Last-minute deals 2019: what to buy in time for Christmas

There are new last-minute deals for 2019, and enough of them that you can consider yourself officially saved. Major US retailers still have major sales going on this week, including Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Target.

This list of the best last-minute deals before Christmas (and, key, all shipping in time for December 25), means you will have something to gift for the holidays. And you won't have to pay through the nose for the ideal gift ideas after all.

What's on sale? The new Apple Watch 5 has a modest but meaningful discount attached to it, there's a Nintendo Switch bundle that offers a better value than normal, and all of Amazon's Echo smart speakers remain price slashed.

Quickly scour through our updated best last-minute Christmas deals list while they are in stock, because while you missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there's still a chance to get the gifts you want and save money while you do it.

Last-minute deals Quick Links

More last-minute deals news to come

We'll continue updating this list of last-minute deals, as retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Target tend to shift around their discounts day-to-day. Even if you don't see the lowest price of the season, it beats paying the original MSRP.

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First proof that Samsung Galaxy S11 will be faster than iPhone 11 Pro

The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S11 is going to be more powerful than the Apple's iPhone 11 Pro, at least according to our benchmarks of the Snapdragon 865 chipset.

Qualcomm, the chipmaker behind the Snapdragon 865, gave TechRadar the chance to test out an 865-loaded reference device, and with that, we ran all of the usual benchmarking applications: Geekbench, GFxBench and AnTutu to name a few.

What's important are these two things:

  1. The Samsung Galaxy S11 is likely to be powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset in some countries where Samsung doesn't use its own Exynos chipset. In the US, the Galaxy S10 series had the Snapdragon 855, the Galaxy S9 series used the Snapdragon 845, and so on. The 865 will be the chipset at the heart of a majority of Android flagship phones in 2020.
  2. The Snapdragon 865 benchmark results proved to outpace Apple's A13 Bonic chipset (found in the iPhone 11 series) in some key areas. You may think that's a given since the iPhone is a bit older, but last year the Snapdragon 855 trailed the A12 Bionic chipset. So this is an important distinction for 2020 Android phones.

Without further ado, let's check out Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 reference device, its specs and the benchmarks that come from it.

Snapdragon 865 reference phone

Snapdragon 865 reference device and specs

Technically, this is the first Snapdragon 865-powered smartphone, although you'll never be able to buy it. It's just a reference device that Qualcomm uses to demo the capabilities of its brand-new chipset.

It's also perforated with holes on the back, but other than that, the partially-visible guts of the handset are exactly what you'd want from a phone in 2020: a Quad HD+ 2880 x 1440 resolution, 12GB of LP5 dual rank RAM, an octa-core CPU (4xA77 + 4xA55) and 128GB of internal storage.

Before we set out to benchmark the Snapdragon 865 and gain insight into what the Samsung Galaxy S11 could be capable of, Qualcomm reps did note that there's a "performance mode," which speeds up the chipset while draining the battery a bit faster. That did make a difference in some of our tests, as you'll notice.

Snapdragon 865 reference phone

Snapdragon 865 raise hopes for the Galaxy S11

When we test smartphones at TechRadar, we often rely on benchmark apps like Geekbench 5, and it has some good news for the Galaxy S11 thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865: its multi-core score assessment shows that Android phones will be able to outpace Apple's A13 Bionic chipset when it comes to complex workloads.

With a multi-core score of solid 3,450, the Snapdragon 865 reference phone pulled ahead of our iPhone 11 Pro Max, which had a multi-core score of 3,337. Large tasks like video rendering, 3D gaming and image processing benefit from higher scores.

The single-core score, however, told a different story with a 931 Geekbench 5 score on Qualcomm's reference device. The iPhone 11 Pro Max got a rather appropriate 1331 when we re-ran tests today using the latest version of iOS 13.

The single-core compute score is better for simple tasks, like mobile web browsing, which can't be broken up to take advantage of eight cores at once. Single cores are becoming less important, and Qualcomm is putting emphasis on the multi-core score, GPU and AI chips within its multi-fanged Snapdragon 865 chipset.

For these tests, we turned to tools like GFxBench and AnTuTU for GPU benchmarks and AITutu and Ludashi AI Mark for newer AI tests. All four met or exceeded the scores that Qualcomm had in its 'expected' score range. The pre-installed GFxBench Manhattan offscreen test gave us a score of 89, AnTuTU's GPU test ran topped 221,435, Ludashi AI Mark went above 100K at 105,072 and AITuTu went to 455,235 after three consecutive tests on each app.

