDD to a cheap SSD, meanwhile, Crucial's MX500 is a dependable SATA drive, and it's currently down to an all-time low of $62.

The bird-themed board game Wingspan is down to $39 at Amazon, which matches the lowest price we've tracked. We've previously recommended this one in past gift guides; besides being gorgeous to look at it, it's a thoughtful engine-building game that is welcoming to less experienced players. Games typically last between 40 minutes to just over an hours, and up to five players can join in, so it should be a worthy addition to any family game night rotations you put together.

There always seems to be at least one PC game sale going on at any given time, but if you're looking for something new to play, that's not a bad thing. This week it's Humble's turn, as the digital storefront has kicked off a "Winter Sale" that's scheduled to run until February 7. 

There are too many games included in the sale for us to list them all here, but some personal picks include the open-world Western Red Dead Redemption 2 for $20, the tricky 2D platformer Celeste for $5, the classic JRPG Persona 4 Golden for $14, the relaxing puzzle game Unpacking for $14 and the charming 3D platformer Psychonauts 2 for $20. 

All of those are deals we've seen before, but most match the lowest prices we've seen. If you prefer to buy on Steam, a number of the sale's discounts are available there as well, as are a few others of note, like the co-op friendlyHalo: The Master Chief Collection for $16 and the wild FPS Titanfall 2 for $3.

We gave LG's latest CineBeam ultra short-throw projector, the HU915QE, a review score of 87 earlier this week, praising its contrast and color performance, decent built-in speakers and classy design. Our main complaint was that its asking price was too high, but a new deal at Wellbots alleviates that concern a bit, as you can now grab the projector for $4,297 if you use the code ENGTV700 at checkout. 

Clearly, that's still not cheap, but it at least brings the HU915QE closer to other UST projectors we like such as the Formovie Theater. For reference, the device has typically retailed closer to $5,000 in recent months. If you do take the plunge, just be aware that we found the CineBeam's input lag to be a bit too high for gaming, and that there's no support for Dolby Vision HDR.

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It's Friday, which means it's time for another roundup of the week's best tech deals. Today we're seeing good prices on Google's Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones, a couple of all-time lows on the 10.2-inch iPad and iPad mini and a sweeping sale on Nintendo Switch games, among other discounts on gadgets and gear we like. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

We gave Google's Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review scores of 90 and 92, respectively, last year, calling them "the best bargain in flagship phones" along the way. Both handsets are back on sale this week, with the 6.3-inch Pixel 7 down to $499 and the 6.7-inch Pixel 7 Pro available for $749. We've seen the phones hit these prices multiple times over the past year, and neither represents an absolute low, but they're still roughly $60 and $90 lower than the average street price we've seen in recent months. 

Either way, you're getting top-notch cameras, pleasing build quality and a clean version of Android with regular updates, though there are faster flagships out there for more money. If you're on a tighter budget, the 6.1-inch Pixel 6a is smaller, lacks the Pixel 7's faster refresh rate and has a lesser camera, but it's otherwise similar enough to remain a strong value at its current sale price of $349.

For those who aren't totally overwhelmed by their gaming backlog, Nintendo is running a "New Year Sale" at its online store that includes a number of discounts on digital Switch games we like. Several of these deals are available at third-party retailers like Walmart and Amazon as well, if you're buying digitally and want to snag a few extra Gold Points toward future Nintendo store purchases. Walmart in particular looks to have a handful of games available for lower than Nintendo itself. 

Many Nintendo-published games either aren't included in the sale or not available for an all-time low — don't expect any major Mario or Pokémon deals — but the discounts do include a few picks from our guides to the best Nintendo Switch games and best couch co-op games, among others. The 2D platformer Celeste, for one, is down to a new low of $4, while the popular Metroidvania Hollow Knight is available for $7. Elsewhere, the relaxing farming sim Stardew Valley is down to $9, the gentle adventure Chicory: A Colorful Tale is discounted to $13, and the charming puzzler Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is on sale for $25. There are many more deals beyond those, though, so it's worth perusing through the selection if you're looking to add to your Switch library.

Apple's iPad mini is back down to $400 at Best Buy and Amazon, which matches the lowest price we've tracked. This is about $30 off the diminutive tablet's typical price in recent months and $100 off Apple's MSRP. We gave the mini a review score of 89 back when it launched in late 2021, and it remains the only real option if you specifically want a compact iPad, whether you have smaller hands or just want something easier to throw in a bag. It still looks and feels like a smaller iPad Air, and its A15 Bionic chip remains more than fast enough for streaming, e-book reading and web browsing. Just be aware that this SKU only comes with 64GB of storage, and that stock at Amazon has been dipping in and out for much of the week.

If you don't want to spend as much cash on a new iPad, though, the entry-level 9th-gen model is also on sale for a new all-time low of $250 at Amazon and Best Buy. That's $79 off Apple's MSRP and roughly $40 below the 10.2-inch tablet's average price on Amazon as of late. This is the budget pick in our guide to the best iPads, and our review gave it a score of 86 at launch. It has a more dated design and older A13 chip than the rest of Apple's iPad lineup, but it's still a massive step up over, say, Amazon's Fire HD tablets. At this price, it's easy to recommend if you use your tablet casually but don't want something that feels cheap.

The entry-level version of Apple's latest and greatest MacBook Air is once again available for $999, which is the lowest price we've seen. We gave the M2-powered Air a review score of 96 last year, and it's currently the top overall pick in our guide to the best laptops. For everyday use, it still ticks nearly all the boxes in terms of design, display, battery life and performance. This specific configuration does have slower storage performance than the higher-capacity models, but that shouldn't be a serious hindrance unless you plan on doing more involved tasks like media editing (at which point you should probably pony up for a pricier SKU anyway).

For a laptop better suited to gaming, meanwhile, Razer has discounted a number of its Blade 14 and Blade 15 notebooks. These devices come as a significant premium, and if you can wait a few months, it's worth remembering that Razer introduced new Blade laptops at CES last week. For those with money to burn, though, the current models still pack enough power to play modern games in a (relatively) slim and stylish design. 

We gave the Blade 15 a review score of 86 last year, and we currently recommend it as the "best premium" option in our guide to the best gaming laptops. A configuration with an RTX 3070 Ti GPU, a Core i7-12800H CPU, a 240Hz 1440p display, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is down to a new "low" of $2,600, for instance, which is about $350 less than usual.

