It's a moment hundreds of thousands of drivers have been waiting for: a sight of the first production model Tesla Model 3. Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted out a picture of the electric car over the weekend, and is apparently in line to have it delivered straight to his own garage.
Now it's time to start fulfilling all those preorders – Musk says production will rise to 100 cars in August, 1,500 in September and 20,000 by December. Tesla is planning a launch party on July 28 to hand over the first 30 Tesla Model 3s to head out into the wild.
With more than 400,000 people reportedly in line for a Tesla Model 3, the company's factories should be kept busy over the months and years ahead. The first production model has actually arrived ahead of schedule, but getting up to half a million cars out the door is a serious challenge even for Tesla.
The cheapest Tesla yet
If you've missed all the Tesla Model 3 news up to this point, this is Tesla's stab at a more affordable electric vehicle. Costing $35,000 in the US, it's around a third of the price of its predecessor, the Model S, making the tech accessible to a much larger group of people.
Fitted with 2,170 lithium-ion battery cells made with the help of some Panasonic expertise, the Model 3 can travel 215 miles on a single charge, so drivers won't always have to be worrying where the nearest charging station is. It's no slouch either, and can go from zero to 60mph in a mere 5.3 seconds.
The new car also comes with Tesla's self-driving Autopilot technology on board, so you can get extra help changing lanes, avoiding smashes, and generally being a respectable citizen of the road. Activating it costs a little extra on top of the base price, though.
Controlling lights with your voice used to be something only a god could do, but these days we have smart lighting systems to make any of us feel all-powerful.
The biggest name is Philips with its Hue bulbs, but now IKEA, Hive and a whole host of others have got in on the act too. Let’s get to the important stuff: what’s right for you, is it going to cost a fortune and is it likely to become obsolete any time soon? Let’s find out.
What is smart lighting?
Smart lighting is lighting that you can control from an app, usually on your Apple or Android phone.
Smart bulbs can completely transform the way your home looks, for a lot less than it’d cost to redecorate.
The app enables you to change the brightness of the bulbs, and if the bulbs have coloured LEDs you can change their colours too. That opens up a whole world of possibilities, which you might call light recipes: you might have one light recipe for watching movies, another for dinnertime, and yet another for reading. Switching from one recipe to another is as simple as tapping a smartphone or yelling at your favourite voice-activated personal assistant.
What you need for a smart lighting system
Smart lighting generally uses mesh networking, where each smart bulb wirelessly connects to its nearest neighbour. That network is controlled by a hub that plugs into your router, enabling your other networked devices – such as your phone or tablet – to communicate with your bulbs. Some systems also have an away from home mode that enables you to control the lights when you’re far away, which is handy if you’ve just remembered you left the lights on or want to terrify the babysitter. Not all systems require a hub, though. The LIFX platform just connects directly to your Wi-Fi.
You’ll often find that smart light systems can also be accessorised with additional items such as dimmer switches or motion detectors, and in some cases they can be linked to the IFTTT (If This Then That) service to create complex rules that trigger particular recipes for particular things. Fancy a flash of colour to notify you of an instant message, or a glow to gently break the news of today’s weather forecast? This and much more is possible without too much tinkering.
Siri, Alexa, Cortana and more
Smart lighting systems aren’t just controllable with smartphone or tablet apps. Philips’ Hue system works with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon’s Echo and Google Home, and that means you can use those platforms’ voice assistants to relay your voice commands. There’s something undeniably cool about saying “Hey Siri, set scene to cinema” or “Alexa, turn the lights off” and seeing it happen. With HomeKit you can also control the lights with an Apple Watch. IKEA’s Trådfri will get similar compatibility later this year.
Hue boasts an Apple Watch app and you can control it via Siri. It works with Google and Alexa too.
Because developers have targeted mobile platforms first that puts Microsoft in the unusual position of being an afterthought: Hue works via a third party app, Huetro, and IKEA doesn’t appear to have any plans for Windows support. We’re sure somebody will hack something together, but for the time being Windows isn’t really welcome at the smart lighting party.
What kinds of bulbs are available?
There are three main kinds: standard bulbs, candle bulbs and spotlights. Standard bulbs come with E27 or bayonet fittings; candle bulbs with SES (small screw) fittings; and spotlight bulbs are most commonly GU10 spotlight fittings.
Smart bulbs come with standard fittings: bayonet cap, large and small Edison screws and GU10 spotlight fittings.
Smart lighting bulbs are LED, which draws much less power than traditional incandescent light bulbs. A typical smart bulb is 9.5W or 5.5W for spotlights and candle bulbs. That’s roughly equivalent to a 60W incandescent bulb and a 50W spotlight bulb respectively.
You’ll usually have a choice of two kinds of bulb: white ones or colour changing ones. The latter are more complex to make and therefore cost quite a bit more. As with normal LEDs, white bulbs come with stated colours: warm white has a yellowish cast which more closely resembles incandescent bulbs’ light, while cool white is blueish like modern car headlights.
How much does a smart lighting system cost?
Put it this way: if you’re hoping that switching to a smart LED lighting system is going to save you so much in energy bills it’ll pay for itself in no time, you’re going to be disappointed. Smart lighting systems don’t come cheap, although they are slowly getting cheaper.
Let’s take the market leader, Philips’ Hue. To get up and running you need the Hue 2.0 Bridge – the previous model doesn’t play nice with Apple’s HomeKit – and some bulbs. At the time of writing a bridge and two white E27 (screw cap) bulbs is £49.95, while a bridge with three multicolour bulbs is £146.95. A lightstrip, which is a 2m strip of colour changing LEDs, is £64.99. A plain white bayonet bulb is £14.95, coloured E27 bulbs are £49.99, coloured E14s are £29.95 and coloured GU10 spotlights are £49.95 apiece.
British Gas’s Hive system has expanded to include smart lighting technology under the Hive Active brand.
Looking at a modest living room, we’ve got one ceiling lamp, three spotlights and a nice place behind the TV to put a lightstrip. That little lot works out at £49 for the bridge, £147 for the spots and £64.99 for the lightstrip. So that’s £260 for our living room; using coloured bulbs for the six spotlights in the dining room would add another £300. Ouch.
That’s for an all-singing all-dancing colour system, though, and it’s using genuine Philips bulbs: third party bulbs are available for considerably less cash and should work okay with the Hue Bridge. We say “should” because an early software update accidentally on purpose removed third party compatibility, which Philips eventually restored after a PR storm. We hope history doesn’t repeat.
OSRAM’s Lightify uses the same Zigbee networking as IKEA and Philips’ systems, so they should be interoperable.
No matter what system you go for, colour changing bulbs and smart lighting kits are expensive. You’ll pay £49 for a Hive Edison Screw colour bulb and £39 for a bayonet fitting, and the Hive starter kit is £99.99 for a hub and two white bulbs. Osram’s Lightify bulbs are around £25 for GU10 spots, £22.99 for candles and £41 for the Lightify Gateway.
Does IKEA have the white idea?
