Ars Technica
Our latest weekend edition of the Dealmaster includes a nice price on Apple’s AirPods Pro, as the noise-canceling true wireless earbuds are currently on sale for $190 at various retailers. This isn’t the absolute best price we’ve tracked—the earbuds fell as low as $169 last Black Friday—and while Apple itself sells them for $249, the pair’s average street price on Amazon has hovered closer $200 in recent months.
Still, we’ve only seen them hit this price or lower on a couple of occasions in 2021, making this a good opportunity to pounce if you’ve already had your eye on the pair. Recent reports have said that Apple plans to reveal new base-level AirPods that take after the Pro’s design later this year, with a redesigned set of Pros coming sometime in 2022. For now, though, the AirPods Pro are an aging but still worthwhile set of wireless earbuds, especially if you use an iPhone and prioritize strong active noise cancelation. We’ve recommended them in past gift guides.
Elsewhere, our deals roundup features a Humble Bundle sale that nets you the first six editions of the co-op-friendly Jackbox Party Pack games on PC for about $20 (with some, but not all, of the proceeds going to charity). We’ve also got good prices on Nintendo’s Switch Pro Controller, recommended internal SSDs and external HDDs, the latest iPad Air, and more. You can check out our full curated rundown below.
Table of Contents
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Featured deals of the day
- Apple AirPods Pro true wireless noise-canceling earphones for $189.99 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart (normally $200).
- Jackbox Summer Party Bundle (PC): pay at least $20 for various Jackbox games at Humble (normally $213).
- Nintendo Switch Pro Controller for $59 at Amazon and Walmart (discount seen at checkout—normally $65).
- Beats Studio Buds true wireless noise-canceling earphones for $129.95 at Amazon, Target, and Walmart (normally $150).
- Samsung SSD 980 (1TB) PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe internal SSD for $109.99 at Amazon and Samsung (normally $127).
- WD My Book (4TB) external desktop HDD for $78.76 at Amazon and Walmart (normally $89).
- Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd gen) 5-inch smart display for $54.99 at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy (normally $85).
- Apple iPad Air (64GB, 2020) 10.9-inch tablet for $499.99 at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy (256GB model for $650—normally $545).
- Apple Pencil (2nd gen) stylus for iPad Pro + iPad Air (4th gen) for $99.99 at Amazon, Target and Best Buy (normally $125).
Enlarge / The 2020, M1-equipped Apple Mac mini.
Samuel Axon
Laptop and desktop PC deals
- Apple MacBook Air (2020) laptop—Apple M1, 13.3-inch 2560×1600, 8GB RAM (soldered), 256GB SSD for $899 at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H (normally $960).
- Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (GA401QM-211.ZG14) gaming laptop—AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS, 14-inch 1080p 144 Hz, 16GB DDR4 RAM (8GB soldered + 8GB DIMM), 1TB SSD, GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q 6GB for $1,399.99 at Best Buy (no webcam included, $1,350 with Student Deals—normally $1,550).
- Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop—Intel Core i7-1185G7, 14-inch 4K, 16GB LPDDR4X RAM (soldered), 512GB SSD for $1,349.99 at eBay and Best Buy (normally $1,750).
- Lenovo ThinkPad T14 (2nd gen) laptop—AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U, 14-inch 1080p, 16GB DDR4 RAM (soldered), 512GB SSD for $1,189.50 at Lenovo (use code: THINKBIGDEALS—normally $2,000).
- Lenovo Yoga 6 2-in-1 laptop—AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 13.3-inch 1080p, 16GB DDR4 RAM (soldered), 512GB SSD for $699.99 at Best Buy (normally $900).
- Samsung SSD 980 (1TB) PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe internal SSD for $109.99 at Amazon and Samsung (normally $127).
- WD Blue SN550 (500GB) PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe internal SSD for $54.99 at Amazon (1TB for $200 at Amazon—normally $60).
Enlarge / Luigi’s Mansion 3.
Video game deals
Enlarge / “Champ’d Up” from The Jackbox Party Pack 7.
Enlarge / Unlike developer Housemarque’s earlier games, Returnal cranks up the polish in the form of engaging exploration and much more intricate worlds—and they’re all randomly generated.
Sony Interactive Entertainment / Housemarque
Enlarge / The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
Gaming deals
Enlarge / Dice Forge is a fun “engine-building” game with rounds that last about 45 minutes.
TV and home entertainment deals
- 65-inch LG C1 (2021 model) 4K HDR OLED TV + $200 Amazon credit for $2,096.99 at Amazon (credit usable for future purchases only, use code: 52Q7W5I9BFBJ—normally $2,350).
- 75-inch Hisense U6G (2021 model) 4K HDR LED TV for $999.99 at Best Buy (no HDMI 2.1, VRR—normally $1,250).
- 65-inch Sony X90J (2021 model) 4K HDR LED TV for $1,298 at Amazon and Best Buy (75-inch for $1,848, My Best Buy members only—normally $1,500).
- New subscribers only: Amazon Music Unlimited 3-month membership + Paramount Plus Premium 3-month membership for $1 at Amazon (requires Amazon Prime account—normally $54).
Enlarge / Apple’s AirPods Pro are a convenient and effective totally wireless pair of noise-canceling earbuds.
Electronics deals
- Apple AirPods Pro true wireless noise-canceling earphones for $189.99 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart (normally $200).
- Apple Watch SE (40mm) for $249 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy, and Walmart (normally $269).
- Apple iPad Air (64GB, 2020) 10.9-inch tablet for $499.99 at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy (256GB model for $650—normally $545).
- Beats Studio Buds true wireless noise-canceling earphones for $129.95 at Amazon, Target, and Walmart (normally $150).
- WD My Book (4TB) external desktop HDD for $78.76 at Amazon and Walmart (normally $89).
- SanDisk Extreme (1TB) portable external SSD for $99.99 at Costco (normally $155).
Enlarge / The Beats Studio Buds aren’t as good at noise cancelling as the AirPods Pro, but they’re still a commendable option for those who don’t want to pay as much.
Enlarge / The Amazon Echo Show 5.
Smart home device deals
Enlarge / The second-gen Apple Pencil is designed for iPad Pros or the latest iPad Air.
Accessories and miscellaneous deals
- Apple Magic Keyboard keyboard case for iPad Air (4th gen) and 11-inch iPad Pro + Apple Pencil (2nd gen) stylus for iPad for $300.28 at Verizon (add both items to cart to see discount—normally $420).
- Apple Pencil (2nd gen) stylus for iPad Pro + iPad Air (4th gen) for $99.99 at Amazon, Target and Best Buy (normally $125).
- Apple MagSafe Charger 15W wireless charger for iPhone and AirPods for $29.99 at Woot (normally $34).
- Apple MagSafe Charger 15W wireless charger + Apple Silicone Case with MagSafe for iPhone 12 Mini for $39.97 at Costco (normally $70).
Enlarge / Anker’s PowerPort III Nano (top) delivers at 20W charge to recent iPhones in a highly compact design.
Corey Gaskin
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1786382