By Brandon Widder, a senior editor overseeing deals, gift guides, and commerce. He spent six years spearheading buying guides and consumer tech coverage at Digital Trends.
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As far as entry-level smartwatches go, few can match the experience offered by the latest Apple Watch SE, which is currently matching its all-time low of $219 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy in the 40mm configuration with GPS.
Apple’s second-gen wearable supports most watchOS 9 features — including medication reminders and Apple’s handy low-power mode — as well as newer Apple Watch features like Crash Detection, Apple Pay, and heart-rate monitoring. What you don’t get are an always-on display and some of the more advanced sensors that can be found on the Apple Watch Series 8, though if you can live without a SpO2 sensor and things like cycle tracking, you can pick up the 2022 Apple Watch SE for more than $100 less than the starting price of Apple’s newest flagship model.
The new SE for 2022 borrows a few features from the Series 8, including the same chipset and Crash Detection feature, but it’s an otherwise subtle upgrade from the last-gen SE. Read our review.
Voice assistants may no longer garner the kind of interest that currently surrounds AI-based chatbots, but there’s something to be said about a device that lets you flip on a light with just your voice. Luckily, if you’re looking to get into the smart home game or add a second smart speaker to your home, Amazon’s latest Echo Dot is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target right now for just $34.99 ($15 off). You can also pick up the LED-equipped model, which allows you to check the time and a variety of other info at a glance, for just $5 more at the same retailers (Amazon / Best Buy / Target).
Amazon’s spherical, fifth-gen Dot is arguably the best budget speaker you can buy. It offers more sensors and faster response time than the previous model and can even conveniently act as a Wi-Fi extender if you’re on an Eero network. Plus, thanks to a bigger 1.73-inch driver, it’s able to put out a surprising amount of sound for its size, which is a real boon for a speaker that currently costs less than a trip for two to the movies.
The fifth-gen Echo Dot touts a temperature sensor, better sound, and faster response time than the prior model. It can also act as an extender for your Eero Wi-Fi system. Read our review.
The fifth-gen Echo Dot touts a temperature sensor, better sound, and faster response time than the prior model. It can also act as an extender for your Eero Wi-Fi system.
Unsurprisingly, spring is often the time when many of us pick up some of the brazen New Year’s resolutions we put off when winter began in earnest (surprise, surprise). Thankfully, if you’re someone who is into running or fitness in general, Apple’s sporty Beats Fit Pro are on sale at Woot for $144.95 (about $55 off) and make for a good motivator.
Unlike the second-gen AirPods Pro, the Beats Fit Pro are actually geared toward runners, gymgoers, or anyone looking for a pair of wireless earbuds that will stay in their ears even during the most demanding of workouts. The excellent noise-canceling earbuds have a new wing tip design that makes them more secure than previous Beats models, and they feature both IPX4 water resistance and a natural-sounding transparency mode that lets you keep better tabs on your surroundings — which, honestly, is a godsend when you’re trying to dodge an 80-pound dumbbell or a runaway dog at the park.
Our favorite fitness earbuds, the Beats Fit Pro, feature soft flexible fins that keep them anchored in your ears during vigorous workouts. Their excellent sound has plenty of bass to keep you motivated in the middle of a long run.
Nintendo’s Joy-Con controllers for the Nintendo Switch are great; however, if you have large hands, they can feel rather cramped. Enter the Hori Split Pad Pro Attachment Set, which is down to just $59.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy today.
The convenient kit pairs Hori’s Split Pad Pro with a wired USB attachment, allowing you to make use of a pair of wired headphones and use the Joy-Con-like controllers while your Nintendo Switch is docked. The controller itself emulates Nintendo’s Switch Pro controller nicely, allowing it to function as a comfy, regular-sized gamepad with responsive buttons and customizable paddles on the back. They lack things like rumble and NFC for making use of Amiibo, but they remain a comfortable Joy-Con alternative that, thanks to Hori’s latest attachment, can be used any way you see fit.
The Hori Split Pad Pro is a comfortable controller that may be larger than your standard Joy-Cons but is more ergonomic.
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