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Cyber Monday is long gone, but great deals on tech products are sticking around. If you’ve been patiently holding off on your holiday shopping, there are still deals for you to get.

Across Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and more, some of my favorite tech gadgets are seeing price cuts. Granted, some of these are designed to fool you with fake markups, which is why it’s important to track an item’s price history before going in on something that looks too good to be true. Fortunately, I’ve already done all of the work for you. For the next couple of days, keep checking in here for the best deals on laptops, TVs, Apple devices, tablets, video games, and more. Prices are accurate as of the time of writing, but you can expect them to fluctuate and inventory to sell out, so you may not want to hesitate if you see a sale that grabs you. Scroll to the bottom of the post for live updates.

The Best Cyber Monday laptop deals that are still active

Apple 2022 M2 MacBook Air

$949.99
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $49.01

Get Deal

Get Deal

$949.99
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $49.01

If you’re like my in-laws, there’s a good chance you’re reading this list on a laptop that needs replacing. It’s a good thing that laptops are no stranger to post-Cyber Monday deals, across PC and Mac alike.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M3 Chip: $1,199 at Amazon (was $1,299). This is Apple’s most recent MacBook Air, complete with the M3 chip. At time of writing, stock is currently limited to the 512GB models, which come with a base 16GB of RAM and can be upgraded to 24GB of RAM.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M2 Chip: $949 at Amazon (was $999). If you’re OK going with a slightly older model, the M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is just a little cheaper than the M3 model right now, even if the discount isn’t as large.

• Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch with M4 Pro Chip: $2,299 at Amazon (was $2,499). This is a great middleground for the MacBook Pro, with the M4 Pro chip, up to 48GB of memory, 512GB of storage, and a 16-inch screen.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M1 Chip: $599 at Walmart (was $699). Apple’s oldest M-series MacBook Air is still a strong workhorse, with an M1 chip, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage, although the smaller discount here might not make the compromise worth it.

• Dell Alienware m16 R2 Gaming Laptop with Intel Core Ultra 9 chip: $1,450 at Dell (was $1,700). Here’s one for the gamers. This 16-inch gaming laptop from Dell packs a lot for the price, with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, up to 64GB of memory, up to 2TB of storage, and a 16-inch QHD+ display.

• Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop with Ryzen 9 chip: $1,200 at Best Buy (was $1,600). Another gaming laptop, this 14-inch model is a bit smaller, but manages to pack an AMD Ryzen 8 8945HS CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and 2,880 x 1,800 display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

• Acer Aspire Go 14 Laptop: $280 at Acer (was $350). This ultra-budget laptop is a good cheap pick, and should be good for people whose work depends mostly on the cloud. It comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U CPU, 128GB of storage, 8GB of memory, a 14-inch screen, and Windows 11 in S Mode. Note that S Mode laptops can only use apps from the Microsoft Store by default, although this can be changed later.

The Best Cyber Monday tablet deals that you can still get

Apple iPad Air, 11″ With M2 Chip

$824.00
at Amazon

$899.00
Save $75.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$824.00
at Amazon

$899.00
Save $75.00

Not everyone needs a whole laptop. Tablets are just as valuable to plenty of techies out there, if not more so. Here are my favorite post-Cyber Monday tablet deals that are currently live.

• Apple 11-Inch iPad Air with M2 Chip: $824 at Amazon (was $899). If you’re OK going for an older model of Apple Silicon, you can still get an M-series iPad on sale thanks to this deal from Amazon, which cuts a bit off an M2 iPad Air. At time of writing, the deal applies to the 512GB model. RAM is 8GB.

• Apple 10.2-Inch 9th Generation iPad: $200 at Best Buy (was $330). If you’re just looking for a cheap, basic tablet, you can’t do much better than the 9th Generation iPad, which is still going strong with the respectable A13 Bionic chip three years later. It won’t support Apple Intelligence, but if you’re still not sold on AI, you’ll still get 3GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+: $800 at Best Buy (was $1,000). A premium Android tablet from Samsung, this rectangle boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, 12GB of memory, 256GB of storage, a 12-inch 2,800 x 1,752 AMOLED screen, and comes with a stylus.

• Microsoft Surface Pro 13-Inch: $900 at Best Buy (was $1,200). This pick blurs the line between a tablet and a laptop, coming equipped with Windows 11, which gives it a full desktop ecosystem of apps to explore. Plus, this particular model also has a few Copilot+ goodies thrown in. Storage is 512GB and RAM is 16GB.

The Best Cyber Monday deals on phones you can still snag

Google Pixel 8 Pro

$718.00
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $281.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$718.00
at Amazon

$999.00
Save $281.00

If you’re still using an old phone, it could still be a great time to upgrade. Bigger deals are often limited to contracts with various mobile carriers, but there are still options to get a new phone outright.

