Justin Kahn

Week of December, 29, 2024: Welcome to 9to5Toys News Weekly – your go-to spot to catch up on the latest new product releases, features, and hands-on reviews. This weekly roundup collects all of the coolest new gadgets, the most interesting updates in the world of tech, and more from the past week, and organizes it into a single handy reading list for you to sift through every Sunday morning. With the year wrapping up and CES on the horizon, it has been a slower week in new releases, but we have some reviews to scope out, some massive gaming sale event announcements, New Year’s sale features, and more.

The latest Target clearance sale rolls on with deals starting from $2.50, but we now have a look at its 28-page New Year’s Eve ad. Loaded with deals and promotions set to kick off early tomorrow morning, you can get a good look at the price drops that will be at the ready both online and in-store starting tomorrow down below. 

Time is winding down to secure everything you need for your work from home setup and still write it all off against your 2024 return. With so many folks permanently transitioned to a WFH situation of some kind or other, be it everyday or just some of the time, even more of the gear you need to make this happen is tax deductible and you only have five days left. 

While Samsung has now transitioned into its New Year event, Google is really the only major tech brand still running a massive lineup-wide sale right through the end of the year. And after Arc unleashed its new Pulse bumper cases for the Pixel 9 lineup, we wanted to highlight some of the ongoing and returning price drops across Google’s latest lineup of personal tech, including the Pixel Tablet, Pixel Watch 3, and the entire Pixel 9 handset lineup for folks who might not have had a chance to strike ahead of the holidays. You’ll find everything waiting for you down below. 

Today Target is officially announcing and launching a notable post-holiday clearance sale. Delivering up to 50% in savings on a wide-range of holiday treats and chocolate alongside apparel for the whole family, toys for the kids, and more, the annual Target Holiday Clearance Event is now live both online and the “retailer’s nearly 2,000 stores.” Everything awaits on this landing page and you’ll find more details down below. 

What stores are open on Christmas Eve? Are Best Buy and Walmart open on Christmas Eve? When time does Target close on Christmas Eve? While we have answered many of these questions in our extensive coverage of this year’s holiday sales, we thought it would be handy to drop some details down on Christmas Eve store hours at major retail locations for folks looking to score some last-minute gifts or even just some supplies for inbound holiday guests. Be it some grocery items at your local Walmart or Costco, a few last-minute things for around the house at Best Buy and Target, or otherwise, down below you’ll find details on Christmas Eve brick and mortar store locations for various major retailers across the US. 

Welcome to 9to5Toys News Weekly – your go-to spot to catch up on the latest new product releases, features, and hands-on reviews. This weekly roundup collects all of the coolest new gadgets, the most interesting updates in the world of tech, and more from the past week, and organizes it into a single handy reading list for you to sift through every Sunday morning.

Arc has just debuted its all Arc Pulse Bumper cases for Google’s new Arc Pulse Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. These bumper cases have been among the most popular smartphone accessories around here across 2024, and they are now finally ready for Google latest slate of Pixel 9 devices. Best of all, using our exclusive 9TO510 code will deliver the best price anywhere on your pre-order. Head below for additional details and a closer look at the new Arc Pulse bumper case for Pixel 9. 

We have featured a number of interesting AirTag accessories over the year, many of which from Elevation Lab, but I’m not sure we have seen anything quite like this one. The Elevation Lab TimeCapsule is just that, an ultra-rugged housing that effectively allows you to use a pair of AA batteries to power AirTag instead of its internal battery to increase its operational lifespan tenfold. Head below for a closer look at the new Elevation Lab TimeCapsule AirTag 10-year battery case. 

Joining the still live last-minute Switch game sale Best Buy launched, Woot has now added a couple notable days back to its ongoing holiday Switch game sale as well. Firstly, we have Metroid Dread down at $41.99 and the return of Mario Vs. Donkey Kong at the same $41.99, but we are also now tracking Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening at $44.99 shipped. While we have seen this $60 title down at $40 a few times this year, this might be your last chance of the year to score a deal on it as it is sitting at over $50 via both Amazon and Best Buy right now. That said, there are loads of notable Switch game deals now live at Best Buy you can still get under the tree in time this year down below.

