Amazon Prime Day 2024: The best tablet deals

We’re in July now, where the weather is hot, and the deals are even hotter. We are literally counting down the days until Amazon’s 10th annual Prime Day shopping event, which is set to take place on the 16th and 17th. We’re expecting the anniversary celebration to feature significant discounts on a wide range of categories including phones, Chromebooks, smart home devices, and, of course, tablets.

As with smart home gear, Amazon has a lot invested in the tablet category, with several product lines ranging from budget and children’s options, to larger, more powerful models. And since the retailer loves to discount its own products, and its competitors don’t like sitting on the sidelines, we are expecting to see notable price drops on several of our favorite tablets this month.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is essentially Black Friday in July—a two-day shopping event that sees thousands of products significantly discounted across Amazon’s website. We are expecting several different types of promotions to be offered, including standard deals open to everyone, Prime-exclusive deals, limited-time (flash) sales, and invitation-only discounts.

When is Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will take place on July 16th and 17th. While the bulk of the promotions will be contained to that 48 hours, some brands have already started rolling out discounts, so it’s important for those that are deal-hunting to remain vigilant during the next few weeks.

Do you need to be a Prime member to save on Amazon Prime Day?

Yes, having an Amazon Prime membership is crucial for participating in the Amazon Prime Day festivities. Although there are a few deals available for non-members, the majority of the substantial discounts are exclusive to Prime subscribers. But not to worry. If you don’t currently have a membership, we have outlined some affordable options for you below—including a free 30-day trial!

What to expect from Prime Day tablet deals

As aforementioned, we expect the biggest discounts on Prime Day to be on Amazon’s own line of Fire tablets. The retailer happily offers major price drops on its products because it knows that they help keep current Prime members within the ecosystem, and introduce non-subscribers to its vast (and lucrative) subscription service. But regardless of the reason, and what you think about Fire OS, it’s hard to deny these tablets, when discounted, offer significant value. We expect several of our favorite models to drop below $100.

For those not interested in Amazon’s Fire lines, we do also expect to see other tablets go on sale this month. We hope that will include several Galaxy Tab models, ranging from the budget-friendly A offerings to the more powerful S8 and S9s. Google also seems to like to participate in sales events like this, so we could see the Pixel drop $50 or $100. The point is, there should be something for everyone when it comes to Prime Day tablet deals.

Budget-friendly tablet deals

This category includes tablets that cost $300 and less, and the options are usually geared towards children or more casual users. Since all of Amazon’s Fire models qualify, you will likely see a lot of them in this space. We would like the Fire HD 8 to drop into the $60-$70 range, and the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro to just over $100. Don’t sleep on the Fire Kids models—they include free cases, extended warranties, and free access to Amazon’s Kids+ service.

Mid-range tablet deals

This category includes tablets priced in the $300 – $600 range, and it’s where a lot of (most?) customers will be shopping. There should be some great options here on Prime Day from Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and yes, even Apple. As much as we love our Android tablets, if you are open to the iPad at all, it probably offers the best overall experience in this range in terms of apps and usability. Apple just launched some new models too, so we should definitely see some discounts across the board.

Premium tablet deals

This is the $600 and up club, and these tablets should really only be considered if you just absolutely need the additional power or price is not a major factor. In this range we are hoping to see all of Samsung’s S9 models get solid $50+ discounts, as well as more significant price drops ($300+) on the older but still relevant S8 Ultra. Few other brands offer tablets at these prices, so expect this space to be dominated by Samsung.