Category: Technology

The Artemis 1 Orion crew vehicle has set a new record for a NASA flight. At approximately 8:40AM ET on Saturday, Orion flew farther than any spacecraft designed to carry human astronauts had ever before, surpassing the previous record set by Apollo 13 back in 1970. As of 10:17AM ET, Orion was approximately 249,666 miles ( from 401,798 kilometers) from Earth.

“Artemis I was designed to stress the systems of Orion and we settled on the distant retrograde orbit as a really good way to do that,” said Jim Geffre, Orion spacecraft integration manager. “It just so happened that with that really large orbit, high altitude above the moon, we were able to pass the Apollo 13 record. But what was more important though, was pushing the boundaries of exploration and sending spacecraft farther than we had ever done before.”

Of all the missions that could have broken the record, it’s fitting that Artemis 1 was the one to do it. As Space.com points out, Apollo 13’s original flight plan didn’t call for a record-setting flight. It was only after a mid-mission explosion forced NASA to plot a new return course that Apollo 13’s Odyssey command module set the previous record at 248,655 miles (400,171 kilometers) from Earth.

With a limited oxygen supply on the Aquarius Lunar Module, NASA needed to get Apollo 13 back to Earth as quickly as possible. The agency eventually settled on a flight path that used the Moon’s gravity to slingshot Apollo 13 back to Earth. One of the NASA personnel who was critical to the safe return of astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise was Arturo Campos. He wrote the emergency plan that gave the Command and Service Module enough power to make it back to Earth. Artemis 1 is carrying a “Moonikin” test dummy named after the late Arturo.

Earlier this week, Orion completed a flyby of the Moon. After the spacecraft completes half an orbit around the satellite, it will slingshot itself toward the Earth. NASA expects Orion to splash down off the coast of San Diego on December 11th.

 

The Roomba s9+ has been around for a couple of years and it’s probably overkill for most people. At $999, it’s certainly not cheap, but it did earn a spot in our list of best robot vacuums. Right now, you can pick up the high-end machine for $220 less than usual by shopping through Wellbots and using the code ENG220 at checkout. A final price of $779 is the best we’ve seen on this smart home gadget, and while it’s still an expensive device, it’s a much easier to recommend when its on sale like this.

Buy Roomba s9+ at Wellbots – $779

You probably don’t need all of the bells and whistles that the s9+ provides, but they are some of the things that make it one of the best robot vacuums available today. It’s the most attractive in iRobot’s lineup, with a sleek design that can get into room corners more easily than other models, and a tall, slim clean base. It has 40x the suction power of a standard Roomba, making it a great option for households with pets and kids. It’s “careful driver” feature uses a 3D sensor to detect objects so it can move around them to clean, and like all Roombas, it will automatically return to its charging base when it’s low on power.

In our testing, we found the s9+ to be an incredibly capable cleaner, and while on the loud side, it’s no more noisy than other robo-vacs in this price range. When emptying its bin into its clean base, it was actually not as loud as the Roomba j7, so it’s less likely to scare your pets while doing so. The clean base does use proprietary bags from iRobot, though, so just keep in mind that you’ll have to consistently buy those in order to make full use of the s9+. Thankfully, each bag can hold up to 60 days worth of debris.

The Roomba s9+ also connects to iRobot’s mobile app, from which you can control the machine, set cleaning schedules and more. It’s one of the easier robo-vac companion apps we’ved used, so even if you’re gifting the s9+ to a loved on who is a novice, they should have no trouble getting the thing set up and using it regularly. If you’re willing to splurge this holiday season, the s9+ is one of the best robo-vacs you can get for your money.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Our current favorite Chromebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is down to an all time low of $270 right now on Amazon. We’ve seen it dip down to $300 before, but this is an exceptional low and a great time to pick up a lightweight but speedy Chromebook. When we tested it out for our Chromebook guide, we particularly liked the extra bright and sharp touchscreen paired with the responsive performance. In fact, we said the Flex 5i offers a “level of quality and performance that’s pretty rare to find at this price point.” That goes double on Black Friday. 

This configuration runs on Intel’s Core i3 chip and stocks 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. While that’s not a ton of storage, it’s more than enough for the way Chromebooks work best, which is as a browser-focused laptop working in harmony with all of Google’s apps. It’s got a 13.3-inch touchscreen and a good amount of ports, including USB-C and USB-A ports, a microSD card slot and a security lock. Though we found the keys a bit on the smaller side, we still think it’s the best Chromebook for most people.

