Apple’s first folding phone is real. The iPhone Duo opens from a 5.4-inch outer screen into a 7.6-inch inner one, and it starts at $1,999. It runs the same A20 Pro chip as the new iPhone 18 Pro inside a grade 5 titanium enclosure, and it goes on sale October 23 with preorders opening October 16 at 5 a.m. PT. And there’s a lot more to cover.

The rest of the hardware arrives together on Friday, September 18: the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at $1,199 and $1,299, Apple Watch Series 12 from $399, Apple Watch Ultra 4 at $799, and AirPods 5 at $129. Apple also rebuilt the Health app around a new Longevity tab and added a way to schedule and pay for a $119 blood panel inside the app. Last September’s event was about thinner phones and better telephoto lenses. This one is about a hinge and a heart rate sensor.

1. iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable, and the crease is the claim to watch

The iPhone Duo unfolds to a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR display with a nano-texture finish, folds down to a 5.4-inch outer screen, and both panels run ProMotion and peak at 3,000 nits outdoors. The big question we all have right now is how it will handle the crease at the fold. The nano-texture finish minimizes how visible the crease is, and custom adhesives relieve bend stress in the display layers. A visible or tactile crease remains common on foldables, and it will be very interesting to see how effectively Apple has been able to hide it.

The rest of the durability story is easier to check. The enclosure is grade 5 titanium and the hinge cover is 3D-printed titanium. Ceramic Shield 2 protects the outer display, Ceramic Shield covers the back, and the inner display uses a polymer cover layer with a scratch-resistant coating. The whole phone is rated IP68 to six meters for up to 30 minutes, which is a harder engineering problem on a device with a hinge than on a slab.

During the demos, we saw some pretty slick dynamic screen movements, including its ability to move content away from the fold itself to make it easier to tap. You can make windows bigger in full-screen mode, or run a pair of apps or windows next to each other at the same time. Apple clearly wanted the experience to feel intuitive right from the start.

2. The Duo’s outer screen is a camera accessory

Most folding phones treat the outer display as a shrunken home screen. Apple built four camera features around it instead. Duo Preview turns the outer screen into a live viewfinder facing whoever you’re photographing, so the person being shot can see the frame they’re standing in. Kid Cue plays animations on that same screen to pull a toddler’s eyes toward the lens. Smart Take watches the frame and fires the shutter when it decides everyone is ready. Duo FaceTime lets someone standing next to you join the call on the outer panel.

The camera hardware behind those features is a 48MP Dual Fusion system: a 48MP Fusion Main that also delivers a 2x optical-quality zoom, and a 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide alongside it. A 12MP Center Stage camera handles selfies, and an under-display FaceTime camera sits behind the inner screen. The Fusion Main is the camera that records 4K at 120 fps. Battery is split across two cells, and Apple rates it at up to 31 hours of video playback on the inner display, 44 hours on the outer one, and up to 24 hours of usage on the real-world model Apple now quotes alongside video figures. Getting to 50 percent takes around 20 minutes, which requires a 60W-capable cable and a compatible USB PD adapter. Storage runs 256GB to 2TB, the colors are Night Sky and Star White, and there is no physical SIM tray anywhere in the world.

3. iPhone 18 Pro adds a variable aperture and Apple’s first 2nm chip for $100 more

Every iPhone camera until now has had a fixed-size aperture (the opening through which the camera actually lets in the light). The iPhone 18 Pro puts six laser-cut blades inside the 48MP Fusion main camera that physically change the size of the opening, with four settings and a developer API that exposes the range to third-party apps. Wide open, it can produce shallower depth of field optically instead of by algorithm, though the difference won’t likely be all that pronounced. Stopped down, it can keep more of a group sharp without portrait mode guessing where the edges are. If you want to put that to work, our iPhone photography guide covers the fundamentals that still apply.

Underneath, A20 Pro is Apple’s first 2nm phone chip. The GPU goes from six cores to seven with up to 40 percent more speed, memory bandwidth climbs 50 percent, and the Neural Engine doubles up into two 16-core engines running at once. Apple moved the memory off the top of the processor and beside it, the arrangement it uses on Mac silicon, which freed room for a vapor chamber with three times the surface area of the one in the iPhone 17 Pro. The payoff Apple quotes is up to 40 percent better sustained performance, which is what determines whether a long 4K export slows down halfway through.

Battery is the other real gain. Apple rates the Pro at up to 36 hours of video playback and the Pro Max at 45, up from 33 and 39 on the 17 Pro, though both figures apply to the eSIM-only models sold in the U.S. and eleven other markets where the SIM tray became battery. The Pro Max also gets a second rating, up to 30 hours of usage, which Apple derives from a model built on real-world data rather than looping video. Both phones start at 256GB and now climb to 2TB. Colors are black, silver, glacier, and a new burgundy. Both cost $100 more than last year’s models.

4. Apple Reference Image works like a “digital negative”

Turn on Reference mode and the 18 Pro’s main sensor captures signed sensor data, which the phone hands to Private Cloud Compute to develop into what Apple calls an Apple Reference Image. That file lands in Photos next to the normal shot and can’t be altered. Hold the two side by side and every change between them is visible. Apple is publishing APIs in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS 27 so third-party apps can display reference images too.

Photographers have had a version of this for decades in the raw file, which sits untouched while every adjustment lives somewhere else. What raw never solved is proving the original came out of a camera at all, and that’s the question that matters now that a convincing fake takes a text prompt. Camera makers have been working the same problem from the hardware side, with Leica and Nikon shipping bodies that write content credentials at capture. A reference image doesn’t stop anyone from editing a photo. It makes the editing obvious, which for anyone shooting news, sports, or documentary work is the more useful outcome anyway.

The limits matter before anyone treats this as proof of anything. Reference mode is opt-in, so it does nothing until you switch it on, and it only applies to photos captured in that mode. Apple’s footnotes say China won’t get the feature for regulatory reasons, and that EU buyers of the 18 Pro can view reference images without being able to capture them at launch. Apple also says it will adopt SynthID, the watermarking standard Google built for AI-generated imagery, in a software update later this year. Apple picking up a competitor’s standard rather than writing its own is rare enough to note.

5. Apple Watch Series 12 reads your heart rate every five seconds and turns it into a readiness score

Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399 and its headline change is a new Health Sensing System that samples heart rate every five seconds all day and measures heart rate variability up to 24 times more often than the previous generation, roughly every five minutes. Apple splits HRV into two readings, an overnight Recovery HRV and an all-day overall figure. Apple says its study of more than 1,000 participants, run in July and August of 2026, found this to be the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. That’s the company’s own testing rather than an independent result.

All that sampling feeds a daily readiness score from 0 to 10 that sorts your day into Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It, updating as the day goes on. Readiness is the metric many wearable makers have converged on, and the scores rarely agree with one another, so the question is whether Apple’s version, built on the Apple Heart and Movement Study, moves when you’d expect it to. Our Apple Watch comparison is where we’ll sort out which model to buy once we’ve worn one.

The S11 chip runs it, battery holds at up to 24 hours of everyday use, and outdoor workout time climbs 25 percent to 10 hours. Fifteen minutes on the charger now buys up to 12 hours, a 50 percent improvement, which is enough to top off while you shower and still sleep-track. Aluminum models get Ceramic Shield 2, which Apple rates 60 percent tougher than the Ion-X glass it replaces. Ceramic models return to the lineup in pearl white and night blue alongside aluminum in dark bronze, black, light gold, and space gray, and titanium in radiant gold and natural.

6. Apple Watch Ultra 4 runs 50 hours on a charge and 45 in max workout mode

The $799 Apple Watch Ultra 4 is rated for up to 50 hours of normal use, and Low Power Mode stretches that to 84. In workout modes, Extended Workout runs up to 25 hours, a 25 percent gain over the Ultra 3, and Max Extended Workout runs up to 45. Apple says that’s typically enough for a 100-mile race. I will not personally be testing that one. Fifteen minutes on the charger adds up to 18 hours of general battery life.

