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Bluetooth speakers are one of the big consumer electronics commodities these days. Everybody has one, but a lot of them are no-name plastic blobs with tinny sound — or worse, so old they have a micro-USB charge port. That’s why I’m always excited to share when the JBL Go 3 goes on sale. The list price remains at $50, but during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale, it’s back down to $25 — half off, and tying the lowest price we’ve seen.

To be clear, there are plenty of great Bluetooth speakers on sale right now. But for me, the Go 3 hits the sweet spot for an impulse purchase. I own it, and it’s one of my favorite gadgets and travel companions. It’s also IP67 waterproof, so it’s at home in the shower or by the pool. In fact, I installed a Command Hook by the bathroom sink where it can hang from its durable braided loop, so I can listen to news or music during my morning shower.

Beyond the playback controls and volume, the only two buttons are Bluetooth sync and power. It’s worked flawlessly with any phone, laptop or tablet I’ve ever tried to connect to it. I also love that it has a USB-C port for charging. Now that the iPhone has gone USB-C, it’s pretty much the standard connector for the entire gadget world.

And the sound? For something that fits in the palm of my hand, I think it sounds great. With a good bit of midrange and even a touch of bass, you actually feel like you’re getting some of that JBL audio DNA that you wouldn’t find in those no-name speakers. But don’t trust me: Check out the full JBL Go 3 review from CNET audio guru David Carnoy, who also enshrined it on our list of best Bluetooth speakers.

Sure, there are a couple of quibbles: The battery life is a bit short (about five hours), and — for whatever reason — the battery life indicator doesn’t show up on my iPhone, like nearly every other speaker or headphones I connect to it. But otherwise, there’s very little not to like about the Go 3, which is also available in a range of several fun colors, including teal, pink and even military camo. If sustainability is important to you, note that the newer Go 3 Eco version, which incorporates between 90 and 100% post-consumer recyclable materials into the plastic body and speaker grille fabric, respectively — all for the same $25 price.

If you have an older portable speaker with tinny sound or flagging battery life, this makes a no-brainer replacement. It’s also a great gift for anyone who travels or just likes listening to music or podcasts around the house.

Check out even more great Amazon October Prime Day deals under $25.

If you’ve been waiting for a sale to pull the trigger on a new high-end TV, your wait could be over. The LG C2 OLED TV, which is my current pick for the best high-end TV for the money, just dropped in price for Amazon’s October Prime Day sale to levels that either match or come close to all-time lows.

I review TVs for CNET and in my side-by-side comparisons the C2 was superb, outperforming any non-OLED model and holding its own against other OLED TVs that cost a lot more. It also has just about every important feature I recommend in a high-end TV, including state-of-the-art gaming extras, along with sleek style and all the connections you need. It’s a 2022 model, but it performed just as well as the 2023 C3, which currently costs $300 more at the sizes listed below.

I can’t predict the future but if I had to guess, the prices on these TVs will likely be the lowest available on any TV this good until the Black Friday season, which hits in mid-November. (To illustrate that point, I wrote the first version of this story in July during the original Prime day sale, I said the same thing then and I was wrong: each of these TVs is $100 cheaper now than it was in July).

Looking for another size? The three sizes above are the only C2 models currently available at Amazon that I would recommend. The C2 does come in other sizes (namely 42-, 48- and 65-inch) but they’re either sold out or only available refurbished. If you’re interested in those other sizes sizes I’d recommend going with a C3, and if you could, waiting for prices to fall as we get closer to Black Friday.

Beats’ sleek and stylish headphones are some of the most popular pairs on the market — and for good reason. Several models have claimed a spot on our list of the overall best headphones and earbuds of 2023, and right now Prime members can get their hands on select pairs at a record-low price. Amazon is currently offering up to 50% off Beats headphones at its massive October Prime Day sale, including a whopping $170 off the new Beats Studio Pros, dropping them down to an all-time low price of just $180. The sale runs until 11:59 p.m. PT (2:59 a.m. ET) tomorrow night, but there’s no guarantee these deals will stick around until then. We’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these incredible savings.