The Flex 5i discount is part of a larger Chromebook sale Amazon is running for Black Friday, which includes laptops from Acer, HP and ASUS in addition to more Lenovo devices. The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 is $90 off, bringing it down to $290. It’s the lightweight cousin to the Acer pick from our guide, sharing the same convertible features that allows you to fold it backwards for a tablet-like experience.

Shop the Black Friday Chromebook sale at Amazon

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

 

Last year, the Biden administration signed the Secure Equipment Act into law, which aimed to block the authorization of network licenses from several Chinese companies whose hardware has been deemed a national security threat. Today, the FCC announced that it’s officially implementing that ruling, which means some future equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua won’t be authorized for sale in the US. Existing equipment from those companies, which are all listed under the FCC’s “Covered List,” aren’t affected by the law.

“The FCC is committed to protecting our national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our borders, and we are continuing that work here,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “These new rules are an important part of our ongoing actions to protect the American people from national security threats involving telecommunications.”

To be clear, the FCC isn’t completely blocking all hardware from these companies. And for some, like Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua, Rosenworcel writes that it’s specifically focusing on gear related to “the purpose of public safety, security of government facilities, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes.” If those companies can show that they’re not marketing that equipment for government use — for example, directing it consumers instead — they may be able get authorized by the FCC.

This latest move follows years of conflict between the US and companies closely tied to Chinese governments. That’s included placing several notable Chinese companies, including DJI, on the Department of Commerce’s “Entity List,” which prohibits US firms from selling equipment to them. The FCC is also calling for $5 billion to help US carriers with the massive task of replacing equipment from Huawei and ZTE.

 

You now have your chance to explore most of Charles Darwin’s personal writing. The University of Cambridge has published all of the evolutionary scientist’s surviving correspondence online, including 400 letters that have either surfaced or are newly “reinterpreted.” The searchable collection now covers over 15,000 letters written between 1822 and 1882, ranging from his influential time aboard the HMS Beagle to On the Origin of Species and end-of-life reflections.

The internet archive may even be the only way to see a fuller picture of Darwin’s life. The university notes that the final print edition, due in early 2023, doesn’t include letters that arrived too late to reach physical copies. Many writings include footnotes and bibliographies to put sayings in context.

This last batch of correspondence illustrates how attitudes toward evolution changed in the researcher’s lifetime. By 1882, Darwin observed that natural selection had largely been established as fact among younger scientists — a sharp contrast to the initial hostility to On the Origin of Species upon its initial release in 1859. The letters also illustrate how Darwin was still experimenting months before his death.

This won’t be the same as holding the physical letters in your hands. However, it’s a classic demonstration of the internet’s value to academics, not to mention anyone who’s curious. As with other archival projects, you can get a sense of history without traveling to an archive and putting on some cotton gloves.

 

Black Friday isn’t just a great time to snatch up a laptop or pair of headphones. You’ll also find discounts on plenty of music gear. Buying a synth or a guitar pedal isn’t always the cheapest gift option. So if you’re looking for something special for a special someone, but want to make it as palatable as possible to your wallet, now is a good time to strike. Here are few of our favorite deals on music making hardware from around the web.

ASM Hydrasynth Explorer

When I reviewed the Hydrasynth Explorer last year I said it was probably “the most synth you can get for under $600.” Things haven’t changed in the roughly eleven months since. And now it’s on sale for just $500. For that price you get the same powerful digital engine inside the far more expensive standard Hydrasynth, as well as its unique keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch. It’s just shrunk down and with a slightly more crowded interface. The rest of ASM’s Hydrasynth family is also on sale, but when it comes to pure value it’s almost impossible to beat the Explorer.

Buy ASM Hydrasynth Explorer at Perfect Circuit – $499Buy ASM Hydrasynth Explorer at Amazon – $499

Elektron Syntakt

The latest entry in Elektron’s midrange groovebox series is a lot of things — an analog synth, a digital drum machine, an absurdly powerful sequencer. But one thing the Syntakt is not, is cheap. Sure, $999 isn’t crazy considering its everything and the kitchen sink approach, but if you’ve been hesitant to commit that much to the purchase, now might be the time to take the plunge. The Syntakt is down to $799 across a number of shops, including direct from Elektron. And while it’s definitely focused on percussion, a recent firmware update added two new “machines” that focus on more melodic sounds. 

If the Syntakt isn’t quite your cup of tea, but you’re still intrigued by Elektron’s unique workflow and sequencer, most of its higher-end instruments, like the Digitone and Octatrack are also 20% off this weekend.

Buy Elektron Syntakt at Perfect Circuit – $799Buy Elektron Syntakt at Reverb – $799

Korg Minilogue XD

When the Minilogue XD launched for just $650 it staked a pretty convincing claim to the best bang-for-your-buck synth. A few years later, and it’s no less impressive. But its price has crept upwards to $730, and competitors have started chipping away at grip on the affordable and approachable end of the market. That makes it’s Black Friday drop to just $600 even harder to pass up. Korg is offering a number of discounts across its range, but the clear stand out is this 18-percent off on an incredibly versatile synth. It combines four voices of true analog polyphony with a digital synth engine and effects. Plus, the Logue SDK opens the instrument to third party developers to build their own digital oscillators and effect. (Sinevibes in particular makes some great ones.)

Buy Korg Minilogue XD at Sweetwater – $600Buy Korg Minilogue XD at Perfect Circuit – $600

UA Volt audio interfaces

An audio interface is an essential for basically any budding musician. And while the market is saturated with plenty of excellent, affordable options, the Universal Audio Volt 76 series stands out from the pack. They’re undeniable stylish, offer low noise and latency, have large easy to use controls and vintage mode for additional warmth and character. But what sets the 76 apart, from even its cheaper Volt brethren is the all analog modeling of its legendary 1176 compressor. Sure you could run a plugin that tries to do the same thing — and arguably the results would be more versatile since you can always remove it in post if you want. But there’s something about the version builtin to the Volt 476, 276 and 176 that just has a touch more life. 

While the entire Volt lineup (save the 476p) is on sale, and all are solid values, it’s the Volt 476 and 276 that should be at the top of your shopping list. Especially now that they’re marked down to $329 and $269, respectively.

Buy Universal Audio Volt 476 at Reverb – $329Buy Universal Audio VOLT 476 at Perfect Circuit – $329Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Reverb – $269Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Perfect Circuit – $269

Poly Effects Beebo

The Beebo is a fascinating pedal. In fact, calling it a guitar pedal feels a bit dishonest. It’s really a digital modular synth and effects system with a large touchscreen, that just so happens to be crammed in a guitar pedal format. It can do basic guitar stuff like chorus and overdrive. It can be an amp modeler. It can also be a synth or a MIDI controller. In short, it refuses to be pigeon holed as any one thing. On of my favorite tricks is loading random audio recordings on it to create custom wacky reverbs. And it’s constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes. (It received about 50 firmware updates in 2020 alone.)

Considering the power contained within the regular $449 seems reasonable. But, right now you can pickup up a blue Beebo from Perfect Circuit for 12-percent off. (Unfortunately the bright pink color-way is still full price.) I’d move quick if you’re considering it, however. The blue units are already listed as being out of stock, and the shop might not continue to take discounted backorders for long. 

Buy Poly Effects Beebo (blue) at Perfect Circuit – $392.88

Bastl Instruments

We haven’t covered Bastl Instruments much on Engadget, but the company makes a range of strange and wonderful instruments. If you buy direct from the company right now they’re doing a 30-percent off sale on everything they make from Eurorack modules to desktop synthesizers. I’m a particularly big fan of the company’s smaller and more affordable oddities like the Kastl (potentially the world’s smallest modular synth), Kastl Drum (similar concept, but for percussion) and the Microgranny (a ultra-lofi granular sampler). They’re pretty great stocking stuffers even at full price, but at 30-percent off with the code “welcome2bshop” they’re a true steal. 

Shop Bastl Instruments – 30% with code “WELCOME2BSHOP”

Moog Sound Studio bundles

Seven percent off isn’t exactly huge, but it’s pretty rare to see Moog stuff get a mark down. So seeing their Sound Studio bundles discounted at all is worth noting. The Sound Studio bundles comes with two or three of Moog’s semimodular instruments, namely the Mother 32, DFAM and Subharmonicon. They also come with a mixer, a bunch of patch cables, a stand and a card game and other educational materials to get you started. These are definitely not the cheapest way to introduce someone to synthesis, but definitely one of the more luxurious. 

