Amazon Echo early Black Friday deals: $75 Show 5, $13 Echo Flex and more – CNET

This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2020, CNET’s gift picks with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.

We all know that Black Friday officially arrives Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. But most major retailers are already coming in hot with early “Black Friday” deals all November long — and even into the following month. Walmart’s big sale is in full swing, for example, and Amazon is still offering major discounts on its own devices that rival last month’s Prime Day sale. 

Will any of these products see even bigger price cuts on Black Friday proper? Doubtful. A lot of these bargains match the all-time lows offered on Prime Day. Take note, however, that many of the discounted items aren’t available to ship for two to three weeks.

Also worth noting: Amazon has yet to start offering discounts on the new products announced last month, such as the fourth-gen Echo Dot, Echo Show 10 and Eero 6 mesh router. We fully expect those items to get the sale treatment at some point; we’re just not sure when.

Don’t see anything you want here? Don’t worry — more Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are coming. 

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

If you want a display for video chatting, watching Netflix or just for use as a smart alarm clock, the Show 5 — the smallest smart display from Amazon — is a great little gadget. Last year on Prime Day, the Echo Show 5 bottomed out at $50. This year, it’s down to $45.

Note that Amazon is currently showing a ship date of Nov. 16, so be prepared to wait.

Read our Echo Show 5 review.

Chris Monroe/CNET

The Echo Show 8 is simply a larger version of the Echo Show 5, but that makes it a better candidate for the kitchen and other places you might prefer a bigger display. (It’s definitely preferable for video calls.) This is also a Prime Day match of the lowest price on record.

Note that Amazon shows an in-stock date of Nov. 20, so head to Best Buy if you’d rather get this immediately.

Read our Echo Show 8 review.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Amazon’s Echo Flex is a clever little gadget, adding Alexa to a modular smart plug design. The plug itself can attach various augmentations, like an LED clock, a motion sensor or a night light. To get this little device, plus all of Alexa’s smarts, for only $13, is a solid deal.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

The Amazon Echo Auto is a clever little device that ports Alexa into your car, letting the voice assistant speak and play music through your stereo. At $30 off, it’s a solid deal for anyone wanting to smarten up their non-voice-equipped car.

At this price, the Echo Buds are considerably cheaper than Apple’s stock AirPods, which aren’t sweatproof and don’t offer any kind of noise-canceling capabilities. You get both of those features here and more, including onboard Alexa.

Read our Echo Buds review.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Amazon’s entry-level smart speaker is back down to $19, which is as low as these things tend to go. Just keep in mind this is not the new 2020 spherical model — that one hasn’t even been released yet.

Unfortunately, Amazon is showing 3 to 6 months (!) before the Dot is in stock. You can get it for the same price from Best Buy, and it’s in stock.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Normally this Ring doorbell runs $230, and the Echo Show 5 smart display goes for $90. But right now this bundle is just $170, making it an affordable way to jump-start a smart home. You’re basically saving $50 on the doorbell and getting the Echo for a mere $10 extra.

Note that Amazon shows an availability date of Nov. 10. Don’t want to wait? As with many other deals, Best Buy is matching this one.

Read our Ring Video Doorbell 3 Plus review.

Amazon

If you still pull in live TV over the air, you can record shows and watch them any time with the Fire TV Recast DVR. This version has a 500GB hard drive (a full 1TB version is also available) with two tuners, so you can record two shows at once. 


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This article was previously published as part of our Prime Day 2020 coverage. It has been updated to reflect the latest pricing and deals.