REI’s annual Anniversary Sale doesn’t start until March 15th, but that hasn’t stopped Garmin from rolling out discounts on a range of devices — including its InReach Mini satellite communicators. Right now, for instance, you can grab the Mini 2 at Amazon, REI, and Garmin for $249.99 ($150 off) or the Mini 3 for $399.99 ($50 off) through the same retailers (Amazon, REI, and Garmin). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen on the newer InReach model, which launched in late December.

Garmin inReach Mini 2

Where to Buy:

• $399.99 $249.99 at Amazon
• $399.99 $249.99 at REI
• $399.99 $249.99 at Garmin

Garmin InReach Mini 3

Where to Buy:

• $449.99 $399.99 at Amazon
• $449.99 $399.99 at REI
• $449.99 $399.99 at Garmin

As someone who has used both the Mini 2 and Mini 3 in the backcountry, I’m a big fan of dedicated satellite communicators over smartphones, even those with support for satellite SOS and messaging. Both the Mini 2 and Mini 3 are far more rugged than your average phone, for one thing, and each device offers multi-day battery life, which certainly isn’t the case with iPhone 17-series phones and Google’s newer Pixel phones. They also operate in higher temperatures and allow you to pull the weather report, which is a massive plus when you’re off the grid and exposed to ever-changing weather patterns.

The core functionality of the Mini 2 and Mini 3 is largely the same, however. The two palm-sized satellite communicators leverage the Iridium satellite network for coverage, allowing you to send text messages, share your location, and even trigger SOS alerts in the event of an emergency. The big differences between the last-gen model and the Mini 3 are that the latter features a color touchscreen interface, which makes it far easier to navigate menus and type messages (the Mini 3 Plus also adds support for photos and voice messages).

Keep in mind that whichever model you choose, you’ll need to sign up for one of Garmin’s InReach Consumer Plans, which start at $7.99 a month for the most basic plan. Each tier requires a $39.99 activation fee and includes a set number of messages per month; however, if you run out, you’ll have to pay an additional fee per message (live tracking always costs extra). Personally, I’ve never found the messaging limits to be that restrictive — my aim in the backcountry is to avoid copious amounts of human contact — but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning a longer trek in the woods or need more constant communication with someone back home.

More ways to save today

• It’s never been our No. 1 pick, but if you’re looking for a wireless outdoor camera, Blink’s Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy for $54.99 ($45 off), which is just $5 shy of its best price to date. The battery-powered, 700-lumen cam offers up to two years of battery life, Alexa support, and two-way audio, though, like most budget 1080p cameras, you’ll have to shell out for a premium subscription to leverage its more advanced features.
• Lego’s 2,660-piece replica of Hogwarts Castle is down to $136.99 ($33 off) at Amazon and Target, nearly matching its all-time low. Is it as cool as Lego’s recently announced, LOTR-inspired Minas Tirith set? Probably not, but if you’re a Harry Potter fan obsessed with all things witchcraft and wizardry, the small scale model is a neat way to tide you over until the new HBO series kicks off on December 25th. It’s also, like, significantly cheaper.
• One of our favorite pieces of beauty tech, L’Oréal’s Colorsonic Hair Color Device, is available from Amazon and Target for $87.49 (about $28 off), one of its lowest prices to date. The clever gadget is designed to make at-home hair dyeing less of a hassle, and while we have some gripes about its ability to cover grays and how long the cartridges last, it’s relatively straightforward to use and far quicker than box dye or a trip to your local salon. Read our review.

A big part of my job here at The Verge is to find deals on tech that readers will like. But in my personal life, I’m not spending anywhere near as much money on tech as I am on food, litter, and other supplies for our two cats. Sad, but true. If your life is also ruled by furry (or feathered, scaled, shelled) friends, perhaps your interest will be piqued by Amazon’s five-day Pet Days sale happening through 2:59AM ET on Saturday, May 16th.

