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The 16 best Black Friday vacuum deals on robot vacs from Shark, iRobot, Dyson and more

2 months 1 week ago

If vacuuming is one of your least favorite chores, a robot vacuum can take that largely manual process and make it almost entirely automated. And unlike a few years ago, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a decent robot vacuum today. That being said, it’s always advisable to wait for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday time period if you want to get the best deal on a brand new robo-vac. This year, we’re seeing steep discounts on some of our favorite machines, including both robot vacuums and cordless vacuum cleaners. These are the best Black Friday vacuum deals you can still get right now.

Black Friday robot vacuum deals Black Friday cordless vacuum deals Expired Black Friday deals
  • Dyson V11 Origin for $350 (39 percent off): This stick vac comes with four cleaning heads, including Dyson's signature Motorbar and a crevice tool. The built-in LCD screen shows cleaning modes and maintenance tips, and the machine has up to 60 minutes of runtime.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-16-best-black-friday-vacuum-deals-on-robot-vacs-from-shark-irobot-dyson-and-more-161528751.html?src=rss
Valentina Palladino

The best Black Friday TV deals you can still shop from Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense and more

2 months 1 week ago

Black Friday is over and Cyber Monday is right around the corner, and this shopping period has brought some of the lowest prices of the year on quality TVs. If you’re looking to buy a new set, we’ve scoured through reviews and checked price histories to find which Black Friday TV deals are genuinely worth your time and still available now.

You can find our favorites below, which include OLED and LED TVs in various sizes from Samsung, Sony, LG, Hisense and TCL. While more than a few of these discounts have been available for a couple of weeks, most represent the lowest respective prices we’ve tracked.

If you’re already happy with your set, we’ve also rounded up a few noteworthy deals on media players and streaming services. We’ll update this post as more discounts pop up, so check back if there’s a particular TV you want that isn’t on sale just yet.

The best Black Friday TV deals for 2024
  • Hisense U6N QLED TV (55”) for $348 at Best Buy ($200 off MSRP): Reviews around the web have praised the U6N as one of the year’s best budget-level TVs. It’s one of the few options in its price range with mini-LED backlighting, quantum dots and full-array local dimming, features that help it deliver better contrast and richer colors than most of its direct rivals. Its picture will wash out if you don’t view it straight-on, and its 60Hz refresh rate isn’t the best for gaming, but it’s a good bargain all the same. While this deal has been live for most of November, it’s still an all-time low. Other sizes are similarly discounted. Also at Amazon.

  • Hisense U7N QLED TV (65”) for $698 at Amazon ($300 off): The U7N is a standout for those who don’t want to pay for a high-end set but can still go above the budget tier. It delivers higher brightness levels and better contrast than the cheaper Hisense U6N, plus it can play at 144Hz in 4K, so it can make PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X games more fluid in motion. Its viewing angles still aren’t ideal, however, and it’s limited to just two gaming-friendly HDMI 2.1 ports. This is another deal we’ve seen for a few weeks, but it’s the lowest price to date for the 65-inch version. If you'd prefer a smaller size, the 55-inch model has dropped to a new low of $478. Also at Best Buy

  • Hisense U8N QLED TV (65”) for $899 at Best Buy ($600 off): The U8N is another well-reviewed 2024 TV from Hisense. Like the lower-cost Hisense U7N, it offers mini-LED backlighting, quantum-dot color and 4K/144Hz support, plus it runs on the handy Google TV platform. The extra cash nets you a punchier image, with superb contrast for a non-OLED TV and higher brightness across the board. This deal ties an all-time low. Other sizes are discounted as well, but note that the 55-inch version isn’t as bright as its larger counterparts, while the 75-inch set has slightly worse contrast. Viewing angles aren’t super wide either way. Also at Amazon.

  • LG B4 OLED TV (48”) for $600 at Best Buy ($200 off): The B4 is LG’s entry-level OLED TV for 2024. It gets you the essential perks of any good OLED set — excellent contrast with deep black tones, wide viewing angles, fast motion, etc. — but it’s not as bright as some upper-tier OLEDs, so it’s best kept in a darker room. That said, this is a stellar value if you don’t mind a smaller panel. This discount ties an all-time low. The 55-inch version is also on sale for a low of $997, a price we've seen a few times before, while the 65-inch model has dipped to a new low of $1,197.

The Samsung Frame TV.Amy Skorheim
  • Samsung S90D QD-OLED TV (65”) for $1,398 at Amazon ($800 off): The Samsung S90D is a premium TV that’s notable for its QD-OLED panel, which mixes the benefits of a good OLED display with a layer of quantum dots. This helps it put out a wider gamut of more vibrant colors, so images tend to “pop” more than they would on more traditional OLED TVs like the LG B4 or C4. It also has four HDMI 2.1 ports. Like all Samsung TVs, however, it doesn’t support the popular Dolby Vision HDR format. This is the lowest price to date for the 65-inch model. Also at Samsung, B&H and Best Buy. Other sizes are discounted as well, but be aware that only the 55-, 65- and 75-inch versions use the superior QD-OLED tech.

  • Samsung S95D QD-OLED TV (55”) for $1,898 at Amazon ($500 off): The S95D is Samsung’s flagship set for 2024. Its QD-OLED panel is excellent but mainly stands out for having a matte finish, which makes it noticeably more effective at fending off glare than most OLED TVs. That said, there’s no Dolby Vision, and the matte coating can make black tones look closer to gray under direct light. In general, it’s more TV than most people need. But if you’ve got cash to burn, this deal is another all-time low. Also at Samsung and Best Buy, with other sizes on sale.

  • Samsung QN90D QLED TV (43”) for $898 at Amazon ($400 off): The Samsung QN90D is another high-end LED TV for those willing to trade the deep contrast and wide viewing angles of a good OLED set for higher brightness. There’s still no Dolby Vision, and most reviewers we trust suggest that the Hisense U8N is a better value. This set has two more HDMI 2.1 ports, though, plus it comes in a wider range of sizes, all of which offer similar performance. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the 43-inch model. Other sizes are also discounted. Also at Samsung, B&H and others.

  • Samsung The Frame TV (2024) QLED TV (55”) for $898 at Amazon ($600 off): The Frame TV lags behind other sets in its price range in terms of picture quality, as it lacks local dimming to boost contrast. Instead, you’d buy it for its style, since it’s built to look like a framed piece of wall art and display actual artwork on-screen. Beyond that, this is one of the few TVs with a matte finish, which helps it ward off glare in bright rooms. This model was available for about $150 less at eBay earlier this week with a coupon deal, but that offer has expired. The discount here still takes about $350 off the set's average street price in recent months, though. Other sizes are on sale, but note that the 43- and 50-inch versions have a lower 60Hz refresh rate (instead of 120Hz) and lack variable refresh rate tech. Also at Best Buy and Samsung.

The Sony Bravia 7.Sony
  • TCL Q550F QLED TV (55”) for $250 at Best Buy ($200 off): The TCL Q5 is a relatively basic LED TV with a 60Hz refresh rate and no local dimming or HDMI 2.1 ports. This model also uses Amazon’s Fire OS software, which isn’t quite as clean as other platforms. Most people should get the better-looking Hisense U6N instead. But if you really want to save an extra $100 or just need a cheap TV for a back room, it should do the job. This discount for the 55-inch model is the best we’ve tracked.

  • TCL Q68 QLED TV (55”) for $300 at Woot ($200 off): The Q68 is another cheapo LED TV that broadly falls short of the Hisense U6N’s picture quality, though it should offer better contrast than the TCL Q5 thanks to its local dimming feature. Like the Q5 and U6N, it can also play at a 120Hz refresh rate if you drop the resolution to 1080p or 1440p, which is nice for gaming. If you don’t want to spend any more than $300 for a 55-inch set, this is the lowest price we’ve found for this particular model.

