Audio-Technica’s ATH-M20xBT headphones drop to $59 for Prime Day

There are Prime Day deals flying around for just about everything under the sun (well, as long as it’s on Amazon). If you’re on the lookout for a solid deal on budget-friendly headphones in particular, consider Audio-Technica’s ATH-M20xBT. Sure, the name might not easily roll off the tongue, but they were already solid value before they dropped to an all-time-low price for Prime Day. You can now pick up a set for $59, which is $20 off the regular price.

Buy Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT at Amazon – $59

These are our favorite budget wireless headphones on the market right now. They have physical controls and Bluetooth multipoint connectivity, which enables you to link them to more than one device simultaneously (say, a laptop and a phone). There’s also a wired connection option.

The headphones have 40mm drivers designed to bolster low frequency performance. A low-latency mode should help to make sure audio and video are synced, which could prove useful for gaming.

You’ll get up to 60 hours of battery life on a single charge, so, given that they’re pretty comfortable, you might end up wearing them all day. If you need to, you can top up the battery with up to three hours of listening time after just 10 minutes of charging.

On the downside, there’s no active noise cancellation. You won’t be able to fold these up, either. If you can live with those tradeoffs, though, it’s certainly worth considering the M20xBT as a budget-conscious set of headphones for yourself or even as a stocking stuffer for someone else.

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Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad drops to an all-time low of $269

You’ll want to act quickly if you’ve been looking for a frill-free tablet. Amazon is selling Apple’s latest 10.2-inch iPad (that is, the 2021 model) at an all-time low price of $269 as part of the company’s October Prime Day sale. This is an exceptional deal that beats some of the bargains we’ve seen for past models.

Buy Apple iPad at Amazon – $269

The 10.2-inch iPad remains alluring thanks to its sheer value for money. It’s fast for the price, offers a solid screen and lasts a long time on battery. On this newest model, the wide-angle camera with Center Stage is particularly useful — it’s easier to fit more of your household into the frame during a video call, even if they’re in the background. Toss in the upgraded base storage, a robust app ecosystem and iPadOS 15’s better multitasking and you might not need more than this.

The same issues still apply, of course. This iPad design now feels old compared to newer models like the iPad Air and iPad mini. You won’t get those tablets’ thinner bezels, faster processors and improved cameras. There’s no support for the Magic Keyboard or second-generation Pencil, for that matter. However, there’s a real chance you don’t need those extras — the 10.2-inch iPad is still a very capable device for gaming, reading, video viewing and many other everyday tasks.

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Sony’s excellent WH-1000XM5 headphones are down to $348 for Prime Day

For our money, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 is the best set of wireless headphones on the market right now. They’re absolutely worth considering if you’re in need of a new set of cans or simply want an upgrade from what you’re already rocking. Now might be the right time to take the leap, as the WH-1000XM5 is on sale for Prime Day. The headphones are currently $348, which is $50 off the regular price.

Buy Sony’s WH-1000XM5 at Amazon – $348

The WH-1000XM5 offers almost across-the-board improvements over the WH-1000XM4, our previous favorite headphones. An overdue redesign makes this model more comfortable than its predecessors, thanks to improved weight distribution and synthetic leather ear cups.

These headphones have new 30mm carbon fiber drivers, which we felt deliver punchier bass than the M4. In fact, the all-round sound quality is more refined, save for occasional skips while connected to a MacBook Pro — which may be a Bluetooth issue. Bolstered by eight active noise cancellation microphones, double the number found in the M4, the M5’s ANC is better at minimizing background noise too. Speaking of mics, we found that the M5 offers the best call quality yet from the 1000X series.

Sony claims you’ll get up to 30 hours of listening time from a single charge, and that’s with ANC enabled. Our only major gripe with the M5 headphones is that they’re typically $50 more expensive than the M4’s regular price of $348. At least during the Prime Day sale, that’s no longer an issue.

If you prefer wireless earbuds to over-ear cans, a larger Sony sale has discounted a few buds that we like. Both the Sony LinkBuds and LinkBuds S are on sale for $128, while the budget-friendly WF-C500 earbuds have dropped to only $58.

Shop Sony Prime Day deals

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Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro drop to their lowest price ever for Prime Day

Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro haven’t even been available for a month and you can still already find a deal on them. The price has dropped a bit as part of Amazon’s major Prime Day sale. You’ll be able to pick up a pair of the new AirPods Pro for $235, which is $14 off the regular price. Sure, that’s not the steepest discount ever, but it’s the lowest price we’ve seen for the earbuds to date.

Buy Apple AirPods (2nd-gen) at Amazon – $235

We gave the latest AirPods Pro a score of 88 in our review, an improvement over the 87 we gave to the first-gen set. While the design is ostensibly the same, Apple made some upgrades to the internals (including the introduction of an H2 chip), as well as one on the outside. Its latest higher-end earbuds have swipe controls. However, we found them somewhat finicky and had to steady the stem with a thumb in order to control the volume by swiping. The second-gen AirPods Pro also offer so-so battery life (six hours with active noise cancellation enabled and seven hours with it off) and we had mixed results with the Personalized Spatial Audio feature, with a sound profile that was too treble-focused.

Overall, though, we felt that the second-gen AirPods Pro are a solid upgrade over the first-edition earbuds. Apple has improved the sound quality (including for SharePlay audio) and it offers the best transparency mode in any earbuds. The new AirPods Pro deliver solid ANC performance as well. On top of that, the ability to seamlessly switch from one Apple device to another is handy for those who are entrenched in the company’s ecosystem.

As for the charging case, that now has a speaker, which should make it easier for people to pinpoint its location if they’ve misplaced it (having a U1 chip to locate it with Find My helps too). The case is IPX4 rated, like the earbuds, and it has a lanyard loop — though you’ll need to buy a lanyard separately.

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