Best Amazon Prime Day Deals 2018

At Thrifter, we are dedicated to finding you the best value deals. We have a team of researchers and writers who wake up before sunrise to catch new offers as they appear. For Prime Day 2018, we are putting in the biggest effort ever to ensure that you have a great shopping experience.

Amazon Prime Day has finally arrived. Of course, there’s no such thing as a good deal on a bad product, and that’s why the folks at Thrifter will be searching Amazon (and other major retailers) relentlessly all throughout Prime Day to bring you all of the real deals. Bookmark this page, because we’ll be updating it for the whole duration of the 36-hour event.

• Top Deals
• Amazon Devices
• TVs
• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
• Entertainment
• Fashion
• Baby

Prime Day Live Chat

Top Amazon UK Prime Day Deals

Top Amazon Canada Prime Day Deals

Top Deals

If you have just a few minutes to look at deals today, you are not going to want to miss these ones. From all-time low prices to products we haven’t seen discounted in months, this list comprises the best offers which are available from each of the categories in this article.

$50 Regal Theaters gift card

$39.50


$50.00


Save $11

Don’t miss out on this Lightning deal for $10 off a Regal Entertainment gift card! It can be used at Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theaters, and UA theaters.

iRobot Roomba 671 robot vacuum

$229.99


$350.00


Save $120

DJ Roomba can now be controlled with your voice.

SanDisk SSD Plus 1TB solid state drive

$149.99


$250.00


Save $100

I would get this deal if I didn’t already have an SSD. This is so much space for such a small price.

Dyson Pure Cool Link Air Purifier

$348.99


$500.00


Save $151

Get it? It blows because it’s a fan. And I’m a fan of that price.

Remington 1-inch Flat Iron

$3.91


$19.99


Save $16

This is a crazy-good deal for this hair tool, which can be used to straighten or to create waves and curls.

Save on Apple MacBooks on Prime Day

Big savings to be had on the whole line of Apple MacBooks.

Razer Phone 64GB memory gaming phone

$524.25


$699.99


Save $176

This is the best discount we’ve seen on the phone, so be sure to take advantage of it.

Zippo Chrome Lighters

$7.90


$11.81


Save $4

This lighter is windproof, refillable, and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Lego 1,151-piece Air Race Jet kit

$111.97


$160.00


Save $48

The only thing this doesn’t do is fly… unless you throw it hard enough.

LG 34UC98-W 34-inch UltraWide IPS monitor

$664.00


$830.00


Save $166

Amazon Lightning deals only last for a few hours, so take advantage!

Amazon Devices

Devices like the Amazon Echo and Fire TV Sticks always receive the best discounts during Prime Day compared to products from other brands, considering it is Amazon’s exclusive event after all. Early Prime Day offers already brought a selection of them down to can’t-miss prices. If you haven’t met Alexa yet, what are you waiting for?

Vaux Speaker & Battery Pack for Amazon Echo Dot

$29.99


$50.00


Save $20

A new and improved home for your Echo Dot.

Amazon Fire TV Game Controller

$29.99


$45.00


Save $15

Easily control games and menus with this handy device.

Ring Spotlight Cam HD security camera

$139.99


$199.00


Save $59

This is $10 better than last year’s Black Friday deals.

Blink XT Home Security 3-Camera System

$75.00


$130.00


Save $55

Don’t blink, you might miss this deal.

Amazon Fire 7 Tablet

$29.99


$49.99


Save $20

At this price, this is simply THE TABLET to buy if you’re in the market.

Amazon Fire TV 4K

$34.99


$69.99


Save $35

If you missed out on the last deal, you’re in luck. The Amazon Fire TV 4K is down to an insanely low price.

Kindle Paperwhite e-reader

$79.99


$120.00


Save $40

Time for summer reading!

Amazon Fire TV Cube streaming media player

$89.99


$119.99


Save $30

Add Alexa voice control to your entire entertainment system.

Ring Video Doorbell Pro

$174.00


$249.00


Save $75

If you can’t answer your doorbell from your phone yet, you are doing 2018 wrong. Correct that with this great deal on a Ring Video Doorbell Pro.

Toshiba 50-inch 4K Fire TV

$289.99


$399.99


Save $110

We were expecting to see the first deal on this TV today, but we weren’t expecting such a large drop.

All Amazon Devices Deals

TVs

How’s your TV at home treating you? If you’re one of the many who have yet to discover the glorious clarity of media in 4K, maybe this Prime Day will help you change that. Whether you’re searching for a humble 32-inch option or a massive 70-inch screen, there are a few interesting offers to consider in Amazon’s selection.

Hisense 43H6080E 43-inch 4K Smart TV

$239.99


$350.00


Save $110

This price puts the Hisense firmly in budget range. If you need a bedroom TV or something for a kids’ playroom, this would be a great option.

Toshiba 43-inch Fire TV Edition

$249.99


$329.99


Save $80

Toshiba’s 43-inch Fire TV Edition is currently on sale for just $249.99, which is $380 off its regular price.

LG 55UK6300 4K LED TV

The price may not have dropped directly, but the gift card makes up for that here.

VIZIO 65 Inch 4K LED Smart TV – M65-F0 UHD TV

The deal comes in the form of a gift card, but how can you pass up $300 of free money?!

VIZIO 70 Inch 4K Ultra HD TV E70-E3 UHD TV

The discount may not be huge, but you’ll find lots of things to spend the $300 gift card on.