The case is 3D-printed from 100 percent recycled titanium in natural and black, and the watch carries the same S11 chip and Health Sensing System as Series 12, so the readiness score and five-second heart rate sampling arrive here too. Satellite Emergency SOS, Find My, and Messages carry over. Band options include a new translucent silicone Ocean Band in gray, kelp, and black, and the Hermès collection adds a Grand H titanium bracelet with a built-in extension sized for a wetsuit cuff. If you’re weighing this against a Garmin or a Coros, our best fitness watches guide has the field.

7. AirPods 5 put noise cancellation in the $129 pair

Last year, active noise cancellation on AirPods 4 cost $179. AirPods 5 start at $129 with ANC included, and Apple says the new pair removes up to 50 percent more external noise than the more expensive model it replaces. Apple credits that gain to a multiport acoustic architecture borrowed from AirPods Pro 3 and to improved computational-audio algorithms, with a next-generation Adaptive EQ working on sound quality rather than isolation. These are still open-ear buds with no silicone tip, so the ceiling is lower than a sealed design, and Apple scopes its best-in-class claim specifically to the open-ear category.

Spending $149 instead of $129 gets the Wireless Charging Case, and with it a stem force sensor that responds to a swipe for volume, which Apple says is a first for an open-ear design. That configuration tops up on an Apple Watch puck, any Qi pad, or USB-C, and it’s the one Apple quotes in the release: five hours of playback with ANC on, one hour more than AirPods 4 with ANC, and 22 hours total with the case. Live Translation works across the whole AirPods lineup now, subject to compatibility and regional limits. Apple’s press release doesn’t name the chip, publish an IP rating, or give a battery figure for the $129 model. Apple’s separate specifications fill in all three: an H2 chip, IP57 dust, sweat, and water resistance, and up to four hours of ANC playback with 20 hours from the case on the cheaper pair.

8. The Health app rebuild adds Health Age, at-home movement tests, and $119 lab work

The quietest announcement of the day is the one Apple will still be talking about in five years. A redesigned Health app arriving later in 2026, in U.S. English first, adds a Longevity tab built around Health Age, a figure that compares your VO2 max, resting heart rate, sleep, and HRV against your actual age and can pull in lab values like A1c and LDL. A new Insights tab surfaces summaries across heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, and cycle tracking.

Two additions go further than anything Apple has done in health before. Movement evaluations use the iPhone camera together with an Apple Watch to assess flexibility, strength, balance, and movement mechanics at home, with real-time audio and visual coaching. Apple says the whole thing runs on device and that no video is ever recorded, stored, or shared. Separately, Labs lets you schedule and purchase a blood panel through the Health app, 50 or more biomarkers for $119, drawn at roughly 2,000 Quest Diagnostics locations in the U.S. Booking lab work from inside a phone’s health app is new territory.

Cycle Tracking now supports perimenopause and menopause logging, and it will notify users age 40 and over when cycle deviations suggest perimenopause and flag any bleeding logged after menopause. Apple’s standing warning still applies there, that Cycle Tracking should not be used as a form of birth control. Workout Buddy can run on the watch without an iPhone nearby, though it still needs Wi-Fi or cellular, Bluetooth headphones, and a paired Apple Intelligence iPhone. GymKit expanded so heart rate from AirPods Pro 3 can reach a compatible treadmill or indoor bike by way of your iPhone. The Vitals app carries its own label: for wellness purposes only, not for medical use.

9. Siri AI arrives September 14 in beta, with daily usage caps and a paid tier coming

The rebuilt Siri Apple previewed at WWDC in June ships with iOS 27 and watchOS 27 on Monday, September 14, labeled a beta and available in English first. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish follow in October. It isn’t available on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch in the EU at launch, and it isn’t available to anyone under 13. The feature set matches the June demo: personal context across Messages, Mail, and Photos, awareness of what’s on screen, and a Siri mode inside the Camera app.

Apple says features that run on its server-side models, including Siri AI, the new photo editing tools, and Image Playground, are subject to daily usage limits that vary by feature and system demand, and that expanded access to those features will be available for a fee in the future. Apple laid out daily limits and broader access through most iCloud+ plans back in June, so the concept isn’t new, but the fee language is more explicit than anything the company has said before. It still hasn’t put a number on either the limits or the price.

10. Where to preorder everything Apple announced

Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4, and AirPods 5 are up for preorder now and arrive Friday, September 18. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max open for preorder at 5 a.m. PT on Saturday, September 12, and ship September 18 in more than 65 countries, with 20 more following September 25. The iPhone Duo waits until October 16 for preorders and October 23 for delivery. iOS 27 and watchOS 27 land as free updates on September 14, which is when most of the software on this list reaches the hardware you already own.

Apple iPhone Duo $1,999

Apple iPhone Duo $1,999

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Apple’s first foldable is also the only phone in the lineup with two screens doing different jobs. The 7.6-inch inner display handles everything a phone normally does, and the 5.4-inch outer one runs Duo Preview, Kid Cue, and Duo FaceTime, all of which exist because someone is standing in front of the camera. Dual batteries are rated for up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen. There’s no telephoto lens and no SIM tray anywhere in the world.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro $1,199

Apple iPhone 18 Pro $1,199

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Skipping the Max costs you nothing photographically. The 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro gets the variable aperture, Apple Reference Image and its signed sensor data, the Pro controls layer with a live histogram, and the same A20 Pro chip and the vapor chamber with three times the surface area of last year’s. Apple rates the eSIM-only version at 36 hours of video playback, three more than the 17 Pro. Pick this one if 6.9 inches has always been more phone than your pocket wanted.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max $1,299

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max $1,299

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Battery is the reason to spend the extra $100. The eSIM-only Pro Max is rated at 45 hours of video playback, six more than last year, and it’s the only iPhone 18 Pro model carrying Apple’s real-world usage rating: up to 30 hours. Five minutes on a 60W charger is supposed to return about seven hours of video. Cameras and chip are identical to the 18 Pro, so this is a size and endurance decision rather than a capability one.

Apple Watch Series 12 $399

Apple Watch Series 12 $399

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This is the cheaper of the two watches carrying Apple’s new Health Sensing System. The Series 12 samples heart rate every five seconds and HRV roughly every five minutes, which is what makes the readiness score possible, and the S11 chip runs the new audio features including Live Rewind and Siri Recap. Sizes are 42mm and 46mm, aluminum cases get Ceramic Shield 2, and a 15-minute charge returns up to 12 hours.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 $799

Apple Watch Ultra 4 $799

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Endurance is what separates the Ultra 4 from the Series 12: 50 hours of normal use and 45 hours in Max Extended Workout mode, along with satellite messaging and a 3D-printed recycled titanium case. The Health Sensing System and readiness scoring are identical to the cheaper watch, though the Ultra adds outdoor and depth capabilities Series 12 doesn’t have, so the $400 buys endurance, ruggedness, and the ability to text without a cell tower. The new Ocean Band comes in translucent gray, kelp, and black.

Apple AirPods 5 $129

Apple AirPods 5 $129

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Noise cancellation used to be the $179 upgrade. Now it’s standard on the $129 pair, and Apple rates it 50 percent stronger than the model it replaces. The $149 Wireless Charging Case version is the one worth the upgrade, since it adds the stem swipe for volume, charges on an Apple Watch puck or any Qi pad, and carries the quoted five hours of ANC playback and 22 hours total. These stay open-ear, so treat the noise cancellation as a commuting improvement rather than a replacement for AirPods Pro.

The post Everything Apple just announced at its fall 2026 event: The folding iPhone Duo, iPhone 18, Apple Watch Series 12, and new AirPods appeared first on Popular Science.

I have been using my outdoor pizza oven all summer and it has really cut down on my takeout budget and increased my popularity with the neighbors. They put up with my loud death metal as long as I provide them with perfectly cooked Neapolitan pies. Gozney makes some of our favorite pizza ovens, especially if you’re looking for something on the high-end. The company kept its Gen 2 Dome pizza ovens at full price through the spring and summer, and the only sweetener during its May sale was a free accessory thrown in with the oven. That has changed. The End of Summer Sale puts a direct cut on both Gen 2 Domes, the new Arc Lite, and every bundle built around them. In May, those three got a free accessory instead of a price cut while the Arc and Roccbox went $100 off, so this is the first price drop I’ve seen on any of them. The lineup is short, 12 items in the sale collection plus a handful of older Roccbox and Dome parts still marked down, so if you’ve been holding out on a Gozney since it took the pro-grade spot in our best pizza ovens guide, the math finally works.

