Amazon Prime Day kicks off July 12th this year

Amazon has officially announced the dates for its next annual shopping event. Prime Day 2022 will be on July 12th and 13th this year — the event will begin at 12AM PT/3AM ET on Tuesday, July 12th, and conclude at the end of the day on Wednesday, July 13th. As it has been for the past few years, Prime Day will actually be a two-day event during which Prime members can snag deals on everything from electronics to fashion to Amazon’s own devices.

The past two years saw Prime Day in different seasons, mostly due to COVID-19 repercussions. In 2020, Amazon had to delay Prime Day until October, and it rebounded a bit last year by having Prime Day in June. Now, it seems Amazon has returned to its roots by having its shopping event in July, the month in which most Prime Days past have been.

And if you didn’t already know, Amazon Prime Day brings exclusive deals for Prime subscribers. Not only is the shopping event a way for Amazon to produce a spike in sales, but it’s also a way for the company to encourage people to sign up for Prime. But that might be a harder sell this year than others since the company raised the price of Prime to $139 back in February.

If you do plan on putting that Prime membership to use next month, you can turn to Engadget to find the tech deals worth your month during the two-day event. Unsurprisingly, Amazon Prime Day is one of the best times of the year to get Amazon devices, since most of them will likely be down to all-time-low prices. But we also expect to see worthwhile sales on headphones, robot vacuums, laptops, SSDs and much more. You can also follow Engadget Deals on Twitter for the latest news during Prime Day, and sign up for the new Engadget Deals newsletter to get the best deals delivered right to your inbox.

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The best smartwatches

Just a few years ago, the case for smartwatches wasn’t clear. Today, the wearable world is filled with various high-quality options, and a few key players have muscled their way to the front of the pack. Chances are, if you’re reading this guide, you’v…

Shark’s WiFi robot vacuum with clean base is half off today only

One of Amazon’s latest daily deals knocks half off a powerful Shark robot vacuum. The Shark AV1010AE robot vacuum with clean base is down to $300 today only, which is 50 percent less than its usual rate and the best price we’ve seen it. It shares many features with the Shark machine that made it onto our list of best robot vacuums, including home mapping, Alexa and Google voice control and the convenience of a clean base.

Buy Shark WiFi robot vacuum at Amazon – $300

We’ve been generally impressed with Shark’s robot vacuums, with both high-end and affordable models earning spots in our guides. The AV1010AE is a mid-tier machine featuring improved carpet cleaning with multi-surface brush rolls, suction that’s powerful enough to capture pet hair along with dirt and debris and row-by-row cleaning. It’ll also map out your home as it cleans so you can then send the machine to specific rooms for more targeted cleaning.

Shark’s robot vacuum connects to WiFi so you can control it via its companion mobile app. Not only can you start and stop cleaning jobs from there, but you can also set schedules so the machine cleans routinely on certain days and times. If the robo-vac starts to run out of juice before it’s done cleaning, its Recharge and Resume feature will force the machine back to its base to power up, and once it has a sufficient amount of battery power, it’ll automatically pick up where it left off.

And you won’t have to tend to the vacuum every job thanks to the included clean base — it’ll empty its dustbin into the clean base after its done cleaning, so you’ll only have to empty the base once every 45 days or so. We also appreciate that Shark’s base is bagless, so you’re not forced to buy proprietary garbage bags for it. The clean base is a big perk of this sale as it’s pretty rare to find a robot vacuum that comes with one for only $300.

As a mid-tier device, the AV1010AE doesn’t have all of the features we tested out on the model that made it into our best robot vacuums guide (RV2502AE). The AV1010AE doesn’t have AI laser vision, so it won’t be as good at avoiding obstacles as other models, and lacks self-cleaning brush rolls as well as PowerFin Technology. The latter refers to flexible silicon fins found on some Shark machines that help get deeper into carpets and pick up more hair. If you’re willing to skip those advanced features, you’ll still get a solid robot vacuum in the Shark AV1010AE without spending too much money.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Apple’s AirPods Max are back on sale for $449

While the AirPods Max are Apple’s most advanced headphones to date, they’re also the company’s most expensive. Normally priced at $549, all of the colors of the AirPods Max are on sale right now. Most of them are $100 off and down to $449, while currently the pink and the space gray models are $120 off and down to $429.

