Amazon's annual Prime Day shopping event is hurtling toward us at breakneck speed. While the day (or two days, this year) of deals doesn't officially kick off until July 15, there are already some savings to be made in the run up to the event including discounts on Amazon's own Echo smart speaker lineup (opens in new tab). We're already seeing Black Friday-level price drops on Amazon's home-grown tech with prices being cut by as much as 50%. What's even better is that these deals are not currently exclusive to Amazon Prime (opens in new tab) members so anyone can take advantage of them. On the big day itself, any deals will be locked down to members only so this may be your best chance to save if you're not already signed up.
(opens in new tab)Take the Amazon Echo Dot (opens in new tab), for example. The super-popular 3rd-gen device is currently half price in all three available colors at just $24.99. While we have seen it spend periods of time at $30 in recent months, we haven't witnessed a price drop this steep since Black Friday and it did not spend long at that price then.
If you prefer the full-size Amazon Echo (opens in new tab), you can pick one up with $30 off. The 2nd-generation Echo has fallen to $65 for limited periods of time recently, but you're getting it for just $5 more right now. However, if you want to equip more than one room with an Echo (or give one away as a gift), you can make a killer saving when you buy two together. Checking out with two in your cart saves you an extra $20, dropping the cost of each device to just $60.
Echo speakers feature the voice-enabled Alexa assistant allowing you to play music, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, and more. You can also use them to control compatible smart home devices (opens in new tab) just by asking. There are thousands of skills (opens in new tab) Alexa can learn, with more being added every week.
If you want room-filling sound, Amazon's Echo Sub Bundle with two Amazon Echo devices (opens in new tab) is currently at an all-time low with $100 off. With this kit you get a wireless 2.1 stereo system without breaking the bank and all of Alexa's smarts are available to you, too. The Sub delivers down-firing, 100W deep bass sound through its 6-inch woofer and the two Echo devices provide rich left/right stereo sound. The colorful new Echo Dots Kids Edition (opens in new tab) also has a multi-buy saving right now and comes with a free year of FreeTime Unlimited (opens in new tab).
