It’s that sale that many of us wait for each year, and this year, there are actually some pretty great savings on gadgets and smart home gear. I’m sharing my list of things I either own and love that are on sale or things that I actually bought this year, too.
So, in no particular order:
Eve Flare
25% Off (was $99.95, now $74.95)
Eve Flare is a rechargeable portable smart LED lamp that not only can you change the color of but also take it with you to the patio, pool or any other setting as it’s IP65 water resistant. I already have two of these and just bought a third for my office.
iRobot Roomba j7+
50% off (was $799.99, now $399.99)
I feel like I’ve gone full circle on robot vacs. I started with Roomba and then got swayed to other brands (Roborock) with better AI/performance and mopping. However, they became overly complicated to maintain, and I’m back to Roomba with this j7+. I bought one at $599 and am now buying a second at this half-off price for upstairs. It works better than any other robot vacuum I’ve used.
Lutron Diva Smart Dimmer Switch Kit for Caséta
25% off (was $119.95, now $89.95)
It’s not a secret that I’m a HUGE FAN of Lutron Caséta products for smart home lighting. Last year, I completed my seven-year upgrade of every switch in my house over to these Caséta switches. They are by far the most rock-solid, smart home accessories I have, bar none. They work! They are not the cheapest, but this is definitely a case of you get what you pay for. I bought my first one in 2016 to automate an outside light above my driveway and replaced the last seven remaining dumb switches with these. They have also addressed the aesthetics with these new Diva paddle-style switches that look like regular switches and, again, work great. Most of their products are on sale. I’ll list a few kits:
Diva starter kit that includes the smart hub and pico remote.
Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Kit w/ Hub, 2 Original Dimmer Switches, 2 Pico Remotes
Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Kit w/ Hub, 2 Original Switches, Pico Remotes
Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Kit w/ Hub, 2 Original Dimmer Switches, 2 Remotes
Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Kit w/ Hub, Original Switch, & Wall Plate, for Light Bulbs and Fans
Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 Certified 15W Wireless Charger Stand
20% Off (was $109.99, now $87.99
Anker is my favorite brand for chargers and cables. This is my current choice for a 3-in-1 portable charger that fast charges my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods Pro. I have gone through several different models from various vendors and so far this is my favorite and the one in my suitcase.
Anker Prime 6-in-1 USB C Charging Station, 140W Compact Power Strip for Work and Travel
30% off (was $109.99, now $76.99)
Finally! I have a travel charger that is fast enough to charge my MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad and power additional gear when I’m on the go. This is hands down the best travel charger I’ve ever used. I love it for charging/powering stuff on the plane too because the plug doesn’t fall out of the outlet. I no longer carry the Apple chargers as this one does it all! They also did a brilliant job of keep it thin and allow for two regular plugs to be plugged in power strip style.
GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 (Slate AX) Pocket-sized Wi-Fi 6 Gigabit Travel Router
33% Off (was $149.99, now $99.84)
I’ve talked about this router on social media and am happy to see it on sale for Prime Day. I use this router when I travel both in hotel rooms and even on the plane (if they charge for in-flight WiFi). I walk into my hotel room, plug it in, and then connect it to the hotel wifi (or ethernet connection if the room has one). Once I log in to the hotel wifi portal, then all my devices connect to the router instead of having to connect to the hotel WiFi individually. This creates a firewall between my devices and the rest of the people on the public WiFi. It also supports VPN. Recently I was on a Delta flight that hadn’t been upgraded with free WiFi and they were charging $20 per device for the flight. No way! I connected my router and connected all my devices for the one $20 fee. I never leave home without it!
Aqara Smart Lock U100, Fingerprint Keyless Entry Door Lock with Apple Home Key
37% Off (was $229.99, now $144.99)
I love my smart locks. Although my favorite smart look is the Schlage Encode Plus, it’s not currently on sale for Prime Day. So, let me talk about my second favorite lock, and that is the Aqara U100. The U100 actually offers a few additional ways of unlocking that the Encode Plus doesn’t have, including a fingerprint sensor and support for optional NFC tags. Since I’m an Apple Home user, I won’t buy a smart lock that doesn’t have Apple Home Key support, and Aqara definitely has gone all in on Home Key support. For those who aren’t aware, Apple Home Key support means that you can wave your iPhone (even if the battery is dead) or Apple Watch in front of the lock to open it. There is no need to pull up an app. It’s addictively cool. The U100 was the second lock in the US to get this feature. I like what Aqara is doing, and they also just introduced a cheaper version, the U50 (lacks the fingerprint sensor), and a brand new retrofit lock (similar to August locks, but better), the U200. Can’t go wrong with any of them.
Get the U50 here ($99). A hard deal to beat!
Get the U200 here. ($232.73 via a $54 off coupon)
Ekster Vachetta Parliament Leather Wallet for Men
25% Off (was $109, now $81.75)
I switched to a tech wallet. I went between the Ridge and the Ekster and settled on the Ekster as it just feels better and works better.
