The Echo Show 5 is ideal for a bedside nightstand. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
It’s Friday, so it’s nearly time to put this busy week in the books. We hope you have a chance for some rest and relaxation this upcoming weekend, and we’ve got a couple deals for you that may help.
First off, you can give your bedside nightstand an upgrade with a second-gen Amazon Echo Show 5 for $54.99 at Amazon or Best Buy. It’s just $10 away from its all-time low price, but it’s $30 cheaper than the regular price of $84.99. This little smart display with a 5.5-inch screen can go anywhere around the house (so long as there’s a power plug nearby), but the ideal spot is near your bed where it can show and tell you the weather or news right as you wake up. It’s also a key part of any Alexa-infused smart home setup, because what’s better than calling out voice commands without having to get up? Though if putting a camera in your bedroom feels a little awkward, it has a physical switch to block the lens. Read our review.
The Bose Sleepbuds II promise to help you fall asleep faster and feel more rested, and they’re back down to the best price of $199 at Amazon and Best Buy. That’s a $50 savings off the regular price of $249. These earbuds are designed to be comfortable enough to wear while you sleep and help you tune out ambient noises like a snoring partner or the sounds of a city that never sleeps.
Their effectiveness may depend on outside factors in your environment, not to mention that everyone’s sleep habits are different. If you like the idea of gently falling asleep to the white noise of rain or soft music while outside noises are blocked out, these are the single-purpose earbuds for you. But they may not help you sleep if you left the closet door open and you’re too freaked out to get up in the dark to close it. Read our review.
Getting back to another Amazon smart device that’s on sale is the charming little Fire TV Cube, currently selling for $69.99 at Amazon. This is the lowest price the Fire TV Cube has ever sold for, knocking $50 off its full price. While it’s been on the market for a while now, it’s one of the few streaming device and smart speaker combos around. It supports 4K output along with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos, so you can be sure your picture and sound quality are great as you bark orders at Alexa from across the room.
It supports Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, allowing you to call out questions and commands right from the couch. It can also link up to other smart home accessories. Need to turn down the brightness of your Philips Hue bulbs? Done. Want to watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show? OK. Want to know the weather in Minneapolis? Sure. Is it weird that the only thing that comes to mind at the mention of Minneapolis is that classic 52-year-old TV sitcom? Maybe. Read our review.
From relaxing with some TV shows to playing some games, Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is once again on sale on eBay via Antonline for $269.99. This $30 discount on the Fortnite and Rocket League Bundle gives you an easy pathway into a next-gen console with some added DLC freebies thrown in for both free-to-play titles. Sure, the 512GB SSD is a little on the small side for how massive modern games are, but it’s a very capable console that’s compact enough to fit in your living room, office, or wherever works for you. Plus, you can always get more SSD storage later if you’re willing to pay $219.99 for an extra 1TB. And, if you ever upgrade to the bigger, pricier Xbox Series X, that add-on storage card will still work.
Sadly, the Xbox Series X is still a pain to get. But this Xbox Series S is like a happy puppy at the pet store that wants you to take it home right now. But even better than a puppy, this Xbox can play Elden Ring and doesn’t require house training. Read our review.
If you’re an Xbox owner and you need some BGE (that’s Big Gamer Energy, a technical term), there’s no company better at doing it than Razer. The Razer Kaira Pro is available at Amazon for $99.99 ($50 off) in black or white colorways. The first-party Xbox Wireless Headset may be our current top pick for wireless headsets for Microsoft consoles, but this discount brings them to the same price. The Kaira Pro is an excellent alternative with a comfy fit and easy connectivity across devices — phones, tablets, and PCs — as well as a detachable boom mic. Plus, it’s got that bold styling, with LED-illuminated Razer logos on the earcups.
The Razer Kaira Pro is also the only wireless headset you can get in a decked-out Halo Infinite colorway, complete with UNSC logos and a green Spartan 117 armor design. This unique model is $40 off at Amazon, bringing its price down to a more palatable $129.99 from its usual $179.99.
More Friday fun-day deals:
The 20th Anniversary Special Edition Xbox controller looks so dang cool with its translucent smoked-black styling. You can get it for $64.97 (about $5 off) at Amazon and Walmart.
The HyperX Pulsefire Haste gaming mouse is a great value, especially if you’re looking to try out your first ultra-lightweight option. It weighs just 59 grams and, right now, costs only $29.99 ($20 off) at Amazon.
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K is just $29.99 ($20 off) from Amazon itself. This streaming stick ticks all the basic boxes of baseline features you expect without spending a lot. That includes HDR and Dolby Atmos for better video and sound quality.