great day is a great time to drop money on Amazon devices. Then you can take advantage of the best deals. Whether you’ve been eyeing a Kindle e-reader, an Echo smart display, or a Fire tablet, Amazon has a wide variety of its own gadgets for sale at the annual two-day event. We’ve gathered all of our WIRED-approved devices below.
The WIRED Gear team tests products all year round. We hand-sorted hundreds of thousands of deals to make these choices. Crossed out products are not in stock or no longer discounted. U.S Amazon Prime Day Coverage Page has the latest stories, and our Shopping Tips for Prime Day will help you avoid bad deals. You can also use a 1-year WIRED subscription for $5 here†
Index
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We’re big fans of Kindles at WIRED for several reasons: they’re easy to use, reliable, and work as intended. They can hold thousands of books, a battery life of a month and more. If you want to discover more options than the ones below, be sure to check out our guide to the best Amazon Kindle†
Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is our favorite to introduce to most people. It has a bright 6.8-inch screen, a bright display (with adjustable warm lighting) and is waterproof, making it a great option if you like to read by the pool, at the beach, or in the bathtub. It’s a great alternative to the more expensive Kindle Oasis below.
If you have extra cash to spend, you can get the Paperwhite Signature Edition (8/10, WIRED recommended) comes with a few more features than the standard Paperwhite. The screen can automatically adjust the brightness based on the lighting in your environment, page turns are faster and there is more storage space: the Signature version has 32 gigabytes while the standard has 8 gigabytes. We recommend this one if you listen to audiobooks a lot.
The Basic Kindle (8/10, WIRED recommended) is the best option for those who want a super simple ebook reader. It is equipped with a 6-inch E Ink touchscreen and a built-in front light for reading at night. You also get 8 gigabytes of storage, which can hold about 5,000 books. This is also the lowest price we tracked.
For a luxurious experience, you’ll want to go with the Kindle Oasis. It has an aluminum body, a large 7-inch screen with automatic brightness adjustment, tactile page-turn buttons and fast performance. It’s worth the high price if you’re looking for a feature-packed Kindle.
We think the Kindle Kids Edition is a solid, affordable ebook reader for kids — it’s also at the lowest price we’ve seen yet. Amazon adds a protective case, a free year of Amazon Kids+ (where parents can add books to their child’s library, set reading goals, add age filters, and more), and also a two-year warranty with your purchase.
If you want something more robust than the Kids Edition, you’re better off with the Paperwhite as it’s waterproof. At 6.8 inches, you also get a larger screen than the 6-inch screen on the standard model.
We’ve tested a wide variety of speakers and smart displays, in addition to the ones below. You can read our Best Guide to Echo & Alexa Speakers for more Alexa-powered devices. If you want to go beyond Amazon’s, check out our Best Smart Speakers Guide and Best Smart Displays Guide†
The Amazon Echo Show 8 is our favorite Alexa-powered smart display. The 8-inch screen is a great size for watching movies, reading recipes, making video calls (it has an automatic pan and zoom function to keep you in the picture), check your calendar and more. Its compact size also makes it a great addition to your kitchen counter or nightstand. We’ve also never seen it drop in price so low.
In our review of the Echo Show 5, we criticized the device for its small screen, being slightly too small to navigate comfortably. But it’s still a good option if you want a smart display that’s compact enough to fit on your desk or bedside table. It also has a physical mute button and a camera shutter for privacy. But if you want a bigger screen, we recommend the Echo Show 8 instead. It often fluctuates in price, but this is the lowest we’ve seen.
We have crowned the Echo Dot (8/10, WIRED recommended) as the best Alexa speaker in our buying guide† The spherical speaker fits anywhere in the house and fills the room with 360-degree sound. Alexa also keeps you up to date with the weather and news, along with the ability to set timers and alarms. Concerned about privacy? There is a physical button that also allows you to disable the microphones. It’s also $5 cheaper than the lowest retail price.