Translation? We're expecting powerful graphics and AI performance from Android phones in 2020, and the heavy tasks run by multi-core processors will catch up to and slightly exceed what Apple is capable of doing on its iPhones right now. Qualcomm's chipsets still lag behind when it comes to simpler tasks, but as app developers spread workloads to more cores, the single-core score is becoming less important than the combined effort of an eight-core mobile chipset. 

Snapdragon 865 reference phone

More Samsung Galaxy S11 specs leaked this week

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 chipset is only one hint at what we can expect from the Samsung Galaxy S11. In between the time in which we ran these benchmarks and now, there have been several significant Galaxy S11 leaks.

The most promising rumor is a potential launch date and city: February 18, 2020 in San Francisco, according to one credible leaker who specializes in Samsung Galaxy phone leaks. Last year, the phone was announced on February 20 in the same city, so we may be in for another long trip California before MWC 2020.

Officially, the Snapdragon 855 specs indicate the chipset tops out at supporting a 200MP camera, but Samsung is hedging its bet on 108MP, according to a new rumor that also pins the Galaxy S11 Plus with a 5,000mAh battery capacity. The Plus-sized version is also supposed to include a periscope zoom, taking a cue from the Huawei P30 Pro's incredible zoom range.

So why would the Samsung Galaxy S11 support a 108MP instead of going all of the way to the 200MP ceiling supported by the Snapdragon 865 chipset? It comes down to the size of the smartphone (it'd have to be a lot thicker) and the desire to keep individual pixel sizes above 1 micron (phone makers would have to go down to something much smaller [and inferior] like 0.7 micros to fit it in a modern phone, according to Judd Heape, Qualcomm's Senior Directorof Product Management, Camera, Computer Vision and Video).

A good sign for Android phones in 2020

Speed and processing power aren't everything. But there were so many close calls on our best phones list in 2019 that any edge could shake up our rankings in 2020. 

The iPhone 11 was in many ways more capable than the many, many Galaxy phones in 2019, but the value of Samsung's devices were a win when it came to storage and price – that's what swayed us in the end. Little factors can make a big difference.

We're seeing a powerful yet efficient 5G-capable chipset from Qualcomm, so even if you're a fan of iPhone series, it's going to push Apple, Huawei and other non-Snapdragon-using smartphone manufacturers to compete. And that's a win-win for consumers no matter how they shop for phones.

  • The Snapdragon 865 will power next year's handsets, so here's the latest lineup of best Android phones
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Samsung Galaxy S11 will almost certainly be powered by this 5G chip

All signs are pointing to the Samsung Galaxy S11 being a 5G phone without requiring users to buy a separate, more expensive 5G variant of the forthcoming handset.

We can now say this with confidence because Qualcomm announced its Snapdragon 865 chipset on December 4 at its Snapdragon Tech Summit, and it'll be coupled with a 5G modem. Because the Galaxy S10 used the Snapdragon 855, the Galaxy S9 had the Snapdragon 845 and so on, the Galaxy S11 will almost certainly have the 865.

5G is going to have its mainstream moment

If this trend continues, it means two things: first, the Galaxy S11 is going to be the first 5G smartphone for a lot of people – 5G is going to have its mainstream moment. Second, the specs of the chip strongly foreshadow features of Samsung's next big phone.

Here are the top things the Snapdragon 865 tells us about the Samsung Galaxy S11.

The Samsung Galaxy S11 will be a 5G phone

The Samsung Galaxy S11 is poised to fix the major pain point we've had with almost all 5G phones in 2019: you had to buy a pricey variant of the mainstream phone. Often the 5G phone versions would come later, too.

Snapdragon 865

This happened with Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Note 10 Plus 5G, and OnePlus 7T Pro 5G to name a few. With the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4, you had to buy a 5G mod add-on. Asking people to wait and spend more money for 5G in its infancy was a tall order.

Qualcomm made it clear that using the Snapdragon 865 chipset is a package deal: it comes with a Snapdragon X55 5G modem, even if the two aren't physically fused together in one chipset. Simply put, if a phone has the 865, it has a 5G chip.

Phone manufacturers could market the 4G LTE speeds in regions where 5G isn't bountiful, but executives we talked to at Qualcomm were quick to point out that no phone maker that they had talked to expressed interest in doing that.

So the Samsung Galaxy S11 and Galaxy S11 Plus, and maybe even the Galaxy S11e if it continues to use a flagship tier chip (like the S10e did last year), should get 5G speeds out of the box. And that's good news for 5G adoption.

Qualcomm did introduce the slightly lower-specced Snapdragon 765 at the same time as the 865 chip, but there's no chance Samsung will stick the premier Galaxy S11 with anything but a flagship chipset.