Amazon introduced a refreshed version of its Fire TV Cube back in September, but this week the media streamer received its first discount, dropping by $15 to a sale price of $125. Though it isn't a recommendation in our guide to best streaming devices — Roku's Streaming Stick 4K or Google's Chromecast offer much better value for most — the Fire TV Cube is worth considering if the idea of having hands-free Alexa functionality baked into your 4K streamer sounds appealing. It's technically the fastest of Amazon's Fire TV streamers, too, though you still have to deal with the usual glut of ads baked into Amazon's streaming UI, even with the higher upfront cost. 

If you're partial to Amazon services and want something more affordable, note that the Fire TV Stick 4K Max streamer is also on sale for $40, while the 1080p Fire TV Stick Lite is down to $25. We've seen better deals for both of those in the past, but they're still decent values if you need a streamer today.

A couple of wallet-friendly Bluetooth speakers we like from audio brand Tribit are even further discounted this week. The ultra-portable StormBox Micro 2, for one, is down to $51 with a 15 percent on-page coupon, while the XSound Go is available for $30 with a 20 percent coupon. Neither of these deals are all-time lows, and you shouldn't expect any miracles in terms of audio performance either way. Still, these are good buys if you just need a travel (or shower) speaker for less than $50. The StormBox Micro 2 is a pick in our best Bluetooth speakers guide due to its fuller-than-expected sound and built-in strap that helps it connect to backpacks or bike handlebars. The XSound Go offers generally similar performance and IPX7 waterproofing, just in a more traditional pill-shaped design. 

The Beats Fit Pro is still on sale for an all-time low of $160, which is a discount we saw for much of the holiday season but still comes in about $20 below the wireless earbuds' average street price of late.

We gave the Fit Pro a review score of 87 last year, and it's currently the "best for workouts" pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds. It has an enjoyably bass-forward sound, and it brings many of the benefits you'd get from a set of AirPods — "Find My" tracking, hands-free Siri, simple pairing with other Apple devices, etc. — just in a smaller and sportier design. It doesn't totally sacrifice its features when paired with an Android phone, either. That said, its ANC is merely average compared to the AirPods Pro, there's no wireless charging and the included case is a bit chunky. Still, for those interested in new wireless workout earbuds, the Fit Pro is a fine option at this deal price.

Fitbit's Charge 5 is back down to $100, which is within a dollar of the wearable's all-time low. Again, this is the sale price we saw during the holidays, but it remains about $20 below the wearable's usual street price over the last few months. The Charge 5 is the top recommendation in our guide to the best fitness trackers, and it earned a review score of 82 at launch for its reliable activity tracking, built-in GPS and full-color OLED display. Just don't expect it to match an Apple Watch in terms of features and app support.

Sony is running a sale on the higher tiers of its PlayStation Plus service, discounting 3- and 12-month subscriptions to its "Extra" and "Premium" memberships between 30 and 40 percent, depending on which subscription you choose. The catch, unfortunately, is that the deal is only available to new PS Plus subscribers. Still, if you haven't signed up, you can get a year of PlayStation Plus Extra — which adds an on-demand library of a few hundred games to the standard Essential tier — for $60, which is a $40 discount. Given that a 12-month Essential plan normally goes for the same price, you're effectively getting access to the game library for no extra cost. 

The 12-month Premium plan, meanwhile, is on sale for $80; that tier probably isn't worth it to most, but if you want cloud streaming and a further selection of older games, it's an option. Either way, Sony says this sale is set to end on Friday.

While it's not a formal pick in any of our buying guides, Logitech's G305 Lightspeed is a worthy choice for those in need of a quality wireless gaming mouse for less than $50. It's on the smaller side, lacks Bluetooth and requires a AA battery for power, but its performance is smooth and consistent, and Logitech says it can get up to 250 hours of battery life per charge. It's on sale this week for $30, which is only about $7 below its typical street price but still within $2 of its all-time low.

If you can afford to take a step up or just want something more accommodating to larger hands, Razer's Basilisk Ultimate is also worth a shout at its current deal price of $70, which is about $30 below its usual going rate. It's technically been replaced, and its design is for righties only, but it has a wider range of customizable buttons and RGB lighting zones, as well as a comfy thumb rest. Its performance should still yield few complaints, and it can work over an included cable in a pinch. It also comes with a charging dock.

Garmin's Index S2 is the "best for athletes" pick in our guide to the best smart scales, and right now it's on sale for $130 at Amazon and Garmin's own online store. That's a $20 discount and tied for the lowest price we've tracked. To be clear, most people interested in a more advanced scale do not need to spend quite this much. We wish the display on this model was a bit faster, too. But for those who train consistently, we found the Index S2 to provide a wealth of useful data without being overly complicated to use. We also enjoy its sturdy and stylish design. If you want a more affordable scale, meanwhile, Fitbit's Aria Air is the budget pick in our guide and currently on sale for $40.

LG's C2 OLED TV is steeply discounted as part of a wider sale at eBay, with the 48-, 55-, and 65-inch models available for $838, $1,118 and $1,438, respectively, when you use the code NEWYEARTWENTY at checkout. Depending on which size you want, this is about $180 to $200 below the sets' typical selling price in recent months. Each listing here comes via Electronic Express, which LG lists as an authorized dealer.

LG unveiled its 2023 OLED TV lineup at CES, promising improvements to OLED's longstanding issues with maximum brightness along the way. If you don't place your TV in a particular bright room, though, the C2 still provides the kind of high contrast, vivid colors and wide viewing angles you'd expect from a high-end OLED panel. Do note, though, that we're likely to see steeper discounts on other still-decent sets from last year in the coming weeks as manufacturers look to clear out inventory before launching their newest models. Sony's well-reviewedX95K LED TV, for instance, is on sale for $200 less than usual.

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2022 marked the 50th anniversary of storied instrument maker Roland. But, even though we've switched over to our 2023 calendars, the company took the opportunity at CES to take one more victory lap by showing off its 50th Anniversary Concept Piano. It's an audacious electronic piano built in collaboration with Japanese furniture maker Karimoku. The outside is one piece molded from Japanese Nara oak that hides a 360-degree, 14 speaker system. 

If the elegant curves stuffed to the brim with speakers aren't exciting enough for you, well I've got good news: Roland has also built speakers into drones that hover above the piano and can be controlled by the player. Unfortunately, those couldn't be flown on the show floor at CES, so Roland dangled a pair of them from wires. Those are combined with a proprietary low-latency audio connection and the company's PureAcoustic Ambience tech to create flexible natural sounding reverb that more accurately mimics what you'd hear in, say, a concert hall. And I can confirm that even in the cavernous Las Vegas Convention Center, fighting against the constant din of people and other exhibitors, the concept piano sounded amazing. 

