It’s Thanksgiving Day which means the big holiday—Black Friday, of course—is just one day away. In the next few hours retailers will be slashing prices to kick off the holiday shopping season and clear out their 2024 stock. You don’t have to wait to carve the Thanksgiving turkey and watch the Cowboys lose to snag discounts, because we’ve spotted the best early Black Friday deals.
The WIRED team has decades of experience in product testing and a nose for sniffing out the best deals using a suite of price-tracking tools, including our proprietary tracker which pulls discounts on the products we’ve tested and reviewed throughout the year. For Black Friday, we cross-reference our buying guide recommendations with the latest sale prices to find the best early Black Friday deals on gadgets and gizmos worth owning. Someone from the WIRED Reviews team has tested every product we include in our deals coverage, so you can rest easy knowing we won’t highlight low prices on low-quality goods.
We strive to find deals at their best price ever or very close to it (some match previous discounts, but we have never seen them lower unless stated).
Updated Thanksgiving morning: We added deals from Sony, Panasonic, Roku, Apple, Ticket to Ride, Catan, Cosori, Breville, Nutribullet, Philips, Whisker, Chom Chom, Dyson, Govee, Kingston, Class Tracker, Remarkable, Asus, Samsung, Yamaha, Polk, Beats, Bose, Audioengine, Amazon, OnePlus, Garmin, Sony, Nintendo, Dell, Niu, reorganized the categories, removed discontinued deals, and updated prices.
Featured Deals
Best TV Deals (Plus Streaming Devices)
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
Samsung’s second-tier OLED (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of WIRED reviewer Ryan Waniata’s favorite TVs of the year. This QD-OLED panel boasts fabulously rich colors, can get slightly brighter than the LG C4, and has the perfect black levels and excellent picture quality from any angle that make OLED the dominant TV tech today. This TV has HDMI 2.1 support across all four inputs, and Samsung’s Game Hub lets you stream from loads of services, including Xbox. The only obvious downside is the lack of Dolby Vision. You can find more options in our Best Early Black Friday TV Deals.
Sony’s Bravia 9 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best-performing backlit TV around. It blends next-gen brightness with Sony’s proprietary dimming and picture processing to provide stunningly balanced performance across the board. The TV’s brightness pushes toward the psychedelic when called upon, but with measured dispersal to keep from blowing your eyeballs out. On the other end, you’ll experience OLED-like black levels and contrast, and 4K detail that pops off the screen. Sony only offers two HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning you’re losing two slots for gaming consoles over competitors, and the TV’s off-axis viewing is good, not great. That’s the price you’ll pay for brilliance that outdoes even the most fiery OLED displays. If you’ve been looking for a good sale on the best LED TV out there, your search is over. —Ryan Waniata
This Panasonic 4K Blu-Ray player supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which makes it fully optimized for getting the most out of your discs. I like how simple and easy to use these players are, although they do have software that feels a bit like it was coded 20 years ago. Discs look way better than streaming content in most cases, so a solid deal on this player is a must if you’re looking to see your favorite content in the best possible quality. —Parker Hall
Photograph: Roku
If you’re after a solid screen at a sweet price, Roku’s baseline Plus Series could be right up your alley. It all starts with the fantastic Roku operating system that makes it remarkably simple to call up connected devices, grab any app, and even track down your remote with a built-in chime. Frankly, that last feature is so fundamental I can’t believe it isn’t standard in all modern TVs. The Plus Series’ panel only offers a 60Hz refresh rate, so it’s not the best option for serious gamers, but it’s a solid performer thanks to good brightness and punchy colors. Thanks to local dimming, you won’t see blotchy patches when the lights are down, either. Support for Apple Homekit, Alexa, and Google Assistant rounds out the package for a great budget buy. —Ryan Waniata
Perhaps the best 4K streamer for folks who watch loads of Amazon Prime shows and movies, this Fire Stick is very easy to set up and use, supports Wi-Fi 6E for fast and stable streaming, and packs 16 gigabytes of storage. Alexa is built into the remote to help you find content or ask questions about what you’re watching. The picture-in-picture mode is handy for showing security cameras or controlling other smart home devices. There’s also “Ambient Experience,” which cycles through art or nature scenes on your TV when you’re not watching something.
Best Apple and Apple Accessory Deals
Photograph: Apple
This is our favorite iPad (7/10, WIRED Review) to recommend to most people. It’s powered by the A14 Bionic chip, which is the same one you’ll find in the iPhone 12, that never felt sluggish in our testing. It has a modernized design too, with slim bezels around a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina (IPS LCD) display, along with a USB-C port for charging, Touch ID in the power button, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera that’s been moved to the center of the iPad. It comes with support for the first-gen stylus or the USB-C Apple Pencil as well as the Magic Keyboard Folio and the original Smart Folio case. —Brenda Stolyar
The ninth-generation iPad (8/10, WIRED Recommends) may be getting long in the tooth, but it is still a great tablet. It has a 10.2-inch display, the classic Home button with Touch ID, the A13 Bionic chip that debuted on the iPhone 11, support for True Tone, and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera (with Center Stage). It is also compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil and Apple’s Smart Keyboard. We recommend its successor in our iPad guide, but this iPad is much more affordable.
The AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) come with a bunch of useful features including Conversation Awareness (which lowers your music and background noise when you’re having a conversation), Adaptive Transparency mode (that combines noise cancellation and transparency to adjust audio), and support for Find My in case you lose them. They also have above-average sound quality, with excellent noise cancellation, crisp highs, and authoritative bass. —Brenda Stolyar
Photograph: Adrienne So
The latest Apple Watch Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best Apple Watch you can buy. It is an excellent fitness and health tracker, brings phone notifications and calls to your wrist, and works wonderfully well in concert with your iPhone. Sadly, it lacks blood oxygen sensing, and you’ll still need to charge it every night. We don’t see many deals on Apple’s latest wares, so this is a discount worth grabbing if you’re set on an Apple Watch.
The Apple MacBook Air (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite Apple laptop. WIRED reviewer Brenda Stolyar says it offers great performance for everyday tasks, has a bright display, and provides solid battery life. This lightweight device is the MacBook pick in our Best Laptops guide. The 15-inch model is also on sale at $1,044 ($255 off) and has a bigger display, better battery life, and more speakers, but is otherwise identical.
