Joystiq
Joystiq News
Amazon's second Prime Day sale event for 2023 kicked off in the wee hours this morning, and it's turning out to be a great opportunity to shop for your holiday gifts early — or get something for yourself. And if you missed out on any of the deals from Prime Day in July, this year's "" will let you make up for that. The sale has brought back many of the same low prices we saw a few months ago in summer, but we're also seeing new sales as well — including deals on brand new devices. We've also put together category roundups for deals on , , , and . If you've got your gift list handy, now's a good time to start checking it off so you won't be pressed for time or when Black Friday comes around next month. A few deals are just for Prime members, but many are open to anyone looking to save. If you want to take advantage of some great tech deals, here's best of what we found for October Prime Day.
The second-generation have dropped to $189 for Prime Day. Apple made a ton of small but noticeable improvements to these models, so now they have better sound quality, noise cancelation and Transparency Mode. There remains no competition if you have an iPhone and live within the Apple ecosystem — these are the to get if you fall into that category.
The is on sale for $199 right now. It's the to get if you're new to the wearable world, or you just want a basic, relatively affordable watch that has all of the basic features you'd need. On top of comprehensive health and fitness tracking, iPhone notifications and dozens of fun watch faces, you'll get features like crash and fall detection, noise monitoring and Emergency SOS.
Apple's most affordable tablet, the , is on sale for $249 right now. It may have an old-school design, but it's certainly the for people on a budget and it has most crucial features you'd expect in an Apple tablet. It earned a score of 86 from us for its solid performance, sharp screen, TouchID-capable Home button and good battery life. The only major downside to this model right now is that it still sports Apple's old Lightning port rather than USB-C.
The is on sale for $500, which is $99 off the MSRP. Apple may refresh the Air at some point soon, but for now, the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a last year. And it's our for most people
The new is down to $270 for October Prime Day, which is the lowest price we've seen since it came out a few months ago. You can't get a better than this one if you have an Android phone (bonus points if you have a Samsung phone), and it's smaller and lighter than previous versions. Samsung brought back the spinning bezel on the Classic version, which is which makes the software's UI easier to navigate, plus it has improved performance and updated health and fitness tracking tools.
The has dropped to $400 for October Prime Day. It's the on the market right now and really your only option if you want a true one-hand-friendly iPad. It's powered by Apple's A15 Bionic chip and sports a Touch ID-toting power button, solid cameras, a good battery life and a USB-C port for charging.
wireless earbuds are on sale for $278 for Prime Day, which is their best price yet. These are the on the market right now, and Sony improved upon it's already remarkable buds with a more comfortable fit, better sound quality and features likes adaptive sound and Speak-to-Chat.
The is on sale for $54, which matches its all-time low and comes in $25 less than usual. The Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the , as it includes a host of features that belie its price: adaptive ANC, multi-device pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode and up to 10 hours of battery life. Its audio quality and ANC aren’t quite as powerful as more expensive pairs, but both are more than effective enough for the money. Unlike many budget wireless headphones, its default sound doesn’t completely blow out the bass. Just note that its call quality is mediocre, and it lacks wear detection, so it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud.
The headphones have dropped to $230 for October Prime Day, which is about $80 cheaper than their usual selling price. These cans earned a spot in our thanks to their comfortable, if a little dated, design, excellent ANC and balanced audio.
The have dropped to $120 for Prime Day. The company got a lot of things right after years of making pretty standard earbuds; the Pixel Buds Pro are Google's yet. These will be great for Android users who want buds with punchy bass, good ANC, reliable touch controls and wireless charging.
Amazon has knocked the price of the latest down to $23 right now. It’s one of the you can get thanks to its orb-like design, surprisingly good sound quality for its size and handy Alexa integration. The Dots can also act as Eero WiFi boosters, adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero system.
The latest is on sale for a record low of $40. The Show 5 has been one of the available for quite some time, and it’ll be particularly good for anyone who wants an Alexa-capable smart display that won’t take up a lot of space. It also makes for a good alarm clock thanks to its sunrise alarm and tap-to-snooze features.
The standard has dropped to $75 for October Prime Day. This model saw a lot of improvements when it was updated in 2022. Capacity was doubled to 16GB and the screen resolution jumped up to 300 ppi for much clearer text. We named it the best budget option in our because its perfect entry point to reading and borrowing ebooks and audiobooks.
