Amazon Prime Day 2021: Dates and what deals to expect

Even though we're not quite there yet, there's no harm in starting your search early to find the best deals possible – indeed, there's already a fair few nice price drops already out there.

• Head to Amazon's deals page

Plus, it's not only Amazon who will have discounts across the 48-hour period, with many other retailers likely to follow suit. So you'll want to know where to find the best deals and how to check prices to make sure you're getting a genuine bargain.

We've pulled together all the key information so that you know everything there is to know about Amazon Prime Day 2021. That includes when it's happening, what to expect and how to get a good deal. You might also want to read our article on how to sign up for Amazon Prime.

To find out more about the Amazon devices that could be discounted this Prime Day, read our Amazon Echo Dot review, Amazon Fire HD 10 review and the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus review. Be sure to check out our best Amazon Echo deals to find the latest price cuts.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2021?

The date is now confirmed – Amazon Prime Day is happening on Monday 21st June and Tuesday 22nd June.

That's right, Prime Day is, in fact, two days, as it has been for the last few years. Across this 48-hour period, you can expect a wealth of deals to appear online, some of which might only be around for a couple of hours. We'll be keeping this page up to date with all the best deals we find during this time.

In 2020, Prime Day didn't take place during the normal period – hardly surprising, since there was nothing about 2020 you could legitimately describe as normal. Amazon Prime Day 2020 was a two-day event, and it happened on the 13th and 14th October.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual sales event that the retailer puts on for its Amazon Prime members.

Lots of big brands, including Apple, Samsung and Nintendo, discount their products and you'll make significant savings on nearly all Amazon devices. You can expect this to cover the likes of the Amazon Fire TV Stick and smart displays, including the new Amazon Echo Show 10.

To gain access to these exclusive offers, you need an Amazon Prime membership which costs £7.99 a month. For this you get free premium delivery, the ability to watch TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the chance to stream playlists via Prime Music. There is also a student Prime membership for just £3.99 a month.

However, Amazon also offers a 30-day free trial, allowing you to take advantage of the Prime Day deals. This is a great way of trying out the membership without committing. If you decide it's not for you, just remember to cancel before the 30 days are up or you will be charged.

• Sign up for a 30-day free trial now

Best Amazon deals right now

Although Prime Day is yet to kick off, there's still a nice array of price drops to be found – and these are available to all shoppers, not just Prime members.

• Head to Amazon's deals page

We recently watched the prices of various flagship handsets from both Apple and Samsung drop in price, along with a former flagship too. So if you've already got a SIM-only plan, you might want to consider picking up one of these leading smartphones. To hear what our experts had to say about some of these devices, read our iPhone 12 Mini review and iPhone 12 Pro Max review. If you're not sure which generation of iPhone to pick up, there's also our iPhone 11 vs iPhone 12 article too.

• Apple iPhone 12 Mini (SIM-free) | £749 £649 (save £100 or 13%)
• Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (SIM-free) | £1,099 £1,049 (save £50 or 5%)
• Apple iPhone 11 (SIM-free) | £879 £749 (save £130 or 15%)
• Samsung Galaxy S21 (SIM-free) | £769 £608 (£161 or 21%)

We've also noticed a few TVs on sale at Amazon, ranging from budget to mid-range. We're currently seeing offers from industry leaders including Samsung and LG. Buying a new TV can be a pretty intimidating experience, and if you're unsure where to start, we recommend you read our in-depth which TV to buy guide.

• Samsung 2020 75-inch Q60T QLED 4K Smart TV | £1,179 £1,099 (save £80 or 7%)
• LG 43-inch UN71006LB 4K HDR Smart TV with Alexa | £479.99 £419 (save £60.99 or 13%)
• Samsung 65-inch TU7020 Crystal UHD 4K HDR TV | £699 £648 (save £51 or 7%)
• Philips Ambilight 65-inch 705/12 OLED 4K TV | £1,499 £1,439 (save £60 or 4%)

And, true to fashion, Amazon also has a run of its own devices on sale right now. We're not surprised the first-generation Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 are on sale, since there are new models on the way very soon. For our tech expert's verdict on the eight-inch version of the Show, read our Echo Show 8 review. Although it's not on sale (though might be come Prime Day itself), you might also want to read our Echo Show 10 review.

• Echo Show 8 | £119.99 £99.99 (save £20 or 17%)
• Echo Show 5 | £79.99 £64.99 (save £15 or 19%)
• Echo Dot + Amazon Smart Bundle | £64.98 £54.98 (save £10 or 15%)
• Kindle Kids Edition | £99.99 £64.99 (save £35 or 35%)

There's also a couple of Apple products on sale right now, which certainly isn't something you see every day. Yes, they're minimal price drops, but as you can read in our Apple Watch 6 review and Apple Airpods review, on two pieces of tech our experts rate highly. The question is: will they drop any further during Prime Day itself?

• Apple Watch Series 6 (44mm, silver) | £409 £379 (save £30 or 7%)
• Apple Airpods with charging case | £159 £123.98 (save £35.02 or 22%)

What deals can you expect on Prime Day 2021?

During Prime Day, Amazon always puts (literally) thousands of products on sale, across pretty much every last conceivable category. Whether it be tech devices, home and garden products, kitchen appliances or toys, you'll find almost everything gets its price dropped during this manic 48-hour period.

We're huge tech fans at RadioTimes.com, so we'll be keeping our eye most closely on discounts on TVs, soundbars, games consoles, smartwatches, fitness trackers, earbuds, phone handsets and other tech products. We're anticipating price drops on products from major brands including Apple, Samsung, Sony, Nintendo, Fitbit, Huawei and Xiaomi – but if there's one brand that's guaranteed to be offering discounted products it's Amazon itself. The retailer always slashes the prices of its own devices, such as its Echo range, its Kindle e-readers, its Fire tablets and Fire sticks.