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Above the keyboard itself there's a large touchscreen that can be used to stream tutorials, video conference with a piano teacher, or even run Zenbeats from Roland Cloud, turning the instrument into a studio hub. There's even USB MIDI and Bluetooth connectivity for interacting with other instruments.

Of course, the Roland 50th Anniversary Concept Piano is not for sale. And never will be. This is a creation in the tradition of over-the-top concept cars. Maybe some of its features will eventually make their way to future instruments, but for now it's truly a one of a kind.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a friend or family member who wants to build a streaming channel in 2023, Amazon has your back. The retailer has a great deal on the Logitech StreamCam. After a 41 percent discount, the $170 webcam is currently $100. That’s the best price Engadget has seen for the StreamCam. Moreover, Amazon has discounted both the Graphite and White models. You can also find the webcam on sale for the same price at Best Buy.

The Logitech StreamCam is one of Engadget’s favorite web cameras. With support for 1080p video capture at 60 frames per second and a pair of built-in omnidirectional mics, it will make anyone look and sound great on your Zoom calls and Twitch streams. The StreamCam is also versatile. You can use it in landscape and portrait orientations, making it ideal for Instagram and TikTok videos. Add to that fuss-free autofocus and comprehensive software support for OBS, XSplit and Streamlabs, and you have one of the best all-purpose webcams. The only downside of the StreamCam is its expensive price tag, something this deal helps address.

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It's Cyber Monday, which means it's still a good time to be in the market for new gaming gear, if you know where to look. That last part is where we can help: We've picked through the barrage of so-called gaming deals at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop and other retailers to find the ones that are actually worth your time. Below are some of the highlights, which include genuine deals on the Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, several high-profile games, a range of recommended gaming peripherals and more.

Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Switch Online

Nintendo's chief holiday deal bundles the standard Switch console with a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to the company's Switch Online service at no extra cost. Nintendo has offered this exact same promotion for the past few years, and given that the newer Switch OLED is a pretty firm upgrade over the base model, it's hard to call this a great deal. Still, if you're gifting someone their first Switch and you don't think they'll need the Switch OLED's bigger and more vibrant display, there's some value here. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still a great time and normally retails around $50, while three months of Switch Online typically cost another $8.

Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S is down to $240 at Amazon, and if you use the code XBOX at checkout, the retailer will throw in another $40 in digital credit. That's effectively a $100 discount. At Target, meanwhile, the diminutive console is available for $250 and includes a $50 store gift card. Woot has the device available for $220 outright — albeit for an international model — and several other retailers have it for $240. Normally, the Series S retails for $300. 

Either way, this is a good value for PlayStation or Switch users who want a cheaper way into the Xbox ecosystem. We gave the Series S a review score of 85 at launch: It isn't powerful enough for 4K gaming, lacks a disc drive and only has 512GB of built-in storage, but it can still play all the same games as the pricier Xbox Series X.

Xbox Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox or PC, Microsoft's wireless Xbox Series X/S controller is available for $35 at Lenovo when you use the code GAMERSAVER at checkout. That's a rare discount and about $15 below the controller's usual going rate. If stock runs dry at Lenovo, it's also down to $40 at several other retailers. Those sales apply to multiple finishes, though some colors are priced at $45. Just note that these pads still rely on AA batteries by default; if you want one rechargeable battery, that'll cost you another $25.

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller

Sony's DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5, meanwhile, are down to $49 in several finishes. That matches the lowest price we've seen, and depending on what color you choose, comes in either $20 or $25 below the pad's usual price. In general, the DualSense is heavier and harder to hook up with a PC than its Xbox counterpart, but its D-pad isn't as clicky, it doesn't rely on AA batteries and its haptic feedback system is much more nuanced.

Elden Ring

One of the most acclaimed and popular games of 2022, Elden Ring is a mammoth, haunting and challenging open-world game from the developers behind the Souls series of action-RPGs. It's currently on sale for $35 at Walmart, which is the lowest price we've tracked and $15 below the usual going rate for a physical copy. Like its spiritual predecessors, Elden Ring can sometimes feel punishing, overwhelming and overly cryptic, but its dark-fantasy world is refreshingly honest, letting you discover — or completely miss — its many secrets at your own pace.

Nintendo Switch exclusive games

Ubisoft

If you're need something new to play on your Switch, a handful of well-regarded first-party Nintendo games are still on sale for lower-than-usual prices (though the selection isn't quite as strong as it was on Black Friday):

• The cutesy strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is priced at its usual $60 but includes a $10 store gift card at various retailers.

• The over-the-top hack-and-slasher Bayonetta 3, which only became available about a month ago, is available for $45.

• The platformer dual-pack that is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is within $2 of its all-time low at $42.

• The classic open-world game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about $10 cheaper than usual at $29. 

• Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, another recently released hack-and-slasher, is priced a bit higher than it was on Black Friday but is still $25 off. 

• The engrossing action-RPG Monster Hunter Rise is available for a new low of $20. 

Note that, on Amazon, some of these deals aren't visible until checkout. Nintendo also has several other titles discounted as part of a Cyber Week sale at its online eShop.

Horizon Forbidden West and other PS5 exclusive games

If you're looking to build out your PS5 library, meanwhile, several exclusives for Sony's console are also at or near their lowest prices to date:

• One of our favorite sequels of the year, the robot-battling open-world game Horizon Forbidden West, is down to a new low of $35. You can also pay $29 for a PS4 copy, which includes a free upgrade to the PS5 version. 

• A few recommended exclusives are down to $30, including the atmospheric roguelike Returnal, the samurai drama Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, the shooter-platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the gorgeous remake of the classic PS3 RPG Demon's Souls. 

• Other PlayStation games we like, such as Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection ($20), Death Stranding: Director's Cut ($20), The Last of Us Part II ($10) and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales ($20, or $35 for the Ultimate Edition), are around their respective best prices as well.

Besides exclusives, a smattering of popular 2022 games are still seeing their first major discounts as well, including A Plague Tale: Requiem ($39), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ($55) and, yes, Sonic Frontiers ($35).

Steam Autumn Sale

BlueTwelve Studio

If you primarily game on the PC, Steam's annual Autumn Sale is still kicking as well, bringing the usual truckload of discounts until November 29. Some highlights here include the biting RPG Disco Elysium and the supernatural shooter Control for $10 apiece, the impressive VR game Half-Life: Alyx and the cyberpunk cat game Stray for $24 each and a 22-pack of classic Valve games for just $7. There are hundreds more games from across eras beyond that, but remember that a fair chunk of these prices are likely to be replicated on PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox's respective storefronts as well.

