Month: March 2024

Amazon won’t let you engrave your AirTags with an adorable unicorn picture, but it will sell them to you starting at $24.99. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Happy Saturday, folks! When Apple launched AirTags in 2021, it was a big moment for item trackers. Tile still dominated the landscape back then, however, thanks to Apple’s ultra wideband (UWB) chip and their ability to tap into Apple’s vast Find My network, they quickly became the go-to pick for iPhone owners. They’ve often gone on sale for around $80 in the time since, however, right now you can snag a four-pack at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $74.99 ($24), an all-time low.

In addition to their ultra-precise tracking capabilities, which allow you to locate them even when you’re not in their immediate vicinity, Apple’s AirTags have a few other things going for them. The handy trackers pack an IP67 rating — meaning they’re sealed against dust and can handle some water immersion — and run on a single CR2032 coin cell battery, which, if we’re being honest, should be the case with all Bluetooth trackers at this point. You can also share a lone AirTag with up to five people thanks to iOS 17, letting you keep tabs on household car keys, backpacks, and other communal items you’d rather not disappear into the ether.

Read our original AirTag impressions.

Amazon’s recent spring sales event was bigger than expected, though, we saw surprisingly few deals on the company’s own e-readers outside of a $30 discount on the step-up Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. Fortunately for those who waited, Amazon is now selling the standard Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 with 16GB of storage starting at $129.99 ($20 off) — a price both Best Buy and Target are currently matching.

Although we’ve seen the Paperwhite drop to less before, the current promo price isn’t a bad deal for what you’re getting. We consider the 11th-gen Paperwhite to be the best model for most readers, especially if you mostly buy ebooks from Amazon and don’t rely on Barnes & Noble, Kobo’s bookstore, and other sellers. The 6.8-inch reading slate sports a large 300pi display and IPX8 water resistance, along with an adjustable frontlight that provides an enjoyable experience regardless of whether you’re reading at night or during the day. Plus, it supports USB-C charging and a battery that can last a staggering 10 weeks on a single charge — that is, assuming you’re okay with enabling the “Power Saver” mode, which provides you with longer battery life if you can wait a bit longer for your Kindle to wake up from sleep mode.

Read our Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review.

More ways to save this weekend

Now through the end of today, March 30th, Amazon Prime members can grab a Nintendo Switch OLED via the Woot app for $299.99 ($50 off); non-members, meanwhile, can grab it for $319.99. A so-called Switch 2 is certainly on the way, however, if you can’t until it lands next year, the OLED model is the best way to experience games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the go. Nintendo’s souped-up console / handheld hybrid packs a better kickstand, upgraded speakers, and a 7-inch OLED screen that’s more vibrant than the 6.2-inch LCD display on the original model. Read our review.
I for one cannot wait for the return of House of the Dragon, though I’m less enthused about Max’s plan to implement new password restrictions later this year. Fortunately, Max is still offering both new and returning subscribers more than 40 percent off its annual subscriptions if you’re willing to pay for a year upfront, which drops the price of the ad-supported base plan to just $69.99 ($30 off).

ESR’s Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand has fallen to an all-time low at Amazon, where you can grab it for just $65.69 (about $15 off) when you clip the on-page coupon. There have been a lot of MageSafe-friendly Qi2 chargers hitting the market as of late, but ESR’s is one of the more affordable 3-in-1 options. The adjustable stand can supply 15W of power to the latest iPhone models, while allowing you to simultaneously top off an Apple Watch and a pair of earbuds. Now, if only it could fast-charge newer Apple Watch models…
If you want a powerful Bluetooth speaker with marathon battery life for picnics and other spring-y affairs, JBL’s Charge 5 is on sale right now at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $129.95 ($40 off), which is one of its better prices as of late. It’s a terrific speaker — one of our favorites, in fact — with good sound, stereo pairing, and the ability to top off your phone thanks to a built-in USB-A port.

Amazon is offering the Eufy P2 Pro Smart Scale for $40.99 ($39 off), its lowest price to date, when you enter code EUFYSCALEP2 at checkout. Although smaller than other smart scales — including the Withings Body Smart we tested last year — the water-resistant P2 Pro is a good option if all you want is something simple to use that works with a range of fitness platforms (including Apple Health and Fitbit). It also connects via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and, unlike most models, lets you store info for as many users as you’d like.

Update March 30th, 11:27AM ET: Added Woot’s deal for the Nintendo Switch OLED, which runs through the end of today, March 30th.

