Apple may have dominated this week’s tech news cycle, but our featured tech deal of the week comes courtesy of Valve: The company has discounted its Steam Deck handheld by up to 20 percent, matching the all-time low for what we consider the best portable gaming PC for most people. Elsewhere, the Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 is $200 off with $50 gift card, severalAnkeraccessories are cheaper than usual and both Disney+ and Paramount+ are running special offers for new subscribers. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.
Valve Steam Deck
To celebrate Steam’s 20th birthday, Valve has discounted its Steam Deck handheld by up to 20 percent. The entry-level model with 64GB of eMMC storage is down to $359, while the 256GB and 512GB versions with faster NVMe SSDs are on sale for $450 and $519, respectively. Each deal represents an all-time low. This is only the third discount we’ve seen for the Steam Deck since it arrived in February 2022, so this is a rare chance to save. Valve says this offer will last through September 21.
We gave the Steam Deck a review score of 81 at launch, and we currently call it the best portable gaming PC for most people in our gaming handheld buying guide. It’s chunky, and some newer AAA games are starting to push its technical limits, but it offers far more power on the go than a Nintendo Switch, and its SteamOS software makes it much simpler to pick up and play than competing Windows devices. If you’d like to connect it to a TV, Valve’s official Steam Deck Docking Station is also 20 percent off at $71.
Steam game deals
Beyond the Deck, a handful of sales have brought several games we like down to lows or near-lows on Steam and other platforms. From our list of the best couch co-op games, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is down to $10, the platformer It Takes Two is down to $14, while the puzzler Portal 2 is down to a dollar. From our best PC games guide, the stylish roguelike Hades is available for $12, the VR shooter Half-Life: Alyx is available for $20, the sci-fi action game Control is available for $10 and the oddly zen driving sim Euro Truck Simulator 2 is available for $5. Other standouts include the Resident Evil 4 remake for $40 and the classic FPS Titanfall 2 for $3. Elsewhere, the action-RPG Final Fantasy XVI is down to $50 at Amazon, a $20 drop for a PS5 exclusive that arrived in June.
Anker accessory deals
A few notable chargers and USB-C hubs from Anker are also discounted this week. The Anker 621 Magnetic Battery, which snaps onto the back of a MagSafe-compatible iPhone wirelessly and delivers a 7.5W charge, is down to a low of $30. The Anker 321 MagGo Battery is a bit thicker and slower to recharge, but it has the same 5,000mAh capacity, and it’s down to $21 with a 15 percent coupon. The 715 wall charger, a compact option with a 65W USB-C port, is available for $30 with a 40 percent coupon. That’s about $20 below its usual price. If you need to add more ports to a computer, the 7-in-1 Anker 341 USB-C Hub is $11 off at $24. The 5-in-1 Anker 332 hub, meanwhile, is down to $16 with an on-page coupon. That’s $9 below its typical street price, though the deal is only available to Prime members.
Disney+ (3-month)
New and returning subscribers can still grab three months of Disney+ for $6 total. That’s a 75 percent discount. The catch is that this offer only applies to the service’s “Basic” tier, so you’ll have to deal with ads. Your subscription will also be set to auto-renew by default, so you’ll have to remember to cancel if you don’t want to pay beyond the discounted period. Still, if you’ve been meaning to check out Ahsoka, Andor or just old Simpsons episodes (again), this deal lets you do so on the cheap.
Paramount+ (1-year)
Along those lines, new users can take 50 percent off an annual Paramount+ subscription. The deal applies to both the ad-supported Essential plan, which is down to $30 with this deal, and the ad-free “Paramount+ with Showtime” plan, which is down to $60. As its name implies, the latter includes Showtime content, plus support for offline downloads and the ability to stream your local CBS station live. If you don’t see the discount right away, use the code FALL at checkout. In general, Paramount+ isn’t the most vital streaming platform, but its library is decent, with Champions League soccer, originals like Star Trek: Lower Decks and a bunch of shows from CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other Paramount networks. Again, just remember that the service will auto-renew unless you cancel.