The S11 release date lines up with the 865 debut

The Samsung Galaxy S11 is rumored to launch at the end of February – traditionally it comes out right before or at MWC. We don't suspect the launch window will change. In fact, there's now more evidence it will stay the same.

That's also when the Snapdragon 865 is schedule to make its way into smartphones. The official statement from Qualcomm notes: "Devices based on Snapdragon 865 are expected to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2020."

Samsung has helped Qualcomm fabricate its chips over the last three years, so first dibs on the Snapdragon 865 – and what may end up being the first mainstream 5G phone – only makes sense in early 2020. In other words, see you at MWC 2020.

The Samsung Galaxy S11 camera could go 8K

This has been one of the bigger highlights of Snapdragon 865, as the chipset has a souped-up image signal processor capable of processing 2 gigapixels per second.

That means the Galaxy S11 could capture 8K video, 64MP screen grabs from video (they're an inferior 8MP on many of today's phones), and super slow-motion video at 960fps without limits – not the 0.8 seconds we're used to seeing from the very few current phones that can even do such high-frame-rate capture.

Snapdragon 865

Samsung's next phone could breath new life into photos, too, with over one billion shades of color and massive 200MP pictures. No, you don't seriously need that many megapixels in a single photo, and you probably won't get all of them. Galaxy S11 rumors point to a still-astounding 108MP sensor.

But Qualcomm made sure to point out that 200MP makes sense when taking a wide photo, say at a concert (the given example), and wanting to crop in later on. You can punch into a scene without a tremendous loss of detail. It's the same reason why we sometimes shoot TechRadar videos in 4K even if we're going to upload in 1080p. Of course, in photos, as megapixels increase, pixel sizes (microns) tend to get smaller, so a dark concert may not be the best choice.

There is one caveat to all of this exciting camera information: using the specs of the Snapdragon 865 is up to Samsung and other manufacturers of individual phones. 

Case in point, we were hyped for 4K HDR video capture when the Snapdragon 845 debuted two years ago, only to find out the feature wasn't coming to the Galaxy S9 in the end (Samsung's Exynos chipset, which goes into phones outside the US, didn't have the feature, so it was disabled to create feature parity).

Mobile gaming gets an new way to upgrade

The Samsung Galaxy S11 is likely to continue in the tradition of past Galaxy S phones by pushing its mobile gaming prowess. The Snapdragon 865 chipset just gave us a preview of what to expect.

Snapdragon 865

Qualcomm is claiming 'desktop-quality gaming' with new tools that Samsung can use in conjunction with the Adreno 650 GPU. Desktop Forward Rendering brings desktop quality lighting and post-processing effects, while Game Color Plus smartly boosts saturation and tone mapping (without blanket saturating everything like skin tones).

Most impressive, the Snapdragon 865 supports 144Hz display refresh rates. It lines up with recent leaks that point to the Galaxy S11 having 120Hz refresh rates. Like the 200 camera megapixel support, we don't expect all 865-using phone makers to go to 144Hz, at least not in 2020. But we'll likely see a lot more 90Hz and 120Hz screens.

What we're eager to see, but equally skeptical about, is the ability for the Adreno 650 graphics chip to receive updated drivers (again, like a desktop gaming PC) through an app store. It's built into Android operating system and the 865 chipset, but still up to phone manufacturers to make the drivers available, and we know Samsung has been slow to get regular Android updates out to its consumers. 

Snapdragon 865

More Samsung Galaxy S11 news

Everything we've heard about the still-unannounced Samsung Galaxy S11 lines up with the capabilities and release time frame of the Snapdragon 865 chipset. It's pushing 5G speeds, megapixel-loaded camera performance, and gaming capabilities that take cues from desktops and consoles.

We have more than two months before the suspected Galaxy S11 launch, so there's ample time for leaks and rumors to further our understanding of Samsung's new smartphone. However, at this time, the Snapdragon 865 gives us some of the most concrete details on where Samsung and other phone makes will head in 2020.

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New Android flagship phones in 2020 will use the Snapdragon 865 5G chipset

New Android phones haven’t been announced for 2020, but the chip that’s likely to power many of them has been named.

The Snapdragon 865 chipset was officially announced by Qualcomm at its annual Snapdragon Summit, with the company noting that it’ll focus on 5G and AI capabilities.

The specifics about the performance and feature-set of this 7nm chipset - pictured to be smaller than a penny - are still being kept under wraps. However we know it’ll take advantage of the new Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System, which Qualcomm touts as the world’s most advanced 5G platform.

Which phones will get the Snapdragon 865?

