The best early October Prime Day deals on Apple devices: Save on AirTags, iPads, Apple Watches and more

Amazon’s October Prime Day sale has brought a handful of decent discounts on Apple devices, from iPads to Apple Watches to accessories like the Apple Pencil and AirTags. If you’ve been waiting to take the plunge and don’t want to hold out until Black Friday, here are the best Apple deals we could find from the Prime Big Deal Days event. We’ll update this post if we find anything new. As a refresher, the two-day sale officially runs October 7-8, and you’ll need to be a Prime member to view some of the deals.Best Prime Day Apple dealsApple MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 512GB) for $999 ($200 off): The MacBook Air tops our guide to the best laptops. The latest model isn’t a major overhaul, but it’s still exceptionally thin, lightweight and well-designed, and the M4 chip is more than powerful enough for everyday use. This deal is just a few bucks below the best price we’ve seen for a configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Other configs with more memory are $200 off as well.Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 512GB) for $1,199 ($200 off): The 15-inch MacBook Air is essentially the same as the 13-inch version, only it has a roomier display, a more spacious trackpad and better speakers. This is another discount we’ve seen plenty of times before, but it’s only slightly higher than the all-time low for a model with 512GB of storage.AdvertisementAdvertisementApple iPad (A16, 256GB) for $399 ($50 off): The entry-level iPad earned a score of 84 in our review: If you mainly want a tablet for streaming, browsing the web, emailing or lighter word processing, it should do the job. It doesn’t lose out on the Mac-style productivity features introduced with iPadOS 26 either. We’ve seen this discount on the 256GB model fairly often in recent months, and it’s about $25 above the device’s all-time low, but it’s still $50 cheaper than buying directly from Apple.Apple AirTags (4-pack) for $75 ($24 off): With its enormous finding network and ultra-wideband tech for accurately locating nearby items, Apple’s AirTag is the top pick for iPhone users in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers. We saw a four-pack fall as low as $65 earlier in the year, but this is still a nice drop from Apple’s list price. If you’re not in desperate need for these, though, note that we may see an updated model later this year.Appleli]:list-decimal [&_ol]:space-y-6 [&_ul>li]:list-disc [&_ul]:space-y-6″ readability=”35.53125″>The Pencil Pro is Apple’s premium stylus, offering pressure sensitivity, wireless charging, haptic feedback and unique gesture controls compared to the standard Pencil. It’s a dependably tool for sketching and note-taking; just note that it’s not compatible with the base iPad and most older models. This is another discount we’ve seen regularly over the past year, but it’s $30 off the pen’s list price. $99 at AmazonApple Mac mini (M4) for $499 ($100 off): This latest iteration of Apple’s tiny PC has a smaller footprint, a faster M4 chip, 16GB of RAM by default, two front-facing USB-C ports and an extra Thunderbolt 4 port. It can also drive three external displays, though it lacks USB-A ports entirely. We gave a higher-end config with Apple’s M4 Pro chip a score of 90 in our review. This deal is for the entry-level model with the base M4 chip and a 256GB SSD — it’s $30 above the all-time low but still a nice savings.Apple Watch SE 3 (40mm, GPS) for $240 ($9 off): Apple only released its latest crop of Apple Watches a couple weeks ago, but Amazon is selling each with a modest discount. The Watch SE 3, for instance, is available for $240: That’s just $9 off its list price, but it’s something if you’re buying soon after launch anyway. As for the device itself, this third-gen version of the SE adds an always-on display, which makes it so you no longer have to wake the watch to check the time or your notifications. It now runs on the same S10 chip as its higher-end siblings, too, and it still covers the essential health and fitness features. If you’re in the market for your first smartwatch, or if you only want a watch for step counting, sleep tracking and notifications, it should be a strong value.AdvertisementAdvertisementApple Watch Ultra 3 (49mm) for $780 ($19 off): The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a much more niche device than the Series 11 or SE 3, aimed at serious athletes and adventurers more than the typical gymgoer. It is the biggest and most rugged Apple Watch, with the brightest display (up to 3,000 nits), longest battery life (up to 42 hours) and most advanced components. It also supports satellite communications. The watch normally retails for $799, so this isn’t a major discount, but since this is a brand-new device, any drop at all is worth noting for early adopters.Appleli]:list-decimal [&_ol]:space-y-6 [&_ul>li]:list-disc [&_ul]:space-y-6″ readability=”37.280265339967″>The Series 11 is the top overall pick in our guide to the best smartwatches. It’s not as compelling as the SE 3 from a value perspective, but it has a bigger, brighter and more scratch-resistant display, slightly longer battery life and support for more advanced health features like hypertension alerts and an ECG app. We gave it a score of 90 in our review. Just note that there’s no pressing need to upgrade if you’re happy with your current Apple Watch. This is a slight $9 discount, but we note it since the Series 11 has been on sale for less than a month, so any bit of savings are welcome. $390 at AmazonApple Watch Series 10 (42mm, GPS + Cellular) for $329 ($170 off): As a general rule, most people should buy the newest version of whatever Apple product they want. That said, the Series 11 is only a minor upgrade over the prior Series 10 — the glass is more scratch-resistant, the cellular model has 5G support, the battery is marginally bigger and that’s about it. If you’re mostly worried about saving cash, want LTE support and still need the more advanced health features the Apple Watch SE lacks, this is a worthwhile discount for a version of last year’s model with cellular support.Apple Watch SE (2nd gen, 40mm, GPS + Cellular) for $189 ($110 off): The Apple Watch SE 3 is a far more substantial upgrade over its predecessor than the Series 11, so we strongly recommend paying the premium to get the latest version. But if you’re sure you can live without the always-on display, faster charging, superior chip and other upgrades that come with the SE 3, the last-gen model can still get you most of the basic Apple Watch experience for less cash while it remains in stock. This is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for the 40mm cellular model.
Source: engadget.com