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It’s only the first week of December and some of the hottest tech gifts of the year are already backordered or sold out until early 2019. Other top devices will see their prices marked up by resellers.
To save time and get you the best bang for your buck, we put together a list of stores where you can still buy devices like Apple AirPods and the Nintendo NES Classic at their original retail prices. But don’t sit on this information for long before buying since we fully expect the majority of the devices in this slideshow to sell out by Christmas.
Nintendo’s retro game consoles, the $60 NES Classic and $80 Super NES Classic, are awesome gifts for gamers and nostalgists alike, and they have both sold out the last two holiday seasons. Right now, the NES Classic is still in stock at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The Super NES Classic still up for grabs at Best Buy and Walmart.
Sony followed Nintendo’s lead and debuted the PlayStation Classic on December 3. The Classic costs $100 and is currently available to buy at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart.
Last year, the Echo was a big hit. The smart speaker comes with Amazon’s perennially popular smart assistant, Alexa, built right into the hardware. That means you can call on Alexa to play music, make calls, set alarms, ask questions, control connected devices, and just about anything else.
It features a speaker powered by Dolby and is currently available in six styles, including fabrics and wood veneers — for the holidays, Amazon partnered with (RED) on a limited-edition red Echo to support the fight against AIDS.
It’s worth noting that its siblings, the Echo Dot and Echo Show, are currently backordered until December 15 and December 16, respectively.
The Wyze Cam is one of those rare devices that costs much less than any of its competition. It records video in 1080P and sends your phone a notification each time its motion sensor is triggered. These video clips are stored in the cloud for two weeks for free; most other home security camera options only keep clips for a day if you don’t pay a monthly subscription fee.
Wyze has gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews for this camera. Given its low price and great performance, we don’t expect it to stay in stock this holiday season.
If you know someone who loves reading, you won’t regret getting them a Kindle. The e-reader is light and comfortable to hold, gives you the ability to download millions of books with the click of a button, and lets you make highlights and notes.
Apple’s AirPods are prime for holiday gifting, and already sold out at most stores that carry them — the exception being the Apple Store. The totally wireless buds look a lot like the EarPods that come with every iPhone purchase, but they’re entirely cordless. They pair with devices like iPhones, iPads, and even the Apple TV, and they charge up inside their case. I tried them and fell in love with their design.
Amazon’s Fire 7 Tablet is more than enough tablet for most people. It’s ideal for casual web browsing, video streaming, music listening, and reading for only $50.
While the Fire 7 Tablet is a solid option for $50, the iPad is still the best tablet you can buy. The 9.7″ iPad was recently updated with a faster processor and Apple Pencil support. It’s a great gift for anyone you want to spoil this holiday season.
Ring video doorbells give homeowners peace of mind about who’s at their door, whether they’re at home or not. The most popular one, the $100 model, is currently available in two colors, Satin Nickel and Venetian Bronze, but the Satin Nickel version is backordered on Amazon until December 18.
Philips Hue bulbs are a smart home must-have for many people, including me, and they always get harder to find in December. This $90 starter kit includes two light bulbs and a Hue Bridge. Once the Hue Bridge is connected to your WiFi, you can control the bulbs with an app, or with your voice if you own smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Because they’re compatible with all the major operating systems and smart home platforms, Philips Hue Bulbs are very popular.
Robot vacuums are expensive gifts, but their prices have come down significantly over the last few years thanks to tech manufacturers like Ecovacs.
The Deebot N79S vacuum has three cleaning modes, an array of sensors that keep it from banging into walls and furniture or falling down stairs, a battery that lasts up to two hours, and Amazon Alexa compatibility. These are features you don’t typically find in robot vacuums under $200, which is why we expect it to be a very popular gift this holiday season.
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick puts all your streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, HBO NOW, and YouTube, in one place so you can easily navigate through them all. Outside of your home, you can pick up right where you left off by plugging the Fire TV Stick into any TV’s HDMI port and connecting to Wi-Fi.
Either model makes a fantastic stocking stuffer for less than $50, which is why we wouldn’t be surprised if one or both sold out this December.
Getting into better shape is a popular New Year’s resolution, which is one of the reasons Fitbits become hard to find at the end of the year. The Charge 3 is one of Fitbit’s newest models. It tracks your sleep, calories burned, steps taken, and heart rate to give you a pretty good idea of your general health. This information is all conveniently stored in the Fitbit app for easy viewing.
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