34 Products on Deep Discount in December
CR's lab tests and shopping tips will help you find what you want—and what to avoid
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December is one of the best times to find almost anything you want on sale. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, which typically offer the lowest prices of the year, often extend into the rest of the month. And you’ll find plenty of other holiday discounts that come close to those deep discounts.
This means you’ll see impressive sale prices on a wide variety of products. And retailers often run special promotions all the way up to the end of the year.
Consumer Reports tracks the prices of everything we test all year long to determine when they’re most likely to drop most steeply. There are 34 products that tend to reach their deepest discounts in December, including popular gift items like headphones, TVs, and cameras, as well as useful ones like vacuums and printers.
To see more of what gets deeply discounted the rest of the year, check out our calendar of deals.
Headphones
Headphones are always a popular gift item, and you can often find great deals on top models during the holiday season.
Whether you’re looking for true wireless earbuds or a comfy pair of over-ear headphones that offer noise cancellation, it’s important to research brands and models to make sure that what you buy will have the features you’re looking for.
Consumer Reports tests headphones in our labs to measure attributes such as volume, noise cancellation, sound quality, and battery life. Review our recommended models to get more familiar with the best options before you start shopping.
If you’re looking for high-value noise-canceling headphones, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus is a very solid option. They’re amiable companions, with robust bass, neutral midrange, and that sense of lively openness that makes really good headphones fun to listen to. They’re also pleasantly light in weight, and the fit and stability were good for most of our testers, though people with large heads and/or prominent ears may want to double-check the fit. They sometimes go on sale for $180, so you’re getting a pretty big discount here.
The Bose Quiet Comfort earbuds sit near the top of our ratings, with really satisfying sound and exceptional active noise cancellation. Bose headphones also earn top marks from our members for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
These low-priced wireless earbuds from JBL deliver acceptable sound quality and top-notch active noise reduction. They have silicone ear tips that isolate outside sounds and an ambient sound monitoring feature. They’re not high performers, but at this price, they’re great to give to kids who tend to lose things or to just toss into your gym bag or backpack for a spare pair.
TVs
The holidays are the best time of year to find a deep discount on a new TV. The biggest sales tend to happen on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but many models stay at or near their lowest prices well into December.
If you’re planning to order a larger TV, buy early if you want it delivered in time for the holidays. Or order from a retailer that offers in-store or curbside pickup to get your new TV even sooner.
It pays to do some research before heading to a store because there are countless options available. There are plenty of highly rated makes and models in our ratings from brands such as LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio.
Our TV buying guide will help you get the most bang for your buck, no matter how much you want to spend. CR members should consult our TV ratings to make sure to get a set that did well in our lab tests.
The Samsung QN65Q8F, a 65-inch midtier model in Samsung’s 2025 QD-OLED lineup, is among the best sets you can buy, with impressive overall picture quality, top-notch high dynamic range, and great sound. (Samsung TVs support HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos sound, but not Dolby Vision HDR.) This set supports a maximum 4K 144Hz refresh rate, as well as auto low latency mode and variable refresh rate.
The TCL 75QM6K is at its best price. This TV is part of TCL’s entry-level QM series of 2025 TVs that use Mini LED backlights, and it offers very good overall picture quality but only so-so high dynamic range performance. It has a fairly wide viewing angle for an LCD/LED-based set. Like other QM-series models for 2025, it uses the Google TV smart platform with Google Assistant built in. Though it has a Mini LED backlight with local dimming, it has fewer dimmable zones than the step-up QM-series models.
This 55-inch Hisense smart TV, a new model for 2025, is an entry-level QLED set that nonetheless delivers a satisfying picture, although it lacks the brightness to provide a compelling HDR experience. (The TV supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR, plus Dolby Atmos audio.) It also lacks features like local dimming, found in step-up models. Sound quality isn’t great, so you may want to consider adding a soundbar. It uses the Amazon Fire TV smart system with Alexa built in.
Coffee Makers
Coffee makers are great gifts for any caffeine lover on your gift list, and there are loads to choose from, no matter the brewing style or your budget.
