Author Archives: Amy Skorheim

Black Friday deals under $50 we’re still shopping: Apple AirTags, Legos, Ugreen chargers, Blink cameras and more

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Sure, Black Friday is a fine time to save on big ticket items, like laptops and TVs, but it’s also a wise opportunity to snag smaller devices and accessories at a discount. Scroll through any retailer’s sale pages and you’ll be overwhelmed with choices — not all of them good. Here, we’ve gathered together our favorite and recommended electronics that fall under the $50 mark.

Cables, chargers, speakers, smart plugs, portable batteries and streaming sticks are represented. All are pulled from our dozens of buying guides which we update several times per year to include our latest testing (ask me how many power banks I have on my desk) so you know these picks are worthwhile. Here are the best Black Friday tech deals under $50.

Lego Creator 3 in 1 Retro Camera Toy for $16 ($4 off) at Amazon: This three-in-one set builds a retro camera complete with pressable buttons, a wrist strap and loadable (Lego) film. It can also be built as a retro TV set or a camcorder. For ages eight and up.

UGreen Uno Nexode Charger Block (65W, 3-Port) for $33 ($17 off with Prime) at Amazon: There are other ways to charge your devices, but few are this cute. That’s why we named it one of the best stocking stuffers you can buy. You get three ports in its head and outlet prongs hidden in its removable magnetic feet. Its 65 watts are enough to charge multiple devices at once. Also available directly from UGreen and at Walmart.

Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $37 ($13 off) at Amazon: In my house, we call these “the good plugs.” The connection is fast and fuss-free and they work with Alexa, Siri, OK Google and via the Kasa app. That means, if you too are a smart home mad scientist with multiple home assistants, you can ask one of them to turn on the lamp and another helper to turn it off. This is the best smart plug we tested. The four-pack went as low as $30 previously. Also at B&H Photo.

Anker Nano 3-in-1 Portable Charger (10K mAh, 30W) for $30 ($15 off) at Amazon: I love this sleek little box. First and foremost, it’s a 10K mAh power bank (enough to refill a phone 1.5 to two times). But it also has a built-in USB-C cable (so you’ll never be without one) and flip-up wall prongs so it can refill directly from the wall (it even supports pass-through charging). Also available directly from Anker.

Tofu Press by Tofuture for $19 ($4 off with on-page coupon) at Amazon: There are plenty of tofu presses out there. But this one won us over with its simplicity, cute looks and clever design that handily clears out the water from any standard tofu brick. It makes a great gift for anyone who likes to cook. Also at Tofuture with code K0Q33KF6FC01.

Anker USB-C Cable (10FT, 100W) for $9 ($3 off) at Amazon: If you just need a reliable and long charger for your phone, pick this one up while it’s just $9. It can shuttle 100 watts to your handset and, in our experience, Anker cables are plenty durable — plus its red! This can handle data transfers in a pinch, but is limited to 480 Mbps.

Anker SD memory Card Reader (USB-C, SD and microSD) for $9 ($9 off): This might be an ideal representative of an Anker product: A simple, moderately-priced solution that just works. I needed an SD card reader with a USB-C connection. I bought this one. It works. I’m happy.

Anker USB-C Cable (240W, 10ft) for $12 ($5 off) at Amazon: If you’re sick of the sub-par, half-broken, super-short cables occupying your junk drawer, just grab a couple of these. With the max power delivery possible for USB-C at 240W, it’ll always be ready to charge anything. Just note, this is better for charging as its data transfer rates max out at 480 Mbps. Also available directly from Anker.

Anker Nano 3 Charger Block (30W, 1-port) for $12 ($8 off) at Amazon: Black and white are such boring colors for charming accessories, but alas, those basic colors happen to be the ones getting the bigger discount in this deal (the pretty purple, blue and green colors are $1 more). This compact block is our pick for a great iPhone accessory. Its 30 watts of power will reup your handset stat.

Philips Fabric Shaver for $13 ($7 off) at Amazon: Did you know you needed a fabric shaver? You need a fabric shaver. Our editor grabbed this one (at full price) and loves it. It keeps blankets, sweaters and joggers pill free and looking fresh for just $13. 

Anker Nano 3 Charger (30W, 1-port) for $13 ($5 off) at Amazon: This tiny and colorful block is one of our favorite fast chargers for 2025. It’ll send up to 30 watts of power to whatever you plug into it. That’s more than enough to fast-charge any smartphone and plenty of juice for your tablets. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.

Amazon Smart Plug for $13 ($12 off) at Amazon: If you have an Alexa speaker and a lamp this plug will make the two best of friends. We found the plug easy to set up and it reliably maintains its connections. Just remember it only works with Alexa (either via a speaker or the app on your phone).

Belkin Secure Holder for Apple AirTag for $14 ($6 off): This is one of our recommendations in our guide to AirTag accessories. The braided wire attachment makes it extra strong and secure. We think it’s an ideal way to create a luggage tag for your AirTag. A four-pack is on sale too.

Bellemonde Kent Paper Screen Protector for iPad (2-pack) for $14 ($4 off with Prime) at Amazon: We named this paper-esque screen protector one of the best iPad accessories for 2025. I put one on my iPad a couple years ago and have been happy ever since. It creates a satisfying texture for the Apple Pencil and it adds a matte, but perfectly clear, finish to the screen. Just be sure to double check you’re grabbing the right size for your particular iPad model.

Spigen for iPhone 17 Case for $13 ($3 off with Prime) at Amazon: It seems a shame to cover up the pretty colors of the new iPhones. But leaving your handset naked is just panic-inducing. We recommend this clear case from Spigen in our accessories guide. I have one on my iPhone 16 and it has kept it safe through many a fumble.

Roku Streaming Stick HD for $16 ($14 off) at Roku: After testing most of the smart TV interfaces out there, Roku’s is still my favorite. I like the colorful Roku City that shows up after a long pause and the navigation is intuitive. This stick will grant streaming abilities to a basic TV. There’s no 4K or other fancy video support, but if all you need is a way to stream, this will do. Also at Amazon.

Lego Creator 3 in 1 Retro Camera Toy for $16 ($4 off) at Amazon: This three-in-one set builds a retro camera complete with pressable buttons, a wrist strap and loadable (Lego) film. It can also be built as a retro TV set or a camcorder. For ages eight and up.

Glocusent Tri-head Clip On Book Light for $16 ($10 off) at Glocusent: My family vies for this handy device each night. It’s ideal for reading a book in bed with a light that lets you adjust the warmth, angle and spread of the beam. It’s also great for shining some light on a desk as you can use its clip like a stand.

Samsung SmartTags 2 Bluetooth tracker for $16 ($13 off) at Amazon: If you’ve got a Samsung phone, the brand’s own trackers will serve you well. They’re one of the best-looking fobs we tested. It hooks up with Samsung’s own finding network, which is surprisingly robust, and was able to locate lost stuff nearly as quickly as AirTags in our tests.

LEGO Botanicals Happy Plants for $18 ($5 off) at Amazon: Here’s an ideal Secret Santa gift — everyone loves Legos and these cheery little guys will keep your giftee company at their desk or on their windowsill, and are the lowest-maintenance plants around. Also at Target and Walmart.

Apple AirTag Bluetooth tracker for $18 ($11 off) at Amazon: An updated version of Apple’s little finding discs is almost certainly on the horizon. For now, an AirTag is our pick for the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users. It’s a little quieter than third party tags like Chipolo, but when it comes to trackers, this is what most people think of. Also at Walmart. 

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $18 ($17 off) at Amazon: If you just want the Amazon Fire TV experience for the fewest dollars possible, here you go. The HD stick is the best budget option in our opinion and could be all you need if your TV doesn’t support 4K content anyway.

Blink Mini 2 indoor security camera for $18 ($22 off) at Amazon: Do you wonder what the dog and cat do when you’re gone? (The answer is sleep.) An indoor camera lets you keep an eye on your home while you’re gone or just in the other room. We named the Blink Mini 2 the best budget pick in our guide to security cameras for 2025. The tiny squares are easy to set up, work well (and only) with Alexa and deliver suitable (but not ultra high quality) images.

Anker Nano fast charger block (45W, 1 port) for $18 ($17 off) at Amazon: This is just about the max power you can get out of a tiny block like this. Anker’s 45-watt charger is more than enough oomph for phones and tablets, and can even handle a laptop refill in a pinch. The little plug prongs fold down and it even comes with a six-foot USB-C cable.

Tofu Press by Tofuture for $19 ($4 off with on-page coupon) at Amazon: There are plenty of tofu presses out there. But this one won us over with its simplicity, cute looks and clever design that handily clears out the water from any standard tofu brick. It makes a great gift for anyone who likes to cook. Also at Tofuture with code K0Q33KF6FC01.

Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug (dual socket) for $19 ($8 off) at Amazon: Tired of turning off your outdoor holiday lights manually each night? Get one of these and schedule the controls. Or better yet, let Alexa, Siri or the Google Assistant turn them off with just a command. This is the one we recommend in our guide to smart plugs — and the one that faithfully controlled my Halloween lights last month. It’s gone as low as $17 in the past.

Baseus Picogo MagSafe Power Bank (5K mAh, 10W) for $19 ($8 off with Prime) at Amazon: We tested a newer version of this MagSafe bank for our battery guide. It’s Qi-certified (not Qi2) so you won’t get top charging speeds out of it. But if you need a partial refill for a phone, $19 is hard to beat.

Baseus Picogo MagSafe Power Bank (5K mAh, 10W) for $19 ($8 off with Prime) at Amazon: We tested a newer version of this MagSafe bank for our battery guide. It’s Qi-certified (not Qi2) so you won’t get top charging speeds out of it. But if you need a partial refill for a phone, $20 is hard to beat.

TP-Link AC1200 WiFi extender for $19 (37 percent off) at Amazon: If you’ve got some dead spots in your home’s internet coverage and aren’t quite ready for a mesh setup, a Wi-Fi extender can help. This is our favorite budget option in our guide to these plug-in devices thanks to its easy setup and user-friendly app.

Echo Glow Multicolor smart lamp for $20 ($10 off) at Amazon: Every sales event, Amazon puts this thing on sale. And every time, I contemplate buying it. Engadget hasn’t tested it, but we’ve tried enough Amazon hardware to know it probably does what it’s supposed to do — which is pair with an Alexa speaker and light up according to your instructions. That's it. Is that worth $30? Probably not. But maybe it’s worth $20?

Roku Streaming Stick 4K Plus for $20 ($20 off) at Roku: I called this streaming stick perfect for travel in my review. It powers itself from your TV so you don’t have to hunt for a wall outlet in your hotel room. Plus you can bring all your streaming subscriptions with you — or just enjoy Roku’s dizzying amount of free content. Also at Amazon.

