Amazon Prime Day is in full swing, which means there's never been a better time to grab a deal on all of your favorite Apple products, including devices like the iPhone 12, MacBooks, iPads, and AirPods.
Prime Day is the exclusive sale every Amazon Prime member should look forward to each year. There are thousands of products on sale during the event from every category plus a whole bunch of promotions giving you extra Amazon credit, extended free trials of Amazon services, and much more just for being a Prime member. Shop for Prime Day Apple deals and save on your favorite products. The savings during the event are enough to make it worth paying for a Prime membership each year.
When is Prime Day 2021?
Amazon Prime day began on June 21, and will run for two days through June 22.
Best Prime Day deals
With Prime Day now live, here's a rundown of all the best Apple deals available for products like iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, iPads and MacBooks.
The AirPods Pro have a regular price of $249, but today Amazon is offering a discount of close to $60 off what you'd pay if you tried to buy a pair in an Apple store. These noise-cancelling wireless earbuds come with a charging case to help you keep them powered up anywhere.
AirPods Max have been pretty hard to find since their release, though supply seems to be catching up with demand now and the discounts have started. Order at Amazon right now and you can save $50.
You can snag the first discount on Apple's all-new Apple TV 4K at Walmart where it's $10 off. Amazon also has it for just a dollar more. It's pretty rare to see a deal on such a new Apple product, so these savings are well worth taking advantage of.
Apple Watch Series 6 may be Apple's latest model but you can save on one at Amazon. The entry-level 40mm model is down to $320 there. Close to $80 off is some solid savings for such a recent Apple device. Other models are discounted by $70 at Amazon and B&H.
The best price on Apple's base-spec iPad is found at Amazon where you can get it for $299 — a $30 discount. You'll get the gorgeous 10.2-inch Retina display, the A12 Bionic chip, 8MP rear camera, 1.2MP front camera, a 10-hour battery life, and more.
The 64GB iPad Air (2020) is $60 off at Amazon in every available colorway right now with higher-capacity models discounted by as much as $100. These deals won't hang around for long.
With the iPad mini 5, you get a beautiful 7.9-inch Retina display, A12 Bionic chip, 64GB storage, and 9-hour battery. The base Wi-Fi model is down to $369 at Amazon which is a $30 discount.
Though it hasn't been available long, you can already save close to $150 on Apple's M1-powered MacBook Pro at Amazon. Get your order in quick to avoid an extended wait time, though.
The new iMac models are listed at Amazon and the retailer is even offering a tidy $50 off the entry-level model at this early stage in its life. Get your order in now to save on yours.
The latest model features Apple's M1 Chip which is designed exclusively for use on Mac and integrates the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, I/O, and more into a single system for a boosted Mac mini unlike any that have come before it. With the price for the entry-level 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD model at $99 off, this is one of the best ways to score yourself a more affordable Mac.
The Fitbit Sense is currently close to $50 off at Amazon right now. This smartwatch can last for over 6 days with each charge and includes features like built-in GPS, heart rate tracking, and an on-wrist skin temperature sensor.
The new Solo Pro feature active noise cancellation and up to 40 hours of battery life. They also have Apple's H1 chip for easy pairing, reliable connectivity, and hands-free access to Siri. They are half price right now.
Beats' wireless Solo3 headphones have Apple's W1 chip and Class 1 Bluetooth connectivity. They last for up to 40 hours on a single charge and fast-charge turns 5 minutes into 3 hours of playback. They also fold up for travel.
In the market for a new TV? The LG CX-series OLED models are the pick of the bunch for Apple fans and you can save on them at Amazon. These not only support the Apple TV app but they also have built-in AirPlay 2 and even HomeKit support. Save as much as $350 across different sizes.
Save $100 on the popular Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Bluetooth Headphones instantly at Amazon today. These noise-cancelling headphones are at the top of their class and available in your choice of black or silver. They're Alexa-enabled and have built-in microphones for hands-free calls.
One of the best pairs of Bose noise-cancelling headphones are now discounted by $70 at Amazon in your choice of Arctic White, Silver Luxe, or Triple Black. These wireless over-ear headphones feature a built-in microphone for hands-free calls and Alexa voice control.
