We focused on back-to-school stuff and deals for the past few weeks, but sometimes you want to treat yourself to something unrelated to book-booking, like a new smartphone, hair dryer, or smart speaker. We’ve rounded up some great discounts that can help you get rid of that new itch.
Special offer for Gear readers: get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you want). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Our favorite phone is on sale
The one-year anniversary is coming up, but that shouldn’t stop you from buying Google’s Pixel 6 (9/10, WIRED Recommends), especially at this price. This is the lowest we’ve ever tracked for this Android phone, and it matches what we saw on Amazon Prime Day a month ago. For under $500 you get fast performance, a 90Hz AMOLED display, an all day battery, one of the best camera phones and some really smart software. This discount may have something to do with the Pixel 7 launching in about two months, but it’s still a great way to save if you don’t want the very latest.
If you want a 120Hz screen that’s slightly larger, plus a great 4x optical telephoto camera, you’ll need the Pixel 6 Prothat is also on sale for $649 ($250 off) (also available at Amazon). These two phones are the first with Android 13, which Google rolled out earlier this week.
Kindle and Tablet Deals
Check out our best tablets, best Kindles, and our best e-readers guides to learn more.
The Galaxy Tab S8 is a luxury Android tablet. This is almost one of the lowest prices we’ve tracked. It does not have an AMOLED panel, but LCD, which is still sharp, bright and colorful. The 11-inch screen is also a good size, not too small and not too big. It’s fast, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor that powers it, and you get a stylus that magnetically sticks to the slate. Samsung’s DeX mode allows for some light work when you plug in a Bluetooth keyboard, but it’s also a fantastic slate to watch the latest season of Weird stuff.
This dropped to $75 during Prime Day and you can expect it to drop again during Black Friday, so if you’re not desperate for it, it’s best to wait. Amazon Fire tablets aren’t for everyone — there’s no Google Play Store (there’s a workaround), so not every app is available, and Amazon is pushing its own services heavily. But these cheap screens are great for playing games, watching TV or reading for a long time. The Fire HD 10 (7/10, WIRED recommended) is our favorite Fire Tablet for its large size, but the smaller Fire HD 8 is also on sale for $50 ($40 off).
There are better tablets for adults, but kids don’t need a $300 iPad. This one is durable and inexpensive, especially at $70, which is the retail price we usually see. It’s the same as the regular Fire HD 8 we mentioned above, but with a bulky case to protect it. It’s backed by a worry-free two-year warranty so you can replace it if it breaks, and you get one year Amazon Kids+ Servicethat provides access to kid-friendly books, movies, games and apps, all with parental controls.
Kindles are our favorite e-readers, and the Paperwhite is the best option in Amazon’s lineup. This standard version has 8 gigabytes of storage space and bright, warm lighting. Plus, it’s waterproof for reading in the bathtub. For $130 ($30 off), you can get the Paperwhite with no ads on lock screen.
The Signature edition (8/10, recommended by WIRED) gets 32 gigabytes of storage and has no ads on the lock screen. That’s a huge storage upgrade, but not necessary unless you’re listening to a ton of audiobooks. (For reference, 8 gigs is about 5,000 books.) This version also gets auto-adjusting lighting and wireless charging.
The 2019 Oasis is going to be long in the tooth. It used to be the nicest of all the Kindles available, but the Paperwhite options above are cheaper, with many of the same benefits. However, I love that it has physical page turn buttons. The 7-inch screen is also slightly larger, with an overall thinner, sleeker aluminum design.
Home Offers
Check out more options in our guides to the best security cameras and best smart speakers.
Nooie makes some of my favorite smart home products. They do the job and are not made by some mega company that loves to hoard data, and I really love the matte design. This camera has 1080p video, with accurate motion detection and two-way audio. It’s called a dog camera on the Amazon page, but there’s nothing specific about making it that way – it’s good for everything you need to look at. You can save clips by subscribing to Nooie’s cloud service or inserting your own MicroSD card.
Eufy makes a lot of affordable smart home products that we like, including this security camera, but it has flaws. For example, it has different apps for each type of smart home product, so if you’re already using the smart plugs or robot vacuums, you’ll need to download a separate security app to monitor this camera. Still, it allows you to pan and tilt, so you can see the entire room from a distance.
Like the other Amazon devices on this list, the retail price for the Echo isn’t unusual, but it’s our favorite Echo speaker (8/10, WIRED recommended). Powered by Alexa, the Echo is easy to use and takes up little space. It also has surprisingly good speakers for its size. If you don’t want to spend that much, the Echo Dot With Digital Clock is: on sale for $50 ($10 off). The speakers don’t sound as good, but it does many of the same tricks.
Monoprice makes many of our favorite home office equipment, from monitor mounts and desk lamps to HDMI cables and 4K monitors. It currently has a 15 percent off sitewide if you use the code SMORE at checkout (some products are excluded). This sales event ends on August 21.
Beauty & Hair Tool Deals
None of these appeal to you? We’ve got some hair dryer recommendations in our guide.
We love Alleyoop, especially the multi-purpose products like this one. Designed like the multicolored pens of your childhood, this contains an eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, lip liner and highlighter in one cute package. The rest of the products on the site are discounted also, from 25 to 40 percent off.
There’s no shortage of blowout brushes like this one (we’ve tried a few), but Hot Tools offers brush heads for different styles (or to please everyone in your household). WIRED editor Adrienne So says it did a pretty good job in 10 minutes, but not quite as well as the Revlon or Drybar, and it requires a little more time and finesse.
This is a good, affordable hair dryer for curly hair that needs a large surface area. It’s also light and thin, so it’s not a bad travel option. I also just love the way it looks, but I wish it had a medium speed setting.
Conair makes great affordable hair tools, and this dryer is no different. It’s simple, but it works well and is super cheap, even if it’s not on sale. It comes with a diffuser and air concentrator.
