Best Deals on Tech Products Right Now
CR's shopping experts help you find the best bargains on TVs, laptops, speakers, and more
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If you need a new pair of headphones or it’s time to replace a laptop that’s past its prime, you may not have to pay full price to get something that will suit your needs. There are some good prices on laptops, headphones, wireless speakers, and other tech right now, thanks largely to back-to-school sales.
No matter what you’re shopping for, I take extra care in determining how much you’re really saving now vs. what the product costs. Because I keep an eye on the prices of everything we test, I can account for an item’s actual cost over time rather than its original price, as well as how often it goes on sale. I’m also weighing previous sale prices against current offers to provide context for the prices you’re seeing now.
And I don’t just look at the price tag—I also consider how well the item stood up to the rigorous testing in our labs. Especially when consumers are more concerned than ever about making every dollar count, you want to feel confident that the products you buy are going to work well and last. So I make sure to only recommend deals on quality items that would be worth your money even at full price.
For discounts on other products you may want and need, check out Consumer Reports’ Deals hub.
Headphones
The wireless Soundcore Space A40 earbuds showcase solid sound quality, as well as admirable noise reduction in our labs. And in our member surveys, the Soundcore brand receives favorable predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. But what truly sets these buds apart is the below-$50 price, which makes them giftable and, if you’re inclined to misplace things, even abandonable without tears.
We saw these dip down to $42 or so during Prime Day, but right now, this is the best price out there, and it’s still better than usual.
The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s top-of-the-line earbuds, and they’re jam-packed with features. The newest functions include live translation for overseas travel and a workout mode that allows you to leave your Apple Watch at home while you’re out on a run or ride. The buds still offer a clinical-grade hearing test and the option of turning your Pro 3s into an over-the-counter hearing aid. They also sound good and offer a better fit and noise canceling than last year’s Pro 2s. The Pro 3s don’t go on sale very often, so this is an opportunity to get Apple’s latest tech at an enticing price.
The Prime Day price of $179 has passed, but you can save a little bit if you’re still shopping for these.
In the words of ’80s rock legend Meatloaf, two out of three ain’t bad. A great pair of headphones does three things: 1) fits well, 2) delivers effective noise-canceling, and 3) sounds terrific. This Soundcore model hits the mark on the first two line items. Sound-wise? It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. The bass is a little bloated, the midrange is not as clear as you’d like it, while the high frequencies have a sizzle that’s okay on your breakfast bacon, but not ideal on your favorite music. But at this price, you can overlook those shortcomings, especially if you’re gifting the headphones to a friend or relative who’s less than picky, or using them for podcasts or a little easy listening.
If you’re in the market for a premium noise-canceling headphone that feels a little, well, unique, there’s a lot to like about this Dyson On-Trac model. Yes, it’s made by the vacuum cleaner company, but Dyson dismisses the doubters with over-the-ear phones with superb sound. Like many Dyson products, this one sports elegant, upscale styling and a festive use of color. Better yet, the headphones are now back down to the best price we’ve seen.
These headphones were just $249.99 for Prime Day, but Amazon has the lowest price out there right now.
For more discounts: Best Deals on Headphones
Smartwatches & Fitness Trackers
If you want a sleek, do-everything smartwatch that pairs seamlessly with your iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 11 is a great pick. It can do all the basics well, like tracking your sleep, workouts, steps, heart rate, and more. It also offers a few health features that the budget SE 3 doesn’t, such as hypertension monitoring, electrocardiogram readings to detect an irregular heart rhythm, and a blood-oxygen sensor.
The Galaxy Watch8 is a solid all-around pick for anyone who owns a Galaxy phone. It features a bright 1.3-inch AMOLED display and offers Samsung’s latest health, fitness, and safety features, from swimming stroke analysis to daily sleep and energy scores. The battery life is in line with most high-end smartwatches, so expect daily charging.
TVs
The LG 65QNED70AUA is from LG’s mid-tier QNED models, positioned above the more basic LED models. This set delivers satisfying picture quality, but lacks the peak brightness to deliver a compelling HDR experience. It also lacks some features, including local dimming or Mini LED backlights, found in pricier step-up models.
Vizio is a brand now owned by Walmart. The Vizio VQD65R-10 is a 65-inch QLED TV that performs well overall in our picture-quality tests, but not as well in HDR performance. It’s a smart TV running the Vizio OS platform, formerly known as SmartCast. It has WiFi 6 internet and features the company’s QuickFit mounting system, which allows you to easily attach a Vizio soundbar directly to the TV with no gap. It’s at a fairly low price for a 4K TV this size.
