The best Fourth of July tech deals we’ve seen so far

4 Luglio 2019 News, Rassegna Stampa

July Fourth is upon us. It’s a celebration of US independence, and if you’re like me, you’ll be spending it with family, eating lots of grilled food and staying up to watch the fireworks light up the sky at night.

Like most US holidays, this is also an opportunity to get a good deal on tech, too. Several retailers have shared a few of their July Fourth promos with us, and you’ll find what we think are the best ones below. We anticipate that even more will be popping up throughout the week, so keep it locked to this post to see new deals as we find them.

TV / home theater

Vizio’s 2019 lineup of AirPlay 2-compatible TVs is discounted at several retailers. Starting with the high-end option, its 65-inch P-Series Quantum X TV (model PX65-G1) now starts at $1,799 (usually $2,199) at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. This TV has 384 local dimming zones, which will help it achieve dark, inky blacks similar to an OLED panel. However, its 3,000 nits peak brightness is much brighter than most modern OLEDs.

Speaking of OLEDs, LG’s 55-inch B8 OLED 4K HDR TV is down to $999.99, its lowest price (by a wide margin) at Amazon and Best Buy. This model regularly sold for around $1,500, so this is a heck of a sale price if you want a TV with deep blacks and unparalleled color accuracy.

If you want something that’s a little cheaper, the 65-inch M-Series TV (model M658-G1) is $150 off of its usual price at Best Buy and Vizio’s site. This model utilizes quantum dot technology for better HDR, a feature that trickled down from Vizio’s previous generation of P-Series Quantum TVs. It has 600 nits of peak brightness and 90 local dimming zones.

Amazon’s Fire TV Recast (500GB) over-the-air DVR streaming box with Fire devices is $129.99 for Prime members. It’s usually $229.99, though Amazon is discounting it as a Prime Day 2019 teaser deal. In our review, The Verge’s Chris Welch claims that the Fire TV Recast will be “a big part of Amazon’s streaming future.” If you want to double the storage size, the 1TB model is $179.99 for Prime members.

The 65-inch Sony XBR-65X950G 4K HDR TV is $1,699 at Daily Steals. This is $200 lower than Amazon’s current price. Sony’s LED TV is nearly bezel-free, and it runs on Android TV software, so you can access popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, and more without buying a streaming box. Additionally, this TV will gain AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support this summer.

The LG SK8 soundbar kit with Dolby Atmos support is $439.99 at Daily Steals. Included with this bundle comes the soundbar and wireless subwoofer, as well as two rear LG SPK8-S satellite speakers. This kit currently costs $538.99 at Amazon. You can take advantage of the encapsulating Atmos effect with the Apple TV 4K streaming box, as well as Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Cube, to name a few options.

Tablets

Apple’s latest iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi) is ~~$399~~ $409 at Rakuten when you use the offer code SAVE15 at checkout. This is the best price that we’ve seen for this tablet by a $60 margin. Note that you’ll need to create a free Rakuten account to redeem this deal.

You’ll also find the latest iPad mini at Rakuten for far less than its usual price. The 64GB tablet sells for $399 at most retailers, but it costs $318.74 (before tax) with the offer code SAVE15 at checkout.

Phones

The iPhone SE is getting older, though it made the cut this year for iOS 13 support. If you’re alright with a phone that might not get support for next year’s software, this phone (which has 128GB of onboard storage, and supports CDMA and GSM carriers) is $242 at Rakuten when you use the offer code SAVE15 at checkout. This is roughly the same price that Apple sold it for when it offered the SE on clearance a few months ago.

Sony’s new flagship Android phone, the Xperia 1, will release on July 12th. But, if you preorder the $949.99 phone before then, you’ll receive Sony’s 1000X M3 wireless noise-canceling headphones free with the purchase. These are currently the best wireless headphones that you can buy. Their impressive sound quality, cozy fit, and good battery life put them above the competition.

This is, by no means, the most affordable way to get these excellent headphones (we’ve included another deal below), though, it’s a great deal if you were already going to buy the phone. You can preorder at Best Buy (add both the phone and headphones to your cart to see the discount), B&H Photo, and Focus Camera.

Smart home devices

Rakuten is where you’ll find the best deal on a Google Nest Hub (formerly the Home Hub, seen above) smart display. It’s currently $61 (plus the cost of tax) when you apply the offer code ALT10 at checkout. The offer code SAVE15 will work as well, but I’d pocket that offer code to use on a different product, like the iPad Air, iPad mini, or iPhone SE above. If you miss out on this sale, it’s $79 at the Google Store, B&H Photo, Walmart, and Best Buy until July 17th.

Google’s Home Max is $249, down from $299 at the Google Store, B&H Photo, Walmart, and Best Buy. Tink is currently offering the best deal, pairing the $249 Home Max (tax-free in most US states) with a free Home Mini smart speaker. The Home Max is loud, powerful, and just as capable at handling your Google Assistant queries as other Home speakers.

The Apple HomePod is $249.99 at Best Buy. It’s usually $299.99, and it might be the best smart speaker for you if you use an iPhone. You can issue commands to Siri with your voice, and the iOS 13 update will give the HomePod the ability to recognize different voices.

Over at Dell’s Black Friday in July event, it’s selling the Ultimate Ears Blast speaker for $69.99. Best Buy is selling it for $10 more, if Dell sells out. Compared to Ultimate Ears’ Boom speakers, this one has Wi-Fi connectivity and far-field microphones, making it a water-resistant Amazon Echo alternative that has 360-degree sound.

Headphones

Jabra’s Elite 65t true wireless headphones are $114.99 at eBay. They’re refurbished by Jabra and are in like-new condition, and Jabra covers them with a 180-day warranty. This matches the best deal that we’ve seen for these headphones, which are the best true wireless option for people who don’t want AirPods. These may make a Prime Day 2019 appearance, though this is a good deal if you don’t want to risk it.

Sony’s 1000X M3 wireless noise-canceling headphones are down to $299.99 (usually $349.99) at Best Buy, ($298 at Amazon and B&H Photo). These made an appearance above, included with Xperia 1 phone preorders, but this is a good deal if you aren’t interested in the phone. These are currently the very best wireless headphones that you can buy, packing both excellent sound quality, and a noise-canceling effect that’s better at cutting out distractions than the competition.

Gaming

Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games’ latest acclaimed open-world title, is ~~$29.99~~ $34.99 at Best Buy for both the PS4 and Xbox One. ~~This is the first that we’ve seen the price go below $30, and~~ since Red Dead Online is improving, now is a good time to pick this one up.

And more

I’ve name-dropped Rakuten a few times, but it’s worth mentioning again that its site-wide sale isn’t limited to a handful of products. You can use its SAVE15 offer code to take 15 percent off of most products (capped at a maximum savings of $60), be it one of the products we’ve mentioned above, or a PS4 Pro console, to name another example. However, note that it’s only good for a single use per account.

Amazon Prime Day 2019 is coming up soon, starting on July 15th. Some of the deals mentioned in this post will carry on through Amazon’s shopping holiday, though expect to see many more promotions pop up as we get a little bit closer to mid-July, especially on Amazon-made devices. If you think that you’ll want to get in on those deals, a 30-day trial to Prime will cover you through Prime Day, which ends July 16th.

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2019/7/2/20677268/july-4th-best-top-tech-deals-sales-discounts-us-phones-tablets-tvs-headphones-google-amazon