Technologies
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Technologies
Today Only, Get $300 Off Your Galaxy S25 Ultra With This Best Buy One-Day Deal
Best Buy has $300 off the Galaxy S25 Ultra with no strings attached — but only for today.
This week Best Buy is knocking big money off the best Android phones every single day in a special sale event. It means that now is a great time to upgrade your phone, and today’s discount is on the incredible Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
You can currently get $300 off the phone in an array of different colors and memory configurations, and you don’t have to do anything at all. You’ll even get a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free, and can save even more money if you do decide to trade an old device in.
In his review, CNET’s Patrick Holland said of the S25 Ultra: «If you want the best screen you can find on any phone, get the S25 Ultra. If you want the most versatile phone cameras, get the S25 Ultra. If you want a stylus, get the S25 Ultra.» However, he didn’t love the price, which isn’t a huge surprise. Of course, this deal makes that far less of an issue.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
In fact, if you’re looking to get more of Holland’s thoughts, you can also read how he felt after two days with this incredible phone. Spoiler: It was good. This is easily one of the best Samsung Galaxy S25 deals going on right now, so make sure you don’t miss out if you want to get the phone for less.
SMARTPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$870 (save $330)
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$599 (save $200)
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$449 (save $50)
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$300 (save $100)
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$342 (save $287)
Why this deal matters
The majority of these kinds of big deals on phones involve you having to trade an old phone in or sign up with a new line. The proper discounts are far less common, and often aren’t all that notable. So, this is a sizable deal that’s easy to get.
Technologies
Revert Back to iOS 18 From iOS 26 Beta: The No-Stress, Step-by-Step Guide
Having second thoughts about the iOS 26 beta? Here’s how to safely go back to iOS 18.
The iOS 26 developer beta is now available, which is your first opportunity to try out new iPhone features such as the Liquid Glass interface, the redesigned Photos app, the AutoMix feature in the Music app and much more. If you have a free Apple Developer account, you can download the developer beta and get started right away. (The public beta is expected in July.)
But that access comes with a risk. Due to the nature of prerelease software, the iOS 26 beta includes bugs and performance snags that can disrupt your everyday use, which is why you shouldn’t install it on your main iPhone.
As another example, if you also want to test the new WatchOS 26 beta, be warned that you will not be able to roll back to WatchOS 11, as my colleague Blake Stimac unexpectedly discovered last year, unless you don’t mind parting with your Apple Watch while it goes back to Apple for repair.
If you find the current iOS 26 beta to be too brittle, you can roll back to iOS 18 by following these steps.
Read more: Everything coming to your iPhone in iOS 26.
Do you have the right kind of backup?
Reverting to the previous system version isn’t a matter of replacing a few key files here and there — you’ll need to erase the phone and install the current release version. This is why it’s important to back up your iPhone before installing the beta (or, honestly, updating any version of iOS).
The best approach is to create an archive on your computer that you can fall back to. Creating an iCloud backup (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup) would seem to be the easiest option, but there’s a catch: if the most recent iCloud backup is made under the iOS 26 beta, you can only restore the iPhone to iOS 26. That means when you restore the phone to iOS 18, you’ll have to do it from an archive or set it up as a new phone. Data synced via iCloud will eventually arrive, but you will need to reinstall apps manually.
Instead, create a local backup: Connect the iPhone to your Mac, select it in a Finder window sidebar, and click the Back Up Now button. On Windows, open the Apple Devices app, select the iPhone there, and click Back Up Now.
What if you didn’t make a backup before installing iOS 26 beta?
If your excitement got the best of you and you skipped making a backup, you should still attempt to sync your important data, such as contacts, photos and notes to iCloud. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
Next, in the Saved to iCloud section, tap See All. Tap the categories for items saved to iCloud, such as iCloud Mail, iCloud Drive and Contacts, and make sure they’re set to sync.
Make sure your MacOS or Windows software is up to date
First, if you’re restoring from a Mac, make sure you’re running the latest version of MacOS:
- Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner, and choose System Settings.
- Select General in the sidebar.
- Click Software Update.
If an update is listed — and you have a current backup — go ahead and install it.
Under Windows, open the Apple Devices app, which replaced iTunes as Apple’s conduit for managing its devices.
Turn off Find My
If you’ve enabled Find My for that device, you’ll want to turn it off before you revert back to iOS 18. Find My is key to the Activation Lock security feature that requires the Apple ID and password of the person who set up the phone. When you finish reinstalling iOS 18, you can turn it on again.
To turn off Find My, Go to Settings, tap your name and tap Find My. Then tap Find My iPhone and turn it off. (If the option is grayed out, you may need to disable Stolen Device Protection first.)
Put the iPhone into recovery mode
Next, plug your iPhone into your Mac and do the following button dance on the iPhone to enter recovery mode:
1. Press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Press and hold the sleep/wake button, and keep it held, past the point where you see the Apple logo and until you see the recovery mode screen — a black background with a cable indicating a connection with the computer.
Restore the iPhone to go back to iOS 18
The computer will ask if you want to update or restore the iPhone; don’t be alarmed if the dialog makes it sound as if something is wrong with the phone. Click Restore. In the confirmation dialog that appears, click Restore and Update.
Or, if you don’t see that dialog, open a new Finder window (MacOS) or the Apple Devices app (Windows) and select the phone in the sidebar. Click Restore iPhone and follow the directions that follow.
The release version of iOS, currently 18.5, will download and be installed on the iPhone.
During the normal iOS setup process, you’re asked if you’d like to transfer settings and data from another device:
1. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Mac or PC.
2. On the computer, select the iPhone in the sidebar (of a Finder window on Mac or the Apple Devices app on Windows).
3. Select Restore from this backup and choose the most recent backup from the pop-up menu.
4. Click Continue. If you chose to encrypt the backup, enter the password you made.
The computer then restores the data from the backup.
Technologies
Amazon Prime Day Swells to a 4-Day Event, With Tariffs Still Looming Large
Against a backdrop of potential price hikes on imported goods, the dates are now confirmed for Amazon’s big annual sales event for Prime members.
Amazon Prime Day is getting even bigger this year. Amazon announced its summer shopping event will take place July 8-11 — ballooning from two to four days. The mega retailer’s sale, exclusive to Prime members, offers some of the best Amazon deals of the year.
And while the sale days promise bargains and special offers, looming price hikes due to tariffs could impact how much of a savings shoppers can expect. Amazon launched Prime Day back in 2015, and savvy shoppers have eagerly anticipated this annual event ever since. The wait it almost over.
Our CNET Deals team will be tracking all the best deals throughout the event so you can score the lowest prices, helping you navigate the sale and get ahead of any tariff-based price rises.
How could tariffs affect Prime Day deals?
Prices on everything, including electronics, are expected to rise as a result of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which he originally announced on April 2. He quickly followed with a 90-day pause for most of the tariffs, leaving a 10% baseline tariff for goods imported from most countries. Trump recently announced a trade deal with China that put a total tariff of 55% in place — although 25% of that was put in place during his first term.
The administration has since said that it’s in the process of making deals with many countries to ease tariffs, but the original pause on tariffs is set to expire July 9 — right in the middle of the Prime Day shopping event. Import taxes could see double-digit increases if countries are unable to reach an agreement.
If retailers pass along the full cost of the tariffs, it could mean we’ll be paying a lot more for products manufactured in other countries.
After launching the original Prime Day in 2015, the retailer has expanded the number of its sales events, including a Big Spring Sale in March and Prime Big Deal Days in October. Last year’s Prime Day sale took place July 16-17.
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