There are a ton of products available that have some sort of discount attached — too many to list out individually. In case you don’t want to sort through all of the deals, I’ve attempted to do you the favor of plucking out seven noteworthy discounts for cat and dog parents.

The product I recommend to all pet owners is Bissell’s Little Green upholstery and carpet cleaner, which is $99.99 at Amazon (originally $129.99). It’s the fighter you need on your side to help you get nasty stains out of your carpeted floors and stairs, rugs, couch cushions, and more. The portable cleaner works with Bissell’s cleaning formula, and the purchase includes a sample of the product. It also comes with a cleaning brush and crevice tool for sucking yucky stuff out of corners.

While not a quiet machine to use, it’s valuable in that it’s a way to undo your pet’s accidents (it’s great for getting out coffee stains, too).

Bissell Little Green carpet cleaner

Where to Buy:

• $129.99 $99.99 at Amazon

Pet owners have a special connection to their animals, and many can intuit what their pets need based on how they’re trying to get our attention. But wouldn’t it be great if your pet could put in a little more effort? I’m not saying that this 10-pack of voice-recording buttons will suddenly turn your pet into Sapphie, but at $19.76 (just a few bucks off) for the kit at Amazon, it seems fun to try. Each button can record up to 30 seconds of voice clips.

10-pack of voice-recording buttons

Where to Buy:

• $22.58 $19.76 at Amazon

The Litter-Robot 4 self-cleaning litter box is a big ticket item for cat owners looking to delegate the stinky chore. There’s a bundle that has been discounted recently at Amazon that includes the little box plus a starter kit of accessories for $799.99 (typically $860). The whole point of getting the Litter-Robot 4 is to make your life easier, scooping less, and doing other stuff with your time that hopefully doesn’t involve hunching over. The accessories included (three OdorTrap packs, 10 liners, 30 wipes, and two carbon filters) make it so you need to interact even less often with the litter box.

Litter-Robot 4 Supply & Accessory bundle

Features advanced litter-sifting technology, reduced litter tracking, and real-time monitoring of waste and litter levels through the Whisker app.

Where to Buy:

• $859 $799 at Amazon (black)
• $799 at Best Buy (black)
• $859 $799 at Amazon (white)

There are countless Wi-Fi-enabled cameras you can get to remotely see what your cats are up to, including those that cost less than $20. For my money, I’ve been satisfied with the TP-Link Tapo 1080p indoor camera that’s $17.99 at Amazon

It may be more basic than what some pet owners want. And yet, it’s capable enough that I’ve used it as a baby monitor. It has pan and tilt functionality so you can see around the room, and its feed is viewable in the Kasa app, which is convenient if you have other TP-Link gadgets. It supports motion detection, two-way audio, night vision, and the option of cloud or microSD card storage. There are pricier options out there made to ease concerns for pet parents that can dole out treats and what not, but if your pet doesn’t need as much attention, this’ll do fine.

TP-Link Tapo C200 Pan / Tilt Security Camera

Where to Buy:

• $19.99 $17.99 at Amazon

A few more Pet Days deals

• Standard pet food isn’t typically expensive, but costs can rise if your pet requires (or at least benefits from) a specialized diet. Of the many brands that have discounted food during Pet Days, you can get a rare deal on Hill’s Science Diet dry food for cats and dogs. For instance, dry food formulas for indoor cats ages one through six are $24.49 for a seven-pound bag (almost always priced at $35) at Amazon. You can head to Hill’s landing page to see if they have a deal for your kind of pet, and note that subscribing to a recurring delivery will knock 20 percent off your total at checkout.
• Surely, you’ve floated the idea of getting Apple AirTags to keep track of your pet, right? Not every pet or pet parent will want to stick one on a collar, but for those who’d rather be safe than sorry, you can get a four-pack of first-gen AirTag trackers at Woot (an Amazon-owned site) for $56.99. That’s the best price yet on a four-pack, which originally launched for $99. The newer second-gen AirTag model offers better connectivity, Precision Tracking, and longer tracking distances, and a louder speaker, among other features. But if you’re not losing sight of your pet all that often, there’s no harm in saving some money with the older version.
• Our cats don’t go outside. They’d get instantly demolished by the tougher feral cats that roam around. That doesn’t stop me from feeling bad that they’re all cooped up inside where their instinctive expression is limited. This 20-foot transparent cat tunnel with zippers on both ends is so cool that I may end up buying one. It’s currently $28.99, down from its usual $40 or so price at Amazon. Best of all, it’s part of a modular system of outdoor accessories, and you can attach the tunnel if you choose to upgrade later on.