  • TCL QM8 QLED TV (65”) for $998 at Amazon ($502 off): If the Hisense U8N becomes unavailable, the TCL QM8 looks to be a decent alternative. It can get even brighter, according to reviewers we trust, but it has slightly worse contrast. We’ve seen this discount a few times in recent months, but it ties the all-time low for the 65-inch variant. Also at Best Buy.

  • Sony Bravia 7 QLED TV (55”) for $1,298 at Amazon ($402 off): The Bravia 7 is a relatively premium set with mini-LED backlighting to improve contrast and quantum dots to boost colors. Reviews suggest that it provides accurate colors out of the box and does well to preserve details in lower-resolution content, so it’s worth considering over the Hisense U8N if those are chief concerns. It only has two HDMI 2.1 ports, however, and it’s another LED TV with mediocre viewing angles. Most people will be happier with an OLED TV at this price, though this deal is an all-time low. Also at Walmart and B&H, with other sizes similarly discounted.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget The best Black Friday streaming deals for 2024
  • Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $29 at Amazon ($21 off): A pick from our guide to the best streaming devices, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K gets you snappy performance, Apple AirPlay support, and a dead-simple interface that makes it easy to access free shows and movies. It works with the necessary HDR formats and apps as well (Twitch aside), though its search function isn’t as in-depth as some of its peers, and the UI looks fairly bland. This deal is $4 more than the best price we’ve tracked but still $11 off the stick’s average going rate in recent months. Also at Target, B&H, Best Buy and others.

  • Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $33 at Amazon ($27 off): This is a new low for Amazon’s best streaming stick, which runs fast and supports all the major apps and HDR formats. We’ve found it to be surprisingly flexible as a gaming device, too, though you’ll have to put up with an ad-heavy UI that promotes Prime Video and other Amazon services above all else. Also at Target, Best Buy and others.

  • Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for $22 at Amazon ($28 off): The standard Fire TV Stick 4K offers the same core experience as the pricier 4K Max — for better or worse — but comes with a slightly slower processor, half as much storage (8GB) and Wi-Fi 6 instead of the faster Wi-Fi 6E. Still, this is a decent value if you just want a competent 4K streamer for as little as possible. This deal is another all-time low. Also at Target, Best Buy and others.

  • Roku Ultra (2024) for $79 at Amazon ($21 off): The Roku Ultra is overkill for most people, but it might be worth it if you like Roku's simpler UI and need a full-on set-top box with built-in Ethernet and USB ports. Unlike the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, it comes bundled with a rechargeable remote that supports voice controls, a lost remote finder tool and backlit buttons. (You can buy that separately, though.) This latest model added a faster processor and Wi-Fi 6 support. This discount ties the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at Roku, B&H and others.

The Roku Ultra.Will Lipman Photography for Engadget
  • Disney+ and Hulu Duo Basic bundle one-year subscription for $36 ($96 off): The Duo Basic plan includes the ad-supported tiers of both Disney+ and Hulu. Normally, it'd cost $11 per month. Alternatively, you can get just Hulu's ad-based tier for $0.99 per month for one year, making the final cost $12. One of the older streaming services, Hulu still offers a wide range of recent TV episodes and a strong library of original series like Only Murders in the Building, The Bear, Pen15 and The Handmaid’s Tale. Disney+, meanwhile, remains home to just about everything Disney-, Pixar-, Marvel- and Star Wars-related. The only catch here is that both offers are only available to new and returning users who haven’t subscribed in the last month. Both subscriptions will also auto-renew by default, so you’ll have to cancel manually if you don’t want to pay beyond the discounted period.

  • Peacock Premium 1-year subscription for $20 at Peacock ($60 off, new and returning users only): Peacock isn’t exactly essential, but it should be worth adding to your streaming rotation if you’re big into NBC and Bravo shows, Premier League soccer, WWE events or Sunday Night Football. This is a sizable discount on the service’s ad-supported tier, though it’s only available to new or returning subscribers. Those folks can also get a six-month trial for $2 per month, which works out to a $36 discount. If you don’t see the price drop at checkout, use the code REALDEAL for the one-year promo or REALDEALMONTHLY for the six-month one. Note that the service will auto-renew by default.

  • Max 6-month subscription for $18 at Max ($42 off, new and returning users only): If you’re looking to binge The Sopranos, South Park, The Last of Us or anything else from Warner Bros. Discovery networks like HBO, TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network, you’d get a Max subscription. There’s a fairly sizable movie selection as well, including several films from the buzzy indie studio A24. This deal gives six months of the service’s ad-supported plan for $3 per month ($18 total), but only to new and returning users, and only in the US. Normally, the subscription costs $10 per month. This is another one that’ll auto-renew by default, so it’s worth setting a reminder to cancel before the discounted period ends.

  • Paramount+ with Showtime 2-month subscription for $6 ($20 off, new and returning users only): Paramount’s Black Friday offer isn’t quite as appealing as the streaming deals above, as it only covers a two-month subscription. Still, if you want to stream local NFL games, Champions League soccer or shows from CBS, Nickelodeon, Showtime and MTV, this is at least a cheaper way to see if you’d actually stick with the service at full price. This deal applies to either the ad-free or ad-supported tier. Again, it’s only available to new and former users, and the subscription will auto-renew until you cancel.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-tv-deals-you-can-still-shop-from-samsung-sony-lg-hisense-and-more-161445750.html?src=rss
Jeff Dunn

The best Black Friday kitchen deals will save you up to 44 percent on Ninja, Breville, KitchenAid, Fellow and more

2 months 1 week ago

We’ve probably got enough foodies on the Engadget staff to start our own restaurant. While we’re not all home chefs (some of us just microwave), we all love food. So we’ve used, tested and reviewed plenty of kitchen gadgets for the site. For Black Friday, a lot of the gear we’ve tried is on sale and continues to be even after the day has passed.

We found deals on air fryers, sous vide machines, pizza ovens and more, with some discounts hitting the lowest prices of the year. Whether you already cook up a storm on a regular basis, or you’re ready to build on your microwaving and reheating skills, the shopping holiday is a great time to finally pick up that new bit of kitchen tech you’ve been thinking about. Here are the best Black Friday kitchen deals you can still get on appliances, gadgets and the kitchen tech we recommend.

The best Black Friday kitchen deals for 2024

Whether for buying guides, reviews or our own use, we’ve tried plenty of gadgets that make home cooking simpler and more enjoyable. We also recently put together a cooking gift guide full of our favorite stuff. Our picks include low and high tech devices for kitchens both indoor and outdoor and right now, lots of those harder-to-categorize recommendations are currently on sale for Black Friday and listed here.

Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget The best Black Friday deals on coffee and tea gear Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Like most workplaces, Engadget runs on coffee — or at least the people responsible for it do. Many of us put our collective caffeinated experiences together to come up with a gift guide for coffee lovers. Of course, some of us are partial to tea, so we put a guide to tea gifts together as well. Right now for Black Friday, many of the picks from both lists are on sale.

The best Black Friday deals on sous vide machines Photo by Avery Ellis / Engadget

If you know someone without a sous vide machine, now might be a good time to ameliorate that situation as many of our favorite models are on sale. And if you happen to be without one, here’s your chance to get in on the low-effort, high-result water-bath cooking method. This is the best what’s on sale for Black Friday, as pulled from our picks.

  • Anova Culinary Sous Vide 3.0 for $99 ($100 off): This is the best overall sous vide machine, according to testing for our buyer’s guide and this price beats the one from July. We like the easy digital controls and the high flow rate that maintains water temperature better. Also the companion app is stuffed with recipes. It's $120 at Best Buy and directly from Anova.

  • Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano for $97 ($52 off): We've seen this price for much of the past month, so it's not exactly a new deal, but still a good discount on the machine that led Engadget's Avery Ellis to dub the sous vide stick the “Millennial crockpot.” She uses this one a few times a week to make unfussy meals that keep her alive. The Nano model is a slightly smaller and less expensive version of the top pick in our buyer’s guide. Also direct from Anova for $99.

