Amazon Prime Day deals live: even more sale discounts for Apple gear on day two
Prime Day 2 by any other name, these are the best savings to make with Amazon's two day sale event.
AirPods 2: $159 $89 at Amazon
And we're off! Gerald Lynch, Editor in Chief of iMore, sitting in front of his banker's lamp with calculator in hand, digging for the best offers from the Prime Early Access deals sale.
A nice start for audio fans up first. Want to get your hands on (or ears... with?) a pair of AirPods 2? You can make gigantic 43% saving off the usual RRP on Apple's in-ear wireless earphones, with the AirPods 2 down to just $89.99 – a huge chunk off the usual $159 asking price.
Amazon deals: iPhone deals
While the general sale items slowly start to roll in, why not consider taking a look at our bang-up-to-date iPhone deals, with some top offers on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro:
Apple Watch Series 8: $399 $349 at Amazon
Next up, an unlikely entry into the list from the all-new Apple Watch Series 8! It's only been available to purchase for a few weeks, so we weren't expecting to see anything at all for Apple's latest smartwatch line up. But here we are!
You're looking at the GPS-only version of the Apple Watch in Midnight aluminum (with Midnight sports band), at the 41mm size. But that's on sale with a $50 saving, bringing the price down from $399 to a much more palatable $349.
Don't expect to see this brand-new smartwatch reduced by much more than that for the rest of the year.
Apple 30W USB-C charger: $49 $35.99 at Amazon
OK, no pretending a charger is the most exciting of Apple products — but if you've got no juice, you've got no gadget, right?
So if you're on the hunt for a replacement (or spare) USB-C charger for your devices, you can save a not-insignificant $13 bucks off the Apple 30W USB-C charger over at Amazon right now, where it's been reduced down from $49 to $35.99. Should work nicely with a last-gen M1 MacBook Air or iPad Pro.
Not a bad first start for Apple products, considering the sale event doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow. But what about a little further afield?
Ninendo Switch OLED White: $339 $297 at Amazon
We love some Nintendo action here at iMore, and while the Nintendo Switch 2 and / or Pro is nowhere to be seen, that latest Nintendo Switch OLED is still a rather tasty handheld thanks to its cracking 7-inch screen and improved battery life.
If you've been waiting for the right time to pick one up, there's a good offer on as part of the Amazon Prime Day Early Access sale.
You can pick up the Nintendo Switch OLED for $297.66 — a 12% / $42.24 saving over its usual $339.90 RRP price. That includes the latest LAN-supporting dock, in a sleek white finish.
It's a pity there's not a game thrown in too, but for the latest build of Nintendo's console, that's a pretty darn good price.
eReader excellence: Great Kindle deals
Kindle Paperwhite: $139 $99 at Amazon
It wouldn't be an Amazon sale without some Kindle eReader sales, and there's already a good offer on the Kindle Paperwhite to be had ahead of the full kick-off for the event.
You can pick up the Kindle Paperwhite for just $99.99 at Amazon, saving you $40 off its usual $139.99 asking price. While it won't offer the same rich media experience that a color-touchscreen iPad will, Kindle's are admittedly the superior reading experience thanks to their e-Ink screens which are much easier on the eye. Complete with a backlight and waterproofing, it's a great way to wile away a few hours with your favorite novels. If this one isn't to your liking, check out the full Kindle sale range — there are many offers to choose from.
Echo Dot: $49 $25 at Amazon
Not a fan of Apple's HomePod Mini? Amazon's Alexa is arguably the better voice assistant, compared to Siri at least, making this an attractive offer on an Echo Dot.
It's the 4th generation unit, which usually sells for $49.99, but has a giant 50% off for the Prime Early Access sale, meaning you can pick up an Echo Dot today for just $24.99.
It makes for an excellent smart home controller, letting you ask the voice assistant to playback tunes from services like Spotify, switch on and off lights around your home, adjust thermostats, set timers and much more. At $24.99 it's worth a punt, and is only lacking the 5th generation model's front-facing LED clock. It's a bargain.
TicWatch Pro 3 GPS: $299 $165 at Amazon
A few hours break for some dinner and gig tickets to see this guy... and I'm back! And this time with an Apple Watch alternative. We've already seen an unlikely Apple Watch Series 8 deal just weeks after its release... but what about a different flavor of smartwatch?
Ahead of the proper kick-off of the Amazon Prime Early Access sale, you can pick up the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS for just $164.99 – knocking $135 off the asking price. That's down from $299.99, so nearly a 50% saving on this wearable.
Making use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor and powered by Wear OS, it has an "Essential" power mode that'll give you 45 days worth of power on a single charge – sure, it'll knock some of the smart features online, but if you're planning to go off-grid with a smartwatch, that's an amazing feat without a battery top-up.
For this deal, just make sure you hit that "Apply Coupon" button on the listing, as that's what triggers the discount.
Soundbar sale
...and we're off! The Prime Early Access sale has now officially kicked into gear, and we're starting to see the big savings land for gadgets across Amazon's inventory. First up for the day is a treat for those Apple TV fans, as JBL is hugely discounting some very sweet sounding soundbars for the sale, putting some Dolby Atmos boom into your TV Plus viewing sessions — or any other streaming service for that matter.
WD 6TB Elements Desktop Drive + 4TB My Passport Portable Drive: $449.99 $219.98 at Amazon
One of the most expensive upgrades you can make at the point of purchase with a new MacBook is storage space — Apple charges a premium for its built-in SSD upgrades, and it's a near impossible job to increase it later on. So getting some extra external space for your MacBook is a must — and this Prime Early Access sale offer on a Western Digital drive double whammy is a steal.