TCL 32-Inch 720p Roku TV (32S305)

$129.99


$169.99


Save $40

This 32-inch Roku Smart TV can connect to Wi-Fi and gain access to over 4,000 streaming channels like Netflix and Watch ESPN.

All TV Deals

Smart Home

Automating aspects of your home might sound expensive, but stepping into this next phase of home life is becoming more and more affordable every day. You could dip your toes in with something simple like a discounted smart plug, or dive into the deep end with something a bit more serious.

Sylvania Smart+ smart plug

$15.28


$25.00


Save $10

The best price we’ve ever seen and works with ZigBee compatible hubs.

Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt

$134.13


$170.00


Save $36

Connect this deadbolt to your home automation for voice control and control from your smartphone.

TP-Link HS100 Wi-Fi Smart Plug (Two-pack)

$26.99


$42.71


Save $16

This two-pack of TP-Link smart plugs can be controlled from anywhere in the world via the free Kasa app on iOS or Android devices.

TP-Link Kasa BR30 multi-color dimmable smart bulb

$34.99


$50.00


Save $15

Save some money and color your hanging lights.

Wemo Mini Smart Plug

$20.99


$30.00


Save $9

These smart plugs are small enough to stay out of your way but can be super helpful to have around the house. Don’t miss this deal.

Circle with Disney – Parental Controls and Filters for your Family’s Wireless Devices (B019RC1EI8)

$69.99


$100.00


Save $30

The circle recognizes and manages every device on your home Wi-Fi to add parental controls for your kids.

Philips Hue Candle Bulbs

$22.99


$29.94


Save $7

If you have smaller lamps around the house, these candelabra bulbs may be just what you need.

Kasa Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Bulb by TP-Link (LB110)

$17.99


$23.41


Save $5

This dimmable A19 bulb can be scheduled to turn on and off from anywhere in the world via the free Kasa app available on iOS and Android.

Philips Hue Color Ambiance Flood Light (BR30)

$34.99


$49.99


Save $15

It’s time to replace your floodlights and recessed lighting with something a bit smarter.

TP-Link Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch

$25.49


$51.07


Save $26

Who doesn’t love speaking to their lights?

All Smart Home Deals

Unlocked Smartphones

Unlocked smartphones have become far more popular in the past few years, and if you are looking to treat yourself to a new one, Prime Day may be just the time to do it. We have already begun seeing a bunch of deals hit, and there will be some great offers to come as well.

Anker 3-foot PowerLine Lightning Cables (3-pack)

$16.79


$22.00


Save $5

Replace your old cables with these shiny new ones at a great price.

Moto G6 64GB unlocked smartphone

$259.99


$350.00


Save $90

This is a smartphone that is here for today and today only. Don’t miss it.

Samsung Qi fast charge wireless charger stand

$29.99


$66.00


Save $36

This charger works with both Android and iPhone smartphones, and works especially well with Android phones that have Fast Charge enabled.

Razer Phone 64GB memory gaming phone

$524.25


$699.99


Save $176

This is the best discount we’ve seen on the phone, so be sure to take advantage of it.

LG V35 ThinQ 64GB unlocked smartphone

$599.99


$900.00


Save $300

Not a normal deal. Prime Day only and $300 off the price.

iOttie Car Phone Mounts

Your phone deserves a safe place to hang out in your car while you’re driving, and this may be one of the best ways to do it.

Prime Day Deals in Unlocked Cell Phones

Phones like the Huawei Mate 10, Honor 7X, and Essential Phone are included in this limited time sale.

Moto X4 Prime Exclusive Phone

$199.99


$349.99


Save $150

There’s no more lock screen ads, but you do have to deal with a few extra apps to save some money.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro

$499.99


$799.99


Save $300

High-end unlocked smartphones can be quite expensive, so when you can save $250 you shouldn’t miss the opportunity.

SanDisk Prime Day Storage Sale

Whether you need an SD card, SSD for your computer, or a flash drive, this one-day sale has you covered.

All Unlocked Smartphone Deals

Kitchen

Everyone loves the Instant Pot and its status is well-deserved, however, there are a bunch of other must-see discounted kitchen appliances and gadgets which are worth your time too. Along with the essentials are a variety of enticing offers on products like cookbooks and food.

One-Year Sam’s Club Membership bundle

$35.00


$84.97


Save $50

This Sam’s Club membership comes with two gift cards and food vouchers for free rotisserie chicken, free Take and Bake pizza, and free 18-count cookies.

Philips HD9220/28 Viva Airfryer

$99.99


$164.68


Save $65

This air fryer features a large 28oz frying basket and comes with the Philips Airfryer cookbook which includes over 150 recipes to try with the appliance.

Instant Pot 6-quart Multicooker Prime Day Deal

$58.99


$99.95


Save $41

This regularly sells for $100, and today’s deal beats the best price ever by $10.

Royal 40-piece cutlery set

$21.00


$35.00


Save $14

The set includes knives, spoons, and forks, both salad and dinner. Get it while it lasts.

Keurig K-Elite Single Serve Coffee Maker

$99.99


$207.05


Save $107

This single serve coffee maker is on sale in Brushed Slate or Brushed Silver for under half of its regular price for the first time ever.

Hamilton Beach 33969A 6-quart programmable slow cooker

$34.08


$48.00


Save $14

This is a Lightning deal, so it could sell out or run out.

Vitamix Explorian 64-ounce professional-grade refurbished blender

$189.95


$332.00


Save $142

Even though it’s a refurb, it has a three-year warranty, which is fantastic.

Simplehuman Trash Cans

Score 20% off your choice of a couple discounted Simplehuman trash cans. Your garbage never looked so pristine.

