Amazon Prime Day 2023: best early deals on speakers, displays, and other tech

Amazon Prime Day may not start until Tuesday, July 11th, but early deals are already trickling out. We’re expecting to see some worthwhile discounts on wireless earbuds, noise-canceling headphones, tablets, TVs, smart home tech, games, and other gadgets on the actual days of, with the early deals functioning as a kind of small temperature check.

As the ghosts of Prime Days past can tell us, the ahead-of-schedule deals are almost always on Amazon-owned devices and brands. There are sure to be more deals coming online in the days ahead — especially since Amazon has promised discounts from brands like Sony and Bose — but early bird shoppers already have some decent discounts to take advantage of.

Usually, these early deals will hold through the duration of Prime Day, though there’s always a chance they end up dropping further during the actual event. If that happens, your only action may be to buy the item again for less and return the one you previously paid for. It’s not ideal, but it’s the harsh reality of Amazon not offering price matching or price protection policies.

Amazon is selling its Echo Buds with Noise Cancellation with a wired charging case for just $64.99 ($55 off) or with a wireless charging case for $84.99 (also $55 off). Both of these deals are Prime exclusives, and either can be had on the black or white models. The 2021 Echo Buds may not be the best noise-canceling earbuds around, given their ANC is only average, but they make for a good value — especially at these prices. However, be aware that they have dipped as low as $49.99 before.

The recently released, non-ANC Echo Buds (2023) that are meant to be the new entry-level model are also on sale for $34.99 ($15 off) for Prime members. They look pretty no-frills, but they feature Alexa voice controls like the pricier models and opt for a semi-open design that won’t block out the ambient sounds around you.

Read our Echo Buds with Noise Cancellation review.

Prime members can get a variety of Echo deals and bundles at Amazon, some of which are up to 65 percent off. One great example is the fifth-gen Echo Dot, which comes with a Sengled smart bulb for just $22.99 ($41.99 off). That’s the same price the Echo Dot is currently selling for on its own, so you’re essentially getting the LED bulb for free.

The fifth-gen model is the latest version of Amazon’s tiny, orb-shaped speaker, which is great for listening to music, issuing smart home commands, and making other various Alexa requests. You can also grab the model equipped with a handy dot-matrix-style display that shows the time and temperature with the same Bluetooth bulb for $29.99 ($30 off).

Read our fifth-gen Echo Dot review.

Speaking of smart speakers, Amazon’s new Echo Pop is now available to Prime members for just $17.99 ($22 off) or for $18.98 ($36 off) with a free Sengled smart bulb.

The Echo Pop is Amazon’s latest smart speaker, one that comes in some stylish colors like purple and teal. It may not be as full-featured as the fifth-gen Echo Dot that retails for $10 more, but the Pop offers a unique look, pretty good sound quality, and support for Amazon Alexa. Plus, it’s actually purple.

Read our Echo Pop review.

Last but certainly not least of Amazon’s early Prime-exclusive smart speaker deals, the Echo Studio is on sale with that same Sengled smart bulb for $154.99 (about $60 off). That matches the best price we’ve seen for Amazon’s largest smart speaker, though, with a free light bulb thrown in, it’s certainly a better deal. The Studio may do most of what an Echo Dot does — execute voice commands, tell you the weather, play music, etc. — but it gets loud enough to really fill a room with sound. It’s a good value for a larger-than-average smart speaker, especially at this discounted price.

Read our Echo Studio review.

In addition to all the early smart speaker deals, Amazon is discounting most of its Echo Show lineup for Prime members, with standalone deals and bundles available for as much as 56 percent off. The most noteworthy deals (in ascending size order) are the latest Echo Show 5 for $44.99 ($45 off), the Echo Show 8 for $59.99 ($70 off), the rotating Echo Show 10 with a Ring smart bulb for $162.99 (about $102 off), and the Echo Show 15 with an included remote for $181.98 ($98 off).

Each and every one of these deals is a new low price for their respective smart displays. While we haven’t reviewed the new Echo Show 5, the others have proven great for carrying out smart home tasks like setting timers, making video calls, and interfacing with Amazon-connected devices (including Ring video doorbells). You can practically take your pick of screen sizes, with the Echo Show 8 likely being the Goldilocks of the bunch, the Show 10 offering the convenience of a swiveling display, and the wall-mountable Show 15 being the only option compatible with Amazon’s Fire TV interface.