Our reviewer David Carnoy likened the latest and greatest Beats Studio Pros to a more affordable version of Apple’s ultra-pricey AirPods Max. And at 49% off the list price, they’re one of the best pairs of over-ear headphones you’ll find in this price range. They feature active noise-cancellation, an impressive 40-hour battery life and support lossless audio via USB-C. Amazon currently has all four colors on sale for Prime members, dropping the price to an all-time low of $180.

If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative, you can grab a pair of on-ear Beats Solo 3 headphones for $100, which is 50% off and just $21 more than the all-time lowest price we’ve seen. They don’t have any noise-canceling capabilities, but do support spatial audio when paired with Apple devices, and also feature a 40-hour battery life.

If you prefer earbuds, there are a few different pairs to choose from. The Beats Studio Buds aren’t the latest model in their lineup, but still feature active noise-canceling capabilities, an IPX4 water-resistance rating and a 24-hour battery life on a single charge. And right now they’re back down to their all-time low price of just $90 for Prime members, which saves you $60. There’s also the Beats Fit Pros, which are some of our favorite earbuds for runners. They’re equipped with an Apple H1 chip, a noise-canceling and transparency mode and they’re $40 off right now, dropping the price down to $160. And serious athletes can save $100 on the Beats Powerbeats Pro, which have an integrated ear hook to keep them firmly in place, dropping them back down to the all-time low price of $150.

Be sure to check out our full roundup of all the best October Prime Day headphones and earbuds deals for even more can’t-miss bargains.

For Amazon’s October Prime Day, many of the deals we saw on Bluetooth speakers during its summer Prime Day two-day sale have returned, with a few more added in to the mix. Here’s a look at 13 of the best deals we’ve spotted on Bluetooth speakers (almost all of which we’ve tested). You’ll need an Amazon Prime membership to get the best deal on most of these picks.

Read more: Best Bluetooth Speakers of 2023

Best October Prime Day 2023 deals on Bluetooth speakers

The action is all about to unfold on the ice once more, with the start of the 2023-24 NHL season now upon us. The Vegas Golden Knights come into the new season as defending Stanley Cup champs, having lifted the coveted trophy for the first time in their history, just six years after entering the league as an expansion team.

Among teams favored to steal the crown from the Golden Knights are the Carolina Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New Jersey Devils and the 2022 champion Colorado Avalanche. All eyes will also be on the Boston Bruins, who’ll be looking to recover from flopping in the playoffs after setting a record for being the most successful regular-season team in NHL history.

Meanwhile streaming the 2023-24 NHL games is more complex than ever. Major networks ABC, ESPN and TNT are all set to host nationally broadcast games during the regular season. TNT will broadcast 62 NHL games as well as half of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Disney quad of ESPN, ESPN Plus, ABC and Hulu boasts 100 more exclusive games across the four networks. Meanwhile local games are divided among different regional sports networks, some of which have their own dedicated streaming services, including MSG Plus, NESN360 and — you guessed it — KnightTime Plus.

So what does all this mean for hockey fans desperately looking to stream their team’s games? The good news is that you don’t need cable to watch hockey this year, but it still might be the easiest and cheapest choice depending on where you live.

Read more: NFL 2023: How to watch and stream games and RedZone with or without cable

Live TV streaming services vs. cable

Die-hard sports fans are beholden to regional sports networks, or RSNs, that carry the majority of the games for their local team. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels: They can simply turn on the TV and watch the game.

Cord-cutting hockey fans have a tougher path. Because of rights agreements, our favorite live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV don’t carry many RSNs. DirecTV Stream and Fubo are the exceptions; both offer numerous RSNs, including the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports), but they’re more expensive than other options.

New for 2023, hockey fans in some areas can subscribe to Bally Sports Plus, a service that streams live games on regional sports networks owned by Bally’s (formerly Fox RSNs). For example, Blues fans in St. Louis can subscribe and watch every regular season Blues game on Bally Sports Midwest. Bally Sports Plus costs $20 per month.

Another option exists for fans in other areas of the country: Subscribing to yet another streaming service dedicated to those RSNs, like MSG Plus, NESN360 and KnightTime Plus. And the Coyotes and Knights are also available via over-the-air-antenna in their local areas.

Ultimately, depending on location, getting a cable subscription that includes ESPN, TNT and the local RSN might actually be cheaper and easier for you than streaming — especially if it’s bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway.

