Best Prime Day Deals: Top picks from the October Prime Day sale
Amazon's Prime Early Access sale is almost over, it's the last day, so now's your chance to buy those last minute Prime Day deals you've saved to your wishlist!
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Get in all of your last minute shopping now, because Prime Day deals will be coming to a close late this evening — it’s the last day of Amazon’s Prime Early Access sale. While it isn’t officially being called “Prime Day,” the Early Access sale is basically a second version of the original with a holiday focus, allowing you yet more opportunities to grab whatever your little heart desires, at an excellent price. So, if you’ve been on the fence about upgrading your TV, grabbing a new game console, nabbing some well-priced home goods, or any variation of online shopping — now’s a perfect time! Much like the original event in July, this one will feature a host of amazing and never-before-seen deals with Amazon Prime members getting the biggest and best offers, including early access to holiday sale prices.
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Amazon Music Unlimited — 4 months freeAmazon Smart Plug — $13, was $25Amazon Fire TV Stick — $20, was $40Amazon Echo Show 5 — $35, was $85Bella Pro Series 4-qt. Digital Air Fryer — $50, was $70Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker — $50, was $100Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) — $55, was $110Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus — $140, was $200Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit — $150, was $250iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum — $180, was $300Apple Watch SE — $199, was $279Bose QuietComfort 45 — $229, was $329Apple iPad 10.2 — $269, was $329Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 — $560, was $700Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 — $700, was 900Acer Nitro 5 — $880, was $1,000Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M1) — $2399, was $2699Amazon Music Unlimited — 4 months free
Julian Chokkattu/Digital TrendsOne of the best music streaming services, you really don’t have to think too hard about whether it’s worth signing up to Amazon Music Unlimited. That’s because if you’ve never used the service before, you can sign up for it entirely for free for the first four months. It doesn’t cost a cent and all you need to do to avoid paying after the first four months is to unsubscribe before the renewal date. Four months’ worth of Amazon Music Unlimited works out at a saving of $36, so it’s a great deal.
In exchange for signing up, you get access to a seemingly endless supply of music. Music is always provided ad-free and you have unlimited access to any song. It’s also possible to listen to Amazon Music Unlimited offline with unlimited skips at your disposal. Music is provided at a high-quality streaming rate with high-definition audio effectively being CD quality, aka lossless. Double the bitrate of standard-definition streaming services, it sounds great and preserves the detail of original recordings.
Alongside that, you also get the benefits of spatial audio, which means that music feels truly immersive, capturing your attention and making you feel like you’re actually at a concert. It’s mixed in a way that provides you with great definition and depth, with thousands of songs available in Dolby Atmos and 360 reality audio. Besides listening to music, you can also use Amazon Music Unlimited to access all your favorite podcasts ensuring all your beloved audio picks are available in one place. It’s an ideal service for anyone who loves to listen to music regularly, such as while working, walking, or simply relaxing at home. All you need to do is remember to cancel it before your subscription ends to get Amazon Music Unlimited entirely for free.
Amazon Smart Plug — $13, was $25
Prime Day smart home deals are sure to be popular this year with everyone looking to save on their energy bills. The Amazon Smart Plug is one of the best smart plugs around thanks to being incredibly cheap and easy to set up while supporting routines, schedules, and even offering up energy-saving tips. As you would expect from an Amazon product, the Amazon Smart Plug works with Alexa so you can use your voice to set things up or check out the Alexa dashboard for some smart energy-saving advice.
The Alexa energy dashboard is capable of estimating consumption before suggesting what could help. From there, you can schedule all manners of items from lights to fans and appliances, so you can turn them on and off automatically, or choose to control them remotely while you’re away. Such scheduling is useful for numerous reasons. You can make sure nothing is switched on unnecessarily, planning ahead with how you plan on using appliances. You can also set up lights to switch on even when you’re away so that potential intruders are warded off. The beauty of the Amazon Smart Plug is that it takes no time at all to arrange while making pretty much anything with a plug smarter than before.
The Amazon Smart Plug is easy to set up as all you need to do is plug it in and open the Alexa app. It doesn’t take up room either as it has a compact design which means the second outlet next to it is always free to use however you require. These are the kind of plugs that you’ll find yourself owning multiples of each as it means you can organize your home far more efficiently than through traditional means. A true money-saver when set up correctly, you’ll soon reap the results as your home runs better than before.
