Tag: PC Magazine Tech123

Apple doesn’t have sales too often, so when they do happen, you’d better be running to them quick! Apple is known for its immense quality, and the AirPods 4 earbuds prove exactly why with their pristine sound and comfort. They’re on sale now for $99, down from their original $129 price. That’s $30 in savings!

As of September 3, the Apple AirPods 4 earbuds are on sale for 23% off. According to CamelCamelCamel, this is the lowest price they’ve been at in the last six months. So if you missed out on previous deals, now’s a great time to grab them! Who knows how long this’ll last?

Apple AirPods 4 Earbuds

H2 chip, IP54 rating, 5-hour battery life

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$99.00
at Amazon

$129.00
Save $30.00

Get Deal

The AirPods 4 earbuds are powered by Apple’s H2 chip, making sound quality and audio pristine when taking calls or listening to music. Plus, with spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, your immersion will shoot through the roof. So whether you’re playing games or watching TV shows, you know that you’re going to have a fun time. They’ve also been redesigned with a refined contour and shorter stem so they have more stability in your ears.

The charging case has been slightly redesigned as well, as its volume is more than 10% smaller than previous generations, allowing it to fit in your pocket easier. With five hours of battery life on a single charge and 30 hours total with the charging case, you’ll be able to get plenty of playtime before plugging them back in. These earbuds are also rated IP54, meaning that they’re dust, sweat, and water-resistant. So whether you’re in the gym or on a hike, they’ll withstand most physically intensive activities.

Audio expert Tim Gideon awarded them an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The AirPods 4 are Apple’s most affordable wireless earbuds and offer exceptional audio performance for an open-ear design.”

Check out our other Amazon deals and earbuds coverage.

Summer is ending, but Labor Day is coming up so there’s a reason to celebrate! While it’s still a few days away, deals have already cropped up. So why not start now? You can get a head start on shopping while scoring some deep discounts. We’ve gathered some of the biggest price cuts across the internet, and Best Buy has some serious ones that you should consider. Items like tablets and TVs are on sale, so you know it’s going to be good.

We’ll continue to update this list as we get closer to Labor Day, so be sure to come back.

Samsung Early Labor Day Deals

Q-Series HW-Q990F Soundbar

Samsung Q-Series Soundbar HW-Q990F

11.2 channels, 756 peak power watts, 1-year warranty

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$999.99
at Best Buy

$1,999.99
Save $1,000.00

Get Deal

This Q-Series soundbar makes your space sound like a movie theater thanks to a slew of channels, including 11 front and surround, as well as four up-firing ones. Plus, the 8-inch woofer blasts out thumping bass to get your blood pumping.

This soundbar leverages AI by optimizing bass and utilizing Q-Symphony, which separates voices and background sounds to deliver ideal surround-sound conditions. Adaptive sound also analyzes the type of content you’re watching in real-time and adapts the audio to create clearer voices and sounds. If you’re playing video games, Game Mode Pro prioritizes powerful woofers to keep you immersed.

PCMag expert Christian de Looper awarded it an “Outstanding” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The Samsung HW-Q990F soundbar’s superior audio quality and surround experience make it worth the considerable investment.”

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

1TB storage, IP68 waterproof rating, 16-hour battery life

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$1,119.99
at Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

$1,619.99
Save $500.00

Get Deal

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra has a gorgeous 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, making your notes and videos brighter. With reduced glare and features like Vision Booster, you can take meeting notes and watch training videos without straining your eyes. It also now comes with Galaxy AI functionality, helping out with your note-taking with features like Transcript Assist and Note Assist, allowing you to be more productive. It supports the S Pen stylus as well, which it conveniently comes with too. The 16-hour battery life ensures it lasts throughout the entire work day, and its IP68 rating makes the tablet one of the most durable around. You won’t have to worry if something spills on it, like a coworker’s coffee or water!

Our expert, Iyaz Akhtar, awarded a similar model an “Excellent” rating in our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ review, saying, “The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ is a top-notch Android tablet with impressive performance, refined productivity tools, and helpful AI features.”

Galaxy Watch 7 Aluminum Smartwatch

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 Aluminum Smartwatch

40mm display, 32GB storage, 40-hour usage time

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$189.99
at Best Buy

$249.99
Save $60.00

Get Deal

This smartwatch uses Galaxy AI to help you keep track of your health metrics, including sleep, heart rate, and steps. So whether you’re exercising or sleeping, you’ll be able to keep a close watch. It’s also incredibly helpful when responding to your friends and coworkers in a quick way. Galaxy AI also analyzes your text conversations and suggests replies to send over, helping simplify your life and take off some of the mental load you experience every day. This smartwatch includes the Remote Cam Controller too, which lets you operate your phone’s camera from a distance. Need a convenient way to zoom in or out from a distance to get the perfect shot? The Galaxy Watch 7 lets you take the perfect team photo with everyone in it!

Our expert, Andrew Gebhart, awarded it an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is only slightly improved over its predecessor, but its AI features and robust sleep sensing help it outpace increasingly competitive Wear OS alternatives.”

