(PCMag/Amazon)
Sales events are our bread and butter in the PCMag Deals Department, as we shift into overdrive to pull out hundreds of limited-time deals to save you money. One of our busiest times of the year comes on Amazon Prime Day (which is actually multiple days), when the online retailer gives a bonus to their Prime members with huge price drops on tons of products. Hot tech from Apple, Samsung, and other top brands see record-low prices during Prime Day, and here's what you need to know.
What Is Amazon Prime Day?
Prime Day is a yearly multi-day sale for members of Amazon's Prime service. The closest comparison is to Black Friday in terms of how deep the discounts are. The company launched Prime Day in 2015 as a celebration of Amazon's 20th anniversary, and last year was the 10th anniversary, seeing $12.9 billion dollars worth of products sold worldwide.
2025 also saw the introduction of "Today's Big Deals," curated daily offers that are exclusive to Prime members with ultra-deep discounts launching at midnight PDT each day until supplies run out. The company also launches a huge promotional blitz each year, with TV ads and more.
When Is Amazon Prime Day 2026?
Amazon hasn't officially announced Prime Day yet, but early indicate that they might be switching things up and moving the event to late June. Last year's Prime Day was actually four days, running from July 8 to 11, 96 hours from midnight to midnight PDT. It's not known whether they'll continue the four-day span in 2026. We'd expect to hear an official announcement soon.
(Amazon)Is Prime Day for Prime Members Only?
Not exclusively. There are always general population price drops on products, but the deepest discounts do belong to Prime members only. If you're not currently a subscriber, it's free to join the service for 30 days, after which it'll cost you $139 per year (or $14.99 per month). Our expert analysis determined it's very worth the price for even occasional Amazon shoppers. Once you're signed up for Prime, the Amazon website and apps will display exclusive Prime offers. If you just want to cash in for Prime Day, we can't fault you for signing up for the free trial and cancelling later. Once you've secured your membership, we've got a list of tips and tricks for how to take advantage of deals, shipping, and more.
Amazon also offers a half-price Young Adult Membership for members of Gen Z from ages 18-24.
Can I Get Amazon Prime for Free?
After that 30-day free trial wraps up, you do have to pay to continue using Amazon Prime. That doesn't mean there are no ways to save on Prime, though, including student accounts for $7.49 a month (that includes 5% cash back on eligible products) and a discount program for EBT, SNAP, and Medicaid recipients at $6.99 a month.
What Else Does Prime Day Get Me?
Amazon always offers tie-in promotions from partners during Prime Day. Last year, you could get $1 a gallon off gas (which seems like a really attractive deal right now), groceries, food deliveries through Grubhub, and more. It hasn't announced any similar offers for 2026 yet, but we would be very surprised to not see them return.
Recommended by Our Editors
(Amazon)What's On Sale During Prime Day?
Tens of thousands of products across the entire Amazon retail ecosystem get offered for Prime Day. Certain categories always see price drops on Prime Day. You can expect Amazon house brand products like Kindle tablets, Echo smart speakers, Fire TV devices and smart TVs, eero routers, Ring and Blink security cameras, and more show up with deep discounts.
We also see great TV prices during Prime Day, as well as speakers, headphones, laptops, and other consumer tech. We'd also expect to see some pre-sales leading up to Prime Day, in addition to discounts on the actual sale days, so stay tuned to our deals page all summer to hop on those offers as we find them.
Early Prime Day deals are already showing up, and here are three of the top markdowns we've spotted:
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL (Unlocked) Deal
Cell phones always see big Prime Day discounts, and Amazon sells unlocked models that you can bring to just about any carrier. If you love a big screen and big power to match, this 25% price drop on the Pixel 10 Pro XL demands your attention. We gave this impressive mobile an "Excellent" rating in our review, with PCMag expert Iyaz Akhtar saying it was "capable of science-fiction-level AI tricks" like real-time phone audio translation and wild photography tools. Stellar industrial design, great build quality, and high-octane silicone make this a top choice, especially for this price.
Ring Outdoor Cam Plus Deal
Amazon-owned brands are always on sale during Prime Day, and we generally rate their smart home products under the Ring and Blink lines well. The Outdoor Cam Plus is a discreet and effective surveillance tool, with crisp and clear 2K video even in low light conditions, simple setup and versatile mounting to a wide variety of surfaces. We put it through its paces in an extensive review and concluded that it was an affordable way to link your Alexa-powered smart home up to a security system, although you will need a Ring subscription to store video in the cloud and unlock some additional features.
Geekom A7 Max Mini PC Deal
PC shoppers on Amazon have probably noticed the prevalence of mini desktops, which eschew the traditional desktop tower for a compact package inspired by Apple's Mac Mini. Chinese company Geekom makes some of the most impressive examples, and this 33% discount puts a ton of power in the palm of your hand. We have a full breakdown of the Geekom A6 mini, which we gave an Editors' Choice award to for exceptional speed and tons of connectivity, and the A7 Max Mini looks to improve on it in many ways, including a Radeon 780M graphics card and Wi-Fi 6E support.
How Do I Find the Best Deals on Prime Day?
Don't worry your pretty little head about it. We carefully monitor pricing for the entire length of the sale to find the best offers both during sales events and outside of them, and we'll always let you know when it's the legitimate lowest price, without any shenanigans. We also put together a dedicated article on Amazon Prime Day Shopping Tips for Bargain Hunters.
When the big day arrives, we'll be working nonstop to find the best Prime Day deals. We'll also spotlight early access deals here that are too good to miss.