The , meanwhile, is down to $95 for an 8GB model. That's $5 more than it went for during July's Prime Day event but still $45 off its MSRP. The Paperwhite gets you a few extra perks over the standard Kindle, including a larger 6.8-inch screen, a more comprehensive front light and IPX8-rated waterproofing. This deal applies to the ad-supported version (which displays ads for Kindle books and services on your lock screen); it you want no ads on your device, you’ll need to pay $20 more.
Here's a simple one: If you buy a and use the code PSN100 at checkout, you can get an extra $10 Amazon credit to use on future purchases. If you often use Amazon and plan on picking up new PS5 games, renewing a PlayStation Plus subscription or buying any other content through the PlayStation Store anyway, it's effectively a bit of free money.
A two-pack of has dropped to $40 for Prime Day. That's about $10 more than they went for last Prime Day, but still a decent 38 percent discount. While these cameras are wired, they have most of the same features as the standard wireless Blink cameras including 1080p video recordings and support for two-way talk and motion alerts.
A slew of devices are on sale, including the battery-powered that can go inside or outside your home. Typically priced at $180, the security cam is down to $120 for Amazon's October Prime Day event. The Nest Cam works with smart speakers and displays enabled with Alexa or the Google Assistant and can last up to seven months depending on how much activity it picks up. Its weather-resistant build and magnetic mount should make it easy to install on most surfaces. It sends live alerts to your phone and will even allow for on-demand check-ins without a subscription, though it only stores the last three hours for free. For six months of stored footage, you'll need a membership.
Amazon’s is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.
The is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it's a big upgrade over the Fire HD 8 — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.
The 128GB is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)
The is down to a new low of $399 for this sale event. It's the you can get right now thanks to its speedy Tensor G2 chip, smooth 90Hz display and support for wireless charging. The 7a also has solid cameras and an IP67 water-resistant design.
The entire is on sale for Prime Day, including the S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra. These are some of the you can buy right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you want all of the latest features from Samsung. The Ultra runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and has a big, bold 120Hz display, built-in S Pen and an excellent main camera.
The have dropped to $199 for October Prime Day, which is the best price we've ever seen, though you'll need to be a Prime member to get the deal. They're currently the you can get if you want as much noise cancelation as possible. On top of that, these buds have a smaller, more comfortable fit and good audio quality.
The four-inch tall is back to $35 for October Prime, which matches its sale price for July’s Prime sale. You'll need a Prime membership to get the deal, however. This is an older model of the tiny portable. Sony replaced it with the earlier this year, which is currently seeing a 20 percent discount. They're both rated for water and dust resistance and you can pair two for stereo sound.
Our favorite , the , has dropped to $38 for this sale. It packs a ton of features into an affordable package, including 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision, AirPlay 2 and private listening when you have a pair of headphones. And since it's so small, it makes a great travel entertainment device, too.
The is down to $847 for a 55-inch model. That’s a new low and roughly $150 off its average street price in recent months. The B2 is the step-down model from the C2 — which is also for a 55-inch set — as it’s not as bright or color-rich with HDR content, it runs on a slower processor and it has two fewer HDMI 2.1 ports. That said, its contrast, colors and motion performance will still be a significant upgrade if you’re upgrading from a more basic LED TV. LG’s new promises a cleaner webOS interface, but it’s priced a good way higher as of this writing. If you want an OLED TV for less than $1,000, the B2 should be a better value.
If you want a more affordable TV, the is also on sale, with the and models down to $400 and $548, respectively. We’ve seen these deals before, but each matches an all-time low. The U6K is has received around the web, as it's one of the few budget-level sets with quantum dots, full-array local dimming and a mini-LED backlight. All of that should help it deliver better contrast and color volume than most TVs in its price range. It’s not ideal for gaming though, as it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 ports. In general, it can’t match the brightness or viewing angles of a more expensive set, but it looks to be a good buy if you’re on a tighter budget.
For a well-reviewed mid-range model, the provides much better contrast and peak brightness, and it comes with more gaming-friendly features like the ability to play 4K content at up to a 144Hz refresh rate. That one is down to $748 for a and $998 for a .
has dropped to $199 for Prime Day. It's our favorite thanks to its strong suction power, attractive design and easy to use app. It'll be a good option for robo-vac novices, or anyone that doesn't want to fuss too much with an automatic dirt sucker. It clears hard and carpeted floors well, and it automatically returns to its base once a cleaning job is finished so it can recharge.
The is down to $44, which is a few bucks more than its all-time low but still $6 less than its usual street price. This is the “best for most” pick in our guide to , as its sturdy shape should be comfortable for each and all but the smallest hands. (Provided you’re a righty.) It has 11 customizable buttons, including a “sensitivity clutch” for more precise aiming, and its thumb wheel supports both left-right tilt and a faster free-spin mode. That wheel is somewhat noisy, and the whole thing is too heavy for competitive-minded players, but it still tracks accurately and glides smoothly.
