Amazon Black Friday deals: Hot discounts on TVs, games, smart home gear, and more

Black Friday is just a little over a week away, but you can already start snapping up worthwhile tech deals on Amazon. The gigantic e-tailer kicked off with discounts at the start of the month, and they’re now starting to get good. 

In previous years, the earlier timing of Black Friday deals was cause for exasperation, but not in 2021. Getting a head start on the shopping is a prudent move this year, as warnings about potential inventory shortages and shipping delays due to supply chain issues have sounded for weeks. It doesn’t hurt to ensure your holiday gifts will arrive on time.

You don’t need to worry about pulling the trigger too early, though. We’ve sifted through these initial offerings and pulled out the best ones to highlight. These bargains meet our usual criteria for a good deal: The price is near an all-time low or is a larger discount than usually available.

For other deals you can hop on right now, be sure to check out our roundup of the best early Black Friday tech deals, the best early Black Friday laptop deals, and the best early Black Friday gaming deals. You can also do some recon on upcoming sales in our overview of Walmart’s best Black Friday deals.

TV deals

50- and 55-inch Amazon Fire TV

Amazon

Was: $470 and $520
Now: $330 and $380 ($140 off)

You can grab a smart TV for good prices already. These two particular models sport Amazon’s Fire TV software for streaming video and music, and include an Alexa-powered remote. They also have three HDMI 2.0 inputs and a single HDMI 2.1 eARC port.

See the Amazon Fire TV (50-inch and 55-inch) deals at Amazon.

50- and 55-inch Amazon Fire TV Omni

Amazon

Was: $510 and $560
Now: $360 and $410 ($150 off)

Don’t want to hassle with finding a remote to issue voice commands to your TV? You’ll want one of these Omni versions of Amazon’s smart TVs, which integrate a mic in the TV. That means you get hands-free Alexa support for launching apps, looking up info on the web, and controlling compatible smart home devices.

See the Amazon Fire TV Omni (50-inch and 55-inch) deals at Amazon.

Fitbit deals

Fitbit Luxe

Fitbit

Was: $150

Now: $100 ($50 off)

Fitbit’s upgraded version of the Inspire 2 sports a color screen and a sleek, attractive profile—and its Black Friday sale price is equally appealing. (Especially since it still includes the six-month trial of Fitbit Premium.) For this price, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a tracker that performs as well and blends so seamlessly with fashionable outfits.

See the Fitbit Luxe on Amazon.

Streaming device deals

Fire TV Stick

Amazon

Was: $40

Now: $20 (50% off)

Finding a good, cheap streaming device for your TV is easy this year. For just $20, you get a TV stick loaded with all the apps you could want (plus no disputes about YouTube) and access to Alexa. Support for Amazon’s voice assistant means you just speak aloud to launch apps and search for content, as well as control compatible smart home gear. Need a higher resolution or want faster hardware? The Fire TV Stick 4K and Fire TV Stick 4K Max versions are on sale now too.

See the Fire TV Stick on Amazon.

Gaming deals

Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller

Microsoft

Was: $180
Now: $140 ($40 off)

The standard Xbox controller is already great, but if you want to step up to a premium controller you can customize, you want an Elite 2 controller. It pairs easily with your PC over Bluetooth or with a dedicated dongle.

See the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller on Amazon.

Smart home devices

Kasa Smart Mini Plug

TP-Link

Was: $23

Now: $3.50 (84% off)

Here’s a fun one: If you download the Alexa app for your phone (or have an Alexa-enabled device), you can ask for a sweet deal. Saying “Alexa, order Kasa Smart Mini Plug” gets you this popular smart plug with energy monitoring for a whopping 84% off. Don’t want to finish the transaction via voice? It goes to your cart first, so you can check out on a PC.

Get the Alexa app on iOS or Android.