These are the best trackers for folks with an iPhone, and you can use them to keep tabs on your keys, travel luggage, bike, or whatever else you worry might go missing. The location of each AirTag is marked clearly in the Find My app. The battery should last you a year, and we have a guide on how to replace your AirTag battery. Just please don’t use them to track people.
Photograph: Simon Hill
This excellent 3-in-1 charger for your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch is one of the best MagSafe chargers around. You can fold it away to a very compact size, making it an ideal travel companion. Charging for your iPhone goes up to 15 watts via a magnetic pad that can adjust to your preferred angle. There’s another pad for AirPods or other wireless earbuds, and a fold-out Apple Watch charger on the back. A 5-foot USB-C cable and wall adapter are included.
This is one of our favorite wireless chargers, but it is expensive, so this sale might be the perfect time to grab one. We recommend springing for the Qi2 version, as it will be compatible with the wave of Qi2 Android phones coming in 2025, but it also works with MagSafe iPhones (iPhone 13 models and newer support the Qi2 protocol). If you’re just an iPhone person, the standard MagSafe version of this charger is also on sale for $77 ($33 off). Check out our Nomad Black Friday sale post for more deals.
Toy and Game Deals
Photograph: Playshifu
Tacto is an app with physical pieces that convert your iPad, Android, or Fire tablet into a game board. With Tacto Chess, your kids can learn the basics, from how the pieces move to strategies for victory. The animated app features friendly voice acting and stories, chess puzzles to solve, a move predictor, and your child can play against AI or another person. My kids had some fun with this when they were learning, and it helped them understand chess a little better. This appears in our best STEM toys for kids guide.
A firm WIRED favorite and one of the best family board games, Ticket to Ride features steam engine styling and rules that are easy to grasp. All you must do is claim railway routes across the US and Canada using your colorful plastic rail cars. Spend cards to claim routes, rack up bonus points for connecting specific destinations, and the person with the highest score at the end wins. All aboard, choo, choo!
Start with a randomly generated map of hexagonal tiles in this addictive family board game, and gather and trade resources to develop your civilization and win. Amassing enough victory points requires a smart strategy and some dice-rolling luck. Catan is easy to get the hang of and only takes around an hour to finish. Players can trade freely, but the robber mechanic can cause arguments, so set some ground rules. The modular randomization makes for excellent replay value, and there are expansions and spin-offs to further complicate the gameplay. This game is for three or four players aged 10 years and up.
Best Charging Deals
Photograph: Simon Hill
My quest to find the best portable chargers has led me to test hundreds of power banks, but this is my current favorite. I love the look of this transparent, prism-shaped device, but it’s also extremely useful with a maximum output of 170 watts and a 24,000-mAh capacity, not to mention tough, with an IP66 rating for water resistance. It will fast-charge just about any small gadget, from phones to laptops, and the handy wee display shows battery life as a percentage, time remaining, and the input or output in watts. I have once seen it slightly cheaper, but this is a good price.
As a fan of the translucent electronics craze in the 1990s, I was immediately smitten to this power bank. You can see the ports, chips, and rechargeable Samsung Li-ion batteries inside. While an even better Shargeek (now Sharge) device replaced this in our best portable chargers guide, this power bank is still great. A color display shows the voltage, current, and power flowing in or out, and you can dig deeper for more stats. The DC barrel port lets you specify voltage and current for different devices, up to 75 watts, the first USB-C supports PD PPS up to 100 watts, the second offers 30 watts and supports PD 3.0 and Quick Charge 4 standards, and the USB-A port is QC 3.0 at up to 18 watts.
The Qi2 wireless charging standard was developed in partnership with Apple and features MagSafe-like magnetic alignment and speedier iPhone charging rates of up to 15 watts. This power bank can also charge other Qi2 devices (when they appear) and existing Qi devices (just more slowly). This compact power bank also has a handy kickstand, a two-way USB-C port, and an LED display that shows power and time to charge. You can attach MagSafe iPhones in portrait or landscape orientation, and it works with Apple’s StandBy mode, making it one of the best MagSafe power banks.
Photograph: Simon Hill
The Anker 737 is the upgrade pick in our best portable chargers guide. With a whopping 24,000 mAh capacity, support for power delivery 3.1, and the ability to send or receive up to 140 watts, this is the only power bank you need. It weighs nearly 1.4 pounds but is fairly compact, considering how much power it holds. A smart digital display shows battery percentage, and you can tap the power button to cycle through stats, including the temperature, total output, and more. This versatile portable charger fast-charged everything I tested and can easily juice up three devices at once.
The first portable power station from DJI can put out 2,200 watts steadily (2,600 watts surge), has two USB-C PD 3.1 ports (140 watts), and has DJI’s proprietary SDC ports for fast-charging drone batteries. It can charge phones, power microwaves or small tools, and meet most of your portable power needs, but it’s an especially great choice for folks with DJI drones, because it can fast-charge most models. It gets a little noisy with a lot of gadgets charging, and cable and bag accessories cost extra, but it still claims a place in our Best Portable Power Stations guide.
Durable and versatile, this power bank slips easily into a bag and has a nice grippy, textured finish. The yellow is easy to spot in a crowded tent, and the segmented LED shows the remaining power in blocks of 10 percent. The Charge 100 Max can charge up to five gadgets at once, and the wireless charging pad on top is handy in the dark when you don’t want to fumble with cables. This is the outdoors pick in our Best Portable Chargers guide.
Best Kitchen Deals
Photograph: Kat Merck
The Mill food recycler just might be one of the most idiot-proof ways out there to dispatch food waste for those who don’t have access to municipal compost. Throw in food scraps (even meat!) and the Mill grinds and dries them into odorless, shelf-stable bits overnight. There is a subscription program where you can send the grounds off in the mail to be made into chicken feed, and you can also use your grounds in the garden. We didn’t have the greatest success with that when we reviewed it earlier this year (6/10 WIRED Review), but we did find it to be a great device overall. This is Mill’s first-ever Black Friday sale, so if you were on the fence, this is the time to give it a shot. (Mill also offers a 90-day trial with free returns if you change your mind.) —Kat Merck
As seen in our guide to the Best White Elephant Gifts, this funny little tumbler holds both cereal and milk separately to be enjoyed on the go without the cereal becoming soggy. There is a learning curve—small, spherical cereal bits like Cheerios work best; you must block part of the milk hole with your lower lip lest the milk flow outpace the cereal flow; and the whole contraption tends to leak if the lid isn’t twisted on at exactly the right angle. However, it’s available in seven different colors and makes a great gag gift or stocking stuffer for someone who either loves cereal or never has time to eat breakfast. —Kat Merck
The best air fryers help you cook quickly and potentially with less fat or oil. These compact convection ovens heat up fast to make crispy chicken, fries, and donuts. This Cosori model is our favorite smart air fryer because you can remotely control it using a smartphone or tablet (it also has a digital control panel). We like the slick, black, classy design. The cooking drawer has a smooth action, and the handle stays cool, though the sides can get hot, so it needs plenty of space. Temperature options range from 175 degrees Fahrenheit to a powerful 400, with 12 handy preset cooking modes.
Photograph: Breville
The Breville Barista Express is the lowest priced all-in-one espresso maker and frother we’ve found that’ll compete with the thousand-dollar big boys—a sturdy machine with precision, power, grace, and staying power. This is a longtime Gear team favorite: WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu has kept this on his counter for a half-decade. The slightly upgraded Pro version is also on sale this weekend, for about hundred more. —Matthew Korfhage
The Nutribullet Ultra is one of the best blenders we’ve tested. It’s stylish and has simple controls, and the 1,200-watt motor is powerful enough to handle all your smoothies, dips, and sauces. The 30-second blend is usually enough to get through your ingredients, but you might have to run a second cycle if you want the smoothest consistencies. The five-year warranty and suction cup feet are icing on the cake. Er, smoothie. We’ve seen this blender drop to $90 before, but anything below $110 is a good deal. —Louryn Strampe
It’s officially soup season, and what better way to get into the spirit than with the Philips Soup Maker (7/10, WIRED Review)? This bad boy can make so much soup. Also chilis, stews, purées, and smoothies. It’s kind of like an Instant Pot, if an Instant Pot was specifically for liquids. Choose your preferred texture, from chunky to creamy and more, and the machine will heat (or cool), blend, and stir the added ingredients to perfection. The machine is quiet and purpose-built. If you’re a soup enthusiast, or aspiring to be one, this deal is a goodie. —Louryn Strampe
Best Home Deals
Photograph: Molly Higgins
The Litter-Robot with Litter-Hopper attachment is my No. 1 pick for Automatic Cat Litter Boxes. The Litter-Robot’s app is the most comprehensive and helpful of all the boxes’ I’ve tested, and tells you if the litter levels are optimal or need replacing, or how full the waste basket is, and has a log of all of the times the cats have used the box and how long they were inside. The LitterHopper attachment is a huge game changer, dispensing litter so I don’t have to. The box is an expensive upgrade, but well worth it. This deal on the starter kit gets you $100 off, including the upgraded attachment and other accessories like drawer liners and a bag of litter. —Molly Higgins
I think it’d be disingenuous to say that removing pet fur from furniture is ever fun, but the Chom Chom roller almost makes it so. It’s a necessity in my household due to the sheer fluffiness of my cat. Roll the … roller … back and forth across your sofa or bedsheets and be amazed at how much fur it removes. It’s fast, efficient, and less wasteful than traditional lint rollers. Pop open the compartment for easy emptying and re-use. I keep one on my coffee table to quickly de-fur when unexpected guests arrive. Or whenever I get bored, to be honest. —Louryn Strampe
If you’re not interested in one of Dyson’s standard vacuums, you can opt for a robot vacuum instead. With a spin speed of 110,000 RPM, this one is super powerful. It also has a digital display and a filter that’s easy to remove and clean. According to Dyson, it also has six times more suction than the competition. It also comes equipped with a “triple-action” brush bar, which includes soft nylon for large debris on hard floors, antistatic carbon-fiber filaments for fine dust, and stiff nylon bristles for carpet. —Brenda Stolyar
Photograph: Simon Hill
The best smart shades can be awfully expensive, but this clever retrofit gadget from Eve can make one of your existing roller blinds smart. Simply check compatibility by measuring the circumference of the tube inside your roller shade. This kit works with Matter, so you can use it with your platform of choice, but you do need a home hub (with Apple HomeKit, for example, that is a HomePod mini, HomePod, or Apple TV) if you want to schedule it to open and close automatically or use voice commands. Mine works perfectly, and I love the handy pull chain as a simple control backup, but it can be a little noisy.
One of the cheapest and best Govee smart lights you can buy is this affordable light strip that comes in several lengths. It is designed to be hidden behind furniture, so you just see the reflected light. We are highlighting the longest 100-foot option here, but all are segmented to display multiple colors, can be controlled wirelessly from the app or using voice controls, and support Govee’s enormous variety of lighting effects. These light strips also appear in our best smart lighting guide.
This is one of the best sales we’ve seen on this boxy air purifier, which I’ve had in my kitchen for over two years now to mitigate some of the combustion particulates from my gas stove. I love that the slim profile and rectangular shape make this purifier easy to tuck away somewhere unobtrusive (though it still does need to be located 8 inches away from a wall), and that its HEPA replacement filters are both easy to find and inexpensive (Amazon has them for $26 for two). WIRED reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro also notes in our guide to the Best Air Purifiers that it has an excellent air exchange rate for small rooms, cleaning the air in 361 square feet at the recommended rate of 4.8 times per hour. —Kat Merck
Coway Airmega 250 Air PurifierPhotograph: Amazon
The Airmega 250 from clean air leader Coway provides the industrial vibe your home or loft needs. The warm gray box looks like a high-end speaker. And the Airmega 250 can do four air exchanges an hour when fitted for a 465-square-foot room. Utilizing a HEPA filter, this CARB-certified air purifier also has a washable prefilter along with an activated carbon filter to capture odors and VOCs. It has a built-in air quality sensor with indicator light and an easy-to-use control panel. It’s not app-compatible but does have a three-year warranty and runs at a relatively quiet 22 decibels. —Lisa Wood Shapiro
This cylindrical air purifier covers 2,745 square feet (at an air exchange rate of two times per hour, less than the recommended four, so we’d recommend a room half that size) with a 4-in-1 filter consisting of pre-filter, HEPA, activated carbon, and an antibacterial layer. Bosch came out with the Air line of Energy Star- and CARB-certified air purifiers this summer, including small, medium, and large versions. Look for this large version in our guide to the Best Air Purifiers. I’ve been using it on the 1,300-square-foot main floor of my house that has 23-foot ceilings, and the difference in smells, dust, and overall air quality has been extremely noticeable. It’s got a ring-light indicator (red = bad, blue = good) as well as a digital display that shows PM 2.5, total volatile organic compounds, temperature, and humidity. It’s also imperceptibly quiet with the fan running on the lowest speed. The only downside is the expensive filters that must be replaced every six to nine months. —Kat Merck
Photograph: Dyson
For folks with smaller homes, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite Dyson vacuum. It is very lightweight, easy to maneuver, and will pack away in a small space. It is also effective at keeping your place pristine, with a wide assortment of attachments to help you get into nooks and crannies. It even has a neon-green laser to shine a spotlight on every speck of dust you may have missed.
