Update September 1st, 5:51PM ET: Antonline’s bundle deal on the Nintendo Switch OLED and Pokemon Legends: Arceus is no longer available.
Holy hell, it’s September. A major Apple event is next week, and summer is pretty much over (except for the crippling heat, that is). Before you know it, we’ll be talking about “Techtober” and holiday shopping. Wait, before you throw your keyboard or phone at me, I’ll get to the deals.
First up, you can pick up the AirPods Max in select colors (silver, pink, blue, and green) for $429, which is a cool $120 off their full price. This is the best possible price for a new pair of AirPods Max so far. They are regularly discounted to $479, so you should never pay full price, but this deal doesn’t come around all the time.
While $429 is still a sizable amount for headphones, the noise-canceling AirPods Max are some of the best options around for wireless listening on Apple devices. They use Apple’s H1 chip for seamless connections to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but they also support Bluetooth 5.0 for wider compatibility. (You can, if you want to, listen wired and not worry about battery life, but that requires a $35 cable.) These cans are a little hefty, but they’re very plush compared to most plastic-y competitors, and they support spatial audio. For all of that, $429 is certainly much more digestible than their full price of $549, even if they don’t fold down and the case is a bit wacky. Read our review.
Antonline is offering a bundle of the Nintendo Switch OLED model with a copy of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and a wired Nyko gaming headset for $349.99. Console bundles rarely feel like a good deal, but this one thankfully bucks that trend. Frankly, the headset is beside the point; the key here is you’re getting the flagship Switch OLED, complete with its much-improved, larger screen, usable kickstand, and 64GB of internal storage for its regular price — plus, you get a great open-world Pokémon game thrown in for free. If you’re a lapsed Pokémon fan or just slightly Poké-curious and interested in the best Nintendo currently has to offer hardware-wise, this bundle is actually worth a look. Read our reviews of the Switch OLED and Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
Govee’s DreamView G1 Pro gaming lights are down to their best price to date at Amazon. You can get the LED monitor bias light kit for $129.99 when you click the on-page coupon, knocking $50 off at checkout. If you just love yourself some RGB lighting and game a lot on a PC, it’s a fun way to liven up your desk setup. Much like Govee’s TV immersion lighting kits, the G1 Pro uses a top-mounted camera to match the light colors to what’s on your screen. There’s a flexible LED strip you mount to the rear of your monitor with adhesive clips, and two LED towers sit at the flanks, about a foot away.
The effect is pretty cool for both story-driven games and twitchy shooters and much more affordable than pricey options from brands like Philips Hue. The mounting clips for the LED strip were recently revised and improved, so if you buy it and get the old clips in the box, be sure to reach out to Govee’s customer support for the free clip upgrade. Read our review.
Govee DreamView G1 Pro gaming lights
This camera-powered dynamic LED kit matches the colors displayed on a 24-inch to 32-inch screen while you’re gaming, while offering four preset game-match modes that can deliver various effects.
Since it’s now September, that also means we’re hitting the stride of the fall TV season. And just as HBO Max is offering a seasonal deal to hook you in on its service, the recent Paramount Plus / Showtime combined streaming app is following suit. You can subscribe to the bundled Paramount Plus and Showtime streaming package for as low as $7.99 per month (regularly $11.99) for the Essential Plan. That gives you a wide variety of ad-supported Paramount Plus and Showtime shows with some live sports, like Champions League and NFL games on CBS. Opting for the Premium Plan costs $12.99 per month (regularly $14.99), which is ad-free except on live content and includes more live sports plus your local CBS station. This offer runs until October 2nd, when the plans resume their normal pricing, though you can cancel anytime.
Paramount Plus and Showtime streaming bundle
Paramount Plus and Showtime are offering a combined streaming bundle of the two services for a special price of $7.99 per month for the Essential Plan (ad-supported) or $12.99 for the Premium Plan (no ads on non-live streams and more live sports included). Both options include Showtime streaming. The special rates end October 2nd, when they return to the standard $11.99 and $14.99 per month, respectively.