The Snapdragon 865 is essentially the sequel to the widely used Snapdragon 855 chipset found at the heart of the Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, OnePlus 7 Pro, LG G8, Google Pixel 4 and several other top tier Android phones.

This means you’re likely to see the rumored Samsung Galaxy S11, Note 11, OnePlus 8, LG G9 and Google Pixel 5 all use this 5G-focused chipset in the next few months. Expect news to break regarding the first 865-powered phones at or right before MWC 2020 in February.

It’s sometimes easier to list which phones won’t get this chipset than list of which ones will. Huawei and sometimes Samsung for select markets make their own chipsets for smartphones. Apple has always made its own chipset for the iPhone, though it’s reportedly going back to using Qualcomm’s modem 2020 in order to deliver the first 5G iPhone.

As it stands, very few of the best Android phones don’t use a Snapdragon chip, so the capabilities and benchmarking of the flagship Snapdragon 865 will tell us a lot about our smartphones in 2020. 

5G for the masses? Snapdragon 765 hints at that

What’s interesting is that there’s going to be a second 5G chipset platform: the Snapdragon 765/765G. It’ll have integrated 5G capabilities (highlighting the 865 chip does not). 

The naming convention also hints it’ll come to slightly cheaper Android phones (like past 700-series chips have from Qualcomm), bringing 5G to more people, not just top-tier smartphone buyers, in 2020.

We’ll have more reporting this week from the Snapdragon Summit, which has become a way to foreshadow how Android phones and always-on laptops will change in the next 12 months.

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Apple picking: iPhone maker announces its favorite 2019 apps, games and podcasts

Apple is picking winners from its software and entertainment ecosystem, which was bursting with content in 2019, partly due to the debut of Apple Arcade and Apple TV Plus.

The Cupertino firm is now spotlighting the best apps, games, podcasts, and even big trends through a new celebratory showcase dubbed the 'App Store's Best of 2019'.

With Best of 2019, the company's App Store editorial team is touting its favorites on each hardware platform, from the iPhone and iPad to Mac and Apple TV.

Here are the winners of app awards and app trends, according to Apple. 

  • iPhone App of the Year: Spectre Camera (Lux Optics)
  • iPad App of the Year: Flow by Moleskine (Moleskine)
  • Mac App of the Year: Affinity Publisher (Serif Labs)
  • Apple TV App of the Year: The Explorers (The Explorers Network)
  • App Trend of 2019: Storytelling Simplified

The 'app trend' pick is based on a series of apps – anything that can help you tell your story: Anchor (Anchor FM), Unfold (Unfold Creative), Steller (Expedition Travel Advisor), Over (Over, Inc) and Wattpad (Wattpad Corp).

Apple's Best Games of 2019 picks were also split up by hardware platform. The thinking here may be that some games are best suited for the big screen – aka, with Apple TV – while others are a better fit for the iPhone and its portability.

  • iPhone Game of the Year: Sky: Children of the Light (thatgamecompany)
  • iPad Game of the Year: Hyper Light Drifter (Abylight S.L.)
  • Mac Game of the Year: GRIS (Devolver / Nomada Studio) 
  • Apple TV Game of the Year: Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (DotEmu)
  • Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Sayonara Wild Hearts”(Simogo)
  • Game Trend of 2019: Blockbusters Reimagined

Again, you'll need more context to the broad 'trends' pick. It's based on original hits reimagined. Think “Mario Kart Tour” (Nintendo), “Minecraft Earth” (Mojang), “Pokémon Masters” (DeNA Co), “Assassin’s Creed Rebellion” (Ubisoft), “Gears POP!” (Microsoft Corporation), “The Elder Scrolls: Blades” (Bethesda) and “Call of Duty: Mobile” (Activision Publishing) 

Not to be completely forgotten, Apple is giving podcasts much-needed limelight with the following picks:


  • Best True Crime Show - White Lies
  • Best Fiction Show - Carrier
  • Best History Show - 1619 

With Apple contributing to the ever-growing content scene, it's helpful to have the team behind the App Store spotlight their personal favorites. The redesigned App Store that debuted with iOS 12 helped, but we like easy, simple-to-read lists, too.

And there's something to be said about the editorialized picks here. It's about seeing more than commercially successful brands like Angry Birds, Instagram, TikTok and others dominate the game and app charts everyday.

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The iPad Pro 11 is $150 off in a secret Cyber Monday deal

There's a tremendous iPad Pro 11 Cyber Monday deal at Best Buy for $150 off the MSRP, however, most people won't notice the price drop. That's good news for anyone who wants the iPad Pro at its all-time low price. 