While we are still tracking some big-time deals on Amazon smart Echo speakers, like Echo Pop at $18 or less and the Echo Spot with display, both of which are shipping in time for Christmas, we wanted to highlight the deal on the latest Amazon Echo Dot kids edition. If you’re looking for a sweet tech gift for the kids, this regularly $60 speaker is sitting down at $27.99 with free shipping for Prime members or in orders over $35. Alongside all of the expected parental control features, this is great way to give them their very own smart speaker this year and save 53% in the process. 

Still on the hunt for a sweet gift they will actually like? Forget to score something awesome for a colleague or your cousin you didn’t know was going to show up for the big day? We have put together some last minute gift ideas to get your creative juices flowing and maybe even save the day. All of the items you’ll find below are shipping in time for the big day at the time of writing, but you’ll want to jump in ASAP to ensure everything arrives in time. From amazing LEGO sets and miniature board games everyone will love right through to desktop accessories for the techie in your life, some fashionable wardrobe add-ons, smart lighting and speakers, charging gear, and more, head below for the best last minute gifts you can pickup right now.

Amazon is giving folks one more chance to land the the ecobee SmartCamera with HomeKit Secure Video support down at $79.99 shipped ahead of the holidays. This is a regularly $100 smart camera for indoor use with a number of interesting features up its sleeve at 20% off the going rate. We have seen this one down as low as $70 in the past, but today’s deal lands on par with this year’s Black Friday and fall Prime Day deals we featured. 

As you perhaps know, we have secured 9to5 readers an exclusive 30% off sitewide at Satechi this month in the lead up to the holidays. Our exclusive 9to5Holiday30 code delivers prices on par or better than just about anything we have tracked all year from the lauded Apple accessory brand’s site, no matter what you might be after on there. But I wanted to touch back down today before holiday shipping cutoff times close on December 19 to highlight a couple specific deals here – one is on my personal favorite upright 3-in-1 MagSafe charging stand and the other is on the brand’s latest foldable charging pad model. 

This year’s official PlayStation Black Friday prices delivered notable deals on console and console bundles as well PS VR2, DualSense controllers, headsets, and a host of PS5 games, but there’s still time to land just about all of the deals in time for the holidays. Joining some ongoing offers at Amazon, Best Buy’s Last Minute holiday sale went into full effect early this morning, delivering solid price drops across the PlayStationverse to cross some gamers off your list, score a console for the kids, or just grab some new games for your own collection. As holiday shipping cut-off times begin to close in on us, let’s take a look at all of the best PlayStation holiday deals you can still take advantage off down below. 

As expected, Best Buy is now serving up a sneak peek previews of this week’s final set of Doorbuster deals before Christmas 2024…and it very much looks like it’s going to be a big one folks. The retailer has now transitioned the holiday savings landing page on its site we have seen live all month long since Cyber Monday ended to a Last Minute savings event with a series of new deals, but it is also giving us a look at the Doorbusters set to go live later this week as well. 

This roundup includes a massive selection of gift guides spanning a wide-range of product categories to give you some wonderful last-minute ideas to ensure everyone gets something they actually want this year. Alongside our extensive lineup of exclusive holiday deals just for 9to5 readers, this gift guide collection features some fantastic smart lighting gifts, everyday essentials, Apple gear accessories, stocking stuffers, gifts for mom and dad, gear for musicians and bedroom producers, affordable tech gadget gifts for anyone, and much more.

Welcome to 9to5Toys News Weekly – your go-to spot to catch up on the latest new product releases, features, and hands-on reviews. This weekly roundup collects all of the coolest new gadgets, the most interesting updates in the world of tech, and more from the past week, and organizes it into a single handy reading list for you to sift through every Sunday morning. This week, in the lead up to the holidays, you’ll find a series of our latest gift guides as well as some exclusive offers just for 9to5 readers alongside some hands-on looks at a 4K laser projector, a sweet standing desk upgrade, Twelve South’s Find My travel charger package, the latest from TP-Link’s smart home stable, the all-new Nomad Leather Folio for M4 iPad Pro, and much more. 

