Google is finding you get a jump on the holiday shopping season before the real chaos of Black Friday begins next week. Instead, its latest Pixel phones, Pixel Buds wireless headphones, and smart home gadgets we love are getting cheaper. Let’s get in the water.
We test products throughout the year and select these products. We will be updating this article regularly as well beat across items are on sale or priced as advertised, and we apply discounts based on current prices or average prices, not MSRP.
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Pixel Phone Deals
Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel 7 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), hasn’t been out for a month but it’s already on sale. It’s amazing because one of the biggest things we like is the low cost to start with. At $600, it’s the best value you’ll find in the Android world. But now, the Pixel 7 is $100 off. You get fast performance, a 90-Hz screen, wireless charging, all-day battery life, one of the best cameras on a smartphone, and tons of useful features you’ll use every day (which you can read more about here).
There’s also the Pixel 7 Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) which adds a few niceties to the standard Pixel 7, namely a 120-Hz display, a 5X ultra-wide camera, and a Macro mode if you want to get up close. – Shooting with slightly longer battery life. That’s not to mention the large 6.7-inch screen, which is great for anyone who likes multiple screens. These Pixels also come with five years of security updates, which is one of the best you’ll find on Android, although three years of OS updates isn’t as good as what Samsung offers.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a smartphone, get the Pixel 6A (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which is our favorite smartphone for most people. This budget-conscious device still produces excellent images for the price, and you get a bright AMOLED display, all-day battery life, fast performance, and five years of security updates. (Plus, most of the smart apps the Pixels are known for.) You get a few bells and whistles like wireless charging or a higher refresh rate, but for the price, it’s a steal.
Pixel Accessory Deals
The Pixel Buds A-Series (8/10, WIRED Recommends) perform just as well as Apple’s AirPods (if not more), and they’re pretty cheap to begin with, especially at this price. They work well with Android phones because they connect instantly and have the ability to interact with Google Assistant (although they will work with limited iPhones). You get clear sound, sweat resistance, and touch-sensitive buttons on the music control panels. The 5-hour battery life isn’t impressive, but it’s an easy sell. You can also add them via USB-C.
Fix things with the Pixel Buds Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends), which are comfortable wireless earbuds to wear, with better sound (especially bass), and in a case that supports wireless charging. Battery life is longer here—7 hours—and the noise canceling does a good job of blocking out the outside. There’s also a clear display to let the sound flow through so you’ll be more aware of your surroundings.
Google’s first Pixel Watch misses out on some key features, such as SpO2 detection, fitness detection, and fall detection (coming soon), but it’s a pretty smart smartwatch that’s great and accurate for tracking health and fitness essentials—heart rate and electrocardiogram tracking. Its responsive interface allows you to keep track of notifications and respond to messages, even phone calls. Unfortunately, battery life is poor and it charges very slowly, so it’s a bit of a hit. It only works with Android phones.
Got a Pixel phone? Grab this wireless charger, which is rated Pixels for fast charging without the need for a cable. It is expensive but it also has some nice tricks. It can automatically turn on Do Not Disturb and Sleep modes on Pixel phones, which silence notifications. You can turn your screen into a digital image or display smart home controls, such as a smart display, and when the sun rises, it will try to mimic sunlight to gently wake you up before the alarm goes off.
Smart Home Deals
Nest Cam (Battery) is one of our top picks for outdoor security cameras, especially if you want to stick to the Google Assistant ecosystem. It has a simple magnetic mounting plate and the battery can last for over a month before needing to be recharged. The 1080p quality is very good, although the night vision is getting a little bright. Nest Aware subscription is not required but adds some useful features. There’s a water-based model for $190 (a $90 discount), and a wired version of this Nest Cam (indoor) is also on sale for $70 (a $30 discount).
The latest generation Nest Thermostat can control your temperature and air quality, learning your behavior over time to adjust the temperature accordingly. In some cases, it can help reduce energy costs by turning off your system when you’re not home and returning your home to a warm state before you return.
Chromecast With Google TV (8/10, WIRED Recommends) finally brings Chromecast in line with other streaming sticks that have remotes and TV features. It’s one of the easiest streaming sticks (well, dongle actually) to use, and I especially like that you can add movies or TV shows to your watch list to the results of Google search and they show in the form of Chromecast. Google’s new HD model, suitable for TVs with 1080p resolution, is also on sale for $20 (a $10 discount).
The Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) makes an excellent smart home hub. It can display calendar events and reminders, display video from smart doors, and control other smart devices. You can do all this by clicking on the screen or asking Google Assistant to do it for you. The assistant is also helpful in answering random questions you may have, such as how much whiskey to use in a whiskey sour. There is no camera, so it is best for some private areas like bedrooms.
The Nest Hub Max (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a camera, so you can use it for video calling on Google Meet and Zoom, among other platforms. The large window size here makes it perfect for the kitchen, where you can use it to follow recipes.