Zojirushi Stainless 20-ounce Mug

$20.79


$30.00


Save $9

These highly-rated mugs have never sold for less than this.

Oster Cordless Electric Wine Opener with Chiller

$23.99


$29.99


Save $6

This cordless electric wine opener can open up to 30 bottles on a single charge and works with all traditional wine bottles. A wine chiller is included as well.

All Kitchen Deals

Audio & Headphones

There are more than a few Thrifter deal-hunters who are obsessed with music; as such, we’re always looking for the latest deals on audio equipment, accessories, and even vinyl records, and Prime Day will be no exception. Some great deals have already come down the pipeline with new ones being added daily as the big day approaches.

Logitech UE Boom 2 portable Bluetooth speaker

$59.99


$90.00


Save $30

Low price but a limited sale. Bookmark the page so you’ll be ready when it goes live.

$60 Spotify Gift Card

$47.40


$60.00


Save $13

Amazon has the $60 Spotify gift card discounted to $47 as a Lightning deal right now!

Doss SoundBox XL 32W Bluetooth speakers

$54.39


$80.00


Save $26

This is a Lightning deal and it’s already almost 90% claimed. Grab it while you can.

Edifier R1280T powered bookshelf speakers

$69.99


$100.00


Save $30

Powerful sound. Highly rated. Great price. Go for it.

Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones

$111.75


$148.98


Save $37

The ATH-M50X headphones feature 45mm large-aperture drivers and earcups which swivel to a 90-degree angle for one-ear monitoring.

Audio-Technica AT-LP120BK-USB Professional Turntable

$229.00


$299.00


Save $70

Starting a record collection is a blast, but you’ll need one of these first.

Logitech Z906 5.1-Channel Surround Sound speaker system

$199.99


$270.00


Save $70

Surround yourself in savings with this deal.

Blue Yeti USB microphone

$89.00


$130.00


Save $41

One of the best prices we’ve seen on the Blue Yeti recently.

Jabra Elite 45e Alexa Enabled Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones

$69.99


$99.99


Save $30

These in-ear headphones feature 2-microphone technology and last for up to eight hours on a single charge.

Sonos One Amazon Gift Card Bundle

You don’t save any money off the top, but you’ll get a $50 gift card to spend on a future Amazon purchase.

All Audio & Headphones

Gaming

Last year’s Prime Day saw deals on consoles like the PlayStation 4 Slim console and the Xbox One S. Will this year’s event discount the upgraded versions of those consoles — the PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X respectively — or will Amazon focus on offering games and accessories instead? Only time will tell.

Microsoft – Xbox One X 1TB Console

$374.99


$499.99


Save $125

Start gaming in 4K with this discounted Xbox One X.

Lego Disney + Pixar’s The Incredibles

$29.99


$59.99


Save $30

This game follows the story of the two films in The Incredibles movie series and is discounted by 50% during Amazon Prime Day.

Xbox Wireless Controller (Minecraft Creeper)

$39.99


$64.99


Save $25

Play games on your Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, or tablet with this special Minecraft edition of the Xbox wireless controller.

Three months of Xbox Game Pass for free with purchase of six month subscription

$59.99


$89.98


Save $30

Gain unlimited access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games via Xbox One and Windows 10 with a subscription to Xbox Game Pass.

Oculus Rift + Touch Bundle

$349.00


$400.00


Save $51

It’s time to ditch the real world and step into a virtual one for a little bit.

Nintendo Switch console + 64GB microSD card + $20 eShop gift card

$299.99


$341.99


Save $42

This bundle includes one essential accessory every Nintendo Switch owner needs.

Nintendo New 3DS XL – Super NES Edition + Super Mario Kart for SNES

$149.99


$199.99


Save $50

This limited time sale marks the first major discount this version of the console has ever had!

All Gaming Deals

Home Improvement / DIY

Some DIY and home improvement projects leave you with a huge sense of pride, once the job is finished and you can fully take in the fruits of your labor. Saving money on the tools you’ll need to accomplish those tasks can feel the same way with deals this good.

Greenworks 40V 150MPH Variable Speed Cordless Blower

$78.95


$120.00


Save $41

Leaf season is coming, but with this deal, you can be prepared.

Lowe’s 10% Off Sitewide

If it’s at Lowe’s, it’s 10% off. You’ll also get a free Google Home Mini if you spend $150 or more.

Kenmore gas and electric washers and dryers

Got some empty washer and dryer hookups? Or old machines that need replacing? Stop using public facilities from now on.

Scotts EZ Seed Sun & Shade Dog Spot Repair

$7.69


$13.00


Save $5

Keep your lawn looking nice with this dog spot repairer. You’ll have to buy something else to deal with the holes Fido digs, though.

Dremel 4000 2/30 rotary tool kit with 160-piece accessory kit

$73.50


$132.00


Save $59

This rotary tool comes with a flexible attachment and 160 accessories for a super low price.

Gerber Dime Purple multi-tool and Suspension Multi-plier

It’s a multi-tool with a lifetime warranty, and it’s less than $20. What else is there to say?

Dewalt 100-piece Screwdriving & Drilling Set

$34.99


$50.00


Save $15

This will give you a ton of tools to help you get your DIY projects done.

Little Giant 4′ to 6′ QuickStep Ladder

$74.00


$98.80


Save $25

The QuickStep can convert from a 2′ step stool into a 5′ or 6′ stepladder.