Some drip coffee makers sell for under $30, while others that grind the beans or connect with a smartphone can run you well over $200. But you should be able to find the model you want on sale this month.
If your giftee loves lattes, there are espresso makers and pod coffee makers that can deliver the barista experience at home. And for someone who drinks iced coffee all year long, you can often find discounts on cold-brew makers in the chillier months.
Not sure where to start? Take a look through CR’s buying guide to learn about the types of coffee makers and explore some of the top models.
The Café Specialty Drip (C7CDAAS3PD3) is $30 less than it was on Black Friday. It offers WiFi connectivity, enabling control through Alexa and Google, and making it a smart addition to a connected home. We found that this coffee maker was very good at brewing for optimal taste, and it was also easy to clean. This is the best price we’ve seen on this one in the last several months.
KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine
We found the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine to be impressively well-built, especially given its budget-friendly price. It may take some getting used to for beginners, but we found that it produced reliably good espresso shots. This model comes with numerous accessories, including a milk jug for steaming, the only model we evaluated that offered this.
The price at Amazon is exceptional right now, dropping about $25 since Black Friday.
The Keurig K-Supreme is a scaled-down version of the Keurig K-Supreme Plus Smart, and we expect both to perform similarly. They are among the K-Cup creator’s top-of-the-line brewers, showcasing the brand’s latest features. The baseline version now on sale offers four different brew sizes and an over-ice brew mode. This Black Friday/Cyber Monday price is the best we’ve seen all year.
Vacuums
Vacuums, including robotic vacuum cleaners, are among the more popular gift options around the holidays, and you’ll find lots of discounts on top models. This is an ideal time to finally replace your old one with an upgrade or surprise a loved one who loves to clean.
There are so many kinds of vacuums to choose from that it can be daunting to decide on the best option for your home. To make the choice easier, review our vacuum cleaner buying guide as well as our ratings to select the right brand, model, and price for you.
We like the Shark Vertex Pro IZ662H’s many features. The wand can be bent to easily reach under furniture, and the vacuum itself folds to allow more compact storage. While it’s only decent at cleaning carpets, this vacuum excels at removing pet hair and dust from bare floors. This deal is the best we’ve seen for this vacuum all year, matching the same Black Friday deal we saw last year.
One of the best features of the Eufy C10 T2292 is its slim design, which enables it to access hard-to-reach areas under desks, beds, and other low-profile furniture. It’s quiet and good at picking up debris from bare floors, and it has brush rolls that are easy to remove and clean. Already competitively priced from the start, this discount represents the lowest price we’ve seen for this model this year.
Smartwatches
Smartwatches make great gifts, and you’ll find plenty of big discounts on popular models from Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, and more.
You’ll want to make sure the smartwatch you choose is going to fit your lifestyle. First and foremost, it should be compatible with your smartphone. But do you want one that has its own network connectivity? How about a heart rate monitor? Or the ability to pay for purchases? You should also take into account things like size, battery life, and replacement bands.
Read CR’s buying guide to learn more, then check out our ratings to find the best smartwatch for you.
For those motivated to get more movement in the new year, we think the new Apple Watch SE 3 is the most capable version yet of Apple’s budget smartwatch. It offers nearly all the health and fitness features of the pricier Series version. And you can count on impressive battery life and a bright, durable display, too.
If you want a sleek, do-everything smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 11 is a solid 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 SE 3 doesn’t, like the new hypertension monitoring, electrocardiogram readings that can check for an irregular heart rhythm, and a blood-oxygen sensor.
Computers and Laptops
Laptops and computers are always popular gifts.
There’s a lot to consider when buying a new laptop or desktop, from the processor power to the amount of onboard memory to screen size and more. If you’re in the market for a desktop, you can choose between all-in-one devices or those that require you to purchase a monitor and keyboard separately. When it comes to laptops, the size and weight may make all the difference, or battery life might be paramount.