Amazon Fire TV Stick — $20, was $40
AmazonOne of the best streaming devices around for anyone who doesn’t need a 4K streaming device, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is a bargain if you have an older TV with no streaming support. Even if your TV does offer streaming app support, it’s unlikely to be as speedy or as easy to use as the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Having a dedicated device for streaming is generally more practical in terms of having continuing support for apps and services. In the case of the Amazon Fire TV Stick, it hardly feels like adding bulk either as you simply plug the stick into the back of your TV and you’re good to go.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick is simple from start to finish in this way. It takes moments to set up with you soon able to use the stick’s Alexa voice remote to control the action. Whether you want to tap in commands or speak your directions, the Amazon Fire TV Stick knows what to do next. It’s 50% more powerful than the previous generation of Fire TV Stick with the ability to stream more than 1 million movies and TV episodes from pretty much every streaming service you can think of. You can also watch live TV with it if you have a subscription to Sling TV or YouTube TV. There are even free services such as popular ad-supported streaming apps like IMDb TV, Tubi, Pluto TV, and more.
However you plan on watching, the Amazon Fire TV Stick makes it easy to search for content. Preset buttons for apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu mean you can quickly access them, while the Amazon Fire TV Stick has Dolby Atmos support so if your home audio system supports it, you can enjoy a far more immersive experience than before. It’s a great way of bringing your current TV up to date with the latest technology.
Amazon Echo Show 5 — $35, was $85
The Amazon Echo Show 5 is far more than a smart alarm clock, giving you a central hub to access all your smart home equipment, keep up with the latest news, as well as ask Alexa 101 questions, and more. It’s the kind of device that’s ideal for placing in your kitchen or on your bedside cabinet, allowing you to start the day with it. If you’re comparing the Amazon Echo Show 5 (1st Gen) with the Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen), the differences may be less obvious, but for anyone new to such a device, it’s a great addition.
As expected with Alexa controls, you can use the Amazon Echo Show 5 to set alarms and timers, check your calendar, catch up on the news, or stream music. Thanks to the addition of a 5.5-inch screen, you can also use it to make video calls with the 2MP camera so you can keep in touch with friends and family. All they need to do is have the Alexa app or another Echo device with a screen. It’s also possible to watch streaming content like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. On a smaller screen, it may seem less attractive, but it’s useful if you’re in the kitchen and multitasking.
The idea behind the Amazon Echo Show 5 is that you can add it to your daily routine. Thanks to smart home connectivity, you can ask Alexa to turn lights on gradually and wake you up with the news or your favorite music, before doing something more productive. You can even use Amazon Photos or Facebook to turn the Amazon Echo Show 5 into a digital photo frame. It’s a great upgraded way of enjoying all the benefits of Alexa with the addition of attractive visuals and a bit more functionality.
Bella Pro Series 4-qt. Digital Air Fryer — $50, was $70
The best air fryers are those you can create all your favorite treats in, from late-night French fries to roast or fried chicken for that family dinner. The Bella Pro Series 4-quart Digital Air Fryer is a must for anybody looking to create healthier fried foods at home. Perfect for crispy French fries, delicious fried chicken, or healthy kale chips, you can even make homemade donuts in this air fryer, practically guilt-free.
Unlike some smaller air fryers, this one’s large 4-quart (3.3-pound) capacity makes it easy to prepare an entire meal, and since heat-up is up to 50% faster than conventional ovens, it’ll save you time and money, too. There’s no waiting around for it to preheat when you get home from work and want a delicious meal or tasty snack, pronto.
Thanks to its powerful 1,500-watt heating system you can prepare a whole roasted salmon and vegetables or whip up a treat for the kids, with adjustable temperatures from 90-400 degrees F for perfect, crispy, evenly cooked results every time. The digital touchscreen control makes it simple to adjust settings at the touch of a button, while the 60-minute auto shutoff timer has an indicator light and audible tone, ensuring you’ll never leave home and wonder, “Did I turn off the air fryer?” again.
Not only is the Bella Pro Series 4-qt. Digital Air Fryer a fantastic way to prepare all your family’s favorite foods and treats, it also looks great in your kitchen. Its sleek matte black finish complements both modern and traditional kitchens, and its compact form means it won’t take up too much counter space either. This is easily one of the best Prime Day air fryer deals around right now.
Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker — $50, was $100
If you’re in the market for a new coffee maker, there are some great Prime Day Keurig deals around, like this K-Mini Coffee Maker. Perhaps you live in a studio apartment and simply don’t have room for a bulky coffee maker? Or maybe you just want something portable you can switch between the home office and kitchen for your morning iced coffee. If so, then this is the coffee maker for you. The K-Mini is Keurig’s smallest coffee maker, measuring less than five inches wide, so it hardly takes up any space at all and boasts handy cord storage to keep counters safe and clutter-free.