As one of the best sleep trackers, the Withings Sleep Analyzer tracks your movements, breathing, and heart rate throughout the night, sending data to the Withings Health Mate app. Each morning you can review your sleep phases, broken into awake, REM, light, and deep sleep, and get a sleep score out of 100 based on duration, depth, regularity, interruptions, time to fall asleep, and time to get up. This mat slips under your mattress, making it a great sleep-tracking option for folks who don’t like to wear watches or rings in bed.
This affordable security camera is our pick of the best indoor security cameras because it offers clear 2K footage, with a starlight sensor that enables color night vision. Smart detection (people, pets, and vehicles) is handy, and the slightly laggy two-way audio is fine. Pop in a microSD card (up to 512 GB) for local recording, or opt for a Tapo Care subscription for 30 days of cloud storage that starts at $3.50 per month. It also has an IP66 rating, so it can be used outdoors.
Photograph: Simon Hill
What makes this one of the best indoor security cameras you can buy is the face recognition. It can warn you when there’s a stranger in your home and tell you when your kids or partner get in. With HDR, the 1080p video quality is crystal clear at 30 fps, and there’s automatic night vision when it’s dark. You also get decent two-way audio and enforced two-factor authentication, which is important for an indoor camera. The big downside is that you need a Nest Aware subscription costing $8 per month ($80/year) for 30 days of event video history and familiar face alerts, but that covers all your Nest devices.
There are so many good-quality, affordable security cameras on the market, and the Blink Mini 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorites. It can record 1080p footage at up to 30 fps, offers decent low-light performance, and boasts on-device person detection. The catch is the subscription at $3 per month or $30 per year for a single camera, but it nets you a generous 60-day unlimited cloud video history. This camera is ideal for sitting unobtrusively on a shelf and keeping an eye on your home when you are away.
This Arlo model has everything you need in an indoor security camera, including crisp 2K video at 24 frames per second, two-way audio, and a compact design that includes a privacy shutter. You can expect a quick loading feed in the Arlo app, useful smart notifications, and two-factor authentication, so you can log in with your fingerprint or face if your phone allows. Sadly, you need a pricey subscription (Arlo Secure costs $8 per month for one camera or $13 per month for unlimited cameras) for subject recognition, smart alerts, and cloud storage. This is the upgrade pick in our best indoor security cameras guide.
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Photograph: Simon Hill
Arlo ticks all the boxes with crisp 2K video, a wide 160-degree field of view, two-way audio, and a direct connection to Wi-Fi. That’s why the Arlo Pro 5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) tops our best outdoor security cameras guide. The Arlo app is swift to load, offers excellent notifications, and supports two-factor authentication, so you can log in with your fingerprint or face, phone permitting. The catch is a pricey subscription (Arlo Secure costs $8 per month for one camera or $13 per month for unlimited cameras) that’s required for subject recognition, smart alerts, and cloud storage.
This versatile device is the pan-and-tilt pick in our best outdoor security camera guide. It’s ideal if you want a hands-off camera you can set up and leave to do its thing. The built-in solar panel keeps the battery topped off. The camera features a dual-lens system with a main lens that boasts a 135-degree field of view and records sharp video, paired with a telephoto lens that offers 3x zoom in the center of the frame (it goes up to 8x hybrid zoom). There’s also 8 GB of storage built-in to keep things local. The relatively low 15 fps frame rate is disappointing, and the two-way audio quality is not great, but there is onboard AI and subject tracking.
A security camera kit is an easy way to get started with home security, and this Eufy one includes two cameras with a home hub. The upgrade pick for folks seeking a local, subscription-free system in our best outdoor security cameras guide, the EufyCam 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a lot going for it. Solar is built-in for battery top-ups, video resolution goes all the way up to 4K, and there’s 16 GB of local storage (expandable up to 16 TB) on the connected HomeBase 3 hub. You also get on-device people, pet, and vehicle recognition, and this system can even recognize familiar faces, though it’s not as good at it as Google’s Nest cams.
While it’s not our top pick, Google’s Nest Cam does make our list of the best outdoor security cameras and is a solid choice if you have a Nest Doorbell or other Google gadgets. The HD resolution is limited, but that’s offset by the HDR and high frame rate, and the face recognition is the best we have tested in a security camera. The Nest Aware subscription at $8 a month ($80/year) is too much if you only have a single camera, but that price covers multiple devices.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Folks who receive loads of packages will appreciate Eufy’s dual camera doorbell because it provides a view of your porch floor and front step, alongside the usual picture of whoever is calling. This is the best subscription-free option in our best video doorbells guide because there’s 8 GB of built-in storage for local recording, and it can connect to a HomeBase 3 hub for more. The 2K footage is crisp and clear, and there’s on-device people, package, and even face detection, though it’s not always accurate, and this doorbell can be laggy when connecting away from home.
These affordable Govee Wi-Fi Water Sensors are quick and easy to install, and send alerts as push notifications and emails to warn you when there’s a leak. With a very loud siren (100 decibels) you will hear them if you are home, and you can shut off the sound from the app. The sensors are compact with drip detection on top and metal feet for leak detection beneath. Alerts triggered within a few seconds in my tests, earning them a place in our best water leak detectors guide. The app is basic but works well and gives you an alert history. They do require a Govee Wi-Fi hub (included), which needs a power outlet, and it’s big enough that it may block an adjacent outlet. Each sensor also needs two AA batteries (provided).
Best Home Office Deals
Photograph: Branch
With a pleasing range of adjustments, including seat depth, recline level, and armrest length, this dependable office chair is easy to assemble. It can serve you well, no matter what height you are, and even boasts adjustable lumbar support, which is essential for folks who sit for hours every day. This is the lowest price we have seen yet on the best office chair for most people. Use code BFCM for 15 percent off. You can find more bargains in the Branch Black Friday sale.
