The biggest and best sale of the summer is Amazon’s Prime Day event, taking place on July 16th and 17th this year. But you don’t necessarily have to wait to grab a bargain, as Amazon is sneaking in some tempting discounts to whet your appetite ahead of the main event. We’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s available to help you find the best deals for your time and money in the early Prime Day sales.
With decades of product-testing experience, a host of accessible price trackers, and a long history of bringing you the best deals, WIRED is your go-to source for extracting gold from the fast-moving waters of Amazon’s river of deals. Prime DayHere we’ll only highlight the highest sales prices so far (some may match previous sale prices, but we haven’t seen any cheaper), and it’s also worth noting that many of these products will likely remain at these prices through Prime Day.
Updated 7/8/2024: Added some new deals, adjusted prices to reflect some changes, and removed some expired deals.
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Prime Benefits
Read on to find out all the Amazon Prime benefits you should take advantage of.
While it may not be the best music streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited gets an honorable mention in our guide. It’s available for free for five months for Prime members (three months for non-Prime members), so you might want to give it a try. Amazon Music Unlimited lets you listen to over 100 million songs ad-free in 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio quality (24-bit, 192 kHz where available).
Arguably the best audiobook service, Amazon’s Audible Premium Plus offers access to Audible Originals, a library of audiobooks and podcasts, one credit per month to use on your favorite audiobook titles, and regular exclusive sales and discounts. Prime members are currently getting three months free (one month for non-Prime members), and it costs $15 per month after that. The best part is that you keep any titles you buy with credits even after your subscription ends.
Amazon Technology Deals
Amazon’s ever-growing range of devices are frequently discounted, so you’ll never buy them at full price. But the biggest discounts come at their Prime Day event, and this year is no exception. Here are some early bird discounts on Amazon devices you can grab right now.
Our favorite Amazon Fire tablet is also the best tablet you can buy for under $200, so the big discount is appealing. We like the big screen, decent performance, and support for Alexa’s Show Mode, which allows the tablet to double as an Echo Show smart display. On the downside, you’ll have to pay an extra $15 to get rid of lock screen ads, and you can’t run Google apps without a workaround.
If you like a portable tablet in a manageable size, the Fire HD 8 is the most affordable option worth considering. It has solid performance, hands-free Alexa, stereo sound, USB-C, and about 12 hours of battery life. Its 8-inch screen isn’t as big or nice as the HD 10’s, but it’s adequate for the price. It’s already the best value Fire tablet, and while it’s frequently discounted, this is the first time it’s been on sale this cheap.
As the best Eero mesh system currently available, this is the cheapest Max 7 we’ve seen (7/10, WIRED review). This Wi-Fi 7 mesh opens up the 6 GHz band in addition to the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands we’re used to. Wi-Fi 7 allows compatible devices to join multiple bands simultaneously, which is expected to dramatically improve speed and stability. A two-pack will easily cover most homes, and Eero is backwards compatible with previous systems, making it our top pick for the smart home. That said, Wi-Fi 7 is still in its infancy, and even with the discounts, this is a pricey mesh.
For most people, it’s still a little early to consider Wi-Fi 7, but as Wi-Fi 7 systems hit the market, prices for Wi-Fi 6E routers are dropping rapidly. The tri-band Eero Pro 6E (7/10, WIRED Recommended) is one of the best mesh systems, offering lightning-fast performance, 6 GHz Wi-Fi (with a relatively short range), handy smart home hub functionality, and compatibility with other Eero devices. At $10 per month or $100 per year, the Eero Plus subscription is on the pricey side, but adds great value with security, parental controls, a VPN service, and a password manager. This is the cheapest price yet for a three-pack, enough to cover up to 6,000 square feet.
If you’re looking for an affordable security camera for your home, the Blink Outdoor 4 and Blink Mini 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommended) have attractive prices. We haven’t tested the Outdoor 4 yet, but the Mini 2 is one of our favorite indoor security cameras, with its compact design, crisp 1080p footage at 30 frames per second, and two-way audio. However, Blink cameras require a $10 monthly or $100 annual subscription to unlock 60 days of unlimited cloud video history and on-device person detection.
Technology
Photo: Bases
Simply stick this power bank on the back of your MagSafe iPhone and it’s ready to top off your battery. With a massive 10,000 mAh capacity, this is one of the best MagSafe power banks we’ve tested, and it’ll fully charge your MagSafe iPhone at least once. It has a soft-touch finish, gentle curves, a USB-C port, a power button, and three LEDs on the bottom edge. This power bank is often discounted, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen it for.