Bluevua RO100ROPOT Reverse Osmosis System Countertop Water Filter
31% Off (was $434, now $299)
This is an easy one to recommend as it has not only saved me a ton of money on bottled water, and it’s easily the best tap water I’ve ever tasted. This system is countertop and doesn’t need to be tied into your plumbing and therefore you can put it just about anywhere where you have a plug.
SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable SSD
31% Off (was $359.99, now $249.99)
Like they say, you can never have too much money or too much storage space. This is one of my favorite portable external SSDs. It’s a fast 4TB solid-state drive for storing, backing up, and transferring lots of data on the go. It feels like it barely weighs anything and easily fits in any computer bag. It’s powered over a single USB-C cable and has worked great for me.
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation
32% Off (was $249, now $168.99)
My favorite wireless earbuds are on sale. The AirPods Pro are always in my pocket, and the second generation is even better, as it includes a USB-C-based wireless charging case. They are noise-canceling and can connect to just about any Bluetooth audio source.
Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones
28% Off (was $549.00, now $349.99)
Although I’m not a fan of over-the-ear (and I hate on-ear) headphones, these are probably the best ones I’ve ever used in terms of capabilities and sound quality. They are great when paired with an iPhone and taking calls. Yes, the music sounds great, too, but I honestly use them more for noise cancellation and phone calls since I can’t really wear over-the-ear headphones for more than an hour without getting a headache. That’s definitely a me problem, and for everyone else, this is a great deal! They come in multiple colors, and at this price, they are a bargain. I hope they introduce new ones this year that have a USB-C charging port.
Plugable 7-in-1 USB C Hub Multiport Adapter with Ethernet
20% Off (was $39.95, now $31.95)
I use this hub constantly on my iPad Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and even my MacBook Pro at times. I love it not only because it gives me extra USB ports but also because it has both an SD and MicroSD card reader and a 1GB Ethernet jack.
Ninja AG301 Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Electric Grill with Air Fry
24% Off (was $169.99, now $129.99)
This is such a cool and versitle electric indoor grill for the kitchen. We use ours all the time and the people I’ve gifted them to swear by it too. It’s also an air fryer.
Sonos Era 100 – Black – Wireless, Alexa Enabled Smart Speaker
20% Off (was $249, now $199)
At the end of 2023 I switched from Bose to Sonos for my whole house music system. The transision has been GREAT! I have several of these Sonos Ear 100 speakers around the house and they work amazingly well. This is a good price and I recommned getting two and putting them in a stereo pair.
Anker Solix PS30 Solar Panel, 30W Foldable Portable Solar Charger, IP65 Water and Dust Resistance
30% Off (was $79.99, now $59.99)
Whenever I’m going to be outside for an extended time, like a vacation on the beach or poolside, I always take my Anker Solar panel. It lays flat or bends over objects and provides up to 30w of power to charge and keep my mobile devices charged all day! I just got back from vacation and it was AWESOME to have. I’m upgrading to this newer model since it’s on sale.
HyperDrive Thunderbolt 4 Dock – Dual 6K 60Hz Display Support
30% Off (was $349.99, now $244.35)
I have a few of these in my offices and studio. I’ve used Thunderbolt docks for years, but the thing that seperates this Thunderbolt 4 Dock from the rest is that it comes with a 2.5GB Ethernet jack where most of the others only have 1GB Ethernet. Also the price is far less than the others. It has been a solid performer and I recommend it.
USB C Multi Fast Charging Cable, PD 65W Nylon Braided Cord 4 in 1
20% Off (was $9.99, now $7.99)
Although I’m very happy that with the iPhone 15 Pro, I have now standardized all my mobile gear on USB-C, every now and then, I need to plug in a random device that only has a Lightning port. A colleague just asked me if I had a charger she could use for her iPhone. I reached into my bag and handed her this cable that has USB A and USB C on one end and USB-C and Lightning on the other end, which covers all bases.
Twelve South AirFly Pro Bluetooth Wireless Audio Transmitter/ Receiver for up to 2 AirPods /Wireless Headphones
24% Off (was $54.99, now $41.79)
Here’s another accessory that I always have in my travel bag. The AirFly Pro allows me to use my favorite headphones/earbuds (AirPods Pro) on the plane with the seat-back entertainment system. Instead of wired headphones, just plug the AirFly in and your Bluetooth headphones/earbuds connect to the AirFly. Now you have wireless entertainment using your preferred listening device. Also with this Pro model, you can connect up to two sets of headphones so that you and your partner can listen to the same thing simultaneously.
The Bottom Line
I could continue listing deals on really niche products/brands that I use, but the ones above are easy to recommend because they work, and the deals are good. Definitely dive deep into the Lutron, Anker, and Aqara products because they have a lot of great Prime deals on things I didn’t call out above. I will continue to add to this page as I see/find more cool deals on the stuff that I love and recommend.
