Amazon‘s flagship Prime Day sale may not be as singular as it once was, but the members-only savings event remains a huge draw for inflation-weary shoppers hunting for summer deals.
Now that we’re on day two of the sales event, here’s what you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2023.
When is Prime Day 2023?
Prime Day began on Tuesday, July 11 at 3 a.m. ET and runs through Wednesday, July 12 in 2023, with new offers dropping every 30 minutes during certain periods.
What’s new or different about Prime Day this year?
Amazon is back to bragging that it’s offering « millions of deals across categories » during this year’s Prime Day sale — « more deals than any Prime Day event before, » in fact. This is a return to form of sorts and a shift from its reined-in 2022 advertising, which emphasized « Amazon’s lowest prices ever on select products » and a wider selection of items from third-party sellers instead of a massive deal dump. (TL;DR: We are so back.)
Amazon has also introduced a brand-new « invite-only » deals program for ten products it expects to sell out on Prime Day (see: a $100 43-inch 4K smart TV), which should alleviate some of the frenzied chaos that typically surrounds its doorbusters. Prime members can visit these products’ listings to request an invitation; if chosen, you’ll receive an email with a unique link to buy the item at some point during the event.
Amazon hasn’t explained how it’s picking these lucky eligible shoppers; all we know is that these special deals are exclusive to Prime members (paid and trial).
What are the best Prime Day deals?
Prime Day has always been Amazon’s favorite excuse to discount its own devices and services, and this year is no different. Beyond Amazon’s in-house lineup, our usual suspects for Prime Day doorbusters include robot vacuums, headphones, video games, fitness equipment, pet supplies, luggage, outdoor gear, cookware, and basically every Apple product under the sun. Check out our giant running list of the best Prime Day deals to get a broader view of what’s up for grabs, but here’s a quick look at our top picks in the hardest-hit categories.
(If it’s easier to organize your shopping list around what not to buy on Prime Day, we’ve also covered that below the following deals.)
Note: All newly added deals are marked with a ✨, while deals with a 🔥 have dropped to an all-time low price. Amazon’s exclusive invite-only deals are marked with a 📨. Deals with a strikeout were either sold out or expired at the time of writing.
Best Amazon device deals
Why we like it
Amazon’s latest drop of Fire tablets (circa May 2023) are bougie-er than ever — without losing the budget factor, that is. The Fire Max 11 has nabbed a Mashable’s Choice Award for its large 11-inch display and speedy Octa-core processor, which are both perfect for streaming or light gaming. The 64GB base configuration is seeing its first-ever discount this Prime Day.
More Prime Day Amazon device deals
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Amazon Echo Pop — $17.99
$39.99(save $22)🔥 -
Amazon Echo Buds (2023) — $34.99
$49.99(save $15)🔥 -
Amazon 32-inch 2-Series HD Fire TV — $129.99
$199.99(save $70)🔥 -
Amazon 43-inch Omni 4K Fire TV — $99.99
$399.99(save $300)🔥📨 -
Amazon 65-inch Omni 4K Fire TV — $559.99
$759.99(save $200)🔥 -
Amazon 75-inch Omni QLED Series 4K Fire TV — $879.99
$1,099.99(save $220)🔥 -
Kindle e-readers — up to 38% off
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Amazon Echo Show bundles — up to 50% off
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Fire TV streaming devices — up to 58% off
Amazon streaming, audio, and gaming Prime Day deals
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Amazon Music Unlimited — three free months for new users
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Prime Gaming — unlock bonus classic games like Prey, Baldur’s Gate II, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
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Select Prime Video titles and rentals — up to 50% off
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Select Prime Video Channels including Starz, Cinemax, and Hallmark Movies Now — $0.99/month for two months
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Two-month Paramount+ and AMC+ subscriptions — 50% off
If you need to restock your pantry, your Prime membership will save you 20% on a $50-plus order of Amazon-brand everyday essentials like snacks, school supplies, groceries, toiletries, and pet products for a limited time.