This almost secret deal for the iPad Pro 11 64GB is just $649.99 at Best Buy, making it an an extremely rare Apple deal. Yes, it's from late 2018, but this is still Apple's latest Pro model, and the Cyber Monday deal comes in space gray and silver colors.  

There are strings attached to this bargain, but it's rather easy to sort. You have to log into a My Best Buy account to even see the $650 iPad Pro price. Anyone not logged into a free member account will see the full price of $800. It could be why this Cyber Monday iPad deal is still in stock.

Again, don't let the non-member price fool you. When we logged into a completely free My Best Buy account, we were able to see the $649.99 price tag. Here's a photo of the deal in action, as proof that it still exists.

Best Buy iPad Pro 11 deal

You can see that the iPad Pro deal for $649.99 is still available, but you'll have to log into a free account to get it.

There have been several Apple iPad deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but we've seen very few price drops on the redesigned iPad Pro models. Mostly, US retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target have been pushing the cheaper iPad 10.2 and a few have given the slightly superior iPad Air a price drop.

TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for. 

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The best smart scale is only $50 for Cyber Monday at Best Buy

We've tested the best smart scales in 2019, and good news: our top-rated pick is now on sale for half off, instantly making it one of Best Buy's most tempting Cyber Monday deals.

The Withings Body+ Composition Wi-Fi Scale is just $50 and ready to give your 2020 an uplift by tracking your weight loss progress – or your weight gain. It also has the ability to calculate your BMI, muscle mass, and water percentage.

All of this data is sent to the Withings app using your home's Wi-Fi network, allowing you to see your ups and downs over time. We've used various Withings scales over the last few years, so seeing your body evolve over time is great – and a bit scary.

But for $50, it's hard to argue with this smart scale and consider buying a dumb scale ever again. A smart scale is a great thing to buy now because it's not a gadget that needs to be upgraded every year (really this tech is from 2016). Get it before it goes back up to $99.

TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for. 

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The Hulu Black Friday deal is back: just $1.99 a month for an entire year

There's a Hulu Black Friday deal for $1.99 a month that's nearly impossible to pass up. In fact, we just signed up for an account ourselves today, it's that good of a price.

The biggest Hulu perk these days is how much it costs every Black Friday, not just the fact that is offers a host TV shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Castle Rock, and reruns of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fraiser, and Seinfeld (well, that last one until 2021 at least).

At just $24 for the entire year, Hulu has the best price among streaming services. It even beats Disney Plus, and Disney happens to be Hulu's majority owner. At this rate, even if you seldom watch Hulu, it can still be worth it.

Can you even get this Hulu Black Friday deal?

There are some caveats to this Hulu Black Friday deal, according to the company. If you signed up for last year's Cyber Monday deal that cost $1 a month for 12 months of the service, you technically won't be eligible for this deal.

However, we jumped on that deal last year and we were still able to get this year's Hulu special offer for just $1.99 a month. It may be because we logged in with Facebook (an easy way to sign up) this year – we're still sorting through the 'why', so you too may have to get creative.

Either way, streaming platforms are becoming increasingly competitive in 2019, and that's to our advantage. Price has become the biggest selling point for getting Hulu, and renewing it is slowly becoming a Black Friday tradition for us.

Yes, this is technically double the price of last year's Hulu Cyber Monday deal, but we're okay with $2 a month – we spend more on a single cup of coffee each day.

TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for. 

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Here are 10 cheap 4KTV Black Friday deals that we can recommend

Update: One cheap 4K TV has sold out, and a few are going back in up price as early Black Friday ends and the actual Friday, November 29 date begins. Here's the best of what's left. 

We've reviewed a lot of TCL Roku TVs here at TechRadar in the US – in fact I reviewed the very first one and really dug the Roku interface – and the low price. The launch pattern is always the same: the TVs release at very attractive prices, get a nice discount on Black Friday and, occasional, get another price drop right about... now.

Good news: for Black Friday 2019, there are 10 different TCL Roku TVs on sale from three different categories, and we've curated a list of the rock bottom price of each. And the funny thing is that we were all ready to write about these 10 different 4K TVs on sale when the price on each of them dropped... again.

We finally recalculated these 4K TVs prices again, but you'll have to see the discount to get an accurate reading of the current price. You never know how much it'll cost for these cheap 4K TV at any minute given the Amazon Black Friday deals and how fast they move.

Let's start this top 10 list talking about the double price we've seen on the high-end 6-Series 4K TVs. Yes, there should be a total of 12 instead of 10, but two are sold out. There's no telling if they will be in stock next week when Cyber Monday deals roll around.

TCL's very fine mid-range 4K TV deals

TCL's cheapest 4K TV with Black Friday deals

Bonus: there's a 1080p TV deal down to $129.99

(Not in the US? Scroll down for today's best TCL Roku TV 55-inch 6-series deals in your region.)