• Google Pixel 8a 128GB (Unlocked): $490 at Amazon (was $499). The Google Pixel 8a is almost as good as the Pixel 8, with a 6.1-inch display, up to 256GB of storage, and a 64 megapixel camera (which is arguably still weaker than the 8’s despite its higher number, due to other factors like light sensing).

• Google Pixel 8 Pro 128GB (Unlocked): $718 at Amazon (was $999). Amazon’s Pixel 8 Pro deal is one of the few pro phone deals still running, although it only applies to the 128GB and 512GB models.

The Best Cyber Monday Earbud Deals that are still running

Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds

$169.99
at Amazon

$249.00
Save $79.01

Get Deal

Get Deal

$169.99
at Amazon

$249.00
Save $79.01

Let’s say you just got a new phone for Cyber Monday. Good for you! But you’re probably going to want some earbuds to go with it, right?

• Apple AirPods Pro 2: $170 at Amazon (was $249). Apple’s best earbuds are on sale for Cyber Monday, coming with noise cancellation, USB-C charging, conversation awareness, and a speaker in the case so you can find it more easily.

• Apple AirPods 4: $119 at Amazon (was $129). Apple’s best non-pro AirPods are also on sale, with USB-C charging, spatial audio, a promised 30 hours of battery life (with the charging case), and voice isolation.

• Beats Studio Buds: $80 at Amazon (was $150). Beats is technically an Apple brand now, and these buds offer a cheaper way to get noise cancelling than the AirPods. They also have a different shape that some may prefer. This deal applies to the black, red, and white versions of the product.

• Google Pixel Buds A-Series: $72 at Amazon (was $99). This deal on white Pixel Buds A-Series is a good way to get reliable earbuds from a major brand, with a promised 24 hours of listening with the charging case.

• Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: $219 at Amazon (was $279). Bose’s redesigned earbuds feature include noise cancellation, a touch-based interface, and a Bose “fit kit.”

• Bose QuietComfort Earbuds: $129 at Bose (was $179). Bose’s older QuietComfort earbuds feature a design built for comfort, multipoint connectivity, and active noise cancelling.

• Sony WF10000XM5 Earbuds: $230 at Best Buy (was $300). Sony’s WF1000XM5 earbuds aim to bring the same noise cancelling excellence and audio quality of the famed headphones by the same name to a smaller, in-ear form factor.

The Best Cyber Monday headphone deals you can still get

New Apple AirPods Max – Sky Blue

$459.00
at Amazon

$549.00
Save $90.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$459.00
at Amazon

$549.00
Save $90.00

If you’re not an earbuds person, you can still get a great deal on more traditional headphones, too.

• Apple AirPods Max: $459 at Amazon (was $549). Apple’s full over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, offer many of the same benefits of AirPods in a more traditional form factor, including active noise cancelling and personalized spatial audio.

• Beats Studio Pro: $199 at Amazon (was $350). The most affordable Apple headphones, the Beats Studio Pro have personalized spatial audio and active noise cancellation, plus come in a number of fashionable colors.

• Sony WH-1000XM4: $198 at Amazon (was $348). These are Sony’s last-generation noise cancelling headphones, but they are still a fan favorite, with conversation detection, a mic for onboard calls, Alexa control, and three color options.

• Sony WH-1000XM5: $298 at Amazon (was $400). Sony’s current generation of noise cancelling headphones upgrades to four beam-forming microphones for better calling, plus promise an up to 30-hour battery life.

• Bose QuietComfort Bluetooth Headphones: $199 at Amazon (was $349). Bose’s over-ear headphones offer the company’s well-known noise cancelling in a more traditional form factor, promise a 24-hour battery life, and come in a number of colors.

• Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones: $349 at Amazon (was $429). Bose’s premium over-ear headphones add on spatial audio to the max, plus update the Bluetooth codec and improve the onboard processor.

The Best Cyber Monday TV deals that are still active

LG – 77″ Class B3 Series OLED 4K UHD Smart webOS TV (2023)

$1,496.95
at Amazon

$2,296.99
Save $800.04

Get Deal

Get Deal

$1,496.95
at Amazon

$2,296.99
Save $800.04

I almost never buy a TV outside of a sales event, and you shouldn’t either. Keep an eye on these TV deals.

• LG 77-inch B3 OLED TV: $1,497 at Amazon (was $2,297). OLED is still my favorite display tech out there, and if I can get on my soapbox for a moment, it’s the only one that really compares to CRTs. LG makes some of the best OLED TVs around, and this big-screen model has a 4K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. There are four HDMI 2.1 inputs.

• Hisense 100-inch U7 QLED Google TV: $1,798 at Walmart (was $2,998). This massive, 100-inch TV from Hisense won’t have quite the contrast levels as an OLED, but wow, that’s a lot of screen space. It can display in up to 4K and has HDMI 2.1 inputs supporting a 144Hz refresh rate, making it decent for gaming, too.

