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Everything on sale or free (even the 🥑guac) in today's email

www.theshortcut.com

Everything on sale or free (even the 🥑guac) in today's email

Plus in-depth PSVR 2, new Samsung phone color, PS5 and Xbox software upgrades, first GTA 6 details and a lot of tech news

Matt Swider
Jul 31, 2022
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Everything on sale or free (even the 🥑guac) in today's email

www.theshortcut.com
  • Top deal: Free $200 Samsung credit ends in 10 days and more below

Your friendly neighborhood Swider-Man here in NYC 🕸️,

I didn’t win the $1.3 billion lottery either, so I’m still testing out new tech (below) and highlighting everything on sale or free. 🥑Chipotle Guac is 𝟭¢ today, 🎧Audible is $0 for 3 months ending tonight, 📱 you can claim a free $200 Samsung credit (10 more days) and 🎮 3 PlayStation Plus free games (ending tomorrow).

Deal sources

  • 🟦 Samsung deals

    • Free $200 Samsung credit ends in 10 days

  • 📦 Amazon deals

    • 🔥 Audible is $0 for 3 months – extended until tonight

  • 🌟 Walmart deals

  • 🏷️ Best Buy deals

  • 📸 B&H Photo deals

  • 🌯 Chipotle

  • 🟥 Macy’s deals

    • Offer code: SHOP


🆓 Free or 1¢

  • 🥑 Chipotle Guac for 1¢: The Guac isn’t really “extra” when it’s 1¢, right? A friend alerted me to this deal that celebrates National Avocado Day

  • 🟦 $200 Samsung credit: ends in 10 days. By signing up, you’re not required to buy the all-but-announced Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, Flip 4 or Watch 5, but if you do, you get up to $200 in Samsung Store credit as a bonus (if you sign up before the end of August 9).

  • 🎧 $0 for Amazon’s Audible: 3-month free trial. Tonight is the last night (extended from last week)

  • 🎮 3 free PS Plus games: ending tomorrow! Get Crash Bandicoot 4 (worth downloading), The Dark Pictures Anthology and Arcadegeddon

    • 🔥➕ PlayStation Plus discount code for $20 off!

    • ✂️ Yes, I’m working on getting PS Plus Extra/Premium discount codes!


🙌 Top deals (that aren’t free but, you know… nice)

  • 🪓 God of War Ragnarok Collector’s Edition: Walmart is in stock finally; sold out almost everywhere else

    • ❌ Sold out: Amazon God of War Ragnarok CE

    • ❌ Sold out: Best Buy God of War Ragnarok CE

    • 👀 Yes, I’ll track Amazon’s God of War Ragnarok Jotnar Edition page. I see all of your emails (which are very helpful to know what you want)

  • 🥷 $40 off Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ

    • 🔥 This deal ends tonight and is the hottest seller in small appliances

  • ♨️ $20 off Bella Pro Series 4qt Digital Air Fryer


💪 Fitness deals

  • ⚖️ $25 off Withings Body+ smart scale

  • 🩸 $25 off Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor

  • 🏋️‍♂️ $500 off Tempo Starter Pack + Expanded Accessory Pack

  • ⌚ $40 off Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (firesale ahead of the Watch 5)


💻 Nothing says ‘Back to School’ like Laptop deals

  • 🍎💻 $300 off MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16” at B&H Photo

  • 🍎💻 $300 off MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16” at Amazon

  • 🍎💻 $300 off MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14” at Amazon

  • 🪟💻 $200 off Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 at Best Buy

  • 💻 $300 off HP 17.3” Windows Intel Core i5 laptop

    • Top-selling laptop right now

  • 💻 $250 off Dell 14” Inspiron 2-in-1 Core i7 laptop

    • A better Windows laptop but pricier

  • 💻 $300 off HP Envy 15.6” x360 2-in-1 AMD Ryzen 5

  • 💻 $420 off HP Envy 17.3” Intel Core i7 laptop (when logged in)

    • There are a few HP Envy’s on sale today only


🎮 Games on sale

  • 🟦 🔥 PlayStation Plus discount code

  • 🟩 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 12-month discount

  • 🧙‍♂️ Lowest $ in 30 days: Clue Harry Potter board game at Amazon

  • 🔧 $30 off Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart $39.99

    • Ratchet deal at Amazon

    • Ratchet deal at Walmart

  • 🤼 $39 off King of Fighter XV at Amazon

  • 🏎️ $10 off Gran Turismo 7

    • GT7 for PS5 at Amazon or at Walmart

    • GT7 for PS4 at Amazon or at Walmart

    • GT7 25th Anniversary Edition

  • 🎭 Pre-order: Bayonetta 3 Trinity Masquerade Edition at Amazon

  • 🏹 $10 of Horizon Forbidden West

    • Horizon FW PS5 at Best Buy

    • ➡️ Get this one: Horizon FW PS4 at Best Buy (upgrades free to PS5 edition, so get this one and you’ll save another $10)

    • $20 off Horizon FW Collector’s Edition

  • ⚾ $30 off MLB The Show 22 (either regular or MVP Edition)

  • 🪓 $18 for The Last of Us Part 2

  • 🕷️ Spider-Man Miles Morales $20 off (persistent deal)