The two synth bundles are down to $1,299 from $1,399. But you get a slightly larger discount if you spring for all three, which will set you back $1,899, down from $2,099.

Buy Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 + DFAM + Subharmonicon at Sweetwater – $1,899Moog Sound Studio: DFAM & Subharmonicon at Sweetwater – $1,299Buy Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM at Sweetwater – $1,299

 

Google has revealed some minor, albeit handy, updates for Workspace. Soon, when you join a Google Meet call or start presenting on one from a Docs, Sheets or Slides file, you’ll have an easier way to share that file with other attendees through the meeting’s chat panel. You can grant everyone on the call access to the file or limit it to select attendees. You’ll all be able to collaborate on the document, spreadsheet or presentation while you’re on the call.

Elsewhere, Google says it will take your recent Gmail search activity into account to improve search results when you use the email service on the web. The company says this will make your Gmail search results more relevant and contextual. Lastly for now, there’s a requested feature on the way to Sheets that will enable users to resize the pivot table editor side panel. This should come in useful when the names of some pivot table columns or fields are too long and you’d like to see all of the text.

Google says these updates will be available to all Workspace and G Suite users within the next 15 business days. The company recently announced a welcome upgrade to the Workspace individual plan by increasing the amount of storage from 15GB to 1TB at no extra cost to users.

 

The next major phase of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is slated to start today. Orion is scheduled to conduct a burn at 4:52PM ET that will take it into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The uncrewed spacecraft will be around 50,000 miles above the lunar surface and it will travel around the Moon in the opposite direction that the Moon orbits the Earth (hence the “retrograde” aspect of this phase).

NASA says that, due to the size of the orbit, it will take Orion six days to go halfway around the Moon. It will then exit the orbit and start making its way back to Earth. The agency has noted that this process will provide Orion with a “highly stable orbit where little fuel is required to stay for an extended trip in deep space.” The orbit is stable because Orion will be subject to the gravitational pull of both the Earth and the Moon, which will help it to stay in position while minimizing fuel consumption.

During the distant retrograde orbit, NASA will be able to put Orion’s systems through their paces in an environment far away from our planet. The Artemis 1 mission is primarily about testing Orion before the spacecraft takes humans back to the Moon for the first time in over half a century.

Earlier this week, Orion successfully carried out a flyby of the Moon wherein it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface. This was the first of two maneuvers needed to get Orion into its retrograde orbit before today’s burn.

You’ll be able to watch the distant retrograde orbit burn live below. NASA says the feed will include real-time views of the mission whenever bandwidth allows.

 

Subscriptions and memberships make excellent gifts, but they’re also great to give yourself — especially when they’re on sale for Black Friday. We found a slew of services running discounts, with deals on streaming services, learning programs, fitness and mental health apps, gaming memberships and a few more. Most sales end by Cyber Monday, so right now is a good time to try out something new or sign back up for a subscription you’ve let lapse, saving some money in the process. Black Friday sales aren’t just for stuff you can wrap, and these are the best subscription deals we could find.  

Hulu

Options for streaming services continue to grow, and the costs adds up. If you’ve been thinking about checking out Hulu but didn’t want to add another $8 to your monthly bills, their Black Friday deal gets you an entire year for less than $25. Billed at $2 monthly for the next 12 months, the ad-supported version gets you access to all the shows and movies Hulu offers, like ABC’s Abbott Elementary and FX’s The Bear, along with Hulu originals like Reboot and Only Murders in the Building. The offer ends on Cyber Monday (11/28) and is available to new subscribers and former subscribers who haven’t had a Hulu subscription within the past month. 

Subscribe to Hulu (with ads) for $2 per month

Disney+

Disney+ will switch to a two-tier model on December 8th. After that, the ad-free version, which is the only way the service is currently offered, will increase to $11 per month instead of $8. The new ad-supported plan will then go for $8. If you want to hang on to that $8 per month price for an ad-free plan, you can sign up before December 7th and pay $80 for a year of ad-free streaming. That works out to a 39 percent discount over the elevated $11 per month plan. If you didn’t already know, Disney+ includes a dominating trove of content from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic. 

