The weekend’s best deals: Apple Music subscriptions, Sony headphones, and more

It’s the weekend, which means the time has come for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a nice offer for those who’ve been interested in trying out Apple Music or just want to wring out a few free months of music streaming. As of this writing, Best Buy is offering six months of service to new subscribers of Apple’s Spotify rival at no cost. If you’re a returning subscriber, meanwhile, you’ll get five months for free. Apple normally provides a one-month free trial to new users before charging a $10 monthly fee, so this deal works out to a $50 discount in total.

You’ll need to supply Best Buy with an email address to redeem the offer, and, sadly, the deal doesn’t apply to current Apple Music subscribers. Once you activate the extended trial, your subscription will be set to auto-renew by default, but the Dealmaster can confirm that you’re able to turn that off in your account settings without losing access to the free months of service. It took about five minutes for Best Buy to email us a redemption code after putting in an order, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t receive the deal immediately after purchase.

We covered the pros and cons of Apple Music in our guide to the best Spotify alternatives earlier this year. Compared to its biggest competitor, Apple’s service tends to put more emphasis on music curation by actual people. It’s not devoid of algorithm-based recommendations by any means, but in general, Spotify’s are better-tuned. Apple’s approach could be good or bad depending on how in tune you feel Spotify is with your taste, but either way, both services have a massive music library that you can sort into playlists and listen to à la carte as you please. Unlike Spotify, Apple doesn’t offer a free tier to fall back on, but it can integrate music you may already own (on iTunes) with its streaming library, and it offers higher-quality audio with some content (for now, at least). Naturally, it’s also more tightly integrated with other Apple products—here’s looking at you, HomePod owners—though it has apps for both iOS and Android.

If you don’t feel like switching to a new music service, though, our roundup has plenty of strong discounts on other gadgets and gear we like, including Sony’s still-excellent WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones, Google’s Chromecast with Google TV, Sonos’ Move portable speaker, a truckload of PC, Xbox, and PlayStation games, Fitbit trackers, high-speed SSDs, and much more. You can check out our full curated roundup below.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Featured deals of the day

• Up to 6-month Apple Music membership for free ($50) at Best Buy (new or returning users only)
• Google Chromecast with Google TV 4K media streamer for $40 ($50) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless ANC headphones for $278 ($325) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Capcom Summer 2022 Bundle: various PC games + coupons for $20 at Humble
• Nintendo Switch Online 12-Month Family Membership + SanDisk MicroSDXC Card for Nintendo Switch (128GB, U3) for $35 ($56) at Amazon (bundle in cart)
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox, PC) for $16 ($25) at Xbox, Steam (also on Game Pass)
• Sony DualSense Wireless Controller for PS5 (various colors) for $59 ($70) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Sonos Move portable home speaker for $319 ($399) at Sonos, Best Buy, Walmart
• Sonos Roam portable speaker for $143 ($179) at Sonos, Target, Best Buy
• WD Black SN850 (2TB) PCIe 4.0 internal SSD for $225 ($260) at Newegg (use code: SSBTAA26)
• Fitbit Versa 3 activity tracker for $161 ($195) at Amazon
• Dell S2721DGF 27-inch gaming monitor (1440p, 165 Hz, IPS, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible) for $300 ($365) at Dell, Best Buy

Electronics deals

• Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless ANC headphones for $278 ($325) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless ANC earphones for $228 ($265) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Bose QuietComfort 45 wireless ANC headphones for $279 ($310) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Sonos Move portable home speaker for $319 ($399) at Sonos, Best Buy, Walmart
• Sonos Roam portable speaker for $143 ($179) at Sonos, Target, Best Buy
• Sonos One SL (refurb) smart home speaker for $159 ($199) at Sonos
• Apple Watch Series 7 (45 mm) smartwatch for $359 ($385) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Apple AirPods (3rd gen) true wireless earbuds for $150 ($165) at Amazon, Target, Walmart
• Apple AirPods Pro true wireless ANC earphones for $175 ($185) at Amazon, Target, Walmart
• Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) smart display for $60 ($90) at Target, Best Buy, Walmart
• Google Nest Thermostat smart thermostat for $100 ($120) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy

• Amazon Echo Dot (2-pack) smart speaker for $55 ($80) at Amazon, Best Buy (use code: FDDOT)
• Fitbit Versa 3 activity tracker for $161 ($195) at Amazon
• Fitbit Luxe activity tracker for $90 ($115) at Amazon
• Garmin Forerunner 245 GPS running watch for $225 ($270) at Garmin, Amazon, Target
• Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2 1080p dashcam for $110 ($125) at Garmin, Amazon, Best Buy
• Kobo Clara HD 6-inch e-reader for $90 ($110) at Walmart
• WD My Passport (1TB) portable SSD for $117 ($130) at Amazon, Best Buy
• iRobot Roomba i3 Evo robot vacuum for $249 ($290) at Amazon, Target, iRobot
• iRobot Roomba i3+ Evo robot vacuum + self-emptying dock for $399 ($480) at Amazon, Target, iRobot
• iRobot Roomba j7+ robot vacuum + self-emptying dock for $599 ($740) at Amazon, Target, iRobot
• iRobot Braava Jet M6 robot mop for $349 ($385) at Amazon, Target, iRobot
• Eufy RoboVac 11S robot vacuum for $140 ($175) at Amazon