With so many options, you’ll want to get an idea of the type of computer or laptop you need before you start shopping. CR’s buying guide and recommended models can be great places to start your research. If you can find a few models that may fit the bill, you’ll have better luck spotting a deal on at least one.
Your best bet to find a discount on a good laptop or computer is to shop early in the month, while Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are often still available.
At nearly 45 percent off at select retailers, this Asus Vivobook is one of the strongest value propositions we’ve seen for the holidays. It runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X platform, which is designed to offer the kind of all-day battery life usually reserved for more expensive devices. With a 16-inch display and 512GB of storage, it’s a solid workhorse for students or home office users who need a big screen for multitasking but don’t want to be tethered to a power outlet all day.
If you’re curious about switching to a Mac, or perhaps you’re just tired of Windows, the 2024 Mac Mini is a great entry point into the Apple ecosystem, provided you already have a monitor, mouse, and keyboard handy (or are prepared to buy them). It’s also a fantastic low-stakes machine for anyone looking to get their feet wet with iOS programming. It runs Xcode (Apple’s app development software) beautifully, making it a great gift for a budding developer or student.
Tablets
As with laptops and computers, tablet discounts are also usually prominent this month.
When choosing the best tablet for you or someone else, consider how it will be used. For watching Netflix or editing photos, look for something with a larger, higher-quality screen. For simpler tasks, such as playing games and browsing the web, you don’t need to spend a ton. Other factors to consider are battery life, storage size (and expansion options), size, weight, and processor power.
To learn more about what will work for you, check out CR’s buying guide and recommended tablets. Then look for the top discounts on high-quality models.
If you’re looking for something not too expensive that offers Google Play access (unlike Amazon Fire tablets), consider the Lenovo Tab Plus. It earns only middling scores in our performance and camera tests, but it does a decent job with basic browsing, apps, and multimedia (though the display isn’t particularly impressive). It also excels in terms of battery life, lasting 14.2 hours browsing the web in our tests and 13.8 hours for videos.
The iPad Air is the model to get if you don’t want to “settle” for the entry-level model (which is simply called “iPad”) or need the full power of the iPad Pro. The result is a happy medium ground: It’s powerful enough for everyday tasks like browsing the web and reading books and magazines, while offering nearly 12 hours of battery life and weighing just 1 pound on the dot. It pairs nicely with popular subscriptions like DC Universe Unlimited (for comic book lovers) and Apple News+, which include dozens of magazines like Wired, Outside, and Food Network Magazine.
Soundbars
Whether you’re buying a new TV or you want to make the one you have sound better, soundbars offer a great upgrade option. They’re much easier to set up than traditional surround-sound systems with three or more speakers, and you can add more speakers to many models if you want to expand later.
Soundbars make great gifts for anyone who loves watching movies at home, so you’ll see plenty of models at all prices on sale this month. There are plenty of discounts at major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, and you may also fine member-exclusive deals at BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club.
Most soundbars are long, thin enclosures that are mounted on a wall or placed on a shelf above or below the TV. There are also pedestal-style devices called sound bases that can serve as a base for a TV.
To help you decide which is the right one for you, check out our soundbar buying guide and see which models we recommend.
This full-featured Dolby Atmos soundbar speaker from Sonos, an all-in-one model that doesn’t require a separate subwoofer, is among the top models in our ratings, with very good overall sound quality. It should provide satisfying sound for music and movie/TV soundtracks for even more critical listeners. The model features a total of 11 drivers, including one on each end, as well as two upfiring drivers positioned at the top for Dolby Atmos audio. The soundbar can be configured as part of a full surround-sound system when paired with a Sonos subwoofer and rear Sonos speakers, and/or as part of a multiroom system.
The Bose Smart Soundbar is a Dolby Atmos model that delivers decent overall sound, making it suitable for both music and movie soundtrack playback for more casual listeners. It’s a full-featured, 3.0.2 nonsurround model that can be expanded into a full 5.1.2-channel surround system. It can also be used as part of a multiroom WiFi audio system. It features Amazon Alexa built-in and works with Google Assistant (via the Google Home app on a mobile device and/or an optional Google smart speaker). It also has Bluetooth wireless connectivity for streaming audio from a portable device.
