Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon Mother's Day sale: 2021 lows on Echo, Kindle, Fire tablets and more
We may be celebrating Mom, but at Amazon it's beginning to look a lot like Prime Day.
Amazon's Mother's Day sale kicked off today, with device deals rivaling the lowest prices of 2021 and very close to what we expect to see on Prime Day -- which, if you haven't heard, will happen in June.
Below you'll find considerable discounts on Echo speakers and smart displays, Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers and more. How considerable? The Echo 5 smart display, for example, is back down to $50, a hefty $40 off the regular price and only $5 above the all-time low. The all-new Echo Show 10 is back at $200, tying its all-time low.
Will Prime Day bring even bigger price cuts? Possibly, but not much bigger. You might be able to save another $5 here or $10 there, but if you're shopping for Mother's Day gifts, now's the time to act.
Let's take a look at some highlights from the sale. (Worth noting: If you prefer an Amazon alternative, Best Buy has matching prices on most of the Fire tablets and Kindles.)
Read more: When is Prime Day 2021?
Think of this as two upgrades in one. It's a compact soundbar that will provide a huge improvement over your TV's built-in speakers (true of most soundbars) and a Roku streamer that's roughly equivalent to the Streaming Stick Plus.
This price is just a couple dollars above the lowest on record. Read our Roku Streambar review to learn more.
Yet another Amazon device that's just $5 above its all-time low, the Kindle is great for moms who want a distraction-free reading experience. This current-generation model has a glare-free front-lit display, 8GB of storage and a battery that's good for weeks.
Read our Amazon Kindle review to learn more.
This third-generation smart display is Amazon's fanciest yet, with a silent motorized base that allows the screen to move around as you do -- nice if you're on a video call or watching a recipe tutorial and don't want to have to stay rooted in one place.
Read our Echo Show 10 review to learn more.
This spacious tablet features a 1080p display, 32GB of expandable storage, up to 12 hours of battery life and a USB-C connector. The front and rear cameras are still on the low-resolution side (2 megapixels), but certainly fine for the likes of Zoom calls.
As always, you'll get the most from this (and any other) Amazon tablet if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber. Read our Fire HD 10 tablet review to learn more -- but keep in mind there's a slightly updated Fire HD 10 coming later this month.
And take note: The Fire HD 8 is on sale for $65 (save $25), and Best Buy has the Fire 7 for $40 (save $10).
This is the top model in Amazon's Fire TV Stick lineup, a capable, versatile streamer with 4K HDR support and TV-control buttons on the remote, which also accepts voice commands, courtesy of Alexa. Assuming your TV is compatible, that means you can control power, volume and mute all from the same clicker.
This is a great little bedside companion, especially at this price. The Echo Show 5 packs in a 5.5-inch touchscreen, a decent speaker and all the usual Alexa smarts. There's also a camera (with privacy shutter) for making video calls. You could get a screen-less Echo Dot for a few bucks less (see below), but why?
It's a straight-up larger version of the Echo Show 5 -- and that extra screen real estate makes this a better kitchen companion, as it's easier to follow along with recipe videos. CNET had already dubbed this "the best Alexa smart display, period," last year, and that was based on the $130 list price. At $75, it feels like a steal.
If all this hasn't proved the point just yet, never, ever pay full price for Amazon hardware. The Echo Dot smart speaker in particular seems like it's perennially on sale -- and at $30 it ties the lowest price we've seen.
Read our Echo Dot (2020) review to learn more. Amusingly, the headline pretty much sums things up: "Wait for a sale."
Originally published earlier this year. Updated to reflect new sale prices. Removed expired bonus deal.
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