Next week, Amazon's holding a rare October sales event, the Prime Early Access sale. The two-day discount spectacle is being held three months after the company's Prime Day event ended and weeks before Black Friday and the start of the traditional holiday shopping season.
The July event wasn't exciting for anyone looking for deep discounts on Apple products. So should fans of all things Apple get excited about the October 11-12 Prime Early Access sale shopping event? Perhaps, if only because of the calendar and recent moves made by Apple.
Here's what Amazon needs to do for Apple fans this Prime Day
Amazon's summer event occurred at an odd time on the Apple product launch calendar. One month earlier, Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it revealed a next-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Usually, new Apple product launches lead to significant discounts on earlier models. However, due to early supply issues, Apple delayed the launch of the 2022 MacBook Air and also decided to continue to sell the earlier model. The result was few discounts on either product, new, old, or otherwise, at the largest online retailer in the world.
Instead, Amazon's previous Prime Day event featured small discounts on the more expensive 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and better ones on products from the Apple AirPods family, including the AirPods Max, AirPods (third-generation), and first-generation AirPods Pro.
Since that event, some significant changes have been made on the Apple front. First, new iPhones arrived. Second, it's likely Apple will soon announce all-new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models should — perhaps even before next week's event. Finally, a second-generation AirPods Pro is also available, which could lead to steep discounts on the earlier model, which Apple no longer sells. Apple's also expected to announce new iPad models in the coming weeks.
What should be discounted next week
All these changes suggest there should be more Apple product discounts at next week's Prime Early Access sale. Among the products most likely to get deep discounts during Prime Day are:
- iPhone 13 Pro/iPhone 13 Pro Max: Apple replaces its iPhone Pro lineup yearly, which means the previous model is eventually sent to the discount racks. With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max now available, Amazon could spend next week trying to eliminate its inventory of previous iPhone Pro models. This could include the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro series.
- Ninth-generation iPad: It's not the sexist Apple tablet anymore, but the singularly named iPad remains a winner because of its low price, which sits below the iPad Air and iPad Pro. The current iPad is 13 months old, which is the perfect time for retailers to slash costs. Watch for more of the same during Prime Day.
- AirPods Pro (first-generation): From a design perspective, nothing distinguishes the first AirPods Pro from the newest version. This non-distinct distinction, coupled with substantial discounts, could make the older pair a top seller during Prime Day and the rest of the holiday buying season, assuming there are still a lot of units available to sell.
- AirPods (second-generation) and AirPods (third-generation): It's a given Amazon will heavily discount these best-sellers next week. Come back to iMore often to see just how big those discounts become.
- Case, cases, and more cases: Perhaps you aren't in the market for a new iPhone, but you are one to like iPhone accessory discounts. With Prime Day, you've come to the right place. Watch for substantial discounts on cases for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 models. However, you might have to wait until Black Friday to find discounts on the best iPhone 14 cases.
