The best early Prime Day 2023 deals

You don’t have to wait until Prime Day 2023 on July 11 to access great deals. Several products – mostly Amazon-made technology – have already been discounted First subscribers ahead of the main event which takes place in mid-July. The highlights include deals on numerous Fire TV models, the Luna controller for its cloud gaming platform, and some nice smart home accessories too. Some deals are available by invitation only, while others are up for grabs right now.

We’ll be watching Prime Day to make sure this post is up to date. Then, from July 11th through July 12th, you can expect us to bring you the best deals on gaming and other related nerds.

Like Google Stadia (RIP), Amazon’s Luna game streaming in the cloud lets you play games over the internet – no console required. All you need is a stable internet connection to play, a controller and a compatible device for the service to function.

Numerous controllers are supported, but you may want to buy this official Luna controller in combination as it comes with a month of Luna+ for just $39.99 prior to Prime Day. Typically, the controller itself costs $69.99 and the service costs $9.99 per month. In addition, Amazon claims that the latency of its Luna controller is much better than controllers connected via Bluetooth, as it connects to Wi-Fi instead.

Luna is compatible with a wide variety of devices, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Fire TV, and even Amazon Fire tablets (your saves also follow you across devices). Prime members automatically get access to a number of titles, including Fortnite, without extra costs. Signing up for Luna+ gives you access to a larger library of games to choose from (the game catalog is listed here). Other subscriptions to Jackbox Games and Ubisoft+ are also available for an additional fee if you want to expand your Luna catalog even further.

Amazon is currently discounting a limited run of Star Wars-Themed stands that are compatible with 4th and 5th Gen Echo Dot. Usually available for $39.99, you can buy the cleverly designed holsters for it $29.99 each. These are available by invite only, so if you’re interested, request an invite and you might be chosen to buy one on Prime Day.

These plastic busts are modeled after the face of Darth Vader, Mando and the Imperial Stormtrooper. They all have a spot on the back for the speaker’s power cable to run through, and translucent eyes that glow blue when your Echo Dot is activated with your voice. Note: The stand does not include the speaker, although you should expect the cost of the stand $49.99 5th Gen Echo Dot to come down before or during Prime Day.

While Amazon hasn’t made an olive-green Echo Dot yet, Otterbox makes a $27.99 stand modeled after Grogu if your Mandalorian Echo Dot needs a sidekick.

Limited Edition Star Wars Echo Dot Stands

Prices taken at time of publication.

This represents the fourth and fifth generation Echo Dot and is modeled after Darth Vader, Din Djarin and the Imperial Stormtrooper. While the kickstand is a purely cosmetic addition to the smart home device, the translucent eyes light up when the Dot is activated.

Prime Day is also a great opportunity to get your hands on an Amazon Fire TV television for well below the usual cost. Currently there are several models available with a big discount. The few we recommend are the 65-inch QLED Series Amazon Fire TV, the 55-inch 4 Series Smart TV, and the 43-inch Omni Series, all of which are 4K sets.

Starting with the most expensive model first, the 65-inch QLED series is the flagship model for Amazon’s Fire TV lineup and is on sale for $599.99 (normally $799.99) ahead of Prime Day. The QLED series features a 4K quantum dot display with Dolby Vision IQ and HDR 10+ Adaptive technology for high-contrast picture quality whatever you’re watching. Like other Fire TV models, the QLED series supports Alexa voice-activated functionality. Smart enough it doesn’t need a remote to respond to voice commands, allowing for true hands-free playback control.

You’ll have to pay more (and look outside of Amazon’s offerings) to find gamer-focused features like AMD FreeSync or Nvidia G-Sync compatibility. But for everything else, the QLED series represents solid value, especially at this price point.

Another solid 4K option that supports HDR10 and Dolby Digital Plus is the 43-inch Omni Series Fire TV, which is currently on sale for $99.99 (normally $399.99). That’s not a typo. However, this model is available by invitation only at the discounted price, meaning the model will only be available in limited quantities on Prime Day, but Prime members can now request an invite to first dibs when the sale goes live.

Honestly, if you just need a somewhat large, 4K-ready display with a 60Hz refresh rate, the UHD Omni Series is a great option for just $100. The Omni Series also has the added benefit of hands-free Alexa- voice control, unlike the 4 series which requires a remote control.

Amazon’s 55-inch 4 Series Fire TV is discounted to $379.99 instead of the usual $519.99. While it doesn’t have the same QLED screen as more expensive models for true-to-life contrast, the 4 Series supports 4K HDR10 playback and Dolby Digital Plus for vibrant picture and sound. Like the other TV options, the 4 Series has Alexa functionality built in, but only supports voice control via the included remote, in case that matters to you.

Amazon is accepting invitations to purchase this Acer Swift X on Prime Day. While it’s not a gaming laptop per se, its Ryzen 7 CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti should be able to run a fair number of games at medium settings. If you get an invite to buy it on Prime Day, it’ll just cost you $629.99, a great price for what you get. Whether you plan on gaming or not, it’s a compact 14-inch laptop that seems great for all sorts of tasks.

All of Amazon’s streaming devices are also getting a significant discount. The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K MaxAmazon’s most powerful streaming stick, is currently available for $24.99 (normally $54.99), while the standard 4K Fire TV stick retails for $22.99 instead of $49.99. The Fire TV Cube is also on sale for $109.99, which is $30 off the standard price.

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the best choice for most people and offers several advantages over its closest Roku counterpart, the Roku Stick 4K Plus. The 4K Max features Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, Dolby Atmos compatibility and has Amazon Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service, baked into the operating system. To top it off, the current discount on the 4K Max makes it cheaper than its close cousin the Roku.

The standard Fire TV Stick 4K offers many of the same benefits as the 4K Max, but at a slightly lower price. You get the same picture quality here, plus a capable voice remote, but it has a slightly slower processor and only supports Wi-Fi 5, if that’s important to you.

Finally, the ominous Fire TV Cube is equipped with the most powerful processor of the bunch and offers the same visual and audio quality as its smaller counterparts. The main difference from the Fire TV Cube, however, is that it comes equipped with an always-on microphone that allows for hands-free voice control in addition to all the usual skills you’ll find in the Echo Dot. It can also act as a loudspeaker.

Update (July 6): Added three deals for Amazon Fire TV devices.