PlayStation Plus

If you need to top up your PlayStation Plus subscription, Sony has dropped the price of 12-month memberships to that service by 25 percent. The deal applies to all three PS Plus tiers, so the basic "Essential" tier is down to $45, the "Extra" tier is down to $75, and the "Premium" tier is down to $90.

As a refresher, the Essential tier should be enough for most: It gets you broad access to online multiplayer, an allotment of cloud storage for backing up game saves and a handful of free game downloads each month. The Extra tier adds an on-demand library with a few hundred games, while the Premium tier provides cloud game streaming and an additional selection of "classic" PlayStation games on top of that.

Meta Quest 2 + Resident Evil 4 + Beat Saber

Meta's Quest 2 headset is a couple years old at this point, but its wire-free design, competent performance and (relative) comfort have kept it the best option for most people looking to give virtual reality a try. For Cyber Monday, Meta is still selling a bundle that pairs the 128GB Quest 2 with two of its better games, the classic horror-shooter Resident Evil 4 and the energetic rhythm game Beat Saber, for $350. That's a roughly $50 discount. If you need more storage, a bundle with the 256GB variant is on sale for $429.

Now, we're using the term "discount" loosely here, since the Quest 2 used to start at $299 until Meta jacked the price up by another $100 earlier this year. Still, this is the best deal we've seen since that price hike — and if nothing else, this is a much better value than the Meta Quest Pro. We gave the device formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2 a review score of 89 when it launched back in 2020.

Backbone One

The Backbone One is a clever and well-built mobile game controller that we've recommend in previous buying guides. The iPhone version of the device is currently down to a new low of $75 in both its standard and PlayStation-branded finishes. This isn't as good as the deal we saw on Black Friday, when Amazon had the device as low as $64, but it's still a good $25 off the controller's normal going rate. 

Regardless of which style you pick, the One should make playing gamepad-compatible iOS games — or cloud-streamed console and PC games — feel much more natural than a touchscreen. The main complaints are that its face buttons are on the clicky side and that you'll need an adapter to get it to work with certain iPhones.

HyperX Cloud Alpha

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is down to $50 at HyperX's online store when you use the code HOLIDAY at checkout. That's about $20 below the headset's usual going rate and one of the best prices we've tracked. If stock runs out there, the device is also available for $55 at various other retailers. In any event, this is a sturdy, no-frills gaming headset that's comfortable to wear for hours at a time. A good set of non-gaming headphones will sound better for the price, but the profile here is still relatively well-balanced, and the included mic is perfectly fine for everyday party chats.

If you'd prefer a wireless headset, SteelSeries' Arctis 7+ is worth a look at $99, which is a new low and roughly $50 off its usual price. That one isn't as universally comfortable, but it has a decent, hyped-up sound and some 60 hours of battery life per charge.

Logitech G Pro X Superlight, plus more gaming accessories

Logitech's G Pro X Superlight is a high-performing gaming mouse we like for both work and play, and right now it's down to a new low of $100, or about $35 off its usual street price. You should see the full discount at checkout. That's still not cheap, but the G Pro X Superlight stands out for being exceptionally light (at about 63 grams), quick to glide, and consistently responsive in faster-paced games. Just note that you only get a couple of customizable shortcut buttons, and that the whole thing connects over a USB dongle, not Bluetooth.

This is just one of a plethora of low or near-low prices on gaming accessories we like, though: 

• Razer has since replaced the Viper Ultimate, but at $57 it's still worth considering as an ultralight alternative to the G Pro X Superlight. It's a more ambidextrous mouse than the Logitech model, with a pair of shortcut buttons on either side, though its shape is a bit flatter.

• If you don't mind going wired, Razer's Viper 8KHz is another responsive option for FPS games. It's a great value at its current deal price of $40, which is an all-time low.

• We've previously recommended Razer's Huntsman Mini for those who want a fast gaming keyboard in an ultracompact form factor. It's currently within $5 of its all-time low at $70.

• Corsair's Scimitar RGB Elite is an soft-feeling, comfortable-sized and full-featured mouse for MMO gaming, and it's within a dollar of its Black Friday price at $50. Razer's Naga Trinity is a solid alternative that has swappable side plates; that one is within $2 of its all-time low at $57.

• Logitech's G29 is technically an older-generation model now, but it remains a fine value for those looking to get their first racing wheel at $200. 

• Logitech's G915 TKL is a comfortable wireless keyboard for those who prefer a low-profile feel. It's down to $160, which is $10 more than its all-time low but $25 off its usual price.

• Elgato's Stream Deck Mk.2 is a 15-key controller we recommend for game streaming, and at $120, it's available for the lowest price we've tracked.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

Will Lipman Photography for Engadget

The latest version of Asus' ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop is down to $1,300 for a model with a Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, a 14-inch 120 Hz display and a Radeon RX 6700S GPU. That's $350 off MSRP and one of the better prices we've seen. The Zephyrus G14 is the top pick in our guide to the best gaming laptops: Its chassis is impressively light at 3.64 pounds, but this configuration still packs enough power to play just about any modern game at a 1440p resolution relatively smoothly. 

If you want to save some cash, you can get a previous-gen Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 7 5800HS processor, a 512GB SSD, a 144Hz 1080p display and an RTX 3060 GPU for $900. That's still a decent value despite the drop in power, but be aware that this older model doesn't include a built-in webcam.

Razer Blade 14

A configuration of Razer's Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 3070 Ti GPU is currently down to $2,000 at Amazon. That's about $350 off its average street price and tied for the best price we've tracked. A variant with a slightly slower Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU and a slightly more powerful RTX 3080 GPU is also on sale for $100 more.

We gave the Blade 14 a review score of 84 last year, and we've recommended the similar Blade 15 in recent buying guides and gift guides. It can run hot, and you can still get similarly powerful gaming laptops for less cash, but the Blade still packs enough power to play demanding games at higher settings in a slim and slick-feeling design that weighs less than four pounds.

Maybe you've been going back and forth about whether you should pick up a new TV while many are on sale for Cyber Monday. Undoubtably, now is a great time to do so if you want to save some money in the process. Cyber Monday TV deals are in full swing, and they discount a number of 4K and OLED sets from brands like Samsung, Sony, LG and others. While, yes, if you want an OLED set, you're still going to pay a premium for it, but most of these sale prices are much easier to stomach than the standard prices of high-end OLED sets. And if you're just looking for an upgraded 4K TV, there are plenty of great deals to choose from. Here are the best Cyber Monday 2022 TV deals we could find this year.

