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Sony’s flagship WH-1000XM5 noise-canceling headphones carry a list price of $400. Released in 2022 and winner of a CNET Editors’ Choice award, they’ve seen their fair share of discounts over the last year, including a dip to $328 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But now they’re down to $250 at Target, which is the lowest price we’ve seen for them to date by $29.

My first thought was that it was a pricing error, because Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds are also on sale for $250 ($248 at Amazon), so maybe Target slapped that $250 price tag on this similarly named Sony over-ear model by accident. But whatever the case, if you’ve been eyeing these headphones and waiting for a price drop, this is the time to snag them. Target says the sale ends Thursday.

While you can argue that the new Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are slightly superior, the WH-1000XM5s are significantly cheaper at this price and clearly a better value. Not only are they very comfortable, but they feature excellent sound and noise canceling along with top-notch voice-calling performance. Read my full review of the WH-1000XM5 headphones here.

Read more: Best Noise-Canceling Headphones of 2023

Lots of people went to see Barbie — the Greta Gerwig-directed movie about the Mattel doll — in theaters. Now, Max is offering the hot pink cultural phenomenon to its streaming subscribers.

Set in Barbie Land, Barbie sees Margot Robbie’s and Ryan Gosling’s versions of Barbie and Ken travel to the real world, which holds all sorts of surprises. The star-studded cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Ariana Greenblatt, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michael Cera and more.

Barbie is Warner Bros.’ highest grossing global release of all time. Here’s how you can stream the blockbuster film from your human-size couch.

When to watch Barbie on Max

Dec. 15 is the best day ever, as Robbie’s Barbie might say, because it’s when you can stream the Barbie movie on Max. The movie will be available to stream at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET. The film will also stream on the platform in American Sign Language.

Max has three plans: $10 a month Max With Ads, $16 a month Max Ad-Free and $20 a month Max Ultimate Ad-Free. The streamer’s offerings include HBO and Max originals, Warner Bros. movies, DC Comics films, and programming from brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC and ID.

You can also rent Greta Gerwig’s Barbie for $6 from services like Amazon, Apple TV and Vudu. If you want to pair Barbie with Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer, which notably hit theaters on the same day in July, it’s available to buy for $20 from the same services.

How to watch Barbie from anywhere with a VPN

Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Max while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the movie from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming too.

A VPN is the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.

You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list such as Surfshark or NordVPN.

Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose the United States, where Barbie will be streaming on Max. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you are connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream Barbie on more than one device, it’s possible you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you are signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open Max to stream.

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and you’ve picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services have restrictions on VPN access.

Like most of the previous generations, Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone 15 Pro has claimed a top spot on our list of the overall best phones for 2023. And while this premium model starts at a whopping $1,000, right now Boost Mobile is offering a solid deal to help you get your hands on one for less. Its Infinite Access for iPhone promotion scores you the iPhone 15 Pro and an unlimited plan for just $60 per month, no trade-in required, making it one of the most appealing iPhone deals out there. Plus, you can upgrade to the most recent iPhone every year.

Available directly at Boost and via Amazon, Infinite Access for iPhone includes the device itself and an unlimited data, talk and text plan for that $60 monthly fee. Other neat features include 5GB of data while roaming in Mexico and Canada, and unlimited talk and text from the US to Mexico and Canada.

You’ll pay $0 upfront to get started and you don’t have to trade in a device to get in on this promotion. Note that if you take out the plan via Amazon, you’ll receive a 100% discount on the list price of the handset during checkout.

The plan is a similar proposition to Apple’s own iPhone Upgrade Program, in that it gives you the opportunity to upgrade to the latest iPhone every year. After 12 months, simply hand your iPhone 15 device back to Boost and you’ll be able to move on to next year’s device.

