Best Deals on Electronics

These superb-sounding noise-canceling earbuds, now back to just about their best price, are a worthy successor to Sony’s popular WF-1000XM4 model. They’re smaller, lighter, and sleeker, and come packed with plenty of features, including variable noise cancellation, an ambient sound mode to actively pipe in audio from your surroundings, and Speak-to-Chat, which can automatically pause your music when you start talking. But most importantly, the sound quality of the XM5s is state-of-the-art for an earbud, and the noise cancellation is top-notch.

If you love your gym but hate the music it plays, the updated Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II may be just what you’re looking for. These true wireless earbuds get top marks for noise cancellation, which you can turn up or down to suit your environment. They also deliver very solid sound quality, though they fall a bit short of the best-sounding noise-canceling earbuds. Appealing features include flexible sound equalization and built-in tech that the company says makes it easier to hear your own voice during phone calls. Bose advertises a 6-hour battery life (we don’t test that), and the case can recharge the headphones twice on the go.

The Audio-Technica ATH-SQ1TW provide nice audio quality at a very attractive price, especially now that they’re $10 less than they were recently. While this model doesn’t have active noise cancellation, the silicone ear tips deliver quite a lot of passive isolation, and there’s an ambient sound mode for when you want to keep an ear on your environment. They also offer convenient USB-C charging and easy-to-use touch controls for volume and playback and skipping tracks.

The Sony LinkBuds have an unusual design. They’re made with a big hole in the sides so that they don’t seal off your ears, which lets you listen to your music while still hearing everything that’s going on around you. That’s useful for runners concerned with traffic or anyone who wants to use their headphones where it’s important to keep an ear on their surroundings. They also have a novel feature that lets you control the headphones by tapping on the side of your head (though you can just tap the earbuds themselves if you prefer). Our tests show that the Sony LinkBuds deliver great sound quality. And according to Sony, they have a 5.5-hour battery life, with the carrying case charger adding 12 hours’ worth of battery life.

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 features whimsical and colorful styling that says it’s time for fun. It’s a little larger than UE’s Boom 3, and our testers report that it sounds significantly better, too. The model also provides enough volume for use outside or in a large room. According to the manufacturer, the Megaboom 3 can survive immersion in 1 meter of water for up to a half-hour. The manufacturer also claims that the Megaboom 3 floats, but it’s probably a good idea to move it before the tide comes in.

The Clip 4 is hardly the best-sounding speaker we’ve tested, but it does have two important things going for it—it’s inexpensive and it’s small. The tiny speaker fits easily into your palm and features a carabiner that can clip onto a backpack or a beach bag. JBL claims an IP67 rating, which means the speaker is both water-resistant and dustproof. Our testers find the Clip 4 to be easy to pair, and the prominent controls make it easy to turn up the volume.

Prices may vary by color.

The Charge 5 delivers satisfying sound quality and enough volume to fill a midsized room. It’s easy to use, too. According to JBL, it’s also dust- and water-resistant (claims that CR doesn’t test). It’s less versatile than its predecessor, though, lacking an aux input for plugging in an external device and the microphone that allows the Charge 5 to function as a speakerphone.

This is the price for the black version, but the other colors are all similar prices right now as well.

If you’re looking for a great-sounding speaker with a rechargeable battery that doesn’t have to be small enough to fit in a backpack, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is a great choice.

Our testers commend its robust bass and clean midrange, and report that the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is plenty loud indoors and out. They also find the large controls to be easy to use, which helps the model earn good grades for versatility. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom features an optical input, so it can double as a TV soundbar or upgrade the sound of a game console.

The JBL Xtreme 3, now $20 cheaper than it has been in recent weeks, is one hefty hunk of speaker, a tiny bit bigger and a little lighter than its predecessor, the Xtreme 2. In any case, you might be surprised at how large it is when you see it in person. The Xtreme 3 sounds slightly better than its predecessor, too, although it’s very close in overall character. The model can play loud enough to fill a medium-sized to large room. The Xtreme 3 features an internal power bank that can charge other devices and JBL says the speaker is both dustproof and water-resistant to 3 meters, but CR doesn’t test those claims.

The 43-inch Amazon B09N6LRBTR is down to a new low price, beating the previous best by $10. It is a new Omni Series set that—unlike older, smaller Omni TVs—supports Dolby Vision HDR. This set does well in our tests, especially for 4K UHD picture quality, but like most of the Omni TVs we’ve tested, it lacks sufficient peak brightness to produce a compelling HDR experience. This model supports Amazon’s new “ambient” feature, which lets the TV display artwork and photos when you’re not watching TV programming.

The Insignia NS-55F301NA22, a model in Best Buy’s store brand, offers very good overall picture quality. But like many less expensive models, it doesn’t provide a satisfying HDR experience. It uses the Amazon Fire TV smart system, with Alexa built in. The price jumped $10 from a few days ago.

The 75-inch Roku 75R6A5R, a 2023 model that’s one of the first sets designed and made by Roku, does very well in our tests, with excellent overall picture quality and very good sound. Its HDR performance, however, is just okay.

If you prefer Google Assistant to Alexa, the Google Nest Audio may be a good choice. Alexa smart speakers have a wider variety of skills and can be great for shopping on Amazon, but some users like Google’s powerful search function and find Google’s interface to be more natural and easier to use.

Google brags about the Nest Audio’s sonic performance, but our testers found that the gains are more modest. The speaker generates enough volume for a midsized room, but the midrange is a little hazy and there’s some sizzle on the high frequencies. While it’s better than the old Google Home, the Nest Audio still can’t compete with the best-sounding smart speakers. It also doesn’t sound quite as good as the similarly priced fourth-generation Amazon Echo.