And just like that, Mother’s Day is tomorrow, May 10th, which is too soon for most online purchases to arrive in time. That said, you aren’t alone if you waited too long to pick up a gift this year, and you definitely aren’t alone in feeling guilty for considering digital gifts instead of something your mom can unwrap. But here’s the thing: digital gifts can still unlock memorable experiences, be it movies, games, or music. They can also let your mom choose exactly what she wants, making them both convenient and versatile.

Below, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital goodies that folks at The Verge have used or gifted. The list is curated by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your mom is into the arts, exercise, or something else entirely. That way, you’ll at least be able to gift something more thoughtful than an Amazon or Walmart gift card — even if those are still totally viable options in our book.

Gifts for film and TV buffs

Whether your mom is a movie buff or an avid sports fan, there are a number of subscriptions that’ll grant her access to a wide range of content. Below are some of the most popular, as well as a few catered toward anime diehards, horror lovers, and those looking for something more niche.

Disney Plus gift card

You can buy Disney Plus gift cards in increments of $25 up to $500. They’re usable toward Disney Plus subscriptions and bundles that include access to Disney Plus and Hulu, which start at $12.99 a month. That way, the family can stream everything from Andor and Paradise to The Bear and Percy Jackson.

Where to Buy:

• $25 at Disney Store

• A gift card to a major streaming service like Netflix (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart), Peacock (Peacock), or Paramount Plus (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart) is a good gift that’ll cater to all kinds of passions. With a Netflix account, your mom can binge Stranger Things and Bridgerton, while Peacock provides access to shows like The Paper, Parks and Recreation, and Downton Abbey. A Paramount Plus subscription, meanwhile, lets her dive into Survivor 50, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and the entire Taylor Sheridan universe — including newer series like Landman and The Madison.
• A Criterion Channel gift card grants access to more than a thousand classic and contemporary Hollywood, international, arthouse, and independent films. It also features programming that spotlights directors, stars, genres, and themes, including a “15-minute-a-month film school.”
• For the anime lovers in your life, a Crunchyroll gift card provides access to hundreds of anime shows and films shortly after they air in Japan, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. They can even use the gift to purchase Crunchyroll’s extensive collection of anime figures, vinyl records, and clothes.

Gifts for the gamers

If you’re not sure which type of games your mom prefers, you can gift her an Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo subscription. Not only will these memberships grant them access to free digital games, but they also include perks such as online multiplayer and cloud saves, among other incentives.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (three-month subscription)

Giving the gift of Game Pass unlocks hundreds of great games to play, whether your recipient is a console or PC gamer. If you’re gaming on an Xbox, it also allows for online multiplayer.

