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This week's best deals: AirPods for only $100, plus more early Black Friday sales
The Apple Watch SE is also at a new all-time low.
The holiday shopping season is in full swing — and yes, we know it’s only early November. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy have already kicked off the first rounds of their big sale events, and there will be more to come in the lead-up to Black Friday. This week, we saw AirPods drop to a new all-time low; a great price for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3; and a bunch of worthwhile deals at Walmart for Instant Pots, robot vacuums and more. Here are the best deals from this week that you can still get today.
Apple AirPods
Now’s the time to grab Apple’s classic AirPods for someone on your list, or for yourself. This $100 sale price is the best we’ve seen, and it represents a discount of $60 off the normal price. We gave the AirPods a score of 84 for their improved wireless performance and solid battery life.
Buy AirPods at Amazon - $100 Buy AirPods at Walmart - $99 Buy AirPods at Sam’s Club - $100 Buy AirPods at Costco - $100
Apple Watch SE
Target and Amazon are having a great sale on the new Apple Watch SE, dropping it down to $230. That’s $50 off its normal price and the best we’ve seen since launch day. We gave the SE a score of 88 for its responsive performance, easy-to-use OS and generally comfortable design. It’s arguably the best Apple Watch for those who have never had a smartwatch before, and certainly for those with tight budgets.
Buy Apple Watch SE at Amazon - $230 Buy Apple Watch SE at Target - $230
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3, one of the best Android alternatives to the Apple Watch, is $60 off at Amazon and Samsung.com, bringing the price down to $340. That’s an all-time low for the smartwatch, which just came out in August. If you’re an Android user, this is one of the best watches you can get — even better than Google’s own WearOS devices. If you want something a bit leaner and sportier, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is on sale for $180 as well.
Buy Galaxy Watch 3 at Samsung - $340 Buy Galaxy Watch 3 at Amazon - $340
Buy Watch Active 2 at Samsung - $180 Buy Watch Active 2 at Amazon - $180
Amazon Fire HD 8 and 10
Amazon’s brought back Prime Day prices on its Fire HD tablets — but now anyone can take advantage of them, not just Prime members. The Fire HD 8 is down to $55 and the Fire HD 10 is listed at $80, both all-time-low prices. The Kids versions of both tablets are also on sale, and those include a protective case, a two-year warranty and one year of Amazon Kids+.
Buy Fire HD 8 at Amazon - $55 Buy Fire HD 10 at Amazon - $80
Buy Fire HD 8 Kids at Amazon - $80 Buy Fire HD 10 Kids at Amazon - $130
Sony WH-1000XM4
Our favorite pair of wireless ANC headphones is $72 off its normal price right now. You can pick up Sony’s WH-1000XM4s for $278 at Amazon and a couple of other retailers. This is the same sale price we saw last week during Best Buy’s first Black Friday sale, but that deal only lasted a few days. We gave the XM4s a score of 94 for their powerful ANC, great sound quality and multi-device connectivity.
Buy WH-1000XM4 at Amazon - $278 Buy WH-1000XM4 at Target - $278 Buy WH-1000XM4 bundle at Adorama - $278
Lenovo Smart Clocks
Both of Lenovo’s popular Smart Clocks are on sale. The new Smart Clock Essential is half off, bringing it to $24, while the original Smart Clock is more than 50 percent off, bringing it down to $34. These are solid smart speakers to get if you prefer the Google Assistant and want a device that acts as both a music maker and an alarm clock.
Buy Smart Clock Essential at Walmart - $24 Buy Smart Clock Essential at B&H - $25
Buy Smart Clock at Walmart - $34 Buy Smart Clock at B&H - $35
Instant Pots
Yes, you have a couple Instant Pot sales to choose from this time around. The 6-quart Instant Pot Viva has dropped to $49, making this an even better deal than we saw on Amazon Prime Day since you’re getting greater capacity for the money. But if you have your heart set on getting an air fryer this year, you could get the Instant Pot Duo Crisp instead, which includes an air-fry lid.
Buy Instant Pot Viva at Walmart - $49 Buy Instant Pot Duo Crisp at Walmart - $79
iRobot Roomba i7+
You can still get $100 off the high-end Roomba i7+ and i7 robot vacuums at Wellbots. That brings both devices down to their lowest prices ever. The kicker for the Roomba i7+ is the included Clean Base, which is essentially a garbage-like attachment on the robot’s home base. It’ll empty dirt and debris into the Clean Base so you don’t have to empty the bin after every job.
Buy Roomba i7+ at Wellbots - $699 Buy Roomba i7 at Wellbots - $499
iRobot Roomba 670
If the i7 series is a bit too much for you, iRobot’s Roomba 670 might do the trick instead — and it’s only $177 right now. It’s a simpler version of the higher-end Roombas, but it has all of the features you’d expect out of a robot vacuum including automatic docking, voice assistant support and companion app that you can control the device with.
Buy Roomba 670 at Walmart - $177
Eufy RoboVac 25C
If you’re looking to spend only $100 on a robot vacuum, Anker’s Eufy RoboVac 25C is a solid option. It’s a Wi-Fi connected robot that can run for 100 minutes before returning to its home base and recharging. It’ll work nicely on carpets and hard floors, and you can control it via its companion app or with voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant.
Buy RoboVac 25C at Walmart - $99
Facebook Portal
Facebook’s reduced the prices of most of its Portal smart displays in an early Black Friday sale. The Portal Mini is only $65, down from $130, while the standard Portal is $129, which is a record low. Facebook has been adding support for other video conferencing services over the past year, including Zoom, GoToMeeting and WebEx, making Portal devices a bit more versatile. They also support voice commands via Facebook’s own virtual assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.
Buy Portal Mini on Amazon - $65 Buy Portal on Amazon - $129
Buy Portal+ on Amazon - $229 Buy Portal TV on Amazon - $129
New deal additions
Sony WH-CH710N headphones
Some of our favorite wireless headphones return to an all-time low of $88 on Amazon. These Sony cans are a bargain at their normal $198 price, but they’re truly an awesome value when on sale like this. They have good noise-cancellation, decent sound quality (though they could use a punchier bass) and long 35-hour battery life.
Buy WH-CH710N headphones at Amazon - $88
Samsung Q80T QLED TVs
The 65-inch and 75-inch Samsung Q80T QLED smart TVs are hundreds of dollars off at a couple of retailers. This series debuted earlier this year and includes full-array local dimming and can reach 1,500 nits of peak brightness. Both sets support 4K HDR content and voice commands via Alexa and the Google Assistant. If you choose to go through BJ’s Wholesale, both TVs come with a six-month Showtime subscription and a three-year warranty.
Buy 65-inch Samsung Q80T smart TV at BJs - $1,499 Buy 65-inch Samsung Q80T smart TV at Best Buy - $1,499
Buy 75-inch Samsung Q80T smart TV at BJs - $2,199 Buy 75-inch Samsung Q80T smart TV at Amazon - $2,199
Nikon D850 DSLR camera
A standout in Walmart’s Nikon sale is the pro-grade D850, which is roughly 17 percent off, bringing it to $2,614.95. We don’t have to tell you that this would be a super-splurge gift and it’s really most suitable for the professional photographer in your life. If you happen to be one yourself, this sale could be a good time to upgrade your main shooter.
Buy Nikon D850 at Walmart - $2,614.95
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