Amazon Early Labor Day Deals

Echo Show 15

Amazon Echo Show 15

15.6-inch display, 4 speakers, 2 tweeters

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$269.99
at Best Buy

$349.99
Save $80.00

Get Deal

This smart display is great at organizing your everyday tasks. So whether you’re planning out your schedule or simply listening in on a work call, this device can help you get through your day. It also boasts a 15.6-inch display and clear sound, letting you hear your colleagues and friends, or the music and dialogue on TV shows. Through its built-in Fire TV, you can access apps like Prime Video and Netflix, giving you almost endless entertainment! Plus, you can use your voice to control it from afar for a hands-free experience.

Our expert Will Greenwald awarded it a “Good” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The second generation of Amazon’s Echo Show 15 smart display costs a bit more than its predecessor, but camera improvements help justify the higher price.”

Apple Early Labor Day Deals

Pencil Pro

Apple Pencil Pro

0.68 ounces, 0.35 inches thick, 1-year warranty

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$99.99
at Best Buy

$129.00
Save $29.01

Get Deal

If you have an iPad for work and find yourself using it a lot, the Apple Pencil Pro will definitely come in handy for productivity and efficiency. The Apple Pencil Pro is a handy stylus for those who use their iPad to take notes. The new squeeze gesture is particularly useful for zooming in on diagrams, and the haptic feedback feels responsive, helping confirm your actions. It’s also supported by Apple’s Find My network, meaning that if you lose it, you can track it down and retrieve it. While it only works with the latest iPads, particularly the ones with M2, M3, M4, and M5 chips, along with the iPad mini (A17 Pro), it’s by far the best stylus for them.

Our expert Eric Zeman awarded it an “Outstanding” rating. In our Apple Pencil Pro review, he said, “The Apple Pencil Pro is the stylus that serious artists and creators should get for the latest iPad Pro or iPad Air thanks to its advanced writing features and controls.”

Google Early Labor Day Deals

Nest Thermostat

Google Nest Thermostat

0.284 lbs, 2 batteries required, 96 periods per programmable day

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$99.99
at Best Buy

$129.99
Save $30.00

Get Deal

This Google Nest Thermostat helps you save money while managing the temperature in your home! It can turn itself down automatically when you step out so it doesn’t continuously run and cost you. Plus, the Savings Finder feature in the Google Home App gives suggestions on settings to implement so that you can well, save even more money! If something feels off in your home, the thermostat will most likely detect it too, giving you notifications about your heating and coolig system. You can also set up schedules and reminders to ease the mental load off your head, keeping your day on track.

Our expert awarded it an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat uses AI to create customized heating and cooling schedules, helping you save on energy usage while ensuring even temperatures throughout your home.”

Google Nest Wifi Pro 6e AXE5400 Mesh Router

Google Nest Wifi Pro 6e AXE5400 Mesh Router

2200 square-foot coverage, 5.4GB/s wi-fi speed, WPA2/WPA3 encryption

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$99.99
at Best Buy

$199.99
Save $100.00

Get Deal

You won’t have to worry about any drop zones or disconnections because the Google Nest Wifi Pro 6e mesh router provides up to 2,200 square feet of wifi. Have kids and need to regulate their internet usage? You can also set up Wi-Fi schedules and internet time-outs to ensure that they get some time away from the online world. The mesh router is pretty secure too, as it allows you to set up special networks with passwords for different friends and family members, as well as use the Google Home app to block certain websites. Additionally, it receives software updates on a regular basis to that keep cyber threats and unauthorized parties are out.

Contributing editor John R. Delaney awarded it a “Good” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “Google’s Nest Wifi Pro is a good-looking Wi-Fi 6E mesh router that’s simple to set up and use, but its features and settings are limited.”

Lenovo Early Labor Day Deals

Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Laptop

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Laptop

2K resolution, 16-inch display, 512GB storage capacity

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$749.99
at Best Buy

$1,199.99
Save $450.00

Get Deal

This 2-in-1 laptop is perfect for students, workers, and creators, because it helps to unleash your creativity. It goes all in on AI, and lets you easily locate past content, perform searches, and interact with text and images. Plus, the Intel Core Ultra processor ensures the laptop can handle projects and assignments with ease and deliver spectacular performance. The incredible 15.3-inch screen sports a 500 nit brightness that makes every color pop thanks to its 3K LCD. With a solid 120-hertz refresh rate, gaming during breaks feels as smooth as ever. Along with this laptop, you’ll also get two months of Adobe Creative Cloud, as well as three months of Xbox PC Game Pass to keep you productive and entertained.

Our expert, Marshall Honoroff, awarded the more premium model a “Good” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition Gen 11 is a sleek, light laptop with a gorgeous screen and generally effective performance. The battery should last longer, though, and its price is steep.”

Hisense Early Labor Day Deals

75-inch Class U6 MiniLed QLED TV

Hisense 75-inch Class U6 MiniLED QLED TV

75-inch display, 144Hz refresh rate, 4K resolution

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$699.99
at Best Buy

$1,099.99
Save $400.00

Get Deal

This massive TV brings fantastic picture quality thanks to its QLED technology, enabling bright colors and deep contrast to make your movies and video games more immersive. With a 144Hz refresh rate, the TV will keep the images and movements sharp and responsive. Not only is it a great fit for the living room, but for the office as well. During remote meetings, you’ll be able to clearly see who’s on the screen, leading to more productive and interactive discussions.