The is on sale for $20 right now. It's our top pick in our because it was the most consistent of the ones we tested, with some of the best overall speeds and all of the important ratings that a good card should have: U3, V30 and A2. It'll be a great pick for your tablet, smartphone or Nintendo Switch, and it comes with a full-sized adapter in case you need to use it with a camera or connect it to your computer.
The is a well-built gamepad that snaps around the sides of your phone and works immediately with just about any game that supports controller input. It’s also convenient for cloud streaming games from a console or PC. Right now both and models are down to $70, which is $30 off. That’s not an all-time low, but discounts on the device are relatively uncommon. We gave the One a last year, and we currently highlight it in our guide to the . Backbone says the with Apple’s new iPhone 15 lineup as well.
The internal drive is on sale for $46 right now. It's been an Engadget favorite for a while thanks to its sequential read speeds of 560MB/s and a standard 2.5-inch design that should make it easy to swap in for your desktop's or laptop's used-up drive.
Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our coverage. Shop the on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for . Learn about on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on for your car, garage, and home, and find to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Console Bang News!
Apple AirPods Pro
The second-generation have dropped to $189 for Prime Day. Apple made a ton of small but noticeable improvements to these models, so now they have better sound quality, noise cancelation and Transparency Mode. There remains no competition if you have an iPhone and live within the Apple ecosystem — these are the to get if you fall into that category.
Apple Watch SE
The is on sale for $199 right now. It's the to get if you're new to the wearable world, or you just want a basic, relatively affordable watch that has all of the basic features you'd need. On top of comprehensive health and fitness tracking, iPhone notifications and dozens of fun watch faces, you'll get features like crash and fall detection, noise monitoring and Emergency SOS.
Apple 10.2-inch iPad
Apple's most affordable tablet, the , is on sale for $249 right now. It may have an old-school design, but it's certainly the for people on a budget and it has most crucial features you'd expect in an Apple tablet. It earned a score of 86 from us for its solid performance, sharp screen, TouchID-capable Home button and good battery life. The only major downside to this model right now is that it still sports Apple's old Lightning port rather than USB-C.
Apple iPad Air
The is on sale for $500, which is $99 off the MSRP. Apple may refresh the Air at some point soon, but for now, the existing iPad Air is the best blend of price and performance in Apple’s tablet lineup. This model only has 64GB of storage, however, and its display is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. We gave the iPad Air a last year. And it's our for most people
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
The new is down to $270 for October Prime Day, which is the lowest price we've seen since it came out a few months ago. You can't get a better than this one if you have an Android phone (bonus points if you have a Samsung phone), and it's smaller and lighter than previous versions. Samsung brought back the spinning bezel on the Classic version, which is which makes the software's UI easier to navigate, plus it has improved performance and updated health and fitness tracking tools.
Apple iPad mini
The has dropped to $400 for October Prime Day. It's the on the market right now and really your only option if you want a true one-hand-friendly iPad. It's powered by Apple's A15 Bionic chip and sports a Touch ID-toting power button, solid cameras, a good battery life and a USB-C port for charging.
Sony WF-1000XM5
wireless earbuds are on sale for $278 for Prime Day, which is their best price yet. These are the on the market right now, and Sony improved upon it's already remarkable buds with a more comfortable fit, better sound quality and features likes adaptive sound and Speak-to-Chat.
Anker Soundcore Space A40
The is on sale for $54, which matches its all-time low and comes in $25 less than usual. The Space A40 is the top pick in our guide to the , as it includes a host of features that belie its price: adaptive ANC, multi-device pairing, wireless charging, a transparency mode and up to 10 hours of battery life. Its audio quality and ANC aren’t quite as powerful as more expensive pairs, but both are more than effective enough for the money. Unlike many budget wireless headphones, its default sound doesn’t completely blow out the bass. Just note that its call quality is mediocre, and it lacks wear detection, so it won’t auto-pause when you remove an earbud.
Bose QuietComfort 45
The headphones have dropped to $230 for October Prime Day, which is about $80 cheaper than their usual selling price. These cans earned a spot in our thanks to their comfortable, if a little dated, design, excellent ANC and balanced audio.
Google Pixel Buds Pro
The have dropped to $120 for Prime Day. The company got a lot of things right after years of making pretty standard earbuds; the Pixel Buds Pro are Google's yet. These will be great for Android users who want buds with punchy bass, good ANC, reliable touch controls and wireless charging.
