AI News Feed
Market watch
AirPods 5 Preorders Open at $124.99 After Amazon Applies a First-Time $5 DiscountIMAX Enhanced Delivers a Taller Picture, but Not Always the Best QualityAppZapper 3000 Returns for Modern Mac Era With Interactive UninstallerBanks Keep Branches as Growth Hubs but Face Digital Blind Spot, Report SaysUK Pubs and Bars Can Accept Digital ID Apps for Age Checks From September 15Scientists Find Egg-Bearing Antarctic Krill at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents
AirPods 5 Preorders Open at $124.99 After Amazon Applies a First-Time $5 DiscountIMAX Enhanced Delivers a Taller Picture, but Not Always the Best QualityAppZapper 3000 Returns for Modern Mac Era With Interactive UninstallerBanks Keep Branches as Growth Hubs but Face Digital Blind Spot, Report SaysUK Pubs and Bars Can Accept Digital ID Apps for Age Checks From September 15Scientists Find Egg-Bearing Antarctic Krill at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents
Companies

Amazon October sale dates announced, but reports differ; early deals and Apple pre-orders begin

Amazon has announced October Prime Big Deal Days, with Engadget and one report saying Oct. 6-7 and another saying Oct. 7-8. Early deals are live, and Apple's new AirPods 5 and Apple Watch models are discounted for pre-order before Sept. 18.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-16 02:18

Engadget reported that the sale will begin at 3:01 a.m. ET on Oct. 6 and will offer deals across more than 35 product categories. New deals will arrive three times daily under the Today's Big Deals banner, and Amazon has teased participation from Shark, Anker, Sony and Lego. Amazon's own Kindle and Echo devices are expected to be included. Amazon will also have a Top 100+ Deals for Halloween section, Engadget said.

TechRadar's earlier report said the October Prime Day sale will run Oct. 7 and 8 as a 48-hour Prime-member event and will kick off the Black Friday shopping season as Walmart, Target and Best Buy launch competing sales. That report said Amazon has already released early deals available to all shoppers, including record-low prices on TVs, headphones and smartwatches from LG, Apple and Garmin, plus appliances such as vacuums and coffee makers and Amazon smart home devices starting at $17.99.

Among the early discounts listed by TechRadar are the Fire TV Stick 4K for $17.99 with checkout code 4KSAVEFTV, the Apple AirTag 4 Pack for $79.99, the JBL Tune 530BT headphones for $39.95, the Fire HD 8 tablet for $84.99, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 at a record-low price, a Dreo tower fan, a Ninja compact blender under $80, a Ninja Fresh Brew coffee maker for $69.99, the Bissell Little Green Max portable carpet cleaner for $109.99 and a Shark Pet cordless vacuum at 35% off. TechRadar said the official October sale requires a Prime membership, but the early deals are available to everyone.

A separate TechRadar article said Prime Day kicks off Oct. 6-7 and highlighted 12 early home office deals under $50 for Prime members. Those included Logitech's Brio 101 webcam and a silent wireless mouse, as well as ergonomic items such as a neck massager and an anti-fatigue mat. The article did not provide the full list in the available text.

In a separate Apple-related announcement, 9to5Mac reported that Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 4, Apple Watch Series 12 and AirPods 5 last week and that the devices will hit shelves on Friday, Sept. 18. Ahead of that launch, the new lineup is available to pre-order on Amazon with pre-release discounts. 9to5Mac listed AirPods 5 at $125, down from $129, and AirPods 5 with a wireless charging case at $149. Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $390, down from $399, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is listed from $780, down from $799; the natural finish model starts at $779. Several size, cellular and titanium or ceramic configurations are also discounted, and new Apple Watch bands are available at $99.

According to 9to5Mac, both AirPods 5 models now offer Active Noise Cancellation, unlike the previous AirPods 4 generation, though the lower-end model lacks on-stem volume controls and a wireless charging case, and the higher-end model offers about an extra hour of battery life. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 include what Apple calls an all-new Health Sensing System, with higher-frequency heart rate and HRV sensing that supports a new readiness score feature, plus Audio Intelligence features including Live Rewind and Siri Recap.

Engadget also said Alexa users can ask the assistant to create deal alerts for specific product categories and set a target price for an item that Alexa can automatically purchase if a deal appears at that price. Existing Amazon shopping lists can be checked for available deals. Engadget advised shoppers to use price trackers such as CamelCamelCamel or Keepa to review price history during the sale.