Technology

Best Amazon Big Spring Sale Apple iPad deals: Best iPad deal overall Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) $349 (save $50) Get Deal Best iPad Air deal Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4 $559 (save $40) Get Deal

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is just a few days away, running from March 25-31. This event typically sees of all kinds of products with heavy discounts, giving you an early-year treat before the major sales events get going later in the year.

The Amazon Spring Sale is a good time to pick up pricier buys, whether that’s a robot vacuum, a TV or an Apple product. And if you’ve been eyeing up an iPad, some models have already dropped in price ahead of next week’s sale. We’ve pulled together the best live deals to make things easier.

Best iPad deal overall Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) $299 at Best Buy
$349 Save $50   Get Deal at Best Buy Get Deal at Walmart Get Deal at Amazon Why we like it

The 11-inch iPad packs a serious punch thanks to the A16 chip, Liquid Retina display, and fast Wi‑Fi, making it perfect for everything from streaming to editing. We've even ranked it as our favorite budget iPad for 2026. It has iPadOS, support for Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, and a 12MP Center Stage front camera, so it really is a perfect all rounder.

More iPad deals

• Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) — $299 $349 (save $50)

• Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4) — $559 $599 (save $40)

• Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro) — $564 $599 (save $35)

• Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M3) — $597 $699 (save $102)

• Apple iPad Air 11-inch (M4) — $649.99 $699 (save $50)

• Apple iPad Pro 13-inch (M5) — $1,199 $1,299 (save $100)

• Apple iPad Pro 13-Inch (M4) — $1,299 $1,499 (save $200)

Back when SSDs were a distant future, and we were all using hard drives, there wasn't really much speed to choose other than 5400 rpm and 7200 rpm. So we had to rely on sloppy hacks and tricks to get our drives working faster. One common trick was short-stroking.

The web began by empowering users, serving us with static content that could be repurposed and tailored to whichever device was in use. But, slowly, websites have wrestled back control, enforcing their own preferences for style and behavior.

While mobile devices are fine for chatting, reading, and watching, sometimes you need a real computer to get work done. But, it's become expensive to keep Windows PC up to date. Switching to Linux means you can keep using your old PC, and save money in other ways, too.

Alas, spring has sprung, and as we roll through this last week of March, we’re doing so with some of the trending movies on Amazon Prime Video this week.

The best early Amazon Big Spring Sale Apple Watch deals: Best Apple Watch Series 11 Deal Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299.00 (save $100) Get Deal Best Apple Watch SE 3 Deal Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) $219.00 (save $30) Get Deal

We're just a few days away from Amazon's Big Spring Sale — which kicks off on March 25 and runs all the way to March 31 — but quite a few deals have already begun to appear. For Apple users, this includes some very nice discounts on Apple Watches. If you've been hoping to pick up one of these sleek smartwatches, without dropping the full amount on them, both Series 11 and SE 3 models are on sale right now.

We've gathered up just a few of our favorite early Apple Watch deals available at Amazon right now, so you can save on the ones that catch your eye. As we get closer to the sale's official start, we'll update this with more deals and price adjustments as they happen, too.

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Note: You don't need to be a Prime member to shop the sale, but Prime members will receive exclusive deals on a variety of items.

Best early Apple Watch Series 11 deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100   Get Deal Why we like it

The Apple Watch Series 11 is a smartwatch we think very highly of, earning a spot on our list of the best smartwatches as the 'Best Apple Upgrade', and this $100 discount on the 42mm with GPS model is well worth taking advantage of. It marks its lowest-ever price point at the retailer, so what better time to grab it?

Mashable's Stan Schroeder, who reviewed it, said it's worth upgrading to for the battery life alone. He said, "Even if you already have a Series 10, which has nearly all the same features, the new Apple Watch Series 11 doesn’t require you to charge it mid-day in order to keep it going through the night. With the new Sleep Score feature, this is more important than ever." Multiple versions of this smartwatch are on sale right now as well, which you can see below.

More Apple Watch Series 11 deals

• Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 46mm) — $329 $429 (save $100)

• Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 $499 (save $100)

• Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 46mm) — $699 $799 (save $100)

Best early Apple Watch SE 3 deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) $219 at Amazon
$249 Save $30   Get Deal Why we like it

The Apple Watch SE 3 is a great choice for those who just want the basics of a smartwatch. It landed on our list of the best smartwatches as the 'Best for most people' because, "In addition to its gorgeous OLED display, it has the same S10 chip inside the Ultra 3, the same water resistance as the Series 11, and all the necessary features you're looking for in a smartwatch — all for $150 less than the Series 11."

Ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale, its 40mm model has dropped down to $219. That saves you $30. It's not the only one on sale right now, though. Below we've included a few more versions of the SE 3 that have been discounted at the retailer, so you can scoop up your preferred model and save some cash.

