Amazon Prime Early Access Sale: dates, early deals & more

Amazon has announced the Prime Early Access Sale and you may be wondering what it is. After all, it’s a brand-new sales event by Amazon so that means very new territory for everyone. Don’t worry. We’re here to explain everything you need to know about the potentially very exciting new sales event! Read on while we take you through it.

What is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale?

The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale is a new sales event by Amazon. It’s been rumored for months that there would be another Prime Day deals-style event after the original one occurred in July, and it’s finally been announced.

Rather than also being called Prime Day, this event is called the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale as the idea is that it gives Prime members early access to holiday sale prices so they can plan their spending more efficiently in the run-up to Black Friday and the gift buying season.

As with Prime Day, the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale will run for two days. It’s exclusively for Prime members so if you’re not already a member, you need to sign up now. Fortunately, new members can sign up for a 30-day-free trial and they’re eligible for checking out all the Prime Day Early Access deals that are likely to unfold.

The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale is expected to feature many big-name brands. These include Shark, Lego, KitchenAid, Samsung, Peloton, and countless more. Amazon has also stated that there will be extra savings on a range of Alexa-enabled devices such as Echo speakers and more. There will also be up to 80% off select Fire TV smart TVs as part of the sales events.

When is the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale?

The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale will take place across two days — just like Prime Day did before it. It will run from October 11 until October 12.

The event will take place in 15 countries. These include the U.S., U.K., Canada, Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.

Timing-wise, the event begins at 12 a.m. PT on October 11 ending at 11:59 p.m. PT on October 12. That should give you enough time to see what deals are available although we’re expecting to see some lightning deals that may sell out fast.

Early Prime Early Access deals you can shop today

The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale landing page has a few deals already listed. We’re not counting on these being the best out there. Instead, they’re more incremental deals to get you in the mood for the forthcoming sales event. That may change over time but for now, it’s more something to consider if you were already planning on buying one of the items listed. Big name brands and deals are likely to come much closer to the event.

Amazon Music Unlimited — 4 months free

One of the best music streaming services, you really don’t have to think too hard about whether it’s worth signing up to Amazon Music Unlimited. That’s because if you’ve never used the service before, you can sign up for it entirely for free for the first four months. It doesn’t cost a cent and all you need to do to avoid paying after the first four months is to unsubscribe before the renewal date. Four months’ worth of Amazon Music Unlimited works out at a saving of $36, so it’s a great deal.

In exchange for signing up, you get access to a seemingly endless supply of music. Music is always provided ad-free and you have unlimited access to any song. It’s also possible to listen to Amazon Music Unlimited offline with unlimited skips at your disposal. Music is provided at a high-quality streaming rate with high-definition audio effectively being CD quality, aka lossless. Double the bitrate of standard-definition streaming services, it sounds great and preserves the detail of original recordings.

Alongside that, you also get the benefits of spatial audio, which means that music feels truly immersive, capturing your attention and making you feel like you’re actually at a concert. It’s mixed in a way that provides you with great definition and depth, with thousands of songs available in Dolby Atmos and 360 reality audio. Besides listening to music, you can also use Amazon Music Unlimited to access all your favorite podcasts ensuring all your beloved audio picks are available in one place. It’s an ideal service for anyone who loves to listen to music regularly, such as while working, walking, or simply relaxing at home. All you need to do is remember to cancel it before your subscription ends to get Amazon Music Unlimited entirely for free.

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Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) with Music Unlimited — $0.99

One of the biggest sellers during any Amazon shopping event, the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is sure to be hugely popular amongst anyone looking to make their home a bit smarter. The Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is a great smart speaker for fitting into any part of your home. It’s small and sleek and will happily fit on your bookshelf as much as it will squeeze onto your kitchen countertop or your bedside table. While being so small and sleek, it offers a surprising amount of power with playback. It can deliver crisp vocals and balanced bass so you get full sounds despite the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) being so slight in size.

