If you’re shopping for a new Apple Watch, you shouldn’t take action without considering this opportunity to slap a cellular-equipped Series 8 onto your wrist for a substantial discount. You can pick up the 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 in graphite stainless steel for $314.99 at Best Buy, which is about $175 off today’s going price and more than half off the original MSRP. You’ll get that price whether you go for the small / medium or medium / large sport band. The Series 8 in all styles is increasingly hard to find brand new, so this is a rare clearance sale.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is a previous-generation smartwatch, but no less useful than the newest model. You’re only missing out on the latest S9 processor, precision finding (only usable if you have an iPhone 15), and the one-handed double-tap gesture present in the Watch Series 9, none of which revolutionize the wearable experience so much that it’s worth passing up hundreds in savings. In fact, the Series 9 will soon lose some functionality, as a court ruling over a patent dispute has forced Apple to remove the blood oxygen sensors from models sold in the United States. For now, at least, those sensors still exist in the Apple Watch Series 8.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can take a chance on a pair of refurbished Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, which are $149.99 (close to 50 percent off) in like-new condition from trusted eBay seller Secondipity. The seller has a fair return policy and a responsive customer service team in case you’re unhappy with the purchase. These cost $298 brand new, so if you’ve decided you absolutely need Sony’s latest flagship earbuds and can’t stomach the price, this is worth a shot. We consider them the best wireless earbuds you can buy overall.
The XM5s are a solid improvement over the previous generation, which suffered from bulkiness and widespread quality control issues that caused batteries in many units to fail well ahead of schedule. Sony has since addressed those concerns with the XM5, and we haven’t heard a ton of complaints since last year’s launch. You’ll get great noise cancellation and audio quality, plus neat features like a wireless charging case, spatial audio (for Android only), automatic activity detection to optimize sound for several scenarios, and more. Unlike the XM4s, I’ve found these incredibly comfortable to wear. Between the lighter weight and greater variety of ear tip sizes (four total), these rarely fall out of my ears even during my most active moments.