Early Prime Day Tablet Deals: Up to $400 in Savings on Apple, Samsung, OnePlus and Microsoft Surface
G.F.A.L.O.E.
Prime Day is a little more than a week away, with the event kickoff coming July 8. But you don’t have to wait until then to find a great buy. Early deals are already rolling in on plenty of items, including electronics. From deals for under $100 to must-have devices like Fire TVs or top-notch tablets, Prime Day is an excellent time to shop. And it’s not just Amazon with markdowns — Best Buy and Walmart are also having competing sales worth shopping right now. We’ve found price cuts on everything from Apple to Samsung and beyond but there’s no telling how long these deals will last. Keep checking back because we’ll continue updating this page as new offers drop and other deals expire.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
Early Prime Day tablet deals
Apple iPad 10th gen: $299
A nice $50 savings brings the previous-gen iPad just under $300. The 10th generation is no longer the latest in Apple’s standard iPad lineup, thanks to the fairly recent addition of the iPad 11th gen but it’s still an all-around solid tablet. With a 10.9-inch screen, 64GB of storage and a 10-hour battery life, this iPad is a great pick for folks looking for an Apple tablet for everyday browsing, streaming and reading.
This Android tablet is less than $400 and is a great alternative to some of the major brands out there. The OnePlus Pad is not the latest on offer by OnePlus but it does have a nice 11.6-inch display, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also boasts a sleek and lightweight design at just 552g and 6.54mm thick.
The powerful M4 iPad Pro is a great investment for creatives and this modest $130 discount helps make it a little more affordable if you’ve been wanting to splurge on this model with a 13-inch Ultra Retina XDR display and 512GB of storage.
A $400 discount on the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a massive win for Android fans who love the Galaxy line. This is one of the best deals we’ve seen on a high-end Android tablet. This model also comes with the S-Pen so you can write and take notes easily. Plus, this tablet is also water- and dust-resistant so you can take it with you on the go. And it comes with Galaxy AI.
The Fire Max 11 is a great budget tablet with a beautiful 11-inch screen, perfect for streaming, reading and chilling out. This model has been refurbished up to Amazon Certified levels so it’s trustworthy but might not be for everyone.
It depends. Your needs and preferences will affect which tablet you should buy and some tablet options won’t be as competitively priced as others during Prime Day. Amazon’s deals on its own Fire tablets are a great place to start if you’re looking for major discounts but you can also score some serious savings on iPads and models from other brands. If you have an older tablet you can trade in, you can potentially save even more through trade-in programs at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy on eligible models.
Do you need a membership for Prime Day tablet deals?
To access the vast majority of Prime Day deals, you’ll need to be a Prime member. If you’ve always yearned for the benefits of Prime but haven’t made the jump, now’s a great time to subscribe. Subscribing now could lead to significant savings as tariffs are expected to raise prices on a lot of goods. In fact, 16% of shoppers say they’re using Prime Day to start their holiday shopping well ahead of the holiday season, according to a new RetailMeNot survey. (Disclosure: RetailMeNot is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Read more: How to Sign Up for a Prime Membership
Are other retailers offering high-quality tablet deals?
Yes. In response to Prime Day, many of Amazon’s competitors also lowered prices across the board, including on tablets. Best Buy and Walmart have Fourth of July deals that are offering plenty of savings already. In addition, you may also spot deals directly at Dell, HP and Samsung.
Will tariffs impact this year’s Prime Day deals?
Tariffs are top of mind for most Americans and they could impact this year’s Prime Day event. Prices on items like electronics could very well increase, with companies like Apple trying to avoid this by moving manufacturing operations elsewhere. The tariffs are currently paused but only until July, right when Prime Day begins.
How does CNET select the best Prime Day offers?
Our team of expert shoppers and deal hunters has spent years helping buyers understand which major sales and deals are legitimately good and which are more routine. That includes Black Friday, Prime Day, Memorial Day and countless other shopping events. We’ve become very good at weeding out scams and superficial deals on all sorts of tech, so you see only the best offers on items, like tablets.
At CNET we look for real discounts, quality reviews and remaining sale time when choosing a deal to show you.
Real discounts mean exactly that. We look at the price history for that product to make sure no manufacturers are inflating prices to make the discount seem more substantial than it is.
Quality reviews are important for any product but especially for deeply discounted items. Tablets can vary so whether you’re looking for something cheap and easy to stream on or something more substantial for productivity or creative ventures, you’ll want to get the specs you need to do the things you want. If you don’t get enough mileage out of your purchase, the discount wasn’t worthwhile.
Remaining sale time is a huge part of our vetting process. If a deal is likely to be short-lived or limited to remaining stock, we’ll let you know upfront — so you’re not disappointed if you check back later and find it’s gone.
Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts
