Apple’s AirPods Pro fall to $200, plus the rest of the week’s best tech deals

While it’s a bit late for most tech gifts to ship in time for Christmas, there are still many deals going on for those looking to buy something nice for themselves. Apple’s AirPods Pro, for one, are down to an all-time low of $200, while Sony’s WF-1000XM4 earbuds are still at a low of $178. Several recommended gamepads from 8BitDo are on sale, as are various well-regarded OLED TVs from LG. And if you’re a PC gamer, both Steam and the Epic Games Store have kicked off sweeping holiday sales on their respective storefronts. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Apple AirPods Pro

Billy Steele/Engadget

Apple’s AirPods Pro have dropped back to $200 at multiple retailers, which matches the lowest price we’ve tracked and comes in about $30 below the pair’s usual going rate over the last few months. We gave the AirPods Pro a review score of 88 earlier this year and currently recommend them as the “best for iOS” pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds. The sound quality and active noise cancellation (ANC) here are among the better options on the market, as is the included transparency mode. Plus, like all AirPods, they offer a host of features that make them particularly convenient to use with other Apple devices. Their call quality and six-ish hours of battery life are just average, however.

Buy AirPods Pro (2nd gen) at Amazon – $200

Sony WF-1000XM4

Billy Steele/Engadget

If you don’t own an iPhone, the top overall pick in our best wireless earbuds guide is Sony’s WF-1000XM4, which is also on sale for $178, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. We gave this pair a review score of 86 last year, praising its upper-tier ANC, solid yet customizable sound quality, 8- to 10-hour battery life and array of useful bonus features. The earpieces here are on the bulkier side, so they might not fit all ear shapes comfortably, but they do isolate an impressive amount of noise even without the ANC turned on. If you’re on a tighter budget, meanwhile, Anker’s Soundcore Space A40 is another noise-canceling set we like that’s on sale for a new low of $60 at Target. 

Buy Sony WF-1000XM4 at Amazon – $178

8BitDo game controllers

Kris Naudus / Engadget

8BitDo’s Pro 2 gamepad is down to $40, which is a $10 discount and tied for the best price we’ve tracked. This is a comfortable and extensively customizable wireless controller we’ve recommended in past gift guides. It doesn’t work with PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but if you need a spare gamepad for Switch, PC or mobile devices, it’s arguably a better value than Nintendo’s Switch Pro Controller. Just note that it can’t wake the Switch up from sleep mode, if you plan on using it with that console.

If you’re willing to pay more for a controller with Hall effect joysticks, which are traditionally more resistant to drift over time, or if you prefer an Xbox-style layout, 8BitDo’s Ultimate Controller is also on sale for $63. While that’s only $7 off its typical price, this is the first discount we’ve seen for the recently-launched device. For those who play lots of retro-style games, meanwhile, the company’s Sn30 Pro is like a more modern version of an old Super Nintendo pad, and it’s currently $10 off at $35.

Buy 8BitDo Pro 2 at Amazon – $40
Buy 8BitDo Ultimate Controller at Amazon – $63
Buy 8BitDo Sn30 Pro at Amazon – $35

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your PlayStation 5, Sony’s DualSense controller is still available for an all-time low of $49 at various retailers, including Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, Adorama, Target and Best Buy. The sale applies to several color finishes and comes out to a $20 or $25 discount depending on which model you choose. The DualSense itself isn’t as convenient on PCs as the 8BitDo pads above or Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S controller (which is down to $40), but it still provides a comfortable shape and impressive haptic feedback for newer PlayStation games.

Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at Amazon – $49
Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at GameStop – $49

Apple MacBook Air

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Apple’s latest MacBook Air is still on sale for $999 at B&H, matching the lowest price we’ve seen. Normally, Apple sells this version, which includes 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, for $1,199, though we’ve seen it fall to $1,049 a number of times in recent months. Either way, the M2-powered Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and we gave it a glowing review score of 96 earlier this year. As an everyday notebook, it gives little to complain about, but note that this entry-level configuration has slower storage performance than Apple’s higher-priced SKUs. Still, if you aren’t planning to do more involved work like editing high-resolution videos, this shouldn’t be a major hindrance on a day-to-day basis. Just be aware that B&H says this deal is set to end later Friday afternoon.

Buy MacBook Air M2 at B&H – $999

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

A configuration of Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 2 with a Core i5-1135G7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD is on sale for a new low of $600. That’s about $100 off this model’s typical street price as of late. We gave the 12.4-inch notebook a review score of 86 back in June and currently recommend it in our guide to the best affordable Windows laptops. The main appeal here is in the design, as the Surface Laptop Go 2’s slim and lightweight chassis, comfortable keyboard and bright display lend it a classier feel than most options in this price range. Its performance is quick enough for casual work, too, but don’t expect a powerhouse, and the keyboard is unfortunately devoid of backlighting.