Shop AirPods Max at Amazon

These headphones will be most useful to Apple diehards as the combine the conveniences of the H1 chipset with remarkable audio quality and ANC. We gave them a score of 84 and found them to have excellent, balanced sound with Adaptive EQ and spatial audio support, plus ANC that’s strong enough to block out most surrounding noises. They have a uniquely “Apple” design, complete with aluminum earcups and a mesh headband, and it’s actually quite comfortable despite being on the heavier side. We also appreciate their reliable onboard controls: you can use the rotating crown to adjust the volume, and there’s a dedicated button that switches between ANC and Transparency mode.

Inside the AirPods Max is Apple’s H1 chipset, which means these headphones have all of the conveniences that the company’s wireless earbuds do. They’ll pair quickly with iPhones and other Apple devices, and you can switch seamlessly from taking a call on your iPhone to listening to music on your MacBook. The chip also powers hands-free Siri access, so you can ask the virtual assistant to do things for you without lifting a finger. Admittedly, they’re still high-priced headphones even when on sale — you could pick up the new Sony WH-1000XM5 for less — but the AirPods Max are a good choice for those that live within the Apple ecosystem.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Amazon’s 3-for-2 sale includes ‘Elden Ring,’ ‘Nintendo Switch Sports’ and more

Every once in a while, Amazon will bring around a new 3-for-2 sale that makes it cheaper to stock up on books, video games, movies, toys and more. The latest sale includes Elden Ring and a number of other popular PS5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch titles, so you can pick up a handful of games that have been on your wishlist for a while without spending too much money. Just go to the overall sale page here and filter by video games on the left sidebar to see all of the included titles.

Shop Amazon 3-for-2 sale

If you somehow haven’t picked up Elden Ring yet, you can do so now — and not only is it included in this 3-for-2 sale, but both the PS5 and Xbox versions are $10 off their usual price, bringing them both down to $50. There’s a similar deal for Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: both the PS5 and Xbox games are included in the sale and they are both $15 off, so you can get them for $45 each. Sifu: Vengeance Edition for PS5 is also eligible for this sale, but you’ll find it at its standard price of $50.

As far as Nintendo games go, you can pick up Nintendo Switch Sports for $48 in this sale, along with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Triangle Strategy, Ori: The Collection and others. Some titles, like Triangle Strategy, have been discounted from their normal price, but you should expect to pay full price for most games — especially new ones. Regardless, it’s rare that you’re able to pick up three popular titles for the price of two, so if you’ve got a long-haul flight coming up soon or a roadtrip during which you’ll need plenty of distractions, now’s the time to stock up on games for your Switch.

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Sonos’ Roam speaker is still 20 percent off, plus the rest of the week’s best tech deals

If you’re still looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift, you have a bunch of options that you can get for less right now. A rare sale on the Sonos Roam and Move speakers discounts them both by 20 percent, while a number of Apple devices are on sale, …

The Beats Fit Pro are back on sale for $180

If you missed the previous sale in April, you have another chance to pick up the Beats Fit Pro wireless earbuds for less right now. Amazon has them for $180, which is 10 percent off and one of the best prices we’ve seen. We saw the buds drop to around $153 in January of this year, but it was only for a brief period of time and that sale price hasn’t returned since. That makes the current sale even more appealing if you’ve had your eye on Beats’ latest buds.

Buy Beats Fit Pro at Amazon – $180

Being owned by Apple has its perks and it shows in the Beats Fit Pro. These buds have most of the convenient features that AirPods do, but with a more comfortable and secure design. They look similar to the Beats Studio Buds, with the exception of the flexible wingtip that helps them fit better into different ear shapes and stay put during intense workouts. Their design is also IPX4-rated, so sweat won’t bother them either.

These buds also impressed with their sound quality and ANC. They pumped out audio with depth and clarity, plus punchy bass that never overpowered, and the buds support Adaptive EQ and spatial audio. ANC is good as well, and while it’s not as strong as that from Bose or Sony, it gets the job done and will sufficiently block out surrounding noises.

Inside the Beats Fit Pro is Apple’s H1 chip, which powers things like one-touch pairing, Find My support and hands-free Siri access. Aside from Apple’s own AirPods, Beats earbuds like these are solid options for iPhone owners since they’re designed to works seamlessly with all Apple devices. As for battery life, Beats estimates six hours of listening time with ANC turned on, and you’ll get up to 27 hours of total use time when you employ the extra charges provided by the buds’ case.

Our biggest gripes with the Beats Fit Pro are is lack of wireless charging capabilities and the fact that some features are iOS exclusive, however the latter is to be expected. But Android users aren’t totally out of luck: the buds have their own dedicated Android app with supports fast pairing, control customization and a battery status indicator.

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