Amazon won’t let you engrave your AirTags with an adorable unicorn picture, but it will sell them to you starting at $24.99. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Happy Saturday, folks! When Apple launched AirTags in 2021, it was a big moment for item trackers. Tile still dominated the landscape back then, however, thanks to Apple’s ultra wideband (UWB) chip and their ability to tap into Apple’s vast Find My network, they quickly became the go-to pick for iPhone owners. They’ve often gone on sale for around $80 in the time since, however, right now you can snag a four-pack at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $74.99 ($24), an all-time low.

In addition to their ultra-precise tracking capabilities, which allow you to locate them even when you’re not in their immediate vicinity, Apple’s AirTags have a few other things going for them. The handy trackers pack an IP67 rating — meaning they’re sealed against dust and can handle some water immersion — and run on a single CR2032 coin cell battery, which, if we’re being honest, should be the case with all Bluetooth trackers at this point. You can also share a lone AirTag with up to five people thanks to iOS 17, letting you keep tabs on household car keys, backpacks, and other communal items you’d rather not disappear into the ether.

Read our original AirTag impressions.

Amazon’s recent spring sales event was bigger than expected, though, we saw surprisingly few deals on the company’s own e-readers outside of a $30 discount on the step-up Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. Fortunately for those who waited, Amazon is now selling the standard Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 with 16GB of storage starting at $129.99 ($20 off) — a price both Best Buy and Target are currently matching.

Although we’ve seen the Paperwhite drop to less before, the current promo price isn’t a bad deal for what you’re getting. We consider the 11th-gen Paperwhite to be the best model for most readers, especially if you mostly buy ebooks from Amazon and don’t rely on Barnes & Noble, Kobo’s bookstore, and other sellers. The 6.8-inch reading slate sports a large 300pi display and IPX8 water resistance, along with an adjustable frontlight that provides an enjoyable experience regardless of whether you’re reading at night or during the day. Plus, it supports USB-C charging and a battery that can last a staggering 10 weeks on a single charge — that is, assuming you’re okay with enabling the “Power Saver” mode, which provides you with longer battery life if you can wait a bit longer for your Kindle to wake up from sleep mode.

Read our Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review.

More ways to save this weekend

Now through the end of today, March 30th, Amazon Prime members can grab a Nintendo Switch OLED via the Woot app for $299.99 ($50 off); non-members, meanwhile, can grab it for $319.99. A so-called Switch 2 is certainly on the way, however, if you can’t until it lands next year, the OLED model is the best way to experience games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the go. Nintendo’s souped-up console / handheld hybrid packs a better kickstand, upgraded speakers, and a 7-inch OLED screen that’s more vibrant than the 6.2-inch LCD display on the original model. Read our review.
I for one cannot wait for the return of House of the Dragon, though I’m less enthused about Max’s plan to implement new password restrictions later this year. Fortunately, Max is still offering both new and returning subscribers more than 40 percent off its annual subscriptions if you’re willing to pay for a year upfront, which drops the price of the ad-supported base plan to just $69.99 ($30 off).

ESR’s Qi2 Wireless Charging Stand has fallen to an all-time low at Amazon, where you can grab it for just $65.69 (about $15 off) when you clip the on-page coupon. There have been a lot of MageSafe-friendly Qi2 chargers hitting the market as of late, but ESR’s is one of the more affordable 3-in-1 options. The adjustable stand can supply 15W of power to the latest iPhone models, while allowing you to simultaneously top off an Apple Watch and a pair of earbuds. Now, if only it could fast-charge newer Apple Watch models…
If you want a powerful Bluetooth speaker with marathon battery life for picnics and other spring-y affairs, JBL’s Charge 5 is on sale right now at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $129.95 ($40 off), which is one of its better prices as of late. It’s a terrific speaker — one of our favorites, in fact — with good sound, stereo pairing, and the ability to top off your phone thanks to a built-in USB-A port.

Amazon is offering the Eufy P2 Pro Smart Scale for $40.99 ($39 off), its lowest price to date, when you enter code EUFYSCALEP2 at checkout. Although smaller than other smart scales — including the Withings Body Smart we tested last year — the water-resistant P2 Pro is a good option if all you want is something simple to use that works with a range of fitness platforms (including Apple Health and Fitbit). It also connects via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and, unlike most models, lets you store info for as many users as you’d like.

Update March 30th, 11:27AM ET: Added Woot’s deal for the Nintendo Switch OLED, which runs through the end of today, March 30th.

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