With this coffee maker, you can brew one 6 to 12-ounce cup at a time, adding fresh water to the one-cup reservoir for the best-tasting coffee, tea, cocoa, or iced beverage each time. The K-Mini uses Keurig K-Cup Pods, and with over 75 brands and more than 400 varieties to choose from, it’s easy to find your favorite drink, whether that’s a chai latte or an Earl Grey tea.
If you’re reducing your waste and would rather brew your own ground coffee, the K-Mini is compatible with the My K-Cup Universal Reusable Coffee Filter (sold separately). It’s also a planet-friendly (and money-saving) choice thanks to its auto-off feature that turns the coffee maker off 90 seconds after your last brew.
If you’re grabbing your coffee to go, good news! The K-Mini is travel cup friendly, accommodating mugs up to 7 inches tall. The removable drip tray holds a full brew, should your beverage spill or overflow, making cleanup as quick and easy as making your drink.
Not only is this one of the best coffee makers around for your morning iced vanilla latte or espresso, it also looks great on your kitchen counter or in your home office with its sleek, matte black finish and slim modern design.
Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) — $55, was $110
John Velasco / Digital TrendsThe Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) may not be the latest Echo Show 8 out there, but it’s still a great addition to anyone’s home if they want to feel more in control of their smart home and be able to communicate with Alexa more easily. Rather than snapping up a Prime Day Echo Dot deal or Prime Day Echo Show 5 deal, you can grab the Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) and reap all the benefits of a larger screen alongside Alexa support. With its 8-inch HD screen and stereo sound, the idea is that Alexa can help you manage your day. It’s the ideal device to put on your bedside table or in the kitchen.
Through the device, you can ask Alexa to show you all kinds of stuff, from the latest news and weather to providing you with podcasts or radio stations, as well as show you movie trailers or TV shows. It has support for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, and many more streaming apps, so there is no shortage of options here. In addition, you can ask Alexa to control your smart home, such as by adjusting your thermostat or controlling your lights, while you can also view any security cameras you may have set up. Even when cooking, Alexa can assist by providing you with daily recipes and hands-free instructions to help you learn something new.
In moments of downtime, you can use Amazon Photos and Alexa to turn the Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) into a digital photo frame, so you can always take a look at your loved ones or favorite views while you work, rest, or play. Any time you want to speak to someone, you can use the Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) to call friends and family too, with video calling easily accessible to anyone who has the Alexa app or their own Echo device with a screen. The Amazon Echo Show 8 (1st Gen) fits well into your life, proving far more versatile than a standard Echo Dot.
Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus — $140, was $200
The Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus is a great bet for anyone checking out the best floodlight cameras. Whether you’re simply looking to see if an animal is disturbing trash outside or you’re worried about intruders, a floodlight cam is a great way to be more confident about your home’s surroundings outside. It’s a 1080p HD security camera that has motion-activated LED floodlights attached to it. As well as that, you also get the benefits of a 105dB security siren along with two-way talk, and customizable motion zones.
That means you’re in full control. At all times, you can enjoy motion-activated notifications on your phone, tablet, or PC, ensuring you can check in at home no matter where you might be around the world. Besides that, you can also customize motion zones so that you can fine-tune and pick out certain areas of the outside of your home to focus on. That way, there won’t be any false alarms. Built-in color night vision ensures that you can always get a clear picture, while the two LED floodlights can light things up and potentially scare off any threats.
The Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus is easy to hardwire to the outside of your home, and simple to then connect it to your Wi-Fi. You can even pair it up with Alexa so you can speak instructions to it such as asking Alexa to show you a certain location. When someone does come along, you can also speak to them via the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus, which is great when dealing with delivery drivers. It’s a really simple way to be more aware of what’s going on at home, especially if you travel frequently.
Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit — $150, was $250
The best home security systems might feel intimidating to set up and use, but the Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit is all about convenience and straightforward setup. While you’ll need to spend a little time getting it set up and placed in the relevant parts of your home, it’s still simple to do. Ideally suited for homes with one to two bedrooms, it includes one base station, one keypad, four contact sensors, one motion detector, and one range extender. It’s all you could need for an effective DIY alarm system.
