Amazon Prime Day 2020: All the best tech deals we can find

Amazon Prime Day 2020: All the best tech deals we can find
Ars Technica

It’s later than usual, but Amazon Prime Day has arrived. The Dealmaster is here to guide you away from the junk and toward 2020’s best Prime Day deals—particularly when it comes to discounts on gadgets and gear.

Much like last year, Prime Day 2020 is actually a 48-hour affair, live through October 13 and 14. The sales event remains a way for Amazon to bolster its hugely popular Prime membership program first and foremost, so you’ll still need to subscribe to Prime to take advantage of the myriad Prime Day sales. Those on a free trial can take part, but trials are only available to people who haven’t been a Prime member within the last 12 months.

For those who haven’t bothered with Prime Day in the past, know that most of the “deals” Amazon advertises aren’t, well, deals. Sometimes, a product’s advertised price isn’t much cheaper than its typical street price; other times, the product itself just isn’t worth buying in the first place. This hasn’t changed with Prime Day 2020.

But we can help you shop smarter. We spent days combing through more than 8,000 Prime Day offers ahead of this year’s event, digging through the dreck to pick out the tech deals we think are actually worth your consideration. We looked through price-history charts, researched trusted reviews and feedback from around the Web, and, in many cases, used our own hands-on experience to ensure each deal is genuine.

The result is the curated roundup below, which includes discounts on laptops, TVs, smartphones, headphones, and more tech. We’ll also update this post regularly over the next two days, so be sure to check back if there’s another gadget you’re seeking to buy.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Table of Contents

Top 10 best Amazon Prime Day 2020 deals (for now)

Apple's AirPods (left) and AirPods Pro.
Enlarge / Apple’s AirPods (left) and AirPods Pro.

Apple AirPods for $114.99 (normally $135): This is the lowest price we’ve tracked for Apple’s mega-popular true wireless earbuds. While the AirPods still won’t win any awards for sound quality, they remain superbly easy to use with other Apple devices. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, Apple’s AirPods Pro—which add active noise cancellation and a more dynamic sound—are on sale for $199, which matches the best price we’ve seen. For a sportier design with similar Apple-friendly convenience, the Beats Powerbeats Pro are down to a new low of $175.

Sony WH-1000XM4 + $25 Amazon gift card for $298 (normally $375): This is the first significant deal we’ve seen for our top pick among wireless noise-cancelling headphones, which launched in August. The XM4 provide a tremendous blend of comfort, fun, and customizable sound and top-notch active noise-cancellation. To sweeten the $50 discount, Amazon has thrown in a $25 gift card as well. If you’d rather pay less, Bose’s excellent QuietComfort 35 II aren’t quite as featured but are on sale for $199.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite for $79.99 (normally $130): The Kindle Paperwhite is our top pick among e-book readers for offering a sharp display, a waterproof design, and access to Amazon’s typically extensive Kindle library. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on its 8GB model.

Amazon Fire HD 10 (32GB) for $79.99 (normally $140): If you’d prefer a full-on tablet on the cheap, the Fire HD 10 is a good buy at $80. It’s not nearly as premium as an iPad, and Amazon’s heavily-skinned take on Android isn’t ideal, but it still offers a solid 10.1-inch 1080p display, USB-C charging, and good-enough performance for casual media consumption. This discount marks a new low; just note that it comes with Amazon’s typical lock-screen ads by default. If you’d prefer a smaller slate, the 8-inch Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus are on sale as well.

Roku Streaming Stick+ for $37 (normally $49): While it has been around for a few years, the Roku Streaming Stick+ still packs reliable performance, 4K HDR support, and a dead-simple interface in a compact design. It supports most of the major streaming apps and will soon work with Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol, though it lacks an official HBO Max app. This isn’t an all-time low, but it’s the cheapest price we’ve seen since Black Friday last year. For a cheaper option, the Roku Premiere—which can do 4K HDR but only supports older 802.11n Wi-Fi—is also on sale for $27.

Samsung EVO Select (256GB) microSDXC card for $27.99 (normally $35): If you need more storage space for your Nintendo Switch, Android phone, GoPro, or any other device with a microSD slot, this is the best price we’ve seen on the 256GB variant of Samsung’s EVO Select cards. It’s not the absolute fastest performer for all use cases these days, but as a Class 10 and U3-rated card, it’s a good value for something fast enough for most people’s needs.

Garmin Forerunner 645 Music for $219.99 (normally $300): Garmin’s Forerunner 645 Music is an excellent GPS running watch, with an attractively slim design, a straightforward UI, onboard music support, solid battery life, and accurate activity, sleep, and heart-rate tracking. Our review’s biggest concern was its high initial MSRP, but this deal marks the lowest price we’ve seen.

Razer Viper Ultimate for $99.99 (normally $130): The Razer Viper Ultimate is the best wireless gaming mouse we’ve used. It requires a USB-A adapter to work, but it’s tremendously responsive and lightweight, making it comfortable for work and ideal for fast-paced games. It can also function with a cable if needed. This $100 deal still isn’t cheap, but it matches the best price we’ve seen to date. If you don’t mind using a cable, the wired Razer Viper is on sale as well for a new low of $48.