More Apple Watch SE 3 deals

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 44mm) — $249 $279 (save $30)

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $269 $299 (save $30)

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44mm) — $299 $329 (save $30)

Niagara Launcher is famous for reinventing the Android home screen. I love the concept, but I’ve never been able to fully stick with it. Recently, I decided to install Niagara again, and this time it feels different for a few reasons.

The best Amazon Big Spring Sale Apple deals at a glance: Best AirPods deal AirPods Pro 3 $199.99 (save $49.01) Get Deal Best iPad deal Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 128GB) $735.49 (save $63.51) Get Deal Best MacBook deal Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $949 (save $250) Get Deal Best Apple Watch deal Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299 (save $100) Get Deal Best AirTag deal Apple AirTag (1st Gen, 4-Pack) $59.99 (save $39.01) Get Deal

Amazon's Big Spring Sale has been confirmed for its third year, running from March 25-31. The retailer is set to roll out wide-ranging discounts across multiple categories, with prices dropping on items like robot vacuums, TVs, and even daily essentials. And while they didn't come right out and say it, if there's one thing we can all but guarantee, it's that the sale will feature plenty of discounts on top Apple products.

Apple has had a busy month, with the launch of its first-ever budget MacBook, upgraded MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros, a new iPad Air, the iPhone 17e, and even AirPods Max 2. This means we could not only see first-time discounts on the new slate of products, but also new record-low prices on the previous generations during the Big Spring Sale. We'll be tracking prices leading up to and throughout the official event, so keep an eye on this page for the latest and greatest deals.

If you don’t want to wait, early discounts have already started to land. We’ve rounded up the best Apple deals you can shop right now ahead of the sale.

Best Amazon Big Spring Sale AirPods deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 3 $199.99 at Amazon
$249 Save $49.01   Get Deal Why we like it

We've always been fans of the AirPods Pro, but the third generation really takes them to new heights. Mashable's reviewer called them, "without a doubt, one of the best products of the year" in 2025. The latest premium buds feature outstanding noise cancellation (twice as good as the Pro 2s), a solid eight hours of battery life with ANC on, and new foam-infused tips that come in five sizes to find the perfect fit. Apple also brought the heart rate monitoring tech from the Powerbeats Pro 2 (our favorite earbuds for working out) and Fitness app compatibility to the Pro 3s, and introduced a live translation feature.

While we've seen the buds drop as low as $184 in the past, this discount is still worth grabbing.

More AirPods deals

• Apple AirPods 4 — $99 $129 (save $30)

• Apple AirPods 4 (with ANC) — $148.99 $179 (save $30.01)

• Apple AirPods Max — $449.99 $549 (save $99.01)

Best Amazon Big Spring Sale iPad deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M4, WiFi, 128GB) $735.49 at Amazon
$799 Save $63.51   Get Deal Why we like it

Just launched earlier this month, the 13-inch M4 iPad Air is already on sale for $66 off. The base configuration with WiFi connectivity and 128GB of storage is now just $735.49 (normally $799). Mashable's tech editor took the M4 iPad Air for a spin and found it pretty impressive — too impressive for the average user, even. "It delivers iterative updates that improve an already stellar tablet," he writes in his review.

More iPad deals

• Apple iPad, 11-inch (A16, WiFi, 128GB) — $299 $349 (save $50)

• Apple iPad mini (A17 Pro, WiFi, 128GB) — $399 $499 (save $100)

• Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 128GB) — $559 $599 (save $40)

• Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M3, WiFi + Cellular, 128GB) — $549.99 $749 (save $199.01)

• Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M3, WiFi + Cellular, 1TB) — $1,238 $1,398 (save $100)

• Apple iPad Pro, 13-inch (M5, WiFi, 256GB) — $1,199 $1,299 (save $100)

Best Amazon Big Spring Sale MacBook deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $949 at Amazon
$1,199 Save $250   Get Deal Why we like it

Apple released its new MacBook Air with the M5 chip this month, but honestly, they're not a whole lot different than the M4 Airs. The main differences are the upgraded processor and a new wireless chip. You can save some money by grabbing the M4 model with 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage, which is currently down to just $949 at Amazon. We're keeping our eyes on this laptop, as we expect to see it drop further as the sale nears. But make note that since it is now an older model, it could sell out fast.

