Google’s new Pixel 7A comes with free earbuds and a case or a $50 gift card

The 7A’s lovely coral color is exclusive to the Google Store, but it also comes in charcoal, light blue, and white elsewhere. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The VergeGoogle actually did it. It made a new, very good,...

May 11, 2023 - 21:02

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Google’s new Pixel 7A comes with free earbuds and a case or a $50 gift card

Google actually did it. It made a new, very good, fairly affordable midrange phone and started shipping it right away. And not only is the Pixel 7A already released into the world for you to buy but also you can have your pick of some nice deals and early bird incentives. When you pick up the new Pixel 7A for its regular $499 price, Google is throwing in a $100 credit toward a pair of Pixel Buds (making the Pixel Buds A-Series free or the noise-canceling Pixel Buds Pro $99.99) and a free Case-Mate case (a $25 value). Meanwhile, retailers like Best Buy and Amazon are offering a $50 gift card with your purchase.

The 7A costs $50 more than the Pixel 6A it replaces, but that extra money nets some nice upgrades like wireless charging, a faster 90Hz 6.1-inch screen for smoother scrolling, and a new and refined dual camera setup. It doesn’t even skimp on the processor, as it borrows the Tensor G2 from the flagship Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. It’s the best midrange Pixel to date, so barring any unforeseen hiccups sometimes plaguing Pixel phones, it feels worthwhile to take advantage of these early adopter deals. Read our review.

$499

The Pixel 7A is Google’s latest A-series midrange phone. It offers a smattering of features from Google’s like-numbered flagship but comes at a lower price with a smaller 6.1-inch display.

Last year’s Gigabyte Aero 16 XE4 laptop is on a steep sale, offering a lot of value for some great creator / gaming performance. It’s currently on sale at Newegg for $1,349 ($1,200 off its original price). This configuration of the Aero 16 packs a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti video card, 16GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.

With its sizable 16-inch 4K OLED panel, you have some nice real estate for working on creative tasks like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and the Aero has the processing power to run those apps with no issue. The Aero isn’t all work and no fun, though, as it’s more than capable of running graphically intensive games — its biggest hangup is that its screen maxes out at 60Hz. If you’re not a frame rate hound, this may not be a big deal, but if you are, you may want to have a quality monitor to plug it into. Read our review.

This configuration of Gigabyte’s 16-inch Aero laptop includes a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and an RTX 3070 Ti for solid gaming performance.

Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 controller has returned to its second-best price, selling for $148.99 ($31 off) at Amazon and direct from Microsoft. The premium controller has dropped slightly lower before, but it’s been a minute since we’ve seen consistent discounts. Recently, its cheaper Xbox Elite 2 Core counterpart has seen more action with new colors and some modest deals, but the standard Elite 2 — as a complete package with all its included accessories — is a better value at this price.

The Elite Series 2 has had its share of quality control issues, but it remains our top pick for a high-end controller to use on Xbox consoles and PC. It’s got a very premium feel, swappable sticks and D-pads, four magnetically attachable rear paddle buttons, a rechargeable battery that charges over USB-C, and some nice software tuning. Some of these things may give you a modicum of an edge in multiplayer games, but it’s also just a nice-feeling thing to own and use. Read our review.

The Xbox Elite Series 2 is easily one of our favorite controllers at The Verge. It’s an improvement on the already excellent Elite Controller, with deep customization, optional rear paddle buttons, and a swappable D-pad and analog sticks that allow you to tailor its layout to suit your play style.

Speaking of PC gaming, Humble is offering a bundle of Capcom games for an excellent value. You get 10 games on PC (Steam) for $30, including Monster Hunter Rise, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, a trio of Phoenix Wright games, a bunch of Mega Man games (both new and old), and more. The total value of the bundle is worth $259 for the games at full price, and the promo is running until May 24th.

Humble Bundle’s collection of 10 Capcom games for PC includes Monster Hunter Rise, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, Strider, Lost Planet 3 Complete Pack, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Mega Man 11, Mega Man Legacy Collection, and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2. Each title is redeemable on Steam.

A few more great deals:

Woot is selling an Apple AirTag Leather Key Ring in a cute yellow color for $12.99 (about $22 off). It might be even harder to misplace your keys with such a bright yellow fob attached to it, and if you still do, the AirTag will help you track it.God of War Ragnarök (digital) on PlayStation 5 has dropped to a new low price of $29.99 ($40 off) at CDKeys. If you’re not up for the Zelda hype, but you fancy a deep action-adventure game in an open world, here’s your game.Apple’s second-gen HomePod in white is on sale for $279 ($20 off) at B&H Photo. The new smart speaker looks just like the original but has excellent sound quality and new temperature and humidity sensors. If you get two of them, it makes for a great stereo surround setup with an Apple TV streaming box.The Govee DreamView T1 smart LED light strip for jumbo 75-inch TVs is on sale for $74.99 ($35 off) when you click the on-page coupon at Amazon. It uses a small camera mounted on top of the screen to mimic the colors of what you’re watching for a more immersive experience.The Dead Space remake has fallen to a new low price of $48.99 ($21 off) on Xbox (digital). It’s a faithful recreation of the original from the Xbox 360 era but with stunning graphics and new improvements to streamline the aged title for 2023.