Our favorite Chromebook is on sale for $400

PLUS: Get our favorite cheap phone and a free $50 gift card

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions By Louryn Strampe  | 08.06.22 August is bittersweet. It means that summer will be ending soon, and for young people and their families, another school year is about to begin. This weekend's deals revolve around that dichotomy. From sunshine-friendly deals on escooters and ebikes to back-to-school discounts on laptops and food delivery, the highlights below can help you make the most of your time. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. 🎓 Start the semester off right with deals on smartphones, streaming sticks, and more. Many of these discounts will make it easy to outfit a dorm room on the cheap—meaning they're also great for folks who work from home. 🚴‍♀️ Ebikes can be pricey, but these deals can help. A few of our favorites are on sale. We also found nice prices on electric scooters and accessories like bike locks and helmets. 😍 Get our favorite cheap phone and a free $50 gift card. The Google Pixel 6A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) offers the best value around for a sub-$500 price tag. This isn't exactly a deal, but for the price of the phone, you get a $50 Amazon gift card. Read more about the handset in our Best Cheap Phones guide. 🙌 Our favorite Chromebook is on sale for $400. The Asus Flip C434 is good for homework and browsing the web, but the coolest feature is its 2-in-1 display. Simply fold it around to transform your laptop into a tiny TV (or an oversize tablet). Our Chromebook buying guide has more details and recommendations. ❄️ Beat the heat with the best window air conditioners. This is the worst time of year to buy an AC unit. Opting for a super-cheap model means less value overall, but we've got recommendations that offer a lot more power for a little more cash. If you're in the market, start here. 🎁 No money necessary: This is a list of 45 great (free) podcasts. No matter what you're into, these WIRED staff favorites are worth listening to. (Apologies in advance for filling up your Stitcher queue.) 🔇 Free advice: Here's how to eliminate retweets from your Twitter timeline. Shirts that go hard? Random news pundits? Obnoxious 25-tweet threads? Enough! Get rid of the clutter once and for all in a few simple steps. 13 Great Deals on Smartphones, Laptops, and More Tech Take advantage of early back-to-school discounts even if you're not a student. 13 Great Deals on Ebikes, Escooters, and Bike Accessories Ride off into the sunset with these awesome discounts on helmets, bells, and bicycle locks. The Best Podcasts for Everyone Get your fix of tech, true crime, pop culture, or comedy with these audio adventures. The Best Cheap Phones for Almost Every Budget There's little reason to pay top dollar for a smartphone. These iPhones and Android devices—ranging from $150 to $500—stood up to WIRED's testing. Retweets Ruined Twitter. Here's How to Get Rid of Them Turns out muting other people's impulsive sharing can do wonders for your mental health. GET WIRED Get WIRED for just $29.99 $5. Includes the print edition plus editor in chief Gideon Lichfield's column, System Update. Subscribe now. Quell the Heat With Our Favorite Window Air Conditioners These WIRED-tested AC units have been lodged into our windows and cooling our homes for months, if not years. The Fluid Mosquito Is the Best Lightweight Electric Scooter At just 29 pounds, it's easy to carry and has more power than you'd expect. Step Away From Screens With the 20 Best Family Board Games From monsters to kittens to strategy games, these sets will liven things up on nights when everyone is tired of screens. This $400 Touchscreen Toaster Is a Waste of Your Dough This toaster costs a small fortune and doesn't even toast that well—a bad deal any way you slice it. Have questions or comments? Reply to this email.   When you buy something using the retail links in this email, we earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about how this works.   This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions   Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.