Hasta La Gadget!

Yes, we know it’s October, but the holiday shopping season (apparently) knows no bounds. We’re already starting to see early Black Friday deals pop up across the web, so it’s not too early to start crossing things off your gift list. The Apple TV 4K remains on sale for $160 while the AirPods Pro and a couple of MacBooks are also discounted. A pair of our favorite Bose earbuds are down to a record low while the Echo Show 8 is still on sale for $100. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Apple TV 4K

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The latest Apple TV 4K is down to $160 on Amazon, which is close to an all-time-low price. It’s the best high-end streaming device you can get and we gave it a score of 90 for its speedy performance, Dolby Vision and Atmos support and much improved Siri remote.

Buy Apple TV 4K at Amazon – $160

AirPods Pro

Billy Steele / Engadget

The AirPods Pro, Apple’s best sounding wireless earbuds, are back down to $179. That’s $70 off their normal price and close to a record low. These buds earned a score of 87 from us for their IPX4 design, improved audio and solid ANC.

Buy AirPods Pro at Amazon – $179

AirPods Max

Billy Steele/Engadget

Apple’s AirPods Max are on sale for $449, or $100 off their normal price. We gave these expensive headphones a score of 84 for their stellar sound quality, good ANC and solid onboard controls.

Buy AirPods Max at Amazon – $449

11-inch iPad Pro

Apple

Amazon knocked $100 off most 11-inch iPad Pro models, bringing the 256GB WiFi version down to an all-time low of $800. We gave the larger version of the tablet a score of 87 for its powerful performance, lovely display and new Center Stage feature.

Buy 11-inch iPad Pro (256GB) at Amazon – $800

MacBook Air M1

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The 512GB MacBook Air M1 has been discounted to $1,099. This is arguably the best Apple laptop for most people and it earned a score of 94 from us for its impressive performance, excellent battery life, lack of fan noise and good keyboard and trackpad.

Buy MacBook Air M1 (512GB) at Amazon – $1,099

Mac Mini M1

Engadget

Apple’s Mac Mini M1 is on sale for as low as $600 right now thanks to a few automatically applied coupons. The best deal is arguably on the 512GB version, which is $150 off and down to $750. The design of the small desktop hasn’t changed much, but the big improvements come from the M1 chipset inside.

Buy Mac Mini M1 (256GB) at Amazon – $600Buy Mac Mini M1 (512GB) at Amazon – $750

Bose QuietComfort earbuds

Billy Steele/Engadget

The Bose QuietComfort earbuds are down to an all-time low fo $199 right now. We gave these buds a score of 87 for their stellar noise cancellation, great sound quality and good battery life.

Buy QuietComfort earbuds at Amazon – $199

Echo Show 8

Engadget

The mid-sized Echo Show 8 smart display is down to $100, which is close to the record-low price that we saw during Prime Day in June. We gave it a score of 87 for its minimalist design, lovely display and good sound quality.

Buy Echo Show 8 at Amazon – $100

Anova Precision Cooker Nano

Anova

Anova’s entry-level sous vide machine, the Nano, is down to $95 on Amazon right now. That’s the best price we’ve seen on the kitchen gadget that would make a great gift for the serious home cook in your life. This model uses 750 watts of power to heat up water and it’ll run for up to 3,000 hours before it needs to be recharged.

Buy Precision Cooker Nano at Amazon – $95

New tech deals

GOG.com Activision + Blizzard sale

You can save up to 67 percent on a bunch of games from Activision and Blizzard at GOG.com for the next couple of days. The sale includes Caesar, Pharaoh + Cleopatra, Singularity and others.

Shop Activison + Blizzard sale at GOG.com

Razer Book

Amazon has a high-powered configuration of the Razer Book on sale for $1,200, or $400 off its normal price. It runs on an 11th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe graphics and a 13.4-inch FHD+ touchscreen.