It’s hard not to laugh at the panda and tiger prints on the kids edition of the Echo Dot. In addition to fun prints, the smart speaker comes with great sound quality, parental controls, and a free year of Amazon Kids+ with access to Audible books, Alexa skills, and games.
The echo buttons (8/10, WIRED recommended) includes a host of features, including noise cancellation, wireless charging, and adjustments via the connected app. But most of all we love these earplugs for the Alexa integration, so you can check the weather, set timers and update your shopping list via voice commands – all while listening to your music. These earbuds dropped to $50 in April, but this is still a solid deal.
Interested in a Fire tablet? We don’t blame you. They are affordable, capable and practical slates, although the software could use some improvements. Be sure to check out our buying guide on Best Amazon Fire Tablets†
WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson says the Fire HD 8 is “one of the best values for a tablet.” It has an updated processor for fast performance, an HD display and a battery life of 12 hours. If you want extra features like more RAM and wireless charging, the Fire HD 8 Plus is also on sale for $50 ($60 off).
The fire HD 10 (7/10, WIRED recommended) is our favorite Fire tablet of all. The latest version has a brighter screen, solid battery life, and extra RAM for smoother performance. We also recommend the HD 10 with bluetooth keyboard, which also retails for $170 ($25 off). It comes with a free year of Microsoft 365 and is an ideal setup to get some light work done.
If you want a bigger screen, there’s also the Fire HD 10 Plus. The 10.1-inch screen, complete with 1080p resolution, is a great option if you plan on using it to watch movies, TV shows, and videos. It also has slightly more RAM than the standard version, which is 4 gigabytes.
We think the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition is the best Fire Tablet for kids. It has the same features as the standard Fire tablets, but also comes with a durable cover and a two-year warranty, so Amazon will replace it if your kid breaks it by accident. As with Amazon’s other devices aimed at kids, this one comes with one year of Amazon Kids+.
For those with older children, we recommend the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, as it is larger than the Fire HD 8. It is more expensive, but in addition to a larger screen, children can also request to install apps from a Kids app store, which parents must approve manually. It also comes with a lighter protective case.
Don’t buy older Fire 7 tablets
Amazon’s previous model Fire 7 tablet is on sale, but we don’t recommend it. The new fire 7 isn’t terrible – it’s still very small, but it’s more powerful than previous models – but right now the 2019 model, which was never great, is almost useless.
If you enjoy watching most of your content on Amazon Prime, you’ll want to add a Fire TV stick to your entertainment system. It prioritizes Amazon content over other popular streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, but still provides access to all major streaming services. Be sure to check out our buying guide Best TV Streaming Devices also for more options. It’s also worth noting that all three streaming sticks below have the lowest prices we’ve tracked to date.
Photo: Amazon
It streams in HD – not 4K – and has the same interface as the rest of Amazon’s smart devices. The remote also comes with power and volume buttons, along with Alexa Voice that you can use to launch programs and search with your voice.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is our go-to option for Amazon loyalists, as its menus focus on the company’s Prime Video app and purchase content from the store. It also comes with a number of upgrades over its predecessor, including more memory (2 gigabytes vs. 1.5), a picture-in-picture feature for retrieving your security camera feed, and support for Wi-Fi 6.
We recommend the Fire TV Stick Lite if you have a basic HD TV and have no plans to upgrade to a 4K TV. The Lite version comes with access to all the major streaming apps and a more basic version of the Alexa remote, with no dedicated buttons for Netflix, a TV power button or volume control. But you can download another app for that.
Other Amazon device offers
Eero’s 6 Mesh system is super easy to set up and use. In our tests, we had solid coverage and stable connectivity. And since Eero is owned by Amazon, you also get support for Alexa. It’s worth noting that it’s one of the slower systems we’ve tried (it had issues with long distances), but it should work just fine for most people.
The Halo View received an honorable mention in our Best Fitness Trackers buying guide. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen. It’s affordable, comfortable on the wrist and has an easy-to-use companion app. However, Adrienne So, editor-in-chief of WIRED, says she doesn’t like how it pushes business partnerships or tells you to strip down to your underwear to gauge your body composition.