More MacBook deals

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $949 $1,199 (save $250)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $949 $1,199 (save $250)

• Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,049 $1,099 (save $50)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,079 $1,399 (save $320)

• Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,297 $1,299 (save $2)

• Apple 2025 MacBook Pro 14.2-inch (M5, 6GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,399.99 $1,699 (save $200)

• Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499.99 $1,699 (save $199.01)

Best Amazon Big Spring Sale Apple Watch deal Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100   Get Deal Why we like it

The Apple Watch Series 11 offers significant battery improvements over its predecessor. For that reason alone, it's worth the upgrade. It also features a tougher build with durable glass that's twice as resistant to scratches, 5G capability for quicker connectivity, and a Sleep Score and hypertension tool that can flag chronic high blood pressure. It's not a major upgrade (is anything in 2026?), but as Mashable's reviewer put it: "Buy it for the battery life." Now $100 cheaper, it's an even better value.

More Apple Watch deals

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS, 40mm) — $219 $249 (save $30)

• Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 40mm) — $269 $299 (save $30)

• Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS + Cellular, 42mm) — $399 $499 (save $100)

Power tool brands offer a wide range of tools and accessories, giving us more choices than ever these days. Big names like Ryobi and Milwaukee make all the common items, like drills and drivers, but they also make some tools you've probably never heard of. Earlier this year, I bought an oddball Ryobi "bucket top" tool on a whim, and now I wish I had one sooner.

SNL UK pulled out all the stops for its first ever episode, with Tina Fey as guest host (supported in her monologue by a few household names) and a cold open that somehow managed to get shared by Donald Trump.

In the first ever Weekend Update feature above, anchors Ania Magliano and Paddy Young run through a big headlines — with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being an inevitable target.

"Renovations to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's new home, Marsh Farm, have been taking place for the past month, including the installation of Sky TV," says Magliano. "So, if you're watching Andrew: Hello! You're not going to like this next bit. Also, I'm older than I look."

Elsewhere there's also an entertainingly silly joke about helium.

Are you still running your servers with Linux installed bare metal? It’s time to upgrade and move to a hypervisor, especially if you want to start working toward a more professional homelab.

Most of the time when you stay at an AirBnB, some kind of Wi-Fi is included. However, you have no control over the security settings and you may run into restrictions on how many or what kind of devices you can connect.

I have a lot of smart home sensors in my home. However, one of my most useful sensors isn't actually a real sensor at all. It doesn't exist as a physical device; it's a virtual sensor living inside Home Assistant.

Elon Musk announced plans to build Terafab, the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility ever.

A joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, Terafab was announced via a livestream on Saturday as "the next step towards becoming a galactic civilization." Yes, Musk's plans for this one extend beyond Earth, and it will cost $20 to $25 billion to build.

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Initially, the Terafab will be a massive chip manufacturing plant located next to Tesla's Giga Texas in Austin. Musk said they will be able to make a chip, test it, improve it, and keep iterating like that in a single building, something which "does not exist anywhere else in the world." There's lot of ramping up to do, but the goal (per Musk's comments at the Tesla shareholder meeting in November last year) is for Terafab to eventually be capable of producing 1 million chip wafers per month using a 2-nanometer process tech.

For reference, the largest semiconductor manufacturing company in the world right now is Taiwan's TSMC, and that company plans to reach a monthly output of 140,000 2-nanometer chip wafers per month by the end of 2026.

In terms of actual chips, Musk expects Terafab to produce between 100 and 200 billion AI and memory chips per year, which will mostly be used by Tesla itself, powering its cars and robots. According to Musk, Tesla needs the chips, and its current suppliers, including Samsung, TSMC, Micron, and others, have "a maximum rate at which they’re comfortable expanding."

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's X teases new dislike button on replies

"That rate is much less than we would like. And so, we either build the Terafab, or we don't have the chips,” he said during the presentation.

It's a lofty goal for a company (well, three companies) that never manufactured semiconductors before, but it gets even more ambitious.

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At full capacity, it will produce an annual 100 to 200 gigawatts of computing power on Earth, as well as 1 terawatt of computing power in Space (this means that the chips produced at Terafab will ultimately draw that much power when deployed).

For reference, Musk said that the U.S. electricity demand is 0.5 terawatts. This is why, Musk argued, 80% of Terafab's compute output will actually reside in space, on SpaceX's solar-powered AI satellites. Solar irradiance (the amount of power received from the Sun per unit area) is 5x higher in space than on Earth, while the heat rejection in the vacuum in space makes it easier to cool all those chips.

Again, for reference, the amount of compute running in Earth's low orbit right now is negligible, and is mainly limited to onboard processing on satellites.

What Musk is describing does exist, with China's "Three-Body Computing Constellation" being the most prominent example. It's a 12-satellite constellation running AI models via chips capable of total computing capacity of 5 peta operations per second (POPS), with plans to expand to 2,800 satellites capable of 1,000 POPS. While I couldn't find the total power consumption for that particular project, it is likely in the kilowatts – orders of magnitude lower than what Musk is planning.