If you don’t want to change colours then the price drops considerably: dimmable Hue bulbs are around £15 for white ones compared to the £50 for coloured ones, and the same applies to Hive Active bulbs.
IKEA’s smart lights are much cheaper than most, but they don’t currently offer colours. You can adjust colour temperature, though.
IKEA’s new Trådfri system is cheaper still: a bridge – IKEA calls it the Gateway – is £25, and bulbs cost from £9 to £15 depending on fitting. Light panels are £55 to £100, dimming kits are £15 and a remote control is £15. You can’t adjust the colour but you can adjust the colour temperature, so you can have warm white for mood lighting and cool white for getting stuff done. It’s much cheaper, but we think colour changing is the key selling point of smart lighting, so for us IKEA’s one to watch in the long term but not a great investment right now.
Will it be obsolete in a few years?
Nobody can predict that with certainty, but there are encouraging signs that your smart lights won’t prove to be a not-so-smart investment in the long term – so maybe the energy savings will end up paying for the kit, albeit over a fairly long period of time. For example, when Philips added HomeKit compatibility to its Hue range with Hue 2.0, that was backwards compatible, so while you had to upgrade the hub you didn’t need to buy new bulbs.
A smart bulb inside an interesting lamp can create something really amazing, as this example from LIFX demonstrates.
Most smart lighting systems use the same ZigBee wireless networking technology. It’s called ZigBee Light Link and it’s used by Philips, IKEA and Osram, which should ensure ongoing compatibility and interoperability between competing systems. LIFX should be fairly future-proof too, as it simply uses your Wi-Fi network. And of course the various systems all use standard light fittings such as bayonet caps, edison screws and GU10 spots.
Is smart lighting worth the money?
That really depends on what you want to do. If money is your priority then non-smart LEDs deliver the efficiency savings without the significant up-front expense of smart lights, and that’s by far the most sensible option. But it’s also the least fun. Smart spotlights can turn a front room into something resembling your favourite band’s stage lighting, while lightstrips and light recipes can transform a room without the hassle and expense of redecorating. And if you have kids they’ll love messing around with the options and creating their own recipes or using third-party apps to turn your front room into a disco.
For us, smart lighting does something priceless: it makes us smile. Whether we’re telling Siri that we’re going to bed, asking for the reading preset, getting the mood ready for a movie or making the house spooky for Hallowe’en, we’ve found smart lighting to be a constant delight – and it’s still uncommon enough to impress friends and family when they pop round. We wouldn’t recommend replacing every bulb in your house with a Hue, Hive, LIFX or Trådfri bulb, but having smart lighting in a sitting or dining room can be really effective.
Football to the fan is everything. It’s an obsession. It is life itself. Football to the corporate world is a multi-million dollar business, where every piece of the game is a commodity, a lucrative avenue to make money. Because of this, access to players and everything surrounding them, is tightly controlled. This controlling nature means that it is sometimes hard to get an idea of the footballer behind the club, the kit, the myriad sponsorship – what makes them tick and, more importantly, what makes them human.
One way in, though, is through music, the ultimate leveller. The music a footballer listens to before a match, in their downtime, the songs that get airtime when they have precious lone moments can tell a lot about the person beyond the boot.
“The emergence of streaming services allows fans to get closer to their heroes.”
Golan Shaked, CMO, Deezer
Take, for instance, arguably the greatest footballer playing today, Lionel Messi. Thanks to a partnership global streaming service Deezer has forged with Barcelona (it also has one with Manchester Utd), anyone can see the music he listens to as he’s created a playlist on the service.
It’s packed with tracks from Argentina (Dread Mar I features heavily) and Columbia, while the US is featured thanks to Bruno Mars, Joey Montana and Prince Royce. Whether his selection is to your taste or not – and read into it as you will, given there’s no Spanish singers to be seen – it’s a fascinating insight into one of the world’s biggest role models.
“The emergence of streaming services allows fans to get closer to their heroes by sharing playlists, podcasts and pre and post-game music mixes,” says Golan Shaked, Chief Commercial Officer, Deezer.
“We currently have players updating their playlists on Deezer and interacting with the fans.”
Fan interaction
It’s this fan interaction that’s key to what Deezer is doing with sports content on its service. While music is certainly at the heart of Deezer’s proposition, it’s not difficult to see why it would opt to branch into other areas.
When you have Apple Music, Spotify, even Amazon offering up the same 40 or so million tracks, it is no longer about the exact songs available through a service, but how each presents and curates them. This is something Deezer does with human-made playlists, but then the sports content is another standout USP.
“Deezer's main proposition is music, differentiated by Flow – our music discovery feature. However, our user base is becoming more familiar and more interested in our broader audio catalogue,” says Shaked.
“Having such a catalogue allows us to expand the time that users spend on our platform, making Deezer a destination for a more comprehensive audio entertainment experience.
“Sport and football in particular are popular areas of interest which attract a large audience base but more importantly allow users to interact with their favourite teams outside of the stadium.”
It may soon allow users to interact within the stadium too. TechRadar went on a recent trip to the Nou Camp and was asked to add to a playlist that would play before the Man Utd Legends Vs Barcelona Legends match, and also at halftime.
One of our songs was chosen, Lights Out by Royal Blood (for some reason they chose not to play the drum ‘n’ bass classic Barcelona by D Kay & Epsilon) and we have to admit it was a fantastic feeling, knowing we chose a piece of music to play to a crowd of 40 or so thousand. No wonder David Guetta always has a stupid grin on his face.
It got us thinking – could this be something Deezer offers up to fans in the future?
“Sure. Music is about sharing experiences and self-expression,” says Shaked.
“Streaming services coupled with social and sharing features facilitate such experiences. Our fans are also incredibly important to us so we would like to give back where we can.”
This sporting life
The sports section of Deezer is burgeoning. There’s everything from Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conferences to matchday playlists to sports radio (including individual team news thanks to a linkup with TalkSport which began back in 2015) to curated podcasts available.
But it seems that this is just one part of Deezer’s plan to grow beyond music and make the service ‘an audio destination’ that changes in accordance to your locality.
“Our fans are also incredibly important to us so we would like to give back where we can.”
Golan Shaked, CMO, Deezer
“Deezer is available in 185 countries around the world and the key to its success is the ability to provide an extensive global catalogue but also local content, allowing it to also become a local hero,” says Shaked.
“In Germany we discovered that audiobooks are very popular so we added them to our platform. We know that politics and comedy are both very popular in the UK so we have created bespoke content that caters to those interests and tastes.
“In other markets like Brazil we focus on music genres such as Gospel and Santanejo which have a massive and very loyal fan base but are quite regionally specific.”
Which brings us back to football and local hero (if you are Manchester born and bred), Phil Jones from Man Utd. He has Simply Red’s Fairground and UB40’s Red Red Wine in his playlist. It’s lovely to think that one of these tunes – clearly chosen because of their colour – may be what’s going through his head the next time he makes a defensive clearance in the Champions League this year.
We don’t know what’s better: that we know this, or that we live in a time when knowing this amount of detail about a world-class player is just a click away.
