Microsoft is ushering in the spring season with a new sale that discounts Surface devices, Xbox games, accessories and more through April 21st. A bunch of Surface gadgets are hundreds of dollars off right now, including the new Surface Pro X that’s down to $700 for the base model, but you’ll find an even better deal on the Surface Laptop Go. The entry-level Windows notebook is up to $200 off, so you can grab the model with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $700. The base configuration is $150 off, too, bringing it down to $400.
While you can spend $700 and get either the Surface Pro X or the Laptop Go, we think the latter is the better option. The Surface Pro X is a gorgeous machine, but we found that buggy software held the 2-in-1 back from being truly great. While the Laptop Go has its compromises, it makes a great basic notebook thanks to its stellar hardware and speedy performance. Coming in at 2.45 pounds, the Laptop Go is lighter than its predecessor and looks sharp with its anodized aluminum top portion. Its 12.4-inch touchscreen gives you just enough room to multitask easily and its 3:2 aspect ratio makes it better for reading long articles and documents.
All of the Surface Laptop Go configurations run on Core i5 processors, which means you’ll get solid CPU performance regardless of the one you pick. We recommend opting for a model with 8GB of RAM because it’ll serve you better over time than a measly 4GB will. As far as other features go, you’re getting a 720p webcam, a fingerprint-toting power button, one USB-C port and one USB-A port on the Laptop Go. Microsoft didn’t pack this machine with a lot of extra perks because it’s designed to be an affordable Surface option — just good enough to give those with basic needs a solid laptop experience, and it does deliver on that.
We saw both the AirPods Pro and the second-generation AirPods drop to near record-low prices last week, and now the third-generation AirPods have followed suit. Apple’s latest version of its popular wireless earbuds are down to $150 right now, or $30 off their normal rate and only $10 more than their all-time-low price. We last saw them at this price at the end of March, so now’s a good time to grab them if you missed the previous sale.
Apple made a lot of improvements to these AirPods — most notably, giving them a total redesign that makes them fit better than the second-generation wireless buds. They still don’t quite match the AirPods Pro when it comes to fitting into different ear shapes, but they’re much better than the classic AirPods. Apple also dramatically improved the audio quality on these buds by pairing a custom driver with a high-dynamic-range amplifier. You’ll get crisp highs and a rich, consistent bass out of these buds, and if you’re upgrading from a pair of second-gen buds, you’ll immediately notice the difference in sound quality from the moment you put the new AirPods in your ears.
On top of that, the latest AirPods support Adaptive EQ, spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, plus they have a longer battery life, too. You’ll get up to six hours of listening time before they need a recharge, and when use with their MagSafe case, you’ll get up to 30 hours of total use. And as with other Apple earbuds, this model has the H1 chip inside, which enables convenient features like hands-free Siri access and quick pairing and switching between Apple devices. Overall, these are a solid pair of wireless earbuds that will be a good first pair for iPhone users who have yet to pick one up, or a great upgrade for those running their existing buds into the ground.
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A smart thermostat can help you save on energy costs while also letting you conveniently control your home’s environment from anywhere. Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat has a few extra perks that make it a great option for smart home enthusiasts, and now it’s on sale for $50 less than usual. You can pick up the IoT device for $200 right now across the web, which, while not its record low, is close to it and a solid sale price.
The Energy Star-certified Learning Thermostat helps you save energy by learning your preferences and building a schedule around your routines. After using the device for a little while, it’ll learn when you like to keep your home cool and warm, automatically adjusting the temperature when necessary. It can also use sensors in your smartphone to know when you’ve left the house, automatically turning temperatures down to conserve energy. And if you like to have more control over your home’s environment, you can use the Nest app to set temperature schedules, adjust the thermostat remotely and more.
While the standard Nest Thermostat is better for those with tight budgets, the Learning Thermostat gives you a few extra perks that may be worth splurging for. The higher-end model works with Nest Temperature Sensors, so you can adjust settings on a per-room basis. It also looks a lot sleeker than the standard smart thermostat thanks to its metal details, included trim plate and high-res display. The latter also shows more information than the mirrored display on the standard device, including the date, local weather and more.
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It was a great week for Apple lovers as many of the company’s most popular gadgets went on sale. Amazon discounted both the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Apple Watch SE to near record-low prices, plus the AirPods Pro are back on sale for $174. Also, you can save hundreds on 2021 LG OLED smart TVs and pick up one of many Eufy robot vacuums at a discount. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Apple Watch Series 7
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Many color options of the 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $330, or $70 off their normal price. If you want the larger model, you can pick up the 45mm version for $360. We gave the wearable a score of 90 for its bigger screen, faster charging and handy watchOS 8 features.
Apple’s AirPods Pro are back on sale for $174, which is 30 percent off their normal price. We gave the company’s best sounding earbuds a score of 87 for their improved fit, good sound quality and strong ANC.
