The best Father’s Day sales 2020: deals from Home Depot, Best Buy, Lowe’s, more

Father's Day is this coming Sunday, which means you have less than a week to score a last-minute gift for dad. To help you find the perfect present (and save money), we've found the best Father's Day sales from retailers like Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy. You'll find record-low prices on everything from grills, lawnmowers, and appliances to TVs, headphones, and smart home devices.

To help you sort through all the offers and promotions, we've rounded up the best Father's Day sales that are happening right now. Our top picks include up to $ 100 off grills at Home Depot, deals on tools, lawnmowers, and appliances at Lowe's, and discounts on TVs, laptops, and smart home devices at Best Buy.

We've also included standout deals for dad like a $ 100 price cut on the Apple Watch 5, the best-selling Fire TV Stick on sale for just $ 29.99, the all-new AirPods Pro down to a record-low price of $ 219.99 and the Amazon Fire tablet discounted down to $ 39.99.

Make sure to bookmark this page as we'll be continuously updating it with all the best Father's Day deals leading up to dad's big day. You can also see our roundup of Father's Day Gift ideas, which include the 10 best gifts for tech-savvy dads.

The best Father's Day sales 2020:

  • Amazon– save on a large selection of gifts for dad
  • Adidas – 30% off select shoes
  • Allswell – take 20% off bedding with code DADS20
  • Apple save on the new iPhone with select trade-in
  • Best Buy – save hundreds on great tech deals
  • Casper – $ 25 off $ 100+ or 10% off mattress orders with code FORDAD
  • Dell – Father's Day tech deals on a range of laptops, TVs, and more
  • Dick's Sporting Goods – deals on clothing, shoes, and more
  • Home Depot – save on tools, grills, outdoor furniture, and more
  • HP – deals on a whole range of laptops, desktops, and printers.
  • Lenovo – up to 62% off on select laptops, tablets, and more. 
  • Levi's – 20% off + free shipping on your first order
  • Lowe's – save on tools, appliances, and more
  • Microsoft – deals on gaming consoles, laptops, and tablets
  • Nordstrom – shop a large selection of Father's Day gifts
  • Overstock – save on watches, clothing, electronics, and more
  • REI – save on clothing, shoes, camping equipment, and more 
  • Target – save on a wide selection of gift ideas for dad
  • Walmart – gifts for dad at every price point

Our best Father's Day sale picks:

Shop more deals with our roundup of the best 4th of July sales happening now and see our Father's Day gift ideas: the 10 best gifts for tech-savvy dads.

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Energy news round-up: energy bills set to rise by almost £100, plus more from the last seven days

This week in energy: COVID-19 continues to impact energy customers in the UK in various ways, with warnings of a surprise energy bill at the end of the summer. We've also seen precautionary measures by energy suppliers to support prepaid meter customers; Bristol City Council’s intended sale of Bristol Energy after it ran up a major loss; and more. Here's our round-up of what happened in energy in the last seven days…

Customers could face surprise energy bills of around £94

Research conducted by Energy Helpline has reported that UK energy customers could be faced with a surprise £94 energy bill by the end of the summer. That's due to above-average energy consumption, thanks to the lockdown. 

It seems that Brits have been consuming 30 per cent more energy than normal, while direct debits remain calculated on the basis of pre-lockdown usage. In some cases this could lead to customers being trapped in a debt-spiral. 

The best way of resolving this, of course, is to run an energy comparison and switch energy supplier to take advantage of a cheaper energy deal. However, Energy Helpline is also advising customers to fit energy efficient lightbulbs, take shorter showers and avoid appliances being left on standby. 

Assistance for prepaid meter customers

Money Saving Expert (MSE) has advised this week that some people who are self-isolating may experience difficulty in topping up their prepaid meters, but a number of energy companies have said they will assist if necessary. 

The Government and energy suppliers have agreed to implement a set of emergency measures specifically to assist prepaid meter customers. These measures include the provision of cards loaded with emergency credit, adding discretionary credit to meters and enabling others to top meters on behalf of those using them. Ofgem has also said it expects providers to support prepaid meter customers, including those in vulnerable circumstances. 