Buy Razer Book at Amazon – $1,200

Sonos Arc (refurbished)

If you’re willing to get a refurbished model, Sonos has its Arc soundbar for $80 off right now, and only the white model is on sale and in stock at the moment. We gave the Arc a score of 85 for its excellent sound quality, Dolby Atmos support and slick design.

Buy Arc (refurbished) at Sonos – $719

NordVPN

NordVPN, one of our favorite VPNs, is running a sale on a two-year subscription. You can sign up and pay $99 for two years, plus you’ll get an extra three months free. We like NordVPN for its speed, its no-logs policy, the thousands of servers it has to choose from and that one account supports up to six connected devices.

Buy NordVPN (2 years) – $99

Tunnelbear

Another one of our top VPN services, Tunnelbear, is offering a two-year subscription for $100. You’ll save 58 percent if you sign up with this deal, and we think Tunnelbear is one of the easiest VPNs to use, especially for those that don’t want to go crazy configuring their connections.

Buy Tunnelbear (2 years) – $100

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Amid struggles to make headway in the smart speaker market, Apple has hired a new HomePod software head, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. The company has reportedly brought onboard Afrooz Family, who co-founded the high-end audio startup Syng with former Apple designer Christopher Stringer.

Apple’s $349 HomePod arrived in 2018 to very mixed reviews, and was discontinued early this year. The company has noticeably failed to compete with smart speaker rivals, particularly Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo devices and Google’s Assistant speaker family. 

Family worked for Apple between 2012 and 2016 and was on the original HomePod team before starting Syng. That company aimed to develop a “revolutionary” speaker to produce immersive audio, but eventually developed a rather niche, $1,800 speaker. The previous HomePod software head, Jason Harrison, left Apple for Airbnb last year. 

Apple’s latest speaker product is the $99 HomePod mini, which we described in our Engadget review as an “acceptable Echo alternative.” That device has reportedly helped sales a bit, but hasn’t put much of a dent in a market dominated by Amazon and Google, according to Bloomberg.

The biggest problem with Apple’s smart speakers may be Siri and HomeKit, which aren’t as widely supported as Alexa and Google Assistant. The original HomePod was also pretty expensive at launch. To make inroads, Apple may need to change its approach and continue to improve integration — as it recently did with a HomePod mini update that made it work with Apple TV. Apple’s primary goal is to merge its HomePod and Apple TV hardware, according to Gurman. 

Apple is holding its Unleashed event on Monday, where it’s expected to launch new MacBooks and possibly AirPods, but there’s no rumors of a new HomePod product coming any time soon. 

“It’s a real struggle,” the “Solar Power” artist told David Byrne for Rolling Stone.

Halloween 2021 is here in Pokemon GO, and we’re taking a peek at ALL the contents you’ll want to be aware of starting this morning. This includes Shiny Pokemon GO action, lists of Raid counters, Best Pokemon to seek, and the full bonus list for the next couple of weeks. This is the best event of the year, and it’ll … Continue reading

As promised, Microsoft will start shipping its Xbox Series X Mini Fridge in time for the holidays. The company said the fridge costs $100 and pre-orders start on October 19th. It will ship in December.

The mini fridge has its roots in an image Xbox tweeted to show the scale of the Xbox Series X versus a full-sized fridge. Microsoft actually made a six-foot fridge last year to promote the launch of the console. Now, after a Twitter battle of the brands victory, a mini version of the fridge is something you’ll actually be able to buy.

Microsoft worked with merchandise manufacturer Ukonic! on the mini fridge, which has LEDs and a design to match the Xbox Series X. The small appliance can hold up to 12 cans of your favorite energy drink or another beverage. There’s some space in the door’s shelves for snacks too. A DC power adaptor is included, and there’s a USB port, which could come in handy for recharging your Xbox Wireless Controller.

The mini fridge will be available via Target in the US and Canada. Folks in the UK can buy it from Game for £90. The fridge will also ship in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands and Poland at the outset. Microsoft plans to bring the Xbox Mini Fridge to more markets next year, though where and when depends on regulatory approvals and restrictions in each country.