• Amazon 65-inch Fire TV Omni Series: $370 at Amazon (was $450). Amazon’s Fire TVs are a great way to get a lot of screen on a budget. This 4K QLED smart display has a 60Hz refresh rate, supports hands-free Alexa control, comes in up to 75-inches, and has various HDR options (starting at HDR10 and HLG).

• Roku 55-inch Plus Series QLED 4K Smart TV: $430 at Best Buy (was $500). Roku is one of Amazon’s biggest rivals in the budget TV category. Available in up to 75 inches, this TV is 4K, supports Dolby Vision at a lower price point than Amazon’s option, has a 60Hz refresh rate, and comes with Roku’s snappy operating system built in.

• TCL 55-inch Class Q6-Series 4K Smart Google TV: $300 at Best Buy (was $450). If you’re not big on Amazon’s or Roku’s operating systems, then a TCL TV is a good bet. This model comes in up to 98 inches, has a 4K QLED panel, support Dolby Vision, and a 60Hz native refresh rate.

The Best Cyber Monday Video Game Deals you can still get

PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – Fortnite Cobalt Star Bundle

$374.00
at Amazon

Get Deal

Get Deal

$374.00
at Amazon

Cyber Monday and beyond is a classic season for buying the latest video games (and video game accessories). Here are some of the best deals I’ve found so far.

• PlayStation VR2: $349 at Amazon (was $550). Right now, you can get Sony’s second VR headset for $250 off its launch price, complete with a copy of Horizon Call of the Mountain. PC owners can also use this headset to play their SteamVR games.

• PS5 Slim Digital Edition Fortnite Bundle: $375 at Amazon (was $450). This digital edition of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console has a slimmer build than launch models and eschews a disc drive, but comes with a DualSense controller, 1,000 V-Bucks, and a few Fortnite cosmetics.

• Amazon Fire TV 4K Max with Xbox Core Wireless Controller and 1 Month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: $80 at Amazon (was $142). This bundle will snag you Amazon’s best streaming stick plus an Xbox controller and 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, turning it into a full-on cloud gaming console.

• Xbox Core Wireless Gaming Controller: $45 at Amazon (was $65). Almost no video game accessory is as versatile as the basic Xbox controller, which can work across a slew of devices and has a standard layout that most games recognize immediately.

• PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controller: $54 at Amazon (was $75). PS5 controllers can be a bit more finicky to connect to other devices than Xbox controllers, but have improved greatly in this regard over the years, and come with plenty of extra haptics that might justify their higher price tag to some gamers.

• 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller: $50 at Amazon (was $69). This is a reliable third-party alternative to the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, with both Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz connectivity, plus motion controls, back paddles, macro compatibility, and durable Hall Effect sticks.

• Sonic x Shadow Generations for Xbox/PlayStation/Switch: $30 at Best Buy (was $50). Sonic’s latest release, this remaster of Sonic Generations also comes with a highly regarded, brand-new campaign featuring his edgy counterpart, Shadow the Hedgehog.

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 for Xbox/PlayStation: $46 at Amazon (was $70). One of my personal favorite games of this year, this sequel to the cult classic from the Xbox 360-era sees players navigating a brutal fantasy world that doesn’t pull any punches.

• Elden Ring for Xbox/PlayStation 4: $44 at Amazon (was $60). Another dark fantasy epic, this spiritual successor to the Dark Souls series features a narrative penned by George R.R. Martin. Stock is going fast, with the PlayStation version sold out at time of writing.

• Metaphor ReFantazio for PlayStation: $50 at Amazon (was $70). This brand-new series from the Persona team keeps many of the same element fans of those games have become accustomed to, while also introducing light real-time combat and a fantasy world dealing with political turmoil. At time of writing, only the PS5 version has a discount.

Live Black Friday and Cyber Monday tech deals

Keep checking this section for live updates on the best and newest deals throughout the shopping holiday.

There’s something just plain tangible about using a pen and paper to plan out your day, which is why many people prefer a paper day planner to a to-do list app or calendar. The problem: A paper day-planner is yet another thing to carry around, which feels silly if you’ve already got an iPad or other tablet.

This is where Remarkably Organized Pages comes in. This free website lets you build the PDF day planner of your dreams. The tool is built with the e-ink Remarkable Tablet in mind, but there’s no reason you can’t use it on an iPad or any tablet that lets you mark up PDF files. The planner itself offers annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily views, all connected with plentiful links. This means you can tap a day in the monthly view in order to see the page for the current day, then tap the month or week in the header to see those pages. There’s even tabs in the left margin, allowing you to quickly jump between days the way you might in a paper.

To get started, head to the landing page and click Start Creating. The web application will show you the PDF; click around to explore it. You can then click the Settings button to change things. The first few options let you choose the year, whether the week starts on Sunday or Monday, and whether you want a high-res file.

Credit: Justin Pot

You can print this to PDF (it’s recommended that you do so in Chrome) and be perfectly happy; the real fun, though, comes if you click Advanced Settings and customize things. This lets you customize things more fully. You can add a custom title page, remove sections you don’t need, and change the font. You can also choose among custom templates for each section.