Gozney Arc Lite Gas Pizza Oven $349.99 (was $399.99)

The first discount on Gozney’s newest and smallest oven

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If you have a balcony or a small patio and want the Gozney flame without the Gozney footprint, the Arc Lite is the one to buy. It’s a propane-only oven that cooks a 12-inch pie, and Gozney rates it for 950 degrees with the same side-mounted rolling flame the bigger Arc ovens use. The whole thing is under 17 inches wide and weighs about 26 pounds, so it lives on a table rather than needing its own stand. Gozney launched it this year, held it at $399.99 with a gift-with-purchase during the May sale, and this $50 cut is the first time the price itself has moved.

Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) Hybrid Fuel Propane $2,299.99 (was $2,799.99)

$500 off the biggest oven Gozney makes, and the first real cut on it

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The Dome XL (Gen 2) is a serious upgrade. It’s the oven for anyone who cooks for a crowd, or who wants to roast a chicken and a tray of vegetables next to the pizza instead of after it. Gozney says the deck is 90 percent bigger than the original Dome and fits three 10-inch pies at once, and the Hybrid Fuel version burns wood, charcoal, or propane depending on the night. The $500 cut applies to the propane model in either color. The natural gas version stays at $2,999.99, so if you’re plumbing it into a house line, the sale doesn’t help you. The oven weighs about 161 pounds, and the matching Dome Gen 2 Series Stand is $100 off at $399.99 if you don’t already have a masonry counter waiting for it.

Gozney Roccbox Essentials Bundle $454.99 (was $694.99)

Oven, cover, mantel, and peel for $43 less than buying them separately on sale

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The legs fold, the burner detaches, and the outside stays cool enough to grab, which makes this perfect for taking to a tailgate party or cookout. The Roccbox Essentials Bundle adds the cover, the mantel that gives you a shelf in front of the mouth, and the placement peel, which is everything you need to start cooking and nothing you’d skip. I added up the four pieces at Gozney’s own sale prices and got $497.96, so the bundle is the one place in this sale where the package saves you money beyond the oven discount. Most of the other bundles are the sale price of the oven plus full price on the extras.

Gozney pizza oven deals

The standard Dome (Gen 2) drops under $2,000 for the first time I’ve seen, with the same propane-only catch as the XL. The Roccbox isn’t in the sale collection, but it’s still $100 off on its product page, and it’s the better pick than the Arc Lite if you plan to move the oven more than you plan to look at it. The Arc, Arc XL, and Tread sit this one out at full price.

• Gozney Dome (Gen 2) Hybrid Fuel Propane $1,999.99 (was $2,299.99)
• Gozney Roccbox Portable Pizza Oven $399.99 (was $499.99)

Gozney Dome bundle and stand deals

Every Dome bundle here is the discounted oven plus the stand at its $399.99 sale price, with the Essentials versions adding a Pro Placement Peel at full price. You aren’t saving extra by bundling, but you are getting one pallet delivery instead of two, and the stand is the piece most people end up buying anyway since the oven needs a surface rated for its weight.

• Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) Essentials Bundle $2,799.97 (was $3,399.97)
• Gozney Dome XL (Gen 2) and Stand Bundle $2,699.98 (was $3,299.98)
• Gozney Dome (Gen 2) Essentials Bundle $2,489.97 (was $2,889.97)
• Gozney Dome (Gen 2) and Stand Bundle $2,399.98 (was $2,799.98)
• Gozney Dome Gen 2 Series Stand $399.99 (was $499.99)

Gozney Arc Lite bundle deals under $500

All three Arc Lite bundles carry the same $50 oven discount with the cover and peels at regular price. The Basic Bundle is the sensible one, since the cover is the accessory you’ll actually miss, and you can pick peels that fit how you cook rather than the pair Gozney chose.

• Gozney Arc Lite Basic Bundle $389.98 (was $439.98)
• Gozney Arc Lite Starter Bundle $479.97 (was $529.97)
• Gozney Arc Lite Essentials Bundle $499.96 (was $549.96)

Gozney Roccbox and Dome accessory deals under $50

These aren’t part of the End of Summer collection, but Gozney still has its older Roccbox and original Dome accessories at half off. If you already own a Roccbox, the peel at $42.99 is the buy, and the mantel turns the front of the oven into a landing pad for the pie you just pulled.

• Gozney Roccbox Pizza Peel $42.99 (was $84.99)
• Gozney Dome Flue Extension $37.49 (was $74.99)
• Gozney Roccbox Mantel $29.99 (was $59.99)
• Gozney Roccbox Cover $24.99 (was $49.99)
• Gozney Dome Steam Injector $17.49 (was $34.99)

The post There’s still time to grab a high-end Gozney pizza oven for up to $500 off during this Labor Day sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Shopping holidays are great for deals, but they can also be a trap. An item may say it’s “half-off” only to use a nonsense retail price as a starting point. Best Buy has a ton of deals as part of its Labor Day sale, but we’ve narrowed it down to the ones that will actually save you money. One thing to know about the math: Best Buy anchors most of these discounts to a “Comp. Value,” a comparable price from other stores, rather than to a price Best Buy itself charged last month. Some of those anchors are generous. I checked every pick below against Amazon and the manufacturer, cut the ones where the sale price was ordinary, and kept the ones where the number is real. The whole 50 percent off or more sale runs through September 7.

Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise Canceling Headphones $198.00 (was $398.00)

Matches the lowest price we tracked at Amazon this week

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The Sony WH-1000XM5 costs $198 here, and $198 is also the floor on Amazon’s 12-month price chart when I checked it for our Amazon Labor Day roundup on September 1. Best Buy hasn’t undercut Amazon, but it has matched the lowest number either store has posted for these in a year. The XM5 is still the pair I recommend to anyone who flies more than a couple of times a year. Sony rates the battery at 30 hours with noise canceling on, and the cancellation handles engine drone better than anything else at this price. Sony’s own list is $398, so the 50 percent here is the rare case where Best Buy’s math is conservative.

TCL 55-inch QM5K QD-Mini LED 4K TV $349.99 (was $699.99)

A 2025 Mini LED set for the price of an entry-level 4K TV

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The TCL 55-inch QM5K at $349.99 is a quantum-dot Mini LED panel with Google TV, which puts it a full tier above the edge-lit 4K sets that usually live at this price. It’s a 60Hz panel, so a serious console gamer should spend up for the 144Hz QM6K, but for movies and sports the Mini LED backlight is the thing you notice. Amazon doesn’t carry the QM5K, and the closest sibling there, the 55-inch QM6K, sat at $497.99 when I looked. Best Buy also has the 65-inch QM5K for $449.99 if the room can take it.

Tineco Floor One S3 Extreme Wet-Dry Vacuum $169.99 (was $429.99)

Sixty percent off a mop that replaces the bucket

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The Tineco Floor One S3 Extreme vacuums and mops hard floors in one pass, then rinses its own roller in the dock, and Tineco’s iLoop sensor bumps the suction and water flow when it detects a bigger mess. This is a previous-generation model, which is why the discount is so deep, and Tineco’s newer S6 and S9 lines start around $349 and $599 at Amazon. At $169.99, the S3 Extreme does the same core job on tile and sealed wood. I’d skip it for a house that’s mostly carpet, since it’s a hard-floor tool.

HP 14-inch Chromebook (Celeron N4500, 4GB, 64GB) $179.00 (was $399.00)

Sixty dollars less than a renewed one costs on Amazon

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The HP 14-inch Chromebook at $179 has an Intel Celeron N4500, 4GB of memory, and 64GB of storage, which is modest by any measure and fine for a kid’s school work or a kitchen-counter machine that mostly runs Google Docs, Zoom, and streaming. Amazon’s only listing for this exact model when I checked was a renewed unit at $182.98, so new for $179 is the better buy. The $399 anchor Best Buy shows is high for a machine like this, but $179 for a new 14-inch Chromebook is the cheapest I’d go before the build quality gets sketchy.