Indeed, as detailed in an independent consumer survey, during Prime Day 2019 the most purchased product was the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, which was followed by the third-generation Echo Dot, the Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa remote and the Echo Show 5. In fact, of the ten most sold products that year, only two weren't Amazon products: the PlayStation Classic Console and the Neos Smart Cam.

If you're on the hunt for any of these (and you're a Prime member of course), then we suggest you pay close attention to this page during the Prime Day period: there'll invariably be lots on sale. Unsure which product to pick up? You may want to read our expert best smart speaker, best streaming stick and best Alexa speaker articles in advance.

What were the best Amazon Prime Day deals in 2020?

There were some brilliant tech deals to be found during Amazon Prime Day last year. The only other time you'll see these kinds of discounts from the retailers is during Black Friday.

Some of the best discounts were found on Amazon's own devices, including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon Echo Dot and Kindle.

The Kindle Paperwhite, usually £119.99, was just £79.99 with a saving of £40. There was over £40 off the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet too, bringing the price down to just £44.99 (RRP £89.99).

Looking beyond the Amazon devices, we also saw great savings on brands including Apple, Nintendo, Google, Fitbit, Samsung and Roku. Much like with Black Friday, Apple AirPods proved to be extremely popular. Typically costing £159, the earbuds were on offer for less than £130.

Also among the most popular products was the Nintendo Switch Lite. Both the standard Nintendo Switch and Lite consoles were near impossible to find during parts of 2020, thanks to our eagerness for new entertainment in lockdown. This increased demand meant that we saw the Nintendo Switch Lite sell out in minutes on the first 24 hours of Amazon Prime Day.

Many of these products are also likely to be extremely popular for Amazon Prime Day 2021. Along with the Apple AirPods and Nintendo Switch consoles, we expect there to be good deals on Amazon's Echo smart displays, especially the new Amazon Echo Show 10, and the latest Fitbit Sense. Amazon recently unveiled updated versions of the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 smart speakers, meaning the older models may end up discounted.

Outside of technology, you can also expect offers on Nespresso and Tassimo coffee machines, Shark vacuum cleaners and Ninja air fryers.

How to get a good deal on Amazon Prime Day

To take advantage of Amazon Prime Day, you need to be an Amazon Prime member. This can be done by signing up for the 30-day free trial or for £7.99 a month.

While you'll likely see products across Amazon drop in price, many retailers will also put on sales to draw you to their websites instead. Therefore, it is always a good idea to check prices at other retailers in case the product you're after is being sold for an even lower price elsewhere.

If there's a particular pair of earbuds or smart speaker you're after, it is also a good idea to keep an eye on prices in the run-up to Amazon Prime Day. This way, you'll know how much of a saving you're getting if they're discounted during the event. CamelCamelCamel is a brilliant tool to help you do this as it tracks the price of any product sold on Amazon and can alert you of price drops.

Many of the best Prime Day deals are lightning deals too, meaning they're only of limited quantity and for a set amount of time. If you're looking for a specific product, we suggest regularly checking for new deals – the best ones usually sell out quickly, and new ones will appear throughout the day.

Our expert reviewers are constantly putting new devices to the test. Before you snap up a bargain, it's also worth doing your research. Whether you're after a new phone or a printer, read our round-ups before you start shopping:

• Which TV to buy
• Best streaming stick
• Best smartwatch
• Best budget smartwatch
• Best Samsung phones
• Best Huawei phones
• Best budget smartphones
• Best Motorola phones
• Best printers
• Best smart speaker
• Best Alexa speaker

Our Amazon device reviews:

• Echo Show 10 review
• Echo Show 8 review
• Echo Dot review
• Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite review
• Amazon Fire TV Stick review
• Amazon Fire TV Cube review
• Amazon Fire HD 10 review
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus review
• Amazon Fire HD 8 review
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids review

How to sign-up to Amazon Prime

Signing up for Amazon Prime is simple. Sign-up on Amazon for exclusive access to deals, free delivery and Amazon Prime Video.

There's a monthly cost of £7.99 a month, or £3.99 if you're a student. Once you enter your card details during sign-up, the amount will automatically be taken out of your bank account each month. And if you change your mind, there's the option to cancel anytime.

However, if you just fancy trying it out, there is also a 30-day free trial. You can create an account the same way you would with the standard Amazon Prime membership and get all the same benefits (including Amazon Prime Day deals).

If you decide it's not for you, just make sure you cancel your membership before the 30 days are up to avoid getting charged. Otherwise, the account will automatically renew to a standard paid Amazon Prime membership, and you can continue to reap the benefits.

Sign up for a 30-day free trial now.

Where to find the best technology deals now

If you don't want to wait until Prime Day for a bargain, we have collated various deals pages to help you find the best prices whatever the time of year.

Our tech experts monitor the price of products, including smart speakers, smart TV sticks, smartwatches and TVs all year round. This helps us spot when a discount is genuine and saves you the hassle of jumping to and from retailers trying to find the best price.

Each deals page is updated throughout the month so that you can be sure that you're getting the product you want for the lowest price possible.

Find a full list of our deals pages below:

• Best Amazon Echo deals
• Best Google Home deals
• Best Amazon Fire TV Stick deals
• Best Audible deals
• Best smartwatch deals
• Best smart TV deals
• Best Samsung QLED TV deals
• Best printer deals
• Best broadband deals
• Best SIM-only deals

For more of the latest news, product guides and reviews, head to our dedicated Technology hub. And don't forget to bookmark our Black Friday 2021 guide for more shopping and product discount news.