Sony’s XM5 deliver impressive noise cancellation, sound, and comfort. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
The holiday season is a time of celebration, but it can also be chaotic. With all the parties, travel, and family obligations, it’s difficult to carve out time to recharge. That’s why noise-canceling earbuds like Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are so helpful, as they can help you enjoy some peace and quiet even in the busiest of environments. Thankfully, they’re currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for around $198 ($102 off), their best price to date.
Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are our favorite pair of wireless earbuds on the market. Along with drowning out background noise well, they offer exceptional, detailed sound and clear voice quality. They’re also relatively small and lightweight, and come with four foam-style ear tips so you can comfortably wear them on long flights. Battery life is good, too, so you won’t need to worry about them dying midway through a flight. They should last eight hours with noise cancellation turned on, and when you do need to charge, they do so extremely quickly.
Additionally, Sony’s flagship pair of earbuds offer a handful of other conveniences that make them a great investment. They include support for multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, for one thing, so you can pair them with multiple devices simultaneously. They also boast IPX4 water resistance, so they’ll even be able to withstand some light rain.
Read our Sony WF-1000XM5 review.
Some more ways to save today
Amazon’s Smart Plug is on sale for $14.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is just $2 shy of its lowest price to date. You can use the smart plug to easily add smarts to various traditional gadgets, including Christmas lights, lamps, coffee makers, fans, and kettles. You don’t need a smart home hub either, though bear in mind that the plugs are only compatible with Alexa, so you might want to steer clear if you’re embedded in another smart home ecosystem.
You can buy Google’s 128GB Pixel Tablet (and speaker dock) for $399 ($65 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is $20 shy of its best price to date. The 11-inch Android tablet is a great entertainment device with stellar performance, but it’s the included speaker dock that really makes the Pixel Tablet stand out. The latter lets you turn the tablet into a smart display with Google Assistant support akin to the Nest Hub Max, so you can use it to set alarms, display photos, and even control smart home devices with your voice. Read our review.
The latest Beats Pill has returned to its Black Friday low of $99.99 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is just $2 shy of its lowest price to date. The pill-shaped Bluetooth speaker delivers good sound for its size but also comes with some handy perks, including support for lossless audio over USB-C and native support for both Android and iOS. It also features IP67 water and dust protection and a built-in lanyard, so you can easily carry it on the go. Read our review.