Robot vacuum deals
Why we like it
iRobot quietly released the Roomba j6+ as a more affordable alternative to its most vigilant (and most expensive) small obstacle avoider, the j7+. During Prime Day, you can score the j6+ for 50% off at $399.99 compared to the j7+’s underwhelming discount which leaves it at $649.
The j6+ can still identify the two most troublesome obstacles for robot vacuums — phone chargers and pet waste — while the j7+ and currently sold-out Combo j7+ have extra smarts to detect objects like socks and backpacks.
More Prime Day robot vacuum deals
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Yeedi Vac Max — $189.99
$349.99(save $160)🔥 -
Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid — $319.99
$649.99(save $330)🔥 -
Roborock Q5+ — $399.99
$699.99(save $300)🔥 -
iRobot Roomba s9+ — $599.99
$999.99(save $400)🔥 -
Roborock S8+ — $799.99
$999.99(save $200)🔥
Apple deals
Why we like it
The M1-powered MacBook Air from 2020 still holds its own against newer, more powerful releases — especially under $750, beating the $799 it was hovering around for months prior to Prime Day. The Mashable’s Choice Award-winner has stellar battery life without a fan to tell you it’s working overtime, plus graphics that are five times faster than predecessors without an M1 chip.
More Prime Day Apple deals
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Apple AirPods (2nd generation) — $89.99
$129(save $39.01)🔥 -
Apple Watch Series 8 (GPS, 41mm) — $279.99
$399(save $119.01)🔥 -
Apple iPad Mini, 6th generation (WiFi, 64GB) — $379.99
$499(save $119.01)🔥 -
Apple iPad Air, 5th Generation (WiFi, 64GB) — $499.99
$599(save $99.01)🔥 -
Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (Apple M2 Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $1,199
$1,299(save $100)🔥
TV deals
Why we like it
Spring 2023 saw several new budget QLED releases from TCL to challenge its current (really great) cheap QLEDs. The Q7 is a punchy crowd favorite across the internet, and a more than 30% discount during Prime Day brings the giant 85-inch version of it to $1,499.99 — easily its lowest price ever since debuting at over $2,000.
New developments with the Q7 include Game Accelerator mode up to 240Hz and the 4K picture-optimizing AIPQ Engine Gen3 processor, which is the same one that powers TCL’s premium QM8.
More Prime Day TV deals
These are organized by size and then price.
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Samsung 55-inch QN90B QLED TV — $1,097.99
$1,697.99(save $600)🔥 -
Hisense 55-inch U8 ULED TV — $799.99
$1,099.99(save $300) 🔥 -
TCL 65-inch QM8 Mini-LED QLED TV — $1,199.99
$1,699.99(save $500)🔥 -
TCL 75-inch S6 QLED TV — $748
$899.99(save $151)🔥 -
Samsung 85-inch QN90C QLED TV — $3,697.99
$4,797.99(save $1,100)🔥
Gaming deals
Why we like it
Amazon Prime members get access to Prime Gaming, and during Prime Day, Prime Gaming offers claim to several pretty sweet free games. Our favorite of those is Prey, a creepy cosmic FPS from 2017. Scoring an 8/10 from reviewer Dan Stapleton on team IGN (which is owned by Mashable’s publisher, Ziff Davis), its « curious alternate-history universe, intriguing sidequests, hidden threats, and detailed environmental storytelling » make up for its mediocre combat.
More Prime Day gaming deals
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Star Wars: Jedi Survivor — $43.99
$69.99(save $26 with on-page coupon)🔥 -
Sony INZONE H7 Gaming Headset — $148
$229.99(save $81.99)🔥 -
Acer Nitro 27-inch XZ27 1500R Curved Gaming Monitor — $159.99
$329.99(save $170)🔥 -
Logitech G Cloud — $299.99
$349.99(save $50) 🔥 -
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (Intel Core i5-12500H, Intel Iris Xe, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $859.99
$1,499(save $639.01)🔥
Kitchen deals
Why we like it
The wide version of the newest Instant Pot multicooker is seeing a rare discount this Prime Day. The 7.5-quart Instant Pot Rio Wide Plus offers a 35% larger cooking surface than the 6-quart model, making room for a five-pound roast or nine-inch cake pan. Button-wise, the Rio line combines several major cooking functions that make Instant Pot so iconically versatile: pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sauté, rice, sous vide, cake, and yogurt. It also features a quieter, less-scary steam release.