LG TV deals

LG

Both 2021 and 2022 LG TVs have been discounted for Cyber Monday. If you have your heart set on an OLED, the 65-inch A2 model is over $500 off and down to just under $1,200, while this 65-inch LG G2 Gallery Edition OLED TV is just over $800 off and down to $2,200. While that's still expensive for a TV, the Gallery Edition sets are some of the best that LG makes. On the more affordable side of things, this 55-inch QNED80 Mini-LED smart TV is $150 off and down to just under $650.

Sony TV deals

Sony has discounted a number of its higher-end 4K TVs and a few OLED sets as well for Cyber Monday. One of the best smart TV deals overall is this 65-inch Sony X80K 4K set for just under $700. It's a 2022 TV that has the company's 4K HDR Processor X1 that produces smooth, clear video, and it has support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, too. On the OLED side, you can pick up this 2022 65-inch A95K Bravia XR OLED set for $1,000 less than usual.

Samsung TV deals

Now's a great time to grab a Samsung TV for much less than usual. Whether you're interested in one of the more affordable Q60B or Q80B sets or a higher-end Neo QLED TV, there are a bunch of good Cyber Monday deals to consider. This 65-inch OLED model is 40 percent off and down to $1,800, while this massive 85-inch QLED set is on sale for only $1,600. There are even a few Frame TVs on sale as well, including this 55-inch 2022 model for less than $1,000.

Hisense TV deals

Most of Hisense's TVs are on sale for Cyber Monday. If you're looking to spend as little as possible on a still-decent TV, then you can't get much better than Hisense's 43-inch R6-Series Roku TV for $200. It supports 4K content and Dolby Vision, plus it runs on Roku's smart TV operating system.

Chromecast with Google TV

The 4K Chromecast with Google TV has dropped to $40 for Cyber Monday. It's one of the most affordable ways to get Google's streaming OS into your home, along with 4K content support. We like this Chromecast's compact design, handy remote and its smart integration with the Google Assistant.

Roku Streambar

The Roku Streambar has been discounted to $80 for Cyber Monday, which is $50 less than usual and a record low. It's one of the easiest ways to up your TV's audio game, and get 4K streaming technology as well. The compact Streambar offers much better sound quality than most TV's built-in speakers can provide, plus it'll turn your set into a Roku smart TV as well. And if you want to use it as a Bluetooth speaker, you have that option as well.

Roku Ultra

Roku's 2022 Ultra set-top box has dropped to a new low of $70 for Cyber Monday. The actually box itself hasn't changed much since the previous version: it still supports 4K HDR10+ content, Dolby Vision and Atmos, plus AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. Most of the upgrades are in the Voice Remote Pro that comes bundled with the streamer. The new remote has a 3.5mm headphone jack for private listening, two programmable shortcut buttons and a mic-disable button.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Roku's Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $25 right now, or half off its usual price. This small dongle connects directly to your TV's HDMI port and streams content in 4K, supports Dolby Vision and offers voice command capabilities via its remote. This updated model also has fast, long-range WiFi and a private-listening feature that lets you listen to your TV's audio video the Roku mobile app.

Roku Express

Roku's Express has dropped to only $18 for Cyber Monday, which is one of the best prices we've seen. If you just want an inexpensive streaming device with basic features, the Express is a solid option. It comes with a high-speed HDMI cable to connect it to your TV, and it supports HD content plus private listening via Roku's mobile app.

Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite

Amazon's most affordable streaming stick is on sale for only $15 right now, which is half off its usual price. This is a good option if you want to upgrade an old, "dumb" TV in your home into a smart one. The Fire TV Stick Lite provides access to Amazon's Fire TV OS, through which you can access services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and others. The TV Stick Lite supports FHD content, and you can use the included Voice Remote Lite to ask Alexa to show you the content you want to watch. If you want to upgrade a bit to Dolby Atmos, you can get the standard Fire TV Stick for only $5 more.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K has dropped to $25, which is 50 percent off its normal price. This dongle provides 4K streaming support with Dolby Vision and HDR10+, plus Dolby Atmos audio capabilities. Also, if you have Alexa-compatible home security cameras set up, you can use the streaming stick's live picture-in-picture feature to check out those camera feeds directly from your TV.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Amazon's most capable streaming stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, is down to only $35 for Cyber Monday. It has all of the features of the standard Fire TV Stick 4K: UHD streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision and Atmos support, and the live picture-in-picture feature. But on top of that, it has WiFi 6 support and a bit more RAM than all other Fire streaming sticks, improving its overall performance.

Samsung Freestyle projector

Samsung's Freestyle projector has dropped to $500 for Cyber Monday, which is 44 percent off its usual price. This compact projector weighs less than two pounds, allowing you to easily move it around as you wish. It also has auto focus and auto leveling features that should help it properly align whatever you're watching, no matter where you place it. The Freestyle supports a display size up to 100 inches with a 1080p resolution, and it has a 180-degree cradle stand, so you can point it to the ceiling to watch things from above.

Anker Nebula Solar HD projector

Anker's Nebula Solar HD projector is down to $448 for Cyber Monday for Prime members only. It earned a spot in our best projectors guide for its rich feature set, especially considering its relatively affordable price. It provides 400 lumens of brightness, which will help if you're using it ourside, plus a powerful 2x3 speaker system, built-in Android TV and an adjustable stand.

Vizio V21t-J8 soundbar

Our favorite budget-friendly soundbar is on sale for only $118 right now, which is 26 percent off its usual price and a near record low. You're getting a 2.1-channel setup with this accessory, plus a 4.5-inch wireless sub along with it. It may not have WiFi connectivity, but that's the main tradeoff you'll have to make. Otherwise, it supports HDMI ARC/eARC, DTS Virtual:X and Bluetooth, and it has a 3.5mm aux jack as well.

Vizio Elevate soundbar

Vizio's Elevate soundbar is $300 off and down to $500 for Cyber Monday. This is a great pick for movie lovers or anyone who wants a cinematic audio experience in their home. The soundbar system has adaptive height speakers that automatically rotate upward or forward when playing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. Plus, it has a redesigned wireless subwoofer and integrated tweeters and woofers, as well.

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.