Amazon Echo Pop Alexa Smart Speaker for $22 ($18 off) at Amazon: Amazon’s smallest smart speaker isn’t focused so much on sound quality as it is on putting Alexa+ wherever you may need the assistant’s help. Use the little half sphere to control your connected lights, give you the weather or just have an “interesting” conversation. Last Black Friday it dropped as low as $18.

Kasa Smart Plug Matter Compatible KP125M (2-pack) for $23 ($12 off) at Amazon: If you want to control your lamps, humidifiers and other simple appliances just by talking to your home assistant of choice, a smart plug will let you do so. We deemed this the top pick for a Matter-enabled plug in our smart plug guide. Set-up is seamless and it supports Siri, Alexa, the Google Assistant and more.

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Retro Telephone for kids for $24 ($6 off) at Amazon: One of our top picks for the best tech toys for kids is on sale for Black Friday. This cute as a button retro telephone is rated for kids eight and older and is a three-in-one set that can be rebuilt into three different configurations: A rotary phone, cordless phone and an early-days cell phone/flip phone combo.

Chipolo Pop Bluetooth tracker for $23 ($6 off) at Amazon: After testing all the Bluetooth trackers I could get my hands on, I think this is the best finding fob out there. Yes, even better than an AirTag; It's louder, can ring your phone and works on the same massive Find My network as AirTags do. And for Android users, it'll work with Google's Find Hub. Check out Engadget’s guide to Bluetooth trackers for more thoughts. Also available directly from Chipolo.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus for $25 ($25 off) at Amazon: We don’t know why Amazon needs so many streaming sticks in its lineup, but here we are. The 4K Plus is very similar to the 4K Max except it has a little less storage at 8GB and no Wi-Fi 6E (just Wi-Fi 6). You also don’t get the Ambient experience that turns your TV into art. If you can swing the extra bucks, go for the Max, but if those features don’t matter to you, this saves you $10 right now.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $25 ($25 off) at Roku: The difference between this streamer and the newer 4K Plus is that one doesn’t have Dolby vision or an extended Wi-Fi range — this one does. So if you need that extra range and/or have a TV that supports Dolby Vision, this is the Roku stick to get.

Meross WiFi Dual Smart Plug (2-pack) for $25 ($8 off with Prime) at Amazon: The difference between this one and other smart plugs is the dual outlet — a surprising rarity. Meross’s dual plug works with home systems from Apple, Amazon, Google and Samsung and lets you control each of the two outlets independently.

Jisulife Life 7 handheld fan for $25 ($5 off): This handy little fan is a must-have if you live in a warm climate or have a tropical vacation planned anytime soon. It can be used as a table or handheld fan and even be worn around the neck so you don't have to hold it at all. Its 5,000 mAh battery allows it to last hours on a single charge, and the small display in the middle of the fan's blades shows its remaining battery level.

HBO Max with ads (one year) for $36 ($96 off): HBO has been around a lot longer than Apple TV, and it’s got a treasure trove of winners — The Sopranos, The Wire, Veep, Insecure, Girls, Deadwood — with its back catalogue alone, you’ll never run out of high quality entertainment. Plus it has a huge movie library and quite a few current shows that are pretty good, too (The Last of Us and The Chair Company come to mind). Note that the deal applies to the ad-supported tier and will auto-renew after a year unless you cancel. You can get the deal through HBO Max's website or, if you're a Prime Video subscriber, you can get the deal as an add-on to your service.

Paramount+ Essential or Premium (2 months) for $6 ($20 or $10 off): This Black Friday deal applies to either the Premium or Essential tier — both are just $6 for two months of service (or $3 monthly). The Premium plan is the better deal as it’s usually $13 per month, doesn’t have ads, includes Showtime and allows downloads for offline viewing. Of course, whichever tier you choose will hop back up to the full price after two months unless you cancel (which is $13 per month for Premium and $8 per month for ad-supported Essential).

Starz (one year) for $12 ($50 off): Pay upfront for one year and you can get more than $50 off a Starz annual subscription. There's a month-to-month option too, which costs $3 per month for the first three months if you don't want to commit to the full year. Either option gives you access to the entire Starz TV and movie library with offline viewing and no ads. Also available as a Hulu add-on. 

Twelve South AirFly SE Bluetooth Audio Transmitter for $26 ($14 off) at Amazon: If you (or someone on your gift list) travels by plane a lot, they might appreciate this dongle. It adds a Bluetooth connection to any 3.5mm aux audio jack so they can use their AirPods or other wireless buds to watch in-flight entertainment. $26 isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen (it went as low as $16 earlier this year).

Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $28 ($17 off) at Amazon with Prime: Share your good taste in music with Anker’s portable sound box. It’s Bluetooth connected, goes for 24 hours on a charge and can handle a dunk in water with no ill effects to its 12 watts of sound. Soundcore makes a few of the picks on our list of the best speakers — this is a more affordable model. Also available directly from Anker and at Best Buy.

EarFun Free 2S Wireless Earbuds for $28 ($12 off) at Amazon: These are the ultra-budget pick in our guide to budget earbuds. They don’t have ANC, but the sound is lively and the fit is comfortable. You aren’t getting the highest sound quality here, but if you need a knock around pair, these will do.

JBL Go 3 Mini Bluetooth Speaker for $30 ($10 off) at Amazon: For about two dollars more than the all-time low, you can grab this pocket-sized speaker from JBL. It’s the previous model of a pick from our guide to Bluetooth speakers. It goes for 5 hours on a charge and is $10 cheaper than the Go 4.

Govee Smart LED Light Bars for $30 ($20 off with Prime) at Amazon: Another of our stocking stuffer picks are these smart LED light bars from Govee. They can stand up or lie flat so they can go just about anywhere and are infinitely adjustable via the app. You can even set them to light up in sync with your music. Alexa and the Google Assistant will let you control them with just your voice (and a smart speaker).

Baseus Picogo magnetic portable charger with stand (5K mAh, Qi2 15W) for $30 ($20 off) at Amazon: This little guy gave a solid 43 percent bump to our tester iPhone 15 in 42 minutes, ultimately charging it to 91 percent. It earned a mention in our guide to MagSafe batteries thanks to those speeds, its compact size and the handy (and sturdy) little stand on the back.

Thermacell E-Series Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller for $30 ($20 off) at Amazon: As winter hits, the mosquitos give up the war to claim the backyard for themselves. But they’ll be back. This is a variant of the mosquito repeller we recommend in our guide to outdoor gear. This one has a 20-foot coverage area and sports a built-in light.

Amazon Echo Dot Alexa smart speaker for $32 ($18 off) at Amazon: This is Amazon’s most popular Echo device and it’s the one my family uses most. The new Alexa+ is more conversational and can remember conversations and apply context. It’s still a work in progress, but can set timers, tell you the weather and control your smart home like a champ. It sold for as low as $23 last Black Friday.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids for $32 ($28 off) at Amazon: The difference between the kids model and the standard Echo Dot is the cute cover (this one looks like an inverted planetarium) and a free year of access to Amazon Kids+, which includes audio books, games and other content for kids aged three to twelve. Just note, you’ll get more out of the subscription with an Amazon device with a screen and the subscription will automatically renew (at $6 monthly) after a year unless you cancel.

UGreen Uno Nexode Charger Block (65W, 3-Port) for $33 ($17 off with Prime) at Amazon: There are other ways to charge your devices, but few are this cute. That’s why we named it one of the best stocking stuffers you can buy. You get three ports in its head and outlet prongs hidden in its removable magnetic feet. Its 65 watts are enough to charge multiple devices at once. Also available directly from UGreen and at Walmart.

Samsung Evo Select (512GB) for $33 ($14 off): We recommend the Evo Select in our microSD card buying guide for those on a tight budget. It has mediocre write speeds, so it’s not ideal for a camera, but it should be serviceable for most people just looking to add space to an Android tablet or original Nintendo Switch on the cheap. (Note that this is a standard UHS-I card, not a newer microSD Express model.) This deal matches the lowest price to date for the 512GB variant. Also at Samsung and B&H.

UGreen Revodok Pro 109 USB C Hub for $34 ($20 off with Prime) at Amazon: I tested a bunch of USB-C hubs and deemed this one the best. Plug in the generously long cable into your tablet or laptop and you’ll be able to read memory cards, use USB-A peripherals, connect a 4K monitor via HDMI and use Ethernet. The lowest price we tracked on this guy yet is $30.

Anker Nano Charger Block (70W, 3-port) for $35 ($15 off) at Amazon: This specific model isn’t in our guides, but we’ve seen other Anker Nano chargers prove themselves, so we’re comfortable recommending it. This one has two USB-C ports for fast charging devices, plus a Type-A outlet for devices that need it.

Zagg Glass Elite Screen Protector for iPhone 17 for $35 ($5 off) at Amazon: You’re thinking of saying yes to the new iPhone 17. You probably won’t be disappointed. Just make sure you protect it. We like Zagg’s shields and said so in our guide to iPhone accessories. Also available at Best Buy.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $35 ($25 off) at Amazon: We recently wondered why Amazon needs so many streaming devices (Google just has one and it’s our favorite). But in the battle among the Fire TV streamers, we think this one is the best. It can display 4K resolution and Dolby Video, supports the more future-proof Wi-Fi 6E, has more memory than the other sticks and lets you use the Ambient Experience that displays art on your screen when you’re not watching The Expanse.

Anker Prime GaN wall charger (67W, 3-port) for $35 ($15 off) at Amazon: Travelers, take note. This is what we recommend to those on a journey in our guide to fast chargers. It has three ports, and can detect which plugged-in device is in most need of a refill. The 67-watt rating is all you need for phones and tablets and will even top off most laptops if needed. Also available directly from Anker.

Leebein Electric Spin Scrubber for $36 ($34 off with Prime) at Amazon: Shower scrubbing is no one’s favorite activity (I’m assuming here, but I’m pretty sure I’m right). This makes the job so very much easier. Discovered by our editor who abhors the task, the Leebein runs on a USB-C rechargeable battery and has swappable brushes. The course brush combined with the higher speed is no match for any shower scum.

Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1) for $36 ($14 off) at Amazon: This was almost our top pick for the best USB-C hub, but a UGreen model edged it out. But the 555 is still great with ports that include HDMI, Ethernet, two USB Type A, a power delivery USB-C and a USB-C 3.2. That should be enough to keep any tablet or laptop suitably connected. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.

Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $37 ($13 off) at Amazon: In my house, we call these “the good plugs.” The connection is fast and fuss-free and it’ll work with Alexa, Siri, OK Google and via the Kasa app — so if you’re a smart home mad scientist with multiple home assistants you can ask one to turn on the lamp and another helper to turn it off. This is the best smart plug we tested. The four-pack went as low as $30 is the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at B&H Photo.