Where to Buy:

• $68.99 at Amazon
• $68.99 at Best Buy
• $68.99 at GameStop

• If your mom owns a PlayStation 5, a PlayStation Plus membership grants them access to free titles and discounts every month, lets her play games online, and allows her to access cloud-based backups. PlayStation Plus memberships start at $9.99 a month, and you can subscribe directly via PlayStation or buy a subscription with a PlayStation Plus gift card, which is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target in denominations starting at $10 and going up to $250.
• Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 lovers, meanwhile, might enjoy an annual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which starts at $19.99 a year (Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop). The membership lets your mom play more than 150 retro games released during the NES, SNES, and original Game Boy eras. She can also play online with friends, access cloud saves for games, and listen to her favorite Nintendo tunes via the Nintendo Music mobile app.
• If you’re willing to fork out extra money, you can also buy an annual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. In addition to offering all the same benefits as the Switch Online membership, it also grants access to Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, and Nintendo 64 games, as well as DLC content for select titles. One of the latest additions is that the Switch 2 Editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are included as free downloads for members. Individual annual plans cost $49.99 (Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart), while a family plan — which allows for up to eight accounts — is available via gift card at Amazon, Target, and Best Buy for $79.98.
• Alternatively, you could buy a gift card to a store like GameStop (GameStop), which is helpful if you don’t know which console your mom prefers, or if you want to give her the option of buying accessories and games.

Gifts for the adventurers and globe-trotters

Is your mom in dire need of a screen break? Fortunately, the internet is filled with travel-oriented gifts, ranging from the obvious — like airline gift cards — to national park passes.

America the Beautiful National Park Pass

The America the Beautiful pass grants entry to all 63 national parks, from the Grand Canyon to Yosemite, along with over 2,000 recreation sites across the country.

Where to Buy:

• $80 at US Park Pass

• A GetYourGuide gift card provides an easy way to take advantage of guided tours and fun tourist attractions at various destinations around the world, allowing your mom to swim with sharks in Cape Verde or explore volcanoes like Italy’s Mount Etna (when it’s not erupting).
• For aspiring polyglots, a Rosetta Stone membership makes it easy to learn French, Arabic, Japanese, and other languages from the comfort of home. In addition to lessons, memberships come with helpful extras, including speech recognition tech to get the accent just right.
• Finally, a gift card to a rideshare service like Lyft (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) or Uber (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) — the latter of which is also good toward Uber Eats — will come in handy if she ever needs a ride to the airport and you’re (gasp!) unavailable to take her.

Gifts for health and wellness fans

For health and wellness enthusiasts, many services offer a wealth of streamable fitness classes to help them get fit at home. Other gifts can help your giftee practice self-care and lighten their load with meditation or massage. Below, we’ve listed out a range of options that’ll help your mom take care of both her body and mind.

Peloton gift card

Peloton’s monthly subscription offers thousands of streamable fitness classes revolving around a variety of different workouts, ranging from strength training to stretching. It’s a service that’s available to everybody, so you don’t need to own a Peloton device to use it.

Where to Buy:

• $12.99 at Peloton (App One)

• A gift card for Headspace, a popular mindfulness app, offers members access to hundreds of expert-taught meditations, each designed to help her relax, sleep better, and improve her mental health. A gift subscription will run you $38.99 for three months, or you can save by getting 12 months for $68.99.
• If your mom prefers in-person classes to virtual ones, a gift card toward a ClassPass subscription will let her try thousands of gyms and fitness studios in her local area, not to mention nearby salons and spas.
• If your mom is too busy to prepare healthy meals every day, a gift card to Blue Apron, HelloFresh, or any meal prep service that offers a healthy selection of meal kits will be very welcome.

Gifts for foodies

Whether mom is a diehard foodie, a wine connoisseur, or a caffeine addict, the internet is filled with subscriptions and gift cards for all types. Below are just a few of our favorites.

Eater Wine Club

With a subscription to Eater’s Wine Club, your giftee will automatically receive either two, four, or six bottles of wine carefully chosen by an Eater expert every month. Past boxes have showcased wines from all over the world.

