Welcome to Amazon’s Black Friday Deals Week. The online retailing giant isn’t waiting for Thanksgiving or later to start its big sale — in fact, the discounts have been ongoing since Prime Day back in October. Among the best deals we’re seeing right now (all detailed below): big price cuts on Echo speakers, Fire tablets, Fire TV video streamers, the latest Apple Watch models, DJI drones, Fitbit trackers, iRobot vacuums, Sonos speakers, Roku streamers, Bose headphones, DNA kits and more — and that’s just for starters. A handful of deals are still to come, though, so sit tight if you’re planning to buy, say, something you might hold in your hand while reading or watching videos.
Meanwhile, if you already own an Amazon device, ask Alexa for this “secret” deal: “Alexa, order an Amazon Smart Plug.” You’ll then have the option of purchasing the $25 plug for just $5.
Pro tip: Virtually everything you buy from Amazon qualifies for 5% cash back when you pay with an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card. But Amazon has raised that to 10% for a lot of items — even sale items, like the DJI Mavic Mini and iRobot Roomba i3 Plus (see below). That makes this a very good time to sign up for that card if you don’t already have one.
Finally, don’t forget: Amazon isn’t the only Black Friday game in town. Get ready for Best Buy’s Black Friday sale (Nov. 22) and Walmart’s Black Friday sale (Nov. 25).
Amazon Black Friday deals available now
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It just hit the market about a month ago at $50, so this is a pretty major price drop. The Band 5 packs a wealth of fitness features — heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, music controls, even Alexa — into a wearable that can run up to 15 days on a charge. You can read my first take on the Amazfit Band 5 here.
Also worth noting: The Amazfit GTS smartwatch is on sale for $100, tying the lowest price ever. It’s an Apple Watch lookalike with way, way better battery life.
Apple
The Apple Watch Series 6, with its always-on display, faster charging and blood oxygen saturation sensor, is on sale for $69 off at Sam’s Club (a few colors, at least) and now Amazon is matching that sale. It’s available with red, blue or gold sport bands at this price. Read our Apple Watch Series 6 review.
Chris Monroe/CNET
“Wait for a sale.” That was the conclusion of CNET’s Echo Dot 2020 review, which praised the design and sound quality of the new model but rightly noted that Amazon’s mini smart speakers go on sale all the time. This, however, is actually the first time it’s happening; during Prime Day, Amazon discounted only the previous-gen Dot.
Note that you can buy the Echo Dot with Clock for $39, also discounted for the first time, also $21 off. And the Echo Dot (4th Gen) Kids Edition is $49 (you save $41).
DJI
Finally! We’ve been hoping for a discount on the rarely discounted Mavic Mini, which is a simply fantastic personal drone. This isn’t the lowest price we’ve seen, but it’s definitely the best deal we’ve seen in a while. Same goes for the Fly More Combo, which you can grab for $449 (a $50 savings).
Yes, there’s now a Mavic Mini 2, but it starts at $449. Is it worth the extra $90? That’s your call, but the original is pretty sweet.
Note that the Mavic Mini qualifies for the aforementioned 10% cash back (instead of the usual 5%) when you pay with an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card. That lowers your net cost to around $323.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Versa 2 is a powerful hybrid smartwatch and fitness tracker that combines many of the things Fitbit does especially well — like excellent sleep tracking and detailed analytics about your workout habits — with smartphone notifications, Alexa integration and a wide selection of watch faces. We’ve even given this model our Editors’ Choice Award; read our Versa 2 review.
While saving $50 is nothing to sneeze at, be aware that $130 still higher than $100, the lowest price ever for this fitness watch.
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Not everyone wants to wear a smartwatch, and the Fitbit Charge 4 was called the best all-around fitness tracker of 2020 and received CNET’s Editors’ Choice Award — read our Fitbit Charge 4 review for details.
Chris Monroe/CNET
This jumbo-size Echo Show smart display measures, as the name implies, 8 inches diagonally, which makes it a great choice for watching cooking videos in the kitchen or making video calls. This sale price ties the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this model. Read our Echo Show 8 review.
Amazon
This combo would ordinarily cost $75, but it’s on sale for $34. You get the all-new Echo Dot along with an Amazon Smart Plug, which you can use to control lights or appliances using Alexa.
This isn’t the only Echo Dot (4th gen) bundle, either. For example, if you’re more a fan of TP-Link smart plugs, you can get the Echo Dot with TP-Link Smart Plug for $47, saving $26.
iRobot
This is the largest discount on record for this new Roomba, which not only navigates your floors with smart sensors but also empties its own dust bin. (I’m pretty sure this is how Terminators got started.) And this is another item that qualifies for 10% cash back when you pay with your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card. That effectively lops another $39 off the price.
Don’t have that Visa? You should get one, right now, because there’s a $100 Amazon gift card in it for you.
Sarah Tew/CNET
At $100 off, we haven’t seen the Sonos Move priced any cheaper. This is the first portable Bluetooth speaker from Sonos, but of course it also works with other Sonos speakers as part of a whole-home sound system using a Sonos wireless mesh network. You get an 11-hour battery life when it’s not sitting on its discreet charging pad. Read our Sonos Move review.
Looking for something for your media room? Amazon is also discounting the $399 Sonos Beam soundbar (on sale for $299). Read our Sonos Beam review.
David Carnoy/CNET
Another Prime Day rerun, the Fire HD 10 tablet is an absolute steal at this price. Among the highlights: a big, sharp screen; expandable storage; a USB-C connector; and a speed boost over the previous-gen model. It may be a while before we see the Fire HD 10 get discounted this much again.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Normally $30, the new-for-2020 Fire Stick Lite continues to see a solid discount ahead of Black Friday. This entry-level streamer delivers 1080p video with HDR support (but not 4K). The big missing apps are HBO Max and Peacock (for now), but the Alexa-powered voice remote is top-notch.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Ebooks: awesome. Reading ebooks on a phone or tablet: less awesome. Good luck settling in with email, Twitter, TikTok and text messages clamoring for your attention. Plus, those screens aren’t too easy on the eyes. That’s why I’m a big believer in a dedicated e-reader. The entry-level Kindle is superb, with an integrated light and an improved design.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Available only in arctic white at this price, the Bose 700 was dubbed CNET’s pick for “top noise-canceling headphones” last year. It originally sold for $400 but has been hanging out at $379 more recently. At $299, this ties the lowest price on record.
Vanessa Hand Orellana/CNET
New for 2020, the Apple Watch SE is the middle child of the Apple Watch lineup. It’s got the same basic design as the Series 6 but lacks that model’s always-on display, ECG functionality and oxygen saturation measurements.
The 40mm and 44mm models run $279 and $309 at the Apple Store — and have been marked as low as $230 and $260 during previous early Black Friday sales. If you see higher prices, be patient: Those deals will likely return.
Ian Knighton/CNET
In CNET’s hands-on tests, we found AncestryDNA to offer the best integration of DNA analysis and historical research. And now the service is on sale for more than half off.
Amazon
Amazon is following Target’s lead with a “Buy two, get one free” gaming sale. Fair warning, though: The good stuff is going fast.
Want to score some great tips for Black Friday shopping? Look no further than this episode of the Cheapskate Show podcast:
Watch this:
How to win Black Friday in 2020
1:46
CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up for deal texts delivered right to your phone. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and even more from hundreds of other online stores. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Answers live on our FAQ page.