You can get the base storage iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus or iPhone 15 Pro for that $60 per month fee, though you may as well go for the more premium Pro model since the monthly price is the same. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is also available with this plan from $66 per month. Higher storage devices are available at slightly increased costs, too

Finding the time to play games can be challenging so being able to do it with your phone is a great way to increase your gaming time. The excellent Backbone One is one of the best mobile gaming controllers we’ve used, and right now it’s down to a price that almost matches its Black Friday and Cyber Monday best.

You’re going to have to be quick if you want to snag one of these controllers at a discount, though. Right now Amazon is selling all of the different models for just $75 each, and while there’s no indication of when the deal might end, we think we might know. See, Best Buy is selling the same controllers for the same $75 price right now, but only until the end of the day. We suspect Amazon is price-matching Best Buy which means that both deals could end in just a few short hours.

The Backbone one is compatible with both Lightning and USB-C iPhones, so make sure to select the one that you need when ordering. Most USB-C Android phones should be good to go, too, giving you access to a ton of games without having to use the lousy on-screen touch controls. And while gaming on your phone is great, things get even better when you combine the controller with a PS5 or Xbox Series X or Series S via remote play or cloud gaming.

Whether you’re serious about your mobile gaming time or just looking to find a way to relax in style without being tethered to the big screen in your living room, the Backbone controller is a great option — just remember you might have to pay more if you miss out on these discounts.

The streaming war has led to subscription confusion for consumers, and now Verizon is the latest company to turn back to bundles as a way to solve that issue while luring people to switch to its latest unlimited plans. On Monday, the wireless giant announced a new perk for its latest “myPlan” users: a subscription to the ad-supported versions of Max and Netflix for $10 per month.

The carrier says the new bundle is exclusive to its wireless users who are on its latest plans known as Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate. Those on older offerings would need to change their plans to one of those options to be eligible. The new perk will be available starting on Dec. 7.

Read more: What are the best Verizon plans and which should you pick

Introduced back in May, Verizon’s latest plans removed the blanket inclusion of perks like the Disney Bundle (ad-free Disney Plus and ad-supported Hulu and ESPN Plus) with its unlimited plans and instead allowed users to pick what kind of perks they wanted for $10 per month, per perk. So if someone just wanted wireless service without streaming thrown in, they could get that while if you wanted the Disney offering, more hotspot data or subscriptions to services like Apple One or Walmart Plus you could them each for $10 per month.

In short, Verizon pitched it as a way to pay for services you want at a discount while not paying for things you don’t use.

For perks like the Disney Bundle, this would allow you to save $9 per month as you would be getting it for $10 per month through Verizon instead of the usual $19 per month from Disney. The Apple One offering is a savings of nearly $7 per month compared with buying it separately from Apple, while Walmart Plus through Verizon would save $3 monthly as opposed to buying directly from Walmart.

Max with Ads runs $10 per month (or $100 if purchased annually) while Netflix Standard with ads runs $7 per month. The Verizon bundle would be a $7 per month savings compared with doing monthly subscriptions to both services (or a $5.33 monthly savings if you did the annual Max deal with a monthly subscription to Netflix).

In theory, someone with this new Netflix and Max bundle, the Disney Bundle, Apple One, and Walmart Plus could be paying $40 per month to Verizon and get access to ad-supported versions of Netflix, Max, Hulu, ESPN Plus and Paramount Plus (since Walmart Plus includes Paramount Plus Essentials) as well as ad-free versions of Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus (through Apple One, which also includes Apple Music and Apple Arcade).

Read more: The best streaming service deals

The move is also interesting as it takes two streaming services offered by Verizon’s rivals and makes it available for its users. T-Mobile has long bundled in Netflix with a variety of its wireless plans, while AT&T used to offer Max (when it was under the HBO Max name) as part of some of its wireless plans.

T-Mobile still offers ad-free Netflix with a number of its offerings. AT&T stopped including Max on its top plan back in June 2022, though in August of that year it revealed it had agreed to a new deal with Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery that allowed it to bring back the bundle in the future. While that deal was announced over a year ago, AT&T has yet to offer Max with any of its traditional wireless plans outside of include Max with Ads on one of its Cricket prepaid offerings.

