The Xbox Series S is $50 off with a free extra controller thrown in

We’re five days away from Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale, and arguably the best part about it is that other retailers are getting into the mix with competing sales events of their own. The first notable one is Target’s Deal Days, and its best sale is on the Xbox Series S.

Here’s the deal: you can get the Xbox Series S console via in-store pickup order at your local Target for $249.99 (regularly $299.99), and when you add a standard Xbox controller to your cart it gets thrown in for free. This includes the slightly pricier red, blue, and electric volt controllers, and the whole deal saves you up to $105 until it ends Saturday. You, of course, still get the usual white controller included with the console.

The Xbox Series S is the digital-only entry-level option in Microsoft’s gaming stable. It may lack a disc drive and not have the roomiest internal SSD at 512GB, but it’s a very capable machine that plays all the latest games at 2560 x 1440 resolution with HDR and supports the handy Quick Resume feature for near-instantly jumping back into your game. Also, it’s a seriously tiny boy that fits about anywhere and doesn’t look like as much of an eyesore as the awkward black obelisk Xbox Series X or garishly PlayStation 5. Read our review.

Amazon may be about to unleash a flurry of deals upon us next week (or, you know, it could just be ok), but it’s already got some good ones running right now — with most available to everyone and some exclusive to Prime members. Last year’s Kindle Paperwhite e-reader is on sale for $99.99 ($40 off) in its ad-supported base model or without ads for $119.99 (also $40 off). Both of these have the standard 8GB of storage, but that’s more than enough for the average reader. Most importantly, the Kindle Paperwhite offers an excellent E Ink screen that can shift to a warm tone backlight for easier nighttime reading, and it’s got a handy USB-C charging port instead of the Micro USB from its predecessor. Read our review.

And the Kindle deals don’t stop there. If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can get the Kindle Paperwhite in an Essentials Bundle with a fabric cover in one of three colors (black, blue, or lavender) and a USB-C charging plug for $137.97 ($72 off the bundled price). It’s not a very fast charger, as it only outputs 9W, but thankfully the Paperwhite’s battery lasts for weeks.

Also, both this bundle deal and the standalone Paperwhite deal above allow you to trade in an older device from a list of qualifying options to get an extra 20 percent off from Amazon.

Another notable deal going on right now on Amazon hardware is the latest Echo Buds selling for as low as $69.99 (regularly $119.99) at Amazon and Best Buy. This is the base model with a wired charging case, though if you prefer the convenience of a wireless charging case that’s also $50 off and marked down to $89.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. Be sure to check Amazon’s trade-in list of devices if you are shopping there and have some old earbuds or other qualifying items to hand over, as that gets another 25 percent off.

These are Amazon’s latest model of wireless earbuds, with improved comfort over its first iteration and noise cancellation with a passthrough mode — which you don’t always see at these prices. They also feature Amazon Alexa voice assistant support. Read our review.

If you don’t have an affinity for Amazon products or just prefer something a little nicer, the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds are on sale at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy right now for $248 to $249.99. That’s about $30 off the regular price of $279.99 for these buds that are still one of the very best pairs around. They have excellent noise cancellation, great battery life, a wireless charging case, and I know the design of an earbud may not matter to some folks, but come on, they look pretty slick.

This is the usual discounted price we see for these Sony buds. While it’s possible we may see a better price on these next week, as they did dip down to $198 on a lightning deal during July’s Prime Day, just be sure to know the price match policy of the retailer of your choice if you decide to spring for them now. Read our review.

• That Xbox Series S deal at the top may be great, but if you’ve already got your Xbox or play games on PC and need another controller Target also has the Xbox controller in white for just $44.99 ($15 off).
• It’s been a minute sine there were discounts on Elden Ring. The From Software epic is bound to be in many GOTY talks, and it’s currently about $10 off on all platforms at Amazon.
• If you’re not like some of us who buy third-party straps for our Apple Watches that are imitations of Apple’s pricey offerings, you can get a proper 41mm Apple Watch sport band for $24.99 (about $24 off) in (PRODUCT) RED and dark cherry colors at Best Buy.