Segway Max G2 Electric Scooter $699.99 (was $1,399.99)

Half off the scooter Segway still sells for $1,000 elsewhere

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The Segway Max G2 at $699.99 is the same price Amazon has on it, but the $1,399.99 Best Buy uses as its anchor is real. That was the launch price, and Segway’s own listing on Amazon still shows a $999.99 strikethrough. Segway rates the G2 for up to 43 miles of range and 22 mph, with Apple Find My built in, and that range number is what made it the commuter scooter to beat when it came out. The 2026 G3 is faster, but it also costs $1,200. For a five-mile commute, the G2 is the smarter buy.

Best Labor Day TV deals at Best Buy

TVs are the deepest category in this sale, and the Hisense 58-inch QD50 at $199.99 is the cheapest 4K set in the sale from a brand I’d trust, and it’s sized right for a dorm or a garage. The LG 77-inch B5 OLED at $1,499.99 is the one to look at if you want an OLED at that size, since Amazon’s cheapest 77-inch LG OLED when I checked was the step-up C5 at $1,879.95. The 2026 Hisense S7 CanvasTV sells for about the same $1,000 everywhere, so treat that one as a good price rather than a Best Buy exclusive.

• Hisense 58-inch QD50 4K QLED Roku TV $199.99 (was $399.99)
• Insignia 55-inch F70 QLED Mini-LED 4K Fire TV $299.99 (was $699.99)
• TCL 65-inch QM5K QD-Mini LED 4K TV $449.99 (was $899.99)
• Hisense 55-inch U7 Mini-LED 4K TV (2025) $579.99 (was $1,299.99)
• TCL 85-inch Q5 QLED 4K Fire TV (2024) $599.99 (was $1,199.99)
• Hisense 65-inch S7 CanvasTV 4K QLED (2026) $999.99 (was $1,999.99)
• Hisense 75-inch U8 Mini-LED 4K TV (2025) $1,249.99 (was $2,499.99)
• LG 77-inch B5 OLED 4K TV (2025) $1,499.99 (was $2,999.99)

Best Labor Day headphone and soundbar deals at Best Buy

The Sony HT-A5000 at $499.99 is still a 5.1.2-channel Atmos bar with built-in up-firing drivers, and it’s $500 under its own list. Sony has since moved on to the Bravia Theater Bar 8 as its flagship, and Amazon’s only listing for the A5000 was a third-party bundle at $555.55. The JBL Tune 245NC earbuds are a Best Buy-specific SKU that Amazon doesn’t stock, and $49.95 for noise-canceling buds with JBL’s tuning is a solid stocking-stuffer price four months early.

• JBL Tune 245NC Noise Canceling Earbuds $49.95 (was $109.95)
• HyperX Cloud MIX 2 Dual Wireless Gaming Headset $99.99 (was $199.99)
• Sony HT-A5000 5.1.2-Channel Dolby Atmos Soundbar $499.99 (was $999.99)
• Samsung HW-Q990F 11.1.4-Channel Soundbar System $999.99 (was $1,999.99)

Best Labor Day monitor, keyboard, and PC accessory deals at Best Buy

The Acer Nitro 31.5-inch curved WQHD monitor at $199.99 is a Best Buy exclusive, and I found no Amazon listing to compare it against, but 1440p at 180Hz for under $200 is a strong number for a first gaming monitor. The Razer Basilisk V3 at $34.98 matches Amazon exactly, and it’s still the wired mouse I recommend for anyone who wants a thumb rest and doesn’t want to charge a mouse.

• Razer Basilisk V3 Wired Gaming Mouse $34.98 (was $69.99)
• LG 24-inch IPS 120Hz 1080p Monitor $89.99 (was $199.99)
• Drop CSTM80 TKL Mechanical Keyboard $89.99 (was $199.00)
• Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 All-in-One Printer $99.99 (was $199.99)
• Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE 75% Wireless Hall-Effect Keyboard $199.99 (was $399.99)
• Acer Nitro 31.5-inch Curved WQHD 180Hz Gaming Monitor $199.99 (was $459.99)
• SanDisk 8TB Desk Drive USB-C Desktop SSD $899.99 (was $1,919.99)

Best Labor Day vacuum, kitchen, and smart home deals at Best Buy

The Blink Wired Floodlight Camera at $44.99 is the biggest gap between Best Buy and Amazon I found in the whole sale. Amazon sells the same camera for $99.99. The Shark Matrix Plus robot vacuum and mop at $299.99 matches Amazon’s price, and both stores anchor it to the same $699.99 list. One honest note on the Dreame L10s Ultra: it’s $279.99 here, Amazon has it for a dollar less, and Amazon’s list price on it is $299.90. Best Buy’s $799.99 anchor is the launch price from 2022. It’s a good robot vacuum at $280, but it isn’t 65 percent off anything you could have bought last month.

• Blink Wired Floodlight Camera $44.99 (was $99.99)
• Bella Pro MultiBrew 12-Cup Drip and Single-Serve Coffee Maker $60.99 (was $149.99)
• Samsung 1.7 cu. ft. Over-the-Range Microwave $179.99 (was $369.99)
• Dreame L10s Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop $279.99 (was $799.99)
• Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum and Mop $299.99 (was $699.99)

Best Labor Day ebike deal at Best Buy

Rad Power Bikes sells the Radster Trail through its own site and a short list of retailers, and Best Buy has the large frame in copper red for $999, which is $1,200 under the $2,199 Rad launched it at. Rad rates it for up to 65 miles of range and 28 mph in Class 3 mode. Only the large size is at this price, so check the frame chart before you buy.

• Rad Power Bikes Radster Trail Ebike (Large) $999.00 (was $2,199.00)

The post I checked Best Buy’s 50%-off Labor Day sale against the competition. Here are the deals the hold up. appeared first on Popular Science.

REI runs two big sales a year and the Labor Day event is where the co-op clears summer stock before winter inventory needs the shelf space. That means tents, sleeping pads, camp chairs, and trail shoes get cut hardest just in time to enjoy the tail end of warm weather. The Labor Day sale runs through September 7, and REI members who spend $50 or more also earn a $30 single-use promo card during the same window. I went through roughly 2,500 discounted items and pulled the size runs on every pair of shoes below, because a 50 percent markdown on a shoe that only exists in a men’s 9.5 isn’t a deal, it’s a leftover.

NEMO Stargaze Evo-X Folding Reclining Camp Chair $99.99 (was $179.95)

A suspended, rocking camp chair for $80 off, in five colors

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The NEMO Stargaze Evo-X at $99.99 hangs the seat from a frame so the whole chair swings and reclines without you doing anything, which is a different experience from sitting in a folding quad chair, and it usually costs $179.95. All five colorways are live at this price. NEMO rates it to 300 pounds and it packs into its own carry bag.

HOKA Clifton 10 Road-Running Shoes $99.83 (was $155.00)

The current Clifton, not last year’s model, under $100 in both men’s and women’s

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You won’t typically find current-generation HOKA Clifton 10 under $100 while it’s still the model on the store shelves. The men’s version has 30 sizes live and the women’s Clifton 10 has 34, so this is a real size run rather than a picked-over one. Both are $99.83, down from $155.

Hydro Flask Wide-Mouth 32 fl. oz. Water Bottle with Flex Cap $30.73 (was $44.95)

The standard 32-ounce Hydro Flask, in the two colors REI marked down

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Hydro Flask discounts are usually colorway-specific, and this one is no exception. The 32-ounce Wide-Mouth with the Flex Cap is $30.73 instead of $44.95, but only two colors are still live at that price, so pick before you deliberate. This is the plain vacuum-insulated bottle with the loop lid, not a straw or tumbler variant.