Anker Nano Ultra Slim power bank (5K mAh, Qi2 15W) for $39 ($17 off) at Amazon: This super slim bank pairs nicely with an iPhone Air, or any MagSafe-compatible iPhone for that matter. It’s more affordable than Apple’s version and a top pick in our MagSafe battery guide.

Twelve South PowerBug Qi2 Magnetic Wireless Charger (35W) for $40 ($10 off) at Amazon: - This is one of our top picks for the best iPhone accessories. It turns any outlet into an iPhone (12 or later) holder. Our editor uses it in the kitchen to better see cooking videos. Also available directly from Twelve South.

JBL Go 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker for $40 ($10 off) at Amazon: Our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers ranks the Go 4 as one of the winners. It’s super compact at less than half a pound — so don’t expect top-end sound — but it outputs good volume for its size and even has a handy carry loop. Also available directly from JBL and at Walmart.

Sharge AeroMag Magsafe Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 5K mAh) for $40 ($24 off) at Amazon: To recharge a dying iPhone (12 and later) in the most unobtrusive way possible, go for a MagSafe power bank. It’s not as fast as a wired connection, but super convenient. After testing Sharge’s AeroMag, it earned a runner-up spot in our guide.

Blink Outdoor 4 XR for $42 ($78 off) at Amazon: Here’s the extended range model of the Blink Outdoor cameras that we named among the best. That means you can stick it farther from your house and still see the goings on your property. Like most security cameras, you’ll get more out of it with a subscription (smart motion detections, cloud storage, and longer live views).

Anker Soundcore Space A40 wireless earbuds for $43 ($37 off) at Amazon: Here’s our top pick for affordable earbuds in our guide to the best budget wireless earbuds. They have a warm, pleasant sound and surprisingly good noise cancellation for the price. Also available directly from Anker and at Walmart.

Anker Prime GaN Charger (100W, 3-port) for $42 ($28 off) at Anker: Here’s a variant of the top pick for travel in our fast charger guide. This higher-wattage Prime charger can charge three devices at once (two via USB-C and one via Type A). Plus the prongs fold down. Perfect for keeping everything topped off on the road. Note that the discount comes courtesy of an auto-applied code.

Ugreen Nexode Pro GaN slim wall charger (65W 3-port) for $43 ($13 off) at Amazon: In the battle for fast charger supremacy, UGreen’s flatish block got a nod for being pretty good at its job. It has three USB outputs, including one Type-A for your more retro electronics and can pump out up to 65W for phones and tablets, or even laptops if needed. Just note the flat-but-wide design could block other outlets. Also available directly from UGreen and at Best Buy.

Moft Sit-stand Laptop Desk for $48 ($12 off with Prime) at Amazon: It’s a little heavy at two pounds, but it folds down flat and will turn any desk into a standing desk — elevating your laptop to elbow height or thereabouts so you can switch up your working position wherever you are. It’s surprisingly stable and one of our picks for the best MacBook accessories.

Nestout Waterproof Power Bank (15K mAh 32W) for $48 ($19 off) at Amazon: This is our favorite outdoor-ready portable battery from our guide to power banks. If you make sure the caps are on properly, the thing is waterproof (we dropped it in a bucket of water). Plus it can accommodate a slew of accessories like a light and stand.

UGreen Uno GaN fast charger (100W, 4-port) for $48 ($12 off) at Amazon: This is a larger version of the cute, fast charger with the built-in digital smiley face. It’s also a top pick in our guide to fast chargers. It has four ports, a max output of 100 watts and the magnetic feet still stick to anything ferrous.

Blink Outdoor 2K+ for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: Amazon released a batch of new smart security cameras alongside new Echo devices in September. And here they are already on sale. Ain’t Black Friday grand? We’re in the process of testing this one out for our security cameras guide. But for now just know that these weather-resistant boxes can shoot 2K video, a resolution bump from the 1080p of the previous model. It has color low-light vision, two-way talk and 4x zoom. The prior model is on sale for $28.

Ring Battery Doorbell for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: We haven’t officially tested doorbell cameras just yet (it’s on the list). But Ring is one of the best-known and most popular brands you can buy. This one runs on batteries so you don’t have to mess with doorbell wires and it supports two-way talk, live view and smart alerts. Just note that many features are tied to a Ring subscription ($5 to $20 per month).

Ring Outdoor Cam (Stick Up Cam) for $50 ($50 off) at Amazon: This weather-resistant outdoor cam has a removable and rechargeable battery that can go for a few months on a charge. We didn’t test this exact model for our security cam guide, but other Ring cameras worked well for us. Here you get live views, color night vision, two-way talk and motion alerts. Just note that it only works with Alexa and some features require a subscription.

Amazon Echo Spot for $50 ($30 off) at Amazon: This is the most giftable of the Alexa speakers. I got one for my mom. It has a small screen to display the time, weather and what song is playing, while the Alexa+ smarts inside keep track of timers and reminders, answers questions and controls connected smart home devices with a fairly high level of competence.

Ultimate Ears Miniroll Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker for $50 ($30 off) at Amazon: Ultimate Ears makes some of our favorite Bluetooth speakers. This is the smallest of the UE portable speakers and fits in the palm of your hand or clips to your handlebars (with its hookable strap). It'll go for 12 hours on a charge and supports a 40-meter Bluetooth range.

Here's a smattering of the best Black Friday gaming deals under $50. For every available Black Friday gaming deal, check out our full guide. 

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for $30 at Target ($20 off): Echoes of Wisdom makes a few bold changes to the series’ usual formula, mixing the freeform spirit of Tears of the Kingdom (which isn’t on sale) with the top-down view of earlier 2D Zelda games. This deal is a new low. Also for $40 at Amazon, Best Buy and others.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for $30 at Best Buy ($30 off): Here’s a new low for the Switch remake of this beloved GameCube RPG. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar called it an “absolute treasure” in his review last year. Also at Target and GameStop.

Elden Ring for $15 at Walmart ($35 off): The action-RPG Elden Ring is both challenging and darkly funny, with a world that runs incredibly deep and feels lived-in (died-in) in a way few games have. This is a new low, but as of this writing it only applies to the Xbox version. Also at Amazon. The PS5 copy is down to $20, which is still a decent savings.

Razer Basilisk V3 wired mouse for $29 at Amazon ($17 off): We highlight this ergonomic model in our buying guide to gaming mice. It’s wired and relatively heavy and bulky but it’s comfortable for larger hands, with an impressively versatile scroll wheel that can tilt side-to-side and switch between notched and free-spin modes. This is the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at Target for $30.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-deals-under-50-were-still-shopping-apple-airtags-legos-ugreen-chargers-blink-cameras-and-more-173833013.html?src=rss

Anker Black Friday deals still offer up to 50 percent power banks, wireless chargers, power adapters and more for the holiday shopping event

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Black Friday deals mean good news for anyone who wants to stock up on tech accessories, a whole slew of Anker gear is on sale. If you’re already familiar with the brand, you know it makes some of the most reliable charging gear out there. If you’re new to Anker, you’re in for a treat. We think it’s some of best gear we’ve tested, which is why you’ll find it in our guides to MagSafe power banks, wireless charging stations and more. So if you want to (wisely) use Black Friday to get good deals on hardworking peripherals, check out the best Black Friday Anker deals right here.

Power banks revive dead phones, let you work longer while away from an outlet and allow you to play with your tablet/ereader/gamepad while it charges without being tethered to a wall. After testing out brands from a slew of different makers, our picks just keep coming back to Anker. The mix of value, capacity and clever features make Anker batteries just a little bit better than a lot of the brands out there.

Anker's Laptop Power Bank, which our reviewer (me) called the culmination of all the best battery features is going for nearly $50 of right now. If could recommend one purchase to our readers, this would be it.

We think Anker's Ultra-Slim MagSafe bank is a better deal than Apple's Air MagSafe battery. It's got a higher capacity and wattage rating and it looks just as sleek. Plus, in my humble opinion, $38 is a way better deal than $99. 

Anker also makes our top MagSafe battery pick (the MagGo Qi2). Thanks to its clever stand, excellent charging speeds and generous capacity, it's one of the best ways to recharge an iPhone on the go..

I love this shiny little brick. The 3-in-1 portable charger has a built-in cable that's also a strap, plus wall prongs and a handy display.

A rats nest of cables on your desk is not the loveliest look. Now that phones, earbuds, smartwatches and even ereaders can refill on a charging coil, wireless chargers are a tidy solution. There are options that’ll let you view your phone while it charges, as well as some that will charge three devices at once. We’ve tested units from dozens of brands for our buying guides and keep putting Anker on our lists of winners. The brand makes some of the top picks in both our wireless charger guide and our list of the best multi-device chargers. Now, thanks to Black Friday, you can keep your devices topped off with quality accessories that are an even better value than usual.

While wireless charging is faster than it’s ever been, cords are still the fastest way to charge your phone. Bigger devices like your laptop will reup faster on a high-wattage brick than on a dinky 20-watt adapter and if you want to keep your outlets more streamlined, go for a multi-port power adapter that will let you charge multiple devices at once. Again, after testing many brands, some of our most reliable picks continue to be from Anker. It shows up three times in our guide to the best fast chargers and we recommend the brand in a number of our accessories guides. Now that Black Friday is here, a number of Anker power adapters are on sale — so we rounded them all up here.

We mostly think of Anker as a charging accessory brand. But they’ve expanded their scope by getting into audio equipment — and the effort was a success. You might not immediately pick up that these are Anker speakers — Soundcore shows up on the products themselves, but it’s the same company. We recommend a couple Soundcore music makers in our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers. They also make our overall favorite pair of budget earbuds, the Space A40. With Black Friday deals in full effect, these are the best Anker Soundcore deals we could find.

We’re fans of plenty of other brands aside from just Anker. Here are some of the other charging accessories that are also on sale for Black Friday. These come from our guide to MagSafe power banks, our standard power bank guide and our best fast charger roundup. If you want to read up on why these guys made the cut, check out those links. But if you just want to snag a few deals on electronics that Engadget has vetted, check out our picks below.

My personal favorite USB-C charging cable is made by Anker. It’s rated at 240 watts, has a durable build, plus it’s six-feet long and has a handy right angled connector at one end. Anker of course also makes plenty of other gear, from webcams to mice — that show up in our guides to the best accessories again and again. Here are the best Black Friday deals on Anker gear that doesn’t quite fit into the categories above.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/anker-black-friday-deals-still-offer-up-to-50-percent-power-banks-wireless-chargers-power-adapters-and-more-for-the-holiday-shopping-event-164907231.html?src=rss

Anker Laptop Power Bank review: All my favorite battery features together at last

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Over the past couple years, I’ve tested around 60 different power banks for Engadget. In that time, battery manufacturers have given their products features with varying degrees of usefulness, ranging from smart (straps and built-in cables) to handy (displays and wireless charging pads) to really not necessary (Bluetooth connectivity, specialized recharging bases).

