You would not walk deep into Amazon (the rainforest) without an experienced guide. It’s too big, too wild. There are poisonous things and tribes never contacted by modern society.
You should not walk into Amazon Prime Day (the two-day deals bonanza) without a guide. It’s too big, too wild. It’s full of weird knockoff brands and dodgy drop-ship sellers we sometimes wish existed outside modern society.
You’ll have to figure out Brazil on your own. But the 13 members of the WIRED’s Reviews team are here to help you navigate Amazon Prime Day for the next two days.
We’ll be liveblogging the best Amazon Prime Day deals on products our team has tested and approved, plus spotlighting some fun finds, and linking you to big updates to our dozen or so deals posts on various topics.
WIRED tests products year-round and handpicked these deals based on the actual discounts, not the discounts retailers claim to offer. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.
Spotted: The Best Fitness Tracker for The Best Price
We haven’t seen a deal this good on the Fitbit Charge 6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) since Black Friday of last year. It’s got basically every fitness tracking capability you could want, plus integrated Google Maps, Google Wallet, and music controls for YouTube Music Premium. There are skin temperature and heart rate readings, plus ECG and sleep tracking. The battery lasts for a week at a time. And it costs $100! Our Fitbit Buying Guide has more recommendations, and if you want something a bit more robust, check our list of the Best Smartwatches.
There Are Approximately One Gazillion Gift Card Deals
If you’re planning on spending money at DoorDash, Lyft, Best Buy, the Google Play Store, Instacart, or Uber Eats this year, Amazon Prime Day is offering up discounts worth browsing. And that’s not even the full list of stores! We’re talking $10 off $25, $20 off $40, and more. Make sure to use the corresponding coupon codes at checkout to save. Be aware that these may sell out quickly.
Gift card deals are only worthwhile if you’re planning on spending the money anyway. But this is a super-easy way to save a chunk of change on any planned purchases—especially if you stack the redemption with more deals. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to DoorDash more coffee.
Airpods Max Have Dropped Below $400
I do not want to alarm anybody but the best deal we were expecting to see for Prime Day is real and it’s spectacular.
The very Airpods Max I happily paid $550 for just a few months ago are currently going for $395 on Amazon. Even our own noted Airpod Hater In Chief Parker Hall liked them (8/10 WIRED Recommends) and I love them. They are the best new Apple product since the original iPhone!*
*This is my own sincere opinion but does not reflect the consensus opinion of the WIRED Reviews team or the publication as a whole.
The Biggest Blanket You Ever Did See
Original Stretch Oversized Blanket
I already wrote hundreds of words about why I love this behemoth from Big Blanket Co. It measures 10 x 10, so it’s big enough that you’re practically guaranteed to have the best nap of your life. Imagine it: You’re on the couch watching some terrible TV show. The window is open. Your pet is nearby. Your eyelids are heavy. You snuggle in deeper and wrap the blanket around yourself three times over. There’s no danger of the fabric running out—just layers and layers of cozy. You might just pull a Rip Van Winkle and sleep for 20 years. Or, at the very least, you can cuddle up during movie night with no fear of being called a “blanket hog” (not that I’ve ever been called that name by several different loved ones in the past). The blanket is machine washable and it’s available in tons of different colors. But be warned: If you take a 20-year nap, I am not liable.
A Fantastic Pixel Smartphone for Just $249
If you’re hunting for a bargain, it’s always smart to shop for last year’s tech, and the Pixel 7A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a prime example of why. This is the lowest price we’ve ever tracked on Google’s midrange smartphone of 2023. It was recently succeeded by the excellent Google Pixel 8A, but for $249, the Pixel 7A delivers a great camera system, long software support, and access to Google’s smart software, which is chock full of helpful features. It performs smoothly, and you even get perks like wireless charging and an IP67 water resistance rating. There’s not much else missing, making this one of the best Prime Day smartphone deals.
If Your Morning Coffee Could Be Better We Have You Covered
The OXO Conical Burr Grinder is the very best budget-friendly coffee grinder, and reliable sources are saying this deal price has the WIRED Gear team Slack channel in a frenzy. In fact, this price has occurred just twice in the past year. There are 15 different grind settings. It’s not too loud. The countertop footprint is small. What more could you ask for?
We’re About Ready To ‘Deal’ You In
The WIRED Reviews team is awake (sort of), we are caffeinated (overly), and we’re about to start bloggin’ up some deals. This year’s Amazon Prime Day will be an interesting one, as more companies have decided not to compete directly with Big Smile by hosting their own sales either right before or during the event. My brother-in-law did tell me he went wild at the Walmart Summer Savings event, which I thought looked pretty mid—with a few exceptions, like Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones (9/10, WIRED Recommends) for $298, about what we expect to see them on Amazon today and tomorrow. As the sun starts to rise over an America that sometimes seems united only by its love of shopping sales, stay tuned. We have a lot of fresh bargains and Lightning Deals.