Credit: Justin Pot

You can also add custom sections to the end of the guide. By default, this means Notes and Goals, the latter being a “don’t beak the chain” tool for visual habit building. But you can remove these sections, or customize them, if you prefer.

Credit: Justin Pot

There’s also the ability to import holidays or any iCal file, if you want certain dates to show up. I recommend digging in and customizing things until they look and work the way you expect. Then, when you’re done, sync it to the PDF markup application of your choice.

There are other tools out there for building custom PDF day planners, including this great one on Github, which you can customize if you know your way around the command line. Remarkably Organized pages does a good job of giving you power to customize the look and feel of your planner while still being straight-forward to use.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Laptops are one of the most commonly discounted items even after Cyber Monday, whether you prefer MacBooks, PC laptops, Chromebooks, or gaming machines. Sales are running across Amazon, Best Buy, retailer websites, and more, with price cuts as hefty as $400 off on laptops packed with top-of-the-line specs and modern hardware. Prices are accurate as of the time of writing, but you can expect them to fluctuate and for inventory to sell out, so you may not want to hesitate if you see a sale that grabs you. And if you’re interested in a new tablet or phone as well, see our best Cyber Monday tech deals page for a broader view of all the best discounts you can get right now.

Best Cyber Monday MacBook deals that are still active

2024 MacBook Air, 13-Inch With M3 Chip

$1,099.00
at Amazon

$1,299.00
Save $200.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$1,099.00
at Amazon

$1,299.00
Save $200.00

Apple aficionados have plenty to choose from, with deals across the company’s entire lineup of in-house M-series chips.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M3 Chip: $1,199 at Amazon (was $1,299). This is Apple’s most recent MacBook Air, complete with the M3 chip. Currently, deals are active on the 512GB model, which can come with 16GB or 24GB of memory.

• Apple MacBook Air 15-inch with M3 Chip: $1,599 at Amazon (was $1,699). Largely similar to its 13-inch counterpart, this MacBook Air comes with a 15-inch screen and an M3 chip. At time of writing, the 512GB model (with 24GB of memory) is on sale. Click to apply the $99 discount for the full deal.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M2 Chip: $949 at Amazon (was $999). If you’re OK going with a slightly older model, the M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage is $100 cheaper than the M3 model right now.

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M1 Chip: $599 at Walmart (was $699). Apple’s oldest M-series MacBook Air is still a strong workhorse, with an M1 chip, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage, although the smaller discount here might not make the compromise worth it.

• Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 Pro Chip: $1,499 at Best Buy (was $1,899). A slightly older model of MacBook Pro, this 14-inch laptop boasts an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. It’s a good compromise between a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro.

• Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M4 Pro Chip: $1,799 at Amazon (was $1,999). Or just do away with compromises. If you want a pro-level MacBook with a pro-level chip, this is a great pick. You’ll get a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip, 24GB of memory, and up to 1TB of storage.

• Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch with M4 Pro Chip: $2,299 at Amazon (was $2,499). This 16-inch screen upgrade to the M4 Pro MacBook Pro, with the same chip, up to 48GB of memory, and 512GB of storage.

Best Cyber Monday Windows Laptop deals you can still get

ASUS Vivobook S 15, 15″

$499.99
at Best Buy

$899.99
Save $400.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$499.99
at Best Buy

$899.99
Save $400.00

For those who, like me, grew up with a Windows PC, there are still plenty of deals on the tried-and-true standard this Cyber Monday, especially for those looking for something that can go toe-to-toe with a MacBook Air.

• Lenovo Yoga 7 14-inch 2-in-1 with Ryzen 7 chip: $675 at Lenovo (was $1,025). This convertible Windows laptop can flip around to turn into a tablet, and it comes with a respectable AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS chip, a whopping 1TB of storage, 16GB of memory, a 14-inch touchscreen, and even a stylus.

• Samsung Galaxy Book 4 with Intel Core 7 Chip: $530 at Best Buy (was $900). If you didn’t know, Samsung actually makes laptops! This Windows machine comes with a 15-inch display, an Intel Core 7 chip, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. 

• Lenovo ThinkBook 16-inch with Ryzen 4 7430U Chip: $764 at Amazon (was $899). This laptop deal packs a lot of extra goodies for its price point, with a Ryzen 5 7430U CPU, 64GB of RAM, up to 4TB of storage, a Fingerprint Reader, and a copy of Windows 11 Pro. Click the 15% off coupon to apply the discount.

• Asus Vivobook S15 with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus Chip: $500 at Best Buy (was $900). This laptop is similar to the Zenbook 14 OLED, thanks to its 15-inch, 3K OLED display, but comes with a Copilot+ compatible chip, opening it up to Microsoft’s AI-centric features like Recall (currently in testing). This model comes with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage.