Amazon Echo Dot
Amazon has knocked the price of the latest down to $23 right now. It’s one of the you can get thanks to its orb-like design, surprisingly good sound quality for its size and handy Alexa integration. The Dots can also act as Eero WiFi boosters, adding up to 1,000 square feet of coverage to your existing Eero system.
Amazon Echo Show 5
The latest is on sale for a record low of $40. The Show 5 has been one of the available for quite some time, and it’ll be particularly good for anyone who wants an Alexa-capable smart display that won’t take up a lot of space. It also makes for a good alarm clock thanks to its sunrise alarm and tap-to-snooze features.
Amazon Kindle
The standard has dropped to $75 for October Prime Day. This model saw a lot of improvements when it was updated in 2022. Capacity was doubled to 16GB and the screen resolution jumped up to 300 ppi for much clearer text. We named it the best budget option in our because its perfect entry point to reading and borrowing ebooks and audiobooks.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
The , meanwhile, is down to $95 for an 8GB model. That's $5 more than it went for during July's Prime Day event but still $45 off its MSRP. The Paperwhite gets you a few extra perks over the standard Kindle, including a larger 6.8-inch screen, a more comprehensive front light and IPX8-rated waterproofing. This deal applies to the ad-supported version (which displays ads for Kindle books and services on your lock screen); it you want no ads on your device, you’ll need to pay $20 more.
$100 PlayStation Store Gift Card + $10 Amazon credit
Here's a simple one: If you buy a and use the code PSN100 at checkout, you can get an extra $10 Amazon credit to use on future purchases. If you often use Amazon and plan on picking up new PS5 games, renewing a PlayStation Plus subscription or buying any other content through the PlayStation Store anyway, it's effectively a bit of free money.
Blink Mini (2-pack)
A two-pack of has dropped to $40 for Prime Day. That's about $10 more than they went for last Prime Day, but still a decent 38 percent discount. While these cameras are wired, they have most of the same features as the standard wireless Blink cameras including 1080p video recordings and support for two-way talk and motion alerts.
Google Indoor Nest Security Cam
A slew of devices are on sale, including the battery-powered that can go inside or outside your home. Typically priced at $180, the security cam is down to $120 for Amazon's October Prime Day event. The Nest Cam works with smart speakers and displays enabled with Alexa or the Google Assistant and can last up to seven months depending on how much activity it picks up. Its weather-resistant build and magnetic mount should make it easy to install on most surfaces. It sends live alerts to your phone and will even allow for on-demand check-ins without a subscription, though it only stores the last three hours for free. For six months of stored footage, you'll need a membership.
Amazon Fire HD 8
Amazon’s is down to $60 for the Prime Big Deal Days event, which is $5 more than the tablet’s all-time low but still $40 off its list price. This discount applies to the model with 32GB of storage; if you need more space, the is on sale for $75. Either way, the Fire HD 8 is likely the cheapest competent tablet for most people: It’s slower than the and its display is limited to a 1,280 x 800 resolution, but it’s lightweight, it can last more than 10 hours on a charge and it’s still quick enough for basic streaming and reading. It’s not the best value at its standard going rate, but for $60, it’s hard to do better.
Amazon Fire 11 Max
The is Amazon’s largest and most performant tablet, with an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 resolution display, an aluminum frame, a respectable octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM. It has the same software limitations and lock-screen ads as any other Fire slate, so it’s a tough sell at its usual $230, but now it’s on sale for $150, which matches its all-time low. If you already use a bunch of Amazon services and don’t want to shell out for an entry-level iPad, it's a big upgrade over the Fire HD 8 — just don’t expect to get any real work done with it.
Google Pixel Tablet
The 128GB is down to $409, which is $90 off and a new low. The is also on sale for $509. While we think Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 purely as a tablet, Google’s 11-inch slate still gets you a sharp LCD display, a speedy chip and an easy-to-hold design that weighs just over a pound. Its big hook, however, is that it can attach to an included charging speaker dock and double as a Nest Hub Max-style smart display. Android still isn’t as optimized for large screens as iPadOS, but if that extra functionality sounds useful to you, the Pixel Tablet is worth a look. We gave it a in June. (The Galaxy Tab S9, meanwhile, isn’t on sale as of this writing.)
Google Pixel 7a
The is down to a new low of $399 for this sale event. It's the you can get right now thanks to its speedy Tensor G2 chip, smooth 90Hz display and support for wireless charging. The 7a also has solid cameras and an IP67 water-resistant design.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The entire is on sale for Prime Day, including the S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra. These are some of the you can buy right now, and we recommend springing for the S23 Ultra if you want all of the latest features from Samsung. The Ultra runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and has a big, bold 120Hz display, built-in S Pen and an excellent main camera.