Simple to set up and use, Amazon’s Eero mesh systems are easy to recommend and can act as smart home hubs with support for Matter, Thread, and Zigbee. The tri-band Eero Pro 6E (7/10, WIRED Recommends) mesh adds the 6-GHz band to the familiar 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. It’s a great choice for busy households with many devices and a 1-Gbps or faster connection. Performance is excellent, but the 6-GHz band is short-range. The Eero Plus subscription is expensive ($10 per month or $100 per year), but it includes comprehensive parental controls, advanced security, ad blocking, and even a password manager and VPN service.
Folks with smaller homes and connections up to 500 Mbps should consider the Eero 6 (3-Pack) on sale at $150 ($50 off), but the more heavily discounted Eero 6+ (3-Pack) at $195 ($105 off) is a better deal if you can afford it.
This TP-Link mesh will cover your whole home on a limited budget (it’s the budget pick in our best mesh routers guide). It is a Wi-Fi 6 dual-band mesh (2.4-GHz and 5-GHz) that is easy to set up. It’s not the speediest mesh, but is fast enough for folks with internet connections of 500 Mbps or less. The vase-like design blends in easily on shelves or tables, and each router sports two gigabit Ethernet ports. For more than basic security and parental controls, you need Security+ at $5 a month or $36 a year, and Advanced Parental Controls at $3 a month or $18 a year). But, even with the subscriptions, the X20 is an affordable way to get reliable Wi-Fi.
Photograph: TP-Link
The Deco BE85 (7/10, WIRED Review) was TP-Link’s first Wi-Fi 7 mesh. It delivers unrivaled performance, wide coverage, and is easy to set up and use. A two-pack will be enough for most folks, and each router has two 10-Gbps Ethernet ports, two 2.5-Gbps ports, and a USB 3.0 port. You need a very fast multi-gig internet connection and loads of Wi-Fi 7 devices to make this a worthwhile purchase, but it has dropped in price significantly since release.
We recommended this Wi-Fi 6E system in our best mesh routers guide until it was replaced by the newer XE70 Pro, but this is still a good choice, especially with the discount. It is a tri-band (2.4-GHz, 5-GHz, and 6-GHz) mesh with impressive range and stability. Each of the three routers has three Gigabit ports. By default, the 6-GHz band is reserved for wireless backhaul, but you can open it up for devices. If you have a connection of 1 Gbps or less, this mesh will serve you well. While enhanced security and parental controls require subscriptions, most folks can live without them.
Topping our best routers guide, this affordable router combines a slick design with reliable performance. It’s only a dual-band (2.4-GHz and 5-GHz) router, but should be fast enough for most folks and will cover an average-sized home with an internet connection of 1 Gbps or less. Ample connectivity includes four gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, a single gigabit WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port on the back. The setup is simple, TP-Link’s Tether app is easy to use, and basic security and features like QoS (Quality of Service) are included.
Photograph: Eero
If you want the top-of-the-line mesh system from Amazon’s Eero, it’s the Max 7. This tri-band system supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard. Each router can cover up to 2,500 square feet, and they have four Ethernet ports apiece, two rated at 10 Gbps and two at 2.5 Gbps. You can mix and match Eero routers, the app is very accessible, and this system is designed to be hands-off. It also boasts comprehensive smart home connectivity, and the optional Eero Plus subscription is pricey ($10 per month or $100 per year) but bundles parental controls, enhanced security, ad blocking, a password manager, and VPN service. Eero has worked out some of the kinks since I tested the Max 7 (7/10, WIRED Review), but it’s still likely overkill for most folks and more than you need to spend unless you have a big busy household with a multi-gig internet connection.
Gamers don’t need a special gaming router, but if you love customizable RGB lighting, this mesh will tempt you. It’s not just fancy lighting that makes it worth a look, because this tri-band Asus ROG Rapture GT6 finished high up the table in most tests. With a single 2.4-GHz band and two 5-GHz bands (one is used for backhaul unless you connect the routers with an Ethernet cable), it can keep all your gaming gear online. The 5-GHz band supports wider 160-MHz channels and WPA3 for security. You also get AiProtection security software and comprehensive parental controls included without a subscription. The game modes boost performance and prioritize gaming traffic, and each router has a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, three 1 gigabit LAN ports, and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.
The best Wi-Fi 6E router in our best routers guide, this hexagonal Asus router impressed in my tests. It’s a tri-band router, adding the 6-GHz band to the familiar 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz. The new band is very fast, though it is relatively low range and doesn’t penetrate through walls very well. There’s ample connectivity with a 2.5-Gbps WAN/LAN port, a second 1-Gbps WAN/LAN, and a further three gigabit LANs. Asus also offers free security and parental controls and all the settings you need in the mobile app and browser interface, including band-splitting, prioritization for different activities, guest network, VPN support, and so on.
As the most secure pick in our best USB flash drives guide, the Kingston IronKey is packed with security features. Run Kingston’s software to set up a password or passphrase, use the virtual keyboard to guard against keyloggers, and rest assured the contents will be automatically erased after 10 wrong attempts. It is FIPS Certified 197 and has 256-bit AES-XTS encryption, offers protection against brute-force attacks and BadUSB, and is manufactured in the US so is TAA compliant. In other words, this drive is as secure as they come.
It’s never too late to get organized and Class Tracker makes the best paper planners for students. There are monthly calendars, but the weekly pages shine. Each day sports a section for things to remember, tests, papers, or projects due, and larger spots for assignments and a daily plan. A Self-Care Corner gives you space for non-school things to focus on and a countdown box for something you’re looking forward to. If you or the student in your life is struggling to get organized, this planner could help.