Buy Surface Laptop Go 2 at Amazon – $600

Steam Winter Sale

Engadget

It’s a good time to be a PC gamer (or Steam Deck owner), as Steam and the Epic Games Store have kicked off their annual holiday sales. Both promotions are scheduled to run until January 5. There are simply too many deals for us to run down everything, but some highlights on Steam include the acclaimed action-RPG Elden Ring down to $42, the cutesy cat adventure Stray for $24, the sharply written Disco Elysium for $10, the VR shooter Half-Life: Alyx for $24 and a bundle that includes a bunch of Valve-made games for $7. Several other picks from our best PC games guide are also on sale.

Epic’s sale doesn’t cover as many games, but it does include a recurring coupon that takes 25 percent off any purchase you make over $15. This can save you a few bucks if you aren’t beholden to Steam: The PC port of 2018’s God of War, for instance, is down to $23 at Epic with the coupon, but only down to $30 at Steam. For console owners, note that PlayStation and Xbox are running holiday sales as well, though the deals there are generally ones we’ve seen several times throughout the year.

Shop Winter Sale at Steam
Shop Holiday Sale at Epic Games Store

LG OLED TVs

LG

If you’re looking to upgrade your TV, a handful of LG’s well-regarded OLED sets are down to all-time lows. The 42-inch model of LG’s C2 TV, for instance, is down to $797 at Amazon, which is about $200 off its usual going rate. (If you’d rather not shop through Amazon, BuyDig is throwing in a $40 gift card on top of the discount.) This model can’t get as bright as the QD-OLED panel on Samsung’s S95B OLED TV, so it’s best suited in dark or moderately-lit rooms, but it still provides the deep black levels, high contrast and wide viewing angles you’d expect from a high-end OLED display. 

If you need something larger, the 65-inch LG B2 is down to $1,099 at Walmart (via authorized dealer Beach Camera), which is again roughly $200 off the price we’ve seen for most of the last couple of months. The B2 is a step down from the C2 with lesser HDR performance and a slower processor, but at this price it still offers excellent picture quality. Beyond that, the 48-inch LG A2 is back down to a low of $570 at Best Buy. This is the cheapest route into an LG OLED panel, but note that it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, reducing its appeal for gaming.

Buy LG C2 42-inch at Amazon – $797
Buy LG B2 65-inch at Walmart – $1,099
Buy LG A2 48-inch at Best Buy – $570

Apple Magic Keyboard

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Apple’s Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air and 11-inch iPad Pro is still on sale for $210, which isn’t an all-time low but still $65 off the peripheral’s average street price in recent months. We gave the Magic Keyboard a review score of 84 back in 2020, and it still offers a comfortable typing experience, smooth trackpad and extra USB-C port to those who’d like to use their iPad more like a laptop. The main hangup is that it’s wildly expensive, but this deal lessens the burden at least somewhat.

Buy Apple Magic Keyboard 11-inch at Amazon – $210

Audible Premium Plus 

Amazon is running a promotion that lets new subscribers get four months of Amazon’s Audible Premium Plus audiobook service for $5.95 per month. Normally, you’d have to pay $14.95 a month after a 30-day free trial. This offer has been available for the past several weeks, but we’re noting it here because it’s set to end on December 31. 

As a reminder, Premium Plus is Audible’s upper tier: In addition to granting you access to the full Audible library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. It’s not an essential upgrade for most, but if you’ve been thinking of giving Audible a try, this is a decent way to see if the plan works for you. Just note that your membership will be set to auto-renew by default. 

Buy Audible Premium Plus 4-month at Amazon – $5.95/month

Samsung Smart Monitor M8

Samsung

Samsung’s Smart Monitor M8 is still available for $400, which is an all-time low and roughly $180 below the 32-inch monitor’s average street price in recent months. This is a decent VA panel with a 4K resolution, but its big selling point is that it can double as a sort of tuner-less smart TV. Since it runs Samsung’s Tizen interface, it’s able to stream apps like Netflix, HBO Max and the like even when it’s not hooked up to a PC. It comes with a remote, webcam, mic and built-in speakers, and it can serve as a SmartThings hub. If you know you’ll actually use that smart TV functionality, the M8 is among the most versatile monitors you can buy, even if it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks local dimming.

Buy Samsung Smart Monitor M8 at Amazon – $400
Buy Samsung Smart Monitor M8 at Samsung – $400

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Earlier this year, we gave Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review scores of 90 and 92, respectively, calling them the “best bargain in flagship phones” in the process. Both handsets are back on sale this week, with the 128GB Pixel 7 available from $499 and the Pixel 7 Pro down to $749 for the same amount of storage. We’ve seen these deals before, and neither marks an all-time low, but they’re still about $65 and $95 off the devices’ respective street prices over the last few months. 

Between the two, the 6.3-inch Pixel 7 gets a bit more battery life, while the 6.7-inch Pixel 7 Pro has a faster 120Hz refresh rate. Both phones, though, get you top-notch cameras, vibrant OLED displays, and a clean take on Android that’ll receive version updates through late 2025. They aren’t quite as powerful as something like Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, but at these prices they carry strong value.

Buy Pixel 7 at Amazon – $499
Buy Pixel 7 Pro at Amazon – $749

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