As part of the slate of Anker holiday deals we are now tracking via its official Amazon storefront, you will now find the lowest price we have seen on its new MagGo UFO 3-in-1 Travel Charger at $56.69 shipped. Be sure to clip the on-page coupon to redeem the deal price. This model debuted at IFA earlier this year as an answer to far more pricey versions of the compact, fold-out travel chargers out there from brands like Twelve South, but this one has three pads at the ready. Regularly $90, you’re now looking at nearly 40% in savings, a deal $6 under our previous mention, and the lowest we have tracked. 

While the massive Countdown Holiday sale at Target is still live through tomorrow, we now have a look at what’s to come courtesy of its latest 48-page holiday deal ad. The retailer is going toe-to-toe with the likes of Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon this year, and we now have a look at the latest batch of deals set to go live this Sunday. Check out the 48-page down below. 

Your Friday afternoon collection of the best Android game and app deals is now ready and waiting down below courtesy of the Google Play store. The Discover Samsung sale is in its final throws now with less than 48 hours to lock-in shipping for Christmas, but we also have up to $300 in savings on its 2024 Smart Monitors, a new all-time low on OnePlus’ 55W 10,000mAh 3-in-1 USB-C Pouch charger, and the best price ever on Samsung’s most affordable Galaxy Tab S10+ at $195 off. As for the apps, highlights include titles like Friday – by Friedemann Friese, Ticket to Ride, Streets of Rage 4, Candy Disaster TD, and more. Head below for a closer look at today’s best. 

We have already reviewed the new 4th Gen Scarlett lineup’s smaller and more entry-level models, so we just wanted to touch down here today with some thoughts on the pro-grade and more mid-range home studio variants that debuted earlier this year. Scope out our hands-on impressions down below.

As you may have noticed in our 2024 exclusive holiday deal hub, our discount for 9to5 readers is now live once again on the fantastic Arc Pulse iPhone bumper cases. The brand’s bumper-style solutions for iPhone 16 have easily been among some of the most popular we have featured this year, and that includes the more traditional case solutions. So we wanted to touch down this morning to make sure everyone is aware of our exclusive discount code on everything the brand sells (this includes iPhone 16, previous-generation Apple handsets, and select Samsung Galaxy models) as the cutoff time to ensure holiday shipping is today. Use code 9TO510 at checkout to score the deal. 

If you happen to have missed your shot at the Eve Flare Black Friday deal, worry not, it has returned. Eve is one of the premiere smart home makers out there, and its HomeKit portable smart lamp is one of the reasons why. The Eve Flare Portable Smart LED Lamp has now dropped down to $69.85 shipped at Amazon to deliver over 30% in savings on its regularly $100 price tag. This is actually a few cents under the Black Friday price this year, landing at slightly below the best we have tracked on Amazon across 2024. 

The annual 2024 Game Awards went live last night, and it very much did not disappoint. World premieres for The Witcher 4, Borderlands 4, the new standalone Elden Ring game, and the new Naughty Dog title Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet were just some of the highlights there. As for today’s deals, we are now tracking the best price ever on the fantastic Black Myth: Wukong over at Woot – you can now land a copy on PS5 for $51.99 Prime shipped using code LUCKY20 at checkout. Regularly $70, this is the lowest price we have tracked to date on the wonderful action title (and congrats on the win last night Game Science!). If you haven’t grabbed this one, now’s your chance. 

It’s that time of year again folks, and the 2024 Game Awards are set to go live very shortly. This year’s show is set to kick-off at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, once again hosted by internet-famous gaming personality Geoff Keighley. Keighley’s “The Game Awards” have become the annual game awards for the industry, getting bigger and more impressive as each year goes by and it’s all set to kick off shortly. Follow along with all of the awards, musical performances, and, the thing we are really all tuning in for, the world premieres, game announcements, and release dates for the most exciting upcoming titles. This is the 10th anniversary of Keighley’s Game Awards and here’s to hoping we are in for a real show!

Update 12/18: Target Circle members can score Buy 1 Get 1 50% off beverages at in-store Target Starbucks locations for today only. 

In the lead up to Christmas 2024, Target has now officially announced extended store hours and launched a wide-ranging 3-day Countdown to Christmas sale. Alongside up to 40% off again selection of tech, toys, home goods, kitchen gear, apparel, and more, you’ll also find some notable bonus deals live with a FREE Target Circle membership alongside, same-0day delivery options and details on its extended store hours during the 48-hours before Christmas. Everything you need to know awaits below. 

