Guess who hasn’t started their holiday shopping yet? Yours truly. But I know, statistically speaking, I certainly cannot be alone. Luckily, I found some Walmart deals on gear that the WIRED team has hand-tested and would recommend to friends. Today those friends are you and me. May the odds always be in our favor.
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Technology incentives
Photo: Ryan Waniata
This discount is almost identical to what we saw during Black Friday. Samsung S90D (9/10, WIRED recommended) is one our very favorite TVs of the dozens and dozens we tested. Colors are vibrant but not too vivid, and contrast and black levels are perfect. It’s also equipped for gaming with multiple ports and support for Samsung’s Game Hub.
Here’s another great deal left over from the Black Friday sale. Sony Bravia (9/10, WIRED recommended) To be Our favorite QLED TV. The mini LEDs give it a super bright backlight and it also comes with dimming technology to ensure contrast and black levels stay optimal. We wish it had a few more ports, but overall you’ll get stunning picture quality in almost any environment for a price that could reasonably be higher.
This MacBook Air (9/10, WIRED recommended) is the cheapest MacBook you can buy, and the price cut makes it even more affordable. It’s a bit older now, but it’s still a great laptop for everyday tasks like getting work done, browsing the web, or binge-watching video essays on YouTube. If you just need a computer that can get the job done without much effort, this is a very good choice.
Photo: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
In the hunt for one Beautiful Chromebooks? That would be the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 (7/10, WIRED recommended). Chromebooks often look bulky or dated, but the CX34 is sleek and svelte, with an all-white design that matches its affordable price. It can handle multiple tabs and app openings, and the webcam looks great too. We wish the keyboard was backlit, but this is still a great, affordable option and could make a great gift for the main homeworker in your family.
Everyone should have a soundbar. Bose Smart Sound Bar (8/10, WIRED recommended) is nice and compact, and despite its small size, it delivers great, expansive sound that will keep you immersed in whatever you’re watching. Since it doesn’t have a subwoofer, you won’t get room-shaking bass, but it still sounds much better than the tiny built-in speakers on your TV. Learn more about it and get additional recommendations in Soundbar buying guide.
New Beats medicine (8/10, WIRED recommended) has the powerful bass characteristic of Beats audio devices. And it packs all that sound into a small, portable capsule-shaped package with 24-hour battery life and one-touch pairing for Apple and Android devices. It’s dust and water resistant and can even charge your phone via its USB-C output. If you’re looking for a portable party, here it is Bluetooth speaker Totally worth checking out, especially at this price.
Photo: Fitbit
Fitbit Charge 6 is Our favorite fitness trackerand this is a very solid deal if you or a loved one have some health-related New Year’s resolutions coming up. Trackers can help track your steps, heart rate, skin temperature, and sleep, just to name a few key categories. Some features are locked with the $10/month Fitbit Premium subscription, but we still think the service offers a great feature set at a very reasonable price. Find more recommendations in Fitbit Buying Guide.
We’ve seen better discounts on this product, but if you’re in the market, you can save quite a bit on best gaming headset. The sound quality and fit are excellent. It has very low latency—important when you’re trying to figure out where you’re going to land on Fortress map—and crystal clear sound quality when you’re trying to get teammates to heal you. And it does it all wirelessly. Read more about it in our Guide to buying gaming headsets.
This deal is $10 above the Black Friday discount. In the past, it was very difficult to find cheap headphones at stuffed prices, but that’s exactly what you’re getting here. Resident sound expert Parker Hall keeps a pair of these in his gym bag as a backup in case he forgets his regular cans. He said they sounded perfectly good and the price was great. Several different fun colors are on sale. If your kids always lose their headphones or you just want a reliable backup pair, it’s hard to go wrong with this deal.
Family and beauty deals
Photo: Dyson
This discount beats what we saw on Black Friday by a staggering $130. Dyson V12 Detector (8/10, WIRED recommended) To be our favorite cordless Dyson vacuum cleaner for small spaces. It’s a small box, which makes it best suited to tasks like cleaning the kitchen or living room rather than the entire house (unless you’re in a studio or one bedroom, in which case it can handle the whole shebang). It’s compact and easy to store, and has a number of different attachments as well as a neat bright green laser to help you spot any missed dust bunnies.
If you want a higher performance vacuum cleaner than the V12, you can check out the Dyson 15 Detect, which is Best Dyson vacuum cleaner overall. It’s light and easy to maneuver, and it also has an eye-catching neon green laser that illuminates missed dirt and grime. The vacuum cleaner intelligently adjusts suction levels as you clean and can run for an hour before needing to be charged. It’s expensive but high quality and may be the best choice for people with allergies.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask has been a godsend for my chapped lips during the harsh Midwest winters. The balm-like texture is thick and sticky at first, but it quickly melts and sinks into those painful grooves and cracks, leaving skin soft and soothed. My vase has lasted many years because just a little goes a long way. It also makes a great cuticle cream in no time. We have never seen it sold for less.
This little utility is Our favorite blow drying brush. This is an improved version of the original version, faster and smaller than the old version. It’s easy to use and helps you style your hair quickly, creating volume and movement that will make your voluminous hairstyle look fresh from the salon. The brush is also removable if you don’t need that airflow but still want to tame your hair.