Anker’s Laptop Power Bank (25K, 165W) manages to combine all the cleverest new features into one sleek-looking charging brick — and it costs less than some other banks in its class. There’s a built-in display that not only lets you know how much charge the bank has left, it also tells you how many watts are flowing through each port to your devices. Pressing the button on the side cycles through the battery’s current temperature and the overall health of the bank, including how many charge cycles it’s gone through. All of those bits of info should help prolong and gauge the bank’s longevity.

The 25,000 mAh capacity puts it well within the TSA’s 100Wh capacity limit and I have taken this battery on two flights in my carry-on with no issue. The capacity is enough to fill my tester smartphones (an iPhone 15 and a Galaxy S23 Ultra) around four times each. Separately, it pushed my aging 16-inch MacBook Pro from 10 percent to 78 percent. That translates to around nine additional hours of use for my typical workload (Wi-Fi, VPN, too many Chrome tabs and other basic productivity apps).

My only gripe with the design is that the very shiny screen has become slightly dull with use. It doesn’t look bad, just not as mint-fresh as when it was unboxed. That’s to be expected, and I’ll take the luxe finish over some ruggedized enclosure any day.

the Anker Laptop Power Bank 25K 165W sits on a table as it charges an iphone and an ereader
Two built-in cables and a big capacity let you charge two devices at once.
Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Possibly the power bank’s most useful features are the two built-in USB-C cables, and one even loops around to create a handy carry strap. It feels robust and well-anchored enough that I don’t fear lugging it around like that. The other cable retracts into the unit and extends up to two feet when needed. The end stays neatly tucked into a well in the body and stays magnetically in place. The cords not only look tidy, their inclusion means you’ll never find yourself in the ironic position of having a dead device and a full battery pack, but no way to connect the two.

Both cables serve in-out functions so you can easily plug them into any USB-C power adapter for a refill. There are also two additional USB (one Type-A and one Type-C) ports, so if you’ve got a specialized cable, such as Lightning, smartwatch or microUSB connector, you’ll be able to charge those devices too.

The 165-watt rating, as with any power bank, doesn't mean you’ll get that power out of a single port. The rating is a combined, almost theoretical total, achieved with all four ports engaged. The three USB-C outlets are rated at a max of 100W, but to get to that speed, you’ll need a device capable of taking it — my biggest energy hog is my laptop and it maxed out at around 90 watts using the power bank. But for all but the most extreme cases, that’s plenty fast.

My tester iPhone 15 went from near-dead to 70 percent refilled in around 40 minutes. The Galaxy S23 Ultra powered up from five to 100 percent in under an hour, and my 16-inch MacBook got a 68 percent refill in just over 50 minutes. That’s not the fastest performance I’ve tested, but it’s better than most other banks and plenty quick enough to get you back in action in a decent amount of time.

Anker Laptop Power Bank 25K 165W on a table outside in the sun
Amy Skorheim for Engadget

It’s gratifying when, after years of testing one type of product, you get one that is, more or less, an ideal example of the category. This is the battery I grab when I’m heading to get some work done at the coffee shop. I’ve taken it with me on road trips and on flights, and it hasn’t let me down once. The fact that you don’t need to remember to grab a cable takes away an extra bit of stress, and the accurate display means you know just about how much more you can squeeze out of the bank's rather sizable depths.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/anker-laptop-power-bank-review-all-my-favorite-battery-features-together-at-last-130036854.html?src=rss

The best MagSafe power banks for your iPhone

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Whether you were won over by the cameras on the new iPhone 17 or you’re sticking it out with your iPhone 12, having a little extra power around is never a bad thing. The best MagSafe power bank is one that attaches firmly, charges quickly and blends in with your handset — or better yet, adds a handy stand to the mix. Right now, the fastest wireless portable chargers are Qi2 25W-certified, but so far there are only a few of those on the market (and we have our favorite). But speed isn’t everything, looks, features and price factor in as well. We’ve tested more than a dozen portable chargers to help you find the best MagSafe battery you can buy.

Choose the right capacity. Most portable MagSafe chargers have either a 5,000 milliamp hour (mAh) or 10,000mAh capacity. Obviously, the larger capacity batteries are physically bigger, but thanks to an iPhone’s magnetic attachment points, you can still use the phone comfortably as it charges. If you’re worried about overall bulk, you may prefer the slimness of a 5,000mAh battery.

Just note that a 5K battery pack won’t deliver its entire capacity to your phone due to energy loss from voltage conversion and heat dissipation. Over the years, I’ve measured around a 60-percent delivery rate for wireless banks. For example, that means an iPhone 16 with its 3,561mAh battery will get about 85 to 90 percentage points from a 5K battery. A 10K bank will charge that same phone fully once, with enough for a 50- to 60-percent boost next time.

Understand MagSafe versus Qi2. All iPhones model 12 and later have MagSafe technology, which rely on embedded magnets to align the phone with a wireless charger and can support charging speeds of up to 15 watts. The MagSafe name is owned by Apple — third-party chargers can’t freely use the term and instead call their accessories “magnetic,” or apply a branded name like Anker’s MagGo or UGreen’s MagFlow. Be sure to check the product details before buying: anything that works with Apple’s technology will be listed as MagSafe-compatible.

Qi2 is a standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (of which Apple is a member) and has the same stipulations as MagSafe (15W charging and magnetic alignment). Any company can submit their tech for this certification. iPhones 13 and later are Qi2 compatible.

The newest standard, Qi2 25W (also called Qi2.2), bumps wireless charging speeds up to 25W. The WPC says a certified smartphone using a certified charger can wirelessly go from dead to half full in about 30 minutes (keep in mind that both the charger and phone need to be certified to get those speeds) and that aligns with our testing. 

Accessories, like power banks that support the new standard are starting to hit shelves now. As for phones, Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL, Apple’s iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max all support the standard as well. iPhone 16 models (except the 16e) support the standard after an update to iOS 26.

Remember travel restrictions. You may have seen news reports of flights being grounded because a power bank caught fire in the cabin. Currently, the TSA allows them in your carry-on luggage as long as they’re rated at 100 watt-hours or lower (about 27,000mAh for lithium ion batteries).

But some airlines have enacted further restrictions. Southwest, for example, requires you to keep power banks out of the bag and visible while charging. Even if your airline doesn’t make such demands, keeping a power brick out in the open while it’s in use is a good idea — it’ll keep it cooler and you’ll be more likely to notice if it starts to overheat. Most, if not all, MagSafe battery packs come in at under the 100-watt-hour limit, so traveling should be easy with one.

Consider the extra features. You may not need them, but the little extra perks of a MagSafe power bank can come in handy. Some have stands so you can watch your phone while it refills. Some have LED displays that tell you how much charge is left, which can be a little more precise than the lighted pips other banks use. Some also have straps to make the bank easier to carry around or fish out of your bag.

When Apple introduced the iPhone Air, it announced the new $99 iPhone Air MagSafe Battery in the same breath. It’s now the sole Apple-branded MagSafe power bank — but it only works with the iPhone Air. It’s a pretty divisive battery. In his review of the new phone, Engadget’s Sam Rutherford appreciated that the accessory keeps with the sleekness of the iPhone Air design and liked that it can also charge the new AirPods 3 wirelessly. But Valentina Palladino called out its dismal price-to-capacity ratio.

Anker’s Nano MagGo Slim is probably a better bet for all but the most devoted iPhone user. It has the same minimalist look and pocketable thinness as Apple’s proprietary battery, but it’ll attach to other phones in addition to the Air. Plus it’s $35 cheaper.

Among the first results when I search for MagSafe power banks on Amazon is the Torras MiniMag power bank, so I thought I’d check it out. The max wireless charging output is 7.5 watts, but it was actually pretty speedy in refilling an iPhone 15, giving it a little less than 80 percentage points in about two hours. The battery itself recharges a bit slowly, and it’s a bit expensive at its full MSRP of $60, but it comes in pretty colors and if you can catch it on sale, it’s a decent choice.

The Mophie Powerstation Slim 5K, too, has a super slim design that nearly disappears into the back of the phone as it charges. It makes excellent use of its 5K capacity, delivering a 90 percent refill to an iPhone 15. But it’s a little more expensive than the our top slim pick, Anker’s Nano MagGo Slim, and the squared off design makes it feel bulkier than it actually is. Neither of those make it a bad choice; the MagSafe battery playing field is just terribly competitive right now.

Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro is Qi2-certified and was only a touch slower than other models in terms of charging speeds, boosting an iPhone 15 from 5 percent to full in about two and a half hours. The feel is premium and the stand is sturdy, but it got quite hot during charging, took overly long to refill itself and is pricer and a bit bulkier than similar models.

The Picogo 5K from Baseus is teensy but still packs a stand and a 5,000mAh capacity. It’s Qi2-certified and delivered a 43 percent bump to our tester iPhone 15 in 42 minutes, ultimately charging it to 91 percent. The slim slab of the Anker Nano battery is sleeker. But that one doesn’t have a stand — so if you want to prop up your phone while it charges, go for this one.

MagSafe is Apple’s own technology that supports up to 25W wireless charging speeds and incorporates embedded magnets to align the phone with chargers and other accessories.

iPhones 12 and later support 15W MagSafe technology, though only iPhones 13 and later can reach the 15W charging speed with third-party Qi2 accessories. The iPhone 12 maxes out at 7.5W with non-Apple accessories.

The new iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max support up to 25W charging speeds with Qi2 25W-certified chargers. iPhone 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max should also support those speeds after an update to iOS 26. The iPhone Air supports MagSafe charging at a max speed of 20W.

In most cases (heh), yes. The wireless charge can travel across a distance of a few millimeters. If the case is more than 5mm thick or contains metal components, the wireless charge can be blocked. Many iPhone cases are marketed as MagSafe-compatible, which means the case itself has complimentary magnets inside and should not interfere with charging accessories. We tested a MagSafe power bank on an iPhone 15 with and without a MagSafe case and got the same charging speeds and amounts in both tests.

That depends on the power bank. If it is Qi2-certified, it can provide up to 15 watts of wireless power. Qi2 25W-enabled chargers can deliver up to 25 watts to a compatible handset. Non-Qi2 batteries typically deliver around 7.5 watts.

