There are lots of excellent wireless earbuds available these days, but one shines above the rest when it comes to noise cancellation: the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. They’re currently one of our top picks for the best earbuds you can buy, and they’re on sale for $249 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and direct from Bose.
The QuietComfort Earbuds II have noise cancellation that is strong enough to (mostly) silence the droning of an airplane. Or if you prefer, they do a great job as earplugs to wash away the outside world and allow you to focus on your work. But their excellent ANC isn’t the whole picture here, as the Bose also have great audio quality for music and podcast listening. Where they’re not so premium is their lack of multipoint connections and their non-wireless charging case, both a shame for this price range. However, if you prioritize noise cancellation, then these are your buds. Read our review.
If you need a computer for the “just getting shit done” bare essentials, there are a couple of good deals on Chromebooks worth your perusal.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a 14-inch convertible laptop powered by an AMD Ryzen 3 5125C CPU that’s on sale for $299 ($250 off) at Best Buy today only. It’s a fully capable machine for everyday computing needs, like internet browsing and typing stuff up in Google Docs, and because it has a more capable processor than the average Chromebook, it should be able to last for a number of years without getting too sluggish.
The other Chromebook deal worth a look is the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 for $269 ($110 off) at Best Buy. It’s a convertible tablet Chromebook with an 11-inch touchscreen that’s accompanied by a keyboard and kickstand for a laptop-like experience. It doesn’t have the fancier specs of Acer’s Spin but packs the more typical Chromebook specs of a Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor and slower 128GB eMMC storage — which are fine for getting basic tasks done. Plus, this form factor makes it better for leisure time on the couch.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch is on sale in cartridge form for $39 (about $20 off) at Amazon or Walmart and $39.99 at Best Buy and Target. This deal comes just in time for the game’s fourth wave of DLC tracks, which adds eight more tracks and the return of Birdo on March 9th.
While Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is nearly six years old (almost nine if you count the original Wii U release), it remains some of the most fun you can have on a Switch with a group of people — locally or online. And it’s continued to expand over the years with DLC support — as Nintendo has promised, it will have 48 new tracks upon the completed release of all release waves. This deal is as good as it gets if you haven’t bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe yet, and the $20 you save covers most of the $24.99 cost for the whole Booster Course Pass DLC package. Alternatively, subscribers to the Nintendo Switch Online service with Expansion Pass get the DLC included with their $49.99 annual membership.
There are two flavors of JBL Bluetooth speakers on sale right now, allowing you to prepare for those spring and summer parties. The beefy and bassy JBL Charge 5 is on sale for about $139.95 ($40 off) at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and JBL, while the smaller and more portable JBL Flip 6 is selling for around $99.95 ($30 off) at Amazon, Walmart, Target, and JBL.
If you prioritize some big bass-filled sound and don’t mind toting around a larger speaker, the Charge 5 is the one to go with. It’s got a hearty battery life of up to 20 hours and even allows you to siphon some of that off to charge your phone. However, if you want a smaller speaker that easily fits into a beach bag or smaller purse, the Flip 6 fits the bill (and a slightly tighter budget). It has a more than respectable 12 hours of max battery life and gets loud enough to fill small rooms. Both speakers from JBL are waterproof and come in a variety of colors, so they’re ready for a pool party or even just your everyday shower speaker duties.
A couple more deals for your Monday:
- The SOOPII 100W four-foot USB-C charging cable with a built-in power meter is $7.99 ($4 off) at Amazon when you click the on-page coupon. It’s a handy way to know just how much your juice is actually reaching your phone, tablet, or laptop. If four feet is a little too short, the same cable can be had in a 6.6-foot length for $11.19 (about $5 off) after clicking the coupon on Amazon.
- Anker’s 737 PowerCore 24K power bank is on sale for $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon. This beefy battery stores up to 24,000mAh of juice and can output up to 140W to a single device. — though its coolest feature is arguably the built-in display, which shows battery level and charge outputs from its two USB-C and one USB-A ports.