’Tis the season for shopping and with Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming right up, it’s time to get serious. There are some techie gift ideas that are foolproof for everyone (including yourself). Finding any one of these presents under the tree will definitely bring a smile to someone’s face. Now to get you the best deal.
There’s no reason for anyone to be using a dumb television at this point. Whether you simply complement your cable subscription with Netflix, or totally ditch cable for streaming services and use a sleek antenna to get local channels, you need a smart TV. You will need to choose between buying a television with smart capabilities built in, or making your existing television smart with a streaming stick. I’m using both options in my home. If you have the cash and are in need of an upgrade, buying a TV with smart capabilities built-in could be the easiest route.
Bargain hint: If you just need a small smart TV to throw in a guest room or office, I just bought a couple 32-inch TCL TVs with Roku for $130 from Target. They were a breeze to set up and my husband is thrilled to be able to watch football while working in his home office now. If you already own a TV you like, but it lacks streaming capability, Roku is your best bet. It’s a great price, has the best selection of apps and is super user-friendly.
Walmart is showing the best deal on Roku products for Black Friday. While Roku normally has its Ultra model for $100 at the high end and the Express for $25 at the low end on its website, Walmart’s sale will save you quite a bit. The Roku 4K Ultra will be about half price at $48 and comes with JBL headphones and a $5 Vudu credit. The Roku SE will be just $18 and gives you everything you really need for streaming (if 4K isn’t that big of a deal to you). These prices go live Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. MT online and Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. in stores.
Another hot ticket item this Christmas will be Apple AirPods. It seems you can’t go anywhere without seeing people walking around with the little white sticks poking out of their ears. Most reviews rave about the upgrades from the original AirPods to AirPods Pro. The new version has a more comfortable fit adding silicon tips and has a shorter stem.
But the coolest feature is Transparency mode. With original AirPods, I always feel like I need to take one out to hear if someone is trying to talk to me or if I need to hear the ambience around me. But with the push of a sensor, you can turn Transparency mode on the AirPods Pro that lets you hear everything going on around you without having to take one out of your ear. If you’re wanting a deal on the new AirPods Pro (originally priced at $249), the only place with a discount right now is on Amazon for $235, showing they will still deliver before Christmas.
For the original AirPods (originally $159), Walmart once again has the best Black Friday deal for you at $129. Availability on this deal is the same as listed above for the Roku devices.
The Nintendo Switch is still a much-wanted item for Christmas and with the release of the Switch Lite this year, you may be confused as to which one to buy. The Switch Lite is about $100 less than the original, but you’ll lose the ability to connect to a TV and to detach the controllers (so two people can play). You should also know that Nintendo has upgraded the original Switch to get about double the battery life (now getting approximately four to nine playing hours), but they look almost identical. Make sure you look for Model number HAC-001(-01) (cnet reports the older version’s Model number will be HAC-001).
A newer version Nintendo Switch will cost about $300 and I haven’t seen any Black Friday deals to lower that price. But, if you don’t mind the older version (which has a battery that still gets approximately two to six playing hours), this deal straight from Nintendo is looking pretty good. Look for it starting Nov. 28 from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart. You’ll get the Nintendo Switch and it will come with a free Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which normally costs about $60 all on its own.
No doubt more Black Friday tech deals are still to come, but these are some great ideas to save you a little cash and make you the best gift giver in town.
Correction: A previous version listed the new model number of the Nintendo Switch Lite as HAC-001. The correct model number is HAC-001(-01).