Rumors that this year's iPhones would include wireless charging capabilities have been swirling for months now, but the most recent speculation suggests the tech isn't quite going to be ready for the launch of the iPhone 8, the iPhone 7S and the iPhone 7S Plus (if those are indeed the phones we see).
This word on the Apple street comes from a reliable source as well – it's from seasoned developer, blogger and Apple watcher John Gruber, and well-placed Apple tipsters don't really come much better. Gruber tweeted that a wireless charging accessory will be sold separately, and might not be ready in time for September.
Note that "might" though: Gruber also says that Apple's engineering teams might overcome the problems in the next few weeks and have wireless (or inductive) charging ready to go at the big event we're expecting in a couple of months.
Why the hold up?
Gruber adds that he isn't sure if the hold up is due to the hardware or software upgrades needed for wireless charging, and likens the delay to the one we saw with the portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, which was added a month after the phone launched.
It's just another bit of Apple gossip to add to the pile of rumors and speculation surrounding Apple's 2017 handsets. The company seems to be planning two minor upgrades to its existing phones, plus a more expensive, premium model, but we're still not sure how many iPhones we can expect to see in September.
The iPhone 8 seems to be the pick of the bunch, if you can afford it – Apple is apparently working hard to get a Touch ID sensor embedded under a bezel-free display, and the phone is also said to be coming with a vertically aligned dual-lens camera to enable some pretty nifty augmented reality features.
Spent way too much of your free time looking for the perfect cheap TV deal? It's time to sit back and check out our hand-picked list of the best TV deals on the net. Our extensive guide looks at a range of sizes and shows the best prices on TVs for any budget, proving you don't have to wait for Black Friday because we're seeing multiple retailers dish out some early discounts in preparation for Amazon Prime Day (that's July 11, folks) and you're in the right place to see the latest cheap TVs.
We've discovered some stunning deals on 4K Ultra HD TVs. Now's a great time to upgrade, especially with Netflix, Amazon, the BBC and Sky all planning on increasing their 4K content. Check out our guide on where to watch 4K TV shows and movies. Brilliantly, 4K and HDR TVs are nowhere near as expensive as you might think. So go on, treat yourself.
Many folk are supporting their new TV with a soundbar deal too. If you'd prefer to directly browse retailer TV collections instead of our highlights, here are the direct links to their best TV deals:
The offers below are selling fast as retailers scramble to shift lots of cheap 4K TV deals and other items in the latest TV sales. We have a selection of the best prices across multiple size ranges. Directly below, you'll find our favourite deal of the week.
TechRadar's 4K TV Deal of the Week
LG 49UH850V 49-inch smart 3D 4K HDR TV | £599 | Currys
Currys has smashed a huge £300 off this superb 4K TV. This includes a Dolby Vision 4K HDR screen for one of the best pictures around without spending a lot more money. There's a double bonus of 3D compatibility and a five year warranty to seal the deal at £599 in this Currys sale.
Cheap 40-inch and 43-inch TV deals:
Philips 43PUS6401 43-inch 4K HDR Ambilight Smart TV | Now£379| Argos
The Ambilight TVs are on discount again, with a £20 saving this week! In addition to rocking a 4K HDR screen and Smart functions, this TV emits coloured light from the side of the screen onto nearby walls to provide a little extra ambiance in your room. It's entirely optional, but has been a big hit this year.
Hisense 43M3000 43-inch 4K HDR Smart TV | £289 | AO
Hisense has been the most popular budget 4K TV brand on this page by some distance. Looking for a decent entry level 4K TV with HDR tech? This is the way to go, especially if you want some money left over for a PS4 Pro deal or Xbox One X pre-order.
Cheap 49-inch TV deals:
Philips 49PUS6401 49-inch 4K TV with HDR | £409 | Argos
Ambilight discounts are flying around for lots of different sizes and we quite fancy this 49-inch model with Smart TV, Freeview HD, 4K HDR and of course, that gorgeous Ambilight technology for added ambient lighting.
LG 49UH850V 49-inch smart 3D 4K HDR TV | £599 | Currys
Currys has smashed a huge £300 off this superb 4K TV. This includes a Dolby Vision 4K HDR screen for one of the best pictures around without spending a lot more money. There's a double bonus of 3D compatibility and a five year warranty to seal the deal at £599 in this Currys sale.
Hisense H49M3000 49-inch Smart 4K TV | Now £369 | Amazon
Our featured Hisense models have been selling out super fast recently, so it's great to see a deal like this in stock. But seriously, a 49-inch 4K, Smart TV for £369? With prices like this, you may as well join the 4K revolution. This could be a great bargain for gamers looking to buy updated consoles like the Xbox One S and PS4 Pro.
LG 49UH770V 49-inch Smart 4K HDR TV | £519.99 | BT
There are some excellent deals going today for cheap 49-inch TVs, even ones with HDR. This one comes with all your favourite Smart TV channels too. And Demand 5.
Cheap 50-inch and 55-inch TV deals:
Hisense H55M6600 55-inch Smart 4K HDR Curved TV | £549| Amazon
A very similar spec TV to the deal above, but with a curved screen. If you're treating yourself to these delightful curves you'll get to enjoy Smart apps in 4K and HDR too.
Hisense H50M3300 50-inch 4K Smart TV | £399 | Argos
This is the cheapest option for a decent 50-inch 4K TV this week at just £399. You're getting the usual smart TV functions, but there's no HDR. That being said Hisense make a fine 4K TV and are amongst the most popular brands on this page for cheap 4K TV deals.
Philips 55PUS6401 55-inch Ambilight 4K HDR TV | £499 | Argos
This 55-inch HDR version of the excellent Ambilight TV from Philips is what you've been looking for, right? Be quick and grab the Philips 55PUS6401 for just £499. The smaller sizes are also cheaper this week and we've given them a shout above.
Hisense 50M5500 50-inch HDR 4K Smart TV | Now £599 | John Lewis
This is one of Hisense's premium 4K TV and comes not just with a 4K picture, Smart apps and Freeview HD but also 2016's essential feature, High Dynamic Range technology. John Lewis will cover it for five years too.
Hisense 55M5500 55-inch HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart TV| Now £649 | John Lewis This is one of the cheapest 4K TVs we've seen of this size with High Dynamic Range and should be on the radar of any gamer looking to take advantage of HDR 4K gaming. The John Lewis five year guarantee gives it extra appeal for any TV buyer.
Cheap 60-85-inch TV deals:
Hisense HE65K5510UWTS 65-inch 4K Smart TV | Now £799 | Amazon
Wow, that's a lot of TV. You're all set for 4K viewing with Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube apps being 4K ready. Freeview HD and USB functions are also included. This is one of the cheapest 4K TVs we've seen at such an epic size.
Samsung UE65KS8000 65-inch 4K HDR TV | £1625 | Amazon
Samsung's massive 65-inch UE65KS8000 model is now even cheaper than last week's best deal at Amazon. For your money you're getting Quantum Dot and Premium HDR tech. So we'd heartily recommend this deal at Amazon.
