Plus, get some good deals on refurbished Sonos gear
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Even without a discount attached to it, Amazon’s surprisingly great Smart Thermostat is a good deal in itself. After our reviewer spent a decade testing almost every smart thermostat since the launch of the Nest Learning Thermostat, she found it to be one of the best yet. That’s saying a lot, and it’s pretty impressive given this is an affordable smart thermostat.
The thermostat is discounted for the first time today, selling for $47.99 at Amazon — a 20 percent discount on its typical $59.99. Built in collaboration with Honeywell Home, this gadget is capable of learning and adapting to your schedule, just like more expensive thermostats out there. With the price in mind, it does lack some features. Perhaps the most egregious omission is that it doesn’t integrate with platforms or voice assistants besides Alexa. Yet, if you’re looking for a good basic thermostat with which you can control the temperature of your home (even while traveling), this is definitely worth considering.
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Developed in collaboration with Honeywell Home, the Amazon smart thermostat allows you to control the temperature of your home through Alexa voice controls and remotely via an app.
Sonos is offering great deals on its refurbished products through December 31st. You can buy, for example, the latest generation of the Sonos One for $129, nearly $100 less than its full $219 retail cost when purchased new. The first-generation is also on sale for $129, but lacks Bluetooth Low Energy support, has a slower processor, and comes with less memory than the second-gen. Meanwhile, the first-generation Sonos Beam soundbar is selling for $259 as opposed to $399, the price when purchased new. While it lacks Dolby Atmos support like the second-gen model, we found it’s still a competent smart speaker that shares many features in common with the newer version.
All of the discounted refurbished products will arrive in a box with the original accessories and cables. They’ve also been certified directly from Sonos, which means the company has tested and given each an internal and external cleaning and inspection. Each product also comes with a one-year warranty and a 45-day money-back guarantee.
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Sonos One (second-gen, refurbished)
The Sonos One emits detailed, full-bodied sound. The compact smart speaker also features good voice microphones, integrates with existing Sonos systems, and supports a wide range of music services.
If you prefer earbuds to bulkier headphones, you might want to grab the second-gen Apple AirPods at Amazon since they’re just $99.99. That matches its second-lowest price after we saw the earbuds drop to $89 during early Black Friday sales. It’s also a lower price than what we saw on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when they were selling for around $110. Typically around $129, this model offers excellent wireless performance, reliable battery life, and is easy to use.
If you’ve got a little more cash to spare, and you’re in the market for a pair of excellent over-ear headphones, Adorama is bundling Sony’s WH-1000XM4 with Mophie’s Power Boost XXL 20,800mAh battery power bank for just $248. That matches the Black Friday and Cyber Monday price many retailers sold the $349.99 headphones for just by themselves. Mophie’s power bank typically sells for $39.95 itself, so this bundle is valued at around $390. Plus, the bundle also includes a small microfiber cleaning cloth to boot.
As we noted in our review (and as you’ve probably read in our deals coverage many times before), Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM4 boast the company’s best noise-canceling capabilities yet. We gave the headphones a 9/10 partly because of it, along with their stellar comfort, sound quality, and the fact they also let you connect to two Bluetooth sources simultaneously (this was missing in the XM3). Meanwhile, Mophie’s portable power bank comes with two USB-A ports so you can charge your headphones and phone simultaneously, and it charges via Micro USB. The company claims as well that its 20,800mAh battery offers up to 77 hours of extra battery life, but note we haven’t tested this product, so we can’t confirm if this is truly the case.
Of course, if you prefer to just buy the headphones by themselves, many are still selling them for just $248, including Best Buy and Amazon.
Govee’s Immersion TV LED backlights are fun, colorful lights that can make watching movies and gaming look more immersive. They sync to the colors on your screen (it supports 55- to 65-inch TVs) to make it appear as if its bezels have disappeared and the colors are expanding onto your walls. In other words, they’ll make for some pretty cool holiday gifts. Govee’s backlighting kit released in 2020 is back on sale at Amazon. For a limited time, you can pick one up for just $63.99 once you clip the $20 off coupon at Amazon, which is nearly the product’s best price to date.
Govee is also selling this product direct for $62.99 as a part of its holiday sale, which is a little cheaper. Still, if you prefer to shop from Amazon or are a Prime member, the Amazon deal could be the better option.
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Govee Immersion TV LED backlights (2020)
If you want a more cinematic and immersive TV viewing experience, add these Govee backlights to your 55- or 65-inch TV. It works with any content, and you can get this kit for far less than competing models from Philips Hue. Read our review.
For those still trying to nab a PlayStation 5 — or for those lucky enough to already have one — one of our picks for the best SSDs compatible with the PS5 is currently at its best price ever. Normally $229.99, Amazon is selling the 1TB version of Samsung’s 980 Pro for $169.99 instead. That’s a $60 discount on Samsung’s blazingly fast SSD, which is one of the few kinds of drives on the market that meet Sony’s performance requirements. It’s also compatible with PC, though you’ll only get its advertised PCIe 4.0 speeds if you have a compatible motherboard.
Shifting away from SSDs to gaming controllers, Razer’s Kishi is a great gift for gamers on the go traveling this holiday season. You can clamp it onto your Android phone and easily transform it into a Nintendo Switch lookalike. It’s also compatible with many games available on a variety of cloud-based gaming platforms, including Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, and more. It’s typically a bit pricey at $79.99, but right now both Best Buy and Amazon are taking nearly 50 percent off, selling it for $44.99 instead. Read our review.
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Razer’s Switch-like controller is designed for mobile gaming and Microsoft’s xCloud gaming service.
But wait! There’s more! Here are some other notable deals happening:
- If you’re an iPhone 12 Mini owner, Amazon is selling Apple’s black MagSafe leather case for just $23.99 instead of $59 — a 59 percent discount.
- Right now, PayPal is selling a $100 GameStop gift card for $90 that you can also use at ThinkGeek, EB Games, Babbage’s, and Planet X stores. It’s a good chance to save a little on a holiday gift or while treating yourself.
- Amazon’s also offering a variety of deals on gift cards, like this $50 Vudu card for $40 when you use the code VUDU at checkout.
- Costco members can get one of Microsoft’s latest Xbox wireless controllers in white for just $30 (normally around $55).
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