Become a Prime Day Pro With These Tips and 18 Early Deals
Shop Safely and Smartly: Use common sense when shopping. If a price is too good to be true, you don’t recognize a brand, an item doesn’t have many reviews (or too many five-star reviews), or a seller has just joined Amazon, you might want to avoid purchasing. Our articles on shopping safe on Amazon, deciphering star ratings, and what “Amazon’s Choice” means can help bolster your knowledge.
The Best Early Prime Day Deals
These Prime Day deals are already live. Usually, Prime Day drops Amazon devices down to the best deals of the year, but so far we haven’t seen any noteworthy discounts on Kindle devices, Fire tablets, or Fire TV sticks. Hopefully, Amazon surprises us with some when the sale kicks off.
Echo Buds
Photograph: AmazonThe Echo Buds (8/10 WIRED Recommends) offer good sound and have a great app and Alexa integration. The noise-canceling isn’t quite on par with what you’ll get in Apple and Samsung earbuds, but it’s good enough for blocking out most ambient sounds. They come with a charging case and plenty of eartips and earfin sizes to ensure a good fit.
The Amazon Halo isn’t a useful fitness tracker, but it does something no other device we’ve tested will do: track your emotions. WIRED associate editor Adrienne So wore it for a month and found it interesting and ultimately helpful. At the same time, should any company, let alone Amazon, normalize the process of full-body strip-down scans for its customers? This is a good price, but there are some problems with this device. You should know what you’re getting into with this one.
This smart display was released in 2019 and goes on sale frequently. It isn’t one of the absolute best smart displays; we prefer larger sizes. This model’s 5-inch screen is more suited to a nightstand than a kitchen counter or front entryway. Still, if a compact design doesn’t irk you, $45 is a match of the best price we’ve seen for this model. (The discoutned price will show up in checkout.)
Echo Dot
Photograph: AmazonThis deal lets you add Alexa to more rooms in your house without spending a fortune. The 4th-gen Echo Dot (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best Alexa smart speaker. This deal is only available if you buy two, and be sure to use the code PDDOT2PK at checkout to get the full discount. We saw a similar deal during last year’s sale. If you only need one Echo Dot, it’s likely that the single speaker will be dirt cheap once Prime Day officially begins.
This refurbished Eero node is sold by Amazon and has the same warranty as a new device. Typically, I (Jeffrey) would recommend you buy a three-pack of these, but at this price, you could buy three and it would still be $5 cheaper than we’ve seen the three-pack in the last few years. These routers are great if you’re in a larger or oddly shaped home. They connect together to expand the strength of your Wi-Fi to more parts of the house. You can add as many as you need, but three is usually enough for larger multilevel homes and two should cover most apartments if a single router isn’t doing the trick.
There are two sizes and finishes to choose from, and shipping is free. You’ll need to upload the photos you want to print if you haven’t already, but this could be a good way to redecorate the fridge (or print out some cheap room decor).
If you haven’t tried Prime Wardrobe, this will get you $15 off a $100 purchase. Prime Wardrobe lets Prime members try on clothes and other items before buying. You have a week to decide to keep or return your items.
Amazon Launchpad highlights small businesses that sell products on its website. For Prime Day, Amazon is offering a free $10 store credit when you spend $10 with participating small businesses. The free credit will show up in your account on Prime Day and will automatically apply during checkout. Here are some more details.
Amazon Kids on a Fire Tablet
Photograph: AmazonNew subscribers can get in on this deal. Amazon Kids+ (formerly FreeTime Unlimited) gives youngsters access to age-appropriate books, movies, games, and more. The service also offers parents user-friendly parental controls to set screen time limits or manage web browsing. Usually, Amazon Kids+ costs $10 per month. Remember to cancel your subscription before the trial automatically renews if you aren’t interested in subsequent charges. It’s best paired with a Kids Edition Fire Tablet.
Free trials for Amazon Music Unlimited are nothing new, but typically, brand-new subscribers can only try the service for a month. This trial lasts for four. If you don’t cancel, it’ll renew at the normal rate of $8 per month. Amazon Music Unlimited offers ad-free music streaming, lossless audio, and more. It’s not one of the best music streaming services, but if you’re sick of Spotify, it might be worth a shot.
Kindle Unlimited offers free access to millions of Kindle ebooks. I (Louryn) highly recommend it. It usually costs $10 per month. This deal offers varying discounts for six-month, 1-year, and 2-year subscriptions. If you’re already a member, this is a good way to save on renewals, but it also might come in handy for those that have been pining for a reason to join. As a reminder, you don’t need a Kindle to read these books—there are free apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows—but a Kindle discount will likely pop up during the event for folks in the market.
More Great Deals
Asus Flip C434
Photograph: AsusThe deals below aren’t special discounts for Prime Day, but they’re matches of what we’ve seen during major shopping events in the past.
During Cyber Monday 2020, this Chromebook sold for nearly $60 more than what it’s priced at right now. This is the best Chromebook you can buy—it has the features most people need at a price that’s more palatable than similar models. It makes a great gift for recent grads in need of a laptop.
This is a match of the best price we’ve seen for one of our favorite earbuds—and only the third time a deal this good has popped up. We highly recommend them, especially at this price. If the cost is a bit too high, the also-great predecessor, the Jabra Elite 75t, are also on sale for a match of their historic low price.
This portable battery delivers enough power to charge your phone twice. It’s light weight and slim enough that you can throw it in your bag and forget about it until you need it. For more charging options, have a look at our guide to portable chargers
It’s not a huge discount, nor is it the lowest price we’ve ever seen (it dipped to $59 in 2019), but webcam prices have inflated due to demand during the pandemic. We’re finally starting to see things go back to normal, and this is still a good deal on our top pick. It even has a built-in ring light!
Roku Express 4K+
Photograph: RokuThis isn’t the best Roku for most people, but it is the best price we’ve seen since it was released earlier this year. The Streaming Stick+ might be our favorite Roku, but the Express 4K+ is one of the cheapest ways to add Roku’s slick interface to your new 4K TV.
This is our favorite laptop stand. It can elevate your laptop or iPad high enough so you can stand and use it (who needs a standing desk!), and the angles are quite adjustable. It’s sturdy, ensuring your laptop stays put. This matches the lowest price we’ve ever seen for it. Click the on-page coupon code to see the extra $5 off at checkout.
We really like this mini laptop desk for when working in bed or on the couch. It has a large surface area that can fit big laptops, and you can tilt it up. That’s especially handy if you’re sketching on an iPad. One section of it stays flat, so you can rest breakfast or a cup of coffee on it, and there’s a little drawer you can use to store cables. Clip the on-page coupon to see the extra discount. This is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for it.
Retailer Sale Pages
If you’d like to check deals out yourself, here are some links to various retailers that have sales running this weekend.
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