If you're still searching for the idea machine to be your next laptop, you're in luck. Cyber Monday laptop deals have discounted a number of our favorite notebooks, including those from Apple, Microsoft, ASUS and others. Shopping directly with these brands will give you the best customization options, so that's the best option if you're very particular about the amount of memory you want in your next laptop or you absolutely want a specific kind of display panel on the thing. But if you're willing to pick up a pre-configured notebook, you'll have even more discount options available from Amazon, Walmart and other retailers. Here are the best Cyber Monday laptop deals we found for 2022.

Apple MacBook Air M1

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Apple's M1-powered MacBook Air is down to $799 for Cyber Monday which is the best price we've seen. Although the M2 laptop is available now, the M1 machine remains a good option if you're upgrading from an aging Intel model. We gave it a score of 94 for its blazing fast performance, lovely Retina display and lack of fan noise.

Apple MacBook Air M2

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The latest MacBook Air with the M2 chipset is down to $1,049 for Cyber Monday. While we still like the M1 air, the M2 is the notebook to get if you want the best performance possible in Apple's thinnest and lightest laptop. We gave it a score of 96 for its updated, even sleeker design, gorgeous 13.6-inch display, excellent performance and lack of fan noise.

Apple MacBook Pro

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The 14-inch MacBook Pro is on sale for $1,600 right now, or $400 off its usual price. There's an even steeper discount on the 16-inch MacBook Pro — $500 off, bringing it down to $2,000. Both of these are powered by Apple's M1 Pro chipset, and we gave them both scores of 92 for their powerful performance, stunning Liquid Retina XDR displays, numerous ports and solid battery lives. 

ASUS ZenBook Duo

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The 14-inch ZenBook Duo is $300 off for Cyber Monday, bringing the model with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SDD down to $800. This laptop is unique because it has a secondary 12.6-inch touchscreen above its keyboard that offers new ways to multitask while you also use its main, 14-inch FHD touch display. We gave this model a score of 84 for its improved dual-screen software, excellent build quality and strong performance. If you like this design and want something a bit more powerful, the ZenBook Pro Duo with a 15-inch OLED display, a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is $670 off and down to $1,730 for Cyber Monday.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 2 is back down to $600 for Cyber Monday for a configuration with a Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. We gave this 12.4-inch notebook a score of 86 earlier this year, and it earned a spot in our guide to the best cheap Windows laptops. It impressed us with its slick design, bright screen, good battery life and USB-C charging.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 5

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

The 13-inch Surface Laptop 5 with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is on sale for $1,000, which is the best price we've seen. We gave this machine a score of 83 for its elegant design, bright display, Thunderbolt 4 support and solid performance. We weren't as impressed by its 720p webcam and its non-backlit keyboard, but this notebook is definitely a step up from the Surface Laptop Go 2 and the better pick if you want a stronger machine as a daily driver.

Samsung Cyber Monday deals

Samsung

Samsung has extended its Black Friday deals into Cyber Monday, so you can still save hundreds on some of the brand's newest laptops. Machines in the Galaxy Book 2 series are up to $500 off depending on the model you choose, with one of the most affordable configurations being the 13-inch Galaxy Book 2 360 with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for only $650.

Microsoft Cyber Monday deals

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

A number of Surface laptops and bundles are on sale for Cyber Monday direct from Microsoft. The new Surface Pro 9 and the Surface Laptop 5 are up to $200 and $300 off, respectively, while you can save more than $600 on Surface Laptop 4 bundles. We recommend checking out all of Microsoft's discounted bundles, because they are some of the best ways to get all of the things you'd need — like keyboard attachments, styluses and more — to make a Surface machine truly your own.

HP Cyber Monday deals

HP

HP's Cyber Monday offerings knock up to 71 percent off its doorbuster deals on laptops and other devices, plus you'll get free shipping sitewide. A number of solid laptops have been discounted, including the HP Pavilion 15 with a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which you can grab for only $580. There's also the HP Chromebook x360 with an Intel Pentium processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage that's only $290.

Dell Cyber Monday deals

Engadget

Dell has discounted a bunch of machines for Cyber Monday, including Alienware gaming gear and XPS laptops. Most of Dell's deals are available in "limited quantities," so it's a good idea to shop early today if you see something you like. This Alienware x15 R2 laptop with a Core i9 processor, NVIDIA RTX 3070 graphics, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage is down to $2,500, while this XPS 13 laptop with a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is down to $999.

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.

Black Friday isn't just a great time to snatch up a laptop or pair of headphones. You'll also find discounts on plenty of music gear. Buying a synth or a guitar pedal isn't always the cheapest gift option. So if you're looking for something special for a special someone, but want to make it as palatable as possible to your wallet, now is a good time to strike. Here are few of our favorite deals on music making hardware from around the web.

ASM Hydrasynth Explorer

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

When I reviewed the Hydrasynth Explorer last year I said it was probably "the most synth you can get for under $600." Things haven't changed in the roughly eleven months since. And now it's on sale for just $500. For that price you get the same powerful digital engine inside the far more expensive standard Hydrasynth, as well as its unique keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch. It's just shrunk down and with a slightly more crowded interface. The rest of ASM's Hydrasynth family is also on sale, but when it comes to pure value it's almost impossible to beat the Explorer.

Elektron Syntakt

Elektron

The latest entry in Elektron's midrange groovebox series is a lot of things — an analog synth, a digital drum machine, an absurdly powerful sequencer. But one thing the Syntakt is not, is cheap. Sure, $999 isn't crazy considering its everything and the kitchen sink approach, but if you've been hesitant to commit that much to the purchase, now might be the time to take the plunge. The Syntakt is down to $799 across a number of shops, including direct from Elektron. And while it's definitely focused on percussion, a recent firmware update added two new "machines" that focus on more melodic sounds. 

If the Syntakt isn't quite your cup of tea, but you're still intrigued by Elektron's unique workflow and sequencer, most of its higher-end instruments, like the Digitone and Octatrack are also 20% off this weekend.

Korg Minilogue XD

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

When the Minilogue XD launched for just $650 it staked a pretty convincing claim to the best bang-for-your-buck synth. A few years later, and it's no less impressive. But its price has crept upwards to $730, and competitors have started chipping away at grip on the affordable and approachable end of the market. That makes it's Black Friday drop to just $600 even harder to pass up. Korg is offering a number of discounts across its range, but the clear stand out is this 18-percent off on an incredibly versatile synth. It combines four voices of true analog polyphony with a digital synth engine and effects. Plus, the Logue SDK opens the instrument to third party developers to build their own digital oscillators and effect. (Sinevibes in particular makes some great ones.)