Black Friday deals around the web

TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for. 

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This PS4 Pro price drop to $299 is still in stock for Best Buy’s Black Friday

The PS4 Pro bundle price drop for Black Friday 2019 that we wrote about over the weekend has now sold out at Walmart, but thankfully it's now available at Best Buy for the same excellent price.

We're recommending the PS4 Pro bundle with Call of Duty Modern Warfare at $299.99, which is the same as another deal without the free game (value: another $59.99. Since the Sony console alone costs $399.99 normally, it all adds up to the typical price of $459.98, so $299.99 puts it in a very different space when you're considering Christmas presents.

A savings of $159.99 is probably the best Best Buy Black Friday deal you're going to see for the PS4 Pro. And we would know, we've been on the hunt for PS4 Pro deals since Sony first launched the souped-up video game console. 

We're fairly confident of two things: 1) that this is a great deal and 2) it won't actually last very long in Best Buy's inventory system. Most times, deals like this sell out and drum up a lot of press, so get this one while you can.

Finding this PS4 Pro price drop has been the best Black Friday news we've seen so far, and it may stay that even when the official November 29 date rolls around. It's that big of a deal among gamers eager to play with Sony's console without paying through the nose for the better graphics that the PS4 Pro provides as its core feature.

Not in the US? Fear not, as we're always on the hunt for the best prices around the world.

  • TechRadar is scouring every retailer and rounding up all the top deals over the Black Friday period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals in easy-to-navigate articles to help you find the bargains you’re looking for.
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Motorola Razr 2019 launch live blog

Update 2: Our Moto Razr hands-on review is now live and so is our video review – you can watch it on that page or below (we've included the YouTube embed code below). So all of the details are now live. Thanks for following along with our liveblog.

Update: Well, let's liveblog this Moto Razr event. Because while there's strangely no official Moto Razr event livestream, we're seeing details go public early, and we can report on that. It's all over Twitter, so who cares, right? Right!

We're in Los Angeles for that event that appears be be dedicated to the sequel to the Motorola Razr V3 from 2004 - it's likely to be the Motorola Razr V4, which is heavily rumored to be the company's first folding phone.

It's thought that Motorola is reworking its classic flip-phone design and branding into a foldable device. This has been a handset we've been anticipating for a long time, ever since TechRadar broke the first word of a reboot of the Razr brand when speaking to Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing back in 2018.

We've been eagerly anticipating this device from the company for some time throughout the launch of the Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold folding phones.

Motorola Razr 2019 launch live blog

All times in Pacific Standard Time (PST)

8:15pm: And no more beating around the Twitter bush, here's our video review and full hands-on of the Moto Razr. Check it out and be sure to sub our channel. 

8:10pm: Here are the now-public details from Verizon: It's a "new take on the flip phone" with a full-length 6.2-inch display that closes completely in half. 

"On the outside, a touch-enabled “Quick View” display lets you interact with notifications without having to open the phone. The razr also has a 16-megapixel camera with Night Vision and all-day battery life with TurboPower charging."

8:08pm: And Verizon in the US is confirming the Moto Razr 2019.

It'll be available through the network on December 26 for pre-order and in stores and online on January 9. So the official Moto Razr release date is January 9, 2020. 

It'll be cheap for a foldable phone, but not cheap in general. It'll cost $62.49 a month for 24 months on Verizon Device Payment. Meaning the full retail price is $1,499.99.

8:04pm: And here it is, the big Moto Razr phone unveiling, as confirmed by multiple tweets from the venue – so again fair game to publish.

8:00pm: Here's another round-up of photos from this hush-hush Moto Razr event. While we've seen legit-looking Razr leaks from the venue on suspect accounts, other journalists and (familiar faces) keep tweeting about the nostalgia factor. Expect the Moto Razr 2019 to look like an old Razr phone with a foldable twist.

7:55pm: It's clear that the Moto Razr launch event in Los Angeles is turning into a rave – yes, this IS the early 2000s all over again. Smells like the Razr 2019 is around the corner, according to these fair game public tweets.

7:44pm: This is is probably the most highly cited tweet we're seeing for the still under wraps. Again, this information is public and fair game to report on.

7:42pm: David Lumb is on the ground and on Twitter – only tweeting things that are already public. And we've seen statues of ice holding old Razr phones. This s a cute tweet.

7:40pm: Well, the Rzr name has been confirmed – it's 15 years old, but the LA venue is popping with nostalgia and mood lighting, as you can see from people live tweeting the launch event.