Garmin inReach Messenger $199.99 (was $300.00)

Two-way satellite texting and SOS for $100 off

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The Garmin inReach Messenger is my wife’s go-to choice when venturing into a world without cellphone reception. It’s the stripped-down inReach, so you get two-way messaging, location sharing, and an SOS button routed to Garmin’s response center, without the maps and navigation of a Mini 2. Garmin rates the battery at up to 28 days in 10-minute tracking mode. A satellite subscription is required and sold separately, which is the part people forget to budget for.

Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 Tent with Footprint $239.99 (was $400.00)

A three-person tent with the footprint already in the box, $160 off

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Tent footprints are the accessory everyone skips and then buys separately at full price, so the Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 3 including one at $239.99 does better than the $160 off suggests. It’s a freestanding three-person with two doors and two vestibules, which is the layout worth paying for if two people plus gear is the actual load. The two-person version is $209.99 if you never carry a third body.

Best REI Labor Day tent deals

Tents are the deepest cut in this sale. The Mountain Hardwear Mineral King 2 at $209.99 is 40 percent off with the footprint in the box, and the Coleman Skydome 4-Person at $142.49 is the least expensive tent here that sleeps four under a full rain fly.

• Coleman Skydome 4-Person Tent with Full-Fly Vestibule $142.49 (was $190.00)
• Marmot Tungsten 2P Tent with Footprint $208.93 (was $279.00)
• Marmot Limelight 3-Person Tent with Footprint $274.87 (was $399.00)
• Mountain Hardwear Nimbus UL 2 Tent $344.99 (was $460.00)
• Gazelle T4 Hub Tent $377.93 (was $539.95)
• Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3 Bikepack Solution Dye Tent $383.87 (was $549.95)

Best sleeping bag and sleeping pad deals from $37

Sleeping pads discount more reliably than bags do, and this year is no different. The Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol starts at $37.39, and the REI Co-op Magma 15 starting at $299.19 is the least expensive 15-degree down bag I turned up in the sale.

• Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad $37.39-$44.89 (was $49.95-$59.95)
• Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow $41.19-$52.39 (was $54.95-$69.95)
• Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite NXT MAX Sleeping Pad $164.89-$179.89 (was $219.95-$239.95)
• NEMO Tensor All-Season Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Pad $164.89-$194.89 (was $219.95-$259.95)
• Sea to Summit Spark 45F Down Sleeping Bag $261.69 (was $349.00)
• REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag $299.19-$314.19 (was $399.00-$419.00)
• Exped MegaMat Duo Sleeping Pad $299.89-$412.39 (was $399.95-$549.95)

Best camp stove, coffee, and water filter deals under $125

This is the section where the prices are low enough that you buy the thing you’ve been meaning to replace. The MSR PocketRocket 2 at $44.89 is the canister stove I’d hand a first-time backpacker, and the Platypus QuickDraw at $29.89 is the cheapest hollow-fiber filter here.

• Platypus QuickDraw Filter $29.89 (was $39.95)
• LifeStraw Peak Squeeze Water Filter System, 33.8 fl. oz. $32.89 (was $43.95)
• AeroPress Go Travel Coffee Press $34.89 (was $49.95)
• MSR PocketRocket 2 Stove $44.89 (was $59.95)
• Katadyn Gravity BeFree Water Filtration System, 3 Liters $59.89 (was $79.95)
• Jetboil Stash Cooking System $123.69 (was $164.95)

Best camp chair, cooler, and camp furniture deals

Camp furniture is the category people wait on sales for, and the Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad Chair at $26.59 is the cheap one that will outlast three seasons of tailgates. The Rumpl Backcountry Puffy Blanket at $89.83 is the one I’d add if you already own chairs.

• Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad Chair $26.59 (was $35.50)
• REI Co-op Campwell 18 L Folding Cooler $27.93-$29.89 (was $39.95)
• REI Co-op Camp Low Chair $52.39 (was $69.95)
• REI Co-op Flexlite Camp Chair $67.39 (was $89.95)
• Rumpl Backcountry Puffy Blanket $89.89 (was $149.95)
• Big Agnes Big Six Camp Chair $186.93 (was $249.95)

Best hiking boot and hiking shoe deals

Hiking footwear held its size runs better than road shoes did here. The Merrell Moab 3 at $104.73 is the default recommendation for a reason and it’s discounted in both men’s and women’s, while the Arc’teryx Kopec Mid GTX at $139.93 is the closest thing to a bargain Arc’teryx ever gets.

• Merrell Moab 3 Hiking Shoes, Men’s $104.73 (was $140.00)
• Merrell Moab 3 Hiking Shoes, Women’s $104.73 (was $120.00-$140.00)
• Salomon Elixir Activ Mid GORE-TEX Hiking Boots, Men’s $118.93 (was $170.00)
• KEEN Hightrail Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots, Men’s $119.99 (was $160.00)
• KEEN Hightrail Mid Waterproof Hiking Boots, Women’s $119.99 (was $160.00)
• KEEN Targhee Apex Waterproof Hiking Shoes, Men’s $134.99 (was $180.00)
• Arc’teryx Kopec Mid GTX Hiking Boots, Men’s $139.93 (was $200.00)

Best running shoe deals under $120

Every road shoe in this section is under $120, and the Nike Pegasus 41 at $71.83 is the cheapest daily trainer I found from a major brand, though it’s down to sizes 9.5 through 11. The Brooks Ghost 17 at $110.83 has the deepest size run of anything here, wides included.

• Nike Pegasus 41 Road-Running Shoes, Women’s $71.83 (was $145.00)
• Merrell Antora 4 Trail-Running Shoes, Women’s $90.73 (was $140.00)
• Altra Experience Wild 2 Trail-Running Shoes, Men’s $104.47 (was $140.00)
• Altra Lone Peak 9 Trail-Running Shoes, Men’s $108.69 (was $145.00)
• Brooks Ghost 17 Road-Running Shoes, Women’s $110.83 (was $150.00)
• Brooks Ghost Max 3 Road-Running Shoes, Men’s $110.83 (was $160.00)
• Brooks Ghost Max 3 Road-Running Shoes, Women’s $110.83 (was $160.00)

Best backpack, duffel, and travel bag deals

Bags are where the cheap end of this sale is strongest. The Herschel Heritage Pack at $44.83 is half off a $90 daypack, and the Osprey Arcane Tote Pack is $70.73 against a $120 list, though it’s down to black and one orange.

• Herschel Supply Co. Heritage Pack $44.83 (was $90.00)
• Osprey Arcane Tote Pack $70.73 (was $120.00)
• Osprey Arcane Large Daypack $82.73 (was $120.00)
• Osprey Sojourn Porter 46 Travel Pack $149.73 (was $200.00)
• Cotopaxi Torre 24 L Bucket Pack $93.93 (was $135.00)
• REI Co-op Big Haul 34-Inch Rolling Duffel $148.83 (was $299.00)
• Gregory Baltoro 65 Response A3 Pack, Men’s $243.73 (was $349.95)

Best bike helmet, light, and cycling gear deals

Two things here are worth more than their discounts suggest. The Garmin Varia RTL515 at $149.99 is a taillight that also warns you about cars closing from behind, and the Smith Session MIPS at $119.93 is a $200 helmet, though only two colorways are still at that price.

• NiteRider Swift 450 Headlight and Vmax+ 180 Taillight Set $48.69 (was $65.00)
• Thousand Heritage 2.0 Bike Helmet $74.89-$74.93 (was $99.95)
• Giro Agilis Mips Bike Helmet $89.89 (was $119.95)
• Shimano PD-M8120 XT SPD Trail Pedals $112.49 (was $150.00)
• Smith Session MIPS Bike Helmet $119.93 (was $200.00)
• Garmin Varia RTL515 Rearview Radar Taillight $149.99 (was $200.00)
• Ortlieb Back-Roller Panniers, Pair $164.99 (was $220.00)

Best bike deals from $519

Complete bikes are where the dollar savings get silly, and REI is one of the few places that discounts them at all. The Co-op Cycles CTY 1.1 at $518.93 is the least expensive adult bike here, and it was the only one of the six I stock-checked with every frame size from XS through XL still available. The Salsa Moraine CUES 10 e-MTB is $1,499.07 off, the largest dollar discount I turned up in the whole event, but it’s down to large and extra-large. Frame sizes thin out fast on the expensive ones, so check yours before you get attached.

