The Amazon Prime Day 2019 absolute best tech deals: Late evening update

Prime Day 2019 is just about at its halfway mark, with this manic Monday finally ready to wrap up. We saw surprises like the Echo Show 5 for $50 (a previously unannounced sale and a pretty hefty price drop,) and amazing deals like the order-with-Alexa-for-$5 Amazon Smart Plug disappear too soon. Of course, every rollercoaster ride has its dips, and Prime Day was no different: Protesters took to the streets to raise awareness concerning some of Amazon’s employment practices.

But tomorrow is another (Prime) day, and we’ll continue to pore over all the deals in search of the very best ones. As happened today, everything is subject to availability, and the best deals may sell out quickly. (See the aforementioned Smart Plug.)

Need help navigating the madness? Use this tool to make sure you don’t miss a Prime Day sale you’re looking for. Need help avoiding the madness? Don’t get caught up in the FOMO, because the vast majority of these deals will be repeated at some point later this year. Buy only the stuff you really need, and only if the price is really that good. (Here’s how to make sure that Prime Day deal is really a deal.) Meanwhile: On to business. Here are some of the best deals we’ve found. We’ll be adding more throughout today and tomorrow, so check back often!

Note that The Techy Trends may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page.   

The don’t-miss Amazon device deals of 2019

Pro tip: If you’re shopping for any Amazon-branded devices today, click through TopCashback first. The cash-back service is offering an 8% rebate on those devices. So your cost on something like the just-discounted $50 Echo Show 5 (below)? Just $46 after rebate. 

  • Echo Show 5 for $50: This product — an Echo with a 5-inch screen — is brand-new, and already marked down from $90.
  • AmazonBasics Microwave with free Echo Dot for $60: That Echo-compatible Amazon Microwave costs $60 on a normal day. Today, it still costs $60 — but Amazon is throwing in an Echo Dot for free.
  • The Fire TV Stick for $15: Simply the cheapest-ever way to add Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video and tons of other streaming channels to your TV. And despite this being the “entry-level” stick, it comes with an Alexa-powered voice remote.
  • The new Kindle Paperwhite for $85: Read without distraction! This new Paperwhite is even better than its predecessor, and this is the lowest price since it debuted earlier this year.
  • The Amazon Echo Dot (third-gen) for $22: After weeks at $25, the Dot surprised us all by dropping a little more. This is the lowest price ever on a current-gen model.

The Cheapskate’s favorite Prime Day deals

Because I spend 365 days per year eyeballing deals, I thought I’d share the ones I consider especially special:

  • The Eero Home WiFi System for $199: That’s $200 off and by far the lowest price on this top-rated mesh system, which includes the base station and two nodes. I use this in my home; I can’t recommend it highly enough.
  • The iPhone 7 for Verizon Visible: $99 (save $189). Buy the iPhone for $199 (regularly $288), pay for at least two months of Visible’s unlimited service (at $40 per month), then get a rebate in the form of a $100 Mastercard prepaid debit card. That same option applies to the Motorola Moto G7 Power, which will be just $49 after rebate.
  • The Tribit Maxboom 360-degree Bluetooth speaker: $51.99 (save $18). Clip the $4-off coupon and then apply promo code UVL2GRUA for a best-ever price on this near-perfect waterproof speaker, which plays for up to 20 hours. Note that the company is in the process of changing the product name, so your package might say “Stormbox.”

The best Prime Day deals

As we expected, some of the most appealing deals come from Amazon, which has cut prices (in some cases deeply) on a variety of gear: Echo devices, Eero routers, Ring video doorbells and so on. But you’ll also find some top picks from other sellers and even other stores. Looking for deals in specific categories? Skip down past these individual items.   

DeLonghi

Really, really good espresso is just a pod and push-button away. I own one of these Nespresso makers, and while the pods can get pricey, it’s still way cheaper than Starbucks. The coffeemaker itself is currently priced at $145, so $100 with the 30 pods is an excellent buy.

Ninja

The Foodi may not ever achieve the kitchen popularity of the Instant Pot, but its star is on the rise. It offers many of the same functions of the popular pressure-cooker, along with one important extra: air fryer. This 6.5-quart model lists for $250, though it routinely sells for less. Not $150, though. (Update: We were originally informed that the Foodi would be on sale for $140, but we’re still enthusiastic about it at $150.)

Tyler Lizenby/The Techy Trends

Surprise! Although it wasn’t on Amazon’s list of Prime Day deals, the new Echo Show 5 smart display just got a mighty price drop.

Óscar Gutiérrez/The Techy Trends

Costco’s got you beat, Amazon: Members of that price-club can get the coveted earbuds (with just-as-coveted wireless charging case) for the lowest price to date. That said, Amazon Prime members can get the AirPods for just $10 more.

Chamberlain

Originally $100, this gizmo adds app-powered smarts to most existing garage-door openers. It’s never been priced this low.

I will champion these products until the day I die, because it’s awesome to actually see the photos you’ve tucked away in your phone or shared on social media. The Nixplay Seed 10.1-inch digital photo frame is on sale for $105, while the Seed 13.3 is down to $148.  