More Prime Day kitchen deals
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Instant Essentials Air Fryer (4-quart) — $39.99
$79.95(save $39.96)✨🔥 -
Keurig K-Iced — $66.49
$99.99(save $33.50)✨🔥 -
Caraway Nonstick Ceramic Frying Pan (2.7-quart) — $76
$95(save $19)✨🔥 -
SodaStream E-Terra Sparkling Water Maker — $89.99
$159.99(save $70)✨🔥📨 -
Philips Viva Collection Compact Pasta Maker — $124.99
$249.95(save $124.96)✨
Camping, drone, and more outdoor deals
Why we like it
Amazon isn’t the spot for DJI drone deals at the moment, but Holy Stone has Prime Day drone deals in the bag. Its HS720E GPS FPV quadcopter, which is seeing a 38% discount, is easy to fly and captures 4K footage — a solid entry-level choice for aerial photography newbies.
More Prime Day outdoor deals
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Hydro Flask Wide Mouth with Straw Lid — $31.98
$49.95(save $17.97)✨🔥 -
CamelBak HydroBak Hydration Pack (50-ounce) — $35
$50(save $25)✨🔥 -
Core Camping Tent (6-person) — $54.99
$129.99(save $75)✨🔥 -
Joola Ben Johns Pickleball Set (two indoor and two outdoor balls, two paddles, and bag) — $60
$79.95(save $19.95)✨ -
Intex Challenger Inflatable Kayak with aluminum oars — $83.20
$169(save $85.80)✨
What not to buy on Prime Day
Not all of those « millions of deals across categories » will be worth adding to your cart. After covering Prime Day for years, here’s what we’d recommend skipping:
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Anything from Ring. The home security company’s popular video doorbells always get really cheap during Prime events since Ring is an Amazon brand, but they’re ultimately a privacy nightmare.
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Toys. Amazon is offering some good Prime Day discounts on Barbie toys and apparel as a tie-in to the iconic doll’s big-screen debut later this month, but otherwise, it’s best to save your toy shopping for Black Friday — the holiday season brings new releases and a boatload of deals.
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Video game consoles. Hold off to upgrade until holiday sales and bundles start trickling out in November unless you’re interested in a PlayStation 5: Sony’s God of War Ragnarök bundle was $60 off on Amazon in the weeks leading up to Prime Day, and while it’s since sold out, we could get a restock at some point soon.
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Almost anything sold and shipped by a third-party seller. Third-party merchants on Amazon aren’t scammers across the board, but buying something from a seller you don’t recognize can be risky. (Fake reviews and counterfeit listings are way more common — and convincing — than you’d think.) Stick with products that have « Ships from Amazon.com » and « Sold by Amazon.com » under their « Buy Now » buttons just to be safe.
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Any deal that seems too good to be true. Amazon has a bad habit of inflating MSRPs to make discounts appear better than they really are. You can verify whether a deal is legit or not by comparing prices across other major retailers and running the product through camelcamelcamel, a free Amazon price-tracking site.
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Anything you get the urge to impulse-buy. Are you buying a new TV because you actually need a new TV, or just because it’s $100 off right now?
Who’s competing with Prime Day?
Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are all throwing their hats into the anti-Prime Day ring.
The former is hosting a new summer savings event called Walmart+ Week, a seeming expansion of last June’s Walmart+ Weekend that more directly competes with Prime Day. It’s live on the Walmart website from Monday, July 10 at 12 p.m. ET to Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m. ET. (More like Walmart+ Three Days And Some Change, but I digress.)
