News

20 Best Deals: MacBooks, Camera Bags, and Home Office Gear

20 Best Deals: MacBooks, Camera Bags, and Home Office Gear
Written by Techbot

Spring officially begins next week, but we’ve already got more daylight hours, which has left us feeling sunny and warm. If you can, shake off the winter dust that’s accumulated around you and get outdoors with a new camera or lenses, or if it’s still cold where you are perhaps you’d like a new laptop or smart speaker to bring your home to life. This weekend, we’ve got deals on all of those categories and more.

Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

Laptop Deals

Apple MacBook Pro

Photograph: Apple

We recommend the 16-inch MacBook Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) with an M2 Pro chip for those who want a big display and more battery life than the 14-inch model offers. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on this configuration, which has the M2 Pro processor with a 10‑core CPU and 16‑core GPU, 16 gigabytes of RAM, and a 512-gigabyte SSD. The slightly more powerful M2 Pro with a 12‑core CPU and 19‑core GPU (and 1-terabyte SSD) is also on sale for $2,499 ($100 off). Don’t know which is better for you? Check out our MacBook buying guide.

This 14-inch Intel Core i5 laptop is tempting at this price. You get an 11th-generation Intel chip, 8 gigabytes of RAM (soldered), and a 512-gigabyte SSD. The tempting part is the 3,840 x 2,400-pixel resolution, 500-nit IPS screen, which is gorgeously sharp, bright, and hard to come by at this price. Be sure to use the coupon code X1CG9CLEARANCE to get the full deal. Note that the Core i7 configuration, which bumps the RAM to 16 gigabytes, is also on sale for $1,808.

Dell XPS 13 Plus

Photograph: Dell

We like Dell’s XPS 13 Plus (7/10, WIRED Review). This config features a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 chip, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a 512-gigabyte SSD. This model has a 1,920 x 1,200 screen, which is plenty bright and sharp at this size, but it is not the 4K model. You can get the 4K screen for $300 more though, and there’s an option for Ubuntu Linux if you don’t need Windows 11.

This is the 16-inch, Intel version of the laptop I am currently typing on. In this config, you get a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 chip, 16 gigabytes of RAM, and a nice 2.5K touchscreen display. This is an Evo chip, which prioritizes battery life over raw processing power, but it’s still got plenty of juice for an average workload, and the battery lasts through a full workday.

Photo Gear Deals

Seattle-based Moment started out making smartphone lenses, but these days it’s a fully stocked photography store that also makes some of our favorite camera bags, straps, and yes, lenses. Moment is currently holding its annual spring sale with up to 60 percent off some products. We’ve highlighted our favorites below, but you can browse all the deals on Moment’s site.

Moment 58mm Telephoto lens

Photograph: Moment

We like Moment’s telephoto lens so much, we included it in our guide to the best compact cameras. You will need a special phone case to use them, and don’t forget to add the drop-in lens mount so you can easily affix the lens to the back of your phone. 

If you want to go wide with your mobile device, this is the lens you’ve been looking for. Why add a lens when your iPhone already has a wide angle? The faster aperture. Moment’s 18-mm wide angle gives you the chance to use the primary camera on your iPhone, which means better low-light performance. It’s also a substantially wider angle than your phone’s lens. Don’t forget the case and the drop-in lens mount.

If I had a compatible phone, this would be the lens I’d get. This lens works less than an inch away from your subject and offers a view you can’t get without it. If you have any interest in macro photography, this thing is much easier to use, and cheaper, than a bunch of tubes and special DSLR lenses.

Fujifilm X100V

Photograph: Fujifilm 

The Fujifilm X100V is our favorite travel camera. It’s compact and relatively light, but it still features an awesome viewfinder (optical or digital) and a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, which is bigger than other cameras this size usually offer. This deal isn’t huge, but thanks to the X100V’s popularity on TikTok, prices have been through the roof, making this a relatively good buy. This is back-ordered (that popularity thing again), so you’ll have to be patient.

The Moment MTW Backpack is one of our top backpack recommendations in our roundup of the best camera bags. The main compartment keeps your gear accessible, while the front zippered pouch lets you easily stash things like extra batteries and SD cards. The optional MTW Camera Insert for $50 ($20 off) can be securely attached and removed entirely to make the bag even more versatile. Note that this deal varies by color; they’re all on sale, but only the Olive is this cheap.

Moment Rugged Sling

Photograph: Moment

Moment’s Rugged Sling is aimed at street photographers stalking the city all day. It has a modular organization system inside, and its weatherproof fabric is made from recycled sails (technically it’s recycled polyester fiber and film, made by Northsail). The best part is the ingenious magnetic clip system, which works very well. This deal is on the 10-liter version in Olive; the 6-liter is also on sale for $80 ($40 off). Not sure what size you should get? We have suggestions.

Moment makes a ton of great camera bags, slings, and organizers for when you’re out and about, but what about for when you shove your gear in the closet? For my money, this is the best way to stay organized at home. I have three of these, and they keep my lenses, drone, and accessories readily available and safely padded when I’m not using them. And yes, you can take these with you when you go, though I don’t use them that way.

Home and Home Office Deals

Echo Dot With Clock

Photograph: Amazon

The latest Echo Dot comes equipped with a new custom full-range driver for improved sound and a sensor that triggers Alexa to perform a task based on the room’s temperature (like turning on your smart fan when the room gets too warm). While it will likely be even cheaper for Prime Day this summer, this is still a good deal. The kids’ version is also on sale for $50 ($10 off).

We showcased this deal last week, but it’s too good not to mention again. Fully’s bamboo standing desks are our favorite way to deck out our home office. There’s a wide variety of sizes and configurations to choose from, and right now nearly everything is 30 percent off. The final price depends on how you customize your desk. Many of these are also on sale at Amazon.

Do you know what everyone always needs? More disk space. This portable SSD is our top pick for portable external storage. It offers 2 terabytes of space and speedy access via USB-C. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen on this drive.

SteelSeries Apex Pro

Photograph: SteelSeries

This deal has been coming and going for a couple of weeks now, but it’s a good price for a SteelSeries keyboard of this caliber. It can be programmed with custom profiles, which means you have a sedate daytime look for work and then another profile for gaming with lighting effects at night.

If the above keyboard is overkill for you, we also really like this simple and cheap mini Bluetooth keyboard. It doesn’t have a number pad and requires two AAA batteries, but on the plus side, it comes in pink.

Need a phone case? Charger? Charging cable? AirPods case? Nomad has them all and more on sale right now at the Nomad Outlet. A whole range of mobile accessories is discounted, like up to 20 percent off for iPhone 14 and AirPods Pro cases. We generally like most Nomad gear. 

Weatherman

Photograph: Weatherman

We covered this one last week, but it runs through April 1. Who doesn’t need a good umbrella? The rainy season is here, and several of our favorite umbrellas from Weatherman are still on sale, as are a few other great umbrellas from different brands. 

Our favorite coffee subscription service is offering up to four bags of free coffee beans when you purchase a starter pack (for a limited time). The catch is that you need to purchase a few bags of its Starter Packs, and the more you buy, the more free bags you get. There’s no subscription required.

Monoprice is offering up to 15 percent off its goods if you use the code MARCH15 at checkout, though this sale runs through March 19. The company makes some of our favorite home office equipment, so it’s worth taking a look to see if there’s anything you need. 

Original Article:

About the author

Techbot