The Samsung QN55S85F is the company’s entry-level QD-OLED TV from 2025, and it performs very well in our tests for both picture quality and HDR. It also has satisfying sound. Like other Samsung OLED TVs, it supports HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision HDR, and its Tizen smart TV platform includes both Bixby and Alexa voice assistants.
Hisense 65UR8
The Hisense 65UR8 is one of the new “RGB Mini LED TVs,” which use red, green, and blue LEDs in the backlight to provide a very wide range of colors. We didn’t test this set, but we did test the flagship UR9 models in both 65- and 75-inch screen sizes, and both performed well overall, with exceptional HDR performance. (Hisense TVs support both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR formats.) This set uses the Google TV smart system, with Google Assistant.
Hisense 65U6SF
This set, a 2026 65-inch QLED Mini LED TV that uses the Amazon Fire TV smart system, is a Best Buy exclusive. We didn’t test this set, but we did test the Hisense 65U6HF, which did well for overall picture quality. The main difference is that the SF sets feature Mini LED backlights, which could improve contrast and black levels.
Speakers
The Sony ULT Field 1 is an amenable companion for a trip to the pool or the beach. It’s pleasant sounding with a strong impactful bass ideal for summer tunes. It doesn’t play super loud, but that’s largely a function of its modest size. It boasts an IP 67 rating, which means it’s well sealed from sand and dirt, and can take a modest dunking.
Portable wireless speakers often take a beating, rattling around in the bottom of a backpack or getting knocked off a picnic table—all of which argues for a modestly priced speaker like the JBL Flip 7. The model boasts decent bass, adequate volume, and satisfying sound quality. The 12-hour battery life claimed by JBL is long enough for even your epic 81-song Abba to ZZ Top playlist. And with an IPX7 rating, the Flip 7 is not only splashproof and spillproof but also totally dunkable, according to the manufacturer. One other cool feature: If you buy the Flip 7 from JBL, you can have it personalized, choosing the color and printing your own image or text on the grill.
Soundbars
The Samsung HW-QS700F is a 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos model with commendable overall sound, so it’s a good choice for both movies and music. It has upfiring drivers for Atmos sound, and a separate wireless subwoofer. It can be positioned flush against the wall or flat on a table, with a built-in gyro that will automatically reorient the speaker’s sound. It has Samsung’s Q-Symphony feature, which lets you use both the TV speakers and soundbar simultaneously.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is an all-in-one 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos model that delivers decent overall sound. It’s the company’s flagship model; although it has built-in subwoofers, it lacks an outboard one to increase bass response. It does have two upfiring drivers for Dolby Atmos height effects. It has the Amazon Alexa voice assistant built in. It comes with a headband with microphones that work with Bose’s AdaptiQ calibration feature, or you can use the soundbar’s mics.
Laptops
The Asus Vivobook 16 isn’t flashy, but it covers the basics really well, especially for this price. It gets top marks for portability and ergonomics, making it a great pick for students or remote workers who value comfort and a lightweight build. Performance and display are average, but with a roomy 16-inch screen and solid all-around versatility, it’s a strong value at this discount.
The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is a premium 2-in-1 with a 360-degree hinge that lets you rotate the screen for use as a traditional laptop or a tablet, knocking out a report at your desk or sketching notes on the couch. The bundled stylus is handy for handwriting and drawing. Thin, light, and built to last a full workday away from an outlet, this is the sort of machine that earns its keep if you’re frequently on the move or travel for work. It sits at the higher end of our laptop ratings, so you’re paying for the flexibility and the display quality.
Chromebooks
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has a 14-inch screen that you can fold back to use as a tablet. Its display is brighter than most, which makes it ideal for reading outside on a sunny day. That said, its battery life is longer than that of many other Chromebooks, lasting 15.75 hours in web browsing tests and 12 hours in video playback. Performance speeds are among the top in our rated Chromebooks, making this a great pick for a variety of uses.
Smartphones
If you’re a Samsung Galaxy lover due for an upgrade, you can nab a deal on the new Samsung Galaxy 26. (The Galaxy S26 Ultra is also on sale, if you want a larger, more premium model.) Expect a vibrant display and first-rate camera system, our testers say. The prices listed here are for the 256GB models; the 512GB versions of the S26 are also being discounted.
Tablets
Looking for a lightweight tablet to read on the beach or accompany you on summer travels? The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE has a crisp 11-inch display, plus a decent camera and reasonable battery life, too. It doesn’t offer quite the same power as the newer Galaxy Tab S11 (also on sale this week), but for everyday tasks, the Tab S10 FE will do just fine.