The amount of charge delivered depends on the capacity. Most MagSafe portable chargers are rated at 5,000mAh or 10,000mAh. The former can get a standard iPhone 15 from five percent to around 90 percent. The latter can fill the phone completely with enough left over for another half charge.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-magsafe-power-banks-120015338.html?src=rss

The best live TV streaming services to cut cable in 2026

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People who are interested in a live TV streaming service are probably looking for one (or all three) of the following: current sports matchups, breaking news and cable-like channels. We tried all the major providers to see what you get for your monthly bill — particularly in light of the fact that every live TV streamer has raised prices over the past year or two. That said, in most markets, a live TV streaming service is still more cost-effective than cable. And you still don’t have to sign a contract. Right now, we think YouTube TV is the most well-rounded option — but the others might have more of what you’re looking for. Here are the best live TV streaming services based on our testing.

Editor’s note: The blackout of NBC channels on Fubo’s service continues, with no end in sight. That means fans hoping to catch the Super Bowl will need to look elsewhere. We’ve detailed your options below. 

This year, the Super Bowl will take place on Sunday, February 8, 2026 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. NBC has the rights to air the broadcast, which means you can watch it with a live TV streaming subscription to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV or DirecTV. Sling Blue plans include NBC in certain markets only. NBC channels are dark on Fubo as the company and NBC are still in negotiations. The traditional streaming service Peacock, which is owned by NBC, will also air the game. Those plans start at just $8 per month, which is nearly the cheapest way to watch. However, if you have a digital antenna, you can pick up the game’s broadcast signal from your local NBC affiliate for free.

If you have a digital antenna hooked up to your TV, you can grab games that are broadcast over the airways for your region by tuning into your local CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC stations. You can buy a digital antenna for between $20 and $60. 

Alternatively, you can check out your local sports bar and watch the game for the price of a soda and maybe some nachos. As it turns out, bars and restaurants that provide those games to customers have to pay a ton of cash to do so, so you may as well take advantage of the opportunity.

Yes. Peacock is owned by NBC Universal, which holds the rights to stream the big game this year. The Super Bowl will stream on both Peacock (all tiers) and local NBC stations (Premium Plus tier). The cheapest tier of Peacock's service starts at $8 per month. 

September 5, 2025 marked the first time YouTube was an official live NFL broadcaster when it aired the Friday night, week-one game of the 2025 NFL season from São Paulo, Brazil. It pit the Los Angeles Chargers against the Kansas City Chiefs (LA won 21-27) and aired worldwide on YouTube for free as well as for subscribers to YouTube TV.

There are no other plans for YouTube to air live NFL games for the 2025-6 season for free.

There are loads of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups — even Netflix. Peacock Premium Plus subscriptions include regional NBC stations. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The new Fox One service includes multiple live Fox stations. True, if you’re already paying for a service it’s not technically “free” but at least the live content isn’t extra.

The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon’s Fire TV, Google/Android TV, Roku’s built-in Roku Channel and Samsung’s TV Plus all have hundreds of live channels and original programming. Some of the paid services we recommend above have a free version — namely Sling Freestream, Fubo Free (available after you cancel) and DirecTV’s MyFree. But if you’re looking for more, here are the best free ad-supported TV (FAST) apps with live TV that we tried:

Streaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.

When I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service has raised base plan prices.

Only two of the services I tried don’t include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.

When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.

But local channel access is another area where traditional streaming services, like Netflix, are bleeding into broadcast territory. For example, you can watch your local NBC station with a Peacock subscription and you can tune into your area’s CBS station through your Paramount+ subscription. Netflix is even getting into the mix with a recently announced deal with one of France’s broadcast companies, TF1. The streaming service will now air TF1's live TV channels and on-demand content inside the Netflix app. No word if the concept will expand to other regions, but it’s an interesting move to anyone interested in the future of streaming.

One reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the “TV & streaming” button will tell you which network is covering it.

That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don’t have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.

I should also point out that traditional streaming services have started adding live sports to their lineups. Peacock carries live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football games and aired the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. Thursday Night Football as well as NBA and WNBA games are on Amazon Prime and Christmas Day Football airs on Netflix. HBO Max (formerly, er, HBO Max) now airs select, regular season games from the NHL, MLB, NCAA and NBA with a $10-per-month add-on. 

You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ (now just called Apple TV) includes some MLB games. Roku users can watch the just-added free sports channel and those who subscribe to Paramount Plus can see many of the matches aired on CBS Sports, including live NFL games. In 2025, January's Super Bowl was live-streamed for free on Tubi. While all of these alternatives may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, they could end up being cheaper avenues to the sports you want.

And if sports is all you’re after, there are sports-only plans that are a touch cheaper, too. The promised sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. called Venu was cancelled early this year. But on August 21, ESPN launched its own streaming service that includes all ESPN channels and costs $30 per month. Fubo Sports is $56 monthly and includes local broadcast stations from ABC, CBS and FOX plus a slew of sports networks (CBS Sport and FS1 among them) as well as all networks included with ESPN Unlimited.  

Fox launched its own standalone service in August as well and it includes Fox Sports and all other Fox properties (News, Business, Weather) for $20 monthly. DirecTV also has a $70-per-month, sports-only streaming package called MySports and Comcast has a sports and news bundle for that same price (as long as you're an Xfinity customer with auto-pay, otherwise it's more expensive).

Traditional cable networks

Dozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won’t have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.

Other entertainment channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $10 per month (or with ads for $6 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.

Most live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn’t cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET’s Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.

Partnerships, like Hulu’s relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you’re after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.

Every option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You’ll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you’ll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.

Aside from being able to watch whenever it’s most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can’t skip them on live TV or VOD.

Each plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP’s bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.

Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.

Picture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices. 

Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple (usually four) sports matches or other live content at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV, FuboTV and now DirecTV all let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you're using an Apple TV or Roku streaming device. DirecTV lets you do so through “mixes” which include sports, news, business and kids variants with a set four channels in each mix.

Right now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you’ll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don’t have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV’s Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You’ll need those same streaming devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.

Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.

Comparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $85 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.

I also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don’t even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.

When I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.

I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app’s UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.

I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.

All live TV streaming services we’ve tested:

Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.

Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It’s also referred to as “video on demand.” Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.

FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.

Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won’t have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you’re not paying for stuff you don’t need.

A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that’s no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service. But those who want to cut the cord will appreciate that streaming services don't have contracts. 

No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu’s service also gets you Disney+ fare, which you can’t get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.

YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 2024's letter from the CEO, the service has over eight million subscribers. Disney’s 2024 third quarter earnings put the Hulu + Live TV viewer count at 4.6 million. Sling’s customer count dipped from two million to about 1.9 million in 2024 and FuboTV grew its subscriber list to 1.6 million.

You may have heard certain sites that provide free content can be dangerous, leading to stolen info and/or exposing you to malware. That’s likely in reference to certain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and file-sharing sites that let people download free movies and series — which can come bundled with malicious code.

But if you’re talking about the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services listed here, from providers like PlutoTV, Tubi and Plex, they are just as safe as any other streaming service. Since you sometimes don’t even have to provide your email address or credit card info, they can even be more anonymous for cord cutters than apps that require login credentials.

December 2025: Included Fubo's channel and price adjustments. Confirmed pricing for all services

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming-service-133000410.html?src=rss

The best ereaders for 2026

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Color is the buzziest feature in ereaders right now, but is it necessary? It makes the covers more fun, and readers of comics and graphic novels will appreciate the added hues (though they may be happier with an E Ink tablet for better image detail). Color is just one factor to consider when picking out the best ereader. The lights, screen quality, housing and buttons make a difference too. Then there’s the software: Do you want to stay in the Kindle ecosystem or get a device that can handle lots of apps? We tested more than a dozen ereaders to come up with our recommendations. This guide also points out ways to get the most out of your new e-book companion once you pick your favorite.

 

Plenty of apps, including the Kindle app, will let you download and read digital books on an iPhone, Android Phone or tablet. But what makes ebook readers different is the screen: nearly all of them use technology from a company called E Ink. It manufactures electronic paper displays (EPD) composed of three sheets: one containing millions of microcapsules filled with black and white ink particles sandwiched between transparent electrode layers. When a charge is applied, either the black or white particles shift to the top, forming letters and the whitespace around them. 

Color ereaders add a color filter array on top of the standard black and white microcapsule layer. The result is two different resolutions on one screen — the color clarity is 150 dpi while black and white images and text are still 300 dpi.

Because these displays are so different from standard backlight LED panels, you can expect most good ereaders to do a number of things well. They’ll be easier to stare at for long periods of time and easier to read in direct sunlight. Also, since E Ink displays only require power to rearrange the ink, these devices have much longer battery lives than even the best tablets: we’re talking weeks on a single charge, not days.

The ereader market is not as saturated as, say, the smartphone market, but there are still plenty of options out there and they do have small but important differences among them. They tend to range from around $100 to more than $400, though usually the higher end options are stylus-enabled read/write E Ink tablets like the Kindle Scribe. Beyond price, you should consider physical properties like buttons, lights, storage and resolution, as well as how the software lets you find and access books.

With any ereader, you’ll navigate the OS via taps and swipes, and some add physical page-turn buttons. Most with built-in buttons have an auto-rotating screen so you can press with your right or left hand.

As E Ink technology has advanced, resolution has greatly improved – even the budget Kindle ereader has a 300 ppi display. You can still find models with lower resolution, but we don’t recommend them.

Some ereaders have front LEDs that support light temperature adjustment. That means you can switch to a warmer light after the sun goes down, which will feel easier on the eyes. If you’re concerned about blue light, you should go for a reader with that feature. Finally, dark mode is available on most later model ereaders, allowing you to invert the black and white text and background, which some people find easier to read in low-light settings. 

The capabilities of these pocket libraries have advanced considerably since the early days. In addition to storing books, some let you browse the web, run apps and play music. The screen’s frame rate can’t handle gaming, but it’s good enough to show you the Wikipedia entry for Striver’s Row while you read Crook Manifesto.

If you listen to audiobooks, you may want a Bluetooth-enabled ereader capable of playing them. Most of the models we tested have that ability, with the notable exception of the Nook ereader we tried. Keep in mind that audiobook files can take up more space than print files so you'll probably want a device with a higher storage capacity if you plan on doing a lot of listening.

Above all, you should consider where and how you intend to find books to read. Most ereaders make it easiest to shop through their own digital bookstores, but all of them (even Kindles) will now let you download titles from other sources, like libraries, unaffiliated ebook sellers and free public domain sites.

An assortment of ereaders, including ones from Kobo, Kindle, Boox, Nook and PocketBook are arranged on a tan bamboo desk with a white keyboard and black mouse in the background.
Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

Kindle, Nook and Kobo all have their own stores that you access directly from each brand’s devices. Prices are the same among all sellers, too. Publishers set the price of an ebook, not the retailer, so a title will cost the same at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBooks.com and the Kobo store.