Amazon's latest Echo Dot smart speaker is seeing a Prime Day promotion already with 50% off its regular price. At Just $25, you can afford to place many more of these mini smart speakers around your home.
Various Amazon Fire TV Edition Smart TVs are seeing Prime-exclusive discounts at Amazon as a pre-Prime Day deal. These start at just $100 with the 24-inch Insigina model or go up to the 50-inch 4K Toshiba model at $120 off.
You can snag a 3-month trial of Amazon Music HD for free right now, saving you $30. It offers premium quality music with 70 million songs in HD and millions of songs in Ultra HD. New subscribers only.
Amazon is letting new subscribers of Kindle Unlimited try the service out completely free for two months! You'll gain access to over 1 million titles to read whenever you want, wherever you want. You don't need a Kindle to start reading, either.
Try out Audible Premium Plus and save 53% on your first four months with this Prime-exclusive offer. Usually $15 monthly, you'll pay just $6.95 per month and get one credit for a new release or best-seller per month, which you can keep even if you cancel, plus access to a collection of free Audible Originals, audiobooks, podcasts, and more.
Try three months of Amazon's Kids+ service for just $0.99. That's 97% off its regular $30 price. Kids+ is an all-in-one subscription that gives young ones access to thousands of kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows, apps, and games on iOS and across various Amazon devices.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is, in essence, a huge site-wide sale held at Amazon each year. Usually held in the summer months, it represents a rare opportunity to score some stellar savings on products before the usual fall shopping season rolls around.
It started off as a one-day event, hence the name, but it has morphed into something bigger over time. In 2018, it went to a 36-hour sale for the first time and expanded even further to 48 hours in 2019. Thankfully for those of us that cover the deals, it remained at 48 hours for 2020.
Amazon states that Prime Day is a bigger event than Black Friday and Cyber Monday which may well be true for the e-commerce giant, though that's only counting Amazon's data and not all of the other retailers that take part in Black Friday madness.
Prime Day, as you might have expected, is exclusively for Amazon Prime members with deals, price drops, and promotions only available to subscribers. If you wanted, you could use Amazon's 30-day Prime free trial to get in on the sale, though the free 2-day shipping, Prime Video, Amazon Music, photo storage, and other year-round benefits may keep you subscribing beyond the sale period.
How does Amazon Prime Day work?
Prime Day works similarly to other limited-time online sales, though you have to be logged in with an Amazon Prime account to see a lot of the deals and discounted prices.
Amazon also has a tendency to release its deals in batches throughout the event with a whole bunch to start off the sale and others announced and added periodically to keep people coming back for more. Some deals are limited in supply and others are limited in time so it's first come, first served.
Will Prime Day 2021 be delayed?
While the outlook on the global health situation is still uncertain in various parts of the world, Prime Day will not be delayed again this year! Amazon has confirmed the event will take place on June 21 and June 22 (which is actually earlier than its usual July placement), though it's possible a follow-up sale will still take place in October after the success of last year's sale. That means potentially double the Prime Day hype.
Prime Day was initially launched as a way to juice sales in the summer months when, historically, people didn't shop online as much while they waited for fall and pre-holiday deals. We expect Amazon is wanting to get that summer boost back as soon as possible and shipping processes have also improved since last summer so some of those issues are unlikely to impact the event again. On the other hand, given how well the October 2020 event was received, Amazon may want to cash in pre-Black Friday once again.
Best Prime Day deals & sales in 2021
Though Prime Day is now confirmed for June 21 and June 22, Amazon has already announced some early sales like deals on JBL headphones, Fire TV sets, robotic vacuums from Shark and Bissel, four free months of Amazon Music Unlimited, 50% off Audible, and more.
We can also say with certainty that Prime Day 2021 will bring with it stellar deals on more of Amazon's first-party devices like Echo smart speakers, Ring video doorbells, Fire TV streaming devices, Kindle e-readers, and more.
Based on years past, we also anticipate amazing offers on popular products like Instant Pot, DNA testing kits, iPads, tech accessories, and more.
Be sure to sign up for Amazon Prime ahead of the event so you can be among the first to snap up the deals as they go live.
What were the most popular Prime Day deals in 2020?
