Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days start tomorrow, but some deals are already live. Most of the offers are for Amazon devices or services, although this also includes partner manufacturers. (e.g. Fire TV from TCL). There are also some non-Amazon offers.
You need to sign up for Prime to get most of these deals. Current prices are $15 per month (after a 30-day trial) and $140 for a full year. Students and people receiving qualified government assistance pay $7.50 and $7.00 per month, respectively.
But the first batch is not related to Prime, these are instead pre-orders of the Pixel 8 series.
Pixel 8 series
First, Google’s latest flagship phones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. These will receive 7 years of software support and spare parts, making them the longest-running mainstream phones to date (even beating Apple, second only to the Fairphone, but these are not really available in the US). Here the Pixel 8 comes bundled with a free pair of Pixel Buds Pro, the Pixel 8 Pro gets the new Pixel Watch 2 instead.
You can also purchase accessories such as a protective case or a wireless charging stand.
Headphones
Amazon’s new Echo Buds (2023) are affordable TWS earbuds with multi-point connectivity and 20-hour battery life (5 hours for the earbuds themselves). However, there is no active noise cancellation on this one.
If you want ANC, the older 2021 Echo Buds offer it. These still offer multi-point connectivity and 20-hour battery life (5 hours + 15 hours). Keep in mind that there are two versions: the cheaper one only has wired charging, the other adds Qi support.
The Bose Headphones 700 were released in 2019, so they’ve been around for a while. But at $400 they were more premium than the QuietComfort 35 II ($350) and even today they are quite comfortable and with effective active noise cancellation. A pair of black headphones can be yours for $300, if you prefer silver ones these unfortunately cost $40 more.
Tablets
The Amazon Fire Max 11 is the most powerful of the company’s tablets. It has an 11-inch 2,000 x 1,200 px (15:9) display, a 60 Hz IPS LCD, and a stereo speaker, so it’s geared towards streaming services. The MediaTek chipset isn’t a speed demon, but it’s still the most powerful one in a Fire tablet. The Fire Max 11 is great for both work and play, with stylus support and an optional keyboard case. The tablet alone costs $150, but you can also purchase the Productivity bundle (stylus + keyboard, also without ads) for $265.
If you’re looking for something cheap, the Fire HD 10 is almost as big with its 10.1-inch 1,290 x 1,200 px (16:10) display and costs just $75 since it’s half off. The chipset isn’t up to scratch (it has four A73 and four A53 cores, while the Max has 2x A78 and 6x A55), and RAM and storage are limited.
Unless you’re explicitly looking for something small, you should probably skip the Amazon Fire HD 8: It’s more compact than the HD 10, but at just $15 total, the sharpest large tablet display, and the most powerful chipset They are definitely worth the upgrade.
Then there’s the Amazon Fire 7, better known as “I Can’t Believe They Built a $40 Tablet.” Seriously, it’s as cheap as it gets, but still powerful enough for Zoom calls and TikTok scrolling.
Keep in mind that there are “Kids” versions of the last three tablets. These are slightly more expensive, but part of it is the removal of the advertising, another part is the durable, colorful case they come in. They also feature a 1-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which gives free access to kid-friendly books. , games, apps and videos (subscription normally costs $5 per month).
Electronic readers
While Fire tablets with Kids+ have a selection of children’s books, older children – and even adults – will appreciate a real e-reader more. The Amazon Kindle Scribe is the company’s elite e-reader with a 10.2-inch display (large enough for PDFs and other documents) and stylus support for note-taking. The basic version comes with 16GB of storage and a Basic pen, then there are 32GB and 64GB models with the Premium pen.
Smart displays
This is a prelude to the smart home section that follows. The simplest option is the Echo Show 5. This has a 5.5-inch display, and Amazon has doubled the base for the 2023 version. It’s a smart speaker (with support for Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Audible etc.), but the display allows it to do more, such as show the view from the doorbell camera or make video calls with other devices or Echo Show phones using the Alexa app.
The Amazon Echo Show 8 is pretty much the same, except bigger: an 8-inch display with 1,280 x 800 px (versus 5.5 inches with 960 x 480 px), also with two 2.0-inch speakers (versus a single 1.7-inch speaker). Keep in mind that the Show 8 on offer is the older 2021 model, not the 2023 version.
Things get more serious with the Echo Show 10. This has a motorized base so it can rotate to follow you around the room during video calls. The base also houses two 1.0″ tweeters and a 3.0″ woofer. Like the smaller shows, this one supports video streaming services (Amazon, Netflix, etc.), but the 10.1-inch 1,280 x 800px resolution display is better suited for watching stuff.
The Amazon Echo Show 15 is a smart frame: while it can be placed on a stand, it’s primarily intended for wall mounting. The large 15.6-inch 1080p display and included remote turn it into a small TV (we’ll get to larger TVs soon).
Security cameras
We mentioned that the Echo Show can stream video from smart security cameras, here are some options. Ring Video Doorbell offers 1080p video and built-in motion detection, as well as supporting two-way voice communication. There is a built-in battery, so you don’t need to connect new cables to the port.
Ring Floodlight Cam combines a 1080p security camera, motion-activated LED floodlights, and a 105 dB siren. This requires a power cable.
You can also get indoor cameras, which output 1080p video and also have night vision. Two-way conversation is also supported.
Smart home
Echo Shows can also act as a hub for your smart home automation. Amazon has basics like a Smart Plug that can be controlled via Alexa.
The Amazon Smart Air Quality Monitor tracks particulate matter (PM2.5), volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide (in addition to basic data like humidity and temperature).
There’s also the Amazon Smart Thermostat, which gives you voice control over your home’s temperature, plus some smart features: For example, you can tell Alexa you’re going out and she’ll turn down the air conditioning.
Smart TVs
Amazon has partnered with numerous manufacturers to make smart TVs powered by Fire TV. These range from the tiny 24-inch TV (720p) for $70, through a more substantial 50-inch 4K TV for $220, and even huge 75-inch TVs like this Toshiba model.
There are also Amazon branded TVs, the ones below are all 4K and all support HDR10 and Dolby Vision support.
Amazon also has a series with QLED panels, appropriately called the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED. Quantum Dot displays support the most advanced HDR10+ Adaptive and Dolby Vision IQ.
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