Its more-intuitive keypad has emergency buttons that are easy to touch if you have to, while the general use of it is simple to teach the whole household. It also has smaller contact sensors so you can easily have the Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit blend into your home more conveniently. Once set up, you can receive mobile notifications from any location any time the system is triggered. Via the app, you can also change your alarm modes, monitor all your Ring devices, and adjust things as needed.
The Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit also has Alexa support, which proves useful for anyone that doesn’t want to pull out their phone. Simply speak via Alexa, and you can arm and disarm the Ring Alarm. You’ll also get alerts via Alexa Guard if it hears the sound of broken glass or smoke alarms going off. With the additional Ring Protect Pro plan, you can even call trained agents from your Echo at the sound of trouble. Dealing with every eventuality, the Ring Alarm 8-Piece Kit is simple to set up while instantly making you feel safer at home. It’s a great way to be more confident any time you head out for a while and worry about the risk of burglary.
iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum — $180, was $300
Prime Day Roomba deals are always numerous in nature, with the brand ideal for the best robot vacuums for pet hair. The iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum is one of the best Prime Day robot vacuum deals around thanks to its chunky discount while offering plenty of good features. It’s well designed so it can cope with both carpets and hard wood floors. It’s also adept at handling pet hair thanks to its extensive three-stage cleaning system. Able to loosen, lift, and suction up dirt and debris, the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum’s dual multi-surface brushes can grab dirt easily while an edge-sweeping brush takes care of any corner and edges.
The results are fantastic and better than if you did it yourself. Even better, as with all the best robot vacuums, you can schedule the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum to do its job as needed. Available either via the iRobot app or by using your voice assistant such as Alexa, the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum can start cleaning with just the sound of your voice or a tap of a button. It’s able to learn your cleaning habits too, so it vacuums when you need it to do so.
Alongside that, the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum offers up adaptive navigation. It is able to navigate under and around furniture, as well as along edges without missing a key area. It can even detect if it’s about to fall down some stairs, stopping before the worst happens. A dirt detect sensor also helps it figure out the dirtier areas of your home where traffic is at its highest, tackling those even more thoroughly. Smart in seemingly every way, the iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum is a game-changer for your cleaning schedule. It’s sure to keep your home cleaner than ever before.
Apple Watch SE — $199, was $279
Andy Boxall/Digital TrendsThe Apple Watch SE is easily the best Apple Watch for most people. While it lacks the always-on display of the Apple Watch Series 6 and 7, it has mostly everything else you could want from a great Apple Watch. That’s why we’re always pleased to see it feature heavily within the Prime Day Apple Watch deals. It might seem best suited for anyone with an active lifestyle but it honestly works well for anyone simply vaguely interested in their health or saving the need to grab their phone so often. It’s twice as fast as the Apple Watch Series 3 with a 30% larger display that looks fantastic. Easily customizable, you can add different watch bands or faces to get it just how you like it.
Once set up, the Apple Watch SE is built to be tough and it’s also swim-proof. You can use it while hiking, hitting the gym, or simply doing about your daily business. If it detects you working out, it’ll easily measure what you’re doing so you can check back on your progress. At all times, the Apple Watch SE tracks your calorie burned, steps taken, along with insights into whether you’re walking faster than before. It is also able to detect any irregular heart rhythms and give you a heads up of a potential problem. Even when you’re asleep, the Apple Watch SE can track how you’re doing with fall detection providing peace of mind for the infirm.
Elsewhere, the Apple Watch SE works seamlessly with all your other Apple devices. It’s able to help you listen to music via your AirPods, unlock your Mac automatically, as well as find all your other devices. It even has Apple Pay support so you can pay with your watch. In addition, you can receive notifications, texts, and calls to your watch, saving the need to pull out your phone so often. Siri support also means you can ask it a wealth of questions with no bother.
Bose QuietComfort 45 — $229, was $329
This Bose QC45 Prime Day deal is one not to be missed if you’re keen to block out as much surrounding noise as possible. The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones offer mostly everything you could want from an incredibly comfortable fit to providing you with excellent noise cancellation as well as sound quality. Bose is consistently a leader in the noise cancellation world and it shows here. The company uses tiny mics to measure, compare, and react to outside noise, using such knowledge to cancel it out with opposite signals. A choice of a Quiet or Aware mode gives you options too. Quiet mode provides full noise cancellation while Aware mode means that you can bring the outside into your headphones for a time, allowing you to hear the environment around you at the same time as your music.
