Sony’s take-anywhere XB100 speaker is on sale for less than $50

The world of portable speakers is vast and varied — a fact that is immediately apparent if you punch the words “Bluetooth speaker” into Google or Amazon. Thankfully, if you’ve been scouring the web for something affordable that will still sound better than your phone, Sony’s SRS-XB100 speaker is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Sony for as little as $48 ($12 off), its lowest price to date.

Despite its pint-size design, the XB100 manages to dish out crisp, clear sound with a surprising amount of low-end bass. The rugged little speaker offers up to 16 hours of continuous battery life and IP67 dust and water resistance, too, making it as suitable for an outing in the park as a pool party in your own backyard. You can even pair two XB100s together for stereo sound or use a single unit as a speakerphone, something that is seldom the case, even when you pony up for pricier Bluetooth speakers.

Whether you want to admit it, back-to-school season is upon us. Fortunately for us deal hunters, the inevitable return to the classroom also means the return of back-to-school savings at places like Amazon and Best Buy. This year, eBay is also getting in on the action, offering 20 percent off select items through 11:59PM PT on August 6th when you apply offer code SAVE4SCHOOL at checkout.

The Roomba i4 is nearly identical to our favorite budget robot vacuum, the Roomba i3 Evo, save for a longer runtime, which means it still packs smart mapping features, support for virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and a physical spot-cleaning button for those times when you want to clean up a small area on the fly. Both models also come with a two-year warranty from iRobot, just in case buying refurbished tech gives you the slightest bit of pause.