Chris Monroe/The Techy Trends

Like the idea of a Nest or Ecobee thermostat, but want one with a little style? Look no further than the GLAS, which features a translucent OLED touchscreen! At this price it’s much more competitive.

Chris Monroe/The Techy Trends

Available from Walmart, the Lenovo Smart Clock is a great alarm clock that’s pretty appealing at this $60 sale price. In addition to voice controls through Google Assistant, you can customize your alarm to control your smart home and wake you up gradually with a sunrise animation. 

This deal isn’t happening at Amazon, it comes from Verizon prepaid carrier Visible. The iPhone 7 — still a very powerful phone — normally sells for $288, but it’s currently on sale for $199. After you pay for two months of unlimited service (at $40 per month), you’ll receive a rebate in the form of a $100 prepaid debit card.

You can leverage the same rebate to snag the Motorola Moto 7 Power for just $49.

Runtopia

Designed with runners in mind, the Runtopia S1 features built-in GPS, a heart-rate monitor and a water-resistant case. It can receive basic notifications from your phone, and if you bring your phone along on your runs, the Runtopia app can provide audio coaching based on your heart rate. Click the on-page 25% off coupon to snag the extra savings.

Tyler Lizenby/The Techy Trends

The second-gen Echo Show refined the design of the first model and offers better sound quality and a 10-inch HD screen. It combines the functionality of a smart speaker like the Echo Dot with a touchscreen you can use for video calls and controlling your smart home with a tap. We like the $90 Echo Show 5 a little better, but $160 for the full-size Show is a tempting offer. 

Optoma makes some of the best projectors in the biz, and this is a huge savings on what might be an ideal addition to your home theater — or backyard, as the UHL55 is portable, with a carrying handle and built-in speaker. It can even function as a standalone Bluetooth speaker.

Another deal exclusively for Prime subscribers, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro and Echo Dot bundle drops to just $169 when you add them to your shopping cart. Previously the Ring was on sale for $169 all by itself — the Dot just adds icing to the cake.

Compared with music-streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited is already a deal at $7.99 per month. This promotion — which requires a Prime subscription and is for new Music Unlimited subscribers only — nets you four full months for just a buck. After that, you’ll be on the hook for the regular rate, unless you cancel.

More to come, so check back soon!

The best Prime Day deals in each category

Interested in phones? Wearables? Laptops and the like? Here’s easy access to the best Prime Day deals in those and other categories:

Should I sign up for Amazon Prime?

As noted, the big sale is exclusively for Amazon Prime subscribers, and an annual subscription costs $119 (or $13 per month if you don’t want to pay all at once).

Worth it? If you’re getting it just for Prime Day, then probably not. I’m here to tell you that Amazon products go on sale all the time. (Example: The Amazon Echo was already discounted to $50 a few weeks ago — and that had nothing to do with Prime Day.)

But Prime affords a whole bunch of other benefits, including free overnight shipping on many products (and two-day on most others) and lots of movies and TV shows from Prime Video.

If you don’t want to pay for Prime but do want access to the Prime Day deals, here’s one strategy: Sign up for Amazon’s free 30-day Prime trial. The only catch: That’s for new subscribers only, so if you’ve done the trial or been a member before, you can’t get another trial.

How do these prices compare with 2018?

For Prime Day 2019, Amazon beat its Prime Day 2018 — and Black Friday 2018 — prices on a handful of products, though only matched them on others. A few items didn’t go on sale at all. Here’s a rundown of some current prices and their Prime Day 2018 counterparts:

Amazon gear prices: Prime Day 2019 vs. Prime Day 2018

*Black Friday price

Where and how to shop on Prime Day

You don’t need to sit at your computer to shop Prime Day. For example, if you own any kind of Alexa-compatible device (like a Fire tablet or Echo smart speaker), you can ask Alexa for Prime Day deals — some of which might be exclusively available via voice purchase. The Amazon mobile apps, meanwhile, will let you grab deals while you’re on the go.

You can also use this event to get charitable: The Amazon Smile program is a free and easy way to donate a portion of your purchase to just about any charity. Just start your shopping experience at smile.amazon.com instead of www.amazon.com. (While you’re at it, read about other ways to give to charity without even trying.)

A few final destinations to consider:

Check out Amazon’s Deals Page, which is updated daily. 

Read my own Cheapskate feed, where I identify great deals every weekday.

Check out The Techy Trends Deals, where we share a variety of deals from our retail partners and the web at large. 

Expired deals

These discounts are no longer available, though some may return on Monday.

Can’t get enough MCU? In the lead-up to Prime Day, Amazon is offering rentals of Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man 3, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and more for just $1.99 apiece. 

Everyone’s favorite kitchen accessory has been on sale at Macy’s all week, but Amazon just jumped in with a matching price (one that beats Black Friday, FYI). To get it, you need to click (or tap) the on-page $10-off coupon before adding it to your cart. Wondering how this model fares against all the others? Read The Techy Trends’s story on the best Instant Pot to buy.

This story was originally published earlier and is regularly updated.


The Techy Trends’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Note that The Techy Trends may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Find more great buys on the The Techy Trends Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter!


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