The MQ-Series of Vizio TVs supports voice controls through the remote. | Image: Vizio
The Christmas holiday is just one week away. I repeat: seven days from now is Christmas Eve. Let that sink in for a moment, but don’t panic just yet. There is still time to get gifts in time for the holidays before we reach cutoff times for shipments, though we’re getting a little tight on time. Just because you’re cutting it close doesn’t mean you have to overspend. Today, we have a bunch of great deals at a variety of price points — many of which can make exceptional gifts for a friend, family member, or yourself.
Starting off, Vizio’s midrange 70-inch MQ7 4K LED TV (M70Q7-J03) with voice controls and HDR is just $749.99 at Best Buy. That’s a $350 discount on quite a large TV. You may ask, “How can I gift a 70-inch TV to just one family member?” Well, this is one of those great gifts you get for the whole household — which, pro tip, is how you get away with buying something nice for yourself at the same time.
Selfish-adjacent gift scheming aside, the Vizio offers a lot of value for such a large TV. It features a QLED panel for vivid contrast and color with a 60Hz refresh rate and FreeSync support. Though it’s billed as having HDMI 2.1, it only supports HDMI 2.0 throughput, which is a larger problem in the world of TVs and monitors. If a 70-inch isn’t the right size for you, Best Buy has discounts on the MQ7’s other sizes as well — including a 50-inch for $499.99 ($200 off), a jumbo 75-inch for $999.99 ($300 off), and more.
Switching gears to smaller screens — much smaller screens — the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is our pick for the best budget Chromebook, and it’s down to one of its lowest prices of all time. For just $219 at Best Buy, the Chromebook Duet is an incredible value for a very capable device. When it was reviewed at its regular $299 price point, it already felt like a steal for everything it is capable of, so saving $80 makes it all the more sweet.
It features a 10.1-inch screen with a convenient 2-in-1 design for a whole lot of versatility and mobility thanks to its keyboard case and kickstand, all of which are included in the purchase. Part tablet, part mini laptop, the Duet is a great device for kids to get work done or huddle around and binge a little Netflix at home or on the go. Read our review.
When you’re getting work done or studying, it’s nice to have some musical accompaniment to help you focus and fill the air with the sound of something other than keyboard clacks. Amazon has a special promotion sale right now, offering its Echo Dot smart speaker for just $0.99 when you subscribe to one month of Amazon Music Unlimited. Its Amazon Music service costs $9.99 per month for an individual plan or $7.99 if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. So you can pay $10.98 (or $8.98 with Prime) and get one month of Amazon Music, plus a third-gen Echo Dot that right now costs $19.99 on its own.
This promotion is limited to new subscribers of Amazon Music Unlimited and first-time Echo device owners, and the subscription is set to auto-renew after an introductory month. Read our review of the third-gen Echo Dot here.
Speaking of subscription services, we have an exclusive deal for you on one of the most popular subscriptions in the world of video games. Eneba has one year of PlayStation Plus for just $34.75 when you use code VERGE365DEC. The same one-year subscription normally costs $59.99, so this deal saves you $25.24 and brings it down to about $2.90 per month. You don’t have to be a new subscriber to PlayStation Plus to take advantage of this deal, though it is limited to USA accounts.
For the Xbox owners looking for a good deal, we haven’t forgotten about you. If you have been lusting over a customizable controller like Microsoft’s Elite Series II but are a little unsure of spending upwards of $140, the PowerA Fusion Pro is an inexpensive way to test the waters a bit. Best Buy is selling the wired Xbox version of the Fusion Pro for just $29.99, discounted $50 from its usual $79.99 selling price. This controller comes with swappable thumbsticks, anti-friction rings for less stick drag, and mappable back paddle buttons. Paddles are an excellent way to get an edge in competitive games, allowing you to execute moves in FPS games that normally require you to take your thumb off the stick for a brief moment.
Since advanced buttons like paddles may not be for everyone, the PowerA Fusion Pro allows you to test the waters of an advanced controller without breaking the bank. For Nintendo fans, the wireless Switch version of the Fusion Pro — which is similar to the wired Xbox pad but with Bluetooth — is also discounted. That model is down to $79.99 at Best Buy from its usual $99.99. Read our review of the wireless FusionPro for the Switch here.
Some further deals to peruse further
Sony’s popular WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones are once again down to $248 on Amazon ($101.99 off). These are still one of the best pairs of headphones money can buy, and at their best price. Read our review.
If you’re in the market for an Intel-based Mac, the best deal around today is on the 2020 model of the 21.5-inch iMac with Core i5 CPU, 256GB SSD, and 8GB of RAM. It’s just $799 on Amazon ($300 off). We recommend springing for the newer M1 iMac, but you can’t deny that’s a very good price for a home computer.
If you or a loved one watch a lot of Twitch streams, you can get a $50 Twitch gift card for $40 today on Amazon’s deal of the day. The recipient can use that gift card to support and subscribe to their favorite streamers.
B&H Photo has a sizable discount on a DJI Mini SE kit. The DJI Mini SE drone normally costs $299 on its own, but this bundle offers extra accessories to help get you started, such as a microSD card, cleaning kit, Lowepro carrying bag, and spare battery. All together, it costs $354.95 on B&H’s daily deal, a savings of $150.