Prime Day Tech Deals 2023: Everything we know so far, plus the 20 best early sales to shop

In case you haven't noticed, Prime Day is essentially the second-biggest shopping day of the year, coming in a close second to Black Friday. It's a great time to buy nearly anything, but, as with BF, Prime Day tech deals really steal the spotlight. Needless to say, Amazon is where the main event takes place, but did you know that there's wonderful piggy-backing that goes on in the shopping world during those two glorious days? Many other sites, knowing that shoppers are logged on and laser-focused on finding e-tail bargains, will try to get in on the action by mounting their own Prime Day–adjacent blowouts. Good to know, right?

With that in mind, it can be hard to sort through all the offers; after all, the sheer number of sales and deals will be a bit overwhelming. It's better to go into a big shopping event like this with a strategy so that you don't spend every dime you have on impulse buys that seemed "must-have" in the moment but later proved to be "didn't really need."

So what should you look out for? Here's your primer (or should we say "Prime-r"?).

When is Prime Day 2023?

It's official: Amazon Prime Day is coming July 11 and July 12. That's a Tuesday and a Wednesday. Get ready to shop till you drop, because though early deals have already started (see below), the best ones will be during Prime Day itself.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

You're familiar with Black Friday, yes? Amazon Prime Day is like that, but in summer and exclusively for Amazon Prime members (and, Amazon hopes, soon-to-be Prime members). It's a huge sales event with massive savings on a wide range of products (including all your favorite gadgets) that takes place over two days, typically a Tuesday and Wednesday.

If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping. Not yet a member? You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. Amazon Prime also comes with a lot of perks like Prime Video (which has some truly amazing movies on it) and Prime Gaming, which gives well over $100 of free video games each and every month.

What types of tech gear will be on sale?

Prime Day features sales on basically anything and everything you can think of, but it's a particularly good time to stock up on tech. Kristin McGrath, shopping expert at RetailMeNot, says to keep an eye out for sales on Amazon-branded devices. “During the Prime Early Access Event (a pre-holiday mega-sale Amazon threw last October), the retail giant touted up to 80% off select Fire TVs in very limited quantities. And you might find out you missed out on some similar blink-and-you'll-miss-'em deals during Prime Day,” McGrath explains. “In addition to those gone-like-a-flash deals, you can expect 30% off higher-end Amazon products and up to 60% off basic Echos.”

She adds that you can expect big savings of at least 30% (often up to 60%) on Amazon's smart home line. “You are pretty much guaranteed to get the retailer's Echo Speakers and smart screens for dirt cheap (last year, we saw $30 off the Echo Dot and $40 off the full-sized Echo).”

What can consumers do to maximize their savings?

We all want to stretch out our buck a little further, and shopping expert Trae Bodge of TrueTrae.com has some advice to help out. "A lot of deals aren’t released yet, but I would suggest that shoppers look to their favorite deal sites for extra deals that can be stacked on top of Amazon's. This is a great way to get more bang for your buck on Prime Day. For example, last year CouponCabin offered a bonus if you sent them a copy of your Amazon receipt. If you install their Sidekick browser extension, CouponCabin will run coupons for you at checkout on Amazon."

She goes on to say, "Slickdeals is also a good resource because they have 12mm+ deal seekers who are voting on and vetting deals. The strongest deals from Amazon (and their competitors) will be on the front page. Also, if you have an Amazon Prime Visa card, don’t forget to use it because not only will you receive the usual 5% back, but Amazon usually offers exclusive or deeper discounts with the Prime card. And don’t forget to see what offers are available at Whole Foods. There are often additional discounts during the Prime Day event."

Are there any early Prime Day sales happening now?

Glad you asked! Amazon just dropped a bunch of early Prime Day sales. If you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, consider these steals:

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals. Learn about Prime Day trends on In the Know, and hear from Autoblog’s car experts on must-shop auto-related Prime Day deals.