Logitech G203 Lightsync
The black version of the Logitech G203 Lightsync is down to $21 at Amazon, which is about $9 off its typical street price. Just clip the $5 coupon to see the full discount at checkout. The G203 is the budget pick in our guide to the best gaming mice, as it offers a relatively sturdy design, accurate enough tracking, responsive main buttons and tasteful RGB lighting. It’s on the smaller side, its scroll wheel feels a bit mushy and its rubbery cable isn’t detachable — but at this price, it’s hard to do better if you just want something competent for as little money as possible.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Best Buy is bundling the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 with a $50 gift card for $800. That’s $200 off the foldable phone’s list price. If stock runs dry, Amazon has the same discount without the gift card. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 only went on sale last month; we gave it a review score of 88, and we now call it the “best foldable for selfies” in our guide to the best smartphones. The big upgrade is a larger cover display, which makes the phone more useful for checking notifications, using apps and, yes, taking selfies when it’s folded. You’ll still have to be delicate with it, and its camera performance isn’t on par with the best flagships, but the rest of the hardware is impressive. If you want a flip-style foldable, it’s your best bet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
In other Samsung deals, the 256GB version of the Galaxy Tab S9 is also down to $800 at various retailers. That’s a price we’ve seen for most of the last month or so, but now you can get this model with a $100 Amazon credit for no extra cost. Just use the code PDHMT3LPAACC at checkout. At Best Buy, meanwhile, the tablet is available with a $100 digital gift card. This upgraded SKU also includes 12GB of RAM; for reference, the base model comes with 8GB of memory and half the storage.
The Galaxy Tab S9 series is the top Android pick in our guide to the best tablets. Like the larger (and pricier) Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra, the 11-inch Tab S9 offers a gorgeous AMOLED display, IP68 water resistance, S Pen stylus support and excellent performance thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. It’s still expensive, and Android remains less optimized for larger screens than iPadOS. Nevertheless, this is a luxurious piece of hardware for those who want a high-end tablet but want to avoid Apple land.
SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless
The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless is on sale for $200, which is $50 off its usual going rate and only $10 more than its all-time low. This is a feature-rich, tenkeyless gaming keyboard we plan on recommending in a future buying guide. Its linear switches use magnetic Hall effect sensors, which let you adjust the actuation point of individual keys. That means you can make the keys faster and more responsive while gaming, then set them to be less sensitive while typing. A “rapid trigger” feature lets you re-actuate a switch mid-press, so you can repeat presses faster — handy for online shootouts where you’re strafing back and forth. You can also bind two actions to one key based on how far it’s pressed. For instance, you could lightly press Ctrl to crouch, then hold it down to go prone.
SteelSeries isn’t the only keyboard maker to implement features like these, and clearly, not everyone will need them. Plus, while the overall build quality of the Apex Pro TKL Wireless is good — with PBT keycaps, an aluminum top plate, a useful multifunction OLED display and multiple connection options — there are nicer typing experiences available for less. But some of these tricks can be genuinely useful if you spend lots of time in competitive-minded games, and this is one of the few wireless models to include them. The device also comes with a magnetic wrist rest.
Garmin Forerunner 745
The Garmin Forerunner 745 is available for $300, which is about $80 off its usual going rate. This is the “best for triathletes” pick in our guide to the best GPS running watches: It’s a few years old, and its UI generally isn’t as intuitive as Apple’s watchOS, but it’s easy to wear, it tracks distance accurately and it has a host of useful coaching and training features.
Jabra Elite 3
The lilac version of the Jabra Elite 3 is on sale for $49 at Amazon, which is a $20 or so drop from its typical street price in recent months. We highlight this pair in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds, and we gave it a review score of 88 back in 2021. Its modestly bass-boosted sound still impresses for the money, while its compact design and snug fit make it a nice companion for workouts. The downside is that it’s fairly basic in terms of features, as it lacks wireless charging, multi-device pairing, wear detection and active noise cancellation. If you don’t like the lilac finish, the dark grey model is available for $60, but that’s not as strong a deal.
Amazon Echo Pop
The teal and lavender versions of the Amazon Echo Pop are down to $23. That’s $5 more than the discount we saw during Amazon’s Prime Day event in July but still $17 off the semi-circular speaker’s list price. This is the new entry-level model in Amazon’s smart speaker lineup. It doesn’t sound as full as the spherical Echo Dot, and it lacks that device’s motion and temperature sensors, so it’s not as useful for pausing music by hand or controlling smart thermostats. However, if you just want the cheapest route into Alexa possible — and you can’t wait for Amazon’s next big sale — it still gets you most of the way there at a lower price.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-steam-deck-returns-to-an-all-time-low-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-164403780.html?src=rss