So, you're absolutely sure you can fit this in through the door? Will it get around the corner on the stairs? Serious questions that should be ignored in favour of owning this monstrosity. Buy it now and bask in its glory (you won't need any heating if you sit close enough). Consequences are for lesser beings. This John Lewis does come with a five year guarantee though.
More large screen TV deals
If you're after more seriously large TV deals, we should warn you, they don't come cheap. However, if you want to see some more large screen TV deals -we're talking about 65 to 85-inch TVs- we'd recommend heading over to John Lewis,Currys and Amazon as they seem to stock more models than most UK retailers.
Looking for the best cheap laptop deals on the net? Good news, you can stop looking! We've taken an in-depth look through all of the biggest and best to find the best value cheap laptops and pick out the genuine discounts over the trumped up fake ones. You don't have to wait for the Black Friday deals, as the Amazon Prime Day deals are appearing already and we're going to round up the best laptop deals from multiple retailers joining in on the sale day.
If you're after a cheap laptop for web browsing and other simple tasks, or you need a new laptop for school or work, or you simply need a really powerful laptop for as little money as possible, we have options for you.
At the top of the page you'll find our selection of the very latest and best cheap laptop deals of the week followed by a selection of popular quality laptops that retailers like to discount on a regular basis. Underneath those laptop deals you'll find our pick of the latest best laptops and the best available prices.
If you're from the States, check out the top laptop deals in the US in our always-updated guide.
The best laptop deals of the week
Acer R11 Intel: This 11.6-inch 2-in-1 convertible has had £40 knocked off its price this week making it one of the cheapest deals on this page. With 4GB of RAM and eight hours of battery, it's a step up from most cheap hybrids. Get it now for just £179 @ Tesco.
Dell Inspiron 15 5000: If the 7000 series is a bit much (see the best prices further down this page), then why not save yourself £200 today on this still very capable model with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and AMD Radeon R7 graphics. Not bad at all for just £599 at John Lewis.
HP 14-an001na: This is super cheap for a 14-inch laptop with Windows 10, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Not bad at all for basic computing tasks. We're quite fond of the stylish silver bodywork too. Don't miss this laptop deal for £199 @ Tesco.
Lenovo V110: If a speedier Solid State Drive is one of your must have features on a cheap laptop deal then this could be for you as it's currently £60 cheaper than usual. The V110 comes with a 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR4 memory and an i5 processor for just £364.97 @ ebuyer.
Asus VivoBook Max: This is a solid all-rounder with some stylish looks to match. You're getting a large 1TB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. Currys has knocked £170 off the price, making it just £329 in the sale.
Lenovo Yoga 510: At just £379, this is considerably cheaper than the svelte Windows version of the new Lenovo Yoga Book. This very tidy two-in one Windows laptop/tablet convertible has 4GB of RAM and a generous 128GB SSD. Not bad at all just just £379 at Currys
Linx 1020 10-Inch Tablet with Keyboard: Just need a portable tablet with a keyboard attachment for casual browsing and working on some documents? We've seen this go for £150 without the keyboard, so don't miss this bundle for £135 at Amazon
Asus C201PA Chromebook: If you're happy to say goodbye to Windows and take advantage of the very capable Google/Android ecosystem services for basic laptop needs this 11.6-inch Chromebook comes with a 13-hour battery life. Amazon has knocked £20 off and you can get it now for just £179.99 at Amazon
HP 250 G5: If you fancy something with a little more kick compared to the G5 deal above. Then how about an i7 processor, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD? A great deal at just £580 @ Laptops Direct
The best gaming laptop deals of the week
ASUS ROG GL552VW: There's a massive £200 discount this week on this Asus gaming laptop deal. Spec includes an Intel i5-6300HQ processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 128GB SSD, 1TB SSD, Nvidia GTX960M 2GB GDDR5 graphics and a gaming backpack, headset and mouse for just £699.97 @ Amazon.
MSI Apache Pro: This beast of a laptop has a big 17.3-inch screen, an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, a speedy 128GB SSD, a 1TB hard drive and a GTX 1060 graphics card. Best of all, almost £105 has been chopped from its price but hurry as stocks are running low – now £1430 from Amazon
We'll continue adding the best laptop deals in the latest sales as we find them. Up next, you'll find the latest prices on some of the most popular laptops around, followed by the best deals on TechRadar's favourite laptops.
There have been some generous offers lately for this popular Lenovo laptop series. Any choice between the 4GB and 12GB RAM options should run multiple applications at once. Hard drive sizes vary from 256GB SSD to 1TB in regular form. Some options also include dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 940MX graphics.
One of the cheapest brand new 2-in-1 laptops we've seen in a while and an ideal entry point to casual users wanting to try out the world of these higher function tablet/laptop hybrids. Specs include 2GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 10-inch 1080p screen, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 and an Intel Atom processor.
There’s some hefty grunt under the shell of this HP 250 G4 and there are some great prices this week. The Intel Pentium processor and 4GB/8GB of RAM mean this laptop will whip through pretty much any day-to-day activity you can throw at it without the juddering performance of cheaper laptops. Hell, it’ll even have a decent crack at playing a few of the less demanding games out there.
From afar, this laptop might be mistaken for a MacBook Pro which tells you a lot about its level of quality. Don't expect a full metal chassis at this price, but this is probably one of the best looking plastic bodies in its category. There are plenty of ports (old and new), 4GB of RAM and a massive 1TB hard drive. The cheapest models have a respectable i3 processor, but you can get the more powerful i5 versions for not much more if you need that extra kick. Asus saw it fit to include a DVD writer as well as a 15.6-inch full HD screen. Despite this large display and the presence of a numeric keypad, it's just a tad thicker and heavier than an Ultrabook.
This is the newer version of the Asus Transformer Mini series. This upgrade includes a fingerprint sensor and double the RAM at 4GB for speedier performance. For your money, this is one of the most impressive two-in-one transformer models out there.
The best deals on our favourite laptops
We've reviewed loads of laptops over the years: we've seen the good ones, the great ones and the ones to avoid. Sometimes the best laptops pop up online at some truly deal-tastic prices. So in this section, we list the very best laptops out there and the best deals on each one.
The Dell XPS 13 is, bar none, the best laptop you can buy today. It features a revolutionary design that’s astonishingly thin and light. Fitting a 13.3-inch screen into such a small frame means Dell has created a nearly borderless Infinity display. It’s a powerful and long lasting machine even by today’s Ultrabook standards. The XPS 13 comes outfitted with Intel’s latest Skylake processors plus lighting, quick storage and memory, all while coming in at a very affordable starting price. For these reasons, it easily takes the top slot as the best Ultrabook, the best Windows laptop and the best overall laptop.
Looking for a quality gaming laptop but want to keep things under that unappealing £1000 mark? Then Dell has you covered with the Inspiron 15 Gaming range.
This 10-inch hybrid comes packing a surprising amount of goods considering its small size. It’s outfitted with an HD screen and more than enough power to get you through a simple day of web browsing and even image editing. When you’re ready kick back with some media streaming, you can pop off the 10-inch tablet.