7:35pm: Here's another live tweet from the venue. Key Motorola partnership returns, with mainstay Verizon on stage at the Moto Rzr launch event. We'll have to see what about means from the launch event that's totally happening right now in LA.

7:32pm: Here's a tweet of the venue, with a big screen dedicated to the old Moto Rzr 3 design. There's certainly attention being played to nostalgia.

7:30pm: We're going to report on everything being leaked online right now, because Twitter is FULL of public information. I see a swanky venue popping right now in LA, and several tweets leaking what's supposedly the phone.

01:00pm: It's the afternoon here is Los Angeles and we're getting ourselves prepped for the big launch taking place later tonight. This is an exciting one considering the history behind the Motorola Razr series and, perhaps more importantly, the hype behind foldable phones.

We've already seen the phone leak yet again this morning through photos on the FCC and you can read all about that here. Plus, Motorola has also posted another teaser image of the phone that you can see below:

It doesn't show much about the phone that we didn't already know, but it's enough to keep us interested for the next few hours until the launch begins.

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The new iPad is looking to repeat last year’s epic Cyber Monday deal

Update: Sure enough, the iPad 10.2 is already on sale for a ridiculous price, at least in the US. Already, the iPad is $250 ($80 off) at Best Buy (if you're signed into a normal Best Buy account). That may be as good as it gets, according to our analysis below.

The new iPad 10.2 is Apple's latest iPad and also its cheapest, starting at $329 (£329, AU$529). However, even that price may not last come Cyber Monday 2019.

How do we know? We've already seen the new iPad for $29 off at Walmart, which is a good sign that it will see even bigger discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, starting on November 29. That date is just around the corner.

That's good news because this is the iPad we suggest for most users. Not everyone needs the iPad Air 10.5, iPad Pro 11 or iPad Pro 12.9. This new iPad works with the Apple Pencil and Apple's Smart Keyboard, and runs iPadOS out of the box. 

Repeat the last iPad Cyber Monday deal?

How low can the iPad price go for Cyber Monday? Last year, we saw several retailers like Walmart and Amazon, slash the price by $100 on Cyber Monday. That's after it was $80 off for a Black Friday iPad deal (a price we thought was epic at the time).

In the UK, discounts were a bit more modest, but still welcomed. You could get last year's brand new iPad for a price hovering around £30 off, meaning £299 in the end. It sold out through several retailers with certain colors like gold becoming harder to find than the standard silver option.

There's one caveat to this year's iPad deal

We're confident that retailers will discount the iPad again for Cyber Monday, but this year's Apple deal may not be as noteworthy. It all has to do with timing and size.

The new iPad 9.7 came out on September 30, meaning it'll be a just over two months old by the time Cyber Monday gets here on December 3. Last year's iPad, launched at the very same price, came out in March 2018 – making it a little over eight months old by Cyber Monday a year ago. You're also in a slightly different class of iPad, as this one is ever-so-slightly bigger.

So we're dealing with a product that will be two months old and a tad larger vs one that was eight months old and a tad smaller. Will we see it be $100 off again for Cyber Monday, or should you go for the $80 deal? That all depends on how desperate retailers are to lure you to their websites.

If it does go that low, expect the price cuts to be temporary and stock to be limited.

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The Current War 2019 review: Edison vs Westinghouse rivalry lights up this movie

Update: Our review of The Current War has been updated now that the movie is out in theaters this weekend. We also added a video interview below and an extended video interview on YouTube. 

Before Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg, there was Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla, and The Current War captures the passion, charisma and genius of these 19th century visionaries. It’s a movie about the advent of commercial and domestic electrical systems, and their ambitious inventors.

Set in the 1880s and ‘90s, the movie tells the story of the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to have their rival DC and AC current technologies widely adopted – and, ultimately, have theirs become the system that would power the approaching new century.

The film was supposed to debut two years ago through distributor The Weinstein Company, only to be mired in modern-day controversy, and put on hiatus due to the sex abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was able to reshoot and recut the movie in that time, and it’s now opening this weekend as The Current War: Director’s Cut.

Watching the determined Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and equally dedicated but more altruistic Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) echoes recent biopics like Jobs, and ‘biopics’ like The Social Network. The difference is that, while we're all familiar with modern-day innovators like Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg, here the story features historical figures we know by name, but who most of us probably don’t know a great deal about.

Edison vs Westinghouse

It’s a story that deserves to be told, and doesn’t hold back on the genius of Edison but also the ruthlessness of his commitment to seeing Direct Current succeed. He’s so determined to have his form of electricity adopted by candlelit American cities that he’s willing to demonstrate the dangers of Westinghouse's Alternating Current on live animals in an attempt to smear his rival in the press.