• Co-op Cycles CTY 1.1 Bike $518.93 (was $649.00)
• Salsa Rangefinder Deore 11 29 Mountain Bike $978.93 (was $1,399.00)
• Cannondale Habit HT 2 Mountain Bike $1,038.93 (was $1,299.00)
• Salsa Journeyer CUES 1×10 700c Bike $1,188.93 (was $1,699.00)
• Co-op Cycles CTY e2.1 Electric Bike $1,438.93 (was $1,799.00)
• Salsa Moraine CUES 10 Electric Mountain Bike $3,499.93 (was $4,999.00)

Best camp lighting, power bank, and outdoor tech deals

BioLite has more discounted gear in this sale than any other electronics brand REI carries. The BioLite Range 400 headlamp at $44.89 is the one most people should buy, and the Black Diamond Apollo at $45.87 is the steepest lighting cut here, down from $69.95.

• Black Diamond Apollo Lantern $45.87 (was $69.95)
• BioLite Range 400 Headlamp $44.89 (was $59.95)
• BioLite Luci Charge 360 Inflatable Solar Lantern $44.89 (was $59.95)
• BioLite AlpenGlow 500 Lantern $59.89 (was $79.95)
• BioLite Charge 80 PD Power Bank $74.89 (was $99.95)
• Shokz OpenDots ONE Open-Ear True Wireless Earbuds $149.99 (was $199.95)

Best climbing shoe and hardware deals

Climbing shoes discount in a narrow band, so the interesting picks are at the ends. The La Sportiva Tarantulace at $74.19 is the beginner shoe worth owning, and the La Sportiva Solution at $164.19 is the aggressive one people usually pay $219 for.

• Edelrid Giga Jul Belay Device $52.39 (was $69.95)
• La Sportiva Tarantulace Climbing Shoes, Men’s $74.19 (was $99.00)
• Scarpa Origin Climbing Shoes, Men’s $96.69 (was $129.00)
• La Sportiva Solution Climbing Shoes, Men’s $164.19 (was $219.00)
• Mammut Workhorse Keylock Quickdraws, Package of 6 $164.89-$172.39 (was $219.95-$229.95)

Best jacket, fleece, and outdoor clothing deals from $16

Base layers took the deepest apparel cuts, which is REI clearing last winter before this winter arrives. The REI Co-op Midweight Base Layer Half-Zip at $19.83 is down from $59.95, though it’s picked over to XS, small, and medium, and the Mountain Hardwear Stretchdown Hoody at $174.83 is half off a $350 jacket.

• Darn Tough Run Quarter Ultralightweight Cushion Socks, Men’s $15.69 (was $21.00)
• REI Co-op Midweight Base Layer Half-Zip Top, Women’s $19.83 (was $59.95)
• REI Co-op Sahara Shade Hoodie, Women’s $29.83 (was $59.95)
• prAna Stretch Zion Slim Pants, Men’s $64.73 (was $98.00)
• Patagonia Retro Pile Marsupial Fleece Pullover, Women’s $73.83 (was $149.00)
• Patagonia Nano Puff Insulated Jacket, Men’s $148.73 (was $229.00)
• Black Diamond Solution 2.0 Insulated Hoody, Men’s $148.83 (was $299.00)
• KUHL Spyfire Down Jacket, Men’s $159.83 (was $319.00)
• Mountain Hardwear Stretchdown Hoody, Men’s $174.83 (was $350.00)

Best paddle board, dry bag, and water gear deals

Water gear gets marked down in September because the season is ending, which is exactly when it’s cheapest to buy for next year. The BOTE WULF Aero inflatable paddle board at $399.99 comes with the paddle, and the ALPS Mountaineering Torrent dry bag multi-pack at $24.73 covers three sizes at once.

• Nomadix Original Towel $19.93-$29.89 (was $39.95)
• ALPS Mountaineering Torrent Dry Bag Multi-Pack $24.73 (was $39.99)
• Sea to Summit Evac Lightweight Compression Dry Bag $29.89-$44.89 (was $39.95-$59.95)
• KEEN Newport H2 Sandals, Men’s $94.97 (was $125.00-$130.00)
• BOTE WULF Aero Inflatable Paddle Board with Paddle, 11 ft. 4 in. $399.99 (was $579.00)

If you buy one thing out of all of this, make it the NEMO Stargaze Evo-X at $99.99, because $80 off is a lot for a chair you’ll open on every single trip. The Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3 at $383.87 is the biggest dollar cut left on a backpacking tent, and the HOKA Clifton 10 at $99.83 is the pick with the size run to actually fit you. Everything above runs through September 7, and prices on the thinnest-stocked items will move before then.

The post The 89 best REI Labor Day deals, from a $16 sock to a $1,499-off e-bike appeared first on Popular Science.

Labor Day is when retailers clear out what didn’t sell over the summer, so the shape of Amazon’s version is predictable: coolers, grills, back-to-school monitors, and a wall of air fryers. The Labor Day sale covers most of the store, and the deals inside it rotate every few days, which means a price that was good last week has often gone back up without the sale badge coming off. I ran Amazon’s own 12-month price chart on everything in the cards below and cut several products that turned out to be wearing a red sale badge over a price they hadn’t moved off in a month.

Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise Canceling Headphones $198.00 (was $278.00)

The lowest price Amazon has charged for these in a year

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The Sony WH-1000XM5 at $198 is the best deal in this sale by the only measure I trust, which is where a price sits against its own history. Amazon’s 12-month chart puts these between $230 and $398 for the entire year, and $198 is the lowest point on it. The XM5 is the pair I’d hand someone who flies more than twice a year, with 30 hours of rated battery and cancellation that holds up against jet engine noise. Amazon is the seller of record here, which is worth checking on Sony gear because the third-party listings on this model swing by $80. The drop is only a day old, so confirm the number on the page before you buy.

Ninja Flip Toaster Oven and Air Fryer SP151 $149.94 (was $249.99)

Back at the floor it only touches a few times a year

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The Ninja Flip SP151 at $149.94 is the countertop appliance I’d buy out of this sale, because it replaces two others. It’s a toaster oven that flips up against the wall when you’re done with it, which solves the actual problem with toaster ovens. Ninja rates it at 1800 watts and it fits a nine-inch pizza or four slices of bread. The 12-month chart shows it spends most of the year between $188 and $248 and drops to roughly this price a handful of times, so the window tends to be short.

Coleman Pro Heavy-Duty 45qt Hard Cooler $149.99 (was $199.99)

Fifty dollars came off this one in the last two weeks

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The Coleman Pro Heavy-Duty 45qt held $199.99 for most of the summer and dropped to $149.99 in the back half of August, so this is a cut that actually arrived with the holiday rather than carrying over from July. Coleman rates it for four days of ice retention and 74 cans, which puts it in rotomolded territory without the rotomolded weight. It has touched roughly $130 twice in the past year, so this isn’t the floor. Buying a cooler in September is how you get one at a discount at all, because the next real markdown is eight months out.

Shark Cordless Pet Stick Vacuum IY143H $179.99 (was $299.99)

Down $120 from where it sat for most of August

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The Shark Cordless Pet IY143H at $179.99 is the pick for anyone whose floor problem is hair rather than grit. It sat near $290 through most of August and came down about a week ago. Shark rates the runtime at 40 minutes and the brushroll cleans itself as it goes, which is the feature that matters in a pet house, since the alternative is cutting hair off a roller with scissors every few weeks. The wand detaches into a handheld for stairs and car seats. This is a 2026 release, so Amazon’s chart only goes back a few months on it.

Hisense 85-Inch U7 Mini-LED 4K Google TV $1,398.00 (was $2,499.99)

The lowest this 85-inch Mini LED has been in a month

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The Hisense 85-inch U7 at $1,398 was the only TV whose price chart I checked that showed a real drop rather than a stale anchor, which is why it’s here instead of one of the cheaper sets. It ran around $1,500 through early August, spiked to $2,499.99 mid-month, and came back down below where it started. Hisense specs it at 165Hz native with variable refresh rate and a 2.1.2-channel speaker array, so it covers a console and a movie night without a soundbar. Nothing else in this sale pairs Mini LED with an 85-inch panel under $1,500. Check your wall before you order, because 85 inches is wider than most people picture.