Despite taking place just a month before Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day 2020 was still a huge event with Prime members saving more than $1.4 billion during the two-day sale.
Outside of its own devices, Amazon indicated that iRobot Roomba robot vacuums, MyQ's Smart Garage Door Opener, and LifeStraw's Personal Water Filter, were among the most popular items with its buyers.
Based on our data, we can also say that the below were some of the biggest sellers:
- Apple AirPods Pro on sale for $199
- SanDisk and WD Storage on sale at up to 35% off
- Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Headphones on sale for $199
- Echo Show 5 with Blink Mini Smart Security Camera for $50
- 23andMe Health + AncestryService DNA Test down to $99
- Fire TV Stick 4K as low as $25
- Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise-Cancelling Headphones with $25 gift card for $298
- Echo Dot (3rd Gen) with 6 months of Amazon Music Unlimited for $19
- Spend $40 or more on Amazon gift cards and receive $10 in credits to use on a future purchase
What deals do we expect during Prime Day 2021
The offers above are just a small selection of the many excellent deals that Prime Day brought to Amazon customers.
There's also a huge Echo sale, tons of Fire TV deals, discounted Fire tablets, and more of Amazon's first-party products seeing their prices slashed during Prime Day 2021. These are the sort of deals Amazon has the most control over and the products they can use as an exclusive draw to the event.
This year, expect to see deals again on these popular products as well as some additional Nintendo Switch offers, iPad savings, and maybe even some sweet AirPods Max deals.
Will Apple products be discounted on Prime Day?
Apple itself doesn't participate in Prime Day directly, though its highly-coveted products are often some of the most sought-after during the sale.
Now Amazon happily sells Apple devices, we've seen deals on Apple Watch and AirPods models during the sale in the past as well as some killer iPad and Mac price drops making the event one of the best times of year to upgrade your Apple gear.
We will, of course, keep you posted on all of the best Apple deals.
- Best Apple Watch deals
- Best Apple TV deals
- Best AirPods deals
- Best iPad deals
- Best MacBook deals
- Best iMac deals
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Will other retailers try to participate in Amazon Prime Day?
Unlike Black Friday which is pretty much universally participated in by retailers, Prime Day's whole premise is to be an Amazon-exclusive sale for Prime members.
That doesn't mean other retailers don't try to get in on the fun, though. We've already seen Walmart and Target announce sales and Best Buy's 'Bigger Deal' sale has already kicked off and aims to capitalize on speedy shoppers before Prime Day even starts.
We expect these retailers, and others, will be price-matching through their various sales during the confirmed hours of Prime Day.
Do I need to be a Prime member to get Prime Day deals?
In short, yes. Amazon Prime Day deals are available exclusively to Prime members so you need to have an active membership to take advantage of all of the great deals.
That being said, being on the free 30-day trial counts as an active membership so you could sign up for that just before the deals kick off and get your fix of savings for free.
When should I sign up for an Amazon Prime trial ahead of Prime Day?
Amazon's Prime trial period runs for 30 days, though you can only take advantage of the trial period once. Sicne we now know the official start date for Prime Day 2021 is June 21 and runs through June 22, the best thing to do is sign up for the trial now so it overlaps the two days' worth of Prime Day sales. You'll also be able to save on the early Prime Day deals that have already begun.
Since you've got 30 days to play with, you can always keep yourself occupied with Prime Video, Amazon Music, and various other services that are included in that membership. You may even decide to keep on subscribing to Prime once your trial is over.
Should you shop Prime Day deals or wait for Black Friday 2021?
In 2020, Prime Day was held only six weeks before Black Friday so a lot of shoppers were wondering if it would be better to hold out for the pre-holiday sales to begin.
What ended up happening was Prime Day 2020 kicked off, a bunch of other retailers brought forward their Black Friday sales to the start of November (some even launching in early October), and we essentially had a shopping season that blurred into one and lasted two months.
This year, with Prime Day moving back to summer, it's worth shopping the sale for the Prime-exclusive savings. Prime Day offers Black Friday-level pricing on a lot of products, especially Amazon's own gear, and we've seen deals show up during Prime Day in the past and then never come back around during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Prime Day gives you a shot to shop early while getting the best prices so it's kind of a no-brainer to make the most of it if you have a Prime membership.
