Every Christmas season appears to bring the same old scramble to find thoughtful gifts that don’t require too much effort. Then along comes Amazon’s Echo Show 5, a handy little smart display that slides into a bedside or kitchen counter and immediately begins earning its keep. Currently, with a 33% discount, the price has dropped from $89.99 to $59.99, enabling Prime members snag one today for delivery by December 11th, just in time for the holidays.
Fans of the Fallout series know the Mojave Desert as a location where it’s never safe to relax…every hill hides a sniper, and every station could be a battleground. A brand-new fan-made animation called Operation Sunburst has turned those distant memories into a brutal battle drama. SODAZ created this 45-minute fan video about the New California Republic declaring war on the Brotherhood of Steel over the Helios One power facility.
Too many pocket-sized Bluetooth speakers provide music that is faint and distant, requiring way too much effort to hear. Then there’s the JBL Go 4, priced at $39.95 (was $49.95), a small brick-sized device aiming to turn that notion on its head. At less than half a pound and small enough to fit in a coat pocket, it not only provides, but truly delivers, clear, powerful audio that makes you grab for the volume dial rather than throw your hands up in the air in disgust.
Sony debuted the PlayStation 5 roughly five years ago, but the Slim Disc Edition, priced at $449 (was $499) continues to draw crowds whenever the holiday season rolls around. The original console’s size was reduced by more than 30% to make place for this slimmer successor. It conveniently fits on a narrower shelf or next to a TV without taking up too much space.
Apple has a talent for removing the annoyances from our everyday routines and replacing them with a refined sense of style. Consider earbuds: for years, you had to select whether you wanted them to be incredibly comfortable or super quiet. You choose open designs that allowed the world in, or sealed tips that kept you completely out of touch, even in a packed subway. With the AirPods 4, which have active noise cancellation, now available for $99 (was $179), all of that sounds like old history.
Sony’s new DualSense controller, known as Chroma Teal, priced at $59.99 (down from $79.99), offers a deep dark blue green that is as oceanic as it gets, and it appears to capture light in a way that few other peripherals can. This new version keeps all of the original design elements while wrapping them in a finish that changes color depending on where the light is coming from; it looks very different when held up under a desk lamp and warms up to a sort of verdant edge than when held out in the daylight and cools down to a lovely forest pond kind of tone.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro is being released into a market that is quickly losing its appetite for spending money. Tariffs and supply chain concerns are now forcing electronics prices to surge, with increases of 30% on cellphones and 69% on video game consoles and laptops, according to industry sources. In the midst of all price hike craziness, seeing the PS5 Pro for $648.99, down from $749.99, is a nice sight, especially when everything else in the store is increasing.
Google’s latest budget rival entered the market quietly in the spring, but it is already establishing a name for itself in people’s pockets. The Pixel 9a is available for $349, which is a great deal, especially since it was $499 just a few months ago and comes with a big 128GB storage.
A pair of sunglasses lies on the edge of a desk, their matte black frame catching the last rays of afternoon light that shine through a window. Those frames are the first-generation Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, and some will argue that the second generation is more visually appealing, but when you put these on and step out the door, the appeal is more than just superficial, especially when priced at only $263 (down from $329).
Smartphones get more powerful every year but storage is the silent killer of daily routines. A new iPhone tempts with sleek design and great cameras but the jump from 256GB to 2TB is at least an $800 whammy. Enter the Lexar 2TB Professional Go Portable SSD, priced at $169.49 (was $269.99) ahead of Cyber Monday, a tiny drive that fits in your pocket and handles the overflow.