Seagate’s Xbox Storage Expansion Card is cheaper than ever at nearly $100 off

We’ve griped long enough about the ballooning install sizes of the latest AAA games, but complaining won’t slow the trend. Without some miraculous development in data compression technology, the only remedy today is to buy extra storage. Xbox Series X and S gamers have had it the roughest with the exorbitant markups on its proprietary storage cards, but regular discounts are starting to make them a little more affordable. For example, Seagate’s 1TB Storage Expansion Card is down to $125.99 at Amazon ($94 off), which is the lowest price we’ve seen so far. The 2TB card is also on sale for $249.99 ($110 off) at Amazon, which is only $20 more than its all-time low.

Seagate’s storage expansion cards are officially licensed by Microsoft, and until recently, they were the only ones you could buy. Unlike traditional external SSDs, the expansion cards support Xbox’s speedy NVME-based Velocity Architecture to enable quicker data streaming and features like Quick Resume, so it’s the only type of storage you can use to play games designed for the Series X / S. Yeah, sure, you could supplement the console’s 1TB or 512GB of internal storage with a standard external SSD to store extra games and move them back and forth whenever you need, but that’s eventually going to wear on heavier gamers. Even with 2TB of the fast stuff, I’m constantly reshuffling my library to make room for new 100GB-plus titles and massive updates that can stonewall my immediate gaming plans. Today’s deal marks a great opportunity to find some relief.

Gearing up for poolside weather or beachfront fun this summer? The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 could be the ideal Bluetooth speaker to bring with you. It’s IP67 water resistant and floatable, and with a max 87-decibel output, it gets pretty loud for its size. The black model with white trim is going for $69.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy — its second-best price to date — while the pink, gray, and blue variants can be had for around $76 ($24 off) via the same retailers.

The Wonderboom 3 is an attractive speaker, but we wish it had USB-C instead of a Micro USB port for charging when the 14-hour battery dries up. Still, with two 40mm main drivers and two passive radiators, it produces bassy 360-degree sound with enough power to overcome crashing waves and screaming children. Its intuitive controls feature one big button up top to play, pause, and skip tracks, plus two side-mounted volume buttons. In addition to rejecting water, it’s also dust-tight and built sturdy enough to survive typical drops. There aren’t any smart assistant features to have fun with, but if you double up on your purchase, you can enable stereo playback with the touch of a button.

Five more Monday morning deals

• LG’s 65-inch C3 TV is down to $1,399.99 ($1,200 off) at Woot through Friday, March 1st. That’s a great price on LG’s newest mainstream 4K OLED TV, which uses brighter Evo panels and newer AI processing chips to enhance visuals and power the webOS smart TV user experience. It’s great for both movies and gaming thanks to features like Dolby Vision and HDR, four HDMI 2.1 ports with 120Hz variable refresh rate, and an auto low latency mode that automatically brings response times to under 10ms while gaming.
• You can buy the Android-ready Razer Kishi V2 mobile controller for $82.66 (about $17 off) at Amazon. The Backbone alternative works with USB-C Android phones and the iPhone 15 series, though you’ll need the Lightning version (currently $95.99 at Amazon) if you have an older iPhone model. The Kishi V2 cradles your device and adds physical controls that make shooters, platformers, and other input-heavy games easier to play (although we feel the tactile performance of its buttons could be better). It’s compatible with a bevy of streaming apps from Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, and GeForce Now, plus any game that natively supports mobile controllers. Read our review.
• Roku’s Streambar is down to around $99.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, matching one of its better prices to date. It’s essentially a streaming device that doubles as a Dolby Audio soundbar, giving you a one-stop solution to enjoy movies and shows from thousands of apps and channels. It lacks Dolby Vision and Atmos, but the 4K HDR-capable Streambar can be an affordable starter kit for basic viewing experiences, and you can use it for music playback via Bluetooth and to play content from Apple devices via AirPlay. The remote enables Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls, too.
• Black & Decker’s rolling pet hair remover is still matching its all-time low of $13.88 (about $11 off) at Walmart. Similar to the ChomChom that’s beloved by The Verge’s pet owners, the handheld roller can trap hairs that are stuck in the fibers of clothes, couches, and carpets. It doesn’t use sticky tape, so it’s easy to clean, and there’s no additional upkeep cost beyond the initial purchase.
• The StanbyMe Go somehow fits a 27-inch TV into a briefcase, and it’s down to $1,089.26 (about $110 off) at Amazon. The 1080p TV can last up to three hours on battery and allows you to connect traditional video sources with its lone HDMI port, in addition to the hundreds of apps you’ll find in the webOS content store. You can view the display both horizontally and vertically, too, as it hangs on by a suspended hinge that collapses neatly into the briefcase when you’re ready to tow it. You’ll get a nice workout carrying it around, though, as it weighs about 30 pounds.