The original AirPods are 38 percent off and down to only $99. That’s not their all-time-low price, but it’s close to it. We gave them a score of 84 when they first came out for their improved wireless performance, wireless charging capabilities (if you have the right case) and solid battery life.
The more affordable Apple Watch SE is cheaper than usual right now and down to $229. It’s a parred-down version of the Series 7, but it supports all of the standard features you’d expect from an Apple Watch including onboard GPS, Apple Pay, daily activity and workout tracking and more.
The space gray, 256GB iPad is down to a record low of $429. We gave the updated tablet a score of 86 for its improved performance, excellent battery life and Center Stage-capable front cameras.
All of LG’s 2021 C1 OLED smart TVs are on sale right now, with most of them down to all-time-low prices. You can pick one up for less than $1,000, but the best deal of the bunch is on the 65-inch model, which is 32 percent of and down to $1,697. And if you go for that one, you can also save $150 on LG’s SP9YA soundbar if you’re looking to upgrade your sound system along with your TV.
If you buy the Beats Fit Pro earbuds from Amazon, you’ll get a free $25 gift card to use on future purchases. We gave these buds a score of 87 for their comfortable fit, punchy bass and solid ANC.
Amazon knocked $70 off Anker’s budget-friendly Eufy RoboVac 11S, bringing it down to $160. This is a solid option if you want a robot vacuum without dropping too much money. While this model doesn’t have WiFi, you can use the included remote to set schedules and change cleaning modes.
Nintendo’s $50 eShop gift card is $5 cheaper than usual on Amazon, so you can get it for $45. It’s a good card to pick up if you have a bunch of Switch games on your wish list and plan on stocking up soon.
B&H Photo has a bundle that includes the second-generation Nest Hub and the wired Nest Cam for $150, which is $50 less than usual. These two devices are designed to work together, with the Nest Hub showing you the feed from the Nest Cam, which you can position anywhere around your home.
You can pick up the August WiFi smart lock for $40 less than usual when you use the code EGDTLOCK when checking out at Wellbots. The IoT device earned a score of 80 from us for its easy installation process, WiFi connectivity and extra security with required two-factor authentication.
Native Instrument’s latest sale knocks up to $200 off its Maschine hardware and throws in some free expansions on top of that. The best deal is on the Maschine+, which is $200 off and down to $1,199. And if you’re an existing customer, you might qualify for a bigger discount. You’ll find that out once you log in.
Beats’ Studio Buds are back on sale for $120, which isn’t an all-time low, but is only $20 more than that. We gave the true wireless earbuds a score of 84 for their balanced sound, comfortable design and quick pairing on both Android and iOS.
All of Zwift’s cycling gear is 25 percent off right now, including the Wahoo Kickr smart power trainer, which is down to $900. The Tacx Neo Bike is down to $2,400 in this sale, and you can pick up Wahoo’s heart rate arm band for only $60.
PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox is 32 percent off and down to only $26. It’s a good option if you want another controller for your console but don’t want to pay the premium attached to the first-party options. This one has a familiar, ergonomic design, dual rumble motors and mappable buttons.
Xbox Stereo Headset 20th Anniversary Special Edition
You can pick up this special edition Xbox headset for $50, which is 29 percent off its normal price and a record low. This is a wired headset that has green accents and support for Windows Sonic spatial sound.
Spring cleaning has a way of sneaking up on us all, but luckily you can outsource the vacuuming portion of your chores to a semi-autonomous robot. Anker’s Eufy brand has a number of solid robot vacuums at various prices, and many of them have been discounted on Amazon. Key among them is the Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S, which is $70 off and down to $160. This model earned a spot in our budget robot vacuum guide thanks to its slim frame and solid cleaning chops.
The most important thing to know about the RoboVac 11S is that it does not have WiFi connectivity. That means you won’t be able to control it from your phone, but it does come with a physical remote that lets you do things like set cleaning schedules and up the suction power using BoostIQ or Max modes. It cleans both hard and carpeted floors well and has pretty decent collision avoidance. Most robot vacuums will bump into furniture every now and then, and the 11S is no different, but it’s better at avoiding obstacles than many others at this price range. It’s also less than three inches high, so it may be able to slip under some of your furniture to clean hard-to-reach spots. It’s hard to beat a robot vacuum for $160, so if you can live without WiFi features, the 11S is a solid option.
In addition to the RoboVac 11S, there are a number of other Eufy robot vacuums on sale right now. The RoboVac G30 is essentially an updated version of the 11S with more suction power and WiFi connectivity, and it’s $90 cheaper than usual and down to $230. Another one of our favorites, the RoboVac X8 Hybrid, is down to $530 thanks to a clippable $120 coupon on its product page. It held its own against premium Shark and iRobot devices, earning a spot in our best robot vacuums guide. Despite not having a self-cleaning base, the X8 Hybrid impressed us with its easy setup, strong cleaning abilities, accurate home mapping and its 250-milliliter water tank than you can fill to turn the vacuum into a smart mop.
