The Best Weekend Deals on Four-Star Rated Tech

Every Friday, I sit down with all the deals on tech and painstakingly cull them down to five can’t-miss offers for weekend shoppers. As we prepare for Prime Day, many online retailers are trying to grab attention with price drops. The common factors for all of these deals are twofold: they all received four-star “Excellent” ratings after being put through our extensive testing processes, and they’re all on sale for at least 31% off. That’s big savings on laptops, speakers, and more this week.

Chromebooks have grown way beyond disposable laptops for schoolchildren. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 review, the machine earned an Editors’ Choice award. We marveled over its bright and clear OLED touchscreen, which made the machine a pleasure to use in both laptop and tablet form. With near-infinite contrast, it’s great for reading, content creation, media streaming, and more. The detachable keyboard is responsive and comfortable, although the shallow form factor is by nature not as satisfying as a full-depth keyboard. Battery life was surprisingly impressive despite how bright the screen is. Right now, Best Buy has it on sale for a massive $200 off.

At 55% off, this is the biggest discount we’ve ever seen on the XGIMI Horizon Pro projector — a top pick for home theater setups. In our XGIMI Horizon Pro review, we noted that the unit delivered some of the best image quality you could get in this price range, with a long-lasting LED bulb rated to last a staggering 25,000 hours of use, integrated Harman Kardon speakers and Android TV for frictionless media streaming, and lots of other cool features. It lacks optical zoom, but at just 6.4 pounds it’s easy to reposition for the best image size and quality. It’s a breeze to set up and works well for all kinds of content.

Amazon’s house brand TV sets are available in a bunch of different configurations, with ultra-budget models dominating their offerings. But when they push the envelope and work with the latest display technologies, they do a remarkably good job. In our Amazon Fire Omni QLED TV review, we marveled at the impressive color and contrast, a huge improvement over their last generation of Omni TVs. If you’re already familiar with the Alexa voice assistant, you’ll love being able to control your TV hands-free. Amazon has an early Prime Day discount here that’s massive: 48% off retail, but it’s only for Prime members, so grab that 30-day free trial now.

Get Exclusive Savings!

Amazon Prime Day Returns July 8-11

Sign up now for the Tech Deals newsletter to unlock our top editor-curated deals for Amazon’s huge shopping event.

By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

This is the deepest discount we’ve seen to date on the high-end Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, an exceptional wearable with style for miles and tons of useful features. In our review, we gave it an “Excellent” rating and praised its long battery life, lasting for over 24 hours even with an always-on Super AMOLED face, as well as its titanium build and IP68 rating for massive water and dust resistance. A bevy of biometric sensors come standard, with Galaxy AI compiling all of your readings into an overall Wellness Score and giving you tips on how to improve your health. At 39% off for the Titanium Gray and Titanium White models, this is a steal.

In our Soundcore Motion Boom review, we noted that the speaker stood in the top tier of sub-$100 speakers, and with a 31% price drop it’s even more attractive. This beefy Bluetooth boom box pumps out impressive audio for its size, with especially resonant bass. The companion app has user-adjustable EQ so you can tune the sound for your genre of choice, and the housing is massively durable with an IPX7 rating, meaning it can survive being fully submerged in water for up to a half an hour. Battery life is rated up to 24 hours but drops as you push the volume higher.

Want to save even more? Our deals page is lit. That’s what they say now, right?

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.

Read K. Thor’s full bio

Read the latest from K. Thor Jensen