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Retailer cancels early Pixel Buds 2 pre-orders, calls product listing a 'mistake'
It's still unclear when you're ever going to be able to buy a pair
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Google first revealed an updated line of Pixel Buds in October of last year, but there's still no firm release date beyond "spring." A product listing at B&H appeared two months ago, saying the buds were "coming soon," but that was later removed. Now another page about the Pixel Buds 2 has been made available, and even though it has already been taken down, nothing on the internet is ever truly deleted.
The Pixel 3a and 3a XL already got the nod from David at their original prices for bringing Google's famed camera chops to a much more affordable package. For this Black Friday, the deal is getting even sweeter with many popular retail stores discounting the unlocked Google mid-rangers by $100, pulling their respective prices down to $299 and $379. You can save further with some retailers if you’re willing to start a new line with some specific carriers.Both phones are among very few smartphones in their price range to sport an FHD OLED panel. Even though the Pixel 4 series is now out featuring better optics, the Pixel 3a duo can still blow most of their direct competition out of the water when looking at the camera quality. Plus, the phones come with strong software support from Google as they got Android 10 alongside their pricier peers.
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The Google Home Max is quite pricey, even at its Black Friday price of 9. The Link 500, JBL's giant Home Max alternative, shares the same ~$400 MSRP, but it's been discounted by a much more substantial 50%. That's right - the Link 500 is currently just $199.99 at multiple retailers, which is $200 off MSRP and $100 less than any previous sales.The Link 500 is JBL's flagship smart speaker. It uses two 89mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters to output 60W of power. It can stream music via both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the Assistant integration allows it to act as a Home speaker. However, it's worth noting that it does receive new features later than Google's own Home speakers.Several retailers, including Amazon, B&H, and JBL's web store, are taking part in the sale. Best Buy and Newegg are already sold out, so you'd better hurry if you've been in the market for a large smart speaker.
If you're willing to spend home theater-level pricing, but don't want to deal with a standalone speaker/receiver setup, super-expensive soundbars like Sony's 7.1.2-channel unit might be your figurative and literal jam. But if the original $1,500 asking price was just a bit too rich for your blood, the price has been dropped basically everywhere to $1,200.It's an 800W, wireless soundbar with Dolby Atmos, 4K HDR, and HDCP 2.21 support. That extra ".2" in channel support means additional upwards source for sounds — though obviously, this is a soundbar, so that means it's bouncing sound off the ceiling.Product listings state "Google Home" compatibility, which means it can be remotely controlled without having any smart speaker-like built-in Assistant functionality of its own. It also has Chromecast support nestled inside for streaming content, and it supports Spotify Connect.Prices seem to have dropped almost everywhere for Black Friday, with savings ranging from $300-$100 (Amazon has had it on sale as low as $1,300 a few times). Retailers with the discount are listed below.Source: Amazon, Best Buy, Abt, Fry's Electroncs
Samsung's Note9 may be the new hotness, but the S9 and S9+ are basically smaller versions of the same thing, and they're a lot cheaper than the $1,000 monolith. So if you had your eye on one, waiting for the price to fall in this post-Note9 world, the time is now. Galaxy S9 and S9+ prices were recently slashed by $100 pretty much everywhere. That means you can pick up a new, unlocked, US-warrantied Galaxy S9 for as low as $620.
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- The deal is now available on Amazon too. You can grab your Core i5, 8GB/128GB Pixelbook for 9 at the retailer's site. The higher tiers are discounted there too, but not the full $250, so Best Buy is still your uhm best buy for those.
Is your old computer is starting to feel slow and sluggish? Have you been looking at all those Chromebooks and wanting to get one for yourself? Or maybe you have eyed the Pixelbook ever since it launched, but the $999 price was a little tough to stomach? Well, this deal is sure going to make you stop and think twice: it's that good. Google is discounting the Pixelbook to $749 at multiple retailers — that's $250 off the regular price and the lowest we've ever seen it dip, by far. Until now, the best discount we had spotted was $100 off with a free Google Home.The $250-off deal is also available on the upper-tier Pixelbooks, but not all retailers are treating them equally. So to save you the trouble of searching for each one on your favorite store, here are the Pixelbook variants and the sites where they're discounted:
Like it or hate it, more and more phones are dropping the headphone jack, which means Bluetooth headphones are changing from an optional benefit to a definite requirement as time goes on. For those looking to pick up a pair, Bose's SoundSport Free were one of Android Police's favorite "truly" wireless earbuds late last year, and now you can grab your own for just $199, a savings of $50.There aren't a lot of great truly wireless headphones out there, but the SoundSport Free impressed us a lot in our review. They sound great, with excellent signal reception and a comfortable fit. Other amenities like the Bose Connect+ app and charging case all contributed to the experience, though the headphones aren't without their drawbacks. Most notable among them being poor A/V sync, mediocre membrane-button controls, and middling 3.5-4 hour battery life. And, of course, the original $250 price was a bit steep.That last problem isn't as much of a concern now that the headphones are available for $50 off, though. You even have your choice of retailers, just in case you have a preference. If you've been eyeing a pair of these headphones elsewhere, the odds are they're discounted there as well.