Leviton DW15S-1BZ Decora Smart LED switch

$31.98


$39.97


Save $8

Add smart home control to a switch that didn’t have it before.

Toto A100 washlet electronic bidet toilet seat

$208.59


$261.00


Save $52

Feels good to save money. And use a bidet. Try both.

All Home Improvement / DIY Deals

Everyday Essentials

Instead of heading over to your local Walmart or Target for products you always buy like paper towels, toothpaste, or vitamins, consider grabbing those products on Amazon. There are always deals to be had on everyday essentials, and the impending Prime Day event has unleashed a steady stream of exclusive discounts for Prime members. These are always great to look through if you’re trying to find something to buy with an add-on item.

Royal 40-piece cutlery set

$21.00


$35.00


Save $14

The set includes knives, spoons, and forks, both salad and dinner. Get it while it lasts.

Anker 3-foot PowerLine Lightning Cables (3-pack)

$16.79


$22.00


Save $5

Replace your old cables with these shiny new ones at a great price.

Homecare Essentials $20 off $60

Another Prime Day deal that saves you money on stuff you need anyway.

Prime Day Luxury Beauty Sale

From hair, skin, and nailcare to fun products like makeup, this is an easy way to save on items that are rarely discounted.

Såk Gear DrySak 10-liter Waterproof Dry Bag

$15.95


$21.00


Save $5

Great low price. Highly rated bag. Perfect for facing the elements with electronics in hand.

Dude Wipes 30-count flushable wet wipes

$6.11


$9.00


Save $3

These Dude Wipes have never dropped this low. Clean those dirty regions.

Zojirushi Stainless 20-ounce Mug

$20.79


$30.00


Save $9

These highly-rated mugs have never sold for less than this.

Remington 1-inch Flat Iron

$3.91


$19.99


Save $16

This is a crazy-good deal for this hair tool, which can be used to straighten or to create waves and curls.

Up to 40% Off PetSafe + Greenies

Treat the kitties to some sweet discounts on the stuff you’ll be buying anyways.

Mama Bear organic baby food 12-pack 4-ounce pouches

$11.03


$16.00


Save $5

These baby food pouches have never been discounted on Amazon before.

All Everyday Essentials Deals

Kids & Toys

From Nerf blasters and Lego sets to Disney Princess dolls and baby strollers, this section features kid necessities and toys for all ages. We’ve already seen a slew of exciting toys on sale in the past few days, making now a perfect time to start stashing toys away for Christmas.

Razor E100 Electric Scooter

$70.24


$115.00


Save $45

Go for a ride at a great price with this electric scooter.

Tegu 8 Piece Pocket Pouch Magnetic Wooden Block Set

$18.79


$29.33


Save $11

This 8-piece set of magnetic wooden blocks is 20% off with Prime during Prime Day.

Cozmo the Robot

$149.99


$181.57


Save $32

This robot can express hundreds of emotions and is discounted by $30 for a limited time.

Save up to 40% on select toys

This limited time offer is discounting toys at varying price ranges for kids of all ages.

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Castle Book 1) Kindle Edition

$0.99


$3.99


Save $3

This beloved story is down to $1 for a limited time. You can also save on the Audible narration of this novel with this purchase.

Lego Creator Outback Adventures

$12.99


$19.99


Save $7

This 225-piece set can be built up into three different models, from a toy truck to a campsite to a winch helicopter.

The Pokémon Cookbook: Easy & Fun Recipes

$7.22


$10.00


Save $3

Your little Pokémon fan will love creating these fun, kid-friendly recipes.

Macy’s Kids Backpacks Sale

$15.00


$35.00


Save $20

Get ready for the new year with a character-themed backpack at a great price.

Early Prime Day Everyday Essentials Sale

The easiest way to save on things you’ll have to buy anyway.

Monopoly Deal card game

$3.49


$5.64


Save $2

When someone tosses this card version of Monopoly off the table, there are so many fewer pieces to pick up afterward!

All Kids & Toys Deals

Entertainment

With stores like Best Buy, Target and Walmart shrinking the shelf space available for media like Blu-Rays, DVDs and CDs, Amazon is slowly becoming the best place to find sales on those items, and Prime Day has already had some early discounts on products like TV show seasons and vinyl records. The event is also offering price drops on digital media including digital HD films and e-books.

Add to your Blu-ray collection with 20% off over 3000 movies and TV shows via Amazon

From recent releases to classic films and binge-worthy tv shows, this Amazon discount is worth checking out and available today only.

Death Note: Complete Series Blu-ray

$22.05


$36.29


Save $14

“I’ll take this deal… AND BUY IT!” – Light Yagami… I think.

$50 Regal Theaters gift card

$39.50


$50.00


Save $11

Don’t miss out on this Lightning deal for $10 off a Regal Entertainment gift card! It can be used at Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theaters, and UA theaters.

$60 Spotify Gift Card

$47.40


$60.00


Save $13

Amazon has the $60 Spotify gift card discounted to $47 as a Lightning deal right now!

Serenity movie in 4K

$11.99


$15.00


Save $3

Ever get in the mood to stream Firefly like I do? Finish it off with the movie this time around.

The Wife Between Us: A Novel (Hardcover Edition)

$11.81


$19.99


Save $8

This bestselling novel has gained wild popularity recently, which is why you should buy it while it’s on sale.

Humans of New York: Stories

$13.02


$25.00


Save $12

This Lightning deal will give you something to think about.

Enjoy various 4K UHD movies for $14.99 each

From the Harry Potter series to DC and Marvel superhero films, this sale has a little bit of something for everyone.