The TV also comes with an anti-reflection and glare-free screen that minimizes any annoying distractions that could get in the way. And with a two-year warranty, you can rest easy knowing the manufacturer has your back.

Our expert Will Greenwald awarded it an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “For the price, you’ll have a hard time finding a television with a better picture or more features than the Hisense U6K Series ULED TV.”

SimpliSafe Early Labor Day Deals

8-Piece Outdoor Home Security System

SimpliSafe 8-Piece Outdoor Home Security System

4 entry sensors, 1 outdoor camera, 1-year warranty

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$174.99
at Best Buy

$349.99
Save $175.00

Get Deal

This SimpliSafe bundle contains an Outdoor Camera Series 2, which gives you a 140-degree field-of-view scope along with 180p HD resolution so that you won’t miss any details. And with its night vision capabilities, you’ll also be able to see in low-light conditions. The four entry sensors included can be placed anywhere, providing unparalleled flexibility. Whether it’s your windows or doors, you’ll always be alert to any potential threats. This outdoor security system is also smart home compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can use your voice to control it, hands-free.

Our expert and Editor-in-Chief Wendy Sheehan Donnell awarded the system an “Outstanding” rating. In our in-depth review, she notes, “If you want to secure and monitor your home without spending a bundle or signing a long-term contract, there’s a lot to like about the versatile and easy-to-use SimpliSafe Home Security System.”

Bose Early Labor Day Deals

Ultra Open-Ear Earbuds

Bose Ultra Open-Ear True Wireless Open Earbuds

30 feet maximum range, IPX4 water-resistance rating, 7-hour battery life

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$199.00
at Best Buy

$299.00
Save $100.00

Get Deal

These earbuds are fantastic for keeping out distractions while you’re working, but also letting you stay aware of your surroundings. If you need to respond to a coworker speaking to you, you’re able to do so right away thanks to the open-ear concept. They don’t compromise on audio either, as Bose Immersive Audio uses spatialized music to give you a better listening experience. With up to seven hours of battery life, these earbuds will last the entire work day. Plus, they’re rated IPX4, meaning that they’re water-resistant. If it’s raining outside while you’re commuting to work or just getting off, you won’t have to worry.

Our audio expert Tim Gideon awarded them a “Good” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The pricey Bose Ultra Open Earbuds produce expansive sound and have a unique design that lets you stay aware of your surroundings.”

Be sure to check out our other early Labor Day deals at other retailers like Walmart and Amazon.

If you’re still using an Intel-powered Mac, here’s another bit of bad news. After dropping support for its own software on these PCs with macOS Golden Gate, Apple has now informed Mac App Store developers that they can also stop releasing updates for Intel Macs.

“We’re reaching out to let you know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now remove support for Intel-based Mac computers,” Apple writes in an email sent to developers, obtained by 9to5Mac. “By removing support for Intel-based Mac computers, you can simplify your development and optimize your download and on-device size.”

With this change, developers can focus on releasing apps optimized just for Apple’s M-series chips. Previously, developers who wanted to list their apps on the Mac App Store had to build versions that supported Intel processors as well.

“To remove Intel support, update your app build settings to ‘arm64’ only. Then rebuild and submit your app to the Mac App Store,” Apple adds.

Despite the phase-out, Intel Mac owners need not worry about losing access to their favorite apps. Even if a developer decides to stop releasing updates, users will be able to access the last version of the app that supports Intel processors.

Apple first adopted Intel chips for Mac computers under Steve Jobs in 2005; the company began moving away from them with the introduction of its in-house M-series chips in 2020. Apple silicon has now reached its sixth generation.

MacOS 27, meanwhile, is still in beta. Apple’s latest Mac operating system is expected to become available on all compatible devices later this month. We’ll likely get a solid date at next week’s “Surprise and Shine” event.

About Our Expert

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Experience

Jibin is a tech news writer based out of Ahmedabad, India. Previously, he served as the editor of iGeeksBlog and is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex information for a broader audience.

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This early Labor Day deal is speaking to me. Amazon has the Echo Show 5 Smart Speaker on sale for $69.99, down from its regular $99.99 list price. This gives you a 30% discount on a multi-functional smart speaker featuring a 5.5-inch touchscreen, enhanced audio with deeper bass, a built-in 2 MP camera with physical privacy shutter, smart home control, and hands-free Alexa voice assistance. Alexa, play ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd.

Bringing home an all-in-one smart touchscreen hub equipped with upgraded acoustic drivers, integrated video calling, and digital photo frame capability, under $70, is an extraordinary value. It makes this flash promotion the best time to supercharge your nightstand, kitchen counter, or home office desk.

This 30% price cut removes the financial barrier typically tied to screen-equipped smart speakers, giving smart home users, busy families, and remote workers an opportunity to capture glancing visual routines, live security feeds, and room-filling music playback without standard retail price strain. Pretty solid option at this price.

