Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge
While several retailers are gearing up for the long July Fourth weekend with some exciting sitewide sales, there are plenty of standalone deals worth checking out ahead of Captain America’s birthday (oh, you didn’t know?). Starting off, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is currently discounted to its lowest price ever at Amazon. The 256GB configuration of this foldable phone typically costs $1,799.99 but is currently on sale for $1,249.99. This sizeable discount extends to the 512GB configuration as well, knocking its usual $1,899.99 price tag down to a more reasonable $1,349.99 instead.
The Z fold 3 proved that Samsung could make a good and durable foldable phone, particularly for multitasking on its 120Hz refresh rate display that can extend to 7.6 inches in size. Its Snapdragon 888 processor may be showing its age a little compared to its contemporaries, but the 12GB of RAM is still a tough spec to beat, even in more modern devices.
While recent rumors indicate that a new version of this phone may be around the corner this summer, there hasn’t been an official announcement as of yet. So, if you want a deal on this interesting Samsung foldable, this is an ideal time to upgrade. Read our review.
Amazon is currently running a number of excellent deals exclusively for Prime members. One of the standouts here is the 55-inch Omni-series Fire TV from Amazon, which normally costs $559.99 but is currently available for $299.99, the lowest price we’ve seen for this size. This model does include HDR 10, but it’s worth noting that its HDR support doesn’t extend to Dolby Vision, which will restrict the amount of content that’ll get an HDR boost. However, at a price point this low, it’s tough to find much to complain about with a TV that has integrated streaming hardware and hands-free voice controls courtesy of Alexa.
Another Prime-exclusive deal has a number of Blink camera bundles discounted to their best prices ever. The standalone Blink Video Doorbell normally costs $49.99, but Prime members can grab one for $34.99. However, if you need a more expansive outdoor surveillance system, Prime members can get the standalone Blink doorbell and a pair of Blink’s Outdoor Cameras for a total of $107.98 instead of the typical $214.98 price.
Each of those outdoor cameras you’ll get in this bundle can capture 1080p footage, and they offer both speaker output and two-way audio transmission. The doorbell and outdoor cameras are each powered by a pair of AA batteries that claim to be able to keep each unit running for up to two years at a time, allowing you to set them up in the ideal spot without worrying about power. There are certainly other systems available that offer superior specs when compared to the Blink system, but for a budget-friendly home security solution, Blink cameras are tough to beat.
The Logitech Brio 4K webcam is just shy of its best price ever at Amazon. Normally $199.99 (and somewhat difficult to find earlier in the pandemic), the Brio has been discounted to $141.65. This is the lowest price we’ve seen thus far for this versatile webcam, making it a worthwhile consideration if you’ve been meaning to upgrade your work-from-home setup. While it hasn’t earned a spot as one of our favorite webcams, we believe that the Brio is worthy of consideration at this price. The camera is capable of capturing 4K footage at 30 frames per second, but it can provide smoother 60 FPS capture at 1080p. With this discount, the Brio inhabits a space between the outstanding (and expensive) Opal C1 and the more budget-conscious Logitech C920S Pro.
A few more deals worth looking into…
Anker’s cube-shaped power strip with a five-foot extension cord normally costs $19.99 but is available for $16.99 when you apply an Amazon coupon before checkout. This handy adapter provides you with a trio of surge-protected AC outlets and three USB-A ports, all packed into a smart little device that won’t look as ugly as your average cord extender.
If you need a power strip with a slightly more conventional form factor, Anker is also offering its USB-C power strip for $33.99 instead of the typical retail price of $39.99. This flat adapter includes three AC outlets on one side and a pair of USB-A ports accompanied by a single USB-C port on the other.