Best Amazon Labor Day TV deals

Most of the TV discounts in this sale are anchored to list prices the sets never actually sold at, so I’ve kept this list to the ones whose price moved. The Hisense 55-inch E6 at $297.97 is the cheapest set here I’d put in a living room, and the Samsung 43-inch QN70H at $497.99 is the small Neo QLED for a room where a 65-inch would be absurd.

• Hisense 85-Inch E7 Cinema Series Hi-QLED Mini-LED 4K Fire TV $997.97 (was $1,199.99)
• Amazon Ember 55-Inch QLED Series 4K Fire TV $519.99 (was $589.99)
• Samsung 43-Inch QN70H Series Neo QLED Mini LED 4K Smart TV $497.99 (was $597.99)
• Hisense 55-Inch E6 Cinema Series Hi-QLED 4K Fire TV $297.97 (was $429.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day headphone and soundbar deals

Soundbars turn up discounted in every one of these events, because they’re the accessory nobody buys with the TV and everybody buys three months later. The Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus at $149.99 is the cheapest way into a real subwoofer here, and the Soundcore Q20i at $39.97 is the noise-canceling pair I’d buy for a kid rather than risk a $400 set.

• Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus 3.1ch with Subwoofer, Dolby Atmos $249.99 (was $374.99)
• Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones $199.00 (was $229.00)
• Samsung HW-B550F 2.1ch Soundbar with Subwoofer $177.99 (was $229.99)
• Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus 3.1ch with Built-In Subwoofer $149.99 (was $249.99)
• Samsung HW-B400F 2.0ch Soundbar with Built-In Subwoofer $89.99 (was $139.99)
• Amazon Fire TV Soundbar 2.0 with DTS Virtual:X $84.99 (was $119.99)
• TCL S45H 2.0 Sound Bar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X $79.99 (was $129.99)
• Soundcore by Anker Q20i Hybrid Noise Cancelling Headphones $39.97 (was $69.99)
• Sony WH-CH520 Wireless On-Ear Bluetooth Headphones, Blue $38.00 (was $69.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day vacuum deals

Vacuums are the deepest category in this sale, and the robot end of it has more discounted models than anything else here. The Dyson V8 at $299.99 is the cordless stick most people picture when they picture a cordless stick, and the Shark Navigator AV2110S at $269.97 is the cheapest robot here that empties itself into a base.

• dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete Robot Vacuum and Mop $1,529.98 (was $1,699.99)
• roborock Saros 20 Sonic Robot Vacuum and Mop, 36,000Pa $1,499.99 (was $1,699.99)
• roborock Saros 20 Robot Vacuum and Mop, 36,000Pa $1,389.99 (was $1,599.99)
• roborock Saros 10R Robot Vacuum and Mop, 22,000Pa $899.99 (was $1,599.99)
• dreame L40s Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop with Auto Empty $499.98 (was $699.99)
• roborock Qrevo S Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop, 18,500Pa $429.99 (was $699.99)
• dreame D30 Ultra CE Robot Vacuum and Mop, 25,000Pa $399.97 (was $499.99)
• Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum $299.99 (was $389.99)
• Shark Navigator Robot Vacuum with Self-Empty Base, AV2110S $269.97 (was $429.99)
• Bissell PowerClean FurGuard Self-Standing Cordless Vacuum, 4039 $229.99 (was $299.99)
• Shark PowerPro Reveal Plus Cordless Vacuum, IZ376H $219.99 (was $329.99)
• Shark Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum, IX141 $169.00 (was $299.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day air fryer deals under $120

Air fryers are the category where a permanent price most often shows up wearing a sale badge, so I ran the chart on the pick I’d actually buy. The Ninja Air Fryer Pro AF141 at $89.99 came down from $128.49 in August and sits at its 12-month floor, and the Cosori TurboBlaze at the same price is the one to take instead if you want a ceramic basket with no PFAS coating.

• Ninja Air Fryer XL with MaxCrisp, 6.5 Qt, AF181 $119.99 (was $179.99)
• Ninja Air Fryer Pro, 5 Qt, 5-in-1, AF142 $119.98 (was $139.99)
• Chefman Crispinator 7-in-1 Air Fryer, 8 Qt $109.99 (was $159.99)
• Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer, 9-in-1, 6 Qt, PFAS-Free Ceramic $89.99 (was $119.99)
• Ninja Air Fryer Pro, 5 Qt, 4-in-1, AF141 $89.99 (was $129.99)
• Chefman Digital Air Fryer Plus with Rotisserie and Dehydrator $84.96 (was $139.99)
• Chefman TurboFry 4-in-1 Air Fryer, 8 Qt $79.93 (was $119.99)
• Chefman TurboFry 7-in-1 Air Fryer, 9 Qt $79.89 (was $119.99)
• Chefman Compact Air Fryer, 6 Qt $69.96 (was $119.99)
• Chefman Mini Air Fryer, 2 Qt $42.44 (was $59.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day coffee maker deals

The coffee category is small here, and the four machines in it are spread across every way you might make a cup. The Philips 2300 Series at $499.99 is the only fully automatic bean-to-cup machine I found discounted, and the Chefman CraftBrew at $79.99 is the cheap way to find out whether you actually want to pull shots before spending five hundred dollars on it.

• Philips 2300 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine with LatteGo $499.99 (was $699.99)
• Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker, Nespresso Capsule Compatible, CFN601 $249.95 (was $279.99)
• Ninja Specialty Drip Coffee Maker, DualBrew Pro, CFP301 $199.99 (was $239.99)
• Chefman CraftBrew 15-Bar Espresso Machine with Steam Wand $79.99 (was $99.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day Echo and smart home deals from $20

Amazon puts its own hardware on sale during most of the events it runs, so treat these as the baseline rather than the bargain. The Amazon Smart Plug at $19.99 is the cheapest useful thing in this entire post, and the Echo Dot at $54.99 is the one to start with if you don’t have a speaker yet.

• Amazon Echo Show 21 Full HD 21-Inch Smart Display $399.99 (was $499.99)
• Amazon Echo Show 15 Full HD 15.6-Inch Smart Display $269.99 (was $349.99)
• Amazon Echo Show 11 Full-HD Smart Display $189.99 (was $249.99)
• Amazon Echo Dot Max Alexa Speaker $94.99 (was $119.99)
• Amazon Echo Spot Smart Alarm Clock $69.99 (was $109.99)
• Amazon Echo Show 5 Smart Display $69.99 (was $99.99)
• Amazon Echo Dot Alexa Speaker $54.99 (was $79.99)
• Amazon Smart Plug $19.99 (was $24.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day cooler and grill deals from $35

This is the section that actually belongs to Labor Day, because coolers get discounted now and then vanish from sale pricing until spring. The Traeger Woodridge at $799 is the only pellet grill discounted here, and the Igloo Tag Along Too at $35 is the one to throw in a trunk and stop thinking about.

• Traeger Woodridge Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker, 860 Sq In, WiFi $799.00 (was $899.99)
• Ninja FrostVault 45qt Cooler with Wheels and Dry Storage $249.95 (was $299.99)
• Coleman Pro Heavy-Duty 25qt Ultra-Light Hard Cooler $119.99 (was $159.99)
• Coleman Marine Cooler with UV Guard Lid $107.99 (was $134.99)
• Hydro Flask Carryout Insulated Soft Cooler, 15 L $74.99 (was $99.95)
• Coleman Classic Insulated Rolling Cooler with Wheels $67.48 (was $74.99)
• Coleman Pro Heavy-Duty 9qt Hard Cooler Lunchbox $59.99 (was $79.99)
• Coleman Classic Insulated Portable Hard Cooler $42.28 (was $46.99)
• Igloo Tag Along Too Rolling Hard Shell Cooler $35.00 (was $49.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day cordless drill and tool deals

Tool deals are where battery platforms lock you in, so buy the kit that matches whatever batteries are already in your garage. The DEWALT 20V MAX XR drill kit at $199 includes a 5Ah POWERSTACK battery, which is most of the value in the box, and the Greenworks 24V brushless hammer drill at $53.82 is at the lowest point on its 12-month chart.