• Dell XPS 13 with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H Chip: $1,399 at Dell (was $1,999). Dell’s XPS lineup used to be my favorite MacBook Pro competitors for Windows, although the company’s recent choice to opt for a touchbar has somewhat cooled my enthusiasm. Still, at this price, the Intel Core Ultra 7 chip, 32GB of memory, 1TB SSD, and 3K OLED display is great value.

• Dell Inspiron 16 with Ryzen 5 8540U Chip: $550 at Dell (was $700). This basic laptop is a more modest Dell productivity machine, with an AMD Ryzen 5 8540U processor, 16GB of memory, 512GB of storage, and a 16-inch FHD+ display.

• Dell XPS 16 with Intel Core Ultra 9 Chip: $2,545 at Dell (was $3,145). For a splurge, this XPS laptop from Dell comes with a big screen and can even game on the side. You’ll get an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 32GB of memory, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch 4K+ touch display.

Best Cyber Monday Gaming Laptop deals you can still buy

Gigabyte AORUS 17 Gaming Laptop

$1,545.83
at Amazon

$1,749.00
Save $203.17

Get Deal

Get Deal

$1,545.83
at Amazon

$1,749.00
Save $203.17

More powerful Windows machines tend to be labeled “gaming laptops,” and this Cyber Monday’s deals in the category don’t disappoint either, with options for gamers of almost all budgets.

• Dell Alienware m16 R2 Gaming Laptop with Intel Core Ultra 9 chip: $1,450 at Dell (was $1,700). This 16-inch gaming laptop from Dell packs a lot for the price, with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, up to 64GB of memory, up to 2TB of storage, and a 16-inch QHD+@240Hz display.

• Gigabyte AORUS 17 Gaming Laptop with Intel Core i9 chip: $1,546 at Amazon (was $1,749). This is a good, if a little old, premium gaming laptop option, with an Intel Core i9-13700H chip, 16GB of memory, 1TB of storage, and a 17-inch QHD@240Hz display.

• Lenovo LOQ 15-inch Gaming Laptop with Ryzen 5 chip: $760 at Lenovo (was $909). This is one for gamers on a budget. It packs a modest AMD Ryzen 5 8645HS chip, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of memory, 512GB of storage, and a 15-inch FHD@144Hz display.

• Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop with Ryzen 9 chip: $1,200 at Best Buy (was $1,600). Another gaming laptop, this 14-inch model is a bit smaller, but manages to pack an AMD Ryzen 8 8945HS CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and 2,880 x 1,800 display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Best Cyber Monday Chromebook deals that are still up

Asus Chromebook Plus CX3402, 14″

$349.00
at Best Buy

$499.00
Save $150.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$349.00
at Best Buy

$499.00
Save $150.00

Chromebooks can be a great way to get a polished design on a budget, so long as you’re ok with doing most of your work in the cloud. Here are some of my favorites discounted for Cyber Monday.

• Asus Chromebook Plus CX34: $349 at Best Buy (was $440). This Chromebook comes with a few extra AI goodies thanks to its Chromebook Plus status, plus an Intel Core i3-1215U chip, 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, and a 14-inch FHD display.

• HP Chromebook x360: $199 at Walmart (was $429). A budget way to get a convertible, this Chromebook’s screen can flip around to become a tablet. It has an Intel Processor N100, 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage, and a 14-inch FHD touchscreen.

• Acer Chromebook Spin 714: $525 at Amazon (was $750). A fancier Chromebook convertible, this machine packs an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, an FHD+ touchscreen, and comes with a stylus.

• Lenovo IdeaPad 3i Chromebook: $119 at Best Buy (was $249). Coming it at almost under three figures, this Chromebook is very basic, but might have enough to get by for a few more years. You’ll get an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage, and an FHD display.

Best Cyber Monday laptop deals under $300 that you can shop now

Asus Vivobook Go, 15.6″

$275.00
at Amazon

$299.99
Save $24.99

Get Deal

Get Deal

$275.00
at Amazon

$299.99
Save $24.99

Chromebooks can be great for working in the cloud, but not every budget laptop needs to be a Chromebook. Here are some cheaper laptops that still come with Windows installed.

• Acer Aspire Go 14: $280 at Acer (was $350). This laptop is a good cheap pick, and should be good for people whose work depends mostly on the cloud. It comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U CPU, 128GB of storage, 8GB of memory, a 14-inch screen, and Windows 11 in S Mode. Note that S Mode laptops can only use apps from the Microsoft Store by default, although this can be changed later.

• Asus Vivobook Go: $275 at Amazon (was $300). This laptop is among the cheapest ways to get Windows on this list, with a Ryzen 3 7320U chip, 8GB of memory, 128GB of storage, and a 15-inch display.

I never wanted an Elf on the Shelf. But last year, just when I thought we were exiting the believing-in-Santa years, my daughter saved up her money and asked me to drive her to Target to buy an elf. So now I have to put this thing in a new cute and creative position every night. It’s December 4 and I’ve already run out of ideas. 