DirecTV Stream: Best live TV streaming service overall for hockey fans

If you want a single, cable-TV like service that carries most standard TV channels as well as every game from your local team, DirecTV stream is the answer. In addition to national hockey games on ABC, ESPN and TNT, it offers nearly every RSN, allowing subscribers in most areas of the US to stream local and national NHL games. The downside? It’s not cheap.

To get your local hockey RSN you’ll need to subscribe to DirecTV Stream’s Choice package, which costs $109 per month, although the company is offering a $30 discount over the first three months.

Fubo: Best live TV streaming value for hockey fans

If you want to save some money and still get your RSN as part of a multichannel streaming TV package, the best alternative to DirectTV Stream is Fubo. New for 2023, it has basically as many RSNs as DirecTV Stream and it costs less. The main downside compared to DirecTV stream, however, is that FuBo lacks TNT. That means it won’t carry any of the 62 national games or the TNT half of the playoffs. Including the regional sports fee Fubo costs $89 per month, making it significantly less expensive than DirecTV Stream, so losing those TNT games might be worth the tradeoff for you.

And here’s one way around the TNT problem: Max (formerly HBO Max) subscribers can add the new Bleacher Report Sports add-on to their subscriptions to get TNT, including hockey games. It’s free through February 29, 2024 to Max subscribers, after which it will cost $10 per month. That means you’d need two separate apps and subscriptions — Fubo in addition to Max — but between the two you would get pretty much all of the hockey.

The chart below shows which teams and which RSNs are available across four live TV streaming services.

RSNs on Live TV services compared

Team	Network Name	DirecTV Stream	Fubo	YouTube TV	Hulu Plus Live TV
Anaheim Ducks	Bally Sports SoCal	Yes	Yes	No	No
Arizona Coyotes	Bally Sports Arizona	Yes	Yes	No	No
Boston Bruins	NESN	Yes	Yes	No	No
Buffalo Sabres	MSG	Yes	Yes	No	No
Carolina Hurricanes	Bally Sports South	Yes	Yes	No	No
Chicago Blackhawks	NBC Sports Chicago	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Colorado Avalanche	Altitude	Yes	Yes	No	No
Columbus Blue Jackets	Bally Sports Cincinnati	Yes	Yes	No	No
Dallas Stars	Bally Sports Southwest	Yes	Yes	No	No
Detroit Red Wings	Bally Sports Detroit	Yes	Yes	No	No
Florida Panthers	Bally Sports Florida	Yes	Yes	No	No
Los Angeles Kings	Bally Sports West	Yes	Yes	No	No
Minnesota Wild	Bally Sports North	Yes	Yes	No	No
Nashville Predators	Bally Sports South	Yes	Yes	No	No
New Jersey Devils	MSG	Yes	Yes	No	No
New York Islanders	MSG	Yes	Yes	No	No
New York Rangers	MSG	Yes	Yes	No	No
Philadelphia Flyers	NBC Sports Philadelphia	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pittsburgh Penguins	AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh	Yes	Yes	No	No
San Jose Sharks	NBC Sports California	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Seattle Kraken	Root Sports Northwest	Yes	Yes	No	No
St. Louis Blues	Bally Sports Midwest	Yes	Yes	No	No
Tampa Bay Lightning	Bally Sports Sun	Yes	Yes	No	No
Vegas Golden Knights	KnightTime Plus	No	No	No	No
Washington Capitals	Monumental Sports Network	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note that none of the US-based services carries the RSNs for the Canadian hockey teams. That means fans of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks need to use ESPN Plus to watch all the games that are not either on your local RSN or on a US national broadcast.

It’s also worth noting that the RSNs above, and the a la carte streaming options below, are only available in local areas where the teams play. If you’re an Anaheim Ducks fan living in Miami, for example, you can’t subscribe to Bally Sport SoCal to stream the games. You could, however, use a VPN to get around that kind of geo-restriction.

Best options for nationally broadcast games

Aside from DirecTV Stream and Fubo, the odds are long that a live TV streaming service carries the RSN for your local team’s games, which makes the other three services better bets for watching nationally televised games.

Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

Bally Sports Plus: Cheapest for fans of most Ballys-area teams at $20

If all you want is your local team’s games and you live in the right area, there are a few new a-la-carte choices available this year. For fans who live in one of the places served by a Bally’s network, such as Bally Sports SoCal (Anaheim Ducks) or Bally Sports Sun (Tampa Bay Lightning), the least-expensive option is Bally Sports Plus.

Unlike other live TV streaming services, such as Fubo or DirecTV Stream, you won’t get any other channels. Subscribers will only get one RSN for their $20 monthly (although that RSN will sometimes carry the local NBA team as well). Note that if you live in an area served by multiple Bally’s RSNs, you can bundle those services for an additional fee.

MSG Plus, NESN360 and KnightTime Plus: Cheapest for Rangers, Devils, Isles, Sabres, Bruins and Knights fans

Some other teams’ games are available to stream on their own dedicated RSN streaming service that, like Bally’s, is separate from any other live TV package. Here’s the breakdown.

NHL Network: It’s still around, but costs extra and you probably don’t need it

The NHL Network, run by the league, is still available as a stand-alone station. This season the network will air numerous games that will be considered national for those out-of-market. This means that you will still be able to watch your local team play on your RSN, but viewers elsewhere in the US will need the NHL Network in order to watch the game because it will be blacked out on ESPN Plus.

The NHL Network is not included in many basic streaming services or cable packages and is not available at all on Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV. If you want it, chances are you are going to pay extra for it.

But what if I live in hockey-obsessed Canada?

Oh, Canadians, we know you love hockey and so does the NHL. But that means that you’re unable to participate in the league’s deal with ESPN Plus. Instead, you’ll have to continue to pay more for a subscription to Sportsnet Plus for all of your out-of-market games.

Sportsnet Plus has a nifty tool that will help you figure out exactly what games are available in your region with your subscription.

Cord-cutters in Canada might also need another service to get their local games.

When Apple released iOS 17 on Sept. 18, it introduced a lot of new features and improvements to your iPhone, like Live Stickers and offline maps. One of the more helpful new features Apple introduced in iOS 17 is the ability to share AirTags with up to five people. That means you can share AirTags for communal items, like luggage, so more people can track and help you find items if they are lost.

Apple released AirTags in 2021 as a way to help people keep track of their valuable items, like your keys when your couch eats them. However, AirTags could be attached to only one user at a time. Until now, you couldn’t lend someone an AirTag to borrow, and if you traveled with someone who had an AirTag, you would be notified that you’re traveling with an unidentified AirTag. But that changed with iOS 17.

Here’s how to share AirTags so more people can easily find your valuable items.

How to share AirTags

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Tap Items across the bottom of your screen.
3. Tap the AirTag you want to share with others.
4. Tap Add Person under Share This AirTag.

Your iPhone will show you a prompt that says once you’ve shared an AirTag, the people you’ve shared it with will be able to locate it and those same people will also not receive unidentified tracking notifications. Tap Continue and then you’ll be able to choose who to share the AirTag with.

Once you’ve shared the AirTag, the other person will receive a notification to add it. All they need to do is tap the notification’s Add button, which adds the tag to their Find My app.

If you’re going through this process and receive a notification for a shared AirTag you don’t recognize, there’s an option to tap Don’t Add.

How to stop sharing AirTags

If you lent your AirTag to a family member or friend to use and they return it, you can stop sharing your AirTag with them. Here’s how.

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Tap Items across the bottom of your screen.
3. Tap the AirTag you want to stop sharing.
4. Tap the name of the person you want to stop sharing the AirTag with.
5. Tap Remove.

Your iPhone will show another prompt saying that the person won’t be able to locate your item and they will instead receive unidentified tracking notifications. Tap Stop Sharing and you’re set.

For more, here’s my review of iOS 17, the iOS 17 cheat sheet and how to download iOS 17.

I graduated from college and started my first adult job this year, and it would be a bald-faced lie to say the transition was anything less than wildly confusing. I was not only leaving the familiarity of the academic environment I’d been in for 18 years but I was also reaching ever-elusive adult freedom.