Subscribe to a year of Disney+ (ad-free) for $80

YouTube TV

Switching to an all-streaming diet often means forgoing live TV and other content cable offers. YouTube TV is one way to get back some of the live sports, live news and “cable channels” you’re missing. YouTube’s limited time offer gives you your first three months for $55 per month, with no contract required. If you decide you like what you’re seeing, don’t cancel and the price will revert to the regular $65 per month.  

Subscribe to 3 months of YouTube TV for $55 per month

Peacock

At this point, Peacock is almost a required subscription for fans of Premier League soccer, Sunday night football or WWE. But there’s plenty of non-sports fare too, including NBC shows the day after they air and a catalogue of Universal movies like Nope, the new Jurassic World, and Brian and Charles — titles that stream exclusively on the service. Right now you can get 12 months of Peacock Premium for just $1 per month. After navigating to the site, enter the code SAVEBIG in the promo box to activate the offer. It’s only available to new subscribers and probably won’t last long after the weekend of Black Friday. 

Subscribe to Peacock Premium for $1 per month

HBO Max

There’s no way to declare a clear winner in the best original content war, but HBO is a serious contender. You could even say it’s responsible for launching this whole “prestige TV” thing twenty years ago with The Wire and The Sopranos, but we digress. Right now HBO Max is offering three months of its ad-supported service for $2 per month. After that, it’ll jump back up to $10 per month if you want to keep watching, and there’s plenty to watch, including Insecure, Succession and all the Studio Ghibli movies. The offer ends on Cyber Monday (11/28) and only extends to new or returning subscribers. 

Subscribe to HBO Max (with ads) for $2 per month

Alo Moves 

While some subscription deals time out after a few months, Alo Moves is offering half-off annual subscriptions for life. The going rate for a yearly membership is currently $200, so this brings it down to $100. The online fitness service currently has more than 3,000 classes, and new classes are added weekly. You can watch on your laptop or via app on an iPhone or iPad. Yoga, pilates, HIIT, and core classes are available, along with meditation and mindfulness sessions, including a power nap sound bath. 

Subscribe to a year of Alo Moves – $100

Masterclass

Annie Leibovitz teaching you photography, Serena Williams teaching you tennis and Walter Mosley teaching you fiction is the idea behind (and three actual classes of) Masterclass. Memberships are annual and include access to all 180 classes they offer. Right now when you buy any membership plan, which range from $180 to $276 per year, you’ll get a second free membership to give away. Naming the classes feels a lot like name dropping, with classes from Martin Scorsese, Usher, Carlos Santana, Questlove, Alice Waters, David Lynch and 100 other people you’ve heard of. Classes range from a little over two hours to five-plus hours and are broken into between 12 and 30 lessons each. 

Buy two MasterClass subscriptions – $180 per year

Evernote

For those who have “get organized” on their New Year’s resolutions list, Evernote is offering a 25 percent discount on yearly Evernote Professional plans starting on Black Friday. The yearly price is usually $110, and the discount brings that total down to $82.50. New subscribers and people currently on the free plan are eligible for the deal, which runs through Wednesday, November 30th. If you aren’t already familiar, the browser- and app-based software helps you apply structure to your notes, to-dos, schedules and projects, allowing you to better TCOB, both at home and work or the blurry blend of the two many live in today.   

Subscribe to Evernote Professional – $8.25 per month

Rosetta Stone

Like Masterclass above, this Rosetta Stone membership doesn’t make you decide what you want to learn up front. And instead of a yearly membership, this one is for life. The usual price for a lifetime membership is $300, but is half price for the Black Friday deal. With it, you get access to all 25 languages Rosetta Stone offers, complete with customizable lesson plans and immersion learning methods. The deal runs from now through Friday, December 2nd. 

Buy a lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone – $149

Headspace

Putting a little mental wellbeing in your pocket just got far less expensive. Right now Headspace is half price for a full year, and the deal applies whether you want to pay month-to-month or a full year at once. The annual plan is down to $35, and the monthly price is $6.50 per month for 12 months. The app, available for Android and iPhone, offers audio and video guides covering areas of sleep, mindfulness, mediation and stress relief.  

Subscribe to Headspace – $6.50 per month

Paprika

A favorite of Engadget staffers, the Paprika recipe manager helps you digitally collect recipes from anywhere on the web and will even create smart grocery lists for you, organizing items by aisle. Each version, for iOS, Mac, Windows, or Android, are sold separately, with a cloud sync option to switch between devices. All versions are between 40 and 50 percent off for the entire month of November.  