We have featured some big time deals for less on TCL’s more entry-level models, but Best Buy is now offering its 2024 98-inch Class QM8-Series 4K UHD HDR mini-LED Smart Google TV down at an impressive $2,999.99 shipped. This is a regularly $6,000 display that just jumped from the $3,000 all-time low at Amazon to just under $4,000. Today’s deal is massive 50%, or $3,000 price drop delivering the lowest price we have tracked on this model. It has been hovering in the $4,000 to $5,000 range at Amazon over the last few months, but today’s deal is the best ever. Best Buy also ships it with FREE installation. 

Here are some of our favorite stocking stuffers to check out this year. I’m not sure very many people still stuff actual stockings anymore, but some do and either way, you can just think of these as some relatively affordable, thoughtful, useful, and compact gift ideas to spark some creativity. We have showcased gear we use ourselves, feature around here on a regular basis, and would love to see stuffed inside of an oversized sock on Christmas morning (or whatever you celebrate) at our houses.

This afternoon’s roundup of the best Android game and app deals is now ready and waiting down below. Alongside the Google Play offers, we are also tracking hundreds in savings as part of the Discover Samsung sale on its Tab S9 FE tablets as well as the latest S10 models and the Galaxy Z Flip 6. This deal on HP’s brand-new Snapdragon X Plus OmniBook Copilot+ PC is certainly worth a look as well, but for now it’s all about the apps, including Heroes of Flatlandia, SpongeBob, FINAL FANTASY III, Threema The Secure Messenger, and more. Scope them all out below.

While you can still get in on the all-time low now live on Super Mario RPG as part of the Best Buy 12 Days of Gaming sale, we spotted an extremely rare price drop on Detective Pikachu Returns for Switch today. The constantly updated Woot gaming sale is the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season (or for the last 3 months really), and it has now added Detective Pikachu Returns down at $39.99 with free shipping for Prime members (a $6 delivery fee will apply otherwise). This is a regularly $50 title that released last year and has yet to see any major discounts on Amazon outside of a couple third-party offers. Today’s deal is the lowest price we have feature since release and a notable chance to score a physical copy at a discount. 

This week’s Best Buy Doorbusters are now live in early access. Just like we reported previously, the next batch of ongoing holiday Doorbusters leading up to Christmas 2024 are now live in early access for Plus and Total members. Smart TV deals, laptops, Ninja cookers, Apple’s AirPods Max, and more are now up for grabs right here. Head below for a closer look. 

Back in early September Twelve South introduced what can only be described as one of the more impressive and exciting wall chargers with its new PlugBug. Wall chargers are inherently about as useful and necessary as they are the exact opposite of exciting. But with built-in Apple Find My action…now we are talking. I have since had a chance to love every second of this thing after going hands-on and subsequently finding a permanent place for it in my Travel Kit, but there’s a new, slightly more capable version on the block now. And by on the block, I mean exclusively at Apple Stores. 

As part of the latest Target Deals of the Day, the retailer has brought back the Black Friday pricing on the popular Backbone One mobile gaming controllers at 30% off (also at Amazon). You’ll need to be a Target Circle member to take advantage of its deals, but you can sign up for free right here. Today’s offers also include Play-Doh and Kinetic sand slime sets, Fujfilm Instax Mini Cameras, and a host of apparel deals at up to 40% off. Everything awaits on this landing page and we will take a closer look below. 

If you happened to miss out on the Oakywood Black Friday sale, some notable holiday deals have arrived. Alongside a smaller collection of its handcrafted wood and metal gear now seeing 20% price drops as part of the brand’s holiday sale, we have secured an exclusive code to make sure you can save on anything sitewide that’s not already on sale anyway. You’ll find the already discounted gear on this landing page and you can use code 9TO5MAC to get 15% off anything else the brand sells. 

This is one we have been waiting for ever since the new M4 iPad Pro debuted back in May folks. Nomad is now ready to unveil the next-generation of its Leather Folio covers for Apple’s latest pro-grade iPads, and they are scheduled to go up for purchase starting today (any time now). Head below for a closer look and some clearance pricing on the previous-generation models.