Harry Potter 8-film Collection 4K UHD

$79.99


$155.74


Save $76

Prepare for Fantastic Beasts 2 with over $50 off this Harry Potter set which comprises the original eight films of the series.

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-7 Blu-ray Set

$74.99


$150.00


Save $75

Daenerys or bust.

All Entertainment Deals

Fashion

Though it may surprise you, Amazon is working its way up in the fashion world. Its exclusive brands such as GoodThreads and Buttoned Down rival premium brands with affordable prices already, so getting the opportunity to add some of these clothes to your wardrobe at even lower prices is a deal you’d be wise to check out.

Up to 50% Off Jeans

86 options, all steeply discounted. Get fitted with this Prime Day deal.

Up to 60% Off Bestselling Watches from Top Brands

Tell the time in style, sans the distractions that come with electronic methods.

eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack

$67.99


$115.00


Save $47

This is an amazing price, and as a result, the item’s selling out quickly. Hurry up if you’re interested.

Under Armour Apparel

Whether you actually work out or you just want athleisure apparel, this discount is definitely worth checking out.

All Fashion Deals

Baby

Babies grow quickly, and they need lots of clothes, toys, and things to stimulate their minds. All of that can add up super quickly, but if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can easily reap the rewards of Prime Day and save big on tons of baby gear so that your little one can keep healthy and happy, and you don’t have to tear your hair out when you see your empty wallet.

Mama Bear organic baby food 12-pack 4-ounce pouches

$11.03


$16.00


Save $5

These baby food pouches have never been discounted on Amazon before.

Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ‘N Trike

$55.53


$86.55


Save $31

This Radio Flyer trike can be adjusted to support children from 9 months old up to 5 years old.

Safety 1st Grow and Go Car Seats

Keep your baby safe in the car with a trusted car seat from Safety 1st.

Baby Nursery Essential Items

From cribs to sheets, sleepsacks, and even dressers, this one-day sale can help you complete your baby’s nursery.

Skip Hop Stroller Organizer

$16.09


$22.99


Save $7

Keep your keys, credit cards, wallet, and more organized while pushing your stroller.

Summer Infant Pop N’ Play Portable Playard

$51.05


$68.99


Save $18

Whether you’re heading to the beach or sitting by the pool, this portable playard is a must-have.

Skip Hop Vibrant Village Smart Lights Activity Gym

$56.69


$80.99


Save $24

Activity mats are great to help entertain your kids and allow them to develop basic skills as they grow up.

Melissa & Doug Toys

Save on well-made educational toys that will make your kids as happy as your bank account.

Graco Pack n Play Playard

$33.24


$49.48


Save $16

From a place to play to somewhere to sleep, playards are essential to just about every new parent.

Graco Baby Swing

$51.02


$99.99


Save $49

This thing is a life saver, take it from the parent of a 5-month old who would only nap in this.

All Baby-related Deals

Amazon Prime Day is officially underway!

Be sure to check back often, as this page will be constantly adding fresh new deals. If you’re looking for deals on Amazon’s Echo hardware, Kindle Unlimited, Prime Pantry and more, we’ve got you covered.

Echo Hardware

To kick things off, the company slashed $100 on the price of the Echo Show, dropping it down to just $129.99. This is the lowest we’ve ever seen it go and makes it the same price as the smaller screened Echo Spot. We’ve seen Amazon offer Voice Shopping exclusive deals in the past during Prime Day, so if you don’t have an Alexa device, or want another, this is a no-brainer purchase.

The Echo Dot is also down to $29.99, which is the lowest we’ve seen it hit this year.

Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Music Unlimited

If you’ve yet to try out Amazon’s Music Unlimited service, you can get a four-month membership for just $0.99. That’s right, all four months of unlimited access to all the music in the company’s library (which is rather extensive) for just one dollar. Prefer to read books instead of listening to music? No worries, Amazon has three months of Kindle Unlimited available for $0.99 as well. This gets you access to over a million book titles, and you can read as many of them as your heart desires during that time frame.

You can also go all-in on a Kindle Unlimited subscription and save 40% when you checkout with the coupon code PDKU18. This drops the one-year subscription down to $80.32 and the two-year subscription to $143.86. If you want to just buy a few books, you can get $10 towards any Kindle, print, or Audible book purchase when you buy any Kindle book for $5 or more before July 15.

Audible

Through the end of July, Amazon is offering Audible subscriptions at just $5 per month to new and returning members. The deal will remain active for three months, after which the service will begin billing you at its regular monthly price of $14.95. You can also choose to cancel the service at any time if you decide it’s not for you.

Amazon’s In-house brands

Amazon has a bunch of its own brands, and right now it’s offering 20% off home, kitchen, and other AmazonBasics gear, 30% off Amazon Elements multivitamins, and up to 25% off Stone & Beam furniture. There are a bunch of other Amazon brands from AmazonFresh to Mama Bear and Goodthreads that will also have discounted items available.

Twitch Prime Games and Gear

For the gamers out there, Amazon is offering a free PC game each day through July 18 via Twitch Prime. There are popular titles like Pillars of Eternity, Q.U.B.E, Hue, and more. You’ll also get exclusive in-game look for Warframe and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and if you’re looking to load up on Twitch apparel, the merch is 50% off right now.

Prime Credit Cardholder Offers

Normally, the Amazon Prime Store Card and Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card extend shoppers 5% cash back on all Amazon.com orders. You can put the cash back rewards towards your monthly statements or a future Amazon purchase.

