AirPods Pro drop to $180, plus the rest of this week’s best tech deals | Engadget
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While Apple announced new iPhones and iPads this week, a bunch of its existing gadgets remain discounted. The AirPods Pro are close to an all-time low at $180 and the iPad Air is still at the best price we’ve seen it — only $500 for the base model. You can also still get $100 off the MacBook Air M1 and the Mac Mini M1, so regardless of your computer-style preference, there are discounted options available. Also, Google’s Pixel 4 has dropped to a new low of $379 and Amazon includes a free Samsung SmartTag when you buy the $150 Galaxy Buds 2. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
AirPods Pro
Billy Steele / Engadget
Apple’s AirPods Pro are down to $180, or $70 off their normal price. These remain Apple’s best sounding earbuds and we gave them a score of 87 for their comfortable fit, improved audio, good ANC and wireless charging.
Buy AirPods Pro at Amazon – $180
2021 iPad and iPad mini
Apple
The latest 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad mini just went up for pre-order this week and Walmart has both for a bit less — the base iPad is $299 instead of $329 and the iPad mini is $459 instead of $500. Both tablets have been updated with better processors, a 12MP front camera with support for Center Stage and now a minimum of 64GB of storage.
Buy 2021 iPad at Walmart – $299
Buy 2021 iPad mini at Walmart – $459
iPad Air
Apple’s iPad Air is $100 off right now, bringing it down to $500. All five colors are on sale at Amazon. thanks to automatically applied coupons, although with various shipping times. We gave the Air a score of 90 for its speedy performance and WiFi, healthy battery life and support for the second-gen Apple Pencil.
MacBook Air M1
Apple’s MacBook Air M1 is back down to an all-time low of $850 thanks to an automatically applied coupon. It earned a score of 94 from us for its stellar performance, attractive, fanless design and its comfortable keyboard and trackpad.
Buy MacBook Air M1 at Amazon – $850
Mac Mini M1
Apple’s Mac Mini M1 returned to its all-time-low price of $600 thanks to a sale and an automatically applied coupon. You’re getting all of the performance boosts provided by the M1 chipset in a compact desktop package. This is a good machine to get if you have an older desktop that needs replacing, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money.
Buy Mac Mini M1 at Amazon – $600
Crucial MX500 internal SSD (1TB)
One of our favorite internal drives, the Crucial MX500 SSD, is on sale for $85 right now, or $15 off its normal price. That’s also a record-low, making now a good time to pick up some extra space if you know your machine is reaching its limits. This drive has read speeds of up to 560 MB/s, sequential write speeds of up to 510 MB/s, AES-256 bit hardware encryption and integrated power loss immunity.
Buy Crucial MX500 (1TB) at Amazon – $85
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 bundle
Billy Steele/Engadget
Amazon has a bundle that includes the Galaxy Buds 2 and a SmartTag Bluetooth tracker for $150, so you’re essentially getting the SmartTag for free. The Buds 2 are solid budget earbuds that earned a score of 84 from us for their improved sound quality, adjustable ambient sound mode, comfortable design and wireless charging.
Buy Galaxy Buds 2 + SmartTag bundle at Amazon – $150
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
Chris Velazco / Engadget
Amazon has the Galaxy Note 20 series for up to $400 off right now, so you can grab a Note 20 for $750 and a Note 20 Ultra for $900. These are some of the most premium handsets Samsung has made as of late, and they are good options if you’re not sold on foldables and you like the versatility that the S Pen provides.
Buy Galaxy Note 20 5G at Amazon – $750
Buy Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G at Amazon – $900
Google Pixel 4
is down to a new low of $379 at B&H Photo. We believe the launch of the Pixel 6 to be right around the corner, so you may want to wait if you want the latest phone from Google. However, the Pixel 4 remains a solid handset — its speedy performance, lovely display and stellar camera experience.
Buy Pixel 4 at B&H Photo – $379
Gaming PC sweepstakes
Through September 18, Omaze is giving away another $20,000 to build your ultimate gaming PC. This sweepstakes is free to enter, but funds donated with purchased entries will benefit Schools on Wheels, an organization that provides free tutoring and mentoring services to children experiencing homelessness across Southern California.
Comic-Con 2022 sweepstakes
Through December 8, you can enter to win four-day passes to San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Along with the passes, you’ll get access to a special preview night, reserved seating in Hall H, a personal concierge, a private tour of the Comic-Con Museum, dinner in Balboa Park and tickets to the “Night at the Comic-Con Museum” event. It’s free to enter, but funds from this sweepstakes will go to the San Diego Comic Convention.
New tech deals
Instant Pot Duo Plus
The 8-quart Instant Pot Duo Plus is on sale for $100 thanks to a $20 coupon you can clip on the product page. This multicooker has nine functions including slow cook, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan, sterilizer and more, and its large capacity allows it to make more than enough food for big families or parties.
Buy Instant Pot Duo Plus at Amazon – $100
Dyson Pure Cool Link purifying desk fan
Dyson slashed $100 off its Pure Cool Link DP01 purifying desk fan, bringing it down to $300. This would be a good addition to a home office because it removes 99.97% of pollutants and allergens, oscillates up to 70 degrees, has a Night Mode if you decide to use it in your bedroom while you’re sleeping and it can be controlled with its included remote or via Dyson’s companion app.
Buy Pure Cool Link desk fan at Dyson – $300
HBO Max (6 months)
WarnerMedia pulled HBO Max from Amazon Prime Video Channels this week, but it’s hoping to entice fans to subscribe directly with a new offer. Through September 26, new and returning HBO Max subscribers can get six months of the service for 50 percent off, which comes out to $7.49 per month. You just have to pay for six months up front and you’ll get a great deal on the ad-free service.
Buy HBO Max (6 months) – $7.49/month
ThermoWorks ThermoPop
ThermoWorks knocked 40 percent off its tiny ThermoPop instant-read thermometer, bringing it down to $21. This is a limited-time sale, so we’re not sure how long they’ll be around for this discounted price. The Pop is a budget alternative to ThermoWorks’ more expensive thermometers and we like its cute, splash-proof design, rotating display and speedy temperature reads.
Buy ThermoPop at ThermoWorks – $21
NordVPN
One of our recommended VPNs is running a decent sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up for NordVPN for $99 for the first two years, which comes out to $49.50 per year, and get three additional months of access for free. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.
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