Hurry, Amazon Prime Big Deal Days ends tonight — last chance to check out these 100+ expert-approved offers on headphones, air fryers, vacuums & more | Daily Reports Online
Even at full price, these are something
Nothing has made some of our favourite headphones and earbuds in the last couple of years, nearly every one of them well received by our audio experts, and the CMF sub-brand brings in the budget goods that don’t really make too many compromises.
Take the CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2 wireless buds: even at full price, they cost under a hundred dollary-doos! And while they got a small 5% discount in July, they’ve been neglected this time round. Yet they’re packed full of value and lovely sound.
If you want some high-quality earbuds for cheap that rival the audio performance and noise cancellation of the AirPods, but at a much — MUCH — lower price, these are it. And in some nice colours too.
CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2: AU$95
What is Alexa+ and is it worth it?
I’m sure by now we’re all familiar with Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, even though we may not have used it if we’re more dependent on Google Assistant/Gemini or Siri.
Alexa+ is just a smarter, more conversational version of the original — or, to use technical jargon, it’s a generative AI model. While it can do everything the original Alexa could, it does more than answer specific questions or perform set tasks. It can remember your personal information and can take context into account, which is how it becomes more conversational when you ask it to do something for you.
The result is a more personalised assistant that delivers better outcomes and learns from your behaviour in order to make more relevant suggestions.
Alexa+ is available on nearly all the current Echo devices and is a free add-on for Prime members, but a subscription costs AU$29.99 a month for everyone else. Another reason to hold on to the AU$9.99p/m Prime subscription, isn’t it?
Whether Alexa+ is worth the upgrade is up to you and which AI assistant you prefer. With Gemini just as popular, there’s competition and, much like its counterparts, Alexa+ is better at understanding you and one of the reasons for that is because you can feed it information which it will retain. You can tell it what you like and don’t like, share facts and key dates such as birthdays and the types of food you enjoy. You can also share photos, messages, emails, documents and calendar events, and get Alexa+ to draw upon the information for use in its responses and suggestions.
Alexa, is there a cheap Echo in here?
Yup, Christmas is coming and if you’re keen on finding a lovely tech gift that won’t cost the earth, then consider the Amazon Echo Dot.
Yes, it’s an older model, but that’s also why it’s cheap and, given the Echo Pop has been discontinued and the Echo Spot isn’t quite as affordable as I had hoped this Prime Day, this Echo Dot will do you just fine for a bare-bones, entry-level smart speaker.
In fact, it will even support Alexa+ which is free for Prime members.
It was AU$43 in July, so this isn’t the best price, but it’s still affordable.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen): AU$99 now AU$59
Let’s talk toast
There are toasters and there are toasters, none need to cost as much as AU$400, but then again, maybe they do.
I’m not saying I can justify the high asking price of the Breville Eye Q, but damn, it makes fabulous toast, just how I like it. It uses optic sensors to determine the doneness of the bread based on the colour (and that’s chosen by the user of course) rather than heat sensors, and it has a specific mode for artisanal breads too. Whether you like it well browned or just lightly toasted, the Breville Eye Q can do it just right every time.
Well, at least it won’t cost you AU$400 to get perfect toast every morning thanks to this discount.
Breville Eye Q (2-slice; Noir Black): AU$419 now AU$299
Wake up and smell the coffee
The Nespresso Vertuo Pop is the famed coffee maker’s smallest machine, yet it doesn’t scrimp on features. Being part of the Vertuo lineup, it uses a wider range of pods that can brew a range of coffee sizes, from single espresso all the way up to a full mug.
This machine has been one of our faves here at TechRadar ever since it launched in 2023, with a couple of my colleagues using it themselves at home and none of any complaints. It works just as you’d expect and couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is pop a pod in and press a button, the machine takes care of the rest — it’s that easy.
The AU$199 RRP is already good value in my opinion, but a discount sees the compact pod machine drop to under AU$100 a… pop. Not the cheapest price, admittedly (which was AU$88), but not too far away.
Nespresso Vertuo Pop: AU$229 now AU$92.15
Read all about it: New Kindle ereaders up for pre-order
They were announced at 11pm AEST on Thursday, October 1 and they’re up for pre-order if you want to upgrade your summer reading experience. All new Kindles start shipping November 11, but I don’t think we should expect to see any of them discounted during Black Friday.
Kindle (16GB): AU$279
Kindle (32GB): AU$299
Kindle Paperwhite (16GB): AU$369
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (32GB): AU$399
New Kindle Colorsoft (16GB): AU$449
New Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (32GB): AU$499
Over 9,000 Aussie shoppers have joined me so far on my deal-hunting expedition on Amazon, and I’m very grateful for your company — hopefully I’ve been able to help you not just find tech you need or like, but also save you some cash in the bargain.
I’m still at it, of course, as there are some new offers still popping up, or perhaps I just missed them earlier on. You have until midnight tonight (Eastern time) to get your shopping sorted but, if you miss out, it’s a good thing that Black Friday sales aren’t too far away now.