The Asus Strix GL502 is undoubtedly one of the best gaming laptops around for gaming in 1080p. It'll run with the settings cranked with games like Overwatch not dipping below 60fps. The battery life isn't the best, but the display, performance and built-in sound system more than make up for it.
Lenovo has crafted a brilliant, forward-thinking device that could very well create a subcategory in computing all of its own. The modest specs hold it back from taking on the big boys in terms of raw power, but the innovative digital touchpad keyboard and drawing surface look like trendsetters to us. The Android version is currently about £100 cheaper than the Windows one (click 'see all prices' above to see all options).
The Asus Chromebook Flip isn’t perfect, but it’s an impressive little piece of kit. Plus, it’s so affordable that you might want to pick one up just to have a Chromebook on hand – even if you already own a MacBook or Windows laptop. Aside from the budget price tag, the Flip is one of the best-built Chromebooks to blaze the trail onward for more convertibles. Touchscreen functionality feels more logical, with a screen that actually rotates. The Flip meets all the core tenants of an ideal Chrome OS device.
Can a tablet really replace your laptop or home PC? That’s still up for debate, but the best tablet trying to make that happen is the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 – and it does a fine job with the full blown version of Windows 10, an integrated kickstand and optional keyboard attachment. Great for for creative professionals, students and everyday folks alike – it’s only the premium price that push it down the list, but if you’re willing to pay for it, you’re getting a lot of power. A LOT.
Not quite what you're looking for? Maybe our other laptop articles will have what you need:
The iPad Pro sits at the very top of Apple's iPad range – above the iPad mini and iPad Air series. This page lists all of the best iPad Pro deals currently available from online retailers in your area.
We're keeping our fingers crossed for some discounts on Apple iPad Pro deals for Amazon Prime Day, and we'll update this page with the latest offers. While we imagine there's not much room for discount on the new 2017 lineup, the previous gen of iPad Pros are ripe for some discount dings at checkout.
If you're looking for a different cheap iPad, check out our iPad deals page which lists the best deals on every model of iPad. If you'd prefer the Apple experience with a laptop, you'll want to rake a look at our best MacBook deals page.
The iPad Pro is a truly stunning tablet which now comes in three sizes. The original lineup includes 12.9-inch and 9.7-inch models. While the most recent 2017 models include 12.9-inch too, alongside the new 10.9-inch version.
If you're after the very best tablet on the planet at the best price possible, see the iPad Pro deals below! Or stay tuned and wait to see what discounts come with the Black Friday deals.
iPad Pro (2017) deals
Instead of naming the newest iPad Pro, the iPad Pro 2, Apple continue the irritating trend of giving the latest version the same name as the last one. Obviously this can make it difficult to pick out the new from the old sometimes, but we're here to help.
First of all the 10.5-inch iPad Pro is a new size, as the previous smaller model was 9.7-inches. There is once again a 12.9-inch model though. How do you tell the difference between the new and old iPad Pro models? Your safest bet is to double check the internal spec and look out for one key difference, the new iPad Pros use an A10X processor chip, and the older ones sport the A9X. So if you want the latest version, look out for that A10X.
So, that's a faster processor to give it the edge over the older iPad Pro, you're also getting a modest upgrade to the rear camera, with the biggest megapixel boost being given to the front camera, which now provides a much clearer FaceTime experience.
Both new models are available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB sizes. You'll also need to consider if you want a standard iPad Pro to only use Wi-Fi for online activities, or to opt for a cellular route and tie it too a data-only SIM only deal. Be warned though, cellular models are even more expensive.
The screen itself benefits from smaller bezels and a small boost in resolution, for the best iPad screen yet. There's no two ways about it though, the changes aren't exactly earth shattering and if they're not going to make much difference for you, we'd advise taking a look further down this page as we've listed the best prices available for the older iPad Pro models, where you might be able to make a significant saving over these new iPad Pro deals.
iPad Pro 12.9 deals
The original iPad Pro is a tablet titan
At launch, the original iPad Pro was one of the most impressive tablets on the planet. At 12.9-inches from corner to corner it's the biggest iPad ever with the most powerful internal components ever seen in a dedicated touchscreen tablet. The iPad Pro is available in multiple configurations. The standard WiFi version is available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models, while the 4G version comes in 128GB and 256GB versions. Prices start from $799 in the US, £729 in the UK and $1,149 in Australia but of course, as retailers compete for your money, you should never pay these prices! Here are the best iPad Pro deals currently available.
iPad Pro 9.7 deals
The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is effectively an iPad Air 3
Available from March 31, the iPad Pro 9.7 is Apple's new flagship 'standard' iPad. It was announced on March 21 and hits the shelves instead of an iPad Air 3. As well as having a smaller screen, the iPad Pro 9.7 is also 8mm thinner than the iPad Pro 12.9, weighs 276g less and has exactly the same Apple A9X chip inside. The camera is actually better in the 9.7-inch model, and can do 4K video recording at 30fps. The iPad Pro 9.7 is available in WiFi-only and 4G configurations of 32GB, 128GB and 256GB while prices start from $599 in the US, £499 in the UK and $849 in Australia. As always, you should be able to find a better deal than that!
This is TechRadar's dedicated page for Amazon Kindle deals. Here you'll find the cheapest Kindle deals for all models, whether it be for the classic ereaders or the Fire tablet versions. We cross check every model of Kindle with every retailer every day to pull in the best deals so that this page is always up to date with the cheapest prices.
We're expecting some top discounts and cheap Kindle deals to dominate Amazon Prime Day and you'll be able to see all the latest prices for multiple Kindle eraders and Amazon's excellent Fire tablet range.
You'll find the latest prices from a wide range of retailers for the latest Kindle e-readers. We've found the best prices on the basic yet impressive regular Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite and you'll also find the best deals on the more luxurious models of the Kindle Voyage and Kindle Oasis. You won't have to wait for Black Friday for discounts either as we see decent deals throughout the year, although Amazon's Prime Day is probably just around the corner sometime in July. Want more functionality from your slate? Then take a look at our best iPad deals.
What makes a good Kindle deal?
If this is your first Kindle, you’ll be wanting to know – how do you tell a good Kindle deal when you see one? Luckily, there are so many good ones out there it’s pretty easy!
The early Kindle e-readers don’t have LCD screens or powerful internal components which means they’re usually a lot cheaper than tablets and phones. The lack of a glass screen is fantastic for glare-free reading though and an immediate improvement over using the Kindle app on your phone or tablet.
The Kindle Voyage normally has a price of about $220/£170 so if you can get it for cheaper than that you’re onto a winner. After that, there isn’t a huge difference in features so it all depends how much you want to spend. If you can find the Kindle Paperwhite for under $120/£110 you’re getting a good price, while the Kindle 2014 model has a fairly static price of $80/£59 but every now and then it dips lower. With the new Kindle Oasis model arriving recently, we may see the older models’ prices drop soon.
For the tablets, the best thing to do is just work out how much you want to spend and pick up the model that sits closest to your budget. The HDX models are the good ones so do go for one of those if you can.