The best Black Friday deals on air fryers and Instant Pots Instant Brands

Air fryers make microwaves jealous. Food that would otherwise come out hot yet soggy comes out hot and crisp and doesn’t take that much more time. Another kitchen MVP is the ever popular Instant Pot, which can cook everything from soups to rice, beans and more. Here are the best Black Friday deals on the air fryers and Instant Pots we recommend.

The best Black Friday deals on blenders and mixers KitchenAid

Black Friday is a good time to upgrade an aging hand blender or finally get that Vitamix you’ve been thinking about. Whether for yourself or as a gift for the home cook on our list, these blender and juicer deals come straight out of our kitchen tech guides and will bring plenty of extra muscle for a low price.

Expired Black Friday kitchen deals

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-kitchen-deals-will-save-you-up-to-44-percent-on-ninja-breville-kitchenaid-fellow-and-more-153533806.html?src=rss
Amy Skorheim

Black Friday subscription deals are still available for Disney+, MasterClass, Audible and others

2 months 2 weeks ago

While the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale events are arguably the best times of the year to pick up most gadgets, they’re also a great time to save on subscriptions and services you may already have or that you’ve been wanting to try. Whether it’s an audiobook service like Audible, streaming service like Peacock or an online learning subscription like MasterClass, you can typically find good subscription deals during this time of the year. Many of them also make it pretty easy to give a subscription, too, if you’re considering it as a gift for a loved one this year. To make it easier to find the services you want and need this year, Engadget has curated the best subscription deals you can get for Black Friday this year.

Best Black Friday subscription deals

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-subscription-deals-are-still-available-for-disney-masterclass-audible-and-others-173037181.html?src=rss
Valentina Palladino

The best Black Friday laptop deals we could find from Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo, Asus and others

2 months 2 weeks ago

It’s the Black Friday period, which means it’s a decent time to be on the hunt for a new notebook. To help you avoid wasting cash, we’ve researched reviews, checked price histories and rounded up a few Black Friday laptop deals that are genuinely cheaper than usual and you can still get on discount right now.

The discounts include several notebooks we’ve tested and recommended at their best prices to date. Apple's latest MacBook Air is available for a new low, for one, while the newest Microsoft Surface Laptop is $300 off. The top recommendation in our Chromebook buying guide is on sale, too, as is our pick for the best Windows notebook for those on a budget.

We’ll be updating this post as prices change and more deals pop up. Just keep in mind that many of the deals below are for pre-configured models; if you want to spec out your machine more precisely, it’s still worth buying directly from a manufacturer.

The Apple MacBook Air (2024).Engadget The Apple MacBook Pro (2024).Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
  • Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4 Pro) for $2,099 at Amazon ($300 off): The recently updated MacBook Pro is more laptop than most people need, but it's still a powerhouse for coders, media editors and those with more demanding needs. We gave it a 92 in our review earlier this month. Just keep in mind that there’s no USB-A port and, as with all Apple laptops, effectively no way to upgrade the device after purchase. This is the largest discount yet for the configuration with Apple’s M4 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. A version with 512GB of storage is $250 off and down to a low of $1,749 as well. Also at Best Buy and B&H.

  • Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M4 Pro) for $2,199 at Amazon ($300 off): The 16-inch MacBook Pro adds a roomier display and a couple extra hours of battery life to the same excellent performance, build quality and mini-LED display of its smaller counterpart. The downside is that it’s heavier at 4.7 pounds. This is an all-time low for the config with an M4 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Also at Best Buy and B&H.

  • Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (13.8-inch) for $899 at Amazon ($300 off): We gave the latest Surface Laptop a review score of 88 earlier this year, and we currently recommend it as a great mainstream ultraportable in our laptop buying guide. The caveat is that it runs on an ARM processor, which performs well but may not work with every app or peripheral you use. If you can live with that, though, the bright 120Hz display, upscale aluminum design and long battery life all impress. This configuration with a Snapdragon X Plus chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is technically available for $800 at Micro Center, but only with in-store pick up. Otherwise, this is the best price we’ve seen. If you prefer a bigger screen, a 15-inch version with a quicker Snapdragon X Elite chip and a 256GB SSD is down to a low of $1,053. Also at Best Buy.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop (7th generation).Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
  • HP Pavilion Aero 13 for $580 at HP ($320 off): The HP Pavilion Aero is the budget pick in our laptop buying guide. It feels a bit cheap, and its webcam is poor, but it’s thin and light, it has a decent port selection and its IPS display is solid for the money. This config with a Ryzen 5 8640U chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD should be fast enough for typical web browsing, word processing and light photo editing. This ties the best price we could find for the 2024 model since its release.

  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12) for $1,099 at Lenovo ($500 off): The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an honorable mention in our laptop buying guide, and it earned a score of 87 in our review earlier this year. Its performance wasn’t quite top-of-the-line in benchmark testing, but it was still fast enough to handle the kind of web browsing, media editing and even light gaming that most people do with a notebook. The design is reasonably thin (0.6 inches), light (2.4 pounds) and highly durable, with a healthy array of ports (HDMI 2.1 included) and the kind of bouncy, responsive keyboard we’ve come to love from the ThinkPad line. The matte display virtually eliminates glare as well, though the 1080p webcam is just OK, and the side-mounted power button is somewhat awkward to press. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the config with Intel's Core Ultra 5 135U chip, 16GB of (non-upgradeable) RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 14-inch 1,920 x 1,200 display. Just enter the coupon code X1G12TDDEAL at checkout. If you need more power, another model with a faster Core Ultra 7 155U chip and 32GB of RAM is similarly discounted at $1,391. Use the code HOLIDAYTHINKDB for that one.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12.Sherri L. Smith for Engadget
  • Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus for $369 at Best Buy ($130 off): The Flex 5i Chromebook Plus tops our guide to the best Chromebooks. We like that its IPS touchscreen has a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, as it makes the device better-suited to word processing and reading web pages. It runs just fine for the basic tasks you’re meant to do with Chrome OS, and both its keyboard and trackpad feel reliable. Its battery life is mediocre, however, and at 3.6 pounds it’s fairly heavy for a 14-inch notebook. This discount is $20 more than the lowest price we’ve ever seen, but it’s still a decent way off this config’s typical street price. It includes an Intel Core i3-1315U chip, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage.

  • ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023) gaming laptop for $680 at Best Buy ($420 off): Although it’s a 2023 model, this configuration of the A16 should do the job for value-minded buyers. It comes with a 16-inch 165Hz 1,920 x 1,200 display, an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an AMD Radeon RX 7700S GPU. You’ll still have to deal with the usual trade-offs of a cheaper gaming laptop: It can get warm under load, it’s bulky, the keyboard isn’t great and the screen is somewhat dim. But it’s powerful enough to run newer games in 1080p, the chassis is generally sturdy, and the battery can reach double-digit hours when you aren’t gaming. This discount matches this config’s all-time low.

The Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus.Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
  • Alienware M18 R2 gaming laptop for $2,200 at Dell ($600 off): The M18 R2 is an iteration of the top 18-inch pick in our gaming laptop buying guide. It’s an absolute tank, but it’s put together well, and this configuration can blow through new games at high settings in 1080p or 1440p. It comes with a 165Hz 2,560 x 1,600 panel, an Intel Core i9-14900HX chip, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 GPU. While this deal price is far from cheap, it's a new low for this variant. A lower-spec model is on sale for $1,900, though that one will run into issues sooner with more demanding games. Also at eBay via Dell and Amazon, though it appears to be out of stock at the latter.

  • ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) gaming laptop for $1,615 at Amazon ($285 off): While not a top pick in any of our guides, this configuration of the ROG Strix G16 should be a solid value for those in search of a 16-inch all-rounder gaming notebook. It includes an Intel Core i9-14900X chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, which should be enough to run many games at high-ish settings without much hassle. The overall build doesn’t feel cheap, and the 2,560 x 1,600 240Hz display is both sharp and fast. The RAM and storage are user-upgradeable, too, though the battery life and 720p webcam aren’t ideal. This deal matches an all-time low. Another model with a 1080p panel, a Core i7-13650HX chip and a RTX 4060 GPU is on sale for a low of $1,100, but you’ll have to turn down game settings more frequently to get decent frame rates with that one.

  • Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, M4) for $849 at Amazon ($100 off, clip $50 coupon): The iPad Pro is still overkill for most people, but its class-leading OLED display, remarkably slim frame and powerful M4 chip make it a tremendous tablet. It can work as a laptop replacement for certain creative types, but you’ll have to live with iPadOS’ continued shortcomings in multitasking, file management and other computer-y tasks. If you’re thinking of making the switch — or if you’ve just got money to burn and want a more portable companion to your current laptop — this matches the lowest price we’ve seen for the latest 11-inch model. Just clip the $50 on-page coupon. If you’re willing to pay for a roomier display, the 13-inch iPad Pro is also on sale for a low of $1,099.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-laptop-deals-we-could-find-from-apple-microsoft-lenovo-asus-and-others-151347612.html?src=rss
Jeff Dunn

This Black Friday deal on the Meta Quest 3S includes a free $75 gift card

2 months 2 weeks ago

It's hard to beat the promise of a big box for one-stop shopping. Target is one of my favorites if I just want to browse with no agenda, because I'll inevitably stumble on something fun or on sale. Or in the case of this Black Friday deal, both. Target is currently selling a Meta Quest 3S for $300, as is Amazon. That's the usual price tag for this virtual reality headset, but both retailers include a $75 gift card along with the tech (On Amazon, use the code QUEST75 to get it.) That covers a lot of impulse buys.

There's a lot to recommend the Meta Quest 3S for a virtual reality fan. In fact, it's our pick for the best budget VR set. Even if you're investing in a lower-range VR headset, you'll want to have plenty of software to run on it. The Quest 3S has a large app library and it can be used to stream games from a PC.

While some headsets can be unpleasant to wear for very long, reviewer Devindra Hardawar found that wasn't an issue with the Quest 3S. And although it has made some sacrifices on the screen and lenses to keep the costs down, this set still delivers a strong, immersive virtual reality experience.

The content included with any Quest headset purchase will help you get started in VR. Batman: Arkham Shadow is one of the most notable exclusive games for Meta's Quest 3 and Quest 3S, continuing the lineage of the Arkham game universe initially developed by Rocksteady Studios. You'll also get three months' subscription to the Meta Quest+ catalog of games. Keeping the subscription after the trial period will cost $8 a month. Or use that gift card and pick up a title to keep.

Beyond the Meta Quest 3S, there are tons of amazing gaming deals available for Black Friday. Check out great discounts on some of our favorite consoles, games and accessories here

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-black-friday-deal-on-the-meta-quest-3s-includes-a-free-75-gift-card-115856107.html?src=rss
Anna Washenko

Black Friday deals include Solo Stove fire pit bundles for 30 percent off

2 months 2 weeks ago

Black Friday deals present good opportunities to pick up expensive tech, including gear for the outdoors. Solo Stove’s Black Friday sale continues today, and includes some of our favorite fire pits. You’ll save the most by going with a bundle; of note here is the Bonfire Backyard Bundle, which is down to $400 from $580. This pack includes the Bonfire smokeless fire pit and a whole swath of related accessories including a removable ash plate, a lid, a carry case, a stand and an outdoor shelter.

Solo Stove’s fire pits easily made our list of the best outdoor gear for the fall, and the medium-sized Bonfire is likely the company’s most popular item. It creates a roaring fire, but without all of that hazardous smoke. What's not to like? The Bonfire is a wood-burning fire pit that gets much hotter than conventional fires, allowing for “uninterrupted enjoyment in the outdoors.”

The sale extends to other fire pit bundles. The high-end Yukon bundle is $650 instead of $940 and the budget-friendly Ranger bundle is $310 instead of $445. Amazon is also getting in on the action. Outdoor enthusiasts can pick up the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 fire pit, complete with a removable ash pan and stand, for $196. That’s a discount of over 40 percent.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-deals-include-solo-stove-fire-pit-bundles-for-30-percent-off-182758631.html?src=rss
Lawrence Bonk

What we’re listening to: Celeste Secret Hideaway and The Loop

2 months 2 weeks ago

In What We’re Listening To, Engadget editors and writers share what music they can't get enough of lately.

Rozen - Celeste Secret Hideaway

The original Celeste soundtrack by Lena Raine is a masterpiece that’s stuck around in my head ever since I played the game for the first time back in 2018. It beautifully evokes the game’s (and player’s) emotional journey scaling the eponymous magical mountain, and I find myself popping it on pretty regularly when I need some non-distracting background music to get work done or get into a creative headspace. To my delight, Rozen — a composer and arranger known for albums inspired by Studio Ghibli and other media — released an acoustic interpretation of the Celeste soundtrack at the beginning of November, and I’m loving its cozier take on the whole thing.

“The goal with Celeste Secret Hideaway is to transform the game’s iconic melodies into warm, intimate folk and acoustic arrangements, enveloping listeners in a rich soundscape that echoes the serenity of snow-covered mountains and quiet, fire-lit cabins,” Rozen said at the time of its release. 

It definitely succeeds — Celeste Secret Hideaway feels like sipping hot chocolate from the comfort of your home on a crisp winter day. It’s hard to pick a favorite because the tracks fit together so well as a complete package. This is one you can just throw on and listen to all the way through (or even on a loop, which I’ve caught myself doing), no skips. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor

Jordan Rakei - The Loop

Jordan Rakei has always had a distinctive voice, but on his fifth full-length album, The Loop, the Kiwi singer and multi-instrumentalist delivers his most consistent collection of songs yet. Across 13 tracks, there’s no filler, with a few songs even standing out as some of the best of his career.

An early highlight comes in “Freedom,” the album’s second single. Here, Rakei melds the jazz-inspired instrumentation of his earlier work with a soulful number about the importance of staying young at heart. “Freedom likes it tough/Freedom’s had enough/Freedom calls your bluff,” Rakei sings in the song’s explosive chorus, a group of talented backup singers helping add punch to the delivery.

Another standout is “Learning,” the album’s most overtly political song. “When all the people of the world have a dream/As they've always longed to live in meritocracy/And the leaders of the free, are not who they claim to be,” Rakei sings in the song’s first verse. Throughout the track, there’s a beautiful contrast between the unadorned quality of his voice and the orchestra providing the song’s melody.

In an interview with Clash Music, Rakei said he wrote “Learning” after the birth of his first child. “Bringing my son into the world, I’m conscious that there’s a lot I need to teach him, but also, how much I still have to learn…” And that’s The Loop in a nutshell; it understands the challenges of living in 2024, but it never despairs or forgets that there’s so much we can do on our own. — Igor Bonifacic, Senior Reporter

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/what-were-listening-to-celeste-secret-hideaway-and-the-loop-192517314.html?src=rss
Engadget

These are the best Black Friday Apple deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks and AirTags we could find

2 months 2 weeks ago

Apple’s website hardly ever hosts sales of its own. So we have to rely on other retailers, like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target to discount Apple devices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, the deals have been pretty great — if you’ve been waiting for a better price before grabbing that iPad or pair of AirPods, congratulate yourself now, the wait was likely worth it.

We found discounts on current-model gear, as well as previous generation devices that’ll still serve you well. And if you’d like a little more info before plunking down your money, you can check out our reviews and buying advice beforehand — all of which are linked below. Here are the best Apple deals for Black Friday that you can still get today.

The best Black Friday Apple AirPods deals

Apple has four models of AirPods right now: The AirPods Pro 2, the over-ear AirPods Max and two AirPods 4, one with active noise cancellation and one without. Apple has been doing a lot of interesting things with their headphones lately, making this a good time to dive in. Though the discounts for Black Friday look to be minor, it's better than paying full price.