Of course, the key selling point to the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is how it brings Alexa voice controls wherever it goes. By simply speaking to it, you can get Alexa to set timers, check the weather, answer all your questions, as well as pretty much anything else you can think of. It’s a great way of controlling more of your home from wherever you are in the house as you can connect all your smart home devices together and speak to Alexa to turn on lights or tweak the thermostat. You can also use the Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) to stream songs via Bluetooth or enjoy popular music streaming services including Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and many others.

Best of all, this bundle comes with a month of Amazon Music Unlimited, so you can listen to music, for free, right out of the box. There’s no commitment to keep listening after the first month, either. The subscription will auto-renew by default, but you can cancel it and bag yourself an Echo Dot for only $0.99. It looks as though this can be used if you’ve redeemed a similar offer on an Echo Dot before too, so you can stash another.

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More Amazon Echo Deals

Apple AirPods Pro — $180, was $249

The Apple AirPods Pro are easily some of the best wireless earbuds, particularly if you already own other Apple devices. They offer all the features you can already see in standard AirPods along with so much more. That means they take seconds to set up while offering useful Apple-based features like the ability to talk to Siri to listen to messages, change tracks, or even receive news or information. Ideal if you don’t want to grab your phone mid-workout but you still want to know what’s going on.

Additionally, the Apple AirPods Pro sound great because they have some really cool features. They offer adaptive EQ which means that music is automatically tuned to the shape of your ear, offering you a personalized experience. Alongside that comes spatial audio with dynamic head tracking so it sounds like the music is coming from all around you but in a realistic manner so it feels like you’re listening to the music live at a concert. It’s impressively immersive. In both cases, it’s good to find the right for your ears which is why the Apple AirPods Pro come with three sizes of soft, tapered silicone tips so you get the best fit for your ears.

If things weren’t already sounding pretty sweet for the Apple AirPods Pro, we haven’t gotten into the killer feature — Active Noise Cancellation. The feature means that you can block outside noise, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in your music without being distracted by environmental sounds around you. When you do need to pay attention or speak to someone, you can switch over to Transparency mode to quickly talk to someone or listen out for an announcement without needing to pull your earbuds out. It’s the best of both worlds basically and means that the Apple AirPods Pro will soon be your favorite accessory.

More Prime Day AirPods Deals

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i 13 — $356, was $550

The Lenovo Flex 5i is a smartly designed Chrome OS 2-in-1. While one of the more inexpensive Chromebooks on the market, it looks quite professional, and it’s robust too. It’s a 2-in-1, meaning you can fold the 13-inch 1080p touch display backward on its hinge to set up this Chromebook in tent mode or lay it totally flat and use it like a tablet. It’s great for art and entertainment, with that convertible design lending a lot of versatility to an otherwise traditional-looking laptop.

Under the hood, this 2-in-1 Chromebook has everything else you could need. It sports an Intel Core i3 processor which is an improvement over many other cheap mobile CPUs. Alongside that, it offers 8GB of memory which is precisely what any Chromebook could require to handle Chrome OS. It also has 64GB of eMMC storage which is about standard for a Chromebook and perfectly sufficient for storing vital files while sticking with the cloud for the majority of other content.

This is a device that’s best suited for working while on the move. With long battery life, you or your child can easily get a lot done without a problem. It even offers fast recharging for those times you aren’t organized and need to charge in a hurry. It might be a straightforward 2-in-1 device, but this Chromebook knows exactly what you need from it most, ensuring it gets all the most vital tasks conducted in no time at all.

More Prime Day Chromebook Deals

Apple AirPods Max — $430, was $549

The Apple AirPods Max are expensive but exhibit fantastic quality. We called them the most fun headphones ever because that’s exactly what they are. They look super stylish and modern because they ooze class at every turn. They offer an Apple-designed dynamic driver so you get phenomenal high-fidelity audio at all times. Alongside that is exceptional active noise cancellation. Simply put, these headphones will block out essentially all outside sound no matter what, so you can focus on what you’re listening to. When you do need to check back into the world, there’s always the headphones’ transparency mode. It lets you return and listen in and interact with the world once more, all in moments.

