Get Lucky: 5 of the Best Friday the 13th Weekend Tech Deals

Are you superstitious? Friday the 13th is typically associated with bad luck, but we’re here to tell you that it can bring good deals instead, all through the weekend. As the holiday shopping season gets close to completion, retailers are still trying to grab last-minute shoppers with drastic price drops. We’ve combed through all the hot deals to bring you some amazing bargains on VR headsets, headphones, speakers, laptops and more.

If you haven’t experienced your PS5 in virtual reality, this is a can’t-miss deal that lets you take home a headset, controllers and a killer app game for 42% off the retail price. We published an in-depth review of the PlayStation VR2 system, with lead analyst Will Greenwald calling it “a comprehensive upgrade that tops its predecessor in terms of graphics, sound, and tracking technology” and giving it an Editors’ Choice award. Pack-in game “Horizon: Call of the Mountain” transports you back to the franchise’s post-apocalyptic world for a gorgeous and immersive adventure with intuitive controls and thrilling combat.

Big advances in software need big advances in hardware, and with Microsoft pushing their Copilot AI hard, laptop makers are responding with portables that are made for it. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processor is at the core of these systems, and the HP Omnibook X is one of the best models with it you can get right now. In our review, writer Matthew Buzzi called it “an ultraportable with punchy enough performance,” praising the excellent battery life, elegant build and a surprising array of ports for such a slim unit. It benchmarked well in all of our tasks, and with a 39% price cut it’s a steal. This configuration ships with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.

This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen on the Bose SoundLink Max, a durable Bluetooth speaker that we rated “Excellent” in our review. With the robust audio customization you’d expect from Bose courtesy of both physical controls and an in-depth app, you can sculpt the sound to your liking. Deep bass response, clear and crisp highs and good volume make it an all-purpose soundbox that you can take anywhere courtesy of its comfortable woven handle and IP67 rating, meaning it’s dustproof and can survive total immersion in water for as much as 30 minutes. Our one caveat was that the price seemed high, so $100 off resolves that.

Apple hardware doesn’t typically get discounts this deep, so a 31% discount on the exceptional AirPods Max is worth celebrating. If earbuds make you uncomfortable, you can still enjoy all of the sculpted sound and easy connectivity with Apple’s over-ear versions. In our review, we praised their spectacular audio performance along with some of the best active noise cancellation on the market that especially thrives on low-end noise. They’re as eye-catching as you’d expect from Apple, fit comfortably on many different head sizes, and incorporate hands-free Siri.

If you find yourself moving from house to house this holiday season, don’t interrupt your streaming binges with annoying setup. Just load in all your logins on the heavily discounted Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and you’ll be able to plug into any machine with a HDMI port and pick up where you left off. In our review of this streaming stick, we gave it an Editors’ Choice award with praise for its simple setup, responsive controls and speedy connectivity. The wireless remote supports Alexa voice controls and includes an IR blaster to control your TV’s volume and other settings. 44% off is a massive deal.

Need to get even luckier? Check out our deals page for all the bargains.

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About K. Thor Jensen

Contributing Writer

K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.

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