The best Black Friday Apple Watch deals

If you take steps or do a workout and you’re not wearing a smartwatch, does it really count? Of course, the Apple Watch is more than a fitness tracker, it’s also a shortcut to your iPhone notifications, a handy Siri portal and an always-on weather forecast. Plus it tells time. While they’re not cheap, these Black Friday Apple Watch discounts should help.

The best Black Friday Apple iPad deals Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The line between Apple’s tablets and laptops is a little blurry at this point, especially with the release of the iPad Pro this year, which (at the time) housed the company’s most powerful chip. The iPad Air is our current pick for the best iPad you can buy and we were delighted by the iPad mini that came out just last month. The only problem is iPads are among the more expensive tablets you can buy. Hopefully these Black Friday iPad deals help out.

The best Black Friday Mac and MacBook deals Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Apple held a quiet Mac Week at the tail end of October in which it announced the new desktop M4 Mac mini, the all-in-one M4 iMac and the M4 MacBook Pro laptop. The MacBook Air from back in March is still the model we recommend for most people

The best Black Friday deals on Apple gear Apple Expired Apple Black Friday deals
  • Apple Mac mini (2024, M4) for $529 ($70 off): This is Apple’s $599 example of good things, small packages. It's down to $529, which is about $30 more than it went for last week with a coupon, but if that deal doesn't come back, this is still a decent discount on a brand new Mac. The five-inch by five-inch box can tackle some serious workloads and remains the most affordable entry point to accessing Apple’s latest silicon. We gave it a solid score of 90 in our review, praising the incredibly fast M4 chip and useful ports. Also at B&H Photo.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/these-are-the-best-black-friday-apple-deals-on-airpods-ipads-macbooks-and-airtags-we-could-find-165143209.html?src=rss
Amy Skorheim

ExpressVPN Black Friday deal: 30-month plans are up to 61 percent off

2 months 2 weeks ago

Black Friday doesn't just mean discounts on "stuff," it also means big price cuts on services. There are so many great subscription deals to shop now, including sales on VPNs. ExpressVPN, a mainstay on our list of best VPNs, is currently offering an attractive discount for all new customers: Up to 61 percent off.

US-based customers can choose between two plans with huge discounts over ExpressVPN's standard rate. The "1-year plan" (actually 16 months) costs $6.25 per month, billed at a total of $100, and the 2-year plan (actually 30 months) costs just $4.99 per month, billed at a total of $150. Those rates compare to a default price of $12.95 per month.

Engadget deemed ExpressVPN the best for streaming services, frequent travel and gaming. Its biggest drawback is generally considered to be the price — higher than most rivals in the space — so this is a great time to get it at a discount. (There's a 7-day trial period and a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can make sure it meets your needs before committing.)

Since we conducted our review, ExpressVPN has added some additional features making it more of a full-service suite, including a password manager and ad blocker. More recently, it's added ID alerts (with a $1 million identity theft insurance package), as well as a data removal service (to counteract the preponderance of online data brokers). 

Some notable caveats: The data removal service is only available on the 30-month plan, and the ID alerts, insurance and data removal features are only applicable to subscribers in the US. Furthermore, these discounts are applicable only to new ExpressVPN customers. And the service will automatically renew at the standard rate after the initial discount period expires.  

It goes without saying that ExpressVPN is compatible with nearly all major operating systems, with support for connecting 8 devices at a time. And its no-logs policy means your online activity is as anonymous as can be. If you're looking for a dependable VPN that now has a bevy of additional privacy features, ExpressVPN is worth checking out. But don't delay: This offer is only good through December 6. 

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/expressvpn-black-friday-deal-30-month-plans-are-up-to-61-percent-off-120441117.html?src=rss
Aaron Kim

Best Black Friday SSD deals for 2024: Discounts on gear from Samsung, WD, Kingston, Crucial and others

2 months 2 weeks ago

While many of the storage-related deals retailers promote during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday time period aren’t anything special, a handful are genuinely decent. If you’re looking to add some space to your PC, tablet or gaming handheld, allow us to do the research for you. Here are the best Black Friday SSD and storage deals you can still get today.

Before you browse, note that storage prices have generally steered upwards over the past year, so many of these discounts aren’t quite all-time lows. That said, all of the SSDs, portable drives and microSD cards we highlight below are at least cheaper than they’ve been in several months. We’ll update this post as prices change and more discounts arise.

The WD Black SN850X.WD The Crucial X9 Pro.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget The Kingston Canvas Go Plus.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
  • Lexar Professional 1066x (1TB) microSD card for $70 at Amazon ($19 off): It’s not a formal pick in our guide, but the Lexar Professional 1066x is a perfectly serviceable card for most storage needs that’s worth considering when it’s on sale. This is a new low for the 1TB variant.

  • Samsung Pro Plus (1TB) microSD card for $90 at Amazon ($30 off): If you want a 1TB card and don't mind paying for better performance, the Pro Plus is the top overall recommendation in our microSD card buying guide. It tested faster than the Lexar card above across our benchmarks, with a particular edge in random speeds. That means it should play a bit nicer in a portable gaming PC or a device like the Raspberry Pi, where it’d more frequently have to access smaller bits of data in random locations. This is a new low for the 1TB model, which Samsung released earlier this year. Also at Samsung and B&H.

  • SanDisk Ultra (1.5TB) microSD card for $89 at Amazon ($21 off): The Ultra is slower than the cards we recommend in our buying guide, particularly when it comes to write speeds, so you won’t want to stress it too hard with large file transfers. But if you don’t really care about raw performance and want a huge chunk of space for as little cash as possible, it should be fine enough. This deal comes within a couple bucks of the 1.5TB model’s lowest-ever price. Also at SanDisk and B&H.

The WD Black C50.WD

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/best-black-friday-ssd-deals-for-2024-discounts-on-gear-from-samsung-wd-kingston-crucial-and-others-173947928.html?src=rss
Jeff Dunn

Fortnite is hosting a virtual concert today in tribute to the late rapper Juice WRLD

2 months 2 weeks ago

Fortnite is bringing its current chapter to a close with a live concert event featuring music from the late rapper Juice WRLD, as well as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Ice Spice. The in-game event, Remix: The Finale, kicks off at 2PM ET, but it’s recommended that you log on early to ensure you get in on time. Fortnite’s tribute to Juice WRLD began earlier this month with a Juice WRLD skin and a number of related items.

Juice WRLD (Jarad Higgins) died in 2019 at age 21, and while the practice of using a celebrity’s digital likeness after their death generally rubs me the wrong way, he was apparently a big Fortnite fan, so this collab at least seems to make sense. His mother, Carmela Wallace, said in a statement shared by Epic that “Jarad always loved to play Fortnite — it was more than just entertainment for him, it was a way to connect with others. From a young age, video games were a part of how he bonded with friends and family, and being in Fortnite is an incredible tribute to that connection.”

Epic Games

The rapper’s estate has released three posthumous albums since his death, and another new track, “Empty Out Your Pockets,” will premiere at the Fortnite event. “I know he would be overjoyed to see how his love for games continues to bring people together across different spaces, just like his music does,” Wallace said. The event will also showcase a new single from Snoop Dogg called “Another Part of Me,” which features Sting. If you miss the live event, Epic says it plans to run an encore later in the day barring any technical issues.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fortnite-is-hosting-a-virtual-concert-today-in-tribute-to-the-late-rapper-juice-wrld-163812994.html?src=rss
Cheyenne MacDonald

Amazon Black Friday deals: Pick up the Fire Max 11 tablet for a record-low price

2 months 2 weeks ago

Black Friday sales are here and they include great deals on Amazon's brands like Blink and Kindle. There's also a markdown on the company’s most powerful tablet, the Fire Max 11. It's down to a record low of $140 — a nearly 40 percent discount. 