AMAZON DEAL ALERT

Amazon Echo Show 5 Smart Speaker

5.5-inch touchscreen, deeper bass audio, 2 MP camera, privacy shutter, smart home hub, Alexa voice

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$69.99
at Amazon

$99.99
Save $30.00

Get Deal

The Amazon Echo Show 5 gives you bedside and countertop convenience with a 5.5-inch smart touchscreen and upgraded bass acoustics. It uses hands-free Alexa voice commands to streamline music/video streaming, and live camera feed viewing, plus its 2 MP video calling camera with a physical privacy shutter, rotating digital photo displays, and smart device controls for lights and thermostats, handles your daily home automation easily. PCMag expert, Will Greenwald, rated it “Excellent” calling it “one of the best small smart displays available” in his in-depth review.

The Amazon Echo Show 5 pairs Alexa voice intelligence with a vibrant 5.5-inch touchscreen. At 30% off, it places deeper speaker bass, video calling convenience, and physical camera privacy shutters straight onto your nightstand. Don’t overthink this one.

And for more such amazing discounts on the latest tech, check out our Early Labor Day Amazon roundup, which contains tech deals from Garmin, HP, LG, and more.

• More Bluetooth Speaker Deals on Amazon

• More Bluetooth Speaker Deals on Walmart

• More Bluetooth Speaker Deals on Best Buy

Ever notice that the storage space that comes with your computer or laptop just isn’t enough? Thankfully, there are plenty of SSDs that’ll give you extra space for all your pictures and projects. With Labor Day coming up, we’ve gathered some of the best SSD deals from brands like Lexar, Samsung, and SanDisk. The good news is that there’s quite a bit to go around. We’ll keep adding to this list as we get closer to Labor Day, so check back often!

Samsung Early Labor Day SSD Deals

990 Pro SSD

Samsung 990 Pro SSD

2TB storage, 7450MB per second read speed, 6900MB per second write speed

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$389.99
at Amazon

$639.99
Save $250.00

Get Deal

The Samsung 990 Pro internal SSD is more than 55% faster in random performance than its predecessor, the 980 Pro. With speeds up to 7,450 read and 6,900 write, you’ll be powering through work day. This results in fewer performance issues, and is a great fit for standard desktops and laptops, particularly in the fields of video editing and data analysis. It also performs well when it comes to gaming (but don’t let your boss know you’re playing them!).

Our expert Tony Hoffman awarded it an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “Samsung’s SSD 990 Pro is a zippy PCI Express 4.0 internal drive that’s a step up from its predecessor, offering excellent performance for creative tasks, if not necessarily for gaming.”

870 EVO Internal SSD SATA

Samsung 870 EVO Internal SSD SATA

2TB storage, 560MB/s read speed, 1200TB SSD endurance

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$499.99
at Best Buy

$879.99
Save $380.00

Get Deal

This Samsung 870 EVO SATA III SSD gives you 2TB of storage, which can house plenty of your work projects. It also maximizes the SATA interface limit with 560MB/s and 530MB/s read and write speeds for high performance. This SSD is designed for intensive games as well as heavy workloads that come with high-end PCs and NAS workstations. It can handle up to 8K video computing up to 2,400 TW and comes with a five-year limited warranty so you can rest assured you’re being taken care of. With Samsung Magician software, you’ll also be able to manage the drive’s health and download updates to keep it in peak condition.

PCMag’s senior security analyst Chris Stobing awarded it an “Outstanding” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The Samsung SSD 870 EVO offers the peak of Serial ATA SSD performance, and moves so fast in 4K random read and write operations you’d almost be forgiven for confusing it with PCI Express 3.0.”

Verbatim Early Labor Day SSD Deals

Pocket External SSD

Verbatim Pocket 1TB External SSD

1TB storage, 1000MB/s read and write speeds, 2.5-inch form factor

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$139.99
at Amazon

$179.99
Save $40.00

Get Deal

Despite being a pocket-sized SSD, it has enough power to satisfy creators and gamers. This Verbatim SSD offers read and write speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s, allowing you to transfer files and back up content quickly and efficiently. It’s also compatible with a wide range of devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and gaming consoles, thanks to its USB-C port, so you never have to compromise on connectivity. The SSD is lightweight too, and as the name suggests, you can just slip it into your pocket for easy portability. Plus, it comes with a keyring and cable holder to attach it to your bag. Windows users will also get the Nero Backup Software, which helps protect internal files.

SanDisk Early Labor Day SSD Deals

Extreme Portable SSD

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD

2TB storage, 1050MB per second read speed, 1000MB per second write speed

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$329.99
at Best Buy

$423.99
Save $94.00

Get Deal

If you’re looking for a rugged SSD to take with you outside the office building for some outdoor projects, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD is ideal. It offers up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write speeds for powerful performance, plus 2TB of storage, so you’ll feel like you have endless room for all your files. It’s rated IP65, so it’s both water- and dust-resistant, making it suitable for outdoor use. It’s just as durable on the inside as on the outside, thanks to its 256-bit AES hardware encryption, which protects your data. The built-in carabiner loop also lets you hook it to bags, making it easy to carry. There’s also a five-year warranty, so you can feel confident that the manufacturer has your back.

Our expert Gabe Carey awarded it a “Good” rating. In his in-depth review, he said, “Resistant to water, dust, and shock, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is a rough-and-ready USB external drive with on-the-mark speed. It’s ideal for outdoorsy types such as hikers and field photographers.”