What do 'Special Offers' mean on the Kindle listings?
When looking at a Kindle e-reader listing, whether it’s on Amazon’s website, or on a different retailer’s site, you’ll often see ‘includes special offers’ in the title or item description. Choose without special offers and the price will jump up £10/$20.
Essentially, these Special Offers act as Amazon-based screensaver-style advertisements on your Kindle device. So when you pop your Kindle on from sleep mode you’ll see an ad for a book on Amazon’s Kindle store, or maybe a third party ad.
Annoying right? Actually, I opted for with Special Offers (I do love a cheap deal), and it’s not bothered me one bit. You can swipe the ad away easily (no trying to find the tiny X icon here) and get on with your reading straight away. When in sleep mode, the ads cycle on the screen, but they’re not illuminated and they don’t seem to consume any power. They don’t slow anything down when powering on the device after shutdown either.
Seeing as they don’t interfere with the experience at all, I’m glad I didn’t spend the extra £10 to block them. Hey, some of them (sales ads etc) have been worth clicking through to. If you really don’t like them though, you can always pay the difference at a later date to get them removed. So we’d opt for the cheaper ‘includes special offers’ option first.
Here are the best Kindle deals currently available…
Kindle Paperwhite deals
The best standard Kindle ever is a value-for-money winner
The 6th generation Kindle Paperwhite is the best standard Kindle yet, it's the most cost effective ereader on the market and it easily beats the Kobo Aura on performance and design. Unlike the cheaper model, this one comes with screen lighting. Amazon has managed to create a fast e-ink tablet with inventive reading apps. You can lookup words in the dictionary without leaving your page, or even flick through any relevant Wikipedia entries for most words or terms. The latest version's screen is now just as good as the more expensive Voyage model. As far as value for money goes, this is the one to beat.
Amazon Kindle (2016) deals
The new 2016 Kindle, also known as the ‘All-New Kindle’ is the updated version of the entry level Kindle last released in 2014. If you want the cheapest option, this is the one you should go for as the 2014 version has been discontinued and any deals you see are probably for preowned or refurbished units. With prices starting around £60/$80 you’re getting a bargain. The 2016 model is also available in white (the 2014 was black only), it’s lighter, thinner, has double the RAM speed and double the storage capacity at 4GB. The lack of a lit screen is the only thing holding it back really.
Kindle Oasis deals
The luxury ereader you've been waiting for?
The new Kindle Oasis is out now and costs $290/£270 for the basic Wi-Fi version. There's no avoiding the obvious, that's a lot of money for an ereader. However, dedicated ereader fans will appreciate the extra improved screen lighting and premium quality. The considerably cheaper Voyage and Paperwhite models are excellent alternatives though and feature the same screen resolution. The page turn buttons are given a wider bezel on the side, making it easier to hold one-handed – the screen will flip over to accommodate left-handed readers too. You also get a lush charging cover thrown in for free. Without the optional cover though, this is the lightest Kindle yet. Oh and the battery, it lasts for months instead of weeks. Months!
Kindle Voyage deals
A modest improvement over the Paperwhite
The Voyage used to be the most expensive Kindle around before the Oasis arrived, but at least we're seeing the price drop now. Amazon's Voyage is still one of the best ebook readers available. It's more compact than most other Kindles and the screen is sharper than the standard Kindle. Although, the latest version of the far cheaper Paperwhite now comes with the same 300ppi screen, leaving this model looking a tad overpriced by comparison. Modest improvements on the Voyage include a flush display making the device easier to keep clean, adaptive screen lighting for easier lighting adjustments and additional page turning buttons.
Amazon tablet deals
Want something a bit more advanced than a Kindle e-reader? If your needs are a bit more media-intensive as you want a handheld device for gaming, viewing movies (especially on Amazon Prime) and browsing the web, an Amazon tablet could be for you. Naturally, there’s a Kindle app, but the glass screen can be a hindrance for extended reading sessions.
Amazon Fire HD 6 deals
The latest tablet version of the Kindle Fire
One of the most enticing tablets to come from Amazon, mixing efficient integration with the Prime services and a compact footprint that makes it easy to drop in your bag, this 6-incher is no tablet king, but it does what it sets out to well. It’s quite small though, so if 6-inches is too tiny you could have a look at the options below.
Amazon Fire 7 deals
Amazon's most popular Fire tablet
Sitting at the budget end of Amazon's Kindle tablet range, the Fire 7 is generally the cheapest of the lot as it doesn't have a HD screen. Amazon has just refreshed the Fire 7 range though and it now comes with Alexa, the virtual assistant from the Amazon Echo devices. You can also have different profiles – some for the kids – through Amazon FreeTime.
Amazon Fire HD 8 deals
The All-New Amazon Fire HD 8 is an improved beast
For this low price, the Amazon Fire HD 8 is one of the best tablets around, especially if you're happy to jump into Amazon's ecosystem. Mobile gamers will appreciate the improved tech inside the more recent versions as it comes with more storage, 50% more RAM and a 1.3GHz processor. Better yet, the 2017 edition seen below now comes with integrated Alexa – the excellent virtual assistant from the Amazon Echo range. You're not paying any more for the privilege either, so we'd only recommend the latest version.
Amazon Fire HD 10 deals
Amazon largest premium tablet
If you're not a fan of Amazon's range of cheaper tablets because of the rather cheap plastic finish, you might be interested in the revamped Fire HD 10. Gone is the plastic finish, replaced with a premium aluminium body. A 1.5GHz processor makes this one of the fastest ever Amazon tablets and the HD screen is an ideal match for the range of Amazon Prime instant videos.
Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition
Got tech-hungry children, but don't want them to get their grubby mitts on your tablet or phone all the time? The Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablet could be the answer. In addition to enhanced durability (look at the size of that housing), it also comes with a two-year guarantee, which covers the tablet -even if the kids break it- no questions asked. There are plenty of software safeguards too, such as making sure they can only watch appropriate content online, adjustable screen-time limits and access to loads of age-appropriate games.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition
Bigger and better than the Fire 7 Kids. You're getting a larger screen with HD visuals. The sound is better too as the mono speaker has been banished for Dolby Atmos and dual stereo speakers. The battery has been boosted up to around 12 hours, compared to the eight offered by the smaller model and you get 32GB of storage instead of 16GB. You're still getting that same tough build quality and two year guarantee too. Come on, don't make your child grow up with SD visuals. Doesn't everyone deserve HD, even if they are going to smear jam all over it and throw it around a bit?
Kindle Fire HDX 7 deals
Last year’s main Kindle tablet, now available with some great deals
For the right kind of customer, the Kindle Fire HDX is the perfect tablet. And who is that customer? Someone who doesn’t want to do much more than consume content on their tablet. For the customisation you give up, you gain simplicity and ease of use. We’d like to call this the sort of tablet you give to someone who is less than tech savvy, but those devices don’t usually have such good hardware. There’s not single junk part on the Kindle Fire HDX that’ll spoil your experience with all of Amazon’s rich content. Features like X-Ray for movies, downloadable Prime videos and Mayday will have the most ardent Nexus fan feeling rather jealous. Fresh UK stock is increasingly rare, so this may only show results for US readers.