Last year during Prime Day, Amazon upped its cash back offer from the standard 5% to 20% on thousands of items exclusively for cardholders. That means smart deal hunters with an Amazon Prime Store Card or Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card were essentially saving an additional 15% on Prime Day. Eligible items included GoPro action cameras and Garmin fitness trackers. In fact, Amazon’s already running some bonus cash back offers for cardholders including 10% back on LG 4K OLED TVs and 20% back on the GoPro Hero action camera.

What’s more, Amazon is sweetening the pot by throwing in a free gift card upon approval. New Prime Store cardholders will receive a $20 gift card, while Prime Rewards Visa cardholders will get a $70 gift card. Both the credit card and gift card are automatically loaded into your Amazon account following the approval process, meaning if you apply now both will be ready to use during the big event.

American Express Rewards points

We already know that we will see millions of deals across the world on Prime Day, but did you know that you could drop the prices even lower by just shopping with your American Express points? Amazon frequently offers an additional percentage off select purchases when you checkout and pay for part of the transaction using your Rewards points, and come Prime Day, the company is offering 20% off on a variety of items.

When it comes to saving money, this may be one of the easiest ways you’ll be able to do it on Prime Day. The first step is to head to this page and click to activate the offer. Once the offer is activated, you’ll want to make sure that your American Express card is one of the payment methods in your account, and that you have linked your accounts successfully. The last, and easiest part, is to find an eligible item, add it to your cart, and pay using at least one American Express Reward point.

This discount can be redeemed on any item physical goods that are sold and shipped by Amazon. You won’t be able to redeem it on items sold by third parties, digital goods, or Amazon gift cards. It can only be redeemed once and has a maximum benefit of $100. The offer is currently live, so if there is something you want to buy now, you can save 20%. The promotion can end at any time, so be sure to activate the offer now and link your accounts to avoid missing out.

Of course, to take advantage of any of these offers you need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren’t already, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial so you can access all these deals and save during the big event.

The Thrifter team is going to be covering ALL things Prime Day, and you won’t want to miss out. Sign up now to have tips, tricks, deals, and more delivered right to your inbox.

Best Amazon Prime Day UK Deals (2018): Books, Echo, Games, More

Prime Day 2018 is here! A day and a half of deals is upon us and we’re going to keep tabs on the very best that Amazon has to offer over the next 36 hours so you can make some significant savings.

Prime Day 2018

This year’s Prime Day kicked off on July 16 at 12pm and lasts for 36 hours — 6 hours longer than last year. Amazon has promised an action-packed day for the UK, with 40% more Spotlight Deals than last year.

Here are the absolute best deals and promotions being made available to Prime members in the UK.

There’s 4 months of Amazon Music Unlimited for just £0.99, free games each day in the run up to July 16 and beyond from Twitch Prime, and 3 free months of KindleUnlimited.

Not to mention the 20% off selected AmazonBasics products, 50% off selected Amazon Video movie purchases, 20% off selected products from Amazon Brands, 20% off Amazon Warehouse Deals and up to 54% off certified refurbished Amazon devices.

There’s no better time than Prime Day to make the most of the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial.

This year’s top picks

Last year’s top-seller, Echo Dot, has already had its price cut to £29.99 making it cheaper to add Alexa to (more) rooms in your house. Many other Amazon devices followed suit with £30 off the Amazon Echo (2nd Generation), £100 off the Echo Show, £30 off the Echo Spot and significant discounts to Kindle Oasis and Kindle Paperwhite, too.

Amazon devices:

• Amazon Echo £59.99 (was £89.99)
• Echo Dot £29.99 (was £49.99)
• Echo Show £99.99 (was £199.99)
• Echo Spot £89.99 (was £119.99)
• Kindle Oasis £179.99 (was £229.99)
• Kindle Paperwhite £74.99 (was £109.99)
• Fire 7 £29.99 (was £49.99) and Fire 7 Kids Edition £59.99 (was £99.99)
• Fire HD 8 £49.99 (was £79.99) and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition £89.99 (was £129.99)
• Fire HD 10 £99.99 (was £149.99)
• Amazon Dash Buttons £1.99 (was £4.99)
• Up to 38% off Ring Video Doorbell and Spotlight Camera products
• Up to £150 off Blink Home Security Camera Systems

There are plenty of deals to be had on third-party products too, with some of the best listed below.

Tech:

• 30% off Sony and Canon cameras
• £375 off Microsoft Surface Pro
• 25% off Intel-powered PCs
• 30% off TVs from Sony, LG, Samsung, Toshiba and more
• £56 off the Samsung T5 1TB portable SSD
• 30% off select Honor, Huawei, Motorola, Sony and Wileyfox smartphones
• £100 ASUS 11.6-inch Chromebook
• Up to 42% off Fitbit Charge 2 and Blaze models
• £80 Blue Yeti Mics
• Up to 40% off Logitech computer accessories
• Up to 20% off 3D Printers and accessories

Gaming:

• £46 off this Nintendo Switch + Super Mario Odyssey bundle and £44 off this Nintendo Switch + Mario Tennis Aces bundle
• £46 off this Nintendo Switch + Super Mario Odyssey bundle and £44 off this Nintendo Switch + Mario Tennis Aces bundle
• PlayStation Plus 15 Month Membership for £34.99
• Save £120 on the Xbox One S 1TB Console Sea of Thieves Bundle

Home:

• TP-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug – £17.49
• Up to 55% off Samsonite and American Tourister luggage
• Discounts on robot vacuum cleaners
• £30 off the Crock-Pot Express 12-in-1 programmable pressure cooker
• BOSH! cookbook – £5.60
• £20 off the Philips OneBlade Trimmer
• Half off the Philips Lumea Prestige Hair Removal Device

Entertainment:

• Harry Potter Box Set: The Complete Collection – £30
• 30% off The Greatest Showman
• Maze Runner Trilogy on DVD – £9
• Fast & Furious 8-Film Collection on Blu-ray – £20
• £60 off the LEGO Millennium Falcon

Remember, these deals are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. If you’re not already a member, there’s no better time than Prime Day to make the most of your 30-day free trial.