Best Laptop and Tablet Deals
Photograph: Nena Farrell
The ReMarkable 2 is a great digital notebook—so great that it’s No. 1 in our Best Digital Notebooks guide. I find myself grabbing it daily to write down all kinds of things—grocery lists! To do lists! Ideas for novels I’ll never write!—or upload PDFs for me to read and edit. It’s pricey, though, making this Black Friday sale super exciting. This on-sale bundle includes the Marker Plus, which has an eraser on the end for you to easily edit your notes without needing to switch between your tools on the page. Choose a bundle with the folio of your choice—I love the Type Folio for taking more detailed notes or mixing up my writing screen of the day, but the Book Folio has a better price—to get the sale price. —Nena Farrell
If your computing needs are simple—you have a handful of Chrome tabs running and that’s about it—then a Chromebook will probably suffice. We have many great recommendations in our Best Chromebooks guide, and the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 (7/10, WIRED Review) is the best-looking by far. The all-white design is classy and different from the typical black machines, and there’s decent power with the Intel Core i3 chipset. There’s a great port selection here, and the 1080p webcam will make you look pretty good. —Julian Chokkattu
Who says you always have to buy the latest and greatest? If you get a tablet from Samsung’s 2023 Tab S9 series, you can save some serious cash and get an equally great experience (7/10, WIRED Recommends). The Tab S9 is the smallest, and next comes the Tab S9+, both of which have AMOLED screens and are IP68 rated for water resistance. The Tab S9 Ultra is down to $800 ($400 off), and it’s massive and designed to be a travel-friendly computer when you don’t want to lug a laptop around. Also, check out the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab FE+. If you just want a tablet to watch some shows, read, and play some games, these affordable slates are better than their predecessors, with smoother performance, and you still get a stylus in the box. They’re nearly identical—the FE+ just has more RAM and a bigger screen. —Julian Chokkattu
Best Soundbar Deals
Photograph: Amazon
This compact soundbar from Yamaha is great for folks who are tired of using tinny TV speakers. At only 60 centimeters wide, this bar is easy to place in even smaller spaces, and a built-in subwoofer provides more bass than you can typically expect from a small soundbar. I like how easy it is to set up with the Yamaha control app, and the HDMI eARC connection makes it as simple as using a single cable. —Parker Hall
Classic audio brands have had a harder time pivoting to the soundbar world than most, but Polk has managed to make a decent bar and stand behind it for a few years now. This model features integration with Alexa, and you can even expand it with other powered Polk speakers down the line, making the React a good system to slowly build a home theater with. —Parker Hall
Best Headphone and Speaker Deals
Photograph: Ryan Waniata
Some of the best wire-free earbuds you can get for under $100, the Anker Soundcore Space A40 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) impressed WIRED reviewer Ryan Waniata with noise cancellation, detailed sound, multipoint pairing, and a wireless charging case at a very reasonable price. These earbuds are regularly discounted, but this is close to the lowest price we’ve seen.
The Beats Studio Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) were solid headphones at full price, but after dropping a full $100 to around $250 on average, they became a lot more appealing. Now they’ve slipped even further, moving closer to the “gotta grab” category thanks to a mix of engaging sound and impressive usability. Extras include solid noise canceling, brilliant transparency mode, Apple-centric extras like “Hey, Siri” voice commands, and one-touch pairing for iPhone or Android devices. Their build isn’t as posh as premium models from Sony or Bose, but at a fraction of the price, they’re the better buy for tighter budgets. —Ryan Waniata
It’s hard to think of a more stalwart consumer electronics product over the last decade than Sony’s WH-1000XM4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). Even four years after their debut, they serve as a benchmark for new contenders and premium offerings from top players alike. Their noise canceling isn’t top tier, but it’s still very good, and a raft of features—from a multi-band EQ to a touch control that turns on transparency mode temporarily for announcements or quick conversations—makes them feel advanced even as they gracefully age. Their sound is warm and bassy, yet refreshingly refined, and their durable plastic shells harbor plush padding for hours of comfort. You can outdo these noise cancelers with the latest Bose QuietComfort Ultra or Sony’s step-up WH-1000XM5, but there’s no question as to why Sony’s kept them around for multiple generations. —Ryan Waniata
Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra headphones (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are premium in style and performance, as you’d expect from the best noise-canceling headphones on the market. Their plush and ergonomic design makes them a joy to wear, while their penchant for noise-strangling makes them the ultimate choice for serious travelers or those who simply need unparalleled tranquility in their home or office. I also really enjoy the sound, which is less forward than Bose flagships past, while still providing excellent instrumental separation and deft balance. The battery provides a solid 30 hours per charge and the headphones add futuristic features like 3D audio virtualization with head-tracking to feel more like a pair of speakers. At well over $400, these are a serious splurge, but at this price they feel more like a steal. —Ryan Waniata
Everyone needs a good pair of computer speakers, especially if you work from a home office. These desktop speakers from Audioengine have wired and Bluetooth connectivity, and they have front ports for better bass when placed against a wall or on a desktop. They’re not the newest model ever, but they’re still our favorite. —Parker Hall
Best Amazon Device Deals
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Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
It’s very easy to see why the Kindle Paperwhite is Amazon’s most popular model. The 12th-generation model (8/10, WIRED Recommends) comes with a larger display (7 inches instead of 6.8), the highest contrast ratio on any Kindle (for sharp text and images), and three months of battery life (an increase from two months on its predecessor). It’s also the thinnest yet. We recommend it to anyone who is buying their very first Kindle. The Signature Edition is also on sale for $155, which comes with double the storage, auto-adjust brightness, and support for wireless charger. —Brenda Stolyar
The Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) is truly tiny yet powerful. It’s the Alexa smart speaker I find myself always having set up somewhere in my house, even if I’m testing other voice assistants. This smart speaker might only be a few inches tall, but its audio quality can almost rival the larger Echos. The small footprint makes it easy to add almost anywhere in your home, too. The only downside is the price for such a small speaker, but it’s on major sale for Black Friday. —Nena Farrell
We think Amazon’s Audible Premium Plus is the best audiobook service, as it bundles a library of Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts, with one credit per month to use on any audiobook title you fancy, and regular exclusive deals and discounts. Usually, you get one month free, after which it costs $15 per month, but any nonsubscriber can get three months for $1 until the end of the year. Remember that you get to keep titles purchased with credits, even after your subscription ends.
