Save on tech and have it arrive before the holidays
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The holidays can be overwhelming — even during years like this one when most of us aren’t actually traveling to visit family and friends. If buying gifts is still looming on your to-do list, you certainly aren’t alone. It’s tough to find the right kind of gift for everyone, especially people who have an affinity for tech. That’s where we come in.
Below, there are a few great deals you can take advantage of now, and better, they’ll get where they need to be by December 25th. If you’re mailing packages yourself, we’ve pulled together all of the crucial shipping dates for USPS, UPS, and FedEx right here.
Deals on noise-canceling headphones
Sony’s WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds with noise cancellation slipped $10 below its best-ever price recently, and you can still get them for $158 at a few retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. These originally sold for $230, and this is a great deal if you value excellent sound quality in addition to being able to cancel out some sound.
Also discounted in Sony’s catalog of headphones are the newer WH-1000XM4 flagship over-ear and wireless model. We cover them frequently because they’re very much worth the investment based on their superb sound quality, comfort, and battery life. Normally $349, they’re down to $278 at Amazon and Best Buy, making the purchase a little easier to swallow.
Gaming deals
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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Whether you’ve been lucky enough to get a PS5, or are still rocking a PS4, there’s a great deal for both crowds this weekend on a PlayStation Plus subscription. Normally, one year of the service that allows for online multiplayer and savings on games costs $60, but you can get it for about $36 at digital storefront Eneba. The price actually fluctuates, so you may, in fact, get a better deal when you click.
Target is ensuring that its exclusive bundle that combines two great Nintendo Switch games, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Party, will arrive by Christmas (of course, you can pick it up in person if you prefer). Normally $120 if you purchase them separately, this bundle costs just $80, so it’s a fantastic deal if you’re trying to build up your (or a loved one’s) library of Switch games.
Other deals you might like
The latest Mac mini desktop with Apple’s new M1 processor is seeing a few small price cuts. At B&H Photo, the entry model with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD is $669 ($30 off). For more storage, the Mac mini with 512GB of storage is $849 ($50 off).
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Prices taken at time of publishing.
Apple’s most affordable Mac desktop computer starting at $699 is now powered by Apple’s custom M1 chip.
Another good gift idea comes in the form of Amazon’s Echo Show 8 smart display. What makes it particularly worthy of your consideration right now is that it now supports Zoom calls, as if you couldn’t get enough of those during work hours. Seriously, though, this new feature makes it great for talking with family and friends during the holidays — especially since Zoom temporarily lifted the 40-minute time limit on calls.
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Prices taken at time of publishing.
Amazon’s $130 smart display featuring a bright and sharp eight-inch display.
Lastly, if your home Wi-Fi network needs a boost in terms of coverage, Eero’s three-pack of mesh Wi-Fi routers is a relatively inexpensive way to improve it. Normally $250 during the off-season, it’s $175 right now. You can place them around your home to ensure that it’s as blanketed over in Wi-Fi signal as possible.
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