It’s impossible to keep up with the hundreds of thousands of offers and promotions during Prime Day, but the team at Thrifter UK will be doing their best to curate the deals and surface the ones worthy of your time. Keep it locked on Thrifter, follow them on Twitter and sign up to the UK newsletter to get the best deals delivered directly into your inbox.

Best Amazon Prime Day Canada Deals (2018): Echo, Movies & More

Prime Day 2018 is here! A day and a half of deals is upon us and we’re going to keep tabs on the very best that Amazon has to offer over the next 36 hours so you can make some significant savings.

Prime Day 2018

This year’s Prime Day kicks started on July 16 and will last for 36 hours. Amazon has promised an action-packed day for Canada, with double the deals on Amazon devices and the biggest deals yet on home security, smart home and Alexa-enabled products.

Here are the absolute best deals and promotions being made available to Prime members.

There’s 3 months of KindleUnlimited for $0.99, 3 free audiobooks from Audible and free games each day in the run up to July 16 and beyond from Twitch Prime.

Not to mention the 25% off selected AmazonBasics and Pinzon products, up to 50% off Kids’ and Baby clothing and accessories, and $10 Amazon.ca credit for your first stream on Prime Video between Monday, July 9 and Prime Day.

There’s no better time than Prime Day to make the most of the Amazon Prime 30-day free trial.

This year’s top picks

Last year’s top-seller, Echo Dot, has already had its price cut to $34.99 making it cheaper to add Alexa to (more) rooms in your house. Many other Amazon devices followed suit with $40 off the Amazon Echo (2nd Generation), $40 off the Echo Spot and significant discounts to Fire tablets and Kindle Paperwhite, too.

Amazon devices:

• Amazon Echo $89.99 (was $129.99)
• Amazon Echo Plus $134.99 (was $199.99)
• Echo Dot $34.99 (was $69.99)
• Echo Spot $129.99 (was $169.99)
• Fire 7 Tablet $39.99 (was $59.99)
• Fire HD 8 Tablet $69.99 (was $99.99)
• Echo Dot + TP-Link Smart Plug Mini $47.99 (was $104.98)
• Echo Dot + Roomba $324.99 (was $549.98)
• Amazon Echo + Sengled 2 Bulb Kit $109.99 (was $179.98)
• Fire TV Stick Basic Edition $29.99 (was $49.99)

There are plenty of deals to be had on third-party products too, with some of the best listed below.

Tech:

• Half price Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling headphones
• Up to 30% off select Samsung phones, tablets and wearables
• $99 Blue Yeti Mics
• $90 off the ASUS ZenFone Max Plus
• $40 off the HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer
• Half off Sony WH-CH700N Wireless Noise Canceling headphones
• Hue White & Colour Ambiance A19 4 Pack Starter Kit – $80 off
• 25% off selected laptops and Chromebooks
• Save 29% or more on Seagate storage
• $110 off the Netgear Arlo security camera
• Furbo Wi-Fi Dog Camera – $199
• Save 30% on select Tile Bluetooth Trackers

Gaming:

• Nintendo Switch Total Gaming Value Bundle – $379.99
• Xbox One S Starter Bunlde + Rare Replay – $299.99

Home:

• Up to $60 off Instant Pot Duo models
• 18% off the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker
• Nutri Bullet Magic Bullet Blender – $69.99
• $140 off the DeLonghi Dedica Slim Espresso and Cappuccino Machine
• Save up to 30% on select Cuisinart Appliances
• $74 off the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean rechargeable toothbrush
• 48% off 23andMe Health and Ancestry kits
• Select baby monitors are up to 20% off
• Save up to 20% on gates and baby care products

Entertainment:

• 49% off George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Series leather-bound box set
• Wonder Woman Blu-ray – $12.99
• $10 off Blade Runner 2049 on Blu-ray
• The Shape of Water Blu-ray – $9.99

Remember, these deals are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. If you’re not already a member, there’s no better time than Prime Day to make the most of your 30-day free trial.

It’s impossible to keep up with the hundreds of thousands of offers and promotions during Prime Day, but the teams at Thrifter Canada will be doing their best to curate the deals and surface the ones worthy of your time. Keep it locked on Thrifter Canada, follow them on Twitter and sign up to their Canadian newsletter to get the best deals delivered directly into your inbox.

T-Mobile brings unlimited data and texting to 70 more countries

There’s also a new $5/day data pass that includes unlimited calling and faster data.

While T-Mobile continues to work on its Sprint acquisition in the background, the Un-Carrier today announced a couple upgrades for its international network coverage.

T-Mobile previously offered unlimited texting and 2G data across more than 140 countries, but it’s now adding 70 additional markets to that list to expand the total number to over 210.

If you want to up your data speeds and also have access to unlimited calling, T-Mobile’s launching a new $5/day data pass that grants you unlimited international calling and 512MB of LTE data each day.