There is no shortage of Android Auto-capable head units on the market, but as of right now, there is only one of the single-DIN variety: the Pioneer AVH-3300NEX. Considering that a lot of people are still driving around in cars with single-DIN slots, that's pretty incredible. Now you can buy an AVH-3300NEX for just $448, $152 off the MSRP, from Amazon and Abt.The AVH-3300NEX sports a 7.0" 480p clear resistive display that folds out from the compact single-DIN body. In addition to Android Auto, it can also run Pioneer's own software and Apple CarPlay. Of course, it can still function as a standard head unit, with its AM/FM tuning, AUX input, and so on. If your car has a single-DIN slot, this is one of the nicest models you can buy.Abt is offering the AVH-3300NEX for $448, and Amazon is as well for an extra five cents. Shipping is free from both retailers. This is the lowest price we've seen for this unit (okay, fine, it was two cents cheaper a couple of days ago on Amazon). Let us know if you decide to pick one up.Source: Abt, Amazon
Samsung flagships aren't cheap, so some of you might have been waiting for Black Friday to score a deal on one of them. We're seeing discounts of $150 and up on the Galaxy Note8, S8+, and S8, as well as a healthy $67 discount on the Gear 360 (2017 Edition) at multiple retailers.
These days, we're seeing increasingly advanced smart TVs with 4K resolutions, HDR tech, and more. In anticipation of the Black Friday weekend, Sony has slashed prices on two of its 4K HDR smart TV lines, the XBR X900E and X930E. No matter what size or features you need, there's an option for you here.The XBR X900E is the lower-end of the two lines here, and it comes in 49", 55", 65", and 75" sizes. Its slim, bezel-less design features X-tended Dynamic Range Pro and XDR Contrast 5x, full-array local dimming and boosting, and 4K HDR X1 tech. Android TV is on board, as is Amazon Alexa support. If you're not absolutely obsessed with the intricacies of different display technologies, this is the TV for you.If, however, you do care about maximum picture quality, you may want to take a look at the (much more expensive) XBR X930E. This line only comes in two screen sizes - 55" and 65" - and sports the same minimalist design. However, it has a more advanced display; despite its edge-lit dimming tech (which is thought to be inferior to the X900E's full-array dimming), it features two rows of LEDs, XDR Contrast 10x vs the X900E's 5x, and the more capable 4K HDR X1 Extreme processor.These TVs are available from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo, Abt, Fry's, and Walmart. We've compiled all the links in the list below. Here are the X900E-series TVs:
The first-generation of Samsung's fully wireless Gear IconX earbuds were good, with one glaring flaw: horrible battery life. When connected to a phone, these could scarcely reach 1.5 hours of playing time. Thankfully, with the second-gen model, Samsung has upped the battery life to a noticeably-better 5 hours. And for Black Friday, you can pick up a set for $149.99, a not-insignificant $50 off MSRP.The '2018 Edition' of the Gear IconX (it's not 2018 yet, though!) doesn't make huge changes over the first-gen model aside from the non-terrible battery life. Samsung advertises the ability to use Bixby or Google Assistant, as well as control music with swipes on the buds. There are also fitness tracking abilities on board, though I wonder how many people actually use them. Battery life is estimated at 5 hours of Bluetooth streaming, 7 hours of on-device listening, and 4 hours of talk time.If you want a set, you have quite a few stores to choose from. Amazon is offering them for $149.99 a set, as are Abt, B&H, and Samsung.com. All retailers have discounted all three colors (black, white, and pink). Hit the source links below to grab a Gear IconX (2018 Edition) of your very own.Source: Abt, Amazon, B&H, Samsung