The features keep on coming with spatial audio a real highlight. Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking means that the music ‘follows’ you around so you get theater-like sound that surrounds you, making you feel like you’re at a live venue rather than listening to your headphones. It’s truly remarkable stuff and sounds amazing. Alongside that is computational audio which combines custom acoustic design with the Apple H1 chip so you get more reliable service and a fantastic listening experience.

It all takes hardly any time to set up, too, with on-head detection, effortless setup, and seamless switching between all your Apple devices. You can even easily share audio between two sets of AirPods on your Apple devices. Up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC and spatial audio enabled is fairly respectable with an ultra-low-power mode ensuring that storage won’t drain your battery by any means. They’re incredibly comfy to wear as well, thanks to a knit-mesh canopy and memory foam ear cushions that cocoon your ears. Simply put, these are straightforward headphones that mean you can spend more time enjoying and less time tweaking controls or worrying about maintaining the battery.

More Headphone Deals

Apple MacBook Air M1 — $850, was $999

The Apple MacBook Air M1 is a delight to use, particularly if you also own other Apple devices. Connecting well with your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and other Apple gadgets, the MacBook Air might seem expensive on the surface but it’s impressively powerful. That’s thanks to Apple’s own M1 chip, which offers phenomenal performance alongside exceptional battery life. The processor has eight cores and is up to 3.5 times faster than the previous-gen Intel CPUs. Despite having so much power, it still has a battery life of up to 18 hours so you can bring it along on a long day and it’ll keep going.

In addition, 8GB of memory means it’s capable of multitasking at speed, and everything is designed to work well with macOS. It also has a gorgeous-looking 13.3-inch Retina display. Text is sharp and clear, while colors are bright and vibrant. A thermally efficient yet completely fanless design means that you don’t even have to worry about constant fan noise, as the MacBook’s M1 CPU stays cool and silent at all times.

Additional features include a 256GB SSD, which is plenty of room to store your most important files. It also has a FaceTime HD camera for video conferencing and taking FaceTime calls. Touch ID support lets you use your finger to log in rather than constantly having to type passwords. The backlit Magic Keyboard also looks great and is particularly useful when working in the evening. Simply put, the MacBook Air M1 is a true delight to use and a great choice for Apple fans. With many productivity apps ready to use right out of the box, it’s ideal for students and professionals alike.

More MacBook Deals

Should you shop the Prime Early Access sale or wait until Black Friday?

In the past, we’ve talked a lot about what’s better between Prime Day and Black Friday, so how about this new sales event? Well, it’s a little trickier to decide.

We’re assuming that the Prime Early Access sale is effectively Prime Day 2 with a similar wealth of useful discounts (and some not-so-useful ones) along with deep discounts on Amazon devices. We’re highly confident that if you want a cheap Fire TV, Prime Early Access will be worth checking out. That’s the same if you’re looking to buy new Echo units, too.

However, Black Friday is open to everyone which means you may see more competition from other major retailers, plus you don’t have to worry about having a Prime membership. Of course, many retailers like to get in on the act so we might well see discounts across the board online, as we do with Black Friday.

Ultimately, the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale seems like a good opportunity to start early with your holiday spending. It’s likely that many prices will be on a par with Black Friday or at least only slightly higher. If it gives you the chance to spread your spending out, it could be worth it.

As with any spending, don’t rush into an impulse buy. Thanks to the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale being a month or so before Black Friday, you’ve almost certainly got another chance if you’re able to wait longer and you can’t quite decide. Alternatively, buy as part of the Prime Early Access Sale and you get to enjoy your new purchase immediately. Only you know what is best for your situation.

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