Desk Drive USB Type-C External SSD

SanDisk Desk Drive USB Type-C External SSD

8TB storage, 1000MB/s read speed, 3-year warranty

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$899.00
at Best Buy

$1,919.99
Save $1,020.99

Get Deal

This SanDisk Desk Drive provides a staggering 8TB of storage, which is should prove plenty of space for all of your work projects. It has read speeds of up to 1,000MB/s, letting you transfer your files faster, which is a big boon when you’re trying to finish other tasks throughout the day. It’s also incredibly easy to use as you only need to plug in an USB type-C cable to your device to get started with it. With automatic backup functionality, you can be assured that your work will stay safe in case something happens. There’s nothing worse than knowing that all your hard work is gone! It also comes with a three-year warranty for extra peace of mind.

Our expert awarded a similar model a “Good” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “It’s pricey per gigabyte and requires its own power source, but SanDisk’s puck-shaped Desk Drive delivers loads of fast external solid-state storage to desktop and laptop users.”

Lexar Early Labor Day SSD Deals

SL300 Portable SSD

Lexar SL300 Portable SSD

2TB storage, 1050MB per second read speed, 1000MB per second write speed

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$279.99
at Best Buy

$349.99
Save $70.00

Get Deal

This portable SSD has read and write speeds of up to 1,050MB/1,000MB per second, respectively, and claims to have almost ten times the speed of most hard disk drives. It can also handle heavy workloads as it has internal thermal dissipation technology to keep it cool during workload transfers. This way, you won’t have to worry about whether it’s working while you’re doing so too. The SSD can withstand drops of up to two meters and the internals won’t be damaged. And for external cyber threats, it has Lexar’s DataShield, which is a 256-bit AES encryption that helps protect your files. And with Lexar Recovery Tool3, you can restore files you accidentally delete so you don’t get your bosses angry!

Our expert awarded a similar model an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The Lexar SL500 is a slim, attractive, and highly portable external SSD with AES encryption, up to 4TB of storage, and blazing speed—the last, if you have the right port to support it.”

WD Deals

Black SN770M SSD Deal

WD Black SN770M SSD

2TB storage, 5150MB/s read speed, 4850MB/s write speed

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$399.99
at Best Buy

$531.99
Save $132.00

Get Deal

If you’re lucky enough to be in a city where you can commute to work via public transit, it might be a good idea to carry a gaming handheld device such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally to keep yourself entertained on the way there. This is the perfect SSD to put into them, as you can install games quickly in its 2TB storage. Its compact form factor has deceptively fast speeds of up to 5,150MB per second, so you can get back to gaming as soon as possible! You don’t need to put it in handhelds either! If you’re working with a thin PC, it can be placed in their as well, and is compatible with Windows 10, 11, and 8.1 operating systems. This SSD comes with a five-year warranty too, so you can rest assured knowing that you’re covered.

Our expert awarded the NVMe version an “Excellent” rating. In our in-depth review, he said, “The WD Black SN770 is a nice-priced PCIe 4.0 NVMe internal SSD that aced many of our benchmarks, especially for program loading and file copy. Our only quibbles? Hardware-based encryption and a snap-on heat spreader would complete this package.”

PNY Deals

CS900 Internal SSD SATA

PNY CS900 Internal SSD SATA

250GB storage, 535MB/s read speed, 500MB/s write speed

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$54.99
at Best Buy

$77.99
Save $23.00

Get Deal

If you’re looking for an SSD while on a budget, then this PNY CS900 SATA one is right for you. Given its low price, it only comes with 250GB of storage, but that should be enough for smaller work projects. It sports reliable performance with 535MB and 500MB per second read and write speeds, respectively. Additionally, data transfer rates go up to 600MB per second, allowing you update files faster and get back to what you were doing before quicker. This SSD also supports Native Command Queuing, meaning that it optimizes the order of tasks to complete instead of doing them in sequential order. This way, it works more efficiently and reduces delays.

Check out our reviews of other PNY SSDs, including the RP60 Portable and the XLR8 CS3150.

Kingston Deals

NV3 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD

Kingston NV3 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD

1TB storage, 6000MB/s read speed, 4000MB/s write speed

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$156.99
at Amazon

$215.99
Save $59.00

Get Deal

This internal SSD is a great fit for both consoles and PCs, offering blazing speeds of up to 6,000MB per second read and 4,000MB per second write speeds. And with its Gen 4×4 NVMe PCIe performance, you can be sure that whichever device you decide to place it in will be able to handle all of your different work tasks with ease. Plus, it comes with Acronis cloning software, which makes an exact digital copy of your hard drive, letting you keep a backup just in case. The manufacturer is also offering a five-year limited warranty, so you need to know they’re confident in this SSD!

Check out our other Kingston SSD reviews, including the XS1000 External and the Fury Renegade.

Be sure to check out our other early Labor Day deals including at other retailers like Walmart and Amazon.

In its October patch release, Microsoft is set to enable Memory Integrity in Windows 11 by default, Windows Latest reports. If it’s not enabled, this might harm your gaming frames per second, but the security boost is almost certainly worth the trade-off.