Even for Musk's standards, these goals are incredibly ambitious. TSMC is the primary reason why there's so much political strife around Taiwan; if it were easy to build advanced foundries that produce chip wafers at the scale TSMC does, the U.S. wouldn't be so worried about China controlling Taiwan. Building a massive data center in space is an equally complex problem, though here SpaceX is uniquely positioned as the most advanced aerospace company in the world.

It doesn't end there, as Musk ultimately plans to one day build an "incredibly epic" "mass driver" on the moon which will push compute output from terawatts to petawatts, though details on how this happens are incredibly vague at this point.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk found liable for defrauding Twitter investors

Musk's timeline for all and any this is unclear. The company's next-gen AI chip, the AI5, should reach volume production in 2027, but that certainly won't be built at the Terafab, which will likely take years to build. For a reality check, it's worth recalling Musk's ambitious goals promises at Tesla Battery Day in 2020, almost none of which are true now, long after the original timelines have passed.

You download a file from the internet only to discover that it isn't in the format you need. Your editing programs don't like it, the thumbnail isn't displaying properly, and what is a WebP anyway? Thanks to an open-source project, you can now instantly convert most common media files by simply right-clicking them.

Going into Project Hail Mary, I was expecting Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) to be many things: a dorky middle school teacher, an astute biologist, a reluctant astronaut. But nothing could have prepared me for who Grace truly is at heart, which is a fashion icon.

SEE ALSO: Ryan Gosling improvised one of 'Project Hail Mary's best moments

Between his nerdy graphic tees, a Cats shirt, and a fabulous fox sweater, Grace brings a unique sense of style to the farthest reaches of the universe. In a series of video interviews, Gosling, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and screenwriter Drew Goddard broke down Grace's style inspirations, beginning with those science-themed t-shirts.

"A lot of the silly science tees are based on t-shirts that my son, a science nerd, wears on a daily basis," Miller said. "So he took pictures of his t-shirt collection and sent them to the costume department."

These shirts included the "I wear this shirt periodically" tee, which comes with an image of the periodic table, as well as the t-shirt that labels "Ah!" as "the element of surprise."

"The scientific t-shirts remind me so much of scientists I grew up with, because there always is this sort of scientific humor that delights me," Goddard said.

Another standout from the Ryland Grace spring collection? A knit sweater with two foxes on the front, inspired by a vintage sweater sporting a similar wolf pattern.

Gosling and stylist Mark Avery repurposed that design with foxes. "The fox thing was a little Easter egg for my kids," Gosling said.

On top of being delightful to take in, Grace's tees are also plot-relevant. He has amnesia upon waking from his coma in space, so any reminder of his past life, including clothing, is useful to him.

"He was trying to glean a sense of his own personality, but just always being thrown curveballs," Gosling said. "Like, I love Cats. I guess that's who I am. I'm the guy who loves Cats and 'I had potential' shirts."

Project Hail Mary is now in theaters.

Automakers often revive iconic nameplates to tap into nostalgia, bringing back familiar designs with modern updates. But in today’s market, those revivals increasingly come with electrified powertrains rather than traditional engines. One of Jeep’s most recognizable SUVs has returned under exactly those conditions, blending heritage styling with a very different kind of technology under the hood.

If you dig an old smartphone out of a drawer and plug it in, you can usually expect it to power on and be largely how you left it. That's not the case with many older phones, despite how rugged many of us recall them being. Even if they do come on, you may find that many of your fond memories are gone.

Downtime is the enemy of any homelab—mine especially. So, I finally decided to do something about it and made my homelab highly available. I only was able to do that because I already knew about it, so, if you’ve never heard of high availability, here’s why you should know about this unique trick.

SAVE $210: As of March 23, the Dyson V8 Plus is on sale for $329.99 at Amazon. That's a 39% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Dyson Dyson V8 Plus $329.99 at Amazon
$539.99 Save $210   Get Deal

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is just days away and the deals are already looking really strong. Popular products like TVs and robot vacuums are already seeing big discounts. If you're looking for a great deal on a cordless vacuum, the Dyson V8 Plus is discounted by over $200 right now. As of March 23, it's down from $539.99 to $329.99, but only for a limited time.

This model is a great choice if you're looking for a seriously powerful clean. It has a Motorbar cleaner head that's designed to deep clean all floor types and even detangle long hair and pet hair. It gives you up to 40 minutes of full powered suction, with two power modes to choose from: a standard mode for everyday cleaning and a Max mode for more intensive tasks.

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It can easily be converted into a handheld vacuum for cleaning cars, stairs, and upholstery — it's not just designed for floors. It also includes three attachments for different cleaning needs, along with a wall dock and charger, and a hair screw tool with an anti-tangle conical brush bar.

Get this vacuum deal at Amazon now.