Vulnerable customers can also join the Priority Services Register in order to receive various services for free, including advanced notice of planned power cuts, priority support in emergencies and regular meter reading services. 

Coronavirus impacts on smart meter installation

MSE has also reported that energy providers have temporarily suspended the installation of smart meters in homes during the lockdown period. This means that engineers will only attend homes if there is an emergency situation, for example involving a loss of energy supply. 

However, as lockdown restrictions are eased, providers will again allow engineers to attend homes for meter installation. E.on, Npower, Ovo and SSE have all resumed installation, but this is only in England and only on a limited basis. Clearly, they will not install a meter in any household where someone is self-isolating, at higher risk or has experienced symptoms over the last month or so. 

Providers are also letting customers know that an engineer will only attend their home where residents feel comfortable with them doing so. 

Bristol City Council to sell Bristol Energy

BBC News and other media have reported that Bristol City Council will now sell its council-owned company Bristol Energy following losses of more than £30 million. Some councillors have called for an inquiry into the matter, which has also been the subject of considerable discussion on social media. 

The council finally took the decision to sell Bristol Energy following a recommendation from accountant Ernst and Young. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said that he was disappointed that it hadn’t worked.

  • Read more: BBC

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EOFY 2020: the best tech deals from Australia’s end-of-financial year sales

The end-of-financial-year sale is one of the biggest shopping events in Australia, with a wide range of products discounted quite steeply, including cars, household appliances and, of course consumer electronics.

Shopping during Australia’s end-of-financial-year sales means you’ll be able to get your finances in order before filing your tax paperwork as a lot of the discounted items will be tax deductible. So not only will you save some cash on the purchase, you’ll also be able to pocket some extra savings in the form of your tax returns.

And while lockdown restrictions are slowly being lifted, it’s still a very good idea to shop online. After all, you’ll be able to stay off your feet and shop from the comfort of your own home, and you’ll have more time and energy to trawl through various online storefronts for the best offers. Or, you could let us do the hard work.

TechRadar’s Australian team is on hand to sift the chaff and find the best bargains on electronics over the entire month of June. We’ll list them all right here and keep this page updated with new offers as and when they’re made available. There is a strong possibility that a lot of the EOFY sales will end before June 30, so you will need to be quick to snag a great deal.

Retailers offering EOFY deals

EOFY 2020 deals

EOFY 2020 sale: what and when is it?

Unlike the calendar year, Australia’s end of financial year is June 30. That means, from July 1 to the end of October, individuals and businesses will need to file their tax forms with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Prior to that retailers will be racing to shift old stock to make way for fresh ones, and they’ll be slashing prices on plenty of items, many of which will be tax deductible.

Australia’s EOFY sales traditionally begin June 1 and end on June 30, although many retailers tend to jump the gun, offering a few tempting morsels to lure shoppers in. However, the best EOFY offers are during the month of June, although not all retailers have month-long sales. Moreover, the offers also change through the month, so you will need to keep checking back to see if whatever you need is being discounted or not.

Australia's EOFY 2020 sale: what to expect

If you’re looking to save some money on electronics during Australia’s annual EOFY sale, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve had our finger on the pulse of tax-time deals for a few years now and can safely predict what you can get for a cheaper price.

So, what kind of tech can you find during EOFY sales Down Under? Plenty. From computers to gaming gear, the best flagship smartphones to personal audio. To get an idea of what to expect in 2020, let's take a look at what was on offer last year.

Laptops and PCs: Computing gear has always been some of the most popular items to purchase during EOFY. Manufacturers like Microsoft, Lenovo, Dell and HP will host their own sales on their sites, but you’ll also be able to grab laptops and desktop PCs from major retailers as well, with average discounts of about 15% to 20%. You’ll even be able to snag bargains on accessories as well, with printers, keyboards, SSDs and external hard drives all going on sale during this time.