Memory Integrity is a core isolation feature that uses a virtualized environment to verify kernel-mode drivers before they execute, ensuring they’re safe. It prevents malware from exploiting an older, vulnerable driver to reach the system kernel, where it can do whatever it wants.

In the early days of Windows 11, turning this off or never enabling it was one method to boost gaming FPS, as software calls on older hardware for this feature could cause performance dips. But from Intel’s 7th generation and AMD’s Ryzen 2000 generation onwards, hardware-level acceleration means there’s almost no performance difference with this feature enabled.

(Credit: Jon Martindale)

That’s especially relevant for this new patch, because it’s going to turn Memory Integrity on for a range of platforms, but only those that meet the minimum system requirements. And those are all modern enough to have the hardware acceleration to avoid FPS drops. Memory Integrity requirements include:

• Intel 8th-generation processor or newer

• AMD Zen 2 processor or newer

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8180 SoC or newer

• At least 8GB of RAM on x64 systems

• At least 64GB of SSD storage space

• A BIOS with virtualization enabled.

That pretty much describes any PC purchased in the past five or six years, and even some that are older than that. So if you aren’t already running Windows 11 with memory integrity enabled, you can certainly do so, and the patch update will likely enable it if it isn’t already.

The only instance in which this won’t happen is if you have already explicitly disabled Memory Integrity via the registry or a Windows Group Policy change. If you use older drivers for legacy devices, you may still want to do that since there’s a chance Memory Integrity can break older drivers that need to interact with memory in insecure ways. Just be aware of the security trade-off you’re making before doing so.

How to Check if Memory Integrity Is Enabled

There’s a good chance you already have memory integrity enabled, in which case you won’t notice this rollout. To confirm your status, navigate to Windows Security > Device Security > Core Isolation details. There, you’ll see a heading titled “Memory integrity.” If it’s set to On, it’s enabled. If it’s off, you can either turn it on manually now or wait for the patch. If you really don’t want it enabled, you can always return here and disable it after the update.

About Our Expert

Jon Martindale

Contributor

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Experience

Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He’s written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he’s a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas. 

Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.

Jon’s gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That’s all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.

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Editors’ Note: Welcome to an ongoing series called An Apple a Day, where we’ll share pieces of Apple content from our archives daily from now through late September. In addition to PCMag, this series will include pieces from our sibling sites CNET, Lifehacker, Mashable, and Popular Science.

When the original Apple Watch came out in April 2015, it was far from the first smartwatch to hit the market, but it was still early enough in the category’s history that I was the first writer at PCMag with the word “wearables” in their job description.

Getting an Apple Watch wasn’t easy back then—they weren’t available at every Apple store, and you had to schedule an appointment to try one on. So I remember feeling pretty cool sitting at a bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the day after it was released, with multiple strangers stopping by to admire the device on my wrist and ask how I had gotten one so soon. 

I gave the original Apple Watch four out of five stars (Credit: PCMag)

“You must be a tech writer,” a friend of a friend surmised. “I work at Bloomberg, and the only other Apple Watch I’ve seen belongs to our technology reviewer.” Bingo!

By that point, we had already seen early Pebble models, Android Wear watches from LG and Samsung, and a sea of forgettable start-ups. Smartwatches were clearly the next big thing, but none had proven themselves essential—or, in some cases, even remotely useful.

This is the exact arena where Apple tends to excel. The original iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, for instance, but it redefined the category by pairing pocket-friendly internet access with a revolutionary touch screen. It gave us a clear, undeniable reason to buy a smartphone, even if it meant switching carriers for AT&T exclusivity.

Wearing the original Apple Watch (I’m second from the left) the day after it was released (Credit: Alex Colon)

I expected Apple to work that same magic on my wrist. Here’s how I opened my 2015 review: “Do you really need a smartwatch? Up until seven months ago, that’s a question I was fully expecting Apple to answer. After all, the company is best at coming into a fairly nascent category and showing users exactly why they need to have something.”

Looking back on that review 11 years later, it’s clear the original device didn’t quite deliver on that grand promise—even though I still gave it an “excellent” four-star rating. “While I was expecting Apple to deliver the world’s first must-have smartwatch, the truth is, you don’t need the Apple Watch,” I noted at the time. “Yes, you’ll still probably want to have it, and you’ll likely be happy if you buy it. For a first-generation device from one of the largest companies in the world, that’s a good start.”

(Credit: Paul Maljak)

And it was a good start. After all, Apple did eventually figure out why we needed a smartwatch—it just wasn’t through wrist-based apps or the ability to send your heartbeat to friends, features that were highly touted on the original model. Instead, it turned out to be the health, safety, and seamless fitness-tracking features introduced in later models, eventually cemented by life-saving capabilities such as heart-rate alerts, ECG monitoring, fall detection, and sleep apnea tracking.

The original 2015 Apple Watch was a stylish status symbol in search of a core purpose; today’s model is an essential health monitor that also happens to tell time. It took a few iterations for Apple to pivot from high-fashion accessory to practical life-saver, but my initial hunch wasn’t wrong. Apple just needed a little more time to pull off the magic—and I needed a decade of hindsight to see the bigger picture.