Amazon Fire TV Soundbar (B0C4BZ28PG)
We didn’t test the Amazon Fire TV Soundbar (B0C4BZ28PG), but it’s a fairly basic, low-cost model, especially at its lowest price. As a 2.0-channel system, it features a single bar with stereo speakers and no separate subwoofer. It supports DTS Virtual: X, which attempts to create a more immersive experience using just the two speakers in the main enclosure. The model offers Bluetooth audio for streaming music from a smartphone.
Cookware
Cookware often goes on sale in December because it’s perfect for gift-giving and is often sought after by anyone planning holiday parties or hosting loved ones.
Whether you want a Dutch oven, frying pan, or full cookware set, you may be able to find a deal on top-tested products.
There are many factors that define good-quality cookware, whether you’re looking for cast iron, nonstick, or stainless steel. Consumer Reports tests dozens of pots, pans, and Dutch ovens from brands such as All-Clad, Cuisinart, Lodge, Pioneer Woman, and more to help you make an informed purchase.
The Our Place Always Pan 2.0 is one of the top-rated nonstick frying pans in CR’s tests. We’ve found that it cooks evenly, and its handle is sturdy and cool enough to the touch that you won’t need a potholder every time you reach for it. Its nonstick food release is very good, and it earns a very good score in our nonstick durability test. This pan is induction-compatible, the manufacturer says it’s oven safe to 450° F, and it’s on sale for about 25 percent off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a price you won’t see too much longer.
You can expect even heating and a steady sauce simmer from the nonstick Cuisinart GreenGourmet Hard Anodized GG-12 set, which received excellent scores in our tests for those tasks. We also found it a breeze to slide eggs out of this pan one after another with no oil at all. Even after scouring these pans for our nonstick durability tests to simulate years of use, nonstick properties still showed good performance. You can also expect handles to stay sturdily attached, a quality not always found in inexpensive cookware. One possible downside: It’s oven-safe only up to 400° F.
With more than 120 years in the business, Lodge knows a thing or two about cast iron. As a result, the Lodge Essential Enamel Cast Iron Dutch oven turns out bread that’s nicely browned and crispy, earning a very good rating in our bread-baking test, and it’s oven-safe up to 500° F. Cooking evenness and speed of heating are also very good, cleanup is a breeze, and it’s dishwasher-safe. This Dutch oven weighs 13 pounds and has a 7-inch cooking surface diameter.
Wireless and Bluetooth Speakers
A wireless speaker can add a groove to any holiday party, and you may be able to score a deal on a new one this month. Decent Bluetooth speakers can range from $25 to $1,000. Some are waterproof, some have a longer-than-average Bluetooth range or extended battery life, and some may have smart features such as Amazon Alexa compatibility or companion apps. Of course, not all speakers sound the same, so if you fancy yourself an audiophile, be prepared to spend a bit more for quality playback.
CR’s buying guide and product ratings can help you determine the best options so that you can navigate holiday sales and find the speaker you want for less.
The Soundlink Max is a modestly sized portable that delivers. The sound quality is satisfying with deep, impactful bass, though our testers found that the Max can become harsh at high volumes. The $100 discount looks better when you realize that Bose speakers go on sale less frequently than products from other brands.
We think Edifier S1000W stereo speakers are a bargain even at their regular price. At $90 off, this deal is a no-brainer for a music lover looking for truly impressive sound without breaking the bank. In terms of convenience, the S1000W offers multiroom capability as well as the option of using a more robust WiFi connection to stream your music.
More Products on Deep Discount
In addition to the 10 products listed above, a whole lot of other products are on sale in December, thanks largely to holiday sales carried over from Black Friday and Cyber Monday. CR has found that items in the 24 categories below are also deeply discounted this month. So if you need or want to gift anything below, you should be able to find opportunities to save on top options from our tests.
• Blenders
• Cameras
• Food processors and choppers
• Printers
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