Where to Buy:

• $90 at Eater (two bottles)
• $140 at Eater (four bottles)
• $165 at Eater (six bottles)

• A Sur La Table gift card (Sur La Table, Kroger, Staples) is a great gift for the beloved chef in your life. Your mom can use it to buy whatever she needs for the kitchen, as well as to take online cooking classes in which live instructors help students make everything from chicken piccata to tiramisu. Classes start at $39 per household and last 90 to 120 minutes.
• If your mom has a sweet tooth, Goldbelly’s monthly ice cream subscription allows her to enjoy up to six pints of ice cream or 24 ice cream sandwiches a month, all of which are sourced from small creameries all over the country. It’s a pricey subscription, however, with a three-month plan going for an eye-watering $298.95. You can explore other subscription types, too, from BBQ to New York City staples, or get a gift card so your mom can order whatever she’d like.
• Counter Culture roasts delicious bags of coffee sourced from all around the globe. If you’re lucky enough to find them in local stores, well, lucky you! For coffee lovers looking to try their next great bag of beans, grab a gift card that can pay for a one-off order, or enroll in the company’s subscription service that sends coffee to you as frequently as you’d like.
• Sometimes, it’s better to leave the cooking to somebody else. If your mom is a foodie, a gift card to a food delivery service like DoorDash (Amazon, Best Buy, Target) lets her nab some crab rangoons from her favorite Chinese restaurant without leaving home.

Gifts for music lovers

Whether your mom is a musician or just loves to unwind with music, there are plenty of digital gifts catered toward her interests. We all know about Spotify gift cards (Best Buy), but there are also other streaming services that you can gift as a subscription, some of which we’ve highlighted below.

Apple Music

Apple Music is a great gift for casual listeners, offering more than 100 million ad-free songs alongside support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. There’s no designated gift card for Apple Music, so you’ll have to buy a regular Apple gift card, but that’s not a bad thing, as it means they can also use the card to buy the latest set of AirPods.

Where to Buy:

• $25 at Amazon
• $25 at Apple
• $25 at Best Buy

• If you think that your mom might want to learn how to play the guitar, a Fender Play subscription can help them do so thanks to a continuously updated catalog of hundreds of instructor-led video lessons. You can gift them six months for $49.99 or 12 months for $149.99.
• Lastly, a Ticketmaster or StubHub (Amazon, Best Buy, Staples) gift card is a present that lets your mom buy a ticket to see her favorite musicians perform live.

Gifts for the bookworms

Obviously, you could just gift a bibliophile a book, and they’d probably be happy. But what if you want to give them more than one option? In that case, a gift card to her favorite bookstore or a subscription to something like Kindle Unlimited — which grants members access to millions of ebooks and select audiobooks — is a good idea. That said, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite alternatives below.

Audible Premium Plus (one-month subscription)

An Audible Premium Plus subscription grants instant access to thousands of audiobooks and podcasts, as well as one premium audiobook a month.

Where to Buy:

• $15 at Amazon

• For fans of Marvel and DC comics, as well as manga like Fairy Tale, a Comixology Unlimited subscription is perfect. For $5.99 a month, your mom will be able to enjoy over 45,000 comics and graphic novels, not to mention more than 2,400 manga titles from her phone or tablet. Subscribers also get discounts on select digital books.
• You can also gift your mom a Book of the Month membership, which currently starts at $59.99 for a three-book plan. The company curates a small selection of five to seven bestsellers and classics for members every month, making it easy to choose something to read quickly.
• If your mom prefers to pick up books from a brick-and-mortar bookstore, a gift card to Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Best Buy) might be a good idea. For those who want to support local bookstores, there’s also a gift card for Bookshop.org.
• For those who prefer traditional newspapers and magazines, you can gift a subscription to The New York Times or The Washington Post, or publications catered to specific interests, like Cosmopolitan and National Geographic.

Gifts for the creatives

Movie buffs and bibliophiles are easy to shop for, but what do you get the creative mom? It’s actually not that hard — just buy her something to help her create, whether that’s an online course or access to a new tool. Below are a few subscriptions and gift cards that creators will love, all of which you can buy at the last minute.