Gaming
From Nintendo to Sony and Microsoft – there were plenty of deep discounts on gaming gear last year and we’re expecting to see more of the same again in 2020. The best price we saw on the Switch during EOFY 2019 was AU$ 379, which isn’t quite as low as it’s gone during other big sales like Black Friday, but it’s still a darn good price. There’ll also be some blockbuster gaming titles available for cheap, if you’d like to expand your gaming library, but keep an eye out for console bundles.

Smartphones and tablets
While there’s usually not a lot of variety when it comes to smartphone discounts, there are always some very intriguing offers to consider during EOFY if you’re looking to upgrade your handset. Last year saw some great discounts on Samsung’s flagships, as well as the Google Pixel 3, so if you’re an Android user, you may be able to score a new phone without having to pay full retail price. 

It’s also a great time to see if you need a tablet as well, as more often than not they too are tax deductible if you use them for work.

Home entertainment and personal audio
There were plenty of TVs, sound bars and speakers on sale during the last couple of EOFY sales, and we don't expect that trend to change any time soon. And with some excellent 4K UHD smart TVs already seeing price drops outside of big sales, we're looking forward to seeing how much more affordable they'll be during the 2020 tax-time sale.

It's not just home entertainment setups that you'll be able to save on but portable Bluetooth speakers and the best wireless headphones as well. The premium audio products retail for about AU$ 500 a pop, but there's a good chance you'll see them drop well below the AU$ 400 mark. While discounted prices may not match Black Friday offers, tax-time deals still see a decent chunk of change saved on premium products.

Cameras
The EOFY sales are also a great time for photographers – beginners, pros or hobbyists – to grab the latest gear. Last year saw plenty of cameras go on sale, particularly from Fujifilm and Nikon. In 2018, we saw action cameras also drop in price, so keep your eyes peeled for some excellent bargains on DSLRs, compacts and more. If you’re happy with the camera body you already own but need some accessories, we’re also expecting lenses, tripods, filters, bags and SD cards to see some decent price drops as well.

Smart home devices
These nifty voice-activated products have been flooding the market – from internet-connected lights to smart security systems, and the speakers and displays to control them all. Amazon discounted its Echo range of smart speakers last year and we're quite sure that will happen again, along with the other smart devices the e-commerce giant stocks, such as Philips Hue smart lights. You'll also find plenty of retailers offering discounts on Google's range of smart speakers as well.

Home appliances
If you’re looking to renovate your home, the EOFY sales will help you save plenty on the new appliances you’ll need. You can expect to see bargains on not just Dyson vacuum cleaners, but also fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and plenty more.

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After backlash, Zoom ditches snooping Facebook code from iOS app

Following the revelation by Motherboard on Friday (March 27) that video calling platform Zoom was sharing user information with Facebook via its iOS app, the popular video conferencing service has rolled out an update for iOS users.

Zoom has removed the data-sharing code from the app, telling Motherboard in a statement that the 'Login with Facebook' feature was implemented "in order to provide our users with another convenient way to access our platform". 

That login feature – found on several apps – is applied by using a Facebook SDK (software development kit) that connects users of the app to Facebook's Graph API (Application Programming Interface) when the app is launched. The SDK can then share information with third parties, even if a user doesn't have a social media account with Facebook.

Facebook requires app makers to share this information with users in privacy policies, however Zoom's made no explicit mention that the social media company would have access to user data if there was no linked account.

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Zoom says it was "recently made aware that the Facebook SDK was collecting unnecessary device data" and has since removed the code and an updated version of the iOS app is now available on the App Store.

According to Zoom's statement to Motherboard, the app did not share any sensitive information, like user names, emails and phone numbers, but "included data about users’ devices such as the mobile OS type and version, the device time zone, device OS, device model and carrier, screen size, processor cores, and disk space". This coincides with Motherboard's findings from last week.

Motherboard has since tried out the updated iOS app and found that Zoom has, indeed, stopped sending data to Facebook when the app is launched. 

In the 'What's New' section of the app, Zoom says that, despite the Facebook SDK being removed, users will still be able to log in with their Facebook accounts if they have one. Users have been recommended to update the app to enable the changes.

Zoom has issued an apology for the "oversight" and the company says it "takes its users’ privacy extremely seriously".

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