Here’s what we can tell you. If you’re thinking of picking up the Galaxy S26 Ultra at launch, putting in your preorder now isn’t a bad idea. It’s also a great time to pick up the midrange QuietComfort Headphones and what many of us at The Verge consider to be the game of 2024: Astro Bot. And who doesn’t want to save on a slick handheld vac?
If you’re craving a little peace and quiet, Bose’s QuietComfort Headphones are currently on sale at Amazon in multiple colors for $199 ($150 off), which is the best price we’ve seen this year.
The standard QC Headphones are essentially a refresh of the last-gen QC45s with some new software tricks, including the ability to adjust noise cancellation levels and set custom listening modes. That being the case, you still get up to 24 hours of battery life, excellent comfort, and multipoint support, making it easy to switch between Bluetooth devices on the fly. They lack Bose’s immersive audio mode and the higher-quality Bluetooth found in the newer QC Ultras, though, as well as support for lossless audio over USB-C. Then again, that probably shouldn’t come as a surprise given they’re retailing for $250 less.
As we alluded to earlier, Samsung announced its Galaxy S26 lineup this week. There are already plenty of preorder deals to consider, but one of the best comes courtesy of Amazon, which is throwing in a $200 gift card alongside a free storage upgrade when you preorder the 512GB Galaxy S26 Ultra starting at $1,299.99. Other retailers are also running promos ahead of the phone’s March 11th release date, mind you, though they’re not as impressive; Best Buy is only providing a free storage upgrade, while Samsung is offering a mere $150 in credit.
While the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus both feel like underwhelming, iterative updates, the 6.9-inch Galaxy S26 Ultra actually impressed our resident phone reviewer, Allison Johnson. That’s largely because of the new Privacy Display, which can help shield your screen from people sitting near you (if desired), and a more powerful camera array that should improve low-light performance. Plus, like the rest of the S26 lineup, the Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which supports more advanced generative AI tools and a souped-up version of Gemini that can carry out certain tasks in third-party apps on your behalf. No one likes calling an Uber themselves, anyway.
You can still grab a physical copy of Astro Bot at Walmart for $32.99 ($27 off), an all-time low. The fantastic PlayStation 5 exclusive — which won Game of the Year at the 2024 Game Awards — has players take on the role of Astro, a lovable robot who sets off on a space adventure after his crew is lost in a sudden attack. Despite the prior game being a pack-in title for the PS5, Team Asobi’s full-sized sequel brims with inventive platforming, whimsical power-ups, and a kind of lighthearted fun that recalls the best of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Thankfully, it never feels outdated, even if ‘90s vibes are totally there.
If you’re looking for a relatively compact handheld vacuum that can reach into car crevices and suck up crumbs on your desk, Fanttik’s foldable Fold V10 Apex is still on sale at Amazon for $85.49 (about $65 off), matching its best price to date.
Fanttik’s 17,000Pa vac features an extendable nozzle that pivots up to 210 degrees, along with a built-in LED light to help illuminate the dark corners of your vehicle. An onboard display, meanwhile, indicates the remaining battery life and suction mode, as well as the status of the washable filter. It also comes with a range of useful add-ons, including an upholstery tool, two brush heads, and an extendable hose with a crevice tool for hard-to-reach areas. It even charges via USB-C, making it easy to juice after the battery runs out in about 30 minutes or so.