Amazon offers Kindle Unlimited for $12 per month, and it includes four million titles from which you can pick your next read. It includes audio and ebooks, but you won’t find many big, new releases or older bestsellers. Kobo has a subscription called Kobo Plus with about 1.3 million titles: it goes for $8 per month for ebooks only, $8 for audiobooks only or $10 for both.

Buying a book from a proprietary store instantly delivers it to your device, provided you’re connected to WiFi. It also syncs your reading across devices and apps, so you can pick up where you left off on your phone if you forgot your ereader at home. It truly is the most convenient way to go, but if you don’t want to be locked into one brand’s store, or if you opt for an ereader without its own marketplace, you do have options.

Stores like ebooks.com and Google Play have millions of ebooks for sale as digital rights-managed (DRM) ePub files, which Kobo, Nook and PocketBook readers can read in their native ereader apps. Kindles don’t support DRM ePub files at all and Boox devices require third party reading apps (of which there are many) to read those files. Titles from Apple Books are only readable in iOS devices. 

Titles from some publishers like Tor and public domain classics from sites like Project Gutenberg are also sold as ePubs, but without the added DRM. Consequently, Kindles and the Boox Neoreader do support those files. Books you get from third-party sources will look just like ones you bought from a proprietary store, thanks to the flowable, formatted nature of ePub files. While these device-agnostic ebook collections give you extra options for finding your next read, they require a few additional steps to get the files onto your ereader.

To do so, you’ll typically need a computer running a free program called Adobe Digital Editions (ADE). After buying and downloading the ePub file, open ADE and plug your ereader into your computer (all readers here have a USB-C port for charging and data transfers). Your device should pop up in the left panel. Drag and drop the ePub file from your downloads folder into the main panel in ADE. The file will display as an image of the book cover. Drag that image onto your device on the left panel. If the file includes digital rights management (which protects against unauthorized copying) you’ll need to authorize your ereader, which requires using or creating a free Adobe ID. Once you’ve finished adding files to upload, eject the reader from your computer to complete the transfer process.

Kindles use a web-based uploader instead of the ADE method. But since Kindle uses its own proprietary DRM technology instead of Adobe's, the only files it can accept from third parties are non-DRM files, such as from Tor Publishing or Project Gutenberg. After downloading a compatible ePub file, drag and drop it into your browser with the Send to Kindle page open. As long as you’re signed into Amazon, this wirelessly transfers the files to your associated device.

Boox also uses a browser uploader called BooxDrop (along with many other methods) to deliver ePubs to the device. Open it from the Boox App menu and you’ll see a device-specific url. Type that into your browser to access a file delivery portal that uploads to your library. Boox’s built-in ereader app, NeoReader, also doesn’t support files with DRM, so you won’t be able to read current titles from most publishers using that app. Fortunately, Boox devices run nearly every ereader app out there, Kobo and Kindle included, letting you access ePubs any number of ways.

Recently, Bookshop.org, the online seller of physical books that supports indie bookstores, started selling ebooks and up to 100 percent of the profits will go to local booksellers. The company uses a different rights management system than ADE so, right now, you can only read titles you buy from them on the Bookshop.org app, but the company is working with the makers of both Kindle and Kobo to extend compatibility to those ereaders.

Your local library card lets you borrow audio and ebooks through a program called Overdrive and its companion app Libby. On a Kobo, you have have built-in access to Overdrive in a separate tab. Once you’ve linked your public library card, the search function will include results for titles available from your local library system; a few taps will upload your selections to your device for the length of the loan. I personally find it easiest to borrow the title I want through the Libby app on my phone. After that, the book pops up on my Kobo’s home screen once the device syncs.

To read library books on a Kindle, you can either go through the Libby app or the Overdrive section of your library’s website. Once you click Borrow, you’ll see the option to “Read now with Kindle,” which takes you to Amazon’s site to sign in. After that, the book will be delivered to your device the next time it connects to WiFi.

For other ereaders, you’ll go through your library’s Overdrive portal and download the ePub after clicking the Borrow button. You can then use the ADE process we described above. Devices that run external apps, like Boox's Page, Go Color 7 or Palma, allow you to read library books via the Libby app, just as you would on a smartphone or iPad.

You can also use the Libby app to borrow audiobooks, but you won’t be able to access them through your ereader. (The exception is an ereader, like a Boox device, that allows external apps). I found it was easier to listen to an audiobook on my phone anyway, regardless of whether I borrowed it through Libby or bought it from Kindle or Kobo.

Four ereaders are arranged on a dark brown wooden table outside. There are Boox, Kindle and Kobo devices showing the covers of different novels from Tana French, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Martha Wells.
Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

When putting together any guide, the first thing we do is spend hours researching the field. We look at what’s available, what’s new, and what shoppers and professional reviewers have to say. Then we narrow a list to the best candidates for hands-on testing.

Over the course of the past three years, I’ve tested just over a dozen ereaders, representing five different brands: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Boox and PocketBook. I bought, borrowed and uploaded books for each device using the methods above. I used each one for between a few days to a few months. I evaluated each one in the areas of book access, ease of reading, extra features and overall value. Here’s everything we tested so far:

Amazon’s first color Kindle impressed with its quick page-turns and load times, auto-adjusting front light and, of course, a decently striking color E Ink display. But at $280, it’s more expensive than all of the other color ereaders in its size range, including the Kobo Libra Colour and the Boox Go Color 7.

Also, some Colorsoft owners reported seeing a yellow band at the bottom of their ereader’s display. This issue did not affect our first review unit during the original testing period, but it eventually appeared. An Amazon spokesperson told Engadget: "A small number of customers have reported a yellow band along the bottom of the display. We take the quality of our products seriously—customers who notice this can reach out to our customer service team for a replacement or refund, and we’re making the appropriate adjustments to ensure that new devices will not experience this issue moving forward."

Amazon sent us a new Colorsoft ereader at the end of 2024 and it does appear that the fixes the company made resolved the yellow-band issue. The screen on our second review unit appears warmer overall, but not overly so. It’s more akin to the screen on the Kobo Libra Colour, and that’s a good thing.

Boox recently released two new stylus-enabled generations of their seven-inch reader: The monochrome Go 7 and a color-screen Go Color 7 (Gen II). After trying out the stylus-enabled Go 7, I still like the standard, non-stylus enabled version better. True, I liked the Notebook app with its array of handwriting templates and I appreciated the low-to-no latency with the stylus. It also offers a good assortment of brush, pen and style options. But outside of the Notebook app, I didn’t find much use for the stylus.

I was able to doodle in the margins of DRM-free books in Boox’s native NeoReader, but it doesn’t work in other apps or on any rights-managed books. There's a FreeMark option that allows you to draw or write atop any app, but it saves your doodles as separate images, as opposed to allowing you to mark up the page itself. I also found enabling the stylus to be a little glitchy. If you plan to do a lot of writing, you’ll probably be better served by an E Ink tablet, but if you want an ereader that can mark up your books, I suggest going with the Kobo Libra Color, detailed above.

Really, they are the same thing. E Ink is a company that designs and manufactures the paper-like screens found in most ereader devices. Technically, anything you read ebooks on can act as an ereader, so your phone, iPad or Android tablet could all serve that purpose, but they’re not considered dedicated ereaders. While there are some devices marketed as ereaders that have LCD or OLED screens instead of E Ink, they aren’t as common. One of the benefits of ereaders is the E Ink screen’s paper-like quality, which causes less eye strain for many people.

But there is a difference between ereaders and E Ink tablets. These larger e-ink devices also employ E Ink screens, but they have stylus input and are often used for note taking and other tasks in addition to reading ebooks. We have an entire guide devoted to helping you pick out an E Ink tablet.

The base model Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite come with ads by default, but you can opt to pay $20 to remove them, either at the time of purchase or after you start using the device. The ads are limited to the lockscreen and are typically for other books or Kindle services. Kobo and Boox ereaders don’t come with ads.

Of the devices we tested, the Boox Go Color 7 has the largest listed battery capacity at 2,300mAh (Amazon doesn’t list the capacity of its Kindle devices). But thanks to the nature of E Ink screens and the relatively limited processing power required to display e-books, nearly all ereaders can go for weeks before they need a recharge. That means battery life probably isn’t as much of a deciding factor in buying an ereader as it would be with a tablet or smartphone.

Amazon’s Kindle ereaders are the obvious answer, but other devices capable of running apps can also read titles from the Kindle store. For example, you can download the Kindle app on a Boox ereader through Google Play (the store comes standard in the Boox app menu). You can then sign into your Kindle account and access all the books in your library — the same way you’d read Kindle books on your phone or tablet.

Yes. You can buy Kindle books through the Kindle app or through Amazon’s website via a browser. You can read those titles on a Kindle or any device that can run the Kindle app, such as a smartphone, tablet or computer. Just be aware that Kindle titles can only be read through one of Amazon’s ereaders or the Kindle app. The company uses proprietary digital rights management on all ebooks it sells that can’t be read by other ereader apps like Kobo or Adobe ADE.

Both Kindle and Kobo are brands of dedicated ereaders that support searching, buying, downloading and reading ebooks from their own stores. Both also support borrowing books from your local library via Overdrive and Libby.

The difference is that Kindle is owned by Amazon and uses the Kindle store, whereas Kobo is owned by Rakuten and its books come from the Kobo store. Both stores come pre-loaded as a tab on their respective ereader and both carry most in-print books. Each store also carries their own exclusive ebooks as well, but Amazon’s library of Kindle-only books is much larger than Kobo’s. Amazon also offers Amazon Original stories to read on the Kindle, which are free short fiction and nonfiction reads that are free to Prime members.

Both Kobos and Kindles have simple systems for borrowing library books. Other ereaders, like Boox, let you borrow books after downloading the Libby App. Only Kobo ereaders let you search for and borrow books directly on the ereader, with a dedicated Overdrive tab. Kindles, on the other hand, utilize a convenient “read on Kindle” function from the Libby app or website. You can send a borrowed book to your Kindle just by signing into your account. Both methods are pretty easy, so which is the best for you probably depends on other factors than just the library-book feature.

January 2026: Added the Boox Palma 2 Pro as the best smartphone ereader.

August 2025: Included new frequently asked questions covering battery life, E Ink screens and ads on ereaders. Mentioned Amazon’s release of a cheaper Colorsoft Kindle.

July 2025: Added our impressions of the new stylus-enabled Boox Go 7 series. Updated our Boox Palma recommendation to account for the upgrades to the Boox Palma 2. Included text formats to our specs and the battery life of the Kobo Clara Colour.

March 2025: Added news about Bookshop.org getting into the ebook market. Updated information about price-setting by publishers.

January 2025: Updated the "Others we tested" section to include impressions of the second Kindle Colorsoft review unit we received.

August 2024: Replaced our Android tablet pick with the new Go Color 7 ereader from Boox. Updated book titles to current examples. Added an FAQ section to explain the difference between Kobo and Kindle ereaders and further detail library-book support on different models. 