Smart Home
The Aqara Camera E1 is a strong performer, especially for video quality and alert response time. It can store footage on a microSD card (up to 512 gigabytes; sold separately) and offers plenty of features, including person detection, motorized pan-and-tilt so you can remotely change the camera’s view, and a privacy mode that will point the camera at a wall or ceiling.
Google’s newest smart thermostat, the Nest Learning Thermostat 4th gen, comes with a remote temperature sensor that you can place in another room to balance heating and cooling. It’s one of just a few Matter-compatible smart thermostats on the market, meaning it works with any major smart home system, including Apple Home.
The Arlo Video Doorbell 2K is versatile: You can run it using the rechargeable battery or hardwire it to a home’s doorbell wiring for continuous power. Features include geofencing and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles) require an Arlo Secure subscription.
This doorbell was on sale for the lowest price we’ve ever seen ($28.50) on Prime Day, but it is still a nice discount.
Routers
Sold as a three-piece mesh system, this TP-Link Deco model offers outstanding value, balancing wide coverage with a lower price. It scores very well in our tests, as it’s simple to install and provides a strong, secure signal that can cover a large, multistory home. The system includes six Ethernet ports across the three units—handy for hardwiring key devices—but doesn’t include any USB ports. This model supports WiFi 6, making it a smart and highly effective upgrade for most families.
This is a good deal on a wireless router that does quite well in our ratings. It’s not a mesh router, but if a single-unit router is sufficient to envelop your home in WiFi, this one should do a good job. Our testers note high speeds (technically referred to as “throughput”) across near, medium, and far distances, as well as useful features like automatic firmware updating (which helps keep you and your data safe) and the ability to manage everything from a smartphone app.
Printers
Our testers often sing the praises of black-and-white laser printers, especially for anyone who prints a lot of text documents and not much else. The models are more reliable and far cheaper to use than a standard color inkjet. This model from Canon produces crisp, clear text and does it fast. It has auto-duplexing for easy two-sided printing and wireless printing, so you don’t have to plug your laptop into the unit. Plus, it’s compact enough to fit nicely in a small space.
If you’re looking to invest in an all-in-one printer capable of serving a small office, this Canon laser is a smart choice. It prints top-notch text, and quickly. It has an integrated scanner, copier, and fax machine, plus automatic two-sided printing. It doesn’t excel at printing graphics, but that’s to be expected with a black-and-white laser. The good news is, along with these upfront savings, you’ll also spend relatively little over time on toner as laser printers have significantly lower operational costs than traditional inkjets.
If you want a reasonably low-cost home printer that can produce clear and crisp text documents at a clip, this black-and-white Canon imageCLASS LBP122dw laser printer earns our stamp of approval. Canon laser printers are also particularly reliable, according to survey data of CR members, which means they’re less likely to give you grief later on. This model doesn’t scan or copy, though.
Styluses
Digiroot Fast-Charging Stylus
This Digiroot stylus is a low-cost option for taking notes or doodling on an iPad. It’s a bit challenging to control for detailed art, though. It offers palm rejection (allowing you to rest your arm on the device while working) and tilt support (recognizing the angle at which you’re holding the stylus), but no pressure sensitivity, so you can’t change the line weight based on how hard you press. The model charges via USB-C and doesn’t require pairing. Just turn it on and write away. And, unlike other third-party options, this one can magnetically attach to the side of an iPad.
Metapen A8 iPad Pencil
The Metapen Pencil A8 is the clear winner among the non-Apple styluses we evaluated. Widely compatible with iPads, it receives a rave review from our in-house illustrator, who planned to buy one for her own use. It offers palm rejection and tilt support. It’s easy to turn on—just double-tap the top—and it doesn’t require pairing with your iPad. Better yet, it draws like a dream, our illustrator says. She found it to be particularly accurate and smooth, but not “too slippery” against the display. “It feels like a real pen writing on real paper, which makes you feel like you’re in control,” she says. You have to charge the stylus via USB-C, but it can magnetically attach to the side of your iPad.
Apple Pencil USB-C
The Apple Pencil USB-C is generally accurate and smooth, making it a good choice for sketching and note-taking. But it’s slightly less sensitive than the Apple Pencil Pro and less responsive than the Gen 2, which makes it somewhat harder to control. It offers palm rejection (so your hand won’t interfere while drawing) and tilt support, which allows for realistic shading and pencil-like strokes. This model doesn’t support pressure sensitivity, meaning the thickness of your lines won’t vary based on how hard you press down. That can be a drawback for digital artists, but many creative apps allow you to manually adjust brush size or weight, so pro-level work is still possible, albeit with more manual input. The other trade-off is that the stylus charges and pairs via the USB-C port rather than the wireless charging and pairing of the Pro or 2nd Gen model. It can attach to the side of your iPad for easy storage, though.
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