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Today’s best deals: Sony WH-1000XM4, a huge indie games bundle, and more

Today’s best deals: Sony WH-1000XM4, a huge indie games bundle, and more

Enlarge (credit: Ars Technica)

Welcome back to another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the best tech deals from around the web includes a new deal on Sony’s excellent (if confoundingly named) WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones, which are back down to $278 at several retailers. While we’ve seen these headphones fall as low as $248 over the holiday season and during events like Amazon Prime Day, this deal matches the best price we usually see outside of special occasions like those. Either way, the discount takes roughly $35 off the XM4’s usual street price and about $70 off Sony’s MSRP.

As for the headphones themselves, we’ve previously called the XM4 the best pair of noise-canceling headphones for most people. Though this pair has been out since August 2020, it still offers top-tier noise-canceling strength, a comfortable and well-padded design, 30+ hours of battery life, and a lively bass-forward sound that can be customized to your liking if needed. Sony’s pair doesn’t sound as sharp as Apple’s competing AirPods Max out of the box, nor are they as light on the head as Bose’s QuietComfort 45, but they’re comfier and significantly less expensive than the former, and they last noticeably longer on a charge than the latter. We’ve seen this deal numerous times in the past, but if you’re in the market for a new pair of wireless headphones right now, the XM4 remains a top value at this discounted price.

Elsewhere, we also have a new charity bundle over at digital storefront itch.io that nets you several hundred video games—plus a few comics, e-books, and soundtracks, among other assets—for a minimum donation of $10. The “Bundle for Ukraine,” as it’s called, is hosted by developer Necrosoft Games and includes work from more than 700 creators, with all funds raised going to charities that provide medical assistance to Ukrainians affected by the ongoing conflict with Russia and psychosocial support for children impacted by war. The bundle went live on Monday and has already raised nearly $3 million as of this writing.

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