SK Hynix Gold P31 (500B) internal SSD for $59.99 (normally $75): While we haven’t reviewed it here on Ars, the SK Hynix Gold P31 is an NVMe drive that received near-universal acclaim for offering impressive performance and class-leading power efficiency at an affordable price. It may work more naturally with laptops than desktops, and it doesn’t use the more future-proof PCIe 4.0 standard, but if you have a PC in need of a new SSD, the Gold P31 looks like a great entry-level option.

Amazon Kindle Unlimited 6-month membership for $29.97 (normally $60): Kindle Unlimited is Amazon’s all-you-can-eat e-book subscription service, one that makes a massive library of titles available for one fee. This deal cuts the price of a six-month membership in half for Prime users. Note that the service works through Amazon’s Kindle app, too, not just Kindle e-book readers.

Best Prime Day Amazon device deals

Amazon's waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is our top pick among e-book readers.
Enlarge / Amazon’s waterproof Kindle Paperwhite is our top pick among e-book readers.
Valentina Palladino

Best Prime Day laptop deals

The 2020 Retina MacBook Air.
Enlarge / The 2020 Retina MacBook Air.
  • Apple MacBook Air (2020) laptop – Intel Core i3-1000NG4, 13.3-inch 2560×1600, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD for $849.99 (Prime not required, discount seen at checkout – normally $950).
  • Razer Blade 15 (2020) laptop – Intel Core i7-10750H, 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, GTX 1660 Ti GPU for $1,299 (normally $1,600).
  • Acer Chromebook Flip C434 2-in-1 laptop – Intel Core m3-8100Y, 14-inch 1080p 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC for $399.99 (normally $500).
  • Acer Spin 5 2-in-1 laptop – Intel Core i7-1065G7, 13.5-inch 2256×1504, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD for $899.99 (normally $1,100).
  • Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED laptop – Intel Core i7-9750H, 15.6-inch 3840×2160 OLED, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, GTX 1660 Ti GPU for $1,149.99 (normally $1,680).

Best Prime Day desktop PC deals

The Asus Chromebook Flip C434.
Enlarge / The Asus Chromebook Flip C434.
Valentina Palladino

Best Prime Day monitor deals

Acer's Predator XB271HU G-Sync monitor.
Enlarge / Acer’s Predator XB271HU G-Sync monitor.

Best Prime Day video game deals

<em>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</em> is still a must-play for any new Nintendo Switch owner.
Enlarge / The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is still a must-play for any new Nintendo Switch owner.

Best Prime Day gaming deals

The Razer Viper Ultimate, our top pick among wireless gaming mice.
Enlarge / The Razer Viper Ultimate, our top pick among wireless gaming mice.

Best Prime Day TV and home entertainment deals

The Roku Streaming Stick+ is a fast and easy-to-use media streamer with 4K and HDR support.
Enlarge / The Roku Streaming Stick+ is a fast and easy-to-use media streamer with 4K and HDR support.
Samuel Axon

Best Prime Day smartphone deals

The Samsung Galaxy S20.
Enlarge / The Samsung Galaxy S20.
Ron Amadeo

Best Prime Day headphones and audio deals

The Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
Enlarge / The Bose QuietComfort 35 II wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
  • Apple AirPods true wireless earbuds for $114.99 (normally $135).
  • Apple AirPods Pro true wireless noise-cancelling earphones for $199 (normally $230).
  • Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones + $25 Amazon gift card for $298 (normally $375).
  • Beats Powerbeats Pro true wireless sports earphones for $174.95 (normally $230).
  • Beats Solo Pro Bluetooth noise-cancelling on-ear headphones for $179.95 (normally $250).
  • Bose QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones for $199 (normally $300)
  • Bose SoundLink Revolve portable Bluetooth speaker for $119 (normally $199).
  • Razer Opus Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones for $179.99 (normally $200).
  • JBL Boombox portable Bluetooth speaker for $279.95 (normally $400).
  • Tribit StormBox Micro portable Bluetooth speaker for $34.99 (use code: PMDBTS10 – normally $50).
  • Cowin E7 Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones for $46.98 (normally $60).
  • Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus true wireless earphones for $119.99 (normally $140).

Best Prime Day electronics deals

Satechi's Compact Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard. This finish in particular fits nicely with a Mac-based setup.
Enlarge / Satechi’s Compact Backlit Bluetooth Keyboard. This finish in particular fits nicely with a Mac-based setup.
Corey Gaskin

Best Prime Day smart home deals

The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music.
Enlarge / The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music.
Valentina Palladino

Best Prime Day storage deals

The Samsung T5 portable SSD is technically not Samsung's newest portable SSD, but it's still good value at its current Prime Day deal price.
Enlarge / The Samsung T5 portable SSD is technically not Samsung’s newest portable SSD, but it’s still good value at its current Prime Day deal price.
Valentina Palladino

Best Prime Day accessories and miscellaneous deals

Razer's Base Station Chroma is a headphone stand with RGB lighting and USB 3.0 ports.
Enlarge / Razer’s Base Station Chroma is a headphone stand with RGB lighting and USB 3.0 ports.
Corey Gaskin
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