This is a fairly recent entry into Amazon’s library of tablets, having just been released last year. The Fire Max 11 boasts a large 11-inch LCD screen, a slim aluminum frame and plenty of smart home controls. Of course, it integrates with Alexa for voice controls. This is the cooler and more refined sibling of the Fire 10 and Fire 8 tablets.

The tablet uses an octa-core MediaTek processor and weighs just over a pound. There’s a fingerprint sensor, support for WiFi 6 and 4GB of RAM. It runs Fire OS 8, which allows for split-screen and picture-in-picture features. This lets users slam some emails while, say, keeping an eye on a YouTube video.

The tablet integrates with a keyboard and stylus, but those cost extra. There are some minor downsides. First of all, this is an ad-supported model that’ll throw advertisements on the lock screen. In my experience, these are surprisingly unobtrusive. I hate ads and barely notice them. This sale is also for the 64GB version. That’s not a whole lot of room but the tablet does come with a microSD reader for up to 1TB of additional storage.

There are a whole bunch of Amazon items on sale right now for Black Friday. These deals include the Kindle Paperwhite for $130 and the Echo Dot for $23, among many others. 

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-black-friday-deals-pick-up-the-fire-max-11-tablet-for-a-record-low-price-103026882.html?src=rss
Lawrence Bonk

Amazon Black Friday deals drop the Echo Pop speaker down to only $18

2 months 2 weeks ago

It's Black Friday and that means there are some excellent deals on Amazon products, including Kindles, Blink cameras, Ring doorbells and some of our best smart speakers. Take the Echo Pop, which is available for $18, down from $40. The 55 percent discount brings the Amazon Echo Pop to a record-low price.

Amazon launched the Echo Pop in May 2023 as a new entry-level option for Alexa-powered devices. It features a 1.95-inch front-facing speaker which could work well in a small room like a study or a dorm room. It uses Amazon’s AZ2 Neural Edge processor to allow for on-device tasks and lets you do all the standard commands with Alexa. Plus, you can get it in four colors: Charcoal, Glacier White, Lavender Bloom and Midnight Teal. 

The Pop isn't the only Echo device on sale ahead of Black Friday. Right now, you can get the fifth-generation Echo Dot for $23, down from $50 — a 44 percent discount. The Echo Spot is also on sale, dropping to $45 from $80 and the fourth-generation Echo is $55, down from $100. 

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-black-friday-deals-drop-the-echo-pop-speaker-down-to-only-18-142842638.html?src=rss
Sarah Fielding

Best PlayStation Black Friday deals: Get the PS VR2 Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle for $200 off

2 months 2 weeks ago

A VR headset could make a great gift for the gamer in your life, and now you can pick up one of our favorites at a killer price. Sony’s PlayStation VR2 is on sale for $350 right now in a bundle that includes the critically-acclaimed spin-off Horizon Call of the Mountain. That’s $200 off the bundle’s regular price and one of the best Black Friday deals on VR headsets we found this year.

We enjoyed this headset and gave it high marks in our official review. The OLED displays are excellent, so the graphics are on point. The headset’s fit is comfortable and it includes built-in haptics for increased immersion. Haptics for your head? That’s a pretty novel concept.

The headset also includes eye tracking technology and ships with two dedicated controllers, one for each hand. The company’s Sense controllers are eerily similar to Meta Quest controllers, with a large tracking ring, analog sticks, face buttons, triggers and grip buttons.

As for Horizon Call of the Mountain, it’s a new entry in the beloved Horizon franchise, only in VR. There’s a whole lot of climbing, as indicated by the title, but also a refined bow and arrow mechanic that feels just right in virtual space. 

We hesitated to recommend this headset to everyone at its original price of $550, but it’s a no-brainer at $350. This deal is also available through Sony, if Amazon isn’t your bag. So what’s the catch? There’s only one. This isn’t a standalone headset. It requires a PS5 to work, though Sony did recently release an adapter that lets it connect to a PC.

Interested in the headset but don't have a PS5 yet? Luckily the PS5 Slim is also on sale right now for $75 off. It's Black Friday deals drop the console to $375 for the digital-only model and $425 for the disc-based version

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/best-playstation-black-friday-deals-get-the-ps-vr2-horizon-call-of-the-mountain-bundle-for-200-off-174513635.html?src=rss
Lawrence Bonk

Bluesky implements a 'more aggressive' impersonation policy

2 months 2 weeks ago

Bluesky has updated its impersonation policy to be "more aggressive" after third-party analysis highlighted its verification problem. The Bluesky Safety account said that the social media service is removing accounts that are impersonating other people and those squatting on handles. Bluesky doesn't have a conventional verification system, so it's easy for unscrupulous users to pretend to be someone else either for attention or to scam other people. That may not have been a serious problem in the past, but the recent influx of new users threw the issue into stark relief. 

While users can verify their identities on Bluesky by linking their account to a domain name, the process isn't as straightforward as paying for a checkmark. They'd have to add a string of text to the DNS record associated with their domain so that they could claim their URL. For instance, we could claim the Engadget.com handle on Bluesky if we go through this self-verification process. Individuals can link their accounts to personal domains or pay for Bluesky's custom domain service. In its new announcement, the platform say's it's working with organizations and high-profile individuals to set up their verified handles.

That said, when a user verifies their account, their old handle (typically username.bsky.social) gets freed up and becomes available to other people who sign up. Alexios Mantzarlis, the third party from Cornell Tech who analyzed the app's userbase, found that 44 percent of Bluesky's 100 most-followed accounts have a doppelganger. That is why Bluesky now requires parody, satire or fan accounts to label themselves as such in both their handles and their bio. If they don't, or if they only indicate the nature of their account in one of those elements, then they'll be treated as an impersonator and will be removed from the platform. 

Bluesky now explicitly prohibits identity churning, as well. Accounts that start as impersonators with the purpose of gaining new users, and who then switch to a different identity in an attempt to circumvent the ban, will still get booted off the app. Finally, it says it's exploring "additional options to enhance account verification," though they're not quite ready for rollout. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/bluesky-implements-a-more-aggressive-impersonation-policy-130047163.html?src=rss
Mariella Moon

The best Black Friday speaker deals for 2024: Big savings on JBL, Sonos, Echo, Marshall and more

2 months 2 weeks ago

We’ve tested and reviewed countless speakers over the years — the best ones have made their way into three of our buying guides: soundbars, portable speakers and smart speakers. Right now Black Friday sales are bringing notable discounts to many of those top picks, like the JBL Flip 6 portable speaker for $50 off, the Sonos Era 100 smart speaker for the same discount, or Sennheiser's Ambeo Mini soundbar for a healthy $300 off.  

If you need a soundbar to make the dialogue on your TV clearer or want to take your music out on the porch once the weather warms back up, this is a good time to grab something from this list. Here are the best Black Friday deals on speakers we could find.

The best Bluetooth speaker Black Friday deals JBL

Portable Bluetooth speakers make it easy for you to bring the music where plugs don’t reach — a picnic, the front stoop, an aimless wander along the North Country Trail. And right now for Black Friday, we’re seeing plenty of Bluetooth speaker black Friday deals. Below is the best of what’s on sale, all pulled from our Bluetooth speaker guide as well as our reviews and news coverage.

The best JBL speaker Black Friday deals

JBL Clip 5 for $50 ($30 off): It’s tiny, portable and brings its own clip along with it. You’ll get 12 hours of listening from its waterproof body and the whole thing weighs just over half a pound.

JBL Flip 6 for $80 ($50 off): This is the one I bought after reading our guide and I love it. The crowler-sized speaker has great sound quality, is durable as heck and can either sit on its end or on its side. Plus it’s waterproof, dustproof and packs 12 hours of playtime. Also at Amazon and Walmart.

JBL Xtreme 3 for $250 ($80 off): We compare the size of the Xtreme 3 to a football, but since it weighs over four pounds JBL includes a strap for easier carrying. Like most portable speakers it’s waterproof and dust-proof. The lively highs and hefty lows sound great outside, but really the speaker really shines when it can resonate indoors. Also at JBL.

