Apple’s AirPods are no stranger to a decent deal, but they’re selling for close to their lowest price yet at Amazon and Walmart. You can pick up the set that includes a wired charging case for $109 (originally $159). These don’t have the same great sound quality or active noise cancellation found in the more costly AirPods Pro. Still, the standard AirPods might surprise you. I picked up a set a few months ago after being a holdout, and they sound good enough for casual listening, but the best feature to me is their fast and strong wireless connection.
The AirPods are Apple’s second generation of true wireless earbuds and the cheapest model in the current AirPods lineup.
The set of AirPods that includes a wireless charging case for Qi chargers, but is otherwise the same as the set above, is down to $129 at Amazon (originally $199).
Alternatively, if you want wireless earbuds from Apple’s Beats that have better sound quality, active noise cancellation, and USB-C charging (making them just as handy for Android as they are for iOS), consider the Beats Studio Buds. Normally $150, they’re $125 at Amazon in a few colors. These also include a wired charging case, but the similarities with the AirPods above stop there. The Studio Buds include three sizes of ear tips so you can find the right fit for your ears. Read our review.
The Beats Studio Buds, Apple’s latest pair of noise-canceling earbuds, aren’t going to blow you away with noise cancellation or deep iOS integration. They do, however, offer solid sound, USB-C connectivity, and a compact build that will remain comfortable even during marathon listening sessions.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
If you’re looking for voice control of smart home devices and prefer the Google Assistant over Amazon Alexa or Apple’s Siri, B&H and Best Buy have the best deal right now on the second-generation Nest Mini. The tiny smart speaker is 50 percent off at both retailers, dropping to just $25.
The Nest Mini doesn’t compete with Google’s own Nest Audio for sound quality, but generation to generation, its audio quality improvements are most noticeable when you mount it to a wall. Also, the fabric covering and color options ensure they should complement your home decor with a touch of style. Read our review.
Google Nest Mini
The Nest Mini is Google’s smallest Assistant smart speaker, and it can fit almost anywhere in your home — even mounted to the wall with no additional hardware.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
The latest and greatest streaming box from Apple brings plenty to the table with Dolby Vision and Atmos support, 4K HDR, and support for Apple services like Apple TV Plus and Fitness Plus, but you might just love it because they finally improved the remote. Gone is the frustrating trackpad-focused remote of the prior model, now replaced with sizable physical buttons. If you own a previous Apple TV box, the speed improvements here should make upgrading worth the cost.
While you can get a nice $169 price directly from Apple on a refurbished model, the best deal on a new in-box version of the Apple TV 4K is at Adorama for $159. This discount of $20 was popular enough to quickly get backordered, but Adorama is still taking orders for the sale price and will not charge your card until the item ships. Read our review.
The latest Apple TV 4K houses the A12 Bionic processor and features faster performance with HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 6, and Thread support.
Other deals you might be interested in
- This Philips Hue smart bridge (refurbished) is available at Woot for $35. These normally cost $60 new. Some Hue bulbs support Bluetooth and don’t require this bridge, but all bulbs (Bluetooth or not) play nicely with it. The bridge allows you to more quickly control your bulbs and lets you have more of them running in your house.
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD for the Nintendo Switch is $40 at Best Buy, a $20 price cut.
- Gigabyte’s spec-packed Aero 15 OLED is $1,799 after a $500 mail-in rebate over at Newegg. You’ll pay $2,299 today, though. It has a 15.6-inch 4K OLED display, Intel’s Core i7-11800H, Nvidia’s RTX 3080 graphics chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and it comes with a copy of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy once it comes out.