We check our Kindle deals every day to make sure they're always up to date and available!
There's been a significant Amazon Kindle Paperwhite price drop today, just hours before the Amazon Prime Day deals kick off for a 30-hour stretch.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is $30 off today only, which means you're paying $79.99 for the most popular Amazon e-reader, as opposed to the usual $109.99.
Bear in mind that this is a Certified Refurbished Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, according to Amazon, which means it's likely an open box scenario in which someone bought it and returned it within 30 days, not wanting it.
This is the best-selling Kindle, but you won't be able to see today's deal unless you're a Prime member in the US or Prime Student subscriber.
More Amazon Prime Day news to come
Amazon Prime Day is now shaping up to be a massive sales day for the online retailer, on the scale of its Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
Almost every Amazon device seems to be on sale, including Amazon Echo, and we expect the company to be hawking more of its goods.
Amazon Prime Day is technically tomorrow, starting at 6PM ET / 9PM PT, dipping into July 10. The official 'Prime Day' date is all day on July 11.
With deep discounts like this one for the Kindle Paperwhite 3rd Generation, we expect to see more refurbished items with price drops percentages in the double digits.
It's a good sign. We'll have more early deals, leaks and a rundown of the discounts at the link below.
Amazon Prime Day deals in the US technically started early, ahead of the official July 11 start date and time. We have a list of the best ongoing deals today.
That's good news because Amazon Prime Day is your best chance to buy at a lower price, according to Amazon. It's like the prequel to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it now lasts over 24 hours.
It's true, Amazon Prime Day is an invented online shopping holiday. But last year it turned out to be the biggest day in Amazon’s history: Traffic was up 36%, it sold 90,000 TVs deals and thousands of Kindle Paperwhite e-readers, Fire TV Sticks and Fire HD tablets.
Amazon Echo will surely break records during Amazon Prime Day 2017, as it's already on sale. And last year just three hours US customers had bought 18,048 pairs of headphones thanks to wonderfully deep discounts.
When is Prime Day 2017 and what deals are likely? Read on for the answers to these questions given to you in flash sale-like.
The first Amazon Prime Day deals are already available before July 11, and that means you can start saving right now. And what's on sale is already exciting.
We're already seeing cheap MacBook Pro laptops, Nest, Samsung Galaxy S8 phones and its own Amazon Fire HD tablet. And, surprise: there's been a very temporary Amazon Echo price drop that lasts one day only.
Here's the start (but not the end) of our Amazon Prime Day deals list.
Updated list
Saturday's early Amazon Prime Day deals are focused on Amazon products, of course. You can expect a lot of that throughout the week up until July 12.
Amazon Echo is just $89.99 when it's normally $179.99. That's a savings of $75 or 45% off. It does come with one caveat: it's listed as "Certified Refurbished Amazon Echo." But Amazon has a easy return policy, so it's very likely an open box and someone returned it within 30 days.
Looking for Amazon smartphone deals? It's selling Android phones starting at $49.99 today. They normally cost anywhere from $99 to $279.
Amazon Echo Show is $100 off when you buy two. You really have to be in the mood for two Echo Show speakers, but since it just came out, your relatives probably don't have one either, so it's a good gift idea.
Movies are just $0.99 to rent, when they usually cost $5.99 in HD. You can also buy select movies for $4.99 through the same link.
You can get up to 40% off Kindle Unlimited, which gives you access to over one million books and audiobooks, according to Amazon. It's Amazon's version of a library, only this costs money upfront.
We have not one, not two, but three $100 to $200 off MacBook Pro deals, which don't often happen on Apple products bought through Amazon.
It's been confirmed that Amazon Prime Day will be Tuesday, July 11, 2017, with the caveat that the start time is 9PM Eastern and 6PM Pacific in the US.
Yes, that means the sale will go on for 30 hours and actually commence during the final hours of July 10. That will be just enough time to buy 24-hour deals on key Amazon products, sleep, then wake up to lightning deals.
What's the point of Prime Day?
Prime Day exists to promote Amazon’s Prime subscription service, which Amazon says is the best deal in the history of shopping. Prime Day is for Prime members, many of whom will sign up for a free trial of the service just so they can get the deals. Once signed up, many of them stay as Prime subscribers.
If you're not a Prime subscriber, there's usually a big Amazon Prime sale in the run-up to the big day. In the US, a year of Prime was discounted from $99 to $79. As we mentioned in our Amazon Prime review, we think Prime is an absolute bargain anyway so at the discounted price it's hard not to strongly recommend signing up.
Why Amazon Prime Day matters
If you’re looking for bargains, Prime Day 2017 is important – not just for gadgets, but for any kind of item. For example, on Prime Day 2016 Prime members bought 215,000 pressure cookers, 200,000 pairs of headphones, 24,000 hammocks, 23,000 Roomba robots and 14,000 Lenovo laptops.
The crucial difference between Prime Day and Black Friday or Cyber Monday – other than it being Amazon’s idea – is that November’s deals are geared towards gifting, because of course it’s the holiday season. Amazon Prime Day is more about personal shopping, either for treating yourself or for saving money household items.
Will Prime Day 2017 be more exciting than last year?
That depends on what you’re planning to buy. Discounts on Amazon’s own products – the Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick, Fire Tablets and Kindle e-readers for example – are pretty much guaranteed, and there will be stacks of lightning deals on the day too. Unless Amazon decides to do things radically differently this year it’s going to be a really mixed bag, with laptop deals next to handbag deals next to power tools and processors. If only there was a website beginning with “T” and ending in “echradar.com” to find the best deals so you don’t have to delve through the dross. Hang on… there is!
As you’d expect, we’re going to be hyped up on energy drinks throughout Prime Day on both sides of the Atlantic, finding the deals that you really don’t want to miss.
Do I need a Prime subscription to get involved?
Yes and no. While Prime is for Prime customers, there will be other deals on the day that are open to everyone – it’s just that with lightning deals, which tend to have limited stock, the Prime users get to see them before anybody else. That means some of the very best deals can be gone long before people who aren’t Prime members get to know about them.
That doesn’t mean you need to pay for a Prime membership, though. You can sign up for a free trial and take full advantage of all the Prime benefits, including Prime Day. But don’t forget to cancel the trial afterwards if you don’t intend to continue. If you don’t, you’ll be automatically billed for membership when the trial period ends.
Yes. Amazon Student gives you Prime membership for $49 per year instead of the usual $99, and it’s completely free for the first six months. It’s worth considering not just for Prime Day, but for the included TV, music and movie streaming. It's hard to match a 50% discount. Sadly, there's no Amazon Prime for teachers, like some US educators so desire.
Amazon Echo – $50 off
Amazon is on the forefront of deals, but it's also spearheading the smart home with an Amazon Echo. You can expect Amazon Prime Day 2017 to feature a deal on the Echo considering it was discount by a cool $50 last year.