Bose Quiet Comfort
The have dropped to $199 for October Prime Day, which is the best price we've ever seen, though you'll need to be a Prime member to get the deal. They're currently the you can get if you want as much noise cancelation as possible. On top of that, these buds have a smaller, more comfortable fit and good audio quality.
Sony SRS-XB13 Extra Bass
The four-inch tall is back to $35 for October Prime, which matches its sale price for July’s Prime sale. You'll need a Prime membership to get the deal, however. This is an older model of the tiny portable. Sony replaced it with the earlier this year, which is currently seeing a 20 percent discount. They're both rated for water and dust resistance and you can pair two for stereo sound.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
Our favorite , the , has dropped to $38 for this sale. It packs a ton of features into an affordable package, including 4K HDR streaming capabilities, Dolby Vision, AirPlay 2 and private listening when you have a pair of headphones. And since it's so small, it makes a great travel entertainment device, too.
LG B2
The is down to $847 for a 55-inch model. That’s a new low and roughly $150 off its average street price in recent months. The B2 is the step-down model from the C2 — which is also for a 55-inch set — as it’s not as bright or color-rich with HDR content, it runs on a slower processor and it has two fewer HDMI 2.1 ports. That said, its contrast, colors and motion performance will still be a significant upgrade if you’re upgrading from a more basic LED TV. LG’s new promises a cleaner webOS interface, but it’s priced a good way higher as of this writing. If you want an OLED TV for less than $1,000, the B2 should be a better value.
Hisense U6K
If you want a more affordable TV, the is also on sale, with the and models down to $400 and $548, respectively. We’ve seen these deals before, but each matches an all-time low. The U6K is has received around the web, as it's one of the few budget-level sets with quantum dots, full-array local dimming and a mini-LED backlight. All of that should help it deliver better contrast and color volume than most TVs in its price range. It’s not ideal for gaming though, as it’s limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks HDMI 2.1 ports. In general, it can’t match the brightness or viewing angles of a more expensive set, but it looks to be a good buy if you’re on a tighter budget.
For a well-reviewed mid-range model, the provides much better contrast and peak brightness, and it comes with more gaming-friendly features like the ability to play 4K content at up to a 144Hz refresh rate. That one is down to $748 for a and $998 for a .
iRobot Roomba 694
has dropped to $199 for Prime Day. It's our favorite thanks to its strong suction power, attractive design and easy to use app. It'll be a good option for robo-vac novices, or anyone that doesn't want to fuss too much with an automatic dirt sucker. It clears hard and carpeted floors well, and it automatically returns to its base once a cleaning job is finished so it can recharge.
Razer Basilisk V3
The is down to $44, which is a few bucks more than its all-time low but still $6 less than its usual street price. This is the “best for most” pick in our guide to , as its sturdy shape should be comfortable for each and all but the smallest hands. (Provided you’re a righty.) It has 11 customizable buttons, including a “sensitivity clutch” for more precise aiming, and its thumb wheel supports both left-right tilt and a faster free-spin mode. That wheel is somewhat noisy, and the whole thing is too heavy for competitive-minded players, but it still tracks accurately and glides smoothly.
Samsung Pro Plus microSD
The is on sale for $20 right now. It's our top pick in our because it was the most consistent of the ones we tested, with some of the best overall speeds and all of the important ratings that a good card should have: U3, V30 and A2. It'll be a great pick for your tablet, smartphone or Nintendo Switch, and it comes with a full-sized adapter in case you need to use it with a camera or connect it to your computer.
Backbone One
The is a well-built gamepad that snaps around the sides of your phone and works immediately with just about any game that supports controller input. It’s also convenient for cloud streaming games from a console or PC. Right now both and models are down to $70, which is $30 off. That’s not an all-time low, but discounts on the device are relatively uncommon. We gave the One a last year, and we currently highlight it in our guide to the . Backbone says the with Apple’s new iPhone 15 lineup as well.
Crucial MX500
The internal drive is on sale for $46 right now. It's been an Engadget favorite for a while thanks to its sequential read speeds of 560MB/s and a standard 2.5-inch design that should make it easy to swap in for your desktop's or laptop's used-up drive.
Here are all the deals we've rounded up so far:
Your October Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our coverage. Shop the on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for . Learn about on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on for your car, garage, and home, and find to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at
Console Bang News!