As part of its now live 2024 winter Discover Samsung sale, you’ll now find up to 40% off a range of Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 cases alongside as much as 50% off a series of Galaxy S24 cases. If you’re looking for an official solution to breathe some new life into your existing Samsung handset this holiday season, or perhaps score something for a Galaxy user on your list, there’s a solid selection of price drops ready to go straight from Samsung right now. Scope out the deals down below. 

Best Buy has now kicked off its annual 12 Days of Gaming sale to join its 25 Days of Deals event. This, much like years past, delivers 12 straight days of gaming deals with between one and a few new deals each day, and today we have Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown down at $14.99 from the regularly up to $40 and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Code in Box) at $12.99 – this one does carry a regular price at $40 these days but more typically floats in and around the $20 range. These deals tend to sell out quite quickly so jump in while you still can. 

Amazon has now brought back its Black Friday all-time lows on the 2024 Sonos Ace noise cancelling headphones at $349 shipped in both the black and white colorways. This is a regularly $449 set of cans seeing a straight up $100 price drop to deliver the lowest price we can find. While we did see very short-lived offers on them that knocked an additional $50 off during the B&H and Adorama Black Friday sales, today’s deals are otherwise on par with the lowest price we have tracked and matching the all-time low at Amazon. They are also matched over at Best Buy right now as well. 

Walmart just announced its Last-Minute Gifting deals event set to kick-off today. The major retailer is giving folks one more shot at a massive selection of price drops to help cross off the rest of the names on your list, alongside some extended shipping times and details on last minute deliveries. We have more than just a sneak peek at the deals now live in the Last-Minute Gifting deals sale alongside details on its updated “Next-Day or Two-Day Shipping” options that will see deliveries as late as December 24 landing in time for the big day. Head below for a closer look. 

As the Best Buy holiday deal season rolls on, it has once again landed with a sneak peek at this week’s upcoming Doorbusters. Starting this Thursday for early access members and on Friday for everyone (although not all deals will be locked behind the paid membership come Thursday), Best Buy will launch its next batch of holiday Doorbusters and we now have some details on what’s to come. Head below for the details. 

Nimble, a tech accessory brand we have featured in the past that is specifically focused on creating carbon neutral, environmentally-conscious gear, has recently launched its latest slate of charging gear for Apple’s latest tech. Now available exclusively in Apple retail locations and on the official Apple online storefront, the lineup delivers on the popular Qi2 15W power trend with a new 3-in-1 PODIUM charger, a FOLD(able) variant, a dedicated Apple Watch stand, and the one that really caught our eye, the new VALET 3-in-1 Wireless Charger. Scope them all out down below. 

Target is keeping the big-time deals rolling for December and we now have a look at its 44-page holiday deal ad. While much of the Black Friday offers are no more, Target will be keeping some of the notable deals alive for at least another week, according to the holiday ad, and we also know the retailer has a another big-time 3-day holiday sale inbound starting next week. Head below to browse through the 44-page, week 2 Target holiday ad and for additional details on the upcoming 3-day event. 

Update: Amazon now matched this deal on Apple’s AirPods 4 with ANC down at $139 shipped.

Heads up folks, the new AirPods Pro 4 are set to hit their lowest price ever. One of this year’s best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals was clearly the insane price drop that was regularly available on Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 – the latest flagship pro-grade Apple buds out there – but the newer AirPods 4 didn’t see deals nearly as notable. The AirPods 4 without ANC remained at the $119 we have seen on Amazon for quite a while and the set with ANC dropped slightly the $165 you can score them at right now, but there’s a doorbuster on the horizon that is slated to deliver the lowest price yet on the noise cancelling set. 

Welcome to our 2024 collection of the best gifts for musicians. This is not an easy category of person to shop for, that’s for sure. So we have focused on unique items, gear any music maker can appreciate, and some picks especially for getting an aspiring bedroom producer well on their way to their first grammy. From gear for guitar players and beat-makers, right through to first-timers looking to get their at-home setup off to a good start, you’ll find some great ideas down below in this year’s edition of the best gifts for musicians, beat-makers, and creatives.