Laptop and desktop PC deals

• Gigabyte Aorus 15P KD 15.6-inch gaming laptop (Core i7-11800H, 1080p 240Hz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GeForce RTX 3060 6GB) for $1,199 ($1,340) at Best Buy
• WD Black SN850 (2TB) PCIe 4.0 internal SSD for $225 ($260) at Newegg (use code: SSBTAA26)
• SK Hynix Gold P31 (1TB) PCIe 3.0 internal SSD for $93 ($110) at Amazon (2TB for $179)
• Dell S2721DGF 27-inch gaming monitor (1440p, 165 Hz, IPS, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible) for $300 ($365) at Dell, Best Buy
• LG 27GL850-B 27-inch gaming monitor (1440p, 144 Hz, IPS, FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible) for $300 ($365) at Amazon, B&H
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-core/12-thread desktop CPU for $169 ($205) at Amazon, B&H

TV and home entertainment deals

• Google Chromecast with Google TV 4K media streamer for $40 ($50) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Roku Ultra 4K media streamer for $70 ($95) at Target (discount in cart)
• Dune (4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital) for $14 ($27) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Hisense U6G (2021) 65-inch 4K LED TV for $498 ($625) at Walmart
• Hisense U8G (2021) 65-inch 4K LED TV for $850 ($1,000) at Amazon, Best Buy
• LG C1 (2021) 55-inch 4K OLED TV for $1,097 ($1,275) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy

Video game deals

• Halo Infinite (Xbox) for $25 ($50) at Amazon, Best Buy (also on Game Pass)
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox, PC) for $16 ($25) at Xbox, Steam (also on Game Pass)
• Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox) for $43 ($52) at Amazon (also on Game Pass)
• Ori: The Collection (Xbox, PC) for $12 ($25) at Xbox (also on Game Pass)
• Stardew Valley (Xbox) for $10 ($15) at Xbox (also on Game Pass)
• Rare Replay (Xbox) for $7 ($15) at Xbox (also on Game Pass)
• Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (Xbox, PS4, PC) for $5 ($15) at Xbox, GOG, Steam, PSN
• Assassin’s Creed Origins (Xbox, PS4, PC) for $9 ($15) at Xbox, PSN, Epic (also on Game Pass)
• OlliOlli World (Switch) for $20 ($28) at Nintendo
• Subnautica + Subnautica: Below Zero (Switch) for $20 ($30) at Best Buy (also on Game Pass)

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PS5, PS4, Xbox, Switch) for $45 ($58) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Assault Android Cactus (PS4) for $4 ($15) at PSN
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5) for $40 ($60) at Target, Best Buy
• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (PS5) for $30 ($50) at Amazon, Target
• God of War (PS4) for free ($15) at PSN (PS Plus required)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5) for $40 ($50) at Amazon (Epic for $38 w/ 25 percent-off coupon)
• Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5, PS4) for $30 ($45) at Target, Best Buy
• MLB The Show 22 (PS5, Xbox Series, Switch) for $50 ($65) at Target, Best Buy (also on Game Pass)
• Tales of Arise (PS5, PS4, Xbox) for $20 ($35) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Nier Replicant Ver.1.22474487139… (PS4, Xbox) for $20 ($35) at Amazon

• Capcom Summer 2022 Bundle: various PC games + coupons for $20 at Humble
• Cuphead (PC, PS4) for $14 ($20) at GOG, Humble, PSN
• Psychonauts 2 (PC, Xbox, PS4) for $30 ($40) at GOG, Steam, Xbox, PSN (also on Game Pass)
• Spiritfarer (PC, Switch) for $10 ($20) at GOG, Steam, Nintendo (also on Game Pass)
• Nobody Saves the World (PC, Switch, PS4) for $20 ($25) at Humble, Nintendo, PSN (also on Game Pass)
• Resident Evil 4 (PC) for $5 ($15) at Steam (Switch for $10, Xbox for $8)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PC) for $37 ($50) at Epic (use 25 percent-off coupon)
• Tunic (PC) for $22 ($30) at Epic (use 25 percent-off coupon, also on Game Pass)
• Rogue Legacy 2 (PC) for $15 ($22) at Epic (use 25 percent-off coupon)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PC) for $20 ($35) at Epic (use 25 percent-off coupon)
• Celeste (PC) for $5 ($15) at Humble, Epic

Gaming deals

Accessories and miscellaneous deals