• DEWALT 20V MAX 7-Tool Combo Kit with Drill, Impact Driver and Saws $649.00 (was $749.00)
• DEWALT 20V MAX XR Impact Driver and Hammer Drill Combo Kit $299.00 (was $349.00)
• DEWALT 20V MAX Drill Driver and Oscillating Multi-Tool Combo Kit $249.00 (was $299.00)
• DEWALT 20V MAX XR Brushless Drill Driver Kit with 5Ah POWERSTACK $199.00 (was $249.00)
• WORX 20V Brushless SwitchDriver 2-in-1 Cordless Drill Driver, WX177L.2 $124.26 (was $138.14)
• BLACK+DECKER 12V MAX Drill and Home Tool Kit, 60-Piece $89.99 (was $99.99)
• BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with Bits and Sockets, 100-Piece $64.99 (was $74.99)
• Greenworks PowerAll 24V Brushless Drill Driver, 280 In-Lbs $59.99 (was $79.99)
• Greenworks 24V Brushless Hammer Drill with 2.0Ah Battery, DDG402 $53.82 (was $129.99)
• BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver with 30-Piece Accessory Set $49.99 (was $59.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day air purifier deals

Air purifier pricing follows wildfire smoke and ragweed, which is why early September is a good time to buy one. The Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max at $262.99 is rated for 3,235 square feet and is the only unit here I’d trust in an open-plan main floor, and the Blue Pure 511i Max at $99.99 handles a bedroom for a third of the money.

• Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max Smart Air Purifier $262.99 (was $349.99)
• Blueair Blue Signature SP3i Air Purifier for Medium Rooms $223.99 (was $299.99)
• Shark Clean Sense Air Purifier with Pet Filter, HP102PET $149.99 (was $239.99)
• Shark NeverChange Compact Pro Air Purifier, HP071BRN $129.99 (was $159.99)
• Levoit Air Purifier with Washable Pre-Filter for Pets $119.97 (was $139.99)
• Blueair Blue Pure 511i Max Smart Air Purifier $99.99 (was $139.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day Garmin smartwatch deals

These prices carried over from the Garmin sale we covered on August 21 rather than dropping for the holiday, so nothing here is new. The vívoactive 5 at $181.97 is the cheapest AMOLED Garmin here, and the Forerunner 265 at $349.99 is the one to buy if you’re following a structured training plan.

• Garmin Instinct 3 Tactical Solar GPS Smartwatch, 50mm $449.99 (was $549.99)
• Garmin Forerunner 265 Running Smartwatch, 46mm $349.99 (was $449.99)
• Garmin Instinct 3 AMOLED Rugged GPS Smartwatch, 45mm $299.00 (was $449.99)
• Garmin Venu 3 Fitness Smartwatch, 45mm $291.90 (was $449.99)
• Garmin Venu 3S Fitness Smartwatch, 41mm $288.00 (was $449.99)
• Garmin Forerunner 165 Running Smartwatch, 43mm $199.00 (was $249.99)
• Garmin vívoactive 5 Health and Fitness GPS Smartwatch, 42mm $181.97 (was $299.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day monitor deals under $150

Back-to-school pricing is doing the work in this category, and the discounted laptops didn’t survive a look at their configurations, so monitors are what’s left. The Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G5 (G51F) at $149.99 is the cheapest 1440p panel worth owning here, and the Philips 241V8LB at $74.99 is the one for a second screen you only open spreadsheets on.

• Samsung 27-Inch Odyssey G5 (G51F) QHD Gaming Monitor $149.99 (was $221.99)
• Dell 27-Inch 240Hz FHD Gaming Monitor, SE2726HG $109.99 (was $149.99)
• Philips 24-Inch FHD 100Hz Computer Monitor, 241V8LB $74.99 (was $89.99)

Best Amazon Labor Day power bank and power station deals from $24

Anker runs a discount on something in this lineup almost constantly, so the useful question is which model rather than whether to wait. The Anker SOLIX S2000 at $649.99 is the one worth planning around, since 2,010Wh of LiFePO4 covers a fridge through a long outage, though its chart only goes back to a $699.99 launch rather than the $1,199 list Amazon shows.

• Anker SOLIX S2000 Portable Power Station, 2,010Wh $649.99 (was $699.99)
• Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station, 1,024Wh $499.98 (was $599.00)
• Anker Prime Power Bank, 26,250mAh 300W with Charging Base $259.99 (was $329.99)
• Anker Prime Power Bank, 26,250mAh 300W $179.98 (was $229.99)
• Anker Charging Base for Prime Power Banks, 150W Max $79.99 (was $99.99)
• Anker MagGo Power Bank, 10,000mAh Qi2 15W $75.99 (was $89.99)
• Anker Power Bank, 20,000mAh with Built-In USB-C Cable $59.98 (was $69.99)
• Anker Nano Power Bank, 45W 10,000mAh $49.99 (was $59.99)
• Anker Zolo Power Bank, 20,000mAh 30W with Built-In USB-C $35.99 (was $42.99)
• Anker Power Bank, 10,000mAh 30W USB-C $25.99 (was $29.99)
• Anker Nano Power Bank, 5,000mAh with Built-In USB-C Connector $23.99 (was $26.99)

If you only buy one thing out of all of this, make it the Sony WH-1000XM5 at $198, which is the lowest Amazon has charged for it in twelve months. The Ninja Flip SP151 at $149.94 is back at a floor it hits a few times a year, and the Coleman Pro 45qt cooler at $149.99 is the cut that arrived with the holiday rather than carrying over from midsummer. Prices in a sale like this move every few days, so check the number on the page before you commit.

The post Amazon’s Labor Day sale has 98 deals worth your time (including the lowest price ever on Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones) appeared first on Popular Science.

Editors’ Note: Welcome to a new 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 PCMag.

About two years before Apple released the Apple Watch, I got a chance to try the Pebble smartwatch. It had enormous hype behind it, especially among gadget nerds. Its 2012 Kickstarter campaign raised $10.3 million, making it the most-funded project in the site’s history at that point and pulling smartwatches into the mainstream conversation.

It also felt like something you’d order from SkyMall, and it looked dated the moment it arrived. Here’s a look at the Pebble Time, which came out in 2015. It was clever, but it did not look cool.

Back then, the wearables market split roughly in two. On one side were smartwatches, a fledgling category built to relay notifications from a phone to your wrist. On the other were dedicated fitness trackers, where Fitbit dominated even after recalling the Fitbit Force, its first wrist-worn tracker with an OLED screen, over roughly 9,900 reports of skin irritation and 250 reports of blistering. Apple looked poised to repeat a familiar strategy: arrive fashionably late, then reshape the category.

Today’s Apple Watch sells itself on health and fitness, but the original also made an aggressive pitch as a luxury fashion accessory. Design chief Jony Ive championed Apple Watch Edition, which housed the same core technology in cases of 18-karat yellow or rose gold and topped out at $17,000. Apple added its Hermès collaboration later in 2015.

The original PopSci piece asks three questions worth revisiting. Would the Apple Watch increase or decrease the amount of time we spend staring at screens? Could Apple impose its will on a market that already had established competitors? And, most pressing of all: “Why do I need such a thing?”

I wear an Apple Watch every day now, with most of its health-tracking features turned off. It catches specific notifications when I’m away from my other devices, and it triggers my camera when I’m making content. Once in a while I even use it to check the time. But I wear it everywhere.

You can still spend nearly $2,000 on an Apple Watch Hermès, though you don’t need to spend anything close to that for an Apple Watch to work as a fashion accessory. The slick, rounded-square silhouette landed well enough in 2015 that wearing one is now acceptable just about everywhere. I recently watched a guy read notes off his Apple Watch during a best man’s speech at a wedding. I had no idea which model it was, but I recognized the shape. And I knew it wasn’t a Pebble.

The post The Apple Watch became an unlikely fashion icon by simply not being ugly appeared first on Popular Science.