Shop the Paprika Black Friday sale

Discord Nitro

If you want to get more out of your Discord experience, the company’s Nitro plan grants gives you unique server profiles for each of your servers, custom emojis and stickers to use anywhere, bigger file uploads to share bigger clips, and increased character counts in your messaging. Buy either the monthly or yearly Nitro plan, currently $10 per month or $100 per year, and you’ll get a free month of the service. The offer ends on Cyber Monday (11/28) and you can find out how to upgrade your current Discord account here. 

Get a free month of Discord Nitro with any Nitro subscription

Last Pass

A password manager doesn’t just give you fewer things to remember, it also keeps your data safer by making sure your passwords are never weak or reused. Right now LastPass is offering 25 percent off both of their paid plans from now through Tuesday, November 29th. That brings the Premium Plan to $2.25 and the Family Plan, which gives password protection to up to six people, down to $3. There’s always the free plan, but unlike the unlimited-device paid plans, the free version works on only one device.   

Subscribe to LastPass Premium – $2.25 per month

Lyft Pink

Maybe you rideshare a lot and want those pickups to come a little faster in 2023. Then now’s a good time to opt for a Lyft Pink membership. Joining gets you free upgrades to Priority Pickup, roadside assistance for your own car, relaxed ride cancellations, and a year of Grubhub+ for free. From now until Cyber Monday (11/28) Lyft Pink memberships are half price, making them $49.50 for the year. 

Subscribe to Lyft Pink – $49.50 per year

NordVPN

The reasons you might want a VPN are many and include working over public WiFi, accessing online content from your home country while abroad or just plain keeping your online activities private. NordVPN is one of the biggest and best known players in the VPN game and right now their Black Friday deal gives you a 63 percent discount off the two-year Complete Plan, bringing down from $447 to $162. They’ll even throw in an extra three months of their VPN service for free. If you just want a one year plan, the different tiers are between 45 and 59 percent off. 

Shop the NordVPN sale

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps includes more than 20 apps, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator and InDesign. Right now Adobe’s Black Friday sale takes 25 percent off the monthly price for your entire first year. That brings the price down from its usual $55 per month to just $40 per month. It’s a pretty good deal for a hard-to-replace suite of software, especially when you remember a time when a static, un-upgradable Photoshop by itself would set you back $800. 

Subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps – $40 per month

PlayStation Plus

To get the most out of that PS5 you’ll probably want a PlayStation Plus subscription, as it’s the only way you’ll be able to play online multiplayer games. Right now until Cyber Monday (11/28) you can get 25 percent off any of the three tiers of PlayStation Plus annual memberships. That makes the Essential Plan $45, the Extra Plan $75, and the Premium Plan $80 for the year. The base plan grants online multiplayer gamer access as well as free games each month and discounts in the PS Store. The higher level tiers offer what the base tier does along with access to play games in the Game Catalog featuring a rotating library of titles. 

Subscribe to PlayStation Plus Essential – $45 for 12 months

Tidal HiFi

You can think of Tidal’s HiFi membership as Spotify for audiophiles and music super fans, delivering up to 1411 kbps of lossless audio quality to your Android, iPhone or desktop. A membership also includes curated playlists, access to Tidal original documentaries and interviews with musicians, and of course it’s all ad free. The Black Friday deal gives you two months for $2, and bumps up to $10 a month after that. 

Subscribe to Tidal HiFI – $2 for two months

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.

 

Black Friday is usually a good time to pick up some new gaming gear at lower-than-usual price, and generally speaking, that’s the case again this year. Today we’re seeing strong discounts on a number of the year’s highest-profile games, special offers for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series S and a wide range of discounts on gaming accessories we like. To help you figure out what’s worth your time, we’ve picked through the avalanche of offers at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop and other retailers and rounded up a few of the highlights below. Here are the best Black Friday gaming deals we could find.

Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Switch Online

Nintendo’s chief Black Friday deal bundles the standard Switch console with a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to the company’s Switch Online service at no extra cost. Nintendo has offered this exact same promotion for the past few years, and given that the newer Switch OLED is a pretty firm upgrade over the base model, it’s hard to call this a great deal. Still, if you’re gifting someone their first Switch and you don’t think they’ll need the Switch OLED’s bigger and more vibrant display, there’s some value here. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still a great time and normally retails around $50, while three months of Switch Online typically cost another $8.

