the wire · #gadgets · 2026-08-24
Deals: AirTag 2 best price ever from $20 each, AirPods, M5 MacBook Pro $320 off, Find My gear, more
Cech Tech Reviews

The latest wave of hardware discounts from 9to5Toys is not just about saving money. It is a clear signal of how the tech industry is adjusting its margins as we move deeper into the AI era. According to their reporting, Amazon has slashed the price of the AirTag 2 four-pack to an all-time low of $80. That works out to just $20 per tracker, which is a significant drop from previous pricing structures.
This aggressive pricing on tracking hardware suggests that Apple is prioritizing ecosystem lock-in over immediate profit on accessories. For AI enthusiasts, this matters because location data and device proximity are becoming increasingly valuable for automated workflows. The ability to trigger actions based on physical presence is a growing niche in smart home automation.
The headline grabber remains the M5 MacBook Pro. We are seeing $320 off the 24GB/1TB model and a steep $500 discount on the 2TB M5 Pro version. These machines are not just laptops. They are local inference engines capable of running large language models and complex data pipelines without relying on cloud APIs. The price drop makes local AI deployment far more accessible for individual developers and small teams.
We also need to look at the display market. LG is undercutting the Apple Studio Display by a massive $2,200 with their 32-inch 6K Thunderbolt 5 monitor. This is a critical point for professionals who rely on high-resolution screens for coding and data visualization. The Thunderbolt 5 bandwidth is essential for future-proofing against the data demands of AI workloads.
The inclusion of Anker’s SmartTrack Find My wallet card at a $25 all-time low is another interesting data point. It shows that third-party developers are rapidly integrating with Apple’s Find My network. This creates a more robust physical-digital bridge. For AI tool builders, this interoperability is key to creating seamless user experiences that blend physical and digital worlds.
These deals highlight a broader trend where hardware costs are stabilizing even as software complexity increases. Companies are willing to eat into hardware margins to ensure their devices remain the primary interface for AI interactions. If you are planning to upgrade, now is a strategic time to invest in local processing power rather than waiting for cloud-only solutions.
What this means for you: If you are building a local AI workflow, the M5 MacBook Pro at these prices offers the best performance-per-dollar ratio on the market. You can run quantized models locally for privacy and speed. Try this prompt to test your new setup: Ask your local LLM to analyze a complex dataset and generate a summary of key trends, then compare the output speed and accuracy against a cloud-based API to measure the tangible benefits of local inference.
Reporting basis: original story
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