Prime Big Deal Days — also known as October Prime Day — will return on Tuesday Oct. 7 (that’s just days away). It’s one of the first sales to kick off the 2025 holiday shopping season, and you can expect plenty of savings on tech, home, and more, including deals on Amazon-exclusive products like Fire TVs and Echo devices.
Also: Everything you need to know about Prime Big Deal Days
Amazon and competing retailers tend to inflate prices to make deals and discounts look greater than they are. That’s why we’ve vetted and curated these deals, featuring ZDNET-tested and recommended products. Here are our favorite picks for the best October Prime Day deals so far. (Our sister site, CNET, has extensive coverage of Amazon’s fall sale, including anti-Prime deals and cheap buys. Plus, scout Prime deals from our cousin sites, PCMag and Mashable).
Get daily deals straight to your inbox during Prime Day when you sign up for ZDNET Recommends, your one-stop newsletter for the sale.
Our favorite early October Prime Day deals
This four pack of Kasa mini smart plugs is perfect for automizing holiday decor.
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Although this Kindle is no longer the latest Scribe model, it did win a ZDNET Editors’ Choice award.
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Early October Prime Day deals under $25
Simplify your streaming with this Amazon Fire TV Stick for 40% off.
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Now is a great time to nab a new USB-C cable and block for under $25.
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Simplify your home with a smart plug for under $15.
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The tiny yet mighty Echo Pop speaker is 38% off.
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This is the best security camera you can buy for $20 right now, according to our expert.
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Our expert says this is great for Android and Apple users alike and is a slimmer dupe of Apple’s AirTag.
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Expert Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says that even though this device’s HD camera was made to inspect ear canals, it works great as a pocket-sized inspection tool for just about anything.
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Early October Prime Day Apple deals
ZDNET laptop reviewer Kyle Kucharski recommends the MacBook Air M4 to most people, and it’s finally on sale again.
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Our expert recommends the M4 Mac Mini for creatives and professionals alike — especially at this price.
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ZDNET reviews editor Kerry Wan says he recently upgraded to the M4 MacBook Pro, and that it’s “totally worth it.”
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Early October Prime Day laptop deals
We went hands-on with Dell’s new 14 Plus earlier this year, and praised it for its all-around reliability and performance relative to value.
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If you’re looking for a 15-inch laptop with a gorgeous OLED screen, the Vivobook S 15 has a 3K 120Hz display paired with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite processor for vibrant visuals and fantastic battery life.
Review: Asus Vivobook S 15
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Acer’s Swift 14 AI is a versatile laptop for work, school, or home use, covering the basics and a respectable hardware loadout for a midrange price point.
Review: Acer Swift 14 AI
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When we tested the Surface laptop last year, it was a surprisingly enjoyable experience backed up by some pretty fantastic battery life.
Review: Microsoft Surface laptop
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- MacBook Pro M4 14-inch: $1,399 (save $200): ZDNET reviews editor Kerry Wan says he recently upgraded to the M4 MacBook Pro, and that it’s “totally worth it.”
- HP Envy x360 OmniBook X Flip: $1,010 (save $60): This popular 2-in-1 laptop from HP is on sale for its lowest price in 30 days.
- Dell Inspiron 16: $980 (save $2,820): Dell’s 16-inch Inspiron from 2024 is heavily discounted right now as the manufacturer rolls out its latest lineup.
Early October Prime Day phone deals
This is not an Amazon deal, but you can save $70 on the 13R at OnePlus with the code HARVEST.
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Early October Prime Day TV deals
The Samsung Q80D is a great mid-range QLED TV with a 120Hz refresh rate, object tracking sound and Dolby Atmos support, and an automatic brightness optimizer that adjusts your picture in real-time for the best visibility in almost any lighting.
More: The best TVs under $1,000
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While an older Sony OLED, the A95K still offers premium features like exclusive VRR support for gaming with the PlayStation 5, a dedicated gaming dashboard, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and both IMAX Enhanced and Netflix Adaptive Calibrated modes for streaming your favorite movies as their creators intended.
Also: The best Sony TVs you can buy
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A competitor to Samsung’s The Frame, the TCL NXTVISION is a gallery-inspired TV that allows you to create your own personal art slideshow when you aren’t streaming.
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Early October Prime Day tablet deals
If you’re a Google smart home person, this is the tablet for you, since it comes with a Charging Speaker Dock that doubles as a smart display.
Review: Google Pixel Tablet
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This is our pick for the best tablet for most people, thanks to its upgraded A16 processor, low price, and a bigger 11-inch Liquid Retina True Tone display.
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This midrange Samsung tablet has similar specs to the S10 Ultra, but it’s much cheaper. Plus, it has an updated Dynamic AMOLED display.
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Early October Prime Day smartwatch and fitness tracker deals
Google just unveiled its fourth-generation Pixel Watch, which comes with significant upgrades to the smartwatch. Luckily, some of the announced upgrades, like a revamped Fitbit Premium app that’s coming to all Google-owned devices, will hit the Pixel Watch 3.
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Want a discreet, thin health tracker that nails the basics? The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a great health tracker for beginners looking to dip their toes into step-tracking and not break the bank while doing so.
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Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 8 (at full price) implies the existence of a just-as-capable Galaxy Watch 7 that’s on sale.
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It’s a great time to buy a Series 10. That’s because many of the updates coming to newer Apple Watch models, including the Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 Apple debuted last week, also arrive through software updates available on Series 9 and later. This includes Sleep Scores and Hypertension Detection.
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Early October Prime Day kitchen & household deals
Eufy’s X10 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop combination helps superpower your smart home. This model offers powerful 8,000 Pa suction, a dual mop system with auto-lift and carpet detection capabilities, and boosts to obstacle detection and avoidance via smart learning technologies. In addition, the vacuum is self-emptying and drying.
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Arlo’s 2K Video Doorbell offers fantastic visual playback, a loud alarm, and customizability in all the ways you’d want.
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When is October Prime Day 2025?
October Prime Day (or Prime Big Deal Days) returns on Tuesday, Oct. 7, and runs through Wednesday, Oct. 8 this year.
Are deals really cheaper on Prime Day?
The legitimacy of Prime Day is a hotly debated topic every year. Prime Day does have some legit deals, usually on flagship Amazon products like Fire TVs, Echo devices, Kindles, and more. However, the best way to ensure you’re getting an actually deal is to prepare to shop for offers and use price tracking tools to make sure you don’t fall victim to brands marking up items to “discount’ them later.
How did we choose these October Prime Day deals?
ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy — devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.
We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we’re recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing — in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.
What are the best early Prime Day deals?
ZDNET’s experts have been searching through early Prime Day and other sales to find the best discounts by category. These are the best deals live now:
And the best deals from other retailers:
More questions? Read our Prime Day guide to discover everything you need to know about Amazon’s October sale event.