The bundling of different streaming services may bring back memories of traditional cable packages, and this trend may not be limited to Verizon’s packaging of Netflix and Max. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Apple and Paramount have discussed creating a joint offering that includes Apple TV Plus and Paramount Plus in one subscription suggesting that other streaming services may be partnering up in the not-too-distant future.

The world of smartwatches continues to grow and Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is one of the best around. But the best way to make a great smartwatch even better is to make it cheaper, and that’s what we can do for you right now thanks to a few different retailers offering a $50 Pixel Watch 2 saving.

The newest Google smartwatch would normally sell for $350 but if you order right now you’ll pay a lot less. Amazon is offering the wearable for just $300 and you can get the same watch for the same $300 asking price over at Best Buy, Target and directly at the Google Store, too. With offer various trade-in options available at each, you could save even more if you have an older watch to hand over. Cellular-enabled models are also discounted.

The Pixel Watch 2 is of course the upgraded version of the popular Pixel Watch and comes with support for Wi-Fi connectivity and all of the usual activity and sleep tracking that have become table stakes at this point. Both retailers also offer the Pixel Watch 2 in a variety of colorways, so make sure to select your preferred one before adding anything to your cart, too.

Notable features include the ability to get help when you need it with an emergency SOS feature, while the long battery life means that you can go more than 24 hours between charges. The watch can also help monitor your heart to ensure that you’re alerted if there are signs of an irregular heart rate — and there’s an ECG functionality included, too. All in all, the Pixel Watch is a full-featured smartwatch and one that’s even better at this lower price.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: 2023’s Spotify Wrapped has dropped. That means it’s time to sit back and review your top artists, genres and songs of the year. More importantly, it’s time to share your listening trends with your friends, your coworkers or even other fans on the internet.

If your friends are anything like mine, sharing your Spotify Wrapped results across group chats is mandatory. Each winter, nearly all of my group chats are inundated with screenshots and links to others’ Spotify Wrapped results.

This year’s Spotify Wrapped offers even more insights into your listening habits than before. 2023’s Wrapped includes new (and refreshed) features like Sound Towns, Me in 2023, Top 5 Artists and Top 5 Genres that you can share. Even more, you are able to customize your Spotify Wrapped results when you share your listening data.

If you’re interested in sharing and customizing your 2023 Spotify Wrapped results, read on to learn everything you need to know. For more, here are our picks for best music streaming services and best TV streaming services.

How to share your Spotify Wrapped results

Sharing your Spotify Wrapped results is pretty simple. In the Spotify app, tap the Your stories box under the Your 2023 Wrapped header. This will take you to Spotify Wrapped, where you can watch your yearlong listening stats in a format similar to Instagram stories or Snapchat and then watch or tap through short videos, each showing you a different slice of your listening habits.

When you come to a shareable listening stat, a Share this story button will appear at the bottom of the page. Note this option will only appear once you’ve watched the entire story, so you can’t skip straight to the data.

After tapping Share this story, you will have the option to copy the link and share the results via your favorite messaging app or download the results.

If you send a link to your results directly from the Spotify app, you are essentially sending a link to your entire Spotify Wrapped, including the stat you wish to share. If you don’t want to send your entire Wrapped, you can instead download the result in the Spotify app and then just send the specific image you wish to share.

How to customize your Spotify Wrapped results

When you’re sharing your final Spotify Wrapped results (which will show your top five artists, your top five songs, your top genre, a picture of your top artist and your minutes listened), you will have the ability to slightly customize the appearance of your Wrapped results.

After reaching your final results, you will have six options that you can choose from before sharing. These contain the same information and the same image of your top artists. The only difference is the backgrounds: Each background has a different color and design that matches the theme of this year’s Wrapped. The background colors you can choose from are red, light purple, yellow, green, dark purple and black.

Spotify doesn’t allow users to make any edits or changes to their Wrapped results; if you have some songs or artists you’d rather not share that you’ve been listening to (we’ve all been there), you’ll have to take care of that on your own.