But that freedom took me from busy evenings filled with studying and nights out with my friends to… boredom. I wasn’t used to having this much time to myself. There was no homework to be done and no exams to cram for, just free time. So since I was making enough money to finance what for me was a large purchase, and I had newfound free time to enjoy, I took the plunge on a treat that I’d wanted for months: The Nintendo Switch OLED and the latest installment of the Animal Crossing franchise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

While the Switch is great and all (I bought this one), what I really fell in love with was Animal Crossing. While the game already proved itself to be a balm to the soul for others during the pandemic, I didn’t realize just how fantastic it was until I played for myself. And if you’re shopping Prime’s Big Deals Day for games this year, you might want to consider Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

From soothing instrumentals and friendly Islanders to the incomparable joy that comes from catching a rare bug or fish, Animal Crossing and its wholesome vibes have won me over.

The first night I had the game, I played for about 4 hours. If you’re a regular gamer, that might not seem too intense, but I don’t usually play video games in my free time. So getting me to sit down and engage with a game for that long is an absolute feat, and a testament to the power of Animal Crossing.

It’s now a part of my nighttime routine to play Animal Crossing for about an hour before I go to sleep. If you’re like me, and you’re looking for a fun treat to give yourself to kick boredom — or if you’re just looking for a wholesome game to add to your rotation — Animal Crossing: New Horizons has my vote.

Now that we’re in October, the holiday season is quickly approaching. With that in mind, several big sales are coming up, including Amazon’s October Prime Day and Black Friday. If you’re planning to buy gifts during these huge sales events, you’ll likely need to know what the return policy is just in case the items don’t work out.

See below for the return windows and policies for major retail stores Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Macy’s. For more shopping tips, here’s how to get $30 ahead of October Prime Day. Also, here’s how to get shipping costs cut at these chain retailers.

Amazon returns

When you make a purchase on Amazon — even Amazon Warehouse — you’ve got 30 days to return the items. That’s not a lot of time if you’re buying gifts that you intend to give during the holidays. My suggestion? Open the item you’ve purchased to check that it has all the parts and pieces, and to make sure it’s what you’re after. If not, box it back up and ship it back as soon as possible.

If you do keep the item that you plan to gift past 30 days and the recipient finds that it doesn’t work for them, they can still get a refund for up to 80% of the total price on an Amazon gift card. They can also choose to exchange the item — for instance, if it’s the wrong size or color.

Note that some Amazon sellers may have different return policies.

Walmart returns

If you buy something from Walmart (online or in-store), you typically have a 90-day window to return it. However, Walmart does offer extended holiday returns for items purchased between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 that give you until Jan. 31, 2024, to return the item. So if you buy something as a gift during one of its sales, you or the person receiving it will have time to return or exchange the item.

Target returns

If you buy something at Target and decide you’d like to return it, you have 90 days to do so. And if you have Target’s credit card, RedCard, you have 120 days to make the return. If you’re returning a Target brand item or something from your registry, Target gives you a full year.

Similar to Walmart, Target also has an extended holiday return policy. Here’s how it works:

• For all electronics and entertainment items (excluding Apple products) purchased between Oct. 1 and Dec. 24, the 30-day refund period will start on Dec. 26 and must be returned by Jan. 24, 2024.
• For Apple products (excluding iPhones) purchased between Oct. 1 and Dec. 24, the 15-day refund period will start on Dec. 26 and must be returned by Jan. 9, 2024.
• For mobile phones purchased in-store or online as a pickup order between Oct. 1 and Dec. 24, the 14-day refund window starts on Dec. 26 and must be returned by Jan. 8, 2024.

Best Buy returns

Best Buy gives you 15 days to return items you’ve purchased, and 14 days if it’s an activatable device like a phone or tablet. However, if you’re a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total member, you have 60 days to return anything you’ve purchased, excluding activatable devices.

If you’re returning a gift you received, you’ll get store credit for the purchase price if you return it in a store. If you return the gift by mail, the gift buyer will get the credit.

If Best Buy follows last year’s holiday return policy, items purchased between Oct. 24 and Dec. 31 have until Jan. 14 to be returned.

Macy’s returns

Any item purchased from Macy’s must be returned within 30 days. If it’s an item from a gift registry, you have 90 days from the event date to return it.

If Macy’s follows last year’s holiday return policy, items purchased Oct. 3 and later have a 90-day return window. This policy would end Jan. 31, 2024.

For more, here’s how to save on your next Target shopping trip. And here are nine Amazon Prime tips you shouldn’t forget.