What are the different types of Prime Day deals?
Amazon has a few different types of deals that it runs throughout the year, and Prime Day offers a varied mix of all of them. The main ones are Deals of the Day (formerly known as Gold Box Deals) along with direct price drops for Prime members. You'll also see some time- and supply-limited Lightning Deals as well as a fair share of coupons.
Here's a little more on how each type of Prime Day deal works:
- Deals of the Day: As the name suggests, these are Amazon's daily deals. These change every day throughout the year, but there are many more of them to choose from during Prime Day. Deals of the Day usually have plentiful supplies and last all day (or all event in the case of Prime Day), though we have seen them sell out and be cut short early in the past.
- Direct Price Drops: For the majority of products that are discounted during Prime Day, you'll simply visit the page and see a reduced price. For most things, you'll need to be logged into your Prime account to make the most of the deal or even see the lower price.
- Lightning Deals: Named as they appear and disappear in a flash, Lightning Deals are only around for a period of a few hours and are limited in supply as well as time. The best of these deals will sell out in minutes if not seconds so if you see one upcoming that you want in on, make sure you're ready.
- Coupon Deals: Coupons require a little more work in order to get the best price, though it's hardly rocket science. For some, there will be a checkbox on the product page that you simply click before you add the product to your cart for an automatic discount. Other coupon deals require you to enter an alphanumeric code provided by the seller during checkout for money off. If there's a coupon available, it's worth the few seconds of extra work to save.
No matter what product you are looking for or what category you are browsing, the deals could fall into any of those types so keep your eyes peeled on the details.
Will there be Prime Day exclusive products that launch?
For the last few years, Amazon has partnered with third-party brands and used Prime Day as a launchpad for new products — everything from tech and gaming, to home, kitchen, food, fitness, and more.
These tend not to be the highlight of the day, merely a neat added extra, though it is a trend that will continue this year as confirmed by Amazon's official Prime Day announcement. Around Black Friday, many brands release new products to try and grab some dollars from shoppers ready to spend, so it makes sense for it to be a feature of Prime Day too.
Which countries participate in Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon has confirmed that 2021's Prime Day event is open to Prime members in the U.S., the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, China, Brazil, Belgium, Austria, and Australia.
A history of Amazon Prime Day
Prime Day first occurred back in 2015 as an event to mark the website's 20th anniversary. Since then, it has become an annual summer sale event that has gotten a little bigger each year. In its first year, it was a one-day sale that offered a mix of discounts, though some of the most high-demand products didn't feature.
In more recent years, Amazon has used the sale to offer a ton of deals on its own hardware — usually the best prices of the year — while also serving up hundreds of thousands of deals across all manner of categories, brands, and products.
For the last couple of Prime Day events, we've also seen the timeframe stretch out. In 2018, it went from a one-day sale to a 36-hour event for the first time. Amazon and its shoppers clearly enjoyed the extra time as in 2019 it expanded even further to 48 hours, though that event was marred by a couple of hours of downtime at the beginning of the event due to excessive demand.
2020's event stayed at 48 hours, though it took place at the unusual time of October due to the ongoing pandemic which caused a lot of problems with supply chains, fulfillment centers, delivery, and even customer demand. Despite the delay and the proximity to Black Friday in November, the event was still the biggest ever according to Amazon with Prime members saving more than $1.4 billion during the two-day sale.
The seventh iteration of the sale is set to remain at 48 hours in 2021 and it has now been confirmed that it is reclaiming its usual summer spot with a slightly earlier June timeframe.
Is everything that's discounted on Prime Day worth buying?
Without knowing the deals in advance, it's hard to say but, like all sales, it's worth having your wits about you to ensure you are actually getting a good deal on whatever you are buying.
Generally speaking, Amazon devices on sale will be at record-setting or record-equalling low prices and you'll see some stellar deals on TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, Apple devices, and more.
In our coverage of the event, we only cover the deals that are 100% worth your time and we regularly reference the percentage of discount, regular street prices vs MSRPs, historical all-time low pricing, any previous event prices, and more so that you know whether the deal is for you.
