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The holiday shopping season has come and gone. That means you’re free to buy new tech products without that dreadful looming fear of missing out when Black Friday arrives. That’s perfect news for anyone looking to upgrade their tech. The deal doldrums between peak shopping seasons don’t always have the flashiest discounts. But the start of the year is the perfect time to upgrade your current roster of gadgets. After all, retailers are clearing out 2021 inventory for the next generation of tech products.
If you’re not sure where to begin or simply looking for recommendations, here are some of the best deals we’ve seen since the start of the year.

The Best New Year Tech to Upgrade in 2022

Tried and True Noise Cancelling Earbuds

apple airpods pro and samsung galaxy buds

Credit: Apple, Samsung


If you missed out on Walmart‘s record-breaking AirPods Pro deal on Black Friday, you’re in luck. Micro Center‘s current AirPods Pro discount knocks $80 off the usual $249.99 retail price. That’s just $10 less than Walmart’s $90 off promotion. You can order up to three pairs at a time online, but you’ll have to pick them up in-store. Need to upgrade your audio game? This is a good choice.

Recent rumors about a potential AirPods Pro update might be a convincing reason to hold out for the next generation. Still, there isn’t much information – certainly not enough to pass up a steep discount on these reliable, top-rated true wireless earbuds. Besides, it took this long for these AirPods to get a substantial discount, who knows when you’ll be able to save upwards of $100 on yet-to-be-announced ones?
Can’t be bothered to care about the intricate politics of Apple generations, or just want to spend $100 less than you would on a pair of AirPods? Best Buy‘s got you covered with refurbished Galaxy Buds2 Earbuds up to 56% off, even in a wide variety of colorways.

It has never been easier to pick up a pair of affordable AirPods alternatives, but Galaxy Buds2 routinely ranks as Apple’s most worthwhile ANC earbud competitor.

Last Year’s TV Deals, This Year’s TV Steals

Insignia™ - 70" Class F30 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV, and LG OLED A1 Series 48” Alexa Built-in 4k Smart TV

Credit: Insignia, LG


Every January, the holidays’ best-selling 4K TVs become last year’s dated shelf clutter that grows cheaper and cheaper until none remain. If you want to update your home theater, that’s great news. There are plenty of reasons to hold off on purchasing a brand new TV the year that it comes out, but none can beat the financial incentive — it’s still an upgrade if it’s new to you! Plus, you can rest assured knowing that your new smart TV has received any necessary firmware patches.
In terms of sheer bang for your buck, Best Buy’s $200 discount on the Insignia 70″ Class F30 Smart Fire TV is hard to top — it’s even $30 cheaper than it was on Black Friday.

Best Buy’s in-house Insignia brand isn’t widely renowned for its cutting edge features by any means, but this serviceable (and sizable) TV would be well suited for anyone looking for a well-rounded streaming device with sophisticated Fire OS/Alexa integration.
If you’re looking to spring for something a little higher-end, Amazon is offering a rare shot at scoring an LG OLED TV for under $1,000. The LG OLED A1 Series 48″ 4K Smart TV is an entry-level LG OLED model that offers most of the line’s signature features without the costly LG OLED price tag.

You might not get the shiny new a9 Gen4 AI Processor found in other classes, but $850 is a fair price to pay for all of the usual OLED perks plus Filmmaker Mode, Dolby Vision IQ/Atmos and ALLM Gaming Mode.

Shop the Winter Laptop Sales

Lenovo Ideapad 3i and HP 17.3" FHD

Credit: Lenovo, HP


Prospective laptop buyers have the luxury of browsing multiple New Year’s laptop sales. If it’s time to upgrade, you’re in luck. You can save up to $250 (or 40%) on laptops, PCs and computer accessories at Dell’s Winter Sale or snag some rare flash deals on the HP website, but it looks like Walmart has some of the deepest and highest quality PC discounts available right now – especially if you are set on spending less than $500.
If that sounds like you, head over to the Walmart website and check out the Lenovo Ideapad 3i and the HP 17-by4061nr. These mid-range laptops both have a reputation for being reliable and surprisingly well-stocked with quality components for their price points (which have been marked down $260 and $180, respectively).

Both machines feature a quad-core Intel i5 processor and a 512GB NVMe TLC SSD, though each device has its own unique pros and cons. The Ideapad 3i comes with a modest 1.6 GHz processing speed, but it can support up to 12GB RAM and has up to nine hours of battery life. Meanwhile, the HP 17-by4061nr can boost to a breezy 4.2GHz processing speed, but it comes at the cost of long battery life.

Hard Drive Storage Deals

WD_BLACK 500GB SN850 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD Solid State Drive and 18.0TB WESTERN DIGITAL ULTRASTAR DC HC550

Credit: Western Digital


Hard drives aren’t the most exciting tech purchase, but what’s a better way to ring in the new year than backing up all of your files and getting to save over $100 on a new gadget? Supply chain issues have backed up the manufacturing and transportation of many crucial computer components and there’s no clear end in sight. That means it’s never a bad idea to hop on a good HDD or SDD deal while the getting is good. And you definitely want to upgrade your storage.
Western Digital‘s variety of external drives suits plenty of applications from personal file management to next-gen console video game storage, plus they are consistently top-rated when it comes to longevity, speed and reliability. To further sweeten the deal, Amazon and OWC have some killer deals on simple WD drives and behemoth storage tanks alike:

The WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe is a popular choice for video game storage (server/NAS applications less so), plus you can add a heatsink for an extra $30 without losing your $50 discount. On the other extreme end of storage potential, OWC’s deal on the Ultrastar HC550 might be the lowest price you’ll find on 18TB of storage with a solid projected 2.5M MTBF reliability rating.

Save on Home and Kitchen Tech

Instant pot and Anker eufy RoboVac G30 Verge

Credit: Instant Pot, eufy


Why spend hours laboring over a hot stove or a screaming vacuum when technology has developed a fleet of cost-efficient robots tailor-made to do those things quickly and efficiently? Upgrade the way you approach cooking.
If you’re looking to take a load off in 2022, Walmart has a diverse selection of marked-down kitchen tech and household appliances worth checking out, most notably the Eight Quart Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Cooker and the Anker eufy RoboVac G30 Verge.

Across the board, Instant Pots have dropped significantly in price over the last couple of years . Still, $59 is he lowest price we’ve ever seen on this eight-quart model. Walmart offered the same price during Black Friday.
However, the eufy RoboVac G30 is the true steal in this category. Packed with useful features such as Home Mapping, full app control with cleaning history, boundary strips, a Path Tracking Sensor and a number of other adaptive controls, Anker’s hardy little eufy RoboVac G30 Verge offers solid midrange performance at a rock-bottom price.

Will 2022 be the year where you finally claim your Holy Grail of Deals? Whatever it is you’re looking for, setting a Deal Alert will help you find the best possible price when you’re ready to make a purchase. We’ll let you know when someone posts a deal you might be interested in.

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Oliver Pretl-Drummond

Oliver Pretl-Drummond is a copywriter, memoirist and Scorpio living in Baltimore, MD. Primed by years of recreational research spirals, they've helped Slickdeals document hundreds of arcane store policies and hidden coupon tricks for the greater good of deal hunters everywhere. They spend their days seeking and sharing killer deals on budget travel, sound systems, home goods and tech. By night, their free time is reserved for making bass music while consuming exotic caffeinated beverages with their partner and growing family of yucca plants.