JBL Xtreme 4 for $300 ($80 off): The latest generation of our recommended JBL Xtreme adds around nine hours of battery life and a replaceable battery. It’s also made from more recycled content and throws in some AI-powered tuning. Also at Target. The previous generation model is $250

JBL Go 4 for $40 ($10 off): JBL’s smallest portable speaker has up to seven hours of battery life on a charge, has an IP67 waterproof rating and has a tiny built-in carry strap so you can bring it wherever you go. Also at JBL and Best Buy. The previous generation, the JBL Go 3 is down to $30. 

The best Marshall Black Friday deals

Marshall Emberton II for $100 ($70 off): This is the smallest Marshall speaker in our guide. Its dual 10-watt drivers and passive radiators create an impressive, 360-degree sound. While it’s not super loud, we think the output is nicely balanced. You’ll get up to 30 hours of play on a charge. Also at Best Buy and directly from Marshall.

Marshall Middleton for $200 ($100 off): The aptly named Middleton is the mid-range Marshall speaker in our guide. The four-pound box puts out excellent sound from the dual woofers and tweeters located at the front and back, and passive radiators along each side. And the classic Marshall look is pretty stylish. Also at Best Buy and directly from Marshall.

Marshall Willen for $60 ($60 / 50 percent off): This is close to an all-time low price on a tiny music box that we named one of our favorite gadgets from last year. Engadget’s Sarah Fielding thinks it’s perfect, saying, “The sound quality is great and it stays connected to my phone regardless of where I go in my little house (the range is 30 feet). Plus, the battery is great, with a playtime of over 15 hours.”

Marshall Acton III for $200 ($80 off): This is the speaker on Sarah's holiday wishlist. The six-pound speaker needs to be plugged in and isn't waterproof, so it's intended to play indoors. But this is a good one to get if you want a retro-looking box for your living room that can emit Marshall's signature warm and balanced sound. Also at Amazon

The best Bose Black Friday deals

Bose SoundLink Home for $199 ($20 off): It’s a smaller speaker at just two pounds but Bose promises premium sound from the SoundLink Home. We haven't had the chance to test it ourselves just yet, but if the sleek good looks are calling to you, this discount might be a good time to invest. Just note that it’s not waterproof as the “Home” moniker suggests.

Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd gen) for $119 ($30 off): When Bose announced the release of the SoundLink Home, the company also introduced this revamped Flex. The first generation is one of the picks from our Bluetooth speaker guide. This newer generation works with the Bose app and has a new programmable button. Also at Bose and Best Buy. The first generation model is on sale for the same price.

Bose SoundLink Max for $299 ($100 off): The largest portable speaker Bose makes is part of the new SoundLink lineup which Bose announced in May. Also at Amazon and Target.

Bose Smart Soundbar for $399 ($100 off): The latest Bose soundbar came out just a couple months ago and is already on sale. It’s a smaller model that supports Dolby Atmos and has an AI Dialogue Mode as well as a Personal Surround feature if you happen to own a pair of the Ultra Open Earbuds. Bose says the AI smarts make voices easier to hear while retaining the audio’s immersive qualities. Also at Amazon.

The best Ultimate Ears speaker Black Friday deals

Ultimate Ears Everboom for $200 ($50 off): The Everboom is a new speaker in the lineup, which UE announced back in June. We reviewed it shortly after and deemed it worthy of inclusion in our guide. Not only does it float, it puts out loud, 360 degree audio and packs 20 hours of listening in a unit that’s just over two pounds. Also at Best Buy

Ultimate Ears Mini Roll for $50 ($30 off): This less-than-a-pound sound maker came out at the same time as the Everboom. It supplanted the Wonderboom as the smallest speaker in UE’s lineup and even sports a built-in, flexible strap to attach to just about anything. It’s IP67 rated to be dust- and waterproof and can crank out 85 decibels of volume — impressive for something so small. Also at Amazon and B&H Photo.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 for $79 ($21 off): We put the Wonderboom 3 on our guide to the best speakers and this next-gen model includes a new podcast mode EQ for crisp vocals and is made from more recycled plastics. Like its predecessor, it’ll go for 14 hours on a charge and packs a waterproof build into its mini barrel-like shape. Also at Ultimate Ears for $1 more.

Other Black Friday Bluetooth speaker deals Billy Steele for Engadget

Soundboks Go for $524 ($174 off): The 20-pound party speaker is fairly easy to lug around and puts out big sound rated up to 121dB. You get clear mids and highs and a low end with significant presence. The wireless connectivity is pretty fuss-free and lets you connect up to five Sounboks speakers. It even has a swappable battery. This is the one to get for a larger crowd.

Beats Pill for $100 ($50 off): Beats came back to the Bluetooth speaker market with the completely redesigned Pill — and we think it was worth the wait. The durable unit earned a spot on our Bluetooth speaker guide and an 83 in our review. It offers much improved sound quality with impressive bass and full mids. You also get a long, 24-hour battery life and lossless audio over USB-C. Also at Walmart.

Sony ULT Field 1 for $98 ($32 off): Earlier this year, Sony waved goodbye to the Extra Bass and XE-Series products, folding them into the new ULT Power Series branding. This 1.4-pound unit has a 12-hour battery life and IP67 rating. This matches the all-time low. It's two dollars more at Best Buy and direct from Sony.

Anker Soundcore Motion 300 for $56 ($24 off): Weighing in at less than two pounds, Anker’s speaker has a bright, punchy output with a crisp high end and thumpy bass. Plus it’s waterproof and goes for 13 hours on a charge. No wonder it made our list of the best speakers. Also direct from Soundcore.

Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $69 ($30 off): A few Anker Soundcore speakers made our best list and this one weighs just over two pounds. It delivers a bright and bassy output, can play for around 12 hours on a charge and the build is solid with an attractive metal grille.

Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $28 ($12 off): Anker’s Soundcore brand proves the accessory brand can make some excellent electronics, too. This is one of the smaller and more affordable models and it’s currently back to one of its lowest prices yet.

Tribit StormBox Micro 2 for $45 ($35 off): This is the smallest speaker in our guide and it can go with you anywhere with the built-in strap. It pumps out impressive volume for its size and can go for 12 hours on a charge. The audio isn’t the highest fidelity, but this is more about bringing the vibes than emitting flawless musical clarity. Also directly from Tribit with an auto-coupon.

The best Black Friday smart speaker deals Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The first thing to decide before you buy a smart speaker is who you prefer to do your smart home-related bidding: Do you want Alexa’s wry yet efficient manner, Google’s info-packed know-how, or Siri’s dreamy presence? Then check out these Black Friday deals so you can get that smart home help at a discount.

The Best Sonos smart speaker Black Friday deals

Sonos Era 100 for $199 ($50 off): The Sonos Era 100 is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker. We like the excellent sound quality plus it pairs well with other Sonos devices. It has Alexa built-in, so it can handle regular smart home duties, but it’ll also make your music sound far better than any spherical Echo can.

Sonos Era 300 for $359 ($90 off): This is a return to a low we've tracked before on one of Sonos's larger speakers. It went all-in on spatial audio, but as we found in our review, those results are hit or miss. However, the speaker itself delivers excellent sound quality, is easy to set up and has a line-in option as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Also at Adorama

Sonos Roam 2 for $139 ($40 off): Sonos also makes the best portable smart speaker, according to our guide. We like the good sound quality and strong bass, as well as the fact that it connects via both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Also at Sonos.

Sonos Move 2 for $359 ($90 off): The Move is an upgrade on the Roam in every way (including the price). It earned an 80 in our review. We like that it’s a nice upgrade over the previous Move, with two tweeters for more detailed sound. The battery lasts a full 24 hours on a charge and the touch controls up top are very nice. It also has a line-in jack via USB-C, so you can hook up a turntable. Also at Sonos.

