The Best Amazon October Prime Day Deals Actually Worth Paying Attention To

If Amazon Prime Day seems like it happens earlier and earlier every year, well, you’re not wrong: Starting in 2023, the company has made Prime Day a twice annual affair. The big sale still happens in July, but “October Prime Day” (which Amazon officially refers to as “Prime Big Deal Days,” but the company seems to be the only one) is a close second.

And it’s here now—the sale runs from Oct. 8-9, and includes discount items across hundreds of product categories. As usual, the best Prime Day discount is to save your money and not buy anything you weren’t already planning on getting. But if you’re in the market for a new device or gadget, it might be a great time to buy, provided you can sort the great deals from the merely so-so.

With that in mind, here are several of the best October Prime Day deals, as recommended by Lifehacker staff. (And check back throughout the day, as I’ll keep updating this post as the deals roll in.)

The best Mac laptop for most people is $250 off

For the past few years, Lifehacker Tech Editor Jake Peterson has been adamant that the best Apple laptop for most people isn’t a top of the line model, but an “entry-level” machine powered by one of the company’s M-series chips. Last year the 202 M1 MacBook Air looked like a steal at $750, and right now you can get the successor model, the M2 MacBook Air, for the same price.

The M3 MacBook Pro for $300 off

But what if you aren’t “most people”? What if you really do need a more powerful Mac laptop with more RAM, a more powerful processor, more storage, and more outputs? Well, it’s also a good time to get the higher-end M3 MacBook Pro, which is currently $300 off its $1,600 list price.

A capable Chromebook for less than 200 bones

Mac laptops are legendary, but if all you ever do is browse the internet, stream TV and movies, and use Google Docs, you hardly need the power of Apple silicon. If we were all honest with ourselves, we could probably get by with a (much) cheaper Chromebook, and a bunch are on sale for Prime Day. One of our top picks is the HP Chromebook 14, which includes the new N100 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It’s currently $198, $62 off the retail price.

A basic iPad for a killer price

Though it dates from 2021 and still has a physical Home Button and older screen tech, the ninth generation iPad is still a pretty great device, particularly if you’re looking for something not too pricey for the kids to bang around. Right now, this model is edging into “ridiculously cheap” territory at $199, down from $329. (If you want something fancier, there are more deals where this one came from.)

AirPods Pro for a record-low price

Apple updated its basic AirPods earlier this year, and while the AirPods 4 are great headphones, they aren’t on much of a sale right now, and they lack many of the features of the pricier AirPods Pro. At the moment the 2nd gen Pros are $80 off, and near their lowest-ever price, so you might as well opt for the fancier option with all the best features (including USB-C charging).

Apple’s pricey AirPods Max, significantly less pricey

If earbuds aren’t your jam and you’re still all-in on the Apple ecosystem, you’ve probably been lusting after the enviable, top-of-the-line AirPods Max for as long as I have. The wireless cans are still Apple’s premiere audiophile offering even years after their initial release. This year’s upgrade added only a USB-C charing port, but if you’re willing to stick with using a Lightning cable, you can pick up these puppies for $155 off the $550 list price.

The Beats Studio Pro headphones for more than half off

Apple-owned Beats makes great headphones that happen to work really well with Android devices too. I personally prefer my Beats Fit Pro earbuds (currently 25% off for Prime Day!) to Apple’s AirPods Pro. Were I in the market for some new over-the-ear headphones, I’d give serious thought to the well-reviewed Beats Studio Pros—especially at 51% off. At $169, they’re cheap enough that you could buy a pair and some fancy earbuds and still come in under the price of the AirPods Max.

A great pair of budget ANC headphones from Anker

If $170 is still too rich for your blood, you can actually get a great pair of automatic noise-canceling headphones for far less. The Soundcore by Anker Space Q45 are among the best budget ANC headphones you can get, according to PCMag’s review. In addition to good audio performance, they offer a 50-hour battery life and have great in-app features.

An Apple Watch for less than $170

The Apple Watch now rivals the iPhone and iPad for the sheer number of models on the market, and choosing the best one for you can be tricky. But if a combination of great features and a reasonable price is your sweet spot, I recommend going with the 2nd generation of the Apple Watch SE from 2022, currently $170 (down from a list price of $250). Yeah, it’s a couple years old, but it still does all the things most people want out of an Apple Watch, from health tracking to syncing all the notifications from your phone. I just got one for my middle school-aged daughter, because I’m a huge sucker.

A bigger QLED TV for a ridiculously low price

Time was, giant widescreen TVs were luxury items, but if Prime Day has taught us anything, it’s that a screen big enough to occupy an entire wall of your home is well within your reach—and you don’t have to settle for a no-name brand either. While there are a lot of good (and big) TVs on sale, I’m eyeing this 58-inch QLED model from Hisense, which is currently nearly 40% off.

A PlayStation 5 that doesn’t cost $700

Last month, Sony received a mixed reception to its announcement of the PlayStation 5 Pro, a minor upgrade to its flagship console with a major upgrade in price, with some models going for more than $700. If that’s too rich for your blood but you still want to get in on the tail end of this console generation, it’s a pretty good time to grab a regular ol’ PlayStation 5 Slim edition. Right now, the disc-based version is $50 off, coming in at just under $450.

Our reviewer’s pick for a great robot vacuum/mop combo

There are a lot of robot vacuums out there, all promising to revolutionize the way you clean your home (or don’t while a machine does the work for you). Lifehacker has tested a bunch of these little guys over the years, and our reviewer Amanda Blum’s top pick among the models on sale for Prime Day is the Roborock S8 Max Ultra, currently a full $500 off. In Amanda’s words, the Roborock line “remains the best, tackling carpet and hard floors with equal aplomb.”

(If more than $1,000 is too rich for your blood, the slightly less powerful S8 Pro Ultra is $200 cheaper and, at 44% off, is on an even deeper discount.)

A reliable entry-level robot vacuum for more than 50% off

If you don’t want anything too fancy, it’s also good time to pick up a “starter” robot vacuum now. A great bet, again from Roborock: the Q8 Max combo vacuum and mop. At $280, it’s currently more than 50% off the $600 list price, and sports a lot of the features of more expensive models, like app integration, 3D mapping, and simultaneous mopping and vacuuming.

A six-cup Vitamix blender

Long considered the white whale of wedding registries, the Vitamix blender is always a pricey purchase, but you’ll feel the sting a little less if you can get a good discount. The Vitamix Explorian blender has a 1340-watt motor and stainless steel blades that can pulverize entire fruits, with a large six-cup capacity.

“Permanent” outdoor lights, so you never have to decorate again

I’m blessed to own a home I can decorate for the holidays, but I don’t do much to the outside, mostly because I don’t want to get on a ladder to string up lights when it’s chilly out. But I might make a one-time exception for a set of “permanent” smart holiday lights that you can leave up all year. Since you can program them to change color via a smartphone app, you can even make an outdoor display a year-round affair: Pink for Valentine’s Day, green for Earth Day, black for Election Day, etc. etc. A 50-foot strand is under $100 right now (38% off), and longer lengths are discounted too.

Bookmark this post and return to it later today and tomorrow for more of Lifehacker’s top October Prime Day picks.