Photograph: Nena Farrell
If you want a smart display, this is the Goldilocks of the lot. The Echo Show 8 is the perfect size with its 8-inch screen to use for all kinds of features—smart home control, music player, video calls, even a little movie streaming—and packs a great speaker, a smart home hub, and a 13 MP camera. Use it as a digital photo frame, a smart home control center, or just a music jam session. Not only is this smart display fantastic, but it’s nearly half off right now and available for the best price we’ve seen all year. —Nena Farrell
Best Beauty Deals
Photograph: Tymo
Some people (like me) have stubborn hair that will only straighten with a flat iron, but others with more forgiving hair have a wider breadth of options, from hot brushes to air-assisted tools like Dyson’s AirWrap. Yet another method is via the Tymo Ring, a straightening comb that former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano called in our guide to the Best Hair Straighteners a way to take “the curl right out quickly—I didn’t have to go over sections more than once or twice.” She also liked the outer shell that covers the hot teeth, so users are able to get closer to their roots without burning themselves. —Kat Merck
Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano declared this uniquely shaped hair dryer as “made for curls” in our Best Hair Dryers guide. Basically a diffuser and dryer in one, it’s designed to dry curls gently while cutting down on frizz and puffiness. It doesn’t have a traditional handle, but that didn’t bother Medea. If you’re short on space in your bathroom and don’t want to have to store a hair dryer and separate diffuser attachment, this could be the solution for you. —Kat Merck
As seen in our guide to the Best Hair Straighteners, WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell is a fan of this two-in-one tourmaline ceramic hair straightener and curler that ranges from 284 to 428 degrees Fahrenheit. The unique barrel has 88 little holes that blow cool air with the touch of a button, supposedly helping to set styles to last up to 48 hours. Nena did not find that her hair stayed curlier or straighter after using this feature, but this is still a decent deal on a unique tool for someone who may not want to have to store both a curling iron and a flat iron. —Kat Merck
Photograph: Amazon
This OG Chi is an oldie but a goodie—even though it’s got ceramic plates and only heats up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s able to successfully smooth a broad range of hair types and textures. It’s lightweight, with 1-inch plates for easy maneuverability and waves, plus it’s got three heat settings and one-hour auto-shutoff for safety. I had one of these straighteners decades ago and it lasted nearly 10 years. Even though this isn’t the greatest sale I’ve ever seen, I still wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again. —Kat Merck
I go through a lot of heat protectants while testing hair straighteners, and R+Co Bleu’s Hypersonic Heat Styling Mist is one of my go-tos. It protects up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (also great for hair dryers and curling irons) and goes on kind of thick, like hairspray, so it’s definitely effective at fighting frizz but also isn’t so heavy that it weighs hair down. I also like that it comes in sustainable packaging and is Leaping Bunny certified to be cruelty-free. All of R+Co’s products are 30 percent off for Black Friday, so R+Co’s diatomaceous earth-based Skyline Dry Shampoo is also worth a grab if you need a TSA-compliant dry shampoo for travel or are trying to stay away from aerosols. And on the subject of hair products, IGK is also offering 30 percent off everything on its site, and while testing for an upcoming guide to the Best Heat Protectants we’ve also become quite fond of IGK’s Good Behavior Smoothing Spray (protects up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit), which is $10 off in the sale. —Kat Merck
There are hair straighteners that are best for thick and curly hair and hair straighteners that are best for finer, more wavy hair, but it’s rare to find one that works great for both. As the top pick in our guide to the Best Hair Straighteners, this ceramic iron makes short work of most hair textures—former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano has one she’s been using on her curls since college, and this is the iron I use on my own unruly 3a curls for daily touch-ups. I also like the maneuverability of the smaller plates and the quick one-minute heating time. —Kat Merck
We love Cozy Earth’s bamboo sheets and hoodies, but this pajama set hits new comfort highs—soft and stretchy, smooth and luxurious. My wife has been wearing these pajamas to test them for an upcoming gift guide, and she says they are the best she has ever worn. The big catch with Cozy Earth clothing is the high prices, so this Black Friday sale offering up to 35 percent off is worth a look.
Best Mobile Phone Deals (Plus Accessories)
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
The Google Pixel 9 Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorite phones of the year. WIRED Senior Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu raves about the camera system, smooth OLED displays, and helpful software features you won’t find on other phones. Easily one of the best Android phones you can buy right now, the Pixel 9 Pro only dropped recently, so this is a surprisingly deep and tempting discount. The Pixel 8A is also discounted at $399 ($100 off).
OnePlus will likely unveil a successor very soon in the new year, but the OnePlus 12R is an excellent midrange Android phone that’s speedy in every way (it can fully recharge in 30 minutes with the included charger and cable!). It has an AMOLED 120-Hz screen, a 5,500-mAh battery that lasted me two days, and the 2023 flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset can handle the most demanding games. This is one of the lowest prices we’ve tracked. You should also consider the flagship OnePlus 12 while you’re here, because it’s also on sale for $550 ($100 off). It has better performance and wireless charging support.—Julian Chokkattu
This 10-foot cable is long enough to allow you to place your phone where you want while charging (or continue using it without having to crouch near the outlet). It is a durable braided nylon cable from Anker that comes with a lifetime warranty. It can deliver up to 100 watts to fast-charge any phone or tablet and comes with a handy cable tie. You can get it in black or white, but I like the red because it stands out, making it less of a tripping hazard. This is the best long cable in our best USB-C cables guide.
Best Smartwatch Deals (Plus Fitness Trackers)
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
The Google Pixel Watch 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a good-looking smartwatch with accurate health and fitness capabilities. The bigger 45-mm size offers a day or more of battery life, and the Auto Bedtime Mode is handy when the day is over. This is our pick of the best smartwatches if you have an Android phone, and this is the lowest price we have seen for it yet.
Discounts on Oura’s biohacking smart rings are rare, but the Oura Ring Gen3 Horizon dropped in price when the Oura Ring 4 landed, and this discount takes it even lower. This smart ring is our favorite sleep tracker and does a solid job of tracking your activity and stress levels. It packs three hospital-grade sensors: infrared photoplethysmography sensors for heart rate and respiration, a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) sensor for body temperature, and a 3D accelerometer for movement. The app is easy to use, but Oura’s $6-per-month membership is an essential extra cost to get the most from this gadget.
The best running watch will probably always be a Garmin Forerunner. The line ranges from the barebones Forerunner 55 to the spendy Forerunner 965 for triathlons, but I think the Forerunner 165 has pretty much everything you need. The more you spend, the more sensors you get, and the Forerunner 165 has blood oxygen sensing plus a barometric altimeter, compass, and ambient light sensor, in addition to the now-standard fall detection and multiple satellite positioning systems. —Adrienne So
Best Gaming Deals
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Photograph: Eric Ravenscraft
The PlayStation 5 Slim is a slimmed down version of the PlayStation 5 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) that’s around 30 percent slimmer. It runs the same list of great PS5 games, but takes up less space beneath the TV. We have a breakdown of the different PlayStation 5 models if you want to dive deeper, but the PS5 Slim is the only one on sale for Black Friday and a 15 percent discount is decent if you’re in the market for a Sony console.