The best Amazon Echo smart speaker Black Friday deals

Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) for $23 ($27 off): The Dot is Amazon’s most popular Echo speaker, delivering Alexa’s helpful assistance in a softball-sized package that puts out surprisingly decent music for its size. It gets our vote for the best smart speaker under $50. It also has an internal sensor that can tell you the temp in the room as well as trigger connected smart thermostat functions.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids for $28 ($32 off): The kids version is basically the same smart speaker but comes in a cute dragon or own skin and includes a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) for $50 ($50 off): If you plan to listen to a lot of music through your Echo, you may want to go with the larger model. The Echo has an upward-firing woofer and dual tweeters for sound that we said delivers “impressive bass thump and powerful mid-range frequencies.” It can add stuff to your shopping list and set a timer but is also capable of producing room-filling sound.

Amazon Echo Pop for $18 ($22 / 55 percent off): The smallest Echo speaker is the Pop, a half sphere that’s probably best suited to small rooms where it’ll primarily be used as a smart assistant, as opposed to a dedicated music maker. The money you save here could be used for the compatible wall mount if you want to save some counter space.

Amazon Echo Pop Kids for $23 ($27 off): The kids version is basically the same smart speaker but comes in a Disney princess or Marvel hero skin and includes a six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon Echo Spot for $45 ($35 off): The Spot is technically still a speaker, though half of it is a display. Amazon discontinued this model for a few years, but brought it back in July. The half-moon screen can display the time, weather and the song that’s playing.

Other Black Friday smart speaker deals

Samsung Music Frame for $248 ($150 off): Samsung first announced its Music Frame back in January at CES 2024. It takes its cue from the Frame TV that disguises itself as art. This wireless speaker has room for your own (physical) photo within its frame, along with two woofers, two tweeters and two mid-range drivers to spit out sound from your favorite streaming services. Also at Best Buy and directly from Samsung for $2 more.

Google Pixel Tablet with speaker dock for $459 ($140 off): The speaker dock is what qualifies what's really a tablet for this list. The charging dock sort of turns the tablet into a smart display, like an Echo Show. You can also use it as a standalone slab, but as we found in our review, it's far more exciting as a home hub than a tablet. 

Google Nest Audio for $50 ($50 off): It’s more than four years old at this point, but the Nest Audio offers a decent ratio of sound quality to price, according to our review, and it’ll put the best of the Google Assistant’s assistance at your service. Also at Google.

Black Friday soundbar deals Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

For our guide to the best soundbars, our audio expert Billy Steele picked six winners out of the dozens of home theater speakers he and other Engadget staffers have tested over the years — and one of them is on sale for Black Friday (we expect more sales to pop up closer to Black Friday so check this post again). This is a great chance to improve greatly upon the audio from your (probably thin) TV.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini for $500 ($300 off): We billed the Ambeo Mini as another premium option if the Samsung option doesn’t work for you. It requires a subwoofer to maximize the speaker’s potential, but once you do the immersive sound is truly impressive — especially for the size.

Sonos Ray for $169 ($110 off): A soundbar doesn’t have to be huge to make a big difference in the sound quality coming from the direction of your TV. Billy recommends this one for smaller rooms and for people who want an easy setup. I personally got one of these last year and immediately noticed a difference in dialogue clarity. Also at Amazon.

Sonos Beam for $369 ($130 off): It only has one HDMI port and no upward-firing drivers, but the Beam delivers solid sound quality with support for Dolby Atmos, and of course, it pairs nicely with other Sonos speakers. Plus it’s relatively compact. Also at Amazon and Adorama.

Sonos Sub Mini for $343 ($86 off): We found this smaller subwoofer to be the perfect complement to the Sonos Ray or Beam soundbars in our review. It's a more affordable model that's more practical for smaller spaces than the Sonos Sub (which isn't on sale).

Samsung HW-Q990C for $1,049 ($949 off): The top spot in our soundbar guide isn’t cheap, but this Black Friday deal helps. And, for the price, you get a complete home theater audio setup complete with soundbar, subwoofer and two rear surround speakers. Samsung’s HW-Q990C may not have the prettiest name, but the sound quality is a thing of beauty, earning it an 89 in our review

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-speaker-deals-for-2024-big-savings-on-jbl-sonos-echo-marshall-and-more-172645275.html?src=rss
Amy Skorheim

Amazon Black Friday: Pick up the Google Nest wired indoor camera for $70

2 months 2 weeks ago

The Google Nest wired indoor camera is $70 via Amazon as part of an early Black Friday deal. The cam is normally $100, so this represents a savings of 30 percent. This is close to a record low price, which is never a bad thing. The sale includes three colorways, including white, beige and light blue.

The second-gen wired device is designed for indoor use, thus the name, and is capable of capturing 1080p HDR video. It’s motion sensitive and uses a bit of AI trickery to discern between people, animals and vehicles. The camera also includes night vision and an hour of event recording on the device itself, which comes in handy in the case of a Wi-Fi outage.

There’s a two-way audio function, as the camera includes both a microphone and a speaker. People can boot up the affiliated Google Home app to spark up a conversation. This app also lets you instantly call up emergency services if the conversation doesn’t go as planned, though that requires a Nest Aware subscription.

This brings us to a fairly significant caveat, though this one pops up with most modern security cameras. A whole lot of stuff is locked behind that aforementioned Nest Aware paywall, which costs $8 per month or $80 each year. This plan gives purchasers 60 days of video history and the ability to watch live streams on smart displays and even smart TVs. Subscribers will even receive alerts when familiar faces are recognized by the camera.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-black-friday-pick-up-the-google-nest-wired-indoor-camera-for-70-160944869.html?src=rss
Lawrence Bonk

This Black Friday deal on the Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E drops it to the lowest price we've seen

2 months 2 weeks ago

If you live in a large home or are simply done dealing with shoddy Wi-Fi, a mesh router might be the solution. Black Friday tech deals have come in handy in this space already, with one of our top picks falling to a record-low price. Google's Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E in a three-pack is down to $279 right now, a steep sale from its original $400 price tag.

This is our pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system for folks who are using the tech for the first time. There isn't a great deal of customization here and there are more powerful options out there. But the Nest mesh system is easy to set up and then just let it do its thing.

Together, these three nodes provide up to 6,600 sq. ft. of Wi-Fi coverage and speeds of up to 2,402 Mbps. That's more than enough for most people. Though if you're gaming, you'll probably want to connect to Ethernet if possible to minimize lag.

As you might expect, the Wi-Fi Pro 6E integrates with other Google services. It's compatible with the Matter and Thread smart home standards too.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-black-friday-deal-on-the-google-nest-wi-fi-pro-6e-drops-it-to-the-lowest-price-weve-seen-191945116.html?src=rss
Kris Holt

Engadget Podcast: Social media’s impact and Sony’s next portable PlayStation

2 months 2 weeks ago

Senior reporter Jess Conditt joins host Cherlynn Low and producer Ben Ellman on a quiet news week to talk about the latest developments at Sony, Threads, TikTok and more. We also take a look at some gadget announcements and discuss the impact that social media and technology have had on the way we work and how we think of celebrity and success.

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News!

Subscribe! Topics
  • A chill Thanksgiving week chat: Social media and how it affects all of us – 1:07

  • Gaming news with Jess: Sony is reportedly working on a new portable console – 21:18

  • PlayStation’s head of indie games Shuhei Yoshida is leaving Sony after 30 years – 28:34

  • Obsidian’s Avowed looks like a great reason to pick up an Xbox controller – 31:53

  • FTC warns that most connected devices aren’t supported for very long – 37:08

  • Working on – 41:14

  • Pop culture picks – 42:17

Credits 

Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Jessica Conditt
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/engadget-podcast-social-medias-impact-and-sonys-next-portable-playstation-213057887.html?src=rss
Devindra Hardawar
Checked
23 minutes 48 seconds ago
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