Happy Saturday, y’all. The weekend is here, bringing with it deals, discounts, and savings on everything from e-bikes and smart plugs to portable speakers that are designed to soundtrack your next shindig. First up, however, is something a little more time-sensitive.
As part of its ongoing Hyper Max Sale, Nintendo is offering discounts on both digital titles and DLC for the Nintendo Switch. The sale ends on Monday, June 26th, and Amazon and Best Buy are continuing to match Nintendo’s prices in most instances, making now a good time to prep your backlog for when that Tears of the Kingdom high finally subsides.
If you haven’t had a chance to peruse Nintendo’s virtual shelves, you should know that the best deals available during the Hyper Max Sale have little to do with Nintendo’s mainstay mascot (aka, Mario). Instead, Nintendo seems to be putting the focus on underrated first-party games like the moody Metroid Dread (now $41.99) and a wealth of stellar indie titles, including No Man’s Sky (now $35.99) and Tunic (now $20.99). The latter, a Zelda-style romp set in an adorable isometric world brimming with sword-wielding wildlife, is perfect for handheld play, even if the grueling boss battles may leave you wanting to huck your console clear across the room at times.
Here at The Verge, we’ve long been a proponent of Ultimate Ears’ colorful line of Bluetooth speakers — from the now-classic Boom 3 to the pint-sized WonderBoom 3 from last year. That said, neither of the two aforementioned speakers offers the same breadth of features as the party-friendly HyperBoom, which is on sale in black at Amazon for $350.76 ($99 off) and at Best Buy for $350.99.
Unsurprisingly, the HyperBoom takes everything we love about the UE’s smaller offerings and basically ratchets them up to 11. The portable speaker offers 360-degree audio, dead-simple controls, and booming sound, along with a 110-foot Bluetooth range and an adaptive EQ that can automatically adjust to the layout of the room you’re in. What’s more, its fabric-covered design is incredibly subtle, which means it will likely be more attractive sitting in your space than many of the other party-centric options out there (ahem, JBL).
Read our Ultimate Ears HyperBoom review.
The burgeoning demand for e-bikes we saw during the pandemic may have slowed, but there’s no denying the increased interest in the sustainable transit alternative, particularly as prices have come down and bike lanes have gone up. Fortunately, if you’ve been on the fence about picking up an electric bike, you can still grab VanMoof’s S4 starting at $2,498 before the price increases on Tuesday, June 27th.
As far as premium e-bikes go, the S4 hits the sweet spot in terms of price and performance. The reliable bike offers everything you might need on your daily commute — including a set of burly tires, a built-in phone mount, and both front and rear lights — as well as location tracking and a slate of anti-theft features designed to deter any would-be burglars. It also features an improved two-speed internal gear hub and a 37-mile range, which should be more than enough to get you from point A to point B without breaking a sweat, whether talking figuratively or literally.
Read our VanMoof S4 review.
A few more Saturdeals
- Woot is currently discounting new and refurbished smart home accessories from Amazon-owned brands like Ring and Blink, as well as Amazon itself (and remember, Amazon owns Woot as well). Right now, for example, a refurbished Blink Video Doorbell with a 90-day warranty is going for $26.99 ($33 off) while a new Amazon Smart Plug can be had for just $14.99 ($10 off).
- Eneba is running one of its usual weekend gift card sales until June 26th at 7AM ET. You can get a $100 Xbox gift card for $80.99 (about $20 off) with offer code USXbox100, a $50 PlayStation Store gift card for $42.99 (about $7 off) with promo code PSN50US, or a $50 Apple gift card for $42.49 (about $8 off) with code USTunes. (All prices are after processing fees added at checkout.) The PlayStation gift card may be appealing if you’re looking to snag a small discount on the latest Final Fantasy installment, Final Fantasy XVI, which launched earlier this week for $69.99.
- Belkin’s 2021 BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe — an older version of one of our favorite MagSafe chargers — is down to $104.98 ($45 off) on Amazon. The 15W charging stand may not support fast charging on newer Apple Watch models, but it’s still capable of juicing your iPhone, a pair of AirPods, and an Apple Watch all at once.
- If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can get 2017’s Prey for free on Windows (activated on GoG.com) if you claim it by July 24th. The immersive sim by Arkane Austin (née Arkane Studios) is an all-time great when it comes to narrative first-person shooters, one that’s teeming with excellent horror moments.
- Razer’s Wolverine V2 is down to $49.99 ($50 off) in white on Amazon. The wired Xbox controller doesn’t have quite the same pop as the more expensive RGB-laden Chroma version, but $50 is a great price when you consider it offers rubberized grips, adjustable triggers, and a pair of added, remappable buttons on its shoulders.