UA Volt audio interfaces

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

An audio interface is an essential for basically any budding musician. And while the market is saturated with plenty of excellent, affordable options, the Universal Audio Volt 76 series stands out from the pack. They're undeniable stylish, offer low noise and latency, have large easy to use controls and vintage mode for additional warmth and character. But what sets the 76 apart, from even its cheaper Volt brethren is the all analog modeling of its legendary 1176 compressor. Sure you could run a plugin that tries to do the same thing — and arguably the results would be more versatile since you can always remove it in post if you want. But there's something about the version builtin to the Volt 476, 276 and 176 that just has a touch more life. 

While the entire Volt lineup (save the 476p) is on sale, and all are solid values, it's the Volt 476 and 276 that should be at the top of your shopping list. Especially now that they're marked down to $329 and $269, respectively.

Poly Effects Beebo

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

The Beebo is a fascinating pedal. In fact, calling it a guitar pedal feels a bit dishonest. It's really a digital modular synth and effects system with a large touchscreen, that just so happens to be crammed in a guitar pedal format. It can do basic guitar stuff like chorus and overdrive. It can be an amp modeler. It can also be a synth or a MIDI controller. In short, it refuses to be pigeon holed as any one thing. On of my favorite tricks is loading random audio recordings on it to create custom wacky reverbs. And it's constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes. (It received about 50 firmware updates in 2020 alone.)

Considering the power contained within the regular $449 seems reasonable. But, right now you can pickup up a blue Beebo from Perfect Circuit for 12-percent off. (Unfortunately the bright pink color-way is still full price.) I'd move quick if you're considering it, however. The blue units are already listed as being out of stock, and the shop might not continue to take discounted backorders for long. 

Bastl Instruments

Bastl Instruments

We haven't covered Bastl Instruments much on Engadget, but the company makes a range of strange and wonderful instruments. If you buy direct from the company right now they're doing a 30-percent off sale on everything they make from Eurorack modules to desktop synthesizers. I'm a particularly big fan of the company's smaller and more affordable oddities like the Kastl (potentially the world's smallest modular synth), Kastl Drum (similar concept, but for percussion) and the Microgranny (a ultra-lofi granular sampler). They're pretty great stocking stuffers even at full price, but at 30-percent off with the code "welcome2bshop" they're a true steal. 

Moog Sound Studio bundles

Moog

Seven percent off isn't exactly huge, but it's pretty rare to see Moog stuff get a mark down. So seeing their Sound Studio bundles discounted at all is worth noting. The Sound Studio bundles comes with two or three of Moog's semimodular instruments, namely the Mother 32, DFAM and Subharmonicon. They also come with a mixer, a bunch of patch cables, a stand and a card game and other educational materials to get you started. These are definitely not the cheapest way to introduce someone to synthesis, but definitely one of the more luxurious. 

The two synth bundles are down to $1,299 from $1,399. But you get a slightly larger discount if you spring for all three, which will set you back $1,899, down from $2,099.

Black Friday is usually a good time to pick up some new gaming gear at lower-than-usual price, and generally speaking, that's the case again this year. This year we're seeing strong discounts on a number of the year's highest-profile games, special offers for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series S and a wide range of discounts on gaming accessories we like. To help you figure out what's worth your time, we've picked through the avalanche of offers at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop and other retailers and rounded up a few of the highlights below. Here are the best Black Friday gaming deals we could find.

Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Switch Online

Engadget

Nintendo's chief Black Friday deal bundles the standard Switch console with a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to the company's Switch Online service at no extra cost. Nintendo has offered this exact same promotion for the past few years, and given that the newer Switch OLED is a pretty firm upgrade over the base model, it's hard to call this a great deal. Still, if you're gifting someone their first Switch and you don't think they'll need the Switch OLED's bigger and more vibrant display, there's some value here. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still a great time and normally retails around $50, while three months of Switch Online typically cost another $8.

Xbox Series S

Aaron Souppouris / Engadget

The Xbox Series S is down to $250 with a $50 store gift card at Target, which is effectively a $100 discount. At Woot, the diminutive console is available for $220 outright, while Amazon has it for $240 and several other retailers have it for $250. Normally, the Series S retails for $300. Either way, this is a good value for PlayStation or Switch users who want a cheaper way into the Xbox ecosystem. We gave the Series S a review score of 85 at launch: It isn't powerful enough for 4K gaming, lacks a disc drive and only has 512GB of built-in storage, but it can still play all the same games as the pricier Xbox Series X.

Xbox Wireless Controller

Aaron Souppouris / Engadget

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox or PC, Microsoft's wireless Xbox Series X/S controller is currently available from $39 at several retailers. While that's not the absolute lowest price we've seen, it's still about $10 below the controller's usual going rate. The sale applies to multiple finishes, though some colors are priced $5 higher. Just note that these pads still rely on AA batteries by default; if you want one rechargeable battery, that'll cost you another $25.

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller

Aaron Souppouris/Engadget

Sony's DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5, meanwhile, are down to $49 in several finishes. That matches the lowest price we've seen, and depending on what color you choose, comes in either $20 or $25 below the pad's usual price. In general, the DualSense is harder to hook up with a PC than its Xbox counterpart, but its D-pad isn't as clicky, it doesn't rely on AA batteries and its haptic feedback system is much more nuanced.  

Elden Ring

One of the most acclaimed and popular games of 2022, Elden Ring is a mammoth, haunting and challenging open-world game from the developers behind the Souls series of action-RPGs. It's currently on sale for $35, which is the lowest price we've tracked and $15 below its usual going rate. Like its spiritual predecessors, Elden Ring can sometimes feel punishing, overwhelming and overly cryptic, but its dark-fantasy world is refreshingly honest, letting you discover — or completely miss — its many secrets at your own pace.

Splatoon 3 and other Nintendo Switch exclusives

If you're need something new to play on your Switch, a handful of well-regarded first-party Nintendo games are discounted deeper than usual. The colorful multiplayer shooter Splatoon 3, for one, is down to a new low of $45, and the tense adventure game Metroid Dread is available for a new low of $40. The cutesy strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is still priced at $60, meanwhile, but it includes a $10 store gift card at various retailers.

The platformer combo package Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is within $2 of its all-time low at $42, while the all-time great The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about $10 cheaper than usual at $29. Finally, the over-the-top hack-and-slasher Bayonetta 3 was available for $45 earlier in the week, but at its current price of $50, you're still getting $10 off a game that launched less than a month ago.

Most of these deals are only available at third-party retailers like Amazon — and some aren't visible until checkout — but if you're not interested, Nintendo has several other titles discounted at its online eShop.