The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones sound great too thanks to offering active EQ that is able to maintain balanced performance at any volume. That way, bass stays consistent even when turned down while your favorite tracks still sound clear even when you crank up the volume. For those that like to tweak settings, adjustable EQ ensures that you can make changes to the bass, mid-range, and treble levels so you get things just how you like them. Alternatively, a number of presets are also available if you want to get straight to the point.
However you plan on listening to the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones, they’re an ideal fit for an extended period of time. They feel great on your head with synthetic leather on both the inner portion of the headband as well as the ear cushions. It’s simple to wear them for extended periods of time which is useful as the Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones offer up to 24 hours of battery life from one charge so you’ll be able to wear these for a long time with no issue. Also, a quick 15 minute charge gives you back three hours of charge so you won’t have to wait for long to get back in action.
Apple iPad 10.2 — $269, was $329
The Apple iPad 10.2 is one of the best tablets around thanks to being so keenly priced. It’s the cheapest iPad out there but it still offers a lot of useful features. That’s in part due to iPadOS being so well designed that you always get a great experience. It’s perhaps best suited for family use with the Apple iPad 10.2 often being a good purchase to entertain the kids, without spending a fortune on a more powerful iPad.
The Apple iPad 10.2 uses an A13 Bionic chip with Neural Engine for processing power. That’s no longer the fastest iPad processor around but it’s more than good enough to keep things ticking along. It can handle multitasking thanks to the wonders of iPadOS plus you can check out the many Apple Arcade games here too. The latter is further helped by the 10.2-inch Retina display with True Tone support. It provides you with vibrant colors and an attractive experience whether you’re working on a presentation or playing a game on the move. 64GB of storage means you have plenty of room to install games and apps, especially as, unlike smartphones, you’re not apt to be taking many photos.
If you do take photos though, the Apple iPad 10.2 is fairly good at it for a tablet. It has an 8MP Wide back camera along with 12MP Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage support. The former is good enough for a few snaps, but it’s the latter that proves most useful. Center Stage support is perfect for taking video calls as it means you’re always the center of attention when speaking, even if you’re moving around a lot. Strong stereo speakers and mics also mean you can hear as well as be heard well while you’re on a call. The Apple iPad 10.2 rounds off the extensive feature list with up to 10 hours of battery life, along with Touch ID support so you won’t have to enter so many passwords manually. It even works with the Apple Pencil (1st generation) and Smart Keyboard if you want to be more productive. It’s easily one of the best value Prime Day iPad deals around.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 — $560, was $700
Ajay KumarWhile the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 doesn’t quite feature in our look at the best Android tablets, there’s still plenty to love about it. A fairly high-end tablet, it’s well suited to replace your laptop in many ways, if you’d prefer a more portable solution while you work. That’s because it packs a lot of crucial features for anyone focusing on working productively. It has an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset along with Wi-Fi 6E so you won’t have to worry about our connection dropping any time soon. Alongside that, there’s an impressive 128GB of storage space so you’re unlikely to need to upgrade it any time soon.
The chipset means that you can do pretty much anything you want to do on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, whether that’s multitasking extensively or playing the latest games. The latter looks particularly good on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8’s 11-inch display as well with a dynamic LCD screen that ensures you get great colors and crispness. An impressive 8,000mAh battery means it’ll last all day long too with a fast-charging USB-C port getting you back up to speed in no time. Unusually for a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 also has a great set of cameras to hand. It’s possible to use the tablet to record video in 4K while an ultra-wide front camera has auto framing so it looks great when making video calls. There are also three mics with noise cancellation so you can be heard more clearly.
As well as that, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 comes with an S Pen stylus that is more responsive than ever before and feels like a real pen to use. If you want to sketch out a design or write up some notes, it’s a great way of enjoying a more tactile experience than solely using the touchscreen. It’s possible to extend your storage if needed as well, ensuring the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a long-lasting tablet. Well designed for all manners of uses, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a really appealing option for pretty much everyone.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 — $700, was 900
Buying one of the best laptops often means choosing between productivity and portability, but with Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4, you can have both. With its 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen, the Surface Laptop 4 is perfectly portable for use at work, school, or in a coffee shop, but it also doesn’t skimp on screen real estate.
Under the hood, the AMD Ryzen 5 Surface Edition processor packs plenty of power for all your productivity tasks, and it’s up to 70% faster than previous Surface laptops. There’s 8GB of RAM, ensuring games and apps run smoothly and multitasking is a breeze, and 128GB of onboard storage, plus integrated OneDrive cloud storage for all your important files and photos. Battery life is longer than ever before on a Surface Laptop too — up to 19 hours on a single charge. If you run out of battery in the middle of a work project, don’t panic. Fast charging will have you back up and running again quickly, with the battery reaching 80% in around an hour.
