Everything Android Central bought for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

This is the time of year all of us here at AC are on the lookout for the perfect Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. While the perfect deal probably doesn’t exist, plenty come close. We tell you about them, but we also jump on them and get our gadget on whenever we can.

Here are the highlights of what the AC staff bought this year, which will hopefully give you some ideas of what you can buy.

I actually bought quite a few things for Black Friday (a 2TB microSD card, cables, hard drive enclosures, etc.), but I’m most excited about some new beard lights. My little one is almost two, so it should be fun seeing his reaction on Christmas morning.

I read a lot, and two years ago I decided it was time to get a Kindle. And while I liked it, I didn’t LOVE my experience. For starters, I had the basic 2022 Kindle. Super compact and easy to read on, my experience was dulled because I was using a slightly older model, but at the same time, it was in black and white. I wanted to upgrade my e-reader to a color model and was really going back and forth between the Libra and the Kindle Colorsoft. But I can’t begin to tell you how many people kept raving about the Kobo.

So I bit the bullet, bought the Kobo, transferred my books over (which took a hot minute, but I figured it out), and I can officially say it’s going to be very hard to convince me to go back to a Kindle.

Seriously, these Sony wireless headphones totally nailed it, connecting effortlessly to everything, whether I’m using my iPhone or an Android device, or my smart TV. As a person who occasionally, or let’s be honest, binge-games (I’m currently deep into Ghost of Yōtei), I was on the hunt for Bluetooth headphones that were extremely easy to connect and could also serve as a decent gaming headset.

I’ve been eying a smart home camera upgrade to go with my Nest Doorbell, and the third-gen Nest Cam Indoor checks all my boxes — and it’s on sale for Black Friday/Cyber Monday. This camera only came out last month, and it’s already $25 off, bringing the Nest Cam Indoor down to only $75.

It’s such a good deal that I bought more than one Nest Cam Indoor at this price. If you’re deep in the Google ecosystem with Pixel or Nest devices, the Nest Cam Indoor is a great way to expand your smart home while improving security. Here’s why Google’s best indoor security camera is a can’t-miss deal at 25% off.

I’ve really been wanting some new earbuds for a while, but I’ve been hesitant to buy a new pair because the best wireless earbuds use capacitive touch controls, and I prefer physical buttons. Jabra had the best earbuds with buttons, but since the company doesn’t make consumer earbuds anymore, it took me a while to find a pair that I would really like to replace my aging Jabras.

I finally opted to get the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 as soon as they went on sale for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, as most people at the gym I go to use Powerbeats, and they just so happen to have multiple buttons for controls and volume. While they’d work better with an iPhone, they still perform well on my Android phone, with fantastic audio, ANC, and battery life.

I don’t want a new smartwatch, but I need one all the same. I needed something with fall detection, and somehow Amazon dropped this Pixel Watch 3 deal right in my lap. I know I’ll miss the accuracy and battery life my Garmin gives me, but I’m not going to lie and say I’m not looking forward to trying out something shiny and new.

And if I do end up falling down those pesky stairs again, the Pixel Watch 3 has got my back.

My genuine recommendation? The Sony ZX Wired On-Ear Headphones, which are just $12.99 (48% off) at Best Buy, or the upgraded Sony ZX with mic for $19.99 (43% off) at Amazon, if you plan to use these for Google Meet or Discord.