Horizon Forbidden West and other PS5 exclusives

If you're looking to build out your PS5 library, meanwhile, several exclusives for Sony's console are also down to new lows. There are no discounts on God of War: Ragnarok, sadly, but one of our other favorite sequels of the year, the robot-fighting open-world game Horizon Forbidden West, is down to a new low of $35 (or $29 for PS4).

Beyond that, a few recommended exclusives are down to $30, including the atmospheric roguelike Returnal, the samurai drama Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, the accessible shooter-platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the gorgeous Demon's Souls remake. Other picks like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection ($20), Death Stranding: Director's Cut ($20), Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales ($35) and The Last of Us Part II ($10) are at or near their respective best prices as well.

Outside of the realm of exclusives, a smattering of popular 2022 games are discounted for the first time as well, including A Plague Tale: Requiem ($39), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ($55) and, yes, Sonic Frontiers ($35).

PlayStation Plus

Sony

If you need to top up your PlayStation Plus subscription, Sony has dropped the price of 12-month memberships to that service by 25 percent. The deal applies to all three PS Plus tiers, so the basic "Essential" tier is down to $45, the "Extra" tier is down to $75, and the "Premium" tier is down to $90. 

As a refresher, the Essential tier should be enough for most: It gets you broad access to online multiplayer, an allotment of cloud storage for backing up game saves and a handful of free game downloads each month. The Extra tier adds an on-demand library with a few hundred games, while the Premium tier provides cloud game streaming and an additional selection of "classic" PlayStation games on top of that.

Backbone One

Kris Naudus / Engadget

The Backbone One is a clever and well-built mobile game controller that we've recommend in previous buying guides. The PlayStation-branded, iPhone version of the device is currently down to a new low of $64, which is $36 off its normal going rate. If you don't like the look of that model, the standard version is also down to $75, though the two are functionally identical. 

Either way, the One should make playing gamepad-compatible iOS games — or cloud-streamed console and PC games — feel much more natural a touchscreen. The main complaints are that its face buttons are on the clicky side and that you'll need an adapter to get it to work with certain iPhones.

Meta Quest 2 + Resident Evil 4 + Beat Saber

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Meta's Quest 2 headset is a couple years old at this point, but its standalone design, competent performance and relative comfort have kept it the best option for most people looking to give virtual reality a try. For Black Friday, Meta is selling a bundle that pairs the 128GB Quest 2 with two of its better games, the classic horror game Resident Evil 4 and the energetic rhythm game Beat Saber, for $350. That's a roughly $50 discount. If you need more storage, a bundle with the 256GB variant is on sale for $429.

Now, we're using the term "discount" with some caveats here, since the Quest 2 used to start at $299 until Meta jacked the price up by another $100 earlier this year. Still, this is the best deal we've seen since that price hike — and if nothing else, it's a much better value than the Meta Quest Pro. We gave the device formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2 a review score of 89 when it launched back in 2020. 

HyperX Cloud Alpha 

Rozette Rago/Wirecutter

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is down to $55 at Amazon, which is about $15 below its usual going rate and one of the best prices we've tracked. This is a sturdy, no-frills gaming headset that's comfortable to wear for hours at a time. A good set of non-gaming headphones will sound better for the price, but what's here is still relatively well-balanced, and the included mic is perfectly fine for everyday party chats.  

Logitech G Pro X Superlight, plus more gaming accessories

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget

Logitech's G Pro X Superlight is a high-performing gaming mouse we like for both work and play, and right now it's back down to its all-time low of $110, or about $25 off its usual street price. That's still not cheap, but G Pro X Superlight stands out for being exceptionally light (at about 63 grams), quick to glide, and consistently responsive in faster-paced games. Just note that you only get a couple of customizable shortcut buttons, and that the whole thing only connects over a USB dongle, not Bluetooth.

This is just one of a plethora of low or near-low prices on gaming accessories we like, though. If you want a high-performing gaming mouse for less and don't mind going wired, Razer's Viper 8KHz is a good value at its current deal price of $40, which is an all-time low. We've previously recommendedRazer's Huntsman Mini for those who want a fast gaming keyboard in an ultracompact form factor; it's currently within $5 of its all-time low at $70. Corsair's Scimitar RGB Elite is a great buy for MMO gaming at $50, while Logitech's G29 remains a fine value for those looking to get their first racing wheel at $200. 8BitDo's excellent Pro 2 gamepad for Switch and PC, meanwhile, is currently down to a joint-low of $40, but only in a limited-time Lightning sale.

Razer Blade 14

A configuration of Razer's Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 3080 GPU is currently down to $2,000 at Amazon. That's about $300 off its typical street price and tied for the best price we've tracked. We gave the Blade 14 a review score of 84 last year, and we've recommended the similar Blade 15 in recent buying guides and gift guides. It can run a bit hot, and you can still get similarly powerful gaming laptops for less, but it still puts enough power to play demanding games at higher settings in a slim and slick-feeling design that weighs less than four pounds.

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Black Friday is great time to buy a new pair of earbuds, either for yourself or someone on your gift list. A number of Beats headphones are on sale for the biggest shopping day of the year, key among them being the Beats Fit Pro for $160. That's not quite a record-low price, but it's pretty close and representative of a 20 percent discount. If you're set on getting a pair at the best price possible, the Beats Studio Buds are back on sale for a record-low price of $90.

The Beats Fit Pro earned a spot in our best wireless earbuds guide thanks to their comfortable fit, IPX4 rating and solid sound quality. Their IP-rating makes them a good pair for workouts, plus their "fit wing" tip should help them stay in place even during tough HIIT sessions. We also like that they have physical buttons for onboard controls, making it pretty easy to adjust the volume, skip tracks and more.

Sound quality is pretty good on these earbuds — it's balanced and powerful, with the punchy bass you'd expect to get out of Beats buds. They also support Apple's spatial audio, and the have the H1 chip inside which gives you many of the conveniences of AirPods. They'll pair and switch seamlessly with other Apple devices, plus you'll get hands-free Siri access and Find My location features, too. But they're not solely for iPhones — there's plenty of Android support here, making them a good buy for lots of people.

As for the Beats Studio Buds, we gave them a score of 84 for their balanced sound, tiny yet comfortable design and quick-pairing features for iOS and Android devices. We'd ultimately recommend the Beats Fit Pro to most people because they're newer and have even better sound and features than the Studio Buds, but the latter are a good pick if you only have $100 or less to spend on a new pair of buds.

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