The Echo Show 8 offers a lot of device for the money. The voice-enabled touchscreen can be useful in a kitchen when you want to follow a recipe while your hands are messy. The sound quality does have flaws—our testers found the treble to be strident and heard echoes in the all-important midrange. The Show 8 also lacks the Zigbee smart home hub found on the latest-generation Echo.

The Apple Homepod is a great choice if you’re already using other tech from Apple because it offers easy integration with the Apple Music streaming service as well as Apple Podcasts. It gets great scores for sound quality as well. As a multiroom speaker, the HomePod links with the previous-generation HomePod as well as the $99 HomePod Mini, allowing you to play music in different rooms, but it can’t be stereo-paired with those devices.

Compatible with both Android and iPhone models, the GTR 3 has two big things going for it—the price is very low, and the battery life is really good, at a claimed 21 days. (The newer GTR 4 model also performed well in our tests, but got a significant price bump.) The GTR 3’s case design is sleek, channeling some higher-end analog watches, and the touchscreen display is bright and easy to read. The model also features stand-alone GPS, which is useful when you’re out running without your smartphone. Our testers give the watch solid marks across the board, except for its heart rate monitoring, where the Amazfit’s performance is just average.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch6 has a bright, round AMOLED display with a sapphire crystal that performed excellently in our scratch resistance test, as well as a mic and speaker for handling phone calls and a slightly bigger and more pixel-dense screen than the previous-gen Watch5. As far as features, our testers admire the wide range of health and fitness capabilities, including a blood oxygen sensor and ECG monitoring (which could detect irregularities in heart rhythm).

The Roku Streaming Stick 4K was recently $5 cheaper and may be a better price in a few weeks during Prime Day. Situated right below the Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ model, this streaming device has most of the same features—including improved WiFi, support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, and the ability to work with Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay, and Google Assistant voice assistant—but not the new rechargeable Voice Remote Pro remote control. Instead, you get a standard Roku voice remote, which lacks the hands-free operation, a headphone jack for private listening, and a lost-remote finder feature found on the Voice Remote Pro.

The Vizio Elevate P514a-H6, which was $100 less recently and may be a better price again during Prime Day, is a 5.1.4-channel sound bar system from Vizio—which comes with rear satellite speakers and a large wireless subwoofer—that offers very good overall sound, among the better models in our tests. It also has some unique features, most notably motorized speakers at either end of the enclosure that rotate upwards as height channels when the system detects a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X signal. (The speakers return to a front-firing configuration for all other types of content.) It also has Chromecast built in.

The August Smart Lock is a retrofit model, meaning it replaces only the interior thumb-turn side of your home’ deadbolt. (The benefit of this solution? You can keep your current house keys and let the exterior side of the deadbolt continue to match your front door’s knob or handleset.) This August model does quite well in our tests, especially when it comes to its ease of connectivity and many convenience features. Those features include auto-lock, auto-unlock, an access log to track who comes and goes, and electronic keys for guests. However, this deal doesn’t include the August Connect WiFi Bridge, $79, which adds remote control via the August app and voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

The Eufy T8200 video doorbell is an all-around great option, with strong scores for video quality, response time, and smart features in our tests. Those features include 4 gigabytes of internal memory to save recordings (no monthly fees here), monitoring zones, person detection, voice control via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and the ability to leave recorded messages for visitors. 

The TP-Link Kasa Cam Outdoor KC420WS provides impeccable video quality, speedy alerts, and strong data security in our tests. Its many features include two-way audio, voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, monitoring zones, person alerts, a built-in siren, color night vision, and local video storage when you insert a microSD card (not included). 

Apple updated the MacBook Pro with its new M3 processor, and it (no surprise) does very well in our ratings, beating out its predecessor equipped with the M2. If you’re someone who plans to spend a lot of time using apps like Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or anything in the Adobe Creative Cloud, it’s hard to look past the MacBook Pro.

As you might infer from the “Flex” in the name, this 13.3-inch model from Lenovo is a 2-in-1 convertible. It has modest specs—an Intel Celeron processor, 4 gigabytes of memory, and 64GB of flash storage—but is a good value for the price.

The model offers middle-of-the-road performance: nothing terribly impressive, but nothing too slow, either. It weighs 3 pounds, and the battery lasts 11.5 hours for web browsing. If you try to push things, say, by watching high-res video, you get a bit more than 7 hours of battery life.

If someone in your life has “a gaming laptop” on the holiday wishlist, you may want to jump on this deal. The Acer Nitro 5 (including the last model we tested) has delivered solid performance at not-too-bad prices for years. This model has an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, 256GB of solid-state storage, and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card. That should be sufficient for playing the latest games, particularly on medium settings. It also helps that the laptop has a 1080p display, which requires less horsepower than a 4K display. 

Tech editor Chris Raymond has his finger on the pulse of all things tech, and he found the mesh router he uses in his own home at a discount during the sale.

"I bought this mesh router system back when I started working at home full-time, and it still makes me smile. It’s inexpensive (especially at this price), easy to set up (using the TP-Link mobile app), and effectively eliminates the WiFi dead spots in my modest-sized home. In fact, I even get a reliable signal on the backyard patio now."

The price has dropped $20 on this three-pack since the beginning of the month.

This is a good deal for a mesh router three-pack from Nest that did well in our ratings, providing fast speeds even across long distances inside larger homes. There are useful features like automatic firmware updates and app-based management. It’s a WiFi 5 model, which, yes, is the older standard, but it should still provide years of reliable service.