Members of the big box store’s Walmart+ subscription service get early access to the sale for the first 24 hours before it opens to the public on Tuesday, July 11 at 12 p.m. ET. That only includes paid Walmart+ members, so you’ll have to upgrade from its free trial tier if you want to participate. (Good news: Annual memberships are 50% off until July 13.) Here’s a quick look at the best Walmart+ Week deals we’ve come across so far:
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TCL 65-inch Class 5-Series 4K QLED Dolby Vision HDR Smart Roku TV — $398
$599.99(save $201.99) -
Xbox Series S + Xbox Wireless Controller — $289.99
$359.89(save $60) -
NordicTrack Studio Bike 1000 — $417
$999(save $582) -
GE Profile Opal Nugget Ice Maker + Side Tank — $398
$579(save $181) -
Dyson Ball Multi Floor Origin — $189.99
$299.99(save $110) -
Coleman Montana 8-Person Tent — $99
$269.99(save $170.99) -
Solo Stove Mesa — $59.99
$129.99(save $70)
Meanwhile, Target is running one of its semi-annual Circle Week sales from Sunday, July 9 to Saturday, June 15. (A whole actual week!) Billed as its « biggest sale of the season, » the event is open to members of the retailer’s totally free Target Circle loyalty program and runs online, in stores, and on the Target app. Highlights include:
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Lenovo IdeaPad 3i (Intel Core i5-1235U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $389.99
$739.99(save $350) -
Keurig K-Mini — $59.99
$89.99(save $30) -
Dyson V8 Origin — $299.99
$429.99(save $130) -
Save 20% on Xbox Game Pass subscriptions
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50% off select outdoor and pool toys from Target’s Sun Squad line
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20% off all Barbie products
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Get a free $15 Target gift card when you spend $50+ on household essentials
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Get a free $10 Target gift card when you spend $40+ on beauty and health products
Finally, Best Buy has revived its Black Friday in July event from Monday, July 10 to Wednesday, July 12 in stores, online, and on its mobile app. The sale is open to everyone, but members of the retailer’s new paid My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total plans get access to special promotions and better discounts on certain items. (Subscriptions cost $49.99/year and $179.99/year, respectively.) Here’s an overview of its top deals:
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Apple MacBook Air, 13.3-inch (Apple M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $749.99
$999(save $249.01) -
HP OMEN 16-n0033dx (AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, AMD Radeon RX 6650M, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $799.99
$1,579.99(save $780); extra $100 off for paid My Best Buy members -
Sony WH-XB910N Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones — $119.99
$249.99(save $130) -
Dyson V15 Detect Extra — $649.99
$799.99(save $150); extra $50 off for paid My Best Buy members -
Nintendo Switch — $299.99 + free $25 Best Buy gift card; free $50 gift card for paid My Best Buy members
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Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) — $54.99
$99.99(save $45) -
Fitbit Sense — $149.95
$249.95(save $100) for paid My Best Buy members -
GoPro Hero11 Black — $349.99
$499.99(save $150); extra $50 off for paid My Best Buy members -
Igloo IMX 24 Quart Cooler — $109.99
$149.99(save $40); extra $30 off for paid My Best Buy members
Prime Day shopping tips and tricks
Aside from aggressively lurking on Amazon’s dedicated Prime Day page (and reading our coverage of the sale), there are several ways to ensure you don’t miss out on a great deal:
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Sign up for those invite-only deals. We’ve flagged the best ones if you need some guidance.
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Organize your Amazon Wish List. Amazon’s virtual shopping list feature puts all of your must-haves in one convenient spot so you can see which ones are on sale for Prime Day at a glance (instead of flipping between links and tabs). Check out Mashable’s guide to « wishlisting » for more intel.
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Download the Amazon Shopping mobile app. The app features a Prime Day event page where you can set deal alerts for your recent Amazon searches and views; you’ll get pinged with a push notification as soon as an offer goes live.
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Take advantage of Alexa’s advanced deal alerts feature. Amazon’s virtual assistant can notify you of a sale on an item in your Wish List, Shopping Cart, or « Saved for Later » queue up to 24 hours before it goes live. Enable the feature on a newer-gen Echo smart speaker, and you’ll see its light ring turn yellow (or you’ll get a pop-up alert) whenever an item you’ve saved has a discount in the pipeline. You can then ask for more information about the deal, set a reminder for when it’s available, and even give Alexa permission to order it for you using your default payment info when the time comes.