The Current War movie

Westinghouse, already a titan of the Industrial Age, thanks to his invention of the railway air brake, continues to back Alternating Current with the help of Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult). 

Edison and Westinghouse rarely meet in person, but the film jumps back and forth between the two, giving the sense that they’re always at each other’s throats. It’s not hard to pay attention to the quick jump cuts, and they act as a way to spice up what could otherwise be a dry story.

Tesla's minor, but important role

Tesla plays a key role in the lives of both electrical industry pioneers, working for Edison at first – then, when his genius isn’t realized, Westinghouse. The movie flirts with, but doesn’t go into Tesla’s story nearly enough, as the spotlight remains squarely on the Edison vs Westinghouse rivalry. Tesla ends up being a minor, but important player in this particular film.

The complicated lives and work habits of these two innovators reflects a lot of what we see in today’s complex entrepreneurs. You admire them for their foresight to change the course of history and connect the world with their revolutionary ideas. Then you begin to discover they, at times, betray their own principles and make this mostly about winning a game.

One of the more faithful biopics in a while

The Current War: Director’s Cut stays true to the history of Edison and Westinghouse as we know it. It may have worked better as a Netflix or HBO series, diving deeper into the lives of both masterminds from a young age to their very end – the lives of both men feel as though they need an origin story. At the same time, it may have drawn things out to an even slower pace.

The Current War movie

Biopics like this movie live and die by their source material. Too often, Hollywood studios like to gin up a true story in an effort to make the theater experience more entertaining. Argo (yes, that film with Ben Affleck) is the perfect example of a movie based on events that really happened, but you to come to find that the most exciting moments were fictionalized, especially toward the end of the story. 

The Current War’s pacing, as is, feels less intense than other recent biopics, and that’s OK. It’s more honest than we often see from movies “based on a true story.” If you’re looking for an entertaining lesson in history, you’ll get that here instead of entertainment masquerading as history.

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I want the new Amazon Echo Dot, but I’ve been conditioned to wait until Black Friday

The new Amazon Echo Dot with Clock is the smart speaker I want in my tiny New York City apartment. It's small, yet stylish, packs decent sound, has Alexa built-in, and now it shines an LED clock through the fabric sides.

It remains affordable, too, except... I'm certain it'll be cheaper for Black Friday 2019

I've become so conditioned to Amazon Black Friday sales, when Amazon slashes the retail prices of its Echo speakers. In fact, its entire range of Amazon-branded tech and appliances typically see price drops from mid-November to early December.

That's made buying newly announced Amazon gadgets difficult at launch. Outside of seasons like Amazon Prime Day and Cyber Monday, I've become less inclined to make purchases – big or small. Even the small ones add up when I buy so much tech.

What's two months?

Black Friday 2019 is November 29 this year, and the date for Cyber Monday is later than usual: December 2. But it's all still just two months away from today.

Amazon Echo Dot Clock

You're just two months away from sitting next to my bed, little smart clock

The fact is, I've become conditioned to shop on Amazon for its big tech products just two times a year. You're never very far from Prime Day or Black Friday when you think about it. Prime Day 2019 was two months ago. The longest stretch is seven months between January and July.

In effect, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has created a Pavlovian mindset for habitual online deal seekers like myself. I'm not sure if that's good or bad for the Seattle-based company or society at large, but I know I'm going to be paying less for smart home tech I use myself (and gift to my friends and family).

As tempted as I am to get my apartment up to speed with the latest Echo Dot (I don't have one... yet), I'm going to set my non-Alexa alarm clock to November 29. There's no certainty it will see a discount, but, while I'm not a gambling man, I'm betting it will drop in price. All my chips are on Black Friday.

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Two new Ring cameras offer cheap home security for your budding compound

Amazon is turning your simple, but highly vulnerable home into a maximum security compound, or at least that's what we assume after the Amazon launch event.

It introduced two new Ring home security cameras, one being the refresh of the last year's Indoor Cam at a cheaper price and the other being brand new Stick Up Cam. 

What's unique about the 2019 Indoor Cam is that it costs just $59.99 and includes features like 1080p HD video, custom motion detection, and night vision. You can also power it four different ways: battery, plug-in, solar and Power over Ethernet.

The new Ring Stick Up Cam is more expensive at $99.99 with the benefit that it works indoors and outdoors. It comes in four distinct versions: with a battery, plugged-in, powered by solar and Elite (powered by Ethernet).

Amazon also announced that its high-end Ring Video Doorbell Elite models will get a concierge service, allowing Alexa to ask a messenger about signing for a package or a stranger to state their business.

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