Amazon Deals of the Day: Our Favorite Portable Projector From Anker Drops to a Record Low
Every day Amazon dishes out tons of home goods, tech and wellness products. Along with adding new products, the retailer regularly drops prices in just about every category to help you save some serious cash. Still, it can be hard trying to decide which deals are worthwhile and which ones aren't. Thankfully, we're here to bring you today's top deals on Amazon.
We found one of our favorite projectors for a little over $400, a new record low price. We also found the Apple iPad Mini back down to its all-time low price. Speaking of record lows, one of our favorite Alexa-compatible soundbars is down to a record low, too, saving you over 50% off the sticker price.
Nebula Mars 3 Air GTV projector: $420 (save $180)
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A projector is a great way to view your entertainment. Some people even use a projector rather than a TV because of its portability. Our favorite projector of 2025, the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air GTV projector, has dropped to a record low of $420, saving you almost $200. We love it because it's a great size and can stream Google TV. It has a high resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, giving you a clear image. It's also decently bright, with a display of 400 lumens. The sound quality is great as well, so much so that you can use it as a Bluetooth speaker. It even has an HDMI port for your gaming needs. The only downside is the limited battery life of 2.5 hours, but if you're just using it at home, it shouldn't be a problem. Its initial price had been an issue, but this record-low deal has put that concern to rest.
Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro): $399 (save $100)
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This tablet is the definition of tiny but mighty. We all know and love Apple's products, especially the iPads. But like all great things from Apple, it comes with a hefty price tag. So when we see an impressive discount, we have to let you know. You can save $100 on the Apple iPad Mini with the A17 Pro chip, bringing the price to just $399, returning it to its record-low price. The Mini is great for someone who wants a tablet that's a smaller size and easier to carry around. We love the iPad Mini with the A17 Pro chip for its beautiful 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. It also is able to handle fast Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. It even works great with the advanced Apple Pencil Pro. The front camera is 12-megapixel and ultrawide, perfect for FaceTime. The rear camera is 12MP and ultrawide, too, giving you high-quality photos.
Yamaha Audio YAS-209BL soundbar: $170 (save $180)
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Our favorite soundbar of 2025 that's compatible with Alexa is the Yamaha YAS-209 soundbar. It's our favorite Alexa soundbar of the year, since it produces great sound with the DTS Virtual:X virtual surround sound feature. It also has an articulate wireless subwoofer. This soundbar can be used by Bluetooth or even the HDMI cable port in the back of the soundbar. Right now, you don't have to break the bank to get high quality sound either. You can score this soundbar at a whopping 51% off, knocking the price down to only $170, a record low.
With so many different deals, deciding which ones are worth buying can be hard. That's why CNET searches everything the world's biggest online retailer has to offer before gathering the best deals.
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Its Liberty Phone, manufactured near San Diego, comes with U.S.-made electronics installed on a metal chassis from China. It retails for $1,999. Another phone, the Librem 5, is mostly the same design, except it's made in China with Chinese parts, and costs $799. The company also produces tablet computers, laptops, and servers. Purism pitches its Made in America device as more secure and privacy friendly than those from major manufactures like Apple. Because all the critical parts and assembly are domestic, it's easy to verify that they haven't been tampered with by a foreign adversary that wants to snoop or stuff them with explosives. The phones also run on a Linux-based open source operating system. Anyone with technical know-how who is worried about the security can review the code—unlike with more popular phones, which come with operating systems that can't be easily inspected. Additionally, Purism's phones come with three kill switches that lets users physically disconnect their device from cell service, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with its microphone and camera. When turned on, the switches sever the electrical circuit to the features they control and make it impossible for them to be accessed by hackers, Weaver said. Toggling on Airplane Mode, as users often do on more mainstream phones, is less secure, he said, because it's a purely software feature that doesn't cut power to the device's chips. Customers who are especially security conscious can pay extra to have their devices shipped with 'tamper evident tape' on the packaging, among other options, to flag any monkey business during transit. Purism's biggest customers are government agencies, many of which require high security, and individual consumers. The company's clients, Weaver said, include the FBI and the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Weaver said the cost of manufacturing the Purism's two phones is largely the same, despite one being made overseas and the other domestically. The phone that's made in China costs around $600 for parts, manufacturing, and assembly while the U.S.