The best anti-Prime Day deals from Walmart, Target, Best Buy and more

Here’s a deal that’s beats Amazon’s Prime Day price: an unlocked Google Pixel 7a is down to $229 at Best Buy. That’s a record-low and $20 cheaper than it’s selling for on Amazon. 

The Google Pixel 7a only came out last year but is already more than half off. We gave the phone a high score of 90 in our review. We think it’s a well-rounded device that balances cost and power — particularly at this price. 

The Pixel 7a supports Google’s new AI features like Circle to Search, Photo Unblur, Magic Eraser and more. It has an impressive 6.1-inch OLED screen with 2400 x 1080 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother visuals — which isn’t something you see often in midrange phones. There’s a reason we named it one of the best budget Android phones you can buy. 

The lowest price we have seen for the AirPods Pro during Amazon’s Prime Day is $169. Walmart is selling them for a the same price at $169 and Target is has them for $190. That’s down from the list price of $249 though we’ve often seen them for $190 the past few months. 

We recommend the AirPods Pro for iPhone users in our guide to the best earbuds guide thanks to their excellent transparency mode, seamless iPhone and Siri integration, and solid noise cancellation. And an upcoming software update from Apple will soon let you nod or shake your head to respond to Siri’s questions.

The Apple Watch Series 9 went down to $280 at Amazon. Walmart and Target are selling it for $299, or $100 off the list price of $399. The latest Apple Watch was announced during Apple’s iPhone event last fall, and there’s a good chance we’ll see a new model this year — but it will likely sell at full price for a good while. 

The current model is our top pick for a smartwatch overall, our favorite Apple Watch and it earned a 92 in our review for its health and fitness tracking chops and handy new Double Tap feature. It will also get fun new updates with watchOS 11 this fall, which Apple announced at WWDC.

You may remember Amazon started as a place to buy books. It’s so much more massive than that now, yet somehow indie bookstores hang on. Bookshop.org is an online bookseller that helps independent bookstores compete by letting you pick a local shop to send a cut of the sale to. The site raised over $32 million for bookstores so far and for their anti-Prime Day sale, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping and, if you spend more than $100, they’ll also throw in a free tote bag that doesn’t say Amazon on it.

Apple is keeping the 2022 M2-enabled MacBook Air around as the budget option in its lineup — and we’re glad. In fact, the release of the new MBA served as a reminder of how much we like the M2 model. We named it the best budget MacBook you can buy. 

Currently B&H Photo has the base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $799. That beats Apple’s price of $999 and matches the sale price Amazon is currently running. We like the bright screen, capable performance and its thin, portable design.

The latest iPads came out this May and we called the new iPad Air with the M2 chip “the iPad to get.” It’s also the Apple tablet we recommend for most people in our iPad buyer’s guide. Right now, B&H Photo is selling the 11-inch, 128GB model, which is $599 at full price, for $549 in the blue and purple colorways. Amazon is selling it for the same price. 

The new iPad Air was given an upgrade with the M2 processor. That makes it plenty fast for everyday productivity and means it can even handle more demanding games and tasks. The screen is bright and crisp and the camera has thankfully been moved to the landscape edge.

The Nintendo Switch Lite handheld gaming console is down to $159 from Walmart right now. This version has an Animal Crossing-inspired design with an aqua blue colorway and a leaf pattern on the back. It also comes with a full game download of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The Nintendo Switch Lite came out in 2019, and we gave it a 90 in our review. It’s smaller and more comfortable to hold than the regular Switch, which makes it great for traveling or commuting. It has 5.5-inch screen with a 720p display. and you’ll get a little over four hours of play on a charge.  

Of course the console is about five years old now, and the Switch 2 is widely expected in the next year or so. Though a new Lite edition probably won’t arrive at the same time. It’s something to keep in mind, but if you want an easy to carry handheld with a particularly fun game at a great price, this is a good bet. 

Sonos gear just started officially showing up on Amazon, and a few are on sale for Prime Day. But if you’d rather go directly to Sonos, you can still snag some discounts. The portable and waterproof Roam 2 is on sale for $143. 