Buy Nintendo Switch bundle at Amazon – $300

Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S is down to $250 with a $50 store gift card at Target, which is effectively a $100 discount. At Woot, the diminutive console is available for $220 outright, while Amazon has it for $240 and several other retailers have it for $250. Normally, the Series S retails for $300. Either way, this is a good value for PlayStation or Switch users who want a cheaper way into the Xbox ecosystem. We gave the Series S a review score of 85 at launch: It isn’t powerful enough for 4K gaming, lacks a disc drive and only has 512GB of built-in storage, but it can still play all the same games as the pricier Xbox Series X.

Buy Xbox Series S + $50 gift card at Target – $250Buy Xbox Series S at Woot – $220Buy Xbox Series S at Amazon – $240

Xbox Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox or PC, Microsoft’s wireless Xbox Series X/S controller is currently available from $39 at several retailers. While that’s not the absolute lowest price we’ve seen, it’s still about $10 below the controller’s usual going rate. The sale applies to multiple finishes, though some colors are priced $5 higher. Just note that these pads still rely on AA batteries by default; if you want one rechargeable battery, that’ll cost you another $25.

Buy Xbox Wireless Controller at Amazon – $39Buy Xbox Wireless Controller at Microsoft – $40

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller

Sony’s DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5, meanwhile, are down to $49 in several finishes. That matches the lowest price we’ve seen, and depending on what color you choose, comes in either $20 or $25 below the pad’s usual price. In general, the DualSense is harder to hook up with a PC than its Xbox counterpart, but its D-pad isn’t as clicky, it doesn’t rely on AA batteries and its haptic feedback system is much more nuanced.  

Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at Amazon – $49Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at Walmart – $49

Elden Ring

One of the most acclaimed and popular games of 2022, Elden Ring is a mammoth, haunting and challenging open-world game from the developers behind the Souls series of action-RPGs. It’s currently on sale for $35, which is the lowest price we’ve tracked and $15 below its usual going rate. Like its spiritual predecessors, Elden Ring can sometimes feel punishing, overwhelming and overly cryptic, but its dark-fantasy world is refreshingly honest, letting you discover — or completely miss — its many secrets at your own pace.

Buy Elden Ring at Walmart – $35

Splatoon 3 and other Nintendo Switch exclusives

If you’re need something new to play on your Switch, a handful of well-regarded first-party Nintendo games are discounted deeper than usual. The colorful multiplayer shooter Splatoon 3, for one, is down to a new low of $45, and the tense adventure game Metroid Dread is available for a new low of $40. The cutesy strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is still priced at $60, meanwhile, but it includes a $10 store gift card at various retailers.

The platformer combo package Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is within $2 of its all-time low at $42, while the all-time great The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about $10 cheaper than usual at $29. Finally, the over-the-top hack-and-slasher Bayonetta 3 was available for $45 earlier in the week, but at its current price of $50, you’re still getting $10 off a game that launched less than a month ago.

Most of these deals are only available at third-party retailers like Amazon — and some aren’t visible until checkout — but if you’re not interested, Nintendo has several other titles discounted at its online eShop.

Shop Nintendo Switch game deals at Amazon

Horizon Forbidden West and other PS5 exclusives

If you’re looking to build out your PS5 library, meanwhile, several exclusives for Sony’s console are also down to new lows. There are no discounts on God of War: Ragnarok, sadly, but one of our other favorite sequels of the year, the robot-fighting open-world game Horizon Forbidden West, is down to a new low of $35 (or $29 for PS4).

Beyond that, a few recommended exclusives are down to $30, including the atmospheric roguelike Returnal, the samurai drama Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, the accessible shooter-platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the gorgeous Demon’s Souls remake. Other picks like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection ($20), Death Stranding: Director’s Cut ($20), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales ($35) and The Last of Us Part II ($10) are at or near their respective best prices as well.

Outside of the realm of exclusives, a smattering of popular 2022 games are discounted for the first time as well, including A Plague Tale: Requiem ($39), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ($55) and, yes, Sonic Frontiers ($35).

Buy Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) at Walmart – $35Buy Horizon Forbidden West (PS4) at GameStop – $29

PlayStation Plus

If you need to top up your PlayStation Plus subscription, Sony has dropped the price of 12-month memberships to that service by 25 percent. The deal applies to all three PS Plus tiers, so the basic “Essential” tier is down to $45, the “Extra” tier is down to $75, and the “Premium” tier is down to $90. 