Like usual, the unlimited texting and 2G data are still free for all T-Mobile One subscribers as part of Simple Global.

The 70 new countries and $5 data pass are both launching July 22.

T-Mobile and Sprint Merger FAQ: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt

$134.13


$170.00


Save $36

Connect this deadbolt to your home automation for voice control and control from your smartphone.

Instant Pot 6-quart Multicooker Prime Day Deal

$58.99


$99.95


Save $41

This regularly sells for $100, and today’s deal beats the best price ever by $10.

$50 Regal Theaters gift card

$39.50


$50.00


Save $11

Don’t miss out on this Lightning deal for $10 off a Regal Entertainment gift card! It can be used at Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theaters, and UA theaters.

$60 Spotify Gift Card

$47.40


$60.00


Save $13

Amazon has the $60 Spotify gift card discounted to $47 as a Lightning deal right now!

• Top Deals
• Amazon Devices
• TVs
• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
• Entertainment
• Fashion

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!

Carriers

• Which unlimited plan should you buy?
• Verizon’s Unlimited plans: Everything you need to know
• Everything you need to know about the T-Mobile ONE unlimited plan
• Everything you need to know about the AT&T Unlimited plan
• Everything you need to know about Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan
• Join the Discussion

Google Assistant: Everything you need to know

There’s a lot going on with the Google Assistant — let’s break down the important stuff.

In May 2016, we got our very first taste of the Google Assistant with the debut of Allo. The Assistant was a big draw to Allo at the time, with Google marketing it as a helpful bot that could make restaurant reservations, search the web, and more within your conversations.

Since then, the Assistant has gained heaps of new features and expanded to smartphones, tablets, speakers, and more. Google’s shown no interest in slowing down development for the Assistant, meaning that it’s likely here for the long-haul.

Whether this is your first encounter with it or you just need a quick refresher, here’s everything you need to know about the Google Assistant.

The latest Google Assistant news

July 17, 2018 — New Google Assistant page shows commute times, packages, upcoming flights, and more

Starting today, the Assistant on your phone is getting a big visual overhaul. After prompting the Assistant, tap the icon near the top right that previously opened up the Explore page for finding new Assistant actions and it’ll now show a visual overview of your day.

Similar to old Google Now cards, this page shows things like your commute to work, the current weather, upcoming flights, packages that are on their way from recent online orders, calendar appointments, and much more.

In the near future, Google says it’ll let you see a quick overview of notes/lists from Google Keep, Todoist, Bring!, and more, a discovery page that’ll help you find nearby events/activities, reminders of where you last parked your car, and recommendations for songs and podcasts the Assistant thinks you’ll like.

This new interface is rolling out today and is available on Android and iOS for all languages the Assistant supports.

July 10, 2018 — Google updates the UX for selecting the Assistant’s voice

During Google I/O this past May, four new voices were added to the Assistant’s existing male and female voices to help give it some more personality. Starting today, English users in the United States will see a new user interface when changing the voice.

With the new UX, users will now see a horizontal row of colors that denotes each voice rather than a vertical list of Voice 1, Voice 2, etc. The colors are entirely random and consist of Red, Orange, Amber, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, and Pink.

Google says the new look should be live for everyone by the end of the week!

All the important details

Google Now paved the way for Google Assistant

The Google Now page compared to the new Google Feed.

Before there was the Google Assistant, we had Google Now. Google Now was introduced to the world all the way back in 2012, offering contextual info through the Google Now page and helpful answers to random questions with an “OK Google” voice command.

A lot of what made Google Now so great can still be found in the Google Assistant today, with the exception of the Google Now page. The Google Now page used to be home to cards showcasing the weather, information on packages that had shipped from online orders, boarding passes, and more. It’s since been replaced by the Google Feed – a collection of news stories Google thinks you’ll be interested in – and it’s definitely the biggest departure between the two services.

The Google Assistant as a whole is still more powerful than Google Now ever was, but long-time Android users like myself are still mourning the loss of that Now page. RIP, old friend.

Read more: Google Now is being left to wither and die as Google Assistant takes the focus

It’s available on just about everything

In just a few short years, the Google Assistant’s gone from being exclusive to a now-failed chat app to being integrated into just about anything you can think of.

You’ll find Google Assistant built right into most Android phones, it’s the star of the show for the Google Home lineup, and it’s even making its way into sound bars.

Here’s the full list of devices with Google Assistant

Setting up the Google Assistant is as easy or complex as you want

When you set up a device for the first time that has the Assistant, getting started is pretty simple. Accessing it is just a voice command or tap away depending on what gadget you’re using, but if you want to really fine-tune your experience, Google’s got you covered.

Take a quick dive into your Assistant settings and you’ll find options for just about everything – including your weather preferences, changing the Assistant’s voice, retraining your voice model, picking out preferred news sources, and much more.

How to set up and customize Google Assistant

Google Assistant is available in multiple regions and languages

Of course, a smart voice assistant isn’t any good if you can’t actually use it. Fortunately, Google Assistant will be available in 52 countries —adding 38 countries this year — and 17 languages by the end of 2018.

More: Google Assistant will expand to 38 countries and 17 languages in 2018

Google Home’s the premier way to get the Assistant in your house (at least for now)

It’s great to have the Google Assistant on your phone, but if you want to truly experience just how helpful it can be, you’ll want to consider picking up a Google Home.

Google Home is Google’s line of smart speakers that put the Assistant on full-display, allowing you to control smart devices, ask random questions, set timers, play music, and more by just using your voice.

You can spend as little as $49 for the Google Home Mini