-made one comes in at $650. 'Producing goods in China vs. the U.S. is the same plus or minus 10%,' said Weaver, based mostly on automation. The difference between what Purism charges customers for its two phones is partly due to the higher profit margin the company collects for its U.S.-made device. People who want stronger security are often willing to pay extra for it, Weaver said. It also covers the extra overhead from some customers wanting to verify that Purism's supply chain is secure and the small additional cost of U.S. manufacturing. Purism's assembly line is in Carlsbad, Calif., where up to a dozen workers put together devices. The area is home to a pool of skilled labor thanks to the local defense industry and manufacturing for other mobile carriers. That relatively modest assembly line is a major contrast to the factories that make iPhones, operated by contract manufacturers, mostly in China. Those facilities can be the size of several football fields and employ over 100,000 people who work around-the-clock shifts. Weaver said the U.S. is at a huge disadvantage to China when it comes to skilled workers, who make up a significant part of the workforce in smartphone factories. The only way to reverse the shortage and lay the groundwork for companies to reshore their production is to encourage more people to learn skills that are useful in the manufacturing process, he said. 'If you go over to China you can find buildings and buildings of thousands of electronics engineers. If you look here, you can find maybe five total,' Weaver said. Apple, for example, would risk a catastrophe if it suddenly, in 2026, needed to ramp up staffing in the U.S. to produce millions of iPhones, he said. Training enough people for such a massive undertaking would take years. Weaver said Purism, founded in 2014, took several years to develop its domestic supply chain. The company's small size means it only needs limited quantities of components, which makes it impossible to achieve the economies of scale that come from producing huge numbers of devices. Manufacturing in the U.S. also comes with higher labor costs than in China. But with the help of automation, those extra costs can be kept to a minimum by reserving human labor for tasks performed after production is complete, such as soldering, assembly, repairs, and testing. Apple, on the other hand, would need vast amounts of components to keep its assembly line humming. While the company would likely be able to cut deals with domestic suppliers for most iPhone parts, some, such as high-quality cameras, may be impossible to quickly source in the U.S. and it would therefore have to import them, Weaver said. One analyst has said iPhones could end up costing $3,500 if made in the U.S., to account for the extra costs and hassles. Weaver agrees that it would cost Apple substantially more to produce iPhones in the U.S., if it had to move production quickly. But given enough time, Apple could substantially reduce the cost after developing a new supply chain, finding enough workers, and by relying on extensive automation. For Apple, opening a domestic manufacturing plant would therefore need to be a years' long process, Weaver said. That's why he criticized Trump's tariffs for taking effect almost immediately. Yes, many of those tariffs have since been delayed. But the takeaway for businesses is that they can't plan ahead. And yet, that's exactly what's required for something as complex as shifting manufacturing to the U.S. Trump's tariffs would be far more effective if phased in over many years, Weaver said. In that scenario, companies would have a clear and increasing incentive to reshore production—without being punished right off the bat. Weaver argues his U.S. manufacturing effort is already paying off and that it will gain momentum over time. He hopes the recent scandal involving U.S. officials using the chat app Signal to discuss a military strike against Yemen, and then accidentally inviting a journalist to join them, will help lift sales by encouraging the federal government to focus more on security. Weaver wouldn't get into the specifics of Purism's financials other than to say it has millions in annual revenue and turned profitable in 2023. The Liberty Phone is its biggest seller. Wayne Lam, an analyst with market research firm TechInsights, gave a mixed take on Purism's prospect. In an email, he said: 'They can be a successful niche player, but the odds of success are lower thanks to the bigger brands. They won't be able to compete in the consumer market but government/enterprise/military are all niche markets they can address.' To fund the expansion of his business, Weaver is trying to raise additional investment after taking in $16 million in funding over the years. Some of that money would go to fixing a shortcoming with his phones. Because they don't use Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating systems, they are incompatible with many of the most popular mobile apps like Uber. To get such apps work on its devices, Purism must make technical tweaks for each one. Purism can at least claim one small advantage over the giant companies that dominate the smartphone industry. If Trump's tariffs become permanent, it won't feel much impact from its U.S.-made phone, while the big players and their foreign-made devices could be hammered. 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