For more, here’s how to change your Spotify settings for the best listening experience.

If you’re in the Google ecosystem and eyeing one of its flagship phones, then you’re probably considering the Pixel 8 Pro. Unfortunately, it’s not as great as some were hoping it to be, and you can actually save quite a bit of money by going with the Pixel 7 Pro, which is still an excellent phone. You can even get a substantial discount from Woot on a brand-new 256GB Pixel 7 Pro for $600 rather than the $999 it usually goes for. That’s a whopping $399 discount and $30 less than the 128GB model is going for at Amazon.

The Pixel 7 Pro still features on our list of best phones to buy in 2023, and for good reason. It has a sleek design and a lot of power under the hood with its Tensor G2 chip that puts it on par with something like the Samsung S22 Ultra in terms of performance. That means you get a really smooth experience out of using it, especially with the latest Android software, which the Pixel 7 Pro is optimized to use given that Google makes Android.

You also get three excellent cameras: a 50-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel telephoto lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There’s also a lot more AI in the imaging software this time around and even includes a photo unblur tool which is useful in a lot of scenarios. You’ll also get to see all your pics on a gorgeous 6.7-inch screen that’s running a 3,120 by 1,440 resolution and a120Hz refresh rate, the latter of which makes for a snappy experience and is what you’d want to see on a flagship phone.

The Pixel 7 Pro continues to be an impressive phone in 2023, while the Pixel 8 Pro suffered from quite a few issues post-launch. As such, it’s worth considering the Pixel 7 Pro and this discounted price, or, if you’d rather go for something else entirely, check out our roundup of the best phone deals available right now.

A possible NFC playoff preview is set for Sunday in Philly, when the NFC East-leading, 10-1 Eagles host the 8-3, NFC West-leading 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field. Both teams are getting hot at the right time, with Philly on a five-game win streak, including wins over the Bills and Chiefs in the last two weeks.

San Francisco is on a three-game win streak of its own, with wins over the Seahawks and Buccaneers these past two weeks.

Kickoff is called for 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET) on Fox. We’ll show you how you can watch, even if the game isn’t available on your local Fox channel.

The game will be shown on TV in the San Francisco and Philadelphia areas (according to 506 Sports) on live TV streaming services, but there may be cases where you’re blocked because of an internet location glitch or if you’ve elected to have an added layer of privacy for streaming.

There is an option that doesn’t require subscribing to something like NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Plus, or searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a virtual private network, or VPN.

Here’s how you can watch the game from anywhere in the US with a VPN.

Read more: NFL 2023: How to Watch and Stream Games and RedZone With or Without Cable

49ers vs. Eagles: When and where?

Week 13 of the NFL season sees the Eagles host the 49ers at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET) on Sunday. The game will take place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia — home of the Eagles.

How to watch the 49ers vs. Eagles game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the game locally due to incorrectly applied blackout restrictions, you may need a different way to watch; that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s a great idea for when you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. If your internet provider or mobile carrier has assigned you an IP address that incorrectly places you in a blackout zone, a VPN can solve for that by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs — like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN — make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you’ve got a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream the 49ers vs. Eagles game in the US

This week’s 49ers-Eagles game is on Fox, so in addition to a VPN set to an area carrying the game (see tips below) you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries a local Fox affiliate that’s broadcasting the game. The least expensive such service is Sling TV Blue.

Numerous other live TV streaming services carry local Fox stations as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo. They all cost more than Sling TV, but they also carry more channels, including football-broadcasting channels like ESPN. Check out our live TV streaming services guide for details.

If you live in an area where the game is being broadcast, an over-the-air antenna connected to your TV provides another option for Fox. The best part about antennas is that no streaming or monthly fees are required, although you will need to make sure you have good reception.

Quick tips for streaming 49ers vs. Eagles using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — experience and success may vary.
• Sling Blue is only an option if and when the ability to get Fox local affiliates is active on your account. You may want to verify that your billing address is eligible for that option before committing your credit card.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.