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition – Girl Scout Elf with Brown Eyes – Includes Artfully Illustrated Storybook, Keepsake Box and Official Adoption Certificate

$32.73
at Amazon

Get Deal

Get Deal

$32.73
at Amazon

My daughter, by the way, ignored my objections that a magical creature with free will and capable of high speed international travel should not need to be purchased, and in fact, cannot ethically be owned. We brought the elf home last year, and I dutifully used salad tongs to remove it from its package and place it on the mantel. (I tried not to laugh, but honestly this was the best part.) She named it Star. And somehow we got through the season. 

I remember getting bored with placing it here, versus placing it there. The elf can’t be touched, so anything you put it on or in can’t be used all day. But we got through the season. I positioned it with other toys, and at one point seated Star at a dollhouse table with a bobblehead of Fred from Scooby Doo. This must be a date, my daughter declared. By Christmas Eve they were married. (I made a little wedding dress and veil out of tissues.)

But now it’s another year. I hoped my daughter would forget about the elf. She has emphatically not forgotten, and cannot wait to see what kinds of adventures could top the marriage storyline from last year. Sigh. 

Surely AI can help me, right?

AI can do anything these days, right? I wouldn’t trust any LLM for factual information, but I’ve found them helpful for brainstorming in the past. Surely ChatGPT or Claude could give me some ideas for what to do with this darn elf. After all, they did such a great job helping my fellow Lifehacker writer Stephen Johnson pick out a gift for his son! (Do not click that link if you want to continue thinking of AI as intelligent.)

I had seen other lists of Elf on the Shelf ideas that involved lots of mess or finicky setups. I get that “elf making a mess” scenarios are  probably hilarious and boundary-pushing for their toddler-aged demographic, but I am not going to clean up all the sprinkles or glitter the elf “gets into” (i.e., that I pour all around her). So I asked ChatGPT specifically for “ideas for Elf on the Shelf that are quick and easy and NOT MESSY (no food).”

ChatGPT does not know how elves work

Point in ChatGPT’s favor: it did not suggest anything with food. It gave me 20 ideas to start with. These are the ones that looked viable, if boring.

• Elf with a small toy. “Place the Elf next to a small toy or action figure. You could have it holding the toy or sitting next to it, as if they’re playing together.” (On the one hand: yes, this meets the requirements. On the other: we’ve done a lot of this, and our elf can only have so many husbands.)

• Elf taking a nap. “Lay the Elf down in a cozy spot, like a tissue box or a mitten, with a tiny blanket made from a napkin or cloth. A small pillow or cotton ball can complete the setup.” Sleeping on the job?! But, OK, could be cute.

• Elf on a swing. “Use a piece of string or yarn to create a swing, and place the Elf on it. You can hang it from a shelf, light fixture, or a chair.” Sounds precarious, but maybe doable.

• Elf using miniature furniture (been there)

• Elf in a stocking (done that)

Not much to go on there. There were several head-scratching suggestions too, like this one: “Elf on the phone: Place the Elf next to a toy phone, a pretend laptop, or even your real phone (if it’s nearby). The Elf could be making a “call” to Santa, or checking in on who’s been naughty or nice.”

My real phone?? I don’t think ChatGPT understands that this is an all-day proposition. The elf doesn’t just borrow your phone “if it’s nearby.” Even more perplexing was “Elf on a shelf in a jar: Put the Elf inside a jar (or a clear container), and add a small note saying, “Caught me!” It gives the illusion that they’ve been ‘caught’ by you.”

I’m supposed to surprise my child with the fact that they have been chasing the elf around with a jar? I don’t think the premise works, nor does it make sense to capture the elf. The elf willingly comes to our home every night (according to legend) and if we were to trap her here, she wouldn’t be able to do the communications with Santa that the child is so invested in. 

ChatGPT also suggested I set the elf up in “spy” scenarios (she is already a spy), give her “a holiday card in hand” (those hands don’t hold anything, have you tried?), or “Place the Elf with a small stick, straw, or a pencil as if they’ve been practicing magic or casting spells.” I’m not sure how a pencil next to the elf (or even in its hand, if I could manage that) is supposed to be interpreted as a magic wand. 

But that’s just ChatGPT. Claude is supposed to be smarter. Let’s see. 

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

Claude doesn’t know how elves work, either, but at least it tries

Claude still holds the title of the AI with the least grating personality. When I asked it “what do I do with this fucking elf?” it cheerfully asked me what [the hell] kind of elf I was talking about. It did not read the room though, since its very first suggestion was “Have the elf ‘making snow angels’ in a pile of flour or powdered sugar.” Or it could draw mustaches on family photos (what?!) or make a mess with decorations or zipline across the room.

“These need to be lazy and easy ideas,” I told it. “No messes. No going out and buying supplies. Definitely no ziplines.”