While there’s certainly no guarantee, we fully suspect Amazon to drop prices across its entire Kindle lineup the moment the clock strikes 12AM on July 11th. That said, Prime members can already pick up the latest Kindle Paperwhite Kids at Amazon for $104.99 ($65 off), which is one of the e-reader’s best prices to date. If you’re on the fence about picking one up for yourself, just know that the kid-friendly model is identical to the standard Paperwhite, only that it lacks ads and comes with a few added incentives (including a protective cover). Everything else — including the 6.8-inch, 300ppi display — is the same.

Read our 2021 Kindle Paperwhite review.

The 75-inch Fire TV Omni QLED, the highest-end model in Amazon’s current TV lineup, is on sale for Prime members for $899.99 ($200 off). It was previously on sale for just $879.99, however, it’s since jumped back up. Perhaps it will drop back down to the lower price by the time Prime Day rolls around, so keep an eye out.

The Fire TV Omni QLED supports 4K resolution, HDR with full array local dimming, and a respectable 60Hz refresh that’s fine for watching movies and TV. Only one of its four HDMI ports supports the 2.1 spec, but since it doesn’t reach 120Hz, it’s not exactly the best TV around for gaming anyway. Overall, it’s a good and bright TV for the money, especially if you want value for size.

For a more modestly sized, Amazon-infused TV deal, there’s a discount on the Hisense U6 TV. The 58-inch Hisense U6 is down to $349.99 ($250 off) — exclusively for Prime subscribers. This TV runs Amazon’s own Fire TV software, meaning it supports all your standard streaming apps, but be prepared for lots of Amazon shows and ads to be front and center. On the flip side, it’s a very affordable 4K LED TV that features a fair 60Hz refresh and HDMI 2.1 support.

Prime members can pick up a pair of Blink Mini security cameras at Amazon right now for $33.99 ($31 off), which is the second-best price we’ve seen on a two-pack to date. The wired, 1080p cameras offer solid video performance for the price, along with basic features like two-way talk, motion alerts, and Alexa support. Admittedly, they’re pretty simple when compared to some of the more premium offerings out there, but it’s also hard to complain given their rock-bottom price.

Read our original Blink Mini review.

In addition to offering deals in advance, Amazon is trying something new with Prime Day this year: invite-only deals. Prime subscribers are required to sign up for these ahead of July 11th, and while many of them seem pretty ho-hum thus far, Amazon will be offering the first notable discount we’ve seen on Motorola’s recently released Razr Plus. If you request an invite — and Amazon selects you — you’ll be able to pick up an unlocked model during Prime Day for $849.99 ($150 off).

Motorola’s new, flip-style phone might be a little fiddly at times, but it’s leagues better than prior models. The handy, 3.6-inch outer display clearly defines the phone, however, the foldable also offers all-day battery life, a speedy Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, and the unique ability to take photos while resting on a flat surface. The latter is something you simply cannot do with a slab-style smartphone and, when paired with the cover screen, makes the Razr Plus a solid alternative to the latest foldables from Google and Samsung.

Read our Razr Plus review.

• Think you’re going to be buying something on Prime Day? Maybe it will be $55 or higher? If so, Prime members can do themselves a favor and buy a $50 Amazon e-gift card through July 10th and get a $5 promo credit to use during Prime Day (July 11th–12th). Remember, that gift card is totally fine to use yourself.
• Amazon’s 32-inch Fire TV 2-Series is down to just $129.99 ($70 off). There’s not much special about the 720p TV aside from the fact it’s on sale for as cheap as chips, but it will probably work if you’re in need of a small screen for the kitchen or a spare bedroom.
• It appears Amazon remembered it has a cloud game streaming service called Luna and is discounting its Luna controller to $39.99 ($30 off) for Prime members. Remember, you can also use this controller on a PC or Mac via Bluetooth / USB-C to play non-Luna games.
• There are some worthwhile “Buy with Prime” deals, which offer special promotional pricing for Prime members at manufacturers’ sites. For example, you can get an Anker 521 PowerCore 5K Magnetic Battery for $20.99 ($14 off) direct from Anker if you subscribe to Prime and use code PRIMEDAY8HZ5O at checkout. Or, get the Anker 622 Magnetic MagGo Battery — which is one of our faves — for $41.99 ($28 off) with offer code PRIMEDAYBKGTS.
• Prime subscribers can get a three-month free trial for Kindle Unlimited, which gives access to many e-books and audiobooks. Though, if you don’t plan on subscribing after that, be sure to cancel before the $11.99 per month autopay kicks in.

Update July 9th, 8:06PM ET: Removed expired Prime Day deals and added new deals on the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite Kids and a two-pack of Blink Mini cameras.