This latest model fixes some of the issues that plagued the first generation, like giving it a separate button for power and allowing you to connect to Bluetooth without first going through the Wi-Fi setup. It sounds the same as the first Sonos, which is great, since that model impressed us with its great audio quality in our review — the highs and mids are clear, and it puts out “more of a bass thump than seems plausible” from such a small speaker.

The 10th generation is still the most current iPad Apple makes, since it wasn’t one of the models that was replaced during the iPad event in May. Apple permanently cut the list price to $349 and the lowest price we are seeing for Prime Day is $300. 

Right now, B&H Photo is selling it for a bit more at $319. We gave the standard tablet a review score of 85 after its launch in October 2022. It’s also the budget pick in our iPad buying guide.

A four pack of Apple AirTags is on sale at Walmart and Best Buy. They go for $99 full price, but are down to $75 at both retailers instead. That’s the same as it’s going for on Amazon. 

These are our favorite Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users, mainly because of Apple’s vast Find My network. If you lose something with an AirTag on it, the tracker will anonymously ping nearby iPhones to triangulate its whereabouts. You’ll then get a notification when it’s found and leads you right to it with directions in Apple Maps and, when you’re close enough, uses ultrawideband tech to point you right to it.

Though it’s technically been discontinued, the 9th generation Apple iPad is still available and it’s now on sale from Walmart and Target for $249 and at B&H Photo for $289. This was our previous pick for a budget model iPad, but we’ve since changed that recommendation to the iPad 10th generation. Still, if you want a bargain basement price for an Apple tablet, it’s one to consider.

Another of our recommended Sonos speakers, the Era 100, is on sale for $199 directly from Sonos, which is the same as the Prime Day price on Amazon. 

This is the the best midrange smart speaker you can buy thanks to its excellent sound quality that manages to get plenty loud enough to fill a room. Plus we like the extra options that the line-in and Bluetooth connectivity give you.

The latest MacBook Air 13-inch model with the M3 chip, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is on sale at B&H Photo for $899. Currently Amazon is selling it for $50 less with a coupon. Prior to Prime Day, $899 was the all-time low. 

Apple released the new MacBook Air models back in March and, as we note in our review, they aren’t major departures from the prior generation — though that’s not a bad thing, the prior generation was an excellent computer. The new 13-inch M3 MacBook Air is our top recommendation for most people in our laptop buying guide.

The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is now $300 at Best Buy and Williams Sonoma, as well as directly from Breville, which is $100 off the $400 list price. 

This is the air fryer we recommend for those who want an air fryer and toaster oven combo. It’s huge and has the capacity to accommodate a five-quart dutch oven. In fact, we think it would make a good auxiliary oven — ideal for creating more capacity in your kitchen for holiday cooking or for anyone who entertains.

We weren’t terribly impressed with the Google Pixel Tablet on its own, but paired with the charging speaker dock, we think it makes a highly capable smart home display. 

Right now it’s on sale for $379 from Target, Best Buy and directly from Google. It’s adept at handling commands with the Google Assistant and the audio from the dock sounds better than most smart home speakers.

The smaller smart home speaker with the Google Assistant baked in is the Google Nest Mini. It’s on sale right now at Walmart for $42. While the Echo Dot edged out this speaker to claim the “best under $50” award in our smart speaker guide, we think the Nest Mini has decent audio. If you’d rather talk to the Google Assistant than Alexa, this is the small smart speaker to get. 

The Nest Thermostat is on sale for $90, down from $130 at Target, Best Buy and Walmart. It’s designed to help save energy and cut down on heating and air conditioner costs by automatically adjusting when you’re not home and at different times of the day. It’s Energy Star-certified and works with all of Google’s other Nest smart home devices like the speakers and smart displays. 

The Nest Learning Thermostat that automatically begins to adjust to your schedule after a while is now $170 instead of $249 at Target and Best Buy. 

The Google Nest Hub is our favorite smart display with the Google Assistant. Right now, it’s half price and down to $50 at Walmart, Best Buy and Target. The seven-inch screen is a good size, but doesn’t take up a lot of space. It also fits in nicely with most decor.  

It can control your other Nest (or Google-compatible) smart home devices as well as play YouTube videos, show you cooking instructions and give you a window into the camera feeds of your doorbells and other security cams. 

The larger Google Next Hub Max is also on sale at Target for $129 which is $100 off the list price.