Deal season · August to September

Back to School

Laptops, tablets and stationery, plus the education pricing that is available all year round.

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Read before you buy

Published Meridians reporting, guides and reviews to shortlist with ahead of the sale.

GamingNews

Marvel's Wolverine Launches on PS5 to a Mixed Critical Reception

Insomniac's follow-up to its Spider-Man games arrived Tuesday at $69.99. Early reviews praise the combat feel but say the story and 15-to-20-hour campaign fall short of the studio's own bar.

Meridians Tech Desk · 17 September 2026 · 4 min read

AINews

OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Confirm Weeks of AI Safety Talks

OpenAI's policy chief says the three labs have been coordinating on safety standards for weeks, after Anthropic's CEO published a public call to slow down frontier AI development.

Meridians Tech Desk · 17 September 2026 · 4 min read

BeautyNews

A Hair Dryer Brush Was Just Recalled for Fire Risk. A Near-Identical One Sold Elsewhere Has No Fix.

CPSC recalled about 1,738 DHASUWT hot air brushes after 10 reports of smoking or fire. The same underlying design, sold under other brand names on Walmart.com and eBay, got only a warning — because those sellers refused to recall.

Meridians Life Desk · 15 September 2026 · 4 min read

FoodNews

Hepatitis A Outbreak Tied to Frozen Black Clams Grows to 37 Cases, 30 Hospitalizations

A CDC investigation linked to La Serranita-brand frozen concha negra clam meat has spread to a fourth state. Four in five people sickened have been hospitalized, and the product has been under an FDA alert since April.

Meridians Life Desk · 15 September 2026 · 4 min read

DealsExplainer

iPhone 17 Discounts After the iPhone 18 Launch Are Mostly Bill Credits, Not Price Cuts

Carriers are advertising up to $1,100 or more off iPhone 17 models now that the iPhone 18 lineup is out. Almost all of it requires trading in a device and signing up for a new line or plan — the sticker price hasn't moved.

Meridians Reviews Desk · 15 September 2026 · 4 min read

ReviewsNews

iPhone 18 Pro Hands-On: A $100 Price Increase Buys a Real Camera Upgrade, Early Reviewers Say

Meridians hasn't tested Apple's new phones. Here's what outlets given early hands-on access are reporting about the camera, chip, battery and the two tradeoffs they flagged.

Meridians Reviews Desk · 15 September 2026 · 4 min read

What we check before calling something a deal

01Price history first: a discount is measured against what the product actually sold for, not against a recommended price nobody paid.
02Product quality second: a bad product at a good price is still a bad purchase.
03Stock and terms: delivery cost, returns window and warranty are part of the price.
04Regional accuracy: we say which market a price applies to, because a deal in one country is often not one in another.

Shortlists to read before the sale

The best defence against a bad discount is knowing what you wanted beforehand.

Other deal seasons

The Meridians Brief

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