Bose is taking up to 40 percent off headphones ahead of Black Friday

Bose is taking up to 40 percent off headphones ahead of Black Friday

Thanks to their superb ANC, the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are our No. 1 pick when it’s time to hop aboard a plane. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Well, the early Black Friday deals took less than a day to begin. Amazon, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and a number of other major retailers have officially begun running their holiday promotions in anticipation of the annual shopping event, though few of them are offering discounts as steep as Bose. For a limited time, you can grab the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for an all-time low of $329 ($100 off) or the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds for $229 ($100 off) via the same retailers (Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy).

Unsurprisingly, the QC Ultra Headphones and QC Ultra Earbuds are incredibly similar, form factor notwithstanding. Both offer exceptional comfort and best-in-class noise cancellation, allowing you to eliminate the cacophony of daily life with ease and rendering either a terrific pick for travel. They also support Bose’s “immersive audio” mode — the company’s take on spatial audio — and AptX Adaptive Bluetooth, the latter of which allows for improved audio fidelity on Android devices. Plus, thanks to a recent software update that rolled out over the summer, they both support multipoint, so you can pair them with two devices simultaneously.

Read our Bose QC Ultra Headphones and QC Ultra Earbuds reviews.

Other ways to save right now

• If you like to play games directly on your phone or via remote play, the latest Backbone One controller is available with a PlayStation layout through the PlayStation Direct storefront for an all-time low of $59.99 ($40 off). The second-gen mobile controller packs a few minor improvements over the original, including a reshaped D-pad and greater compatibility, though you’ll want to make sure you grab the appropriate version for your phone. The Lightning version only works with older iPhones, after all, while the USB-C option lets you use an iPhone 15- or 16-series phone or an Android device.
• Amazon is currently offering a lightning deal on the OnePlus Pad, which drops the first-gen Android tablet to an all-time low of $340 ($140 off) for a limited time. The OnePlus Pad 2 is slightly larger and offers improved performance; however, the last-gen model still offers a stellar 144Hz LCD display, quick performance, and great speakers that can rival those on Apple’s 11-inch Air. Just don’t expect it to offer the kind of dedicated app ecosystem you’d get with one of Apple’s devices — or Samsung’s, for that matter. Read our review.
• Grovemade remains my go-to for wooden desktop accessories, but Oaky isn’t far behind. And now through the end of November, the latter is hosting a Black Friday sale on a variety of goods, dropping prices on everything from standup desks to laptop docks. My personal picks are the 105-inch Desk Shelf, which is on sale for $150 ($50 off), and the angular Laptop Stand, which is going for $120 ($30 off). Neither is cheap, mind you, but oak rarely is.