November 2024: Following the release of Amazon's new Kindle ereaders, we tested and reviewed the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, the base-model Kindle and Amazon's new color ereader, the Kindle Colorsoft. Accordingly, we updated our budget pick, added a premium pick and noted our experience with the Colorsoft. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/best-ereader-130013808.html?src=rss

Black Friday Apple deals for 2024: The best sales we could find on AirPods, MacBooks, AirTags and iPads

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Apple devices have a few things in common: they’re well-designed, solidly built and easily connect with one another. But chances are, if it bears the Apple logo, it’s not cheap. That’s why promos like Black Friday are always worth checking out if you’re in the market for a new Apple device.

We’ve reviewed nearly every major release from the company over the last 20 years, including the newest products for 2024, like the AirPods 4, the M4 iPad Pro, the M4 Mac Mini and more. Some of those devices are seeing their first discounts for Black Friday and others are dipping back to the lows they saw earlier in the year. Here are the best Black Friday deals on Apple devices we could find from retailers across the web.

Apple has four models of AirPods right now: The AirPods Pro 2, the over-ear AirPods Max and two AirPods 4, one with active noise cancellation and one without. Apple has been doing a lot of interesting things with their headphones lately, making this a good time to dive in. Though the discounts for Black Friday look to be minor, it's better than paying full price.

The tenth generation ipad sits on a pile of books. it looks pretty in the dapled afternoon sun.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The line between Apple’s tablets and laptops is a little blurry at this point, especially with the release of the iPad Pro this year, which (at the time) housed the company’s most powerful chip. The iPad Air is our current pick for the best iPad you can buy and we were delighted by the iPad mini that came out just last month. The only problem is iPads are among the more expensive tablets you can buy. Hopefully these Black Friday iPad deals help out.

A person wears the Apple Watch Series 10 on their wrist. It shows a blue screen with the time and other widgets.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget

If you take steps or do a workout and you’re not wearing a smartwatch, does it really count? Of course, the Apple Watch is more than a fitness tracker, it’s also a shortcut to your iPhone notifications, a handy Siri portal and an always-on weather forecast. Plus it tells time. While they’re not cheap, these Black Friday Apple Watch discounts should help.

the 2024 macbook air m3 sits on a wooden table outside bear a fence and some trees.
Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Apple held a quiet Mac Week at the tail end of October in which it announced the new desktop M4 Mac mini, the all-in-one M4 iMac and the M4 MacBook Pro laptop. The MacBook Air from back in March is still the model we recommend for most people

An AirTag in a bag.
Apple

  • Apple AirTags (four-pack) for $73 ($27 off): These are the Bluetooth trackers we recommend if you have an iPhone. They allow you to keep track of your keys, wallet and other belongings using the Find My app and nearly every other nearby iPhone. Note that you’ll need an AirTag holder or case to use them with your keys and a new generation is rumored for next year. The record low for the four pack was $70 which we saw earlier this month, this deal is a few dollars more. Also at Walmart.

  • Apple Pencil Pro for $99 ($30 off): It’s true that you may need a roadmap to help you figure out which stylus is compatible with which iPad. The Pro is the newest Apple Pencil and it’ll work with the newest iPad Air and Pro models and adds haptic feedback, squeeze and barrel roll movements to the mix of features. The all-time low was $90, but this is still a decent deal. Also at Amazon.  

  • Apple Pencil (2nd gen, USB-C) for $69 ($10 off): The USB-C Apple Pencil was released late last year and effectively serves as Apple's "budget" stylus. It works with the widest range of Apple tablets, though not all of them so check before you buy. This is about $4 more than the all-time low. Also at Walmart. 

  • Apple Pencil tips (4-pack) for $12 ($7 off): Search for Apple Pencil replacement tips and you'll find plenty of third party manufacturers with options available. But this is one of the areas where I think it's best to go with the original manufacturer. I bought these tips and they've served well — I just wish I'd paid $12 instead of $19.  

  • Apple Magic Mouse (Black) for $80 ($19 off): The black model of Apple's popular mouse has an updated USB-C charging port but, confoundingly, it's still on the bottom where you can't use it while recharging. Still a charge will last for about month and it should reliably connect to any iPad or Mac you own.  

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-apple-deals-for-2024-the-best-sales-we-could-find-on-airpods-macbooks-airtags-and-ipads-165143431.html?src=rss

The 52 best Black Friday tech deals under $50

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Black Friday is a great time to snag stocking stuffers and tech accessories at a discount. Engadget has reviewed and tested hundreds of small-but-useful electronics including speakers, cables, smart plugs, cameras, battery packs and earbuds, and we put the best ones in our related buying guides. 

Right now, many of those picks are seeing discounts that put them comfortably (and sometimes just barely) below the $50 mark. After you grab a few as gifts, don’t forget to get an accessory or two for yourself. Here are the best Black Friday tech deals under $50 we could find from retailers across the web.

The Amazon Echo Pop speaker in blue sits on a night table with a yellow lamp nearby.
Amazon
The Anker 10K Fusion power bank charges an iphone with its built in cable as both devices sit on some fake grass on a hot day.
Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget
The OtterBox Fast Charge Power Bank portable battery rests on a purple floral towel.
Engadget
The echo show 5 smart display sits on a night stand in a room painted bright pink. The display reads
Amazon

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-52-best-black-friday-tech-deals-under-50-164632183.html?src=rss

The best Black Friday kitchen deals on gadgets, appliances, cookware and more: Get up to 44 percent off

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There are a lot of superfluous products on sale for Black Friday, but good kitchen gear doesn’t fall into that category — if a device helps us cook better food at home, that’s a worthwhile purchase. We’ve tested lots of kitchen gadgets and cooking accessories for our reviews and buying guides. We’ve even shared our thoughts on a few items we bought for ourselves. 

Right now, thanks to the biggest shopping event of the year, many of Engadget’s tried-and-true cooking gadgets are on sale. We've still got some time to go before the official day of Black Friday, so we'll up date this post as new favorites go on sale. For now, here are the best Black Friday kitchen deals on appliances, gadgets and more from retailers across the web.

Whether for buying guides, reviews or our own use, we’ve tried plenty of gadgets that make home cooking simpler and more enjoyable. We also recently put together a cooking gift guide full of our favorite stuff. Our picks include low and high tech devices for kitchens both indoor and outdoor and right now, lots of those harder-to-categorize recommendations are currently on sale for Black Friday and listed here.

Ninja Creami review
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
The Tally Pro coffee scale by Fellow.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Like most workplaces, Engadget runs on coffee — or at least the people responsible for it do. Many of us put our collective caffeinated experiences together to come up with a gift guide for coffee lovers. Of course, some of us are partial to tea, so we put a guide to tea gifts together as well. Right now for Black Friday, many of the picks from both lists are on sale. 

  • Cosori Electric Gooseneck Kettle for $60 ($10 off): This is a return to a discount we've seen multiple times this year, and it's about $14 more than the all-time low. But this kettle has earned its spot on one of our editors’ tiny countertops. It has different built-in temperature settings for different types of drinks and an elegant gooseneck pour. 

  • Firebelly Tea Travel Mug for $32 ($8 off): This travel mug not only keeps your iced tea cold and your hot tea steamy, its insert also stops infusion when you press it down so you can steep on the go. 

Anova Precision Cooker Nano
Photo by Avery Ellis / Engadget

If you know someone without a sous vide machine, now might be a good time to ameliorate that situation as many of our favorite models are on sale. And if you happen to be without one, here’s your chance to get in on the low-effort, high-result water-bath cooking method. This is the best what’s on sale for Black Friday, as pulled from our picks.

The Instant Vortex Plus air fryer sits on a countertop with some retro rice and beans jars in the background.
Instant Brands

Air fryers make microwaves jealous. Food that would otherwise come out hot yet soggy comes out hot and crisp and doesn’t take that much more time. Another kitchen MVP is the ever popular Instant Pot, which can cook everything from soups to rice, beans and more. Here are the best Black Friday deals on the air fryers and Instant Pots we recommend.

KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender stands on a coutertop with various blended foods nearby
KitchenAid

Black Friday is a good time to upgrade an aging hand blender or finally get that Vitamix you’ve been thinking about. Whether for yourself or as a gift for the home cook on our list, these blender and juicer deals come straight out of our kitchen tech guides and will bring plenty of extra muscle for a low price.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-black-friday-kitchen-deals-on-gadgets-appliances-cookware-and-more-get-up-to-44-percent-off-153533203.html?src=rss

Black Friday speaker deals for 2024 include up to 55 percent off JBL, Marshall, Sonos, Echo and more

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Earbuds are nice, but a portable speaker can bring your music to friends. And what’s more important than community? Not much. But if you can get that new speaker on sale, that’s even better. For Black Friday, many of the brands we’ve tested for our various guides and reviews are seeing significant discounts, with some hitting their lowest prices of the year so far. 

Bose and JBL rank pretty high in our Bluetooth speaker buying guide, and Amazon Echo and Sonos earned spots in our smart speaker roundup — currently all four of those brands are on sale, along with many a few soundbars that will help you use the subtitles less. Here are the best speaker deals we could find for Black Friday.

The JBL Flip 6 sits on the pavement on a city street at night.
JBL

Portable Bluetooth speakers make it easy for you to bring the music where plugs don’t reach — a picnic, the front stoop, an aimless wander along the North Country Trail. And right now for Black Friday, we’re seeing plenty of Bluetooth speaker black Friday deals. Below is the best of what’s on sale, all pulled from our Bluetooth speaker guide as well as our reviews and news coverage.

JBL Clip 5 for $50 ($30 off): It’s tiny, portable and brings its own clip along with it. You’ll get 12 hours of listening from its waterproof body and the whole thing weighs just over half a pound.

JBL Flip 6 for $80 ($50 off): This is the one I bought after reading our guide and I love it. The crowler-sized speaker has great sound quality, is durable as heck and can either sit on its end or on its side. Plus it’s waterproof, dustproof and packs 12 hours of playtime. Also at Amazon and Walmart.

JBL Xtreme 3 for $250 ($80 off): We compare the size of the Xtreme 3 to a football, but since it weighs over four pounds JBL includes a strap for easier carrying. Like most portable speakers it’s waterproof and dust-proof. The lively highs and hefty lows sound great outside, but really the speaker really shines when it can resonate indoors. Also at JBL.

JBL Xtreme 4 for $300 ($80 off): The latest generation of our recommended JBL Xtreme adds around nine hours of battery life and a replaceable battery. It’s also made from more recycled content and throws in some AI-powered tuning. Also at Target.