August’s WiFi smart lock is a good one if you want an easy to use device to expand your smart home. Now you can get $40 off the smart home gadget at Wellbots by using the code EGDTLOCK at checkout. That’ll bring the WiFi smart lock down to $189 — while not the all-time-low price we saw during the holiday shopping season last year, it’s the best price we’ve seen on the gadget in 2022.
We gave the smart lock a score of 80 when we reviewed it in 2020. The 4th-generation device is smaller than the previous model and, thanks to its WiFi connectivity, doesn’t require a bridge to work. August’s mobile app uses videos to guide you through installation and we recommending checking the company’s support page before buying to make sure that the gadget will work with your door. Overall, the installation process is quite easy and we like that August requires you to turn on two-factor authentication as part of it. It’s an extra layer of security that’s truly necessary for smart devices like these. And on top of that, the lock supports Bluetooth encryption as well as AES 128-bit and TLS encryption.
After setting up the smart lock, you can control it from anywhere using your phone. You can remotely unlock or lock your door whenever you want, controlling who can get into your home and when. You can also send limited-time keys to friends and family so they can get in when necessary, plus the Auto-Lock feature will automatically secure the door when the device detects its been shut. And your old-school keys aren’t suddenly useless now either — you can still use them with August’s device to lock and unlock your door. That’ll come in handy if you forget to replace the gadget’s dual CR123 batteries before they run out.
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Apple’s base iPad isn’t for early adopters or those looking to replace their laptop with a more svelte solution. Instead, it’s the iPad for those who just want a more than capable tablet at a relatively affordable price. And if you’ve been eyeing the model with extra storage, you have an opportunity to grab it for $50 less than usual. The 256GB iPad is back down to its record-low price of $429 at Amazon right now. Currently, only the space gray WiFi model is this low, but if you absolutely must have silver, you can get that one for $450, or $30 off its usual price.
The 2021 tablet has a few key differences from the previous model. First and foremost, Apple upgraded the processor inside to the A13 Bionic chip, which provides a boost in performance and an overall smooth experience. We didn’t experience any slowdowns or hiccups when using the iPad for things like web browsing, watching videos, messaging, playing games and drawing with the first-gen Apple Pencil. For most people, the A13 Bionic chip is more than powerful enough to handle all of the things you could throw at this iPad.
Apple also updated the base storage and the front-facing cameras on the new iPad. The base model has 64GB of storage now, but with these models on sale, you’re getting the maximum amount possible: 256GB. That will come in handy if you plan on storing a lot of photos or documents on the iPad, or you just have a lot of apps and games you want to keep on the device at all times. The new front-facing camera now supports Center Stage, which is Apple’s new feature that keeps you in the center of the frame during FaceTime video calls. It’s a neat feature that comes in handy if you move around a lot when you’re chatting with friends and family.
Otherwise, the 2021 iPad is much the same as the previous model, with features like a 10.2-inch touchscreen, a physical Home button with TouchID, chunkier bezels, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a Lightning port for charging. If you have the previous iPad, you may not feel the need to upgrade considering the minor changes made to the 2021 version. But if you don’t have an iPad or are looking for a solid tablet at a decent price, this iPad is worth considering.
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Upgrading to an OLED TV will make a big difference in your living room setup, but the best displays out there don’t come cheap. However, Amazon has slashes the prices of LG’s 2021 C1 OLED lineup, bringing most of them down to new record lows. The cheapest of the bunch, the 48-inch model, is down to $997, which is about $50 cheaper than its previous record-low price. But you’ll get the best deal on the 65-inch TV, which is 32 percent off and down to $1,697. And if you go for that model, you can also save $150 on LG’s SP9YA soundbar if you’re looking to upgrade your sound system along with your TV.
The mid-tier C1 sets have been quite popular since they give you all of the features you expect in an OLED set along with extra gaming perks, all at a decent price point. As with any OLED TV, you’re getting deep blacks and more accurate colors than standard sets, and the C1 models support 120Hz refresh rates and run on LG’s a9 Gen4 AI Processor 4K. LG’s smart TV interface gives you access to all of the top streaming platforms, including Netflix and Apple TV+, and it supports voice commands from both Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Along with the high refresh rate, the C1 sets have HDMI 2.1, support for G-Sync and FreeSync and are capable of a 1ms response time. Those features make these TVs excel when it comes to console gaming, and LG lets you control all of those relevant settings in its Game Optimizer menu.
