Arlo’s Essential Wired Doorbell is on sale for less than $60 right now

It’s a shame, but for many video doorbells you have to lock yourself into one platform’s smart home ecosystem to really get the most out of it. Thankfully, there’s at least one video doorbell that works well with any smart home platform: the Arlo Essential wired doorbell. And right now it’s on sale in white for $59.49 (about $91 off) at Amazon. If you prefer a different retailer (or color), you can also buy it in black at Verizon for $64.99.

Not only is Arlo’s video doorbell compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and even Apple Home, but it also works well with many of these platforms. You can even use it to view live feeds from the Google Home app, which is a rarity for a non-Google camera. It also shares the same high video resolution as Amazon’s Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 – our top pick when it comes to wired doorbells – along with smart notifications for people and packages. While it’s nowhere near as fast or reliable, the Arlo does come with features the Pro 2 lacks, including smart animal and vehicle alerts and a wider 180-degree field of view that captures your entire front porch.

Please note that the doorbell does not support HomeKit Secure Video, so you will need to download the Arlo Smart Hub ($100) to integrate it into Apple Home. Also keep in mind that you will have to pay $4.99 per month for cloud video storage, interactive notifications, and other perks. However, if that’s not a problem, Arlo’s budget option is a great choice that will allow you to keep a close eye on your porch.

Apple may not have released an updated iMac this week alongside the 15-inch MacBook Air and the new Mac Studio, but the latest model continues to drop in price. For example at the moment Apple’s M1-powered iMac has returned to the lowest point ever at Woot where you can pick it up in silver or pink with an eight-core GPU and 256 GB of storage for $979.99 ($519 off). Wood is too sales of the silver model with a seven-core GPU for $899.99 ($399 off), but keep in mind that these are “open box” models, meaning they arrive in their original packaging, but have been previously opened. They also only carry a 90-day warranty from Woot, as opposed to Apple’s standard one-year warranty.

However, if you’re looking for an attractive-looking family desktop, the 2021 iMac remains an excellent all-in-one machine. It comes with everything you need to get started, including a keyboard, a mouse, a trackpad and a 24-inch screen. In addition, it features a 1080p webcam and a great sound system with six speakers. Granted, it’s not for creative professionals or power users who might find some specs restrictive, but if all you need is a high-performance desktop that’s suitable for everyday work, you’ll be more than happy with the latest iMac.

If you’re looking for a smart display, it’s from Amazon second generation Echo Show 8 is currently half available at Amazonwhere you can pick it up for a new low of $64.99 when you use the promo code SHOW8 at checkout. Best Buy And Goal are also discounting the smart display, though it’s selling for $74.99 instead, which is still one of the better prices to date.

Amazon’s versatile, Alexa-enabled smart display offers great value for money. With its spacious 8-inch screen and 13-megapixel camera, you can use it to comfortably hold Zoom calls and stream a variety of video content. You can also use it to perform a host of other voice-activated tasks, allowing you to quickly control your smart lighting, catch up on the news and play the latest songs from T-Swift.

Read our Echo Show 8 review.

We wrote about Father’s Day action from Sonos earlier this month, but it’s worth highlighting again as you only have until tomorrow, June 18, to score a discount on the company’s impressive range of smart speakers and soundbars. For example, at the moment you can pick up the pint-sized Sonos roam by Best Buy, GoalAnd Sonos for $134.25 (about $45 off). In addition to good sound quality and a robust design, the portable smart speaker offers support for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s AirPlay 2.

If you want to splurge on a quality soundbar, you can also get the Sonos arc by Sonos, Best BuyAnd Goal for $719.20 (about $181 off). That’s the best price we’ve seen this year for the Arc, which delivers immersive, powerful sound and Dolby Atmos support.

Read our Sonos Roam and Sonos Arc reviews.

• Costco Members can buy Apple’s third-generation AirPods with a MagSafe charging case for $139.99 through June 18. Non-members can also get a discount if they pay a five percent surcharge, which raises the price to $146.99. Unlike their predecessor, the third-generation earbuds are water and sweat resistant, as are shorter stems. Read our review.
• If you are looking for a good Kindle alternative, the Kobo Scale 2 is on sale for $169.99 ($20 off) at Kobo as part of Kobo’s ongoing summer sale. This is my favorite e-reader, one that is ad-free and offers physical buttons to turn pages alongside waterproofing and a bright 300ppi display. The only downside is that, like all Kobo e-readers, you can’t easily read Kindle ebooks on it.
• Speaking of good Costco deals, members can buy one $100 Nintendo eShop Gift Card for just $79.99 through June 18. Now is also a particularly good time to do that, because Nintendo’s so-called “Hyper Max Saleruns until the end of next week.
• The last Tile size is on sale for about $20 ($5 off) at Amazon, walmartAnd Best Buy. The cross-platform Bluetooth tracker is a handy little travel gadget that lets you keep an eye on your luggage and other personal belongings from up to 80 meters away. It’s also a good budget-friendly Father’s Day gift that should arrive before the holidays if you buy it at Walmart or pick it up in store at Best Buy.