Samsung 55-inch 4K TV UN55KU6600 – $598.99 off
When a $1,247.99 4K television costs just $649.99 for 24 hours, you better hop on that Amazon Prime Day deal if you have the money and need a 4KTV. This was Samsung's big 55-inch TV – four times the pixels as a Full HD set and yet it was almost cut in half in terms of price.
Toshiba Chromebook 2, $120 off
Amazon Prime Day laptop deals are always plentiful in the US, and the retailer's 2017 discounts should be no different. A year ago, online shoppers were going crazy for this new Toshiba notebook that went from $400 to $280. We're hoping for even more cheap laptops this year.
Kindle Paperwhite, $33 off
Amazon started as a online book retailer, so it's no surprise that its brilliant e-ink displays are popular. One of our favorites is the Kindle Paperwhite, which usually goes for $119.99. However, on Amazon Prime Day, we were able to find it for just $86.99. Right now, Amazon has it on a temporary discount at $99.
Huawei Watch, $174 off
New Android smartwatch that look this elegant don't come cheap. However, we were able to get it for a reduced price during Amazon Prime Day. Instead of the original list price of $349.99, Amazon discounted the smartwatch to $175.99. It remains one of the classiest-looking Android smartwatches available.
What to expect from Prime Day 2017
We’d expect Prime Day 2017 to follow the template of the last two Prime Days. In the week or two before the big day, we'll see an enticing Amazon Prime subscription discount. Then on the day itself deals will be grouped into two category: Deals of the Day, which tend to be the most eye-catching and which are available in big numbers, and Lightning Deals, which cover every conceivable kind of product, have limited availability and often sell out very quickly. In the latter case Prime members get to see the deals before non-members.
Top deals to expect on Prime Day 2017
All the Amazon things
Last year’s biggest sellers included the Amazon Fire TV Stick, the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. Spot the trend? This year we’d expect those items to be joined by the Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot and Amazon Echo Look – so whatever you do, don’t buy an Amazon device this side of Prime Day unless you like spending more money than you need to.
PS4 and Xbox One
The current generation of consoles is well established and there aren’t any limited supply problems for the PS4 and Xbox One, so we’d expect some serious discounting on Prime Day 2016 – although probably not for the PS4 Pro, which is still relatively new. With the Pro out there and the Xbox One X incoming we think Prime Day could see some exciting deals, especially on bundles: they have more wiggle room when it comes to pricing than console-only offers.
4K TVs
Working out the value of a TV can be difficult: the pace of change and strength of competition means that even the most cutting-edge TV goes from can’t-afford to cheap-as-chips in an incredibly short time. Pay no attention to the RRP / MSRP, though: use a service such as PriceSpy or CamelCamelCamel to see if what looks like a great deal is just Amazon getting round to matching rivals’ prices. There will be lots of genuine deals, however, so Prime Day 2016 is a good day to look for a new TV.
Laptops and gaming laptops
We’re constantly monitoring laptop deals not just on Prime Day, but every day. There’s lots of flexibility in laptop-land, and we’d expect Amazon to take advantage of that to drop the price of big-name laptops quite dramatically. Keep a particular eye on Lenovo, Asus and HP laptops, which tend to see discounting across multiple models.
Home electronics
House stuff might not be glamorous, but you can save an absolute packet on everything from pots and pans to food processors on Prime Day. As we mentioned earlier it’s a big day for buying hammocks, pressure cookers and robot vacuum cleaners.
Prime Day 2017 FAQ: what it is, when it happens and where to get the best deals
What is Prime Day?
It’s Amazon’s annual birthday celebration, when it discounts more than 100,000 products of all kinds.
When is Prime Day 2017?
Amazon hasn’t said yet, but we’re guessing that Prime Day 2017 will be held on Tuesday 11 July 2017. Prime Day 2016 was the 12 of July, which was the second Tuesday of the month. This year that falls on the eleventh.
Is Prime Day 2017 Amazon only?
The name is Amazon’s, yes, but in 2016 plenty of other retailers decided to try and spoil Amazon’s fun by running their own doorbuster sales.
What about Amazon competitors?
No surprise, Amazon Prime Day has attracted the attention of the store's competitors, with Walmart, Target, Best Buy and NewEgg all trying to discount items anywhere from 24 hours to a full week. It doesn't have quite the same draw, but it's great for budget conscious consumers.
Are Prime Day deals real?
Yes and no. They’re real in the sense that you’re paying less than the official price for things, but sometimes that official price was just silly.
Like many retailers, Amazon is very keen on comparing prices against RRPs (MSRPs in the US) that nobody really expects anybody to pay – so for example in 2013 the Wall Street Journal noted that an Amazon deal of 45% off a $1,799 Samsung HDTV wasn't quite so impressive: the previous month, Amazon had been selling the same TV for $997.99, so the actual saving was less than ten dollars. Such deals are essentially the same thing as supermarket wine promotions or amazing, never-ending furniture sales.
If you have a particular product in mind it's worth keeping an eye on the prices now to make sure the deals are genuine on Prime Day. We find sites such as PriceSpy invaluable, as they enable you to see exactly what prices are being charged for specific things – not just big purchases, but smaller items such as video games too.
Some of the deals will clearly be paper bargains like the one the Wall Street Journal reported, but that doesn't mean all of them will be. Amazon will have been bargaining hard with key suppliers to cut the prices it pays for some products, and it'll sell some high-profile items as loss leaders in the expectation of cross-selling, up-selling and, well, selling. From Amazon's point of view it can lose money on big deals and make it back from Prime subscriptions and by shifting stock it wants to get rid of anyway.
Where can I find the best Prime Day deals? Right here. We scour all the top retailers’ Prime Day deals so that you don’t have to – and we tell you whether the deals are worth getting excited about too. Whether it’s a 4K HDR OLED TV or an Xbox One controller, if it’s discounted we’ll have the details here.
How do I get the best Prime Day 2017 deals?
Know what you want, know what you can afford to spend and know the market: you’ll often spot interesting price hikes in June to enable amazing-looking discounts on Prime Day. Pay particular attention to real prices, not RRPs: TVs are particularly bad for this, with sets whose RRP is eleventy billion pounds routinely selling for five hundred quid. Sites such as CamelCamelCamel and PriceSpy enable you to tell if you’re looking at a legitimate bargain or some timed tomfoolery.
It’s also a very good idea to be flexible: for example, if you fancy a Sony 4K TV then think about the features you want rather than a specific model number: the BRV123ABD54-88C-9218-B may not be discounted on Prime Day, but an almost identical set with the specification you want probably will be.
Can I get cashback on Prime Day deals?
Sometimes, yes. Your debit card or credit card may offer cashback on purchases. It’s definitely worth looking into, not just for Prime Day but for any online shopping.
How can I stay safe on Prime Day?
There’s a good chance that spammers and scammers will latch on to Prime Day much as they have with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so be wary of unsolicited emails or links to deals on social media no matter how legitimate they look: anything asking for card details or login details is a scam. If you’re on a PC, make sure your security software is up to date. Many suites automatically block known scam sites.