The Xbox Series X is discounted again, plus the rest of the week’s best tech deals
The
holiday
shopping season is reaching the home stretch, but we’re here to help if you’re looking for a good deal on a last-minute tech gift. The
Xbox Series X
, for one, is back on sale at several retailers. Walmart has the game console down to an all-time low of $349, but if stock runs dry there, you can still grab it for $399 at
Microsoft
,
Amazon
and other stores. Beyond that, a four-pack of
Apple’s AirTag
trackers is $19 off, the latest
AirPods Pro
are $50 off and a number of Sonos devices are discounted as part of a
big holiday sale
. We’re also seeing price drops on recommended gaming laptops,
MacBooks
, tablets, microSD cards and more. Here are the best deals from this week that you can still buy today. Just be aware that not everything may ship in time for Christmas.
This bundle pairs Microsoft’s top-end Xbox with a copy of the popular action-RPG
Diablo IV
. Note that
Walmart
has had the console alone for $349, though that deal appears to be going in and out of stock.
The
Xbox Series X
is available for $349 at Walmart at the time of writing, though stock appears to be spotty. If that deal runs out for good, a
bundle that pairs
the beefy game console with the action-RPG
Diablo IV
is down to $399 at Microsoft. That’s $160 less than the usual cost of buying each separately.
Amazon
,
GameStop
and others have the console alone for $399 as well. While the Series X remains a bit light on must-play exclusives, the Xbox library includes a diverse collection of games we like, from blockbusters like
Forza Horizon 5
to quirkier hits like
Hi-Fi Rush
to smaller-scale gems like
Pentiment
. The hardware itself is powerful enough to play games at a steady 4K/60 fps, with
some titles
capable of reaching higher frame rates. Unlike the less powerful Xbox Series S — which
is $60 off
itself — it also includes a disc drive. There’s at least some chance we see a Series X refresh in 2024, but the current machine is an easier sell when it’s discounted to this extent.
This deal matches the Black Friday price for a bundle of Apple’s Bluetooth trackers.
A four-pack of
Apple’s AirTags
is back down to $80 at Amazon,
Walmart
and other retailers. That’s about $9 off its usual street price and $19 less than buying from Apple directly. The AirTag is the “best for iPhones” pick in our Bluetooth tracker buying guide, as its ultra-wideband wireless tech and ability to tap into Apple’s Find My device network make it particularly convenient for locating lost items. Its battery is easily replaceable, too, plus it’s water-resistant. It lacks any built-in adhesive or keyring hole, however, so you’ll need to buy an extra accessory if you want to attach it to an item.
While not an all-time low, this is still a solid discount on Apple’s noise-canceling wireless earphones.
The USB-C version of
Apple’s AirPods Pro
is once again on sale for $200 at Amazon and
Best Buy
. We saw these noise-canceling earphones fall $10 cheaper during Black Friday, but this is still $20 below their average street price and $49 below Apple’s list price. The AirPods Pro continues to offer effective active noise cancellation, pleasingly warm sound and a host of Apple-device-specific conveniences, which is why they’re the “best for iOS” pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds. Note, however, that Apple started selling this model’s
USB-C charging case
on its own earlier this week, so if you’re sitting on a Lightning-based pair and want to make the conversion, you can now do so without having to buy a whole new set.
Amazon says this bonus credit will apply to your account within 24 hours of your purchase, and that it can only be used toward products shipped and sold by Amazon.com.
You can get a $10 Amazon.com credit for no extra cost when you buy a digital
Apple gift card
worth $100 or more. Just use the
code
HOLAPP
at checkout. If you’d rather shop at Target, that retailer is offering a $10 Target gift card alongside
the same purchase
until December 16. As a refresher, you can put an Apple gift card toward services like Apple Music and iCloud, App Store credit and purchases at Apple.com or Apple retail stores. We see promos like this periodically, but any bit of bonus money should be welcome if you often shop at these stores anyway.
This $100 discount comes as part of a
larger sale
on Sonos soundbars, smart speakers and
home theater
gear. Most of the offers will run through December 24.
Sonos is running a
holiday sale
that brings many of its smart speakers, soundbars and home theater devices back to the prices we saw on Black Friday. The flagship
Sonos Arc
soundbar is $180 off at $719, for one, while the mid-range
Sonos Beam
and budget-level
Sonos Ray
are down to $399 and $223, respectively. All three are picks in our soundbar buying guide. Beyond that, the
Sonos Era 100
is $50 off at $199 — with a
two-pack
discounted by $120 — while the larger
Sonos Five
is $110 off at $439. Both of those make our guide to the best smart speakers. Other devices like the
Sonos Sub
,
Sub Mini
and
Roam
are also cheaper than usual.
All Sonos speakers generally provide the same perks: clean sound quality relative to other devices in their price range, easy pairing with other Sonos speakers, uncomplicated setups, AirPlay support and access to various streaming services through the Sonos app. They aren’t cheap, and their connectivity can be limited, but they should suit most people looking to build a multi-room audio system. Just note that new Arc, Roam and other devices could arrive in 2024, according to a recent
Bloomberg
report
.
This is only $5 more than the all-time low for Amazon’s 8-inch tablet.