It then responded with what you might call the opposite of ideas. Just put the elf somewhere, it said. Kitchen counter. TV. Windowsill. Bookshelf. “The less effort, the better.” I agree with the sentiment, but I was hoping for something more. After a few more rounds of nonsense (eating all the marshmallows from the hot cocoa mix? Are you serious?) I finally coaxed it into giving me a few good ones: 

• Elf sitting in a toy car like it’s driving

• Elf pretending to read a tiny book

• Elf “yoga” pose next to a houseplant

• Elf “sleeping” in a small toy bed

• Elf “riding” a stuffed animal

There were some misunderstandings about size here as well. The elf could look through binoculars made of toilet paper rolls. (It could not.) It could wear a small sock as a hat. (How small do you think socks are??) It could be “posed like it’s taking a selfie near a phone.” Whose phone, and how could she possibly do a selfie pose with a phone that’s as big as she is?)

Claude sends my elf to the Olympics

I realized I would have to help a bit more. I told Claude about the romance storyline from last year. Could it suggest any similar, easy storylines? 

Not only did it agree, it told me my wedding gambit was “hilarious.” (Thank you, Claude.) It suggested that the elf go on a journey toward becoming a rock star. The elf could discover a toy guitar (“or air guitar,” but that would be tough to read—I could make one out of cardboard, though.) The elf could practice singing, try on sunglasses, make a band poster, audition in front of other toys acting as judges, sign a record deal, and finally play her first concert. Maybe a little backwards in chronology, but workable in concept. 

I asked for more ideas, and got an elf “escape” story. I’m sorry, but Star already magically travels to the North Pole every night. We are not holding her captive. I also nixed the “spy” storyline; she’s a spy already, that’s the whole deal. There was a “failed magician” storyline where the hints are simply things like “Day 4: Looks like he’s trying to do a magic trick. Day 5: Another ‘failed’ magic moment.”

Finally we hit pay dirt. Training for the Olympics! The elf can stretch, lift weights, practice a sport, and finally earn a medal. This sounds doable. Let’s try.

Credit: Beth Skwarecki

Claude overestimates my elf’s posing abilities

OK, position the elf like she’s stretching for a workout. Up to this point I’d never done much posing with the elf; I’d just plopped her, seated, into different settings. But now she needs to become more athletic. I discovered that there are basically no stretches you can easily do with your hands stitched together. So I cut the thread to separate her hands. But now it was hard to get her positioned in anything other than a seated pose. Her body is heavy. Her legs can’t hold her up. I’m not sure even Adriene would be able to find this girl an accessible position other than Savasana, which would just make it look like I killed her. 

Finally, I managed a sort of runner’s stretch, but knocked down a flowerpot (which broke) in the process. Score: Claude 1, me 0.

Let’s try some real sports. Baseball, Claude suggested, with a pencil for a bat. Once again we hit the “what is that pencil supposed to be?” problem. How to make it look like a bat? Other bullet points suggested that I could put the elf “near a pencil” for a balance beam, or use a “pencil as javelin” for track and field events. 

Well, I managed to find a sports-themed pencil. I taped her hands to it in what would have looked like a baseball-ish pose, if only the tape had managed to stick to felt. I couldn’t find a way to stand her up, so she played seated. (Maybe her next sport should be goalball, which the kids and I genuinely enjoyed watching during the Paralympics). And I set up her bobblehead husband with a cardboard baseball glove. Claude scores again. 

This is all so much work, though. If I go this route I’ll have to make toothpick dumbbells. I’ve heard you can thread floral wire through your elf’s arms and legs to make them poseable, so I’ll be going out for supplies. This was supposed to be easy, Claude!! But Claude can no longer help me. I ran out of free messages. I am on my own now. Time for the elf to take a nap, drive a car, and maybe start some drama with her husband.

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Apple’s AirPods Pro is one of a million post-Cyber Monday products on sale this year. If you’re interested in the best tech on sale today, see our page on the best Cyber Monday tech deals that are still active for a broader view of all the best discounts you can get right now. Prices are accurate as of the time of writing, but you can expect them to fluctuate and inventory to sell out, so you may not want to hesitate if you see a sale that grabs you.

There are a lot of earbuds to choose from, but if you’re as entrenched in the Apple ecosystem as I am, AirPods just make sense. The second-gen AirPods Pro are especially great, albeit a bit expensive. When they drop in price like they have over the past couple weeks, it’s a fantastic opportunity to buy them.

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen)

$169.99
at Amazon

$249.00
Save $79.01

Get Deal

Get Deal

$169.99
at Amazon

$249.00
Save $79.01

Currently, Walmart has AirPods Pro 2 available for over 31% off, dropping them to $170 from $249. That’s a sizable deal, but it’s not quite as much of a price drop as you might think. These AirPods tend to hover around $199 on Amazon, sometimes dipping below that price. Plus, this sale has lasted throughout most of the Black Friday season. (Remember when Black Friday was just one day?) Still, once this shopping holiday is over, these AirPods will likely jump back up to that $200 range, so this is possibly your last chance to grab them while they’re this cheap.