The PlayStation VR2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the best VR headsets, featuring a comfortable, adjustable headband, excellent eye-tracking that allows you to select menu items or track objects by looking at them, and it comes with two controllers. If you crave immersion, you’ll find it here. The headset requires a PS5 and this is a tasty discount, but we recommend going for the PlayStation VR2 Horizon Call of The Mountain Bundle ($349) since it is the same price and includes one of the best PS VR2 games in Horizon Call of the Mountain.
You can shrug off battery anxiety with the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (10/10, WIRED Recommends), because this gaming headset can go for an amazing 300 hours between charges. Former WIRED reviewer Eric Ravenscraft said it delivers rich, booming sound, has comfortable ear cups, and boasts intuitive controls. All it really lacks is a headphone jack. Discounts are common on this headset, and it may have dipped slightly lower, but this is still a bargain worth grabbing.
Photograph: Simon Hill
This easy-to-build home arcade cabinet features a 17-inch color LCD screen, a light-up marquee, authentic arcade controls, and runs 14 Namco games, including every version of Pac-Man and a few extras like Galaga and Dig Dug. Whether you grew up in the arcades or not, these games still have a powerful addictive hook, and this Pac-Man arcade machine brought me closer to my teen kids. This is a decent discount that drops it to the lowest price we’ve seen.
This is one of the best game controllers for PC gamers, with five central buttons on the front, a pair of rear paddles, and plenty of customization options. 8BitDo’s software lets you remap buttons, tweak the stick and trigger sensitivity, assign macros, and tune the vibration intensity. It’s compact with a grippy texture on the handles, satisfyingly clicky triggers, and a decent D-pad. There’s a 2.4G dongle in the handy charging dock for PC gaming, and battery life is around 20 hours. It also has Bluetooth support for Nintendo Switch players, making this a solid alternative to the Switch Pro controller.
The Nintendo Switch OLED (8/10, WIRED Recommends) manages to be the top mobile gaming console but comes with removable Joy-Con controllers and a dock that converts it from a handheld console to a TV-tethered game machine. This bundle includes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, easily one of the best Nintendo Switch games, and some of the greatest split-screen multiplayer fun you can have. This deal also includes 12 months of membership to Nintendo Switch Online.
There’s no escaping the fact this is a pricey purchase, even with the discount, but the Alienware AW3423DW (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is quite simply stunning. This highly responsive Quantum Dot OLED displays gorgeous colors, boasts excellent HDR, and has superb contrast. I had to tweak the settings to get it looking its best, the fan is often audible, and it’s not an ideal choice for bright rooms (avoid direct light on the screen), but with the right setup, this is easily one of, if not the best computer monitors for gaming.
This tense and exhilarating battle for survival throws wave after wave of mutated monsters at you as you fight your way through the eerie Spanish countryside. Capcom didn’t just refresh the graphics here, there are all sorts of tweaks to improve the gameplay, tighten the script, and trim the fat. The Resident Evil 4 remake made our list of the best PS5 games, and is well worth snapping up for horror fans.
Best Outdoor Deals
Photograph: REI
REI’s Half Dome tents are some of the best camping tents you can buy, according to WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson, who says this tent is reasonably priced, rugged, and simple to set up, and it offers generous living space for two with gear. The interchangeable poles make for an easy pitch, and it won’t add too much weight to your pack, at just under 4 pounds. Happy campers will find more options in our Best REI Black Friday Deals post.
Now is the time to procure the best face computer. The Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses are on sale across Meta, Ray-Ban, Best Buy, Target, and Amazon through December 2. I freaking love these things (possibly because I’ve been wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarers for almost two decades) and they’re so useful. You can listen to podcasts on your run! You can take pictures to text to your spouse! You can check if the food cart is open, all without taking out your phone. And as if that weren’t enough, they also shade your eyes. —Adrienne So
Niu’s scooters have long been reliable for me, with simple folding mechanisms and a comfy riding experience. That continues with the KQi 300X, a 49-pound escooter with 10.5-inch tubeless tires, regenerative braking, and a 16-mile range in my tests (I’m 6’4”, so you can probably go even further.) This one has turn signals too, though they are not time-based and need to be turned off manually. Still, this is one of the lower prices I’ve seen and great value. —Julian Chokkattu
Best Travel Deals
Photograph: Epicka
Universal travel adapters are handy to have on your travels and this affordable adapter from Epicka works in more than 150 countries. Sliders reveal common international plugs for the EU, UK, and US, but you can rotate the pins for sockets in Australia or China. You can plug in power-hungry devices, like laptops and camera batteries, but there are also four USB-A ports on the bottom and a 15-watt USB-C port on the side for phones, tablets, smartwatches, and other small gadgets. It’s not the sturdiest option, but it’s cheaper than most of the alternatives. This is the budget pick in our best travel adapters guide and is frequently discounted, but well worth buying at this price.
It’s described as a men’s travel backpack, but we think anyone will find this bag useful for all kinds of trips. WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe has been using it for six years and loves the storable backpack straps, padded handles, and plethora of pockets. She says it is comfortable and breathable if you’re carrying it on your back, and it sports a padded compartment for your laptop, tablet, e-reader, or Nintendo Switch. This may have dipped a couple of bucks lower before.
An honorable mention in our guide to the Best Toiletry Bags, this toiletry kit is a decent option for those who want a simple, well-made bag that can either hang or lay flat. There’s a snap-in plastic envelope for soap or a toothbrush, and the navy version I tested is made from recycled bottles. I wasn’t especially impressed with the bag’s organizational components in comparison to its size, and I didn’t like that the bag’s thick, small plastic hook couldn’t hang on a towel rack, but otherwise, I had no major complaints during my weeks of testing. It should also be noted this bag comes in almost 20 different colors and prints, from metallic pink to a basketball motif, so at this price it would make a great gift for adults and kids alike. —Kat Merck
Photograph: Simon Hill
This super svelte smart wallet is durable and provides easy and swift access to your cards, thanks to a trigger button that pops them out of the top. It has a leather exterior in a choice of colors. The inside is made from recycled aluminum and holds four regular cards easily, though you can add more cards or cash using the band around the outside. Ekster also offers a ton of optional add-ons, including a tracker card and a multi-tool. I also love the Ekster Cardholder Pro at $84 ($15 off), and the Ekster Grid Backpack for $180 ($45 off) was the perfect way to travel light on my last work trip.