  • 🧦 Sackboy: A Big Adventure $29.99

  • ⚔️Demon’s Souls $39.99

  • 📦 Death Stranding $32


📰 100% ad-free news

I demoed the Galaxy S22 in Bora Purple – it's just the start of Samsung's surprises

  • 📱 Up to $900 off Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22 Plus and S22 deals

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🟪 New color: Samsung Galaxy S22 in Bora Purple is a mid-cycle addition

  • 📆 Launch: August 10, the same day Samsung will announce MORE devices

    • 📱Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

    • 📱Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4

    • ⌚Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 – and the Watch 5 Pro

  • 🌈 Joins: Black, White, Green, Pink Gold, Graphite, Cream, Blue, and Violet

  • 💰 Price: $799, but Samsung has A+ trade-in deals + free Buds Live

  • 🤓 Meaning? “Bora” is the Korean word for purple

    • 🙃 So, saying “I got the S22 Bora Purple” = “I got the S22 Purple Purple”

mattswider
A post shared by Matt Swider PS5 / Xbox restock (@mattswider)

Full story: Samsung S22 in Bora Purple


Here's an early look at the PSVR 2 user experience

PSVR 2 headset and PSVR 2 Sense controllers

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 👍 Sony has given us a quick peek at the user experience features of PSVR 2

  • 👀 Headset includes a see-through view; you don’t have to take the headset off

  • 📷 You’ll be able to broadcast yourself while playing if you have a PS5 HD Camera

  • 🛋️ You can customize your play area using the headset’s cameras and PSVR 2 Sense controllers

  • 🎥 You can switch between two modes: VR Mode and Cinematic Mode

  • 🔜 The PSVR 2 launch date will be shared soon

Full story: PSVR 2 UX revealed


GTA 6 reportedly getting a female protagonist, 2024 release window

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 👩 GTA 6 story may feature a Latina protagonist in a Bonnie & Clyde scenario

  • 🌇 It reportedly returns to Vice City – GTA's vision of Miami – and its suburbs

  • 🌎 Map dials back plan to encompass swaths of North and South America

  • 📆 GTA 6 updates will reportedly add cities and stories over time

Full story: GTA 6 first details


New Xbox Series X update speeds up the console significantly

Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles standing side by side with controllers

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🆕 A new Xbox Series X update reduces the overall startup time

  • ⌛ The bootup time has gone from around 12 seconds to 7 seconds

  • 🌿 The new update should encourage more people to use Energy Saver mode

Full story: Xbox Series X update


PS5 is finally getting 1440p support, along with some fancy new features

PS5 1440p support

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🆕A new PS5 system software beta is now rolling out to invited participants

  • 🥳 The update adds 1440p support, which has been one of the most-requested features

  • ❌ Unfortunately VRR does not work when using 1440p

  • 📁 Gamelists are also new and let you organize games in the ‘Your Collection’ tab of your Game Library

  • 🎧 A new listen and compare setting for stereo and 3D audio has been added

  • 👋 It’ll be easier to access in-progress Activities and interact with your friends

Full story: PS5 1440p update


Meta is raising the price of Quest 2 by $100 tomorrow

Meta Quest 2 and Quest 2 controllers

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🥽 Meta Quest 2 headsets will cost $100 more from August 1

  • 🆓 Every purchase will come with a free copy of Beat Saber

  • 🤔 The price hike will help with “moving the VR industry forward”

  • ⌛ If you want a Meta Quest 2, you’re best off buying one before August

  • 👍 The price hike could bode well for PSVR 2

Full story: Meta Quest 2 price increase


Play PS5 on your iPhone with this Backbone One PlayStation Edition controller

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🎮 What: A PlayStation-branded iPhone-compatible controller grip

  • 🤝 Vouch: Officially licensed PlayStation Edition adds DualSense buttons

  • 📳 Match game: Decked out PS5 style, but no DualSense haptic feedback

  • 💵Price: $99.99, almost twice as expensive as PS5 DualSense controllers

  • 📵Compatibility: Only for iPhone; there’s a separate Xbox version

Full story: Backbone One PS Edition

Microsoft is finally fixing this frustrating Xbox Series X problem

Top of an Xbox Series X console

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🙌 Xbox Series X update tackles one of the console’s most annoying issues

  • 🔎 Soon, it will be easier to know if a game has left Game Pass, whether it requires a disc or a different user to sign in

  • 🧪 New badges are being tested by Xbox Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead Insiders

Full story: Xbox fixes a big one


Twitter Blue price increase: $4.99 per month but promises new features

Twitter Blue

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny

  • 🐦 Cash-strapped blues: Twitter Blue price goes from $2.99 to $4.99/mo

  • 📆 When? This week for new members, October for existing subscribers

  • ✏️ Why? Twitter promises the new price will ‘help build some new features’

  • 📈 Why else? When microblogging has to deal with macroeconomics

  • 🫥 Edit button: the Twitter edit button will be a Twitter Blue Labs

Full Story: Twitter Blue prince increase

Thanks for supporting the work of myself, Adam and our soon-to-be-growing team as we create a banner-ad-free tech publication! ❤️

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www.theshortcut.com
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