Now, as we near the announcement of the new Apple Watch, the question is: What’s the next big pivot? If its first decade was defined by transforming a wrist accessory into a vital lifesaver, the next era is likely about predictive, proactive intelligence, shifting from reactive alerts to early preventive health tracking, seamlessly incorporating on-device AI coaching, and finally delivering multi-day battery life to make continuous health monitoring truly effortless. I look forward to seeing how things unfold over the next 10-plus years.

About Our Expert

Alex Colon

Executive Editor, Reviews

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Experience

I’m PCMag’s executive editor of reviews, steering our coverage to make sure we’re testing the products you’re interested in buying and telling you whether they’re worth it. I’ve been here for more than 10 years. I previously managed the consumer electronics reviews team, and before that, I covered mobile, smart home, and wearable technology for PCMag and Gigaom. 

I’ve written hundreds of reviews of cell phones, fitness trackers, robot vacuums, smartwatches, and various other products.

I’ve also edited thousands of reviews and articles on consumer electronics technologies and products. 

I’m writing this bio on my 24-inch blue iMac, which I initially bought for personal use, but quickly decided to use for work instead of my tiny, company-issued ThinkPad (sorry, IT team). The screen is big, bright, and sharp, and the speakers are surprisingly good considering how thin the machine is.

The other big screen in my life is a 65-inch LG C9 OLED TV. If you’re wondering whether OLED is worth the premium over LCD, I’m here to tell you that it is.

I’d be doing my beloved LG C9 a disservice if I didn’t have it hooked up to a capable sound system, so I have a Sonos Beam sitting on a media console underneath the TV, and two Sonos Ones set up as rear channels for surround sound. If you’re a Sonos user, I highly recommend adding the Sonos Sub to your setup. It’s definitely a little more expensive than it should be, but it’s truly money well spent.

Of course, as an editor, I also do plenty of reading that isn’t related to work, and I love to sit down with a good, old-fashioned, paper-and-ink book. But when carrying a book isn’t convenient, I break out my first-generation Kindle Paperwhite, which is still working just fine nearly 10 years in.

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We’re rolling up on the last holiday weekend of the summer, but savvy shoppers have recognized that Labor Day sales are already here. I’ve been scanning through offers to pull out the most impressive, and what follows are seven laptops and desktops with deep discounts and solid silicon. Whether you want a powerhouse gaming PC, a slimline laptop, or a budget daily driver, you’ll find it at a low price right here.

HP OmniBook X Flip 2-In-1 Laptop Early Labor Day Deal

HP OmniBook X Flip 2-In-1 Laptop

16-inch 2K display, AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

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$699.99
at Best Buy

$1,329.99
Save $630.00

Get Deal

Let’s lead off with a shockingly deep discount on a HP portable that’s got the flexibility to work for just about everyone. In our review of the OmniBook X Flip 2-in-1 laptop, PCMag expert Jorge Jiminez raved over the unit’s lavish 120HZ OLED touchscreen, robust metal chassis and wide range of customization options. This loadout is securely in the midrange productivity bracket, with a solid AMD Ryzen AI 5 processor that acquitted itself very well in testing, with optimizations for Microsoft Copilot on-device artificial intelligence tasks. It’s paired with a Radeon 840M GPU for even more operational efficiency. The keyboard on the 14-inch version that we tested felt a little cramped, so an extra two inches of diagonal space is welcome on this one for a more comfortable feel. Best Buy has it for 48% off, the lowest price we’ve ever recorded for this one.

Dell 2K Touchscreen Laptop Early Labor Day Deal

Dell 2K Touchscreen Laptop

15.6-inch 2K display, Intel Core i5 1334U CPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD

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$479.99
at Best Buy

$849.99
Save $370.00

Get Deal

For a budget-priced Windows machine, this Dell is an absolute steal. Typically portable PCs under $500 have dire loadouts and murky monitors, but this one is a full 2K IPS touch display with good color and contrast. Under the hood, you’re getting great component value, with a peppy but affordable Intel Core i5 processor running the show and 512 gigabytes of internal storage. I would say that the 8GB of DDR5 RAM is slightly skimpy, but memory prices are absolutely out of control right now so it’s not surprising. Just don’t keep a million browser tabs open and you’ll probably be fine. The keyboard and touchpad are both good-sized and well-built, and port selection is solid but not exceptional. Battery life is also a strong point, with fast charging taking you from zero to 80% full in just an hour.

HyperX Omen Gaming Laptop Early Labor Day Deal

HyperX Omen Gaming Laptop

15.3-inch 2K display, AMD Ryzen 7 8745HX CPU, RTX 5060 GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

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$1,299.99
at HP

$1,699.99
Save $400.00

Get Deal

We’re tracking gaming deals as well, and right now the best entry-level offer we’ve spotted is a deep $400 discount on HP’s HyperX Omen laptop. In our review of this unit, we praised every element of its construction and design but one: the underpowered RTX 5050 graphics card it shipped with. Thankfully, HP listened to our criticism and is now building them with a significantly more capable RTX 5060 GPU instead. That makes a huge difference, because we really liked its sturdy construction, comfortable keyboard, well-considered port selection and long battery life. While this isn’t an envelope-pushing machine, it’s built for reliability and can tackle all of today’s top games in good quality.

Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 Gaming Laptop Early Labor Day Deal

Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 Gaming Laptop

16-inch WQXGA display, Intel Core Ultra 7 251HX CPU, RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD

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$2,339.09
at Lenovo

$3,399.99
Save $1,060.90

Get Deal

For something with a little more horsepower, Lenovo’s delivering a discount of over a thousand dollars on its Legion Pro 5i gaming laptop. We gave this one an Editors’ Choice award in our review, with our expert Charles Jefferies declaring that it “offers compelling value for gamers” thanks to a solid component loadout, including a Blackwell-series RTX 5070 graphics card, tons of system memory, and top-flight connectivity with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Although some versions of this laptop ship with an OLED display, this particular offer has an IPS screen, which is not as high-end but still quite good, with 500 nits of brightness and a 240Hz refresh rate. Because it’s a Lenovo, the keyboard and touchpad also both feel spectacular.

Dell Slim Desktop Early Labor Day Deal

Dell Slim Desktop

Intel Core Ultra 7 265 CPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

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$999.99
at Best Buy

$1,439.99
Save $440.00

Get Deal

Dell has been one of the most trusted names in home and office computing for generations, and right now Best Buy has a price drop that brings a very capable tower down to under a thousand bucks. The Dell Slim has a relatively small footprint without compromising on performance, featuring a perky 20-core Intel Core Ultra 7 processor that we consider an excellent value for the money, easily capable of handling everyday productivity and entertainment tasks all day long. A full terabyte of internal storage is also a surprise, given how spendy SSDs are these days. The fan setup and cooling system are also quite good, with near-silent operation even under heavy workloads.

MSI Codex Z2 Desktop Early Labor Day Deal

MSI Codex Z2 Gaming Desktop

AMD Ryzen 5 8400F CPU, RTX 5060 GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

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$1,299.00
at Walmart

$1,599.00
Save $300.00

Get Deal

Gaming desktop deals can come from all over, and we’ve found that Walmart is a surprisingly great spot for midrange towers with some nice components. While the RTX 5060 graphics card isn’t the tippy-top of Nvidia’s new Blackwell line, it’s a great 1080p performer that churns out stable framerates and also boosts on-device AI performance. Coupled with a very competitive AMD Ryzen 5 8400F processor, you’ll squeeze a ton of juice out of this one. The case is also well-constructed, with an attractive tempered glass side panel and mesh front panel highlighting the efficient RGB fans within. We have a review of the similar Codex R2 from 2024 where we gave it an Editors’ Choice award for budget gaming excellence.

Asus Chromebox 5a Desktop Early Labor Day Deal

Asus Chromebox 5a

Intel Celeron 7305 CPU, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD

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$359.00
at Amazon

$399.00
Save $40.00

Get Deal

PCs using Google’s ChromeOS platform are usually laptops (we call them Chromebooks, of course), but there are also some very interesting low-cost desktops that leverage the operating system for surprisingly effective results. The Asus Chromebox 5a is a mini PC that delivers a lot of bang for the buck, making it a great choice for a media streaming box, student computer, or home office. Although it’s a tiny little case, it has a wide assortment of ports, including dual HDMI outputs, DisplayPort, and USB-C for up to four simultaneous monitors. Security is a top priority with Chrome devices, and this comes with a Titan C security chip and Kensington lock to keep it from walking away. Save $40 on an already bargain-priced device.

Want to save even more? Our deals page is chock full of bargains.

About Our Expert

K. Thor Jensen

Contributing Writer

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Experience

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.

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A LinkedIn exec is fed up with AI slop, which might strike some as ironic given that LinkedIn itself has struggled to keep AI content in check.

In a recent post, Ryan Roslansky, a Microsoft EVP responsible for LinkedIn, Microsoft Office, Outlook, and Teams, complained that someone had sent him “what was clearly an AI-generated doc.” After realizing it was AI, he actually asked his AI to summarize it, “and ended up with nothing that brought new thinking to the idea.”

This, he argues, is “a doom loop” that could leave us with “a very expensive way to avoid writing and reading in an ocean of sameness, genericness.”

Microsoft has pushed its Copilot AI hard, to the point that it recently pulled back on some integrations following complaints. On LinkedIn, the influx of AI tools has led to a flood of AI slop posts. It got bad enough that LinkedIn added a feature where you can click to report something that “seems like AI slop.” (And over a million people have taken advantage of that button.)

But while execs like Roslansky and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma have bemoaned “soulless AI slop,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is not a fan of that characterization. “We need to get beyond the arguments of slop vs sophistication,” he said in March. Still, Roslansky’s LinkedIn post earned the thumbs-up from fellow Microsoft employees, including President Brad Smith.

Roslansky is unlikely to ditch AI. He released a book in March, titled Open to Work, about how to make the most of AI in the workplace. (Presumably, one of the rules is to avoid maxing out your tokens.) But he’s correct that replacing human communication with AI summaries is no way to run an organization. He also touches on a real concern of AI regression: who wants to read things that sound exactly the same?

About Our Expert

Jon Martindale

Contributor

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Experience

Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He’s written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he’s a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas. 

Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.

Jon’s gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That’s all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.

Read Full Bio