The
Amazon Fire HD 8
tablet is back on sale for $60, which is $5 more than its all-time low but $40 off Amazon’s list price. That price applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you want more space (and don’t have a microSD card), the
64GB model
is available for a low of $70. The Fire HD 8 is far from an iPad in terms of performance and app support, but it may be the cheapest competent tablet for most people. It’s light, it lasts 10 or so hours on a charge and it’s quick enough for basic web browsing and video streaming. Amazon’s Fire OS still includes lock screen ads and heavily pushes the company’s own services, but it’s hard to do better at this price.
The 10.1-inch
Fire HD 10
is also $50 off and down to $90, which is a $10 more than its Black Friday price. That one has the same software issues, but it’s faster than the Fire HD 8 and features a sharper 1080p display.
This ties the lowest price to date for Google’s versatile 11-inch tablet.
If you’d prefer a more premium Android slate, the
Google Pixel Tablet
is discounted to $399 at Amazon,
Best Buy
and others. We’ve seen this deal pop up a few times over the last month, but it matches the lowest price we’ve tracked. The Pixel Tablet earned a score of 85 in our review earlier this year. It’s a perfectly solid 11-inch tablet in its own right, but what sets it apart is its included charging speaker dock. Pop the tablet onto that and it’ll function like a pseudo-smart display. It’s not the exact same as a Nest Hub Max, but you can use it to control smart home devices, stream music, display photos and the like. This discounted model includes 128GB of storage, but the
256GB version
is also $100 off and available for $499.
This matches the all-time low for our favorite smart strip light for most people.
A 6.56-foot strip of the
Govee LED Strip Light M1
is on sale for $40, which matches the lowest price we’ve seen. Normally, it retails around $60. We recommend the Strip Light M1 in our smart lights buying guide. It’s simple to set up and delivers impressively bright colors to any area of the house where you’d like to add ambient lighting. You can apply different effects to separate parts of the strip through Govee’s app, plus it’s compatible with the Matter smart home standard. It can be an eyesore when it’s not lit up, however, so you may not want to stick it out in the open.
This is within a dollar of the best price we’ve seen for this recommended microSD card.
The 256GB version of
Samsung’s Evo Select
microSD card is still on sale for $15, which is within 60 cents of the lowest price we’ve seen. Normally, it retails around $18. The Evo Select is the “best value” recommendation in our microSD card buying guide: It’s not as fast as our top picks, but it’s quick enough for most tasks — expanding a Nintendo Switch’s storage, for instance — and it provides a better cost-per-gigabyte ratio than most cards.
If you’re looking to stock up on a few new PC games, the Epic Games Store has kicked off its latest
Holiday Sale
. The key here is the
Epic Coupon
, which takes 33 percent off most games in the store as long as your cart totals $14.99 or more. The coupon will renew after each use, and you can apply it to games that are already discounted as part of the sale. This brings several new-ish titles down to the lowest prices we’ve tracked: The
acclaimed
survival horror game
Alan Wake 2
is down to $27 with the coupon, for instance, while the shooter
Remnant II
and the action game
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
can be had for lows of $20 and $23, respectively. Others like
The Last of Us Part I
,
Red Dead Redemption 2
and
Mortal Kombat 1
are also down to all-time lows. Epic says the sale will run until January 10.
This matches the lowest price to date for Apple’s highest-end smartwatch.
A version of the
Apple Watch Ultra 2
with a small Olive Alpine Loop is available for $699 at Amazon with a clippable coupon. That ties the lowest price we’ve tracked and takes $100 off Apple’s MSRP. The
Apple Watch Ultra
2 puts all the software benefits of the Series 9 in a more rugged design with a bigger and brighter display, twice the rated battery life and a customizable “Action Button” that you can use to quickly start a task. It also offers better waterproofing, more accurate GPS, a depth sensor and a loud siren for emergency SOS purposes. It is entirely too much smartwatch for most people, but this price makes it a little more appealing for endurance athletes with money to burn.
This version of the 15-inch MacBook Air includes 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You should only take the plunge if you need a new laptop right now, though, as Apple will reportedly release updated models early next year.
A variant of the
15.3-inch MacBook Air
with an Apple M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is available for $1,449 at Amazon and
Best Buy
. That’s $250 off Apple’s list price and the best price we’ve seen outside of a couple of special offers for My Best Buy Plus members. We gave the 15-inch Air a review score of 96 in June and currently recommend it in our laptop buying guide. The M2 chip remains plenty fast for everyday tasks, and the chassis is still supremely well-built, with a crisp display, comfortable keyboard, reliable touchpad, long-lasting battery and lively speakers.
We recommend starting with 16GB of memory, but if you really need to save cash, configs of the 13- and 15-inch Air with less RAM and storage are
also $200 to $250 off
. You should only buy this if you need a new laptop right now, though; according to
a report
from reliable
Bloomberg
reporter Mark Gurman, Apple plans to roll out updated MacBook Airs with its new M3 chip in a few months, potentially in March.
This is the best price we’ve seen for the top pick in our gaming laptop buying guide.
Best Buy has a configuration of the
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14
with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU on sale for $1,100. That’s the lowest price we’ve tracked and $100 less than the deal we saw on Black Friday. This model also includes a 14-inch display with a 1440p resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. The ROG Zephyrus G14 is the top pick in our guide to the best gaming laptops: This config is plenty capable for playing modern AAA games but, at 3.6 pounds, it’s not a complete anchor to carry around. A solid keyboard and trackpad help, too, though the 720p webcam could be sharper and there’s a good bit of bloatware installed by default. The 512GB SSD isn’t especially large either, though you can upgrade the storage if needed.
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