This clever retractable cable from Baseus helps you avoid tangles completely. Available in a few fun colors, this flat cable comes coiled up in a circular case. Pull on the USB-C end to lock it into a preset length (1.1, 1.9, 2.7, or 3.3 feet). When you’re done, just pull and release, and the cable will neatly rewind inside the case. It’s good for up to 11 watts of charging, but only supports data transfer speeds of 480 Mbps. We think this is one of the best USB-C cables out there.
Clip the coupon on the page to get the biggest discount price. This affordable security camera records decent quality footage, has a Starlight sensor that provides color night vision, microSD card support up to 512GB, and is IP66 rated for outdoor use. It also has smart detection features (people, pets, vehicles), offers 2K resolution, supports two-way audio with a slight delay, and has an optional Tapo Care subscription that offers 30 days of cloud storage from $3.50 per month. The more basic Tapo C110 is the best low-cost camera in our Best Indoor Security Vameras guide, but if you’re looking for a discount, you should opt for the slightly better C120 instead.
If you hate the hassle of charging your wireless gaming headset, the HyperX Cloud Alpha Wireless (10/10, WIRED Recommended) is a great choice. This headset lasts an impressive 300 hours on a single charge. It also offers rich, powerful sound, comfortable ear cups, and intuitive controls. All it’s missing is a headphone jack. This headset has been discounted to this price before, but it usually costs around $170.
This 11-inch AMOLED Android tablet (7/10, WIRED Recommended) is a powerful, slim slate with top-of-the-line specs, from the flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset to long-lasting battery life. It comes with an S Pen stylus so you can sketch, and Android has improved enough that you can use it for light work. Check out our best tablets guide for more recommendations.
Home Sale
Lightweight and powerful, this cordless vacuum picks up everything from cereal to dirt in one pass on the medium setting. It’s also freestanding, something few cordless vacuums can do. Hoover’s device has been at the top of our best cordless vacuum guide for a while now, and it still holds its place as a great mid-priced alternative. Battery life is a bit disappointing, but you can always buy a spare to replace it. This is the lowest price ever for this vacuum.
Stylish and relatively compact, this is one of our favorite beard trimmers. It has a digital display that shows the battery level as a percentage, boasts a long battery life of 120 minutes, and charges in just an hour. WIRED contributor Andrew Williams called it great for sharp lines and a razor-close shave around the neck. Philips recommends replacing the head every four months, but you probably won’t need to. We’ve seen it slightly cheaper, though not at huge discounts.
The only reason this product didn’t rank at the top of our best hair straighteners guide is the price. We’ve never seen it this cheap, but the white model is the only one on sale. The T3 has a unique temperature detection feature that the company calls HeatID technology, which we found to minimize damage. To find the right temperature, use the touch controls on the iron’s handle to select your hair characteristics: texture (fine, medium, coarse), length (short, medium, long), and whether it’s colored or not. We also like the Refresh mode, which will straighten your hair at a lower temperature later based on your previous settings.
Photo: Kosori
Air fryers help you cook faster and healthier. The best air fryers are essentially compact convection ovens that heat up quickly and can make crispy chicken, fries, donuts, and more. This Cosori is our favorite smart air fryer because it can be controlled remotely using your smartphone or tablet (it even has a digital control panel). We love the sleek, black, premium design, the cooking drawer slides out smoothly, and the handle doesn’t get hot during use. Be careful, the sides get a little hot. Make sure you have enough space for the air fryer. It has 12 pre-set cooking modes with temperatures ranging from 175°F to a powerful 400°F.
If you’re in need of a new grill for your backyard this summer, this Weber model is our favorite gas grill. Its simplicity, good build quality, consistent cooking temperatures, and easy-to-adjust burners are reasons why. The side tray has plenty of space for plates and platters, and it even has handy hooks for hanging tongs and tools. It features porcelain-coated cast-iron grill grates that are relatively easy to clean with just a little soap and water. WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson’s favorite feature is the wide turning radius of the burner knobs, making it easy to adjust the perfect flame.
Photo: RAPTbaby
The best sound machines can help you focus and fall asleep at night. We recommend this sound machine for babies. It has an adorable design and comes with eight sound tracks to choose from, including classical music and soothing womb sounds. You can play the sounds continuously or choose a 30, 60, or 90 minute timer. The makers claim that it’s a neuroscientist-designed gadget that encourages language development, but we’re a bit skeptical, but it’s a good choice to help lull your little one to sleep.
This is the most affordable chair we recommend in our best office chairs guide. It often drops below this price range, but never cheaper. The back and seat are made from breathable mesh fabric, and it’s sturdy and will stand up to years of use.
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