JBL Go 4 for $40 ($10 off): JBL’s smallest portable speaker has up to seven hours of battery life on a charge, has an IP67 waterproof rating and has a tiny built-in carry strap so you can bring it wherever you go. Also at JBL and Best Buy.

Marshall Emberton II for $100 ($70 off): This is the smallest Marshall speaker in our guide. Its dual 10-watt drivers and passive radiators create an impressive, 360-degree sound. While it’s not super loud, we think the output is nicely balanced. You’ll get up to 30 hours of play on a charge. Also at Best Buy and directly from Marshall.

Marshall Middleton for $200 ($100 off): The aptly named Middleton is the mid-range Marshall speaker in our guide. The four-pound box puts out excellent sound from the dual woofers and tweeters located at the front and back, and passive radiators along each side. And the classic Marshall look is pretty stylish. Also at Best Buy and directly from Marshall.

Marshall Willen for $60 ($60 / 50 percent off): This is close to an all-time low price on a tiny music box that we named one of our favorite gadgets from last year. Engadget’s Sarah Fielding thinks it’s perfect, saying, “The sound quality is great and it stays connected to my phone regardless of where I go in my little house (the range is 30 feet). Plus, the battery is great, with a playtime of over 15 hours.”

Marshall Acton III for $200 ($80 off): This is the speaker on Sarah's holiday wishlist. The six-pound speaker needs to be plugged in and isn't waterproof, so it's intended to play indoors. But this is a good one to get if you want a retro-looking box for your living room that can emit Marshall's signature warm and balanced sound. Also at Marshall. 

Bose SoundLink Home for $199 ($20 off): It’s a smaller speaker at just two pounds but Bose promises premium sound from the SoundLink Home. We haven't had the chance to test it ourselves just yet, but if the sleek good looks are calling to you, this discount might be a good time to invest. Just note that it’s not waterproof as the “Home” moniker suggests.

Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd gen) for $119 ($30 off): When Bose announced the release of the SoundLink Home, the company also introduced this revamped Flex. The first generation is one of the picks from our Bluetooth speaker guide. This newer generation works with the Bose app and has a new programmable button. Also at Bose and Best Buy. The first generation model is on sale for the same price.

Bose SoundLink Max for $299 ($100 off): The largest portable speaker Bose makes is part of the new SoundLink lineup which Bose announced in May. Also at Amazon and Target.

Bose Smart Soundbar for $399 ($100 off): The latest Bose soundbar came out just a couple months ago and is already on sale. It’s a smaller model that supports Dolby Atmos and has an AI Dialogue Mode as well as a Personal Surround feature if you happen to own a pair of the Ultra Open Earbuds. Bose says the AI smarts make voices easier to hear while retaining the audio’s immersive qualities. Also at Amazon.

Ultimate Ears Everboom for $200 ($50 off): The Everboom is a new speaker in the lineup, which UE announced back in June. We reviewed it shortly after and deemed it worthy of inclusion in our guide. Not only does it float, it puts out loud, 360 degree audio and packs 20 hours of listening in a unit that’s just over two pounds. Also at Best Buy. 

Ultimate Ears Mini Roll for $50 ($30 off): This less-than-a-pound sound maker came out at the same time as the Everboom. It supplanted the Wonderboom as the smallest speaker in UE’s lineup and even sports a built-in, flexible strap to attach to just about anything. It’s IP67 rated to be dust- and waterproof and can crank out 85 decibels of volume — impressive for something so small. Also at Amazon and B&H Photo.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4 for $79 ($21 off): We put the Wonderboom 3 on our guide to the best speakers and this next-gen model includes a new podcast mode EQ for crisp vocals and is made from more recycled plastics. Like its predecessor, it’ll go for 14 hours on a charge and packs a waterproof build into its mini barrel-like shape. Also at Ultimate Ears for $1 more.

Beats Pill for $100 ($50 off): Beats came back to the Bluetooth speaker market with the completely redesigned Pill — and we think it was worth the wait. The durable unit earned a spot on our Bluetooth speaker guide and an 83 in our review. It offers much improved sound quality with impressive bass and full mids. You also get a long, 24-hour battery life and lossless audio over USB-C. Also at Walmart.

Sony ULT Field 1 for $98 ($32 off): Earlier this year, Sony waved goodbye to the Extra Bass and XE-Series products, folding them into the new ULT Power Series branding. This 1.4-pound unit has a 12-hour battery life and IP67 rating. This matches the all-time low. It's two dollars more at Best Buy and direct from Sony.

Anker Soundcore Motion 300 for $56 ($24 off): Weighing in at less than two pounds, Anker’s speaker has a bright, punchy output with a crisp high end and thumpy bass. Plus it’s waterproof and goes for 13 hours on a charge. No wonder it made our list of the best speakers. Also direct from Soundcore.

Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $69 ($30 off): A few Anker Soundcore speakers made our best list and this one weighs just over two pounds. It delivers a bright and bassy output, can play for around 12 hours on a charge and the build is solid with an attractive metal grille.

Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $28 ($12 off): Anker’s Soundcore brand proves the accessory brand can make some excellent electronics, too. This is one of the smaller and more affordable models and it’s currently back to one of its lowest prices yet.

Tribit StormBox Micro 2 for $48 ($32 off): This is the smallest speaker in our guide and it can go with you anywhere with the built-in strap. It pumps out impressive volume for its size and can go for 12 hours on a charge. The audio isn’t the highest fidelity, but this is more about bringing the vibes than emitting flawless musical clarity. Also directly from Tribit.

Comparison photo of the Sonos Roam next to the new Sonos Move 2 speaker.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The first thing to decide before you buy a smart speaker is who you prefer to do your smart home-related bidding: Do you want Alexa’s wry yet efficient manner, Google’s info-packed know-how, or Siri’s dreamy presence? Then check out these Black Friday deals so you can get that smart home help at a discount.

Sonos Era 100 for $199 ($50 off): The Sonos Era 100 is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker. We like the excellent sound quality plus it pairs well with other Sonos devices. It has Alexa built-in, so it can handle regular smart home duties, but it’ll also make your music sound far better than any spherical Echo can.

Sonos Era 300 for $359 ($90 off): This is a return to a low we've tracked before on one of Sonos's larger speakers. It went all-in on spatial audio, but as we found in our review, those results are hit or miss. However, the speaker itself delivers excellent sound quality, is easy to set up and has a line-in option as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Sonos Roam 2 for $139 ($40 off): Sonos also makes the best portable smart speaker, according to our guide. We like the good sound quality and strong bass, as well as the fact that it connects via both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Also at Sonos.

Sonos Move 2 for $359 ($90 off): The Move is an upgrade on the Roam in every way (including the price). It earned an 80 in our review. We like that it’s a nice upgrade over the previous Move, with two tweeters for more detailed sound. The battery lasts a full 24 hours on a charge and the touch controls up top are very nice. It also has a line-in jack via USB-C, so you can hook up a turntable. Also at Sonos.

Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) for $23 ($27 off): The Dot is Amazon’s most popular Echo speaker, delivering Alexa’s helpful assistance in a softball-sized package that puts out surprisingly decent music for its size. It gets our vote for the best smart speaker under $50. It also has an internal sensor that can tell you the temp in the room as well as trigger connected smart thermostat functions.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids for $28 ($32 off): The kids version is basically the same smart speaker but comes in a cute dragon or own skin and includes a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) for for $50 ($50 off): If you plan to listen to a lot of music through your Echo, you may want to go with the larger model. The Echo has an upward-firing woofer and dual tweeters for sound that we said delivers “impressive bass thump and powerful mid-range frequencies.” It can add stuff to your shopping list and set a timer but is also capable of producing room-filling sound.

Amazon Echo Pop for $18 ($22 / 55 percent off): The smallest Echo speaker is the Pop, a half sphere that’s probably best suited to small rooms where it’ll primarily be used as a smart assistant, as opposed to a dedicated music maker. The money you save here could be used for the compatible wall mount if you want to save some counter space.

Amazon Echo Pop Kids for $23 ($27 off): The kids version is basically the same smart speaker but comes in a Disney princess or Marvel hero skin and includes a six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+.

Amazon Echo Spot for $45 ($35 off): The Spot is technically still a speaker, though half of it is a display. Amazon discontinued this model for a few years, but brought it back in July. The half-moon screen can display the time, weather and the song that’s playing.

Samsung Music Frame for $248 ($150 off): Samsung first announced its Music Frame back in January at CES 2024. It takes its cue from the Frame TV that disguises itself as art. This wireless speaker has room for your own (physical) photo within its frame, along with two woofers, two tweeters and two mid-range drivers to spit out sound from your favorite streaming services. Also at Best Buy and directly from Samsung for $2 more.

Google Pixel Tablet with speaker dock for $459 ($140 off): The speaker dock is what qualifies what's really a tablet for this list. The charging dock sort of turns the tablet into a smart display, like an Echo Show. You can also use it as a standalone slab, but as we found in our review, it's far more exciting as a home hub than a tablet. 

Google Nest Audio for $50 ($50 off): It’s more than four years old at this point, but the Nest Audio offers a decent ratio of sound quality to price, according to our review, and it’ll put the best of the Google Assistant’s assistance at your service. Also at Google.

The sonos beam soundbar sits on a wooden shelf next to a TV
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

For our guide to the best soundbars, our audio expert Billy Steele picked six winners out of the dozens of home theater speakers he and other Engadget staffers have tested over the years — and one of them is on sale for Black Friday (we expect more sales to pop up closer to Black Friday so check this post again). This is a great chance to improve greatly upon the audio from your (probably thin) TV.

Sonos Ray for $169 ($110 off): A soundbar doesn’t have to be huge to make a big difference in the sound quality coming from the direction of your TV. Billy recommends this one for smaller rooms and for people who want an easy setup. I personally got one of these last year and immediately noticed a difference in dialogue clarity. Also at Amazon.

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Mini for $500 ($300 off): We billed the Ambeo Mini as another premium option if the Samsung option doesn’t work for you. It requires a subwoofer to maximize the speaker’s potential, but once you do the immersive sound is truly impressive — especially for the size.

Sonos Beam for $369 ($130 off): It only has one HDMI port and no upward-firing drivers, but the Beam delivers solid sound quality with support for Dolby Atmos, and of course, it pairs nicely with other Sonos speakers. Plus it’s relatively compact. Also at Amazon and Adorama.

Samsung HW-Q990C for $1,100 ($898 off): The top spot in our soundbar guide isn’t cheap, but this Black Friday deal helps. And, for the price, you get a complete home theater audio setup complete with soundbar, subwoofer and two rear surround speakers. Samsung’s HW-Q990C may not have the prettiest name, but the sound quality is a thing of beauty, earning it an 89 in our review. 

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-speaker-deals-for-2024-include-up-to-55-percent-off-jbl-marshall-sonos-echo-and-more-172645200.html?src=rss