The sleek, ultra-thin design of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 comes in a stylish, cool Platinum metal finish and looks the part at home or at the office. The keyboard boasts a spacious layout so you won’t feel cramped while typing emails or reports, and the keys have white backlighting that can be adjusted to three levels of brightness — great if you find yourself working late into the evening.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 also has all the ports you need, including USB-C and USB-A ports, a charger port, and that all-important headphone jack for listening to music or video calls. Speaking of video calls, the front-facing 720p HD camera here won’t let you down, with dual far-field Studio Mics to reduce background noise and provide crisp audio.
This laptop isn’t all business: Thanks to AMD Radeon integrated graphics you can enjoy casual gaming, and Dolby Atmos audio ensures immersive, theater-like sound when streaming videos or watching movies. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is also built for Windows Ink. You can use Windows Ink-enabled apps to draw or write on photos or videos before sharing them, draw a line in maps and get directions, and much more.
If you’re looking for a Windows laptop that’s slim and portable yet packs a powerful productivity punch, this is the one to get.
Acer Nitro 5 — $880, was $1,000
Prime Day gaming laptop deals tend to be very good. with gaming systems always in high demand. That’s why the Acer Nitro 5 looks so appealing, even if it doesn’t quite make the cut for the best gaming laptops right now. At this price though, it offers all you could need from a gaming system, right down to some gamer-friendly aesthetics. As any gamer knows, the most important component is the graphics card. The Acer Nitro 5 has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti ensuring superior performance to a standard 3050 graphics card. Backing that up is an Intel Core i5 processor, as well as 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. Some gaming systems only offer 8GB of memory, so seeing 16GB is great for any avid player. Similarly, 512GB is a decent amount compared to competitors offering 256GB, which can sometimes mean only a few games can be installed at once.
Besides the core specs, the Acer Nitro 5 is well-thought-out elsewhere. It offers a 15.6-inch full HD display that has a fantastic 144Hz refresh rate. The latter means that you won’t have to worry about motion blur when the action gets fast on screen, ensuring better performance every time. The Acer Nitro 5 also has a 4-zone RGB keyboard that looks great with the WASD and arrow keys highlighted for better visibility.
The Acer Nitro 5 also has a great chassis that ensures you can enjoy dual-fan cooling, which means you won’t have to worry about overheating issues or performance being degraded over time. If you want to control the fans, you can even do so yourself using the laptop’s NitroSense utility app. Adding to the useful side features, the Acer Nitro 5 also has DTS:X Ultra sound provided in a 3D spatial soundscape. Rounding things off nicely, the Acer Nitro 5 has HDMI 2.1 ports and the newest USB 3.2 standard.
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M1) — $2399, was $2699
In the market for a new MacBook Pro? Prime Day MacBook deals have already landed, making this a great time to pick up this MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021). Not only does it look as sleek as you’d expect, with its unibody aluminum chassis in Space Gray, but it’s also the most powerful MacBook around because of its Apple M1 Pro chip. There’s 1TB of onboard storage, giving you plenty of space for all your photos, apps, and documents — and if you need more, just pop in an SD card.
This time around, the 2021 Macbook Pro‘s 10-core CPU promises 2x faster performance, with a 16-core GPU. There’s an extensive port selection, so along with the three Thunderbolt 4 ports, you get a MagSafe 3 power adapter port that delivers up to 140W of power, plus an HDMI port and a full-size SD card slot — all nice to have. Speaking of nice-to-haves, the MacBook Pro (2021) has a 1080p FaceTime webcam that’s perfect for video calls and the best audio experience of any laptop to date, thanks to the six-speaker sound system.
With its 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with 3456 x 2234 resolution, everything from the latest blockbuster movies to your family holiday snaps looks amazing. There are 475 nits of brightness, ensuring the screen is visible both indoors and under direct sunlight, and the liquid retina display is powered by mini-LED for deeper blacks and better contrast than LED — perfect for watching HDR content. Oh, and that 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate makes everything super smooth, too, automatically adjusting between 20Hz and 120Hz to suit.
The latest MacBook Pro weighs in at 4.7 pounds and measures 0.66 inches thick, so although it’s not the lightest or most compact MacBook around, you’re trading portability for power here. That also means you get a comfortable, precise keyboard for typing up work reports or emails. There’s no Touch Bar, but in its place is a full-sized row of function keys — a great addition.