Apple might slap its “Pro” moniker on most product categories these days, but AirPods Pro at least come with a lot of features to live up to the name. For one, AirPods Pro come with excellent noise cancellation. Although, honestly, the in-ear seal from the silicone tips blocks out enough background noise that I hardly ever turn on Noise Control. In fact, because the seal is so good, you also get Transparency Mode, an option that pumps in the sounds around you, so you can be aware of your surroundings—or even have a conversation with your earbuds in.

Speaking of conversations, one excellent feature exclusive to the second-gen Pros is Conversation Awareness: When you start talking while listening to something, your AirPods turn down the volume and boost the voices of the people you’re talking to. When everyone stops speaking, your AirPods return to normal. It’s great. Another automatic feature is “Adaptive Audio” (previously Adaptive Transparency) which can reduce any sound above 85 dB, while maintaining other sounds at the typical volume. That way, you can follow a conversation or even watch a TV show with your AirPods in, but if an ambulance races by you, its sirens will seem to be a very tolerable 85 dB. You’d think you’d get these two features on AirPods Max, Apple’s flagship over-the-ear headphones, but you don’t: You need the second-gen Pros for that.

Like all AirPods, the Pros easily jump among all your connected Apple devices. You could be watching a video on your Mac, then take a call on your iPhone and start chatting through your AirPods. If you have an Apple TV, you can switch to your AirPods too, which I frequently do, since I prefer the experience to my soundbar.

While all these features are awesome, what it really comes down to for me is sound quality: The Pros just sound great, especially for such low-profile earbuds. And because they block out so much sound on their own, I feel like I can appreciate the quality of the music I’m listening to in a variety of situations. I used to pause my music with my old AirPods whenever a loud truck or bus would drive past me on a walk. That’s not a problem with the Pros.

Last but certainly not least, you can now use these AirPods as hearing aids. That isn’t marketing nonsense from Apple, either: The FDA cleared these earbuds to be used as hearing aids. Not a bad perk for $170.

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I love iced coffee, but I loathe cold coffee. Intentionally iced coffee is perfection, while hot coffee that’s gone cold is disgusting. You can, of course, microwave coffee to return it to a drinkable temperature, and I have—many times. But a sad mug of microwaved coffee is no replacement for sipping a freshly brewed cup as close to its original temperature as possible, and that’s always going to be a losing race against time.

Enter Ember, and its “smart mug.” Unlike your dumb mug, Ember’s cup can keep your drink at a stable temperature of your choosing, ranging between 120˚F and 145˚F. You set the temperature in the Ember app, pour yourself a cup of joe, and sip at your own leisure: Every time you take a drink, your coffee, tea, hot chocolate, what have you, will be the same temperature as the first sip.

Even after Cyber Monday, Amazon still has the 14 oz mug on sale for up to 27% off—as long as you’re okay with getting it in black. The 10 oz mug is on sale in a number of colors, though, including 21% off in copper and gold, 23% off in red, and 27% off in stainless steel and rose gold. Click through the various colors and sizes to see if you can find a match that works for you.

Ember Smart Mug (14 oz)

$109.99
at Amazon

$149.95
Save $39.96

Get Deal

Get Deal

$109.99
at Amazon

$149.95
Save $39.96

I have been using an Ember mug for a while now, and it really is great—if not slightly surreal. It’s an odd thing to pick up a mug of coffee that’s been sitting around for half an hour, take a sip, and find it as steamy as when I first poured it. As odd as it sounds, this means it comes with a bit of a learning curve, at least if, like me, you are used to taking larger and larger sips of your coffee the longer it has been sitting around. Don’t throw back a cup from your Ember, is what I’m saying. It’ll be a bad time.

A piping hot cup for over an hour

Ember will eventually stop keeping your drink hot when the battery runs out. When new and fully charged, that’s a generous 80 minutes, which is a long time to enjoy any single 14 oz beverage. However, if you tend to drink multiple cups a day, that battery will wear out before you’ve finished your afternoon spreadsheets, so I recommend storing the wireless charging dock wherever you’re most likely to be drinking from the Ember mug—perhaps your desk, or on an end table. That way, you can place your mug on the charger instead of a coaster, and keep the battery constantly juiced.

Don’t let your brew burn

The Ember mug isn’t perfect. My one gripe is with how it handles the last sip or two of your beverage. It seems the heating element is so strong, it burns, or at least alters the taste of, any too-small amount of liquid. My advice is to finish the cup before it gets to this point, keep your temperature set lower, or turn off the heater via the app when you get about three-quarters of the way through it.

A critical note: Do not put your Ember mug in the dishwasher. This mug is hand-wash only. It’s safe to scrub it in the sink, and even submerge it in water up to one meter. However, the abrasive nature of your dishwasher’s jets will be too much for both the outside coating and the electronics inside the mug. It’s a little extra work to hand wash it after each use, but you’ll have plenty of energy thanks to having downed that never-cooling cup of coffee.