Skillshare subscription

A subscription to Skillshare grants subscribers access to over 34,000 online classes related to graphic design, painting, photography, film, music, coding, and more.

Where to Buy:

• $69 at Skillshare (three months)
• $99 at Skillshare (six months)
• $159 at Skillshare (12 months)

• A MasterClass membership — which normally starts at $10 a month but is currently 50 percent off for all tiers — provides access to classes taught by world leaders and other subject matter experts, including screenwriters, musicians, and business experts. Going for a Masterclass Plus or Premium subscription allows concurrent viewing on two or six devices, respectively, and also unlocks offline viewing.
• An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription ($69.99 a month) is a great gift for aspiring and experienced creative professionals alike, one that provides access to popular tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and InDesign. Adobe doesn’t support gifting subscriptions, so you’ll need to create a new account or log in to an existing account your mom may have. You can also purchase digitally redeemable Creative Cloud subscription codes from partner retailers like Best Buy, which is currently selling a 12-month plan for $406.99 (about $373 off) right now.
• If you think your mom might be interested in coding, a subscription to the coding educational platform Codecademy ($29.99 a month) can help her build her portfolio with online courses, a community, fun events, cheat sheets, and other resources. There’s even a $39.99-a-month plan for those looking to change career paths, which offers all the above, plus technical interview help.
• For giftees into arts and crafts, a Craftsy membership (normally $123 a year) grants access to more than 2,000 live and on-demand classes led by experts covering everything from baking and cake decorating to woodworking and painting. Members also get to connect with other crafters in the Craftsy community and attend live events.

Gift cards for pretty much anyone

Amazon gift card

Amazon gift cards start at $25 and can be used toward purchases across a variety of departments. They’re also good for various Amazon services, including Amazon Prime Video, Audible, and Amazon Music Unlimited.

Where to Buy:

• $25 at Amazon
• $25 at Best Buy
• $25 at Kroger

• Sometimes the best gift card is one that’ll give your mom a ton of options, especially if you’re having a hard time figuring out what she wants. Gift cards from major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are perfect in these situations, namely because they’ll let your mom choose whatever she likes from a wide range of departments.

Google’s new Fitbit Air, the $99.99 screenless fitness tracker, comes out on May 26th. It’s the company’s first Fitbit release in four years, and you can use it on iOS or Android phones without a paid subscription if all you want to do is track activities, sleep, and basic health metrics (heart rate, breathing rate, etc.). However, for a monthly $9.99 fee, it can tap into Gemini AI-powered features that aim to help you make improvements to your workouts and recovery.

All purchases include a textile/polyurethane band that the sensor-filled puck fits into. A perk of preordering ahead of launch is that you’ll get a free second band, or enough store credit to buy one on your own, depending on where you buy from. Amazon is offering the berry, blue, or black color options (but not the greenish fog) that include a silicone band, in white or black, in small or large, for $99.99 (normally $134.99). You can make your choice of band color and size on the Fitbit Air product page.

Fitbit Air

Where to Buy:

• $134.99 $99.99 at Amazon (includes free band)
• $134.99 $99.99 at Google (includes $35 credit)
• $134.99 $99.99 at Best Buy (includes free band)

Best Buy is also including a free silicone band with preorders of the Fitbit Air. All you have to do is add one to cart, then a small, black silicone band will be added automatically. Unfortunately, you can’t choose which color or size you get with your preorder at Best Buy, but it’s obviously no big deal if you wanted a small, black band anyway.

Lastly, the Google Store is offering an incentive to preorder. The company will simply reward you with $35 in store credit once the preorder ships so you can buy the one you want.

We have a piece up on the Fitbit Air, with info on its capabilities, and how it stacks up against older Fitbit models (as well as the competition). The team behind the Air is also readying the new Google Health app for launch on iOS and Android, which will bring deep, personalized health metrics so you can get even more out of your tracker. We’ll have a review of the new Fitbit Air in the coming weeks.