It’s worth mentioning that LG’s 2022 OLED sets are available now, too, including the updated C2 lineup. The company made a few changes in this year’s sets, upgrading the processor to its a9 Gen5 chip, adding new features to Game Optimizer and reducing response times even further. However, the C2 TVs start at nearly $1,500, so if you’re willing to skip out on the latest improvements, you can get last year’s models at much better prices. Same goes for LG’s G1 “Gallery” series right now — while the 2022 G2 family is available starting at a whopping $3,200, most 2021 models have been discounted and the 65-inch G1 is down to a new all-time low of $1,997.
While many of this week’s deals only lasted for a limited time, some of them are still available. Apple’s new iPad Air is $29 off and down to $570, while the iPad mini is $40 cheaper than usual and down to $459. Amazon’s much-improved Echo Buds are 58 percent off and down to only $50, and you can still grab 8BitDo’s Pro 2 controller for just over $40. Here are the best tech deals this week that you can still get today.
iPad Air (2022)
The latest iPad Air is $30 off right now, bringing the 64GB model down to $570 and the 256GB version down to $720. The new M1-powered iPad earned a score of 90 from us for its super-fast performance, long battery life and improved front camera.
Apple’s latest iPad mini is on sale for $459, which is $40 off its normal price. We gave the small tablet a score of 89 for its lovely display, refined design and excellent battery life.
Amazon’s latest Echo Buds are a whopping 58 percent off, bringing them down to only $50. These were already solid, affordable earbuds at their regular $120 price, but they’re an even better option at this price. We gave them a score of 80 for their improved sound quality, good ANC and smaller size.
8BitDo’s excellent Pro 2 controller is 15 percent off and down to $42.50. In addition to being compatible with Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Android and Raspberry Pi, the Pro 2 has a familiar layout plus two back buttons, and all of its inputs are customizable using the companion apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. The Pro 2 is included in a wider gaming accessories sale on Amazon, which includes other peripherals like the Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma controller for $127.50.
The Bose QC45 headphones are on sale for $279, which is their all-time-low price that we saw last Black Friday. We gave the cans a score of 86 for their excellent sound quality, strong ANC and comfortable fit.
Amazon has knocked $100 off Samsung’s Galaxy S22 smartphone, bringing the handset down to $700 for the 128GB model and $750 for the 256GB version. We gave the flagship phone a score of 87 for its slick design, strong performance and excellent camera array.
The T7 Touch portable SSD in 1TB is on sale for $140 right now. This palm-sized drive works with most devices thanks to the duo of cables it comes with, and it supports 1,050 MB/s read speeds, 1,000 MB/s write speeds, AES 256-bit encryption and Dynamic Thermal Guard.
Xbox Stereo Headset 20th Anniversary Special Edition
You can pick up this special edition Xbox headset for $50, which is 29 percent off its normal price and a record low. This is a wired headset that has green accents and support for Windows Sonic spatial sound.
PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox is 32 percent off and down to only $26. It’s a good option if you want another controller for your console but don’t want to pay the premium attached to the first-party options. This one has a familiar, ergonomic design, dual rumble motors and mappable buttons.
Samsung’s 65-inch The Frame smart TV is $300 less than usual on Amazon right now, so you can grab it for $1,500. In addition to Quantum Dot technology and built-in Alexa, The Frame series has Art Mode, which shows artwork on the screen when you’re not watching TV.
Both Samsung and other retailers have offered a few ways to save when picking up one of the latest Galaxy smartphones, including offering a discount on higher storage models during the pre-order window. But Amazon’s back now with a new discount — $100 off the Samsung Galaxy S22, bringing the 128GB model down to $700. The same discount applies to the 256GB versions, which are on sale for $750.
While the Galaxy S22 isn’t a huge departure from last year’s flagship phones, Samsung made some useful changes and welcomed upgrades this year. The handset’s design remains attractive and now has Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus+ for added protection against drops and scratches. The S22 sports a lovely 6.1-inch 2,340 x 1,080 resolution touchscreen with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint reader, too. The panel is impressive, reaching up to 1,300 nits of brightness, and the new Vision Booster feature automatically ups things like color saturation and contrast depending on your environment. Plus, the fingerprint reader is really fast, so you’ll never have to wait long for the device to unlock.
The S22’s triple rear camera array takes sharp photos and much-improved images in low-light conditions. Even though we think Samsung’s new Adaptive Pixel feature, which uses multi-frame image capture to combine high-quality pics with lower-res pixel-binned shots to create a final composite image, is a bit overhyped, the S22 still has some of the best cameras you can get on a smartphone at this price.
General performance is stellar as well thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip inside the handset. You’re also getting 5G support and a decent battery life. In our testing, the Galaxy S22 lasted just under 15 hours (if battery life is your biggest concern, you’re better off going for the S22+, which lasted about 2.5 hours longer). Overall, if you’re looking to upgrade to a new Android phone, the Galaxy S22 is one of the best out there right now — and it’s even better at this sale price.
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