Combining two top-quality Western Digital drives in the form of the Elements Desktop and Passport Portable, this bundle offers 6TB and 4TB respectively for a 10TB total of USB 3.0 storage satisfaction. That's a saving of almost $230 against the usual combined price for both devices, and comes with the peace of mind that the Western Digital brand brings with it, given it's going to be storing your precious files, photos and documents.
Even if Amazon wrapped up the sale at this early point in the day, it'd already be a much, much better offering for Apple fans than what was on sale back in the summer. Our own Bryan Wolfe lamented just how bad this summer's original Amazon Prime Sale was for Apple fans in this great post. Thankfully, we're seeing much more joy from this pre-Black Friday deals showcase.
MacBook Air M1 | $999 now $799 at Amazon
Just take this MacBook Air M1 deal currently running at Amazon's sale — it's a bargain! Yes, this year's M2 MacBook Air is superior for a number of reasons (let our M2 MacBook Air review refresh you on why), but it's literally hundreds of dollars more, for marginal performance gains. If you want a MacBook on a budget, this is a great place to start.
The perfect MacBook for everyone, the MacBook Air M1 packs in some great features for an excellent price. The Retina display is still incredible, and the M1 chip continues to show just how strong Apple silicon is. The keyboard is nice and clicky, and the thin aluminum shell makes it eminently skippable into most bags and backpacks. This new price in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale it is now cheaper than its been all year, matching last years Black Friday price. This could be the last time that the laptop is included in a sale like this, and we can't see it getting any cheaper than it is now.
Apple Watch Series 8: $399 $349 at Amazon
For those that missed it yesterday, the the all-new Apple Watch Series 8 deal is still going strong! Despite only going on sale a couple of weeks ago, there's already a $50 saving to be had, bringing the price down from $399 to a much more palatable $349.
Going live yesterday, we wouldn't have been surprised to see this deal sell out already, so it's worth diving on now if you're tempted, it's unlikely to last for very long.
AirPods Pro 2: $249 $234 at Amazon
Here's another shock price drop — we only reviewed them a couple of weeks back, but the fresh-off-the-production line, brand new AirPods Pro 2 are now reduced to a new low of $234, knocking $15 off the asking price. It's a small saving, but the biggest we've seen yet on the brand new product, so definitely the way to go if you're thinking about purchasing them.
This may not be one of the biggest discounts in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale, but it is one of the most surprising. This $15 discount brings the AirPods Pro 2 down to their lowest price ever, which considering how little time they've been out for is no mean feat. The AirPods Pro 2 brought some nice improvements to the table over their predecessors - improved noise canceling and better battery life to name but a few. We loved them in our review - and we think you will too. Save $15 in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale.
Apple TV 4K: $179 $109 at Amazon
With no major upgrades on the horizon, there has never been a better time to snag the Apple TV 4K 2021 than right now in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale. You can get a whopping 39% off both the 32GB and 64GB models. That means prices of just $109 and $129 respectively.
That's a staggering $70 off and makes the Apple TV a no brainer as the hub of your home entertainment system. In our Apple TV 4K review we absolutely loved the device thanks to its sleek new remote and great capability, but its hefty price tag made it a difficult upgrade to justify for many users. At this Prime Day Early Access Price however, it is simply too good to miss.
Save big on Beats with these massive discounts on Apple's Beats Studio 3 and Beats Fit Pro headphones. Studio 3 might be a bit on the older side, but they still retail for $350, right now however you can score them for just $170.
Elsewhere, the Beats Fit Pro, a fantastic alternative to Apple's AirPods Pro are just $149 at Amazon instead of $199.
The brilliant Beats Studio Buds are also down to just $99 instead of $150.
Beats X Kim Kardashian Beats Fit Pro: $199 $179 at Amazon
We've got a lot of love for this Kim Kardashian Beats Fit Pro collaboration, giving a nude-look for skin tones not regularly supported in wearable gadgetry. With a significant $20 saving (and these buds regularly selling out), this is a great chance to pick up some excellent-sounding earbuds.
Kim Kardashian isn't particularly well known for making anything that sounds like, well, anything, so these really came out of nowhere. They do sound good, however, because they're modern Beats, and the new skin tone colors are great for people who want their Beats to blend in when they wear them at the gym. They are well known for selling out, so get them quick to avoid disappointment.
HomeKit smart home deals
Got a space-age Jetsons house packed to the rafters with web-connected gadgetry? Want to automate it even further? There's a bunch of excellent Siri-powered smart home HomeKit stuff to pick up from the Amazon sale today. Check out our top picks below, from cameras to light strips:
iPad 10.2-inch: $329 $269 at Amazon
There's a pretty solid deal on the 10.2-inch iPad at the moment, with a nice $60 off full price. That's the lowest price we've ever seen the tablet and one we're not sure you'll see again for a while yet.
The base model iPad is certainly no slouch - an A15 Bionic chip will keep the tablet speedy for some time to come, along with a colorful and pin-sharp Retina display to ensure your content looks fantastic. The camera on the back is good enough for everyday use, and the front camera is perfect for facetime.
It's got everything you need in a tablet, like full AppStore support, but also some extras like Touch ID and Apple Pencil support. It's not super expensive at the best of times, but at the moment, you'll save a chunk in the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale. There are discounts on the whole range, with savings of up to $60 if you want a cellular version or some more storage.