As a refresher, the Essential tier should be enough for most: It gets you broad access to online multiplayer, an allotment of cloud storage for backing up game saves and a handful of free game downloads each month. The Extra tier adds an on-demand library with a few hundred games, while the Premium tier provides cloud game streaming and an additional selection of “classic” PlayStation games on top of that.

Buy PS Plus at PlayStation Store – 25 percent off

Backbone One

The Backbone One is a clever and well-built mobile game controller that we’ve recommend in previous buying guides. The PlayStation-branded, iPhone version of the device is currently down to a new low of $64, which is $36 off its normal going rate. If you don’t like the look of that model, the standard version is also down to $75, though the two are functionally identical. 

Either way, the One should make playing gamepad-compatible iOS games — or cloud-streamed console and PC games — feel much more natural than a touchscreen. The main complaints are that its face buttons are on the clicky side and that you’ll need an adapter to get it to work with certain iPhones.

Buy Backbone One at Amazon – $64

Meta Quest 2 + Resident Evil 4 + Beat Saber

Meta’s Quest 2 headset is a couple years old at this point, but its standalone design, competent performance and relative comfort have kept it the best option for most people looking to give virtual reality a try. For Black Friday, Meta is selling a bundle that pairs the 128GB Quest 2 with two of its better games, the classic horror game Resident Evil 4 and the energetic rhythm game Beat Saber, for $350. That’s a roughly $50 discount. If you need more storage, a bundle with the 256GB variant is on sale for $429.

Now, we’re using the term “discount” with some caveats here, since the Quest 2 used to start at $299 until Meta jacked the price up by another $100 earlier this year. Still, this is the best deal we’ve seen since that price hike — and if nothing else, it’s a much better value than the Meta Quest Pro. We gave the device formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2 a review score of 89 when it launched back in 2020. 

Buy Meta Quest 2 bundle at Amazon – $350

HyperX Cloud Alpha 

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is down to $55 at Amazon, which is about $15 below its usual going rate and one of the best prices we’ve tracked. This is a sturdy, no-frills gaming headset that’s comfortable to wear for hours at a time. A good set of non-gaming headphones will sound better for the price, but what’s here is still relatively well-balanced, and the included mic is perfectly fine for everyday party chats.  

Buy HyperX Cloud Alpha at Amazon – $55

Logitech G Pro X Superlight, plus more gaming accessories

Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight is a high-performing gaming mouse we like for both work and play, and right now it’s back down to its all-time low of $110, or about $25 off its usual street price. That’s still not cheap, but the G Pro X Superlight stands out for being exceptionally light (at about 63 grams), quick to glide, and consistently responsive in faster-paced games. Just note that you only get a couple of customizable shortcut buttons, and that the whole thing connects over a USB dongle, not Bluetooth.

This is just one of a plethora of low or near-low prices on gaming accessories we like, though. If you want a high-performing gaming mouse for less and don’t mind going wired, Razer’s Viper 8KHz is a good value at its current deal price of $40, which is an all-time low. We’ve previously recommendedRazer’s Huntsman Mini for those who want a fast gaming keyboard in an ultracompact form factor; it’s currently within $5 of its all-time low at $70. Corsair’s Scimitar RGB Elite is a great buy for MMO gaming at $49, while Logitech’s G29 remains a fine value for those looking to get their first racing wheel at $200. 8BitDo’s excellent Pro 2 gamepad for Switch and PC, meanwhile, is down to a joint-low of $40 as of this writing, but only in a limited-time Lightning sale.

Shop Logitech gaming accessories sale at AmazonShop Razer gaming accessories sale at AmazonShop Corsair gaming accessories sale at Amazon

Razer Blade 14

A configuration of Razer’s Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 3080 GPU is currently down to $2,000 at Amazon. That’s about $300 off its typical street price and tied for the best price we’ve tracked. We gave the Blade 14 a review score of 84 last year, and we’ve recommended the similar Blade 15 in recent buying guides and gift guides. It can run a bit hot, and you can still get similarly powerful gaming laptops for less, but it still puts enough power to play demanding games at higher settings in a slim and slick-feeling design that weighs less than four pounds.

Buy Razer Blade 14 at Amazon – $2,000

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.