Best Tech Deals: Pixel 10A, Sony Earbuds, and Gaming Discounts

If it’s time for you to upgrade your phone, it’s worth considering the Pixel 10A, Google’s latest midrange phone that has some (but not all) of the new software features of the pricier $599 Pixel 10. Every color of the 128GB 10A — including the alluring “berry” tone — is down to $449 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store, where you can get it for even less with an eligible trade-in. This is the first cash discount we’ve seen since the phone’s launch in early March. The 256GB version is $50 off, too, selling for $549 at Amazon and Best Buy.

If you look at our coverage of the Pixel 10A, it won’t take you long to put the pieces together and see that we feel Google played it safe with this year’s model. It’s strikingly similar to last year’s Pixel 9A — both feature a Tensor G4 processor, plus a camera combo consisting of a 48-megapixel main shooter and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens — but we don’t suggest getting the 9A, at least right now. Its software support will end a year earlier, and it’s currently more expensive than the 10A ($50 more at most retailers).

The 10A stands out for its slightly brighter screen, faster wired charging, and support for Satellite SOS, among other small differences. It also has two unique AI-powered features from the Pixel 10 series that are not available on the 9A: Camera Coach and Auto Best Take. However, there are no internal hardware differences in the latest version that would prevent the features from coming to last year’s model.

Some more Verge-approved deals

Sony’s WF-1000XM6 are back down to around $298 at Amazon and Best Buy, matching their lowest price to date. The wireless, noise-canceling earbuds debuted in mid-February at $329, and they were discounted to this price once before, in the latter half of March. My colleague John Higgins praised their stellar sound, great call quality, and their best-in-class active noise cancellation. However, how well the ANC works for you will depend on whether you can get a good seal with their included foam ear tips. He noticed the tips starting to wiggle out after some time, though Sony will send you silicone tips for free if you can’t get a good seal in its Sound Connect companion app on mobile.

Depending on where you live in the US, a Micro Center store near you might have a great budget-friendly AMD motherboard / CPU / RAM bundle you can pick up today. The retailer is offering AMD’s Ryzen 5 7500X3D processor pre-mounted on a compatible AM5-socket motherboard (saving new builders a somewhat stressful installation step), and you’ll get 16GB of G.Skill Flare X5 DDR5 RAM clocked at up to 6,000MHz all for $299.99. While the included motherboard varies, you’ll be able to figure out for yourself which one you’ll get in the bundle when you go into the store.

Elden Ring Nightreign is on sale as part of Best Buy’s Ultimate Deal sale on tech and video games, with the Xbox Series X version now at $11.99 (typically $29.99). FromSoftware’s multiplayer twist on Elden Ring was engineered for fervent fans of the single-player RPG and people who dig roguelike games. It’s designed to be played in groups of three (though you can play alone or in a duo), and its roguelike design is the opposite of the open-ended game it derives from. The explorable map shrinks throughout each in-game day, culminating in difficult boss matches.