This story is part of Amazon Prime Day, CNET’s guide on everything you need to know and how to make sure you get the best deal.
Amazon Prime Day 2020 will be here next week, running Tuesday, Oct. 13 and Wednesday, Oct. 14, and starting just after midnight PT. Amazon has already started some Prime Day countdown deals, too, including deals on streaming gadgets and TVs, that we’re highlighting here. We’ll keep this story updated with the latest Prime Day deals in this category as they become available.
Prime Day deal tips on TVs and streaming devices
- Amazon just announced two new Fire TV streamers: The new Fire TV Stick Lite ($30 list price) and Fire TV Stick ($40 list) were just announced in late September. The first offers 1080p streaming with HDR support, the latter adds a remote that controls TV power and volume. They join the existing Fire TV Stick 4K, which stays in the line at $50. Last year, the 1080p model dropped to $15 and the 4K model was $25.
- Roku unveiled two new streamers, too: Roku goes head to head with Amazon’s in-house Fire TV line with its own strong house of streamers starting at $30. Unlike the Fire TV platform, Roku now streams NBC’s Peacock service, but HBO Max is still a no-show on both. At the high end, its new $100 Roku Ultra and $130 Roku Streambar (a mini soundbar) both deliver 4K HDR streaming. The sweet spot remains the Roku Streaming Stick Plus, which includes a remote that also controls your TV’s volume and power: With a $49 list price, the Streaming Stick Plus is frequently discounted to $39, and dropped as low as $30 last Black Friday. Hold out for at least the $39 or lower on Prime Day.
- Look for discounts on TVs, too: Nearly all new TVs have their own streaming apps on board, and we expect plenty of Prime Day discounts on these models, too. Last Prime Day, we saw 32-inch smart TVs hit $100, and 50-inchers at $280. (Check out the current list pricing on 2020 Roku TVs for a benchmark of current prices.)
Best Prime Day TV deals so far
As mentioned above, Amazon already has some nice price drops on TVs with integrated Fire TV streaming, two of which are at their lowest prices yet.
Update, Friday, Oct. 9: Sale prices on the TVs below are now in effect, although some deals from earlier this week, for example, on a Fire TV Recast DVR, have expired and have been removed. It’s unclear whether they will return.
Toshiba
We didn’t love the 2019 version of this TV, having found the picture quality and app offerings to be less than what you’d get from an equivalent Roku TV. But it vaults back into contention for your dollar because this is a newer model, and the price cut is a new low, coming in at $10 less than the 32-inch Roku model.
Amazon
The smart home makes for strange bedfellows, but I suppose Amazon selling Best Buy’s in-house Insignia brand is no stranger than Best Buy selling Amazon’s Echo speakers. Both stores now have this 43-inch TV on sale for $100 off, a new low that puts it under the magic $200 barrier. Again we like the 43-inch TCL Roku TV better overall despite the fact that it’s not 4K, but the TCL lacks onboard voice control and currently costs $20 more.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The savings isn’t massive (yet) but for now this is the best deal going on a 50-inch TV, mainly because it uses Roku’s operating system, which we like better overall then Fire TV. As a 4K Roku it will get the AirPlay upgrade coming later this year, allowing it to play nice with Apple phones and tablets, and also includes the Peacock app Fire TV lacks.
On the other hand we wouldn’t be surprised to see the price fall between now and Prime Day it’s probably best to hold off for a few days if you can.
Read our TCL 50S425 Roku TV review.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Want a much bigger, better TV? The XBR-X900H is down to its lowest price ever, just $250 more than the competing TCL 6-Series. This Sony delivers the Android TV operating system as well as superb image quality and the kind of next-generation connectivity that outdoes the Roku and other like-priced sets — just in time for the new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Sure, it’s a big step up in price from the other three here, but the savings is also big.
Read our Sony XBR-65X900H review.
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Amazon Prime Day 2020: Everything you need to know
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