Amazon Big Spring Sale: All of the best tech deals still available today

A single AirTag is on sale for $24, which is $5 off and close to its record low price. These are the best Bluetooth trackers for those with iOS devices since they use the vast Find My network to keep track of your belongings. You can force them to ring to help you find your stuff if you’re within close range, and newer iPhones can even display directions on their screens to guide you to your lost stuff. Just make sure to pick up a holder if you intend on attaching the AirTag to your keys. If you want to pick up more than one, we recommend getting the four-pack that’s on sale for $80 right now — that brings each individual AirTag down to only $20.

Our favorite pair of budget wireless earbuds has dropped to a new record-low price of $50. The Anker Soundcore Space A40 impressed us with their solid sound quality, comfortable fit and impressive active noise cancellation for the price. We think they’re a great value at their normal $80 price, so this sale makes them even more attractive. In addition, they have good battery life and support for multi-device connectivity and wireless charging. They may not have the best call quality, and they don’t support automatically wear detection, but otherwise you’re getting a nearly-full package for a great price.

The new Fire TV Stick 4K Max is back down to its record low of $40. It’s a discount we’ve seen a few times before, but nevertheless, it matches the item’s all-time-low price. This is the most powerful streaming dongle Amazon has, with support for 4K content, Dolby Vision with HDR, Wi-Fi 6E and the “Fire TV Ambient Experience,” which puts art and photos on your TV screen when you’re not actively watching anything. Also discounted is the Fire TV Stick Lite, which you can pick up for only $20.

One of our favorite pairs of budget wireless earbuds, Amazon’s latest Echo Buds are still on sale for only $35. These buds have an open design, which means they purposely let sound in so you can stay more aware of your surroundings. They support adjustable EQ and, unlike many other earbuds at this price, auto-pausing and multi-device pairing. And, as to be expected, they have Alexa built in so you can call upon the voice assistant when you need to while wearing them.

The most recent Echo Dot is down to $35, which is $12 more than the lowest price we’ve tracked but still $15 off the smart speaker’s usual going rate. It also matches the best price we’ve seen for the device in 2024. The Echo Dot is the “under $50” pick in our guide to the best smart speakers. It can still do just about all of the expected Alexa features, and it sounds decently balanced for something this compact. It can also serve as a node to extend an Eero mesh Wi-Fi system, if you own one of those. So long as you’re comfortable having a voice-activated speaker in your home in the first place, this is a good way to see if you’d find an Alexa device useful.

If you can pay a little bit extra, the full-size Amazon Echo is also on sale for $65. Again, that’s not an all-time low, but it’s $35 off Amazon’s list price. This model offers all the same functionality as the Echo Dot but sounds louder and fuller across the board, so it’s better for streaming music.

A number of Ring security devices have been discounted, including the classic Ring Video Doorbell. That’s down to just $60, which is only $5 more than its record low. This model can be hardwired or run on battery, and it supports 1080p video recordings, motion alerts, two-way talk and quick replies. There are various bundles on sale as well, so if you’re looking to add cameras and an alarm system to your home for the first time, you can save up to 44 percent during this sale.

A number of Amazon’s Fire tablets are on sale right now, including the new Fire HD 10 for $95. That’s about $15 more than its record-low price, but it’s still a decent deal for this time of year. Updated in 2023, the Fire HD 10 has a 10-inch 1080p touchscreen, an octa-core processor, up to 13 hours of battery life and it charges via a USB-C port. We still think Fire tablets are best as secondary devices rather than daily drivers — that slab you keep next to the couch to check email or shop online on the fly, or by your bedside to read books and comics. And when they’re discounted like this, it’s much easier to justify getting a secondary device like that in the first place. A bunch of kid-friendly Fire tabs are on sale, too, most of which come with a childproof protective case, a two-year warranty and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon’s Echo Show 8 is down to $100 right now, which is only $10 more than its record-low price. There’s also a bundle available that includes a free smart light bulb. The updated version of one of our favorite smart displays includes an 8-inch touchscreen, improved speakers, a 13-megapixel camera for video chats (which you can cover at any time, too) and a built-in Zigbee smart home hub for connecting all of your IoT gadgets.

A variety of Amazon Blink devices are still on sale today. A three pack of the new Blink Outdoor 4 is down to $150 instead of $260. That’s a 42 percent discount and the lowest price we’ve seen this year (the set hit an all-time low of $135 for Black Friday). 

If you just need one camera, take advantage of the sale on a single Blink Outdoor 4. It’s currently down to $65 from $100 — a 35 percent discount.

The Blink Outdoor 4 came out last August with a lot of upgrades including a larger field of vision, up to143 degrees and better low-light sensitivity and image quality. Blink claims the devices will go for two years before needing their AA batteries replaced.

The Apple Watch SE is on sale for $200 at the moment, which is only $20 more than the best price we’ve seen. It’s the best budget Apple Watch you can get at it’s normal price of $249, so it’s an even better deal right now. It offers excellent performance for the price, a host of health and fitness tracking features and all of the iPhone-related perks you’d expect like notifications delivered to your wrist, easier access to Siri and more.

The second-gen Apple Pencil is down to $79, which is one the best prices we’ve seen. It’s important to note that it’s rumored that we’ll see new Apple Pencils when new iPads come out sometime within the next month — but if you already have an iPad and have been looking to snag this accessory on discount, now’s your chance. This is the Pencil that works with most of the latest iPad models and it magnetically snaps to the sides of the tablets for safe keeping. It’s one of our favorite iPad accessories thanks to that, and its generally stellar, little-to-no latency performance.

Apple’s AirPods Pro are once again available for $199, which is a near record low for the latest iteration with a USB-C charging case. Apple normally sells the noise-canceling earphones for $249, though we often see them go closer to $200 at third-party retailers. Either way, they remain our favorite wireless earbuds for iOS users, as they provide an array of perks when paired with an iPhone, from faster pairing to hands-free Siri. Useful ANC, a superb ambient sound mode and a pleasingly warm sound profile help beyond that. Their battery life and mic quality are just OK these days, but this pair should serve you well if you’re all-in on Apple. We gave the second-gen AirPods Pro a review score of 88 back in 2022. 

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones are back on sale for $328. This isn’t an all-time low, and it’s a deal we’ve seen numerous times over the past few months, but it’s still $70 off the noise-canceling cans’ list price. The XM5s are the top pick in our guide to the best wireless headphones thanks to their comfy fit, solid active noise cancellation (ANC), clear mic and handy bonus features. They’re bass-heavy by default, but you can adjust their sound profile with EQ tools in Sony’s companion app.

This XM5’s predecessor, the Sony WH-1000XM4, is also worth a note at $248. Again, that’s not an all-time low, but it’s about $50 below the pair’s average street price in recent months. This older model has many of the same benefits as its successor, plus its earcups can fold up, which makes the design a little easier to pack away. Its call quality is worse, however, and it’s not quite as light on the head. We gave the XM5 a review score of 95 in mid-2022, while the XM4 earned a 94 way back in 2020.

If you’re not tethered to Apple, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are another set of high-end earphones we recommend. Right now they’re down to $249 at Amazon, Bose.com and other storefronts. That’s a $50 discount. We’ve seen this price a few times before, but it still matches the best deal we’ve tracked. Bose says the offer will run until March 31.

We specifically highlight the QuietComfort Ultras in our buying guide for their noise-canceling prowess, as they do a superlative job of muting outside noise and allow you to lower the intensity of the ANC if it ever becomes uncomfortable. They’re another pair with a somewhat bass-heavy sound out of the box, but they don’t sound sloppy, and unlike the AirPods Pro you can customize their EQ through a companion app. That said, they don’t support wireless charging or multi-device pairing, and their six-to-seven-hour battery life isn’t anything special. The earpieces themselves are also fairly large, though we wouldn’t call them uncomfortable. We gave the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds a score of 88 in our review last year.

The Beats Studio Buds + are back on sale for $130 in various colors, which is roughly $20 off the true wireless earbuds’ average street price and $40 off Beats’ list price. The only time we’ve seen them go for less was a brief drop to $120 around Black Friday. This deal is also available at other retailers, including Target, Best Buy and B&H.

We gave the Studio Buds + a review score of 84 last year. As Beats is an Apple subsidiary, this pair provides many of the iOS-friendly perks you’d get from a set of AirPods, such as faster pairing, Find My tracking, hands-free Siri and Control Center integration. Unlike AirPods, they offer similar features on Android as well. A comfy fit, decent ANC and a mostly neutral sound profile also help. However, other AirPods features like audio sharing and automatic device switching (with Apple gear) aren’t supported, nor is wireless charging or wear detection. And the ANC and audio quality are a step down from the AirPods Pro. Still, if you dig the style and want to save some cash, the Studio Buds + are worth considering.

One of our favorite headphones for running is on sale for a near record-low price. Jabra’s Elite 8 Active earbuds have dropped to $160, which is only about $10 more than the best price we’ve seen. They’re rated IP68, which is one of the best protective ratings we’ve seen on workout earbuds. Jabra even put these buds through military-grade testing, so it’s fair to say they can take a beating. They also have great sound quality (that has spatial sound with Dolby Audio), good ANC and HearThrough transparency mode, multipoint connectivity and an easy to use mobile app. Also included in this sale are our budget top pick, the Jabra Elite 4 Active, for only $90.

The Google Pixel Buds Pro are down to $139 from $200. The 30 percent discount doesn’t bring the earbuds to their all-time low, but this is the cheapest we’ve seen the Google Pixel Buds Pro so far this year. These are our choice for the best wireless earbuds for Android. 

Engadget’s Billy Steele gave them an 87 in his review thanks to the addition of solid active noise cancellation, punchy bass and reliable touch controls. They also offer IPX4 water resistance so you can take them on a run without worry. The buds get up to 11 hours on a charge and 31 hours in total with the case. And when it’s time to recharge, wireless charging makes a refill a little easier. One catch is the call quality isn’t as great as it could be, but if you’re primarily using them for music and podcasts, you may not notice. 

Our favorite midrange smartphone, the Google Pixel 7a is on sale for $374 right now, which is a record-low price. That almost puts it within our “budget” price range ($350) for Android phones, so while it’s still a splurge pick, it’s arguably the best Android phone you can get in that price range at the moment. It runs on Google’s Tensor G2 chipset, plus it has a lovely 90Hz touchscreen, long battery life and an excellent camera array that takes impressive photos in all kinds of light situations, and good selfies, too. While there are plenty of good budget Android phones available today, you won’t find one that offers a better value than the Pixel 7a when on sale like this.

Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro remain discounted today, down to $499 and $749, respectively. Both run on the Google Tensor G3 chip, and they have great battery lives and excellent cameras. We consider both of them to be the best Android phones available right now thanks in part to those features. Google also added a number of actually useful AI features like Best Take and Magic Eraser for photos, and more accurate voice typing and article summaries for the Google Assistant.

Our favorite budget-friendly VR headset is down to a new low: You can grab the Meta Quest 2 for only $199, which is $50 off its usual price. Walmart has it for the same price, and it includes a $50 Meta Quest store gift card with purchase. There’s no better VR headset for those who don’t have a lot of spend, and the Quest 2 holds its own even among the newest models. It’s completely cordless and comfortable to wear for long sessions, it comes bundled with Meta’s solid motion controllers and there’s a huge library of titles that you can try out with it.

Bundles that pair the PlayStation 5 with a digital copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are still $50 off, bringing the standard model down to $449 and the digital-only version down to $400. My colleague Nathan Ingraham gave Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 a glowing review last year, calling it a “perfectly balanced game with gorgeous graphics, delightful combat and traversal systems, a compelling storyline and characters, plenty of challenge and a huge map to explore.”

The Google Nest Thermostat is on sale for $100, which is about $10 more than the best price we’ve seen over the past year but $30 below its typical going rate. We’ve highlighted this entry-level smart thermostat in past gift guides. Compared to the higher-end Nest Learning Thermostat, it has a cheaper plastic frame, doesn’t support remote temperature sensors and can’t learn your heating and cooling tendencies to make automatic adjustments throughout the day. That said, it’s a more affordable way to remotely control your home’s climate, and it still supports features like HVAC monitoring and voice assistant control. It’s also compatible with the Matter standard, unlike the pricier model, so it can work with third-party platforms like Apple Home.

The iRobot Roomba j7 is the runner up in our best robot vac guide and it remains half price today, making it just $300. That’s not quite an all-time low — it was $2 cheaper for much of February — but still a significant discount on one of our recommendations.

Engadget’s Valentina Palladino found this one to have powerful suction and an easy-to-use app. She also appreciated the upgraded obstacle detection that particularly avoids pet poop. The bot does take a couple runs before it can create a full map — and it doesn’t clean while it does that, so be prepared to wait a little after unboxing before your floors are truly on auto-pilot. 

The Kobo Libra 2 is $20 off right now and down to $170, which is the best price we’ve seen all year. You can get that discount at Amazon or from Kobo direct. The Libra 2 is one of our favorite ereaders thanks to its handy page-turn buttons and ergonomic design. The page will automatically switch orientation when you rotate the ereader, which makes it much easier to hold, and you can lock the orientation when you want it to stay put. The design feels premium, the 7-inch display is comfortable to look at for long periods of time and the convenient Overdrive integration makes it easy to borrow, download and read books from your local library.

The Google Pixel Tablet makes a good smart display and tablet hybrid. Right now the 11-inch slate-plus-dock is back down to $399 at multiple retailers for the 128GB model. In addition to Amazon you can save at Target and the Google Store. This matches the lowest price we’ve seen and works out to $100 below the variation’s usual going rate. If you need more storage, the 256GB version is $150 off and available for $449, also an all-time low. 

Engadget’s Cherlynn Low gave the Pixel Tablet a score of 85 in her review last June, and we mention the device in our tablet buying guide, though it’s not one of our top picks. But if you’re looking for a tablet that can also be your smart home command center, this is a good pick for controlling smart home devices, showcasing photos, streaming music with the improved speakers, and even cast video from your phone.

New subscribers can get 40 percent off a Max subscription when you pay for one year upfront. If you want to go all-in on the highest tier, which gives you ad-free viewing and 4K streaming, it’ll cost you $140 for the year (roughly $12 per month). The most affordable tier will set you back a total of $70 for the year, which works out to about $6 per month. Considering how often streaming prices have increased recently, a sale like this is a great time to invest in a year of access to shows like The Last of Us and movies from outlets like Studio Ghibli and A24.

However technologically impressive a foldable smartphone may be, they’re seriously expensive. A $500 discount can help if you’re ready to grab one. The Google Pixel Fold is one of our favorites, and it’s now down to $1,299 at the Goole Store. It beats the largest discount we’ve seen for the unlocked 256GB model, by $100. If you need more storage space, Google has the 512GB model for $1,419, another $500 discount and record low.

The Pixel Fold is the runner-up pick in our guide to the best foldable phones, and Engadget’s Sam Rutherford gave it a score of 85 in his review last June. 

The discount is part of a larger sale Google is hosting on its storefront right now, perhaps in response to Amazon’s event. 

We’ll move beyond Amazon for our last few deals this week. First, a configuration of Apple’s 14.2-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is down to $1,799 at B&H. That’s close to an all-time low and comes in $200 below Apple’s MSRP. We gave the latest MacBook Pro a review score of 90 last year. It’s more Mac than most people need, especially after the recent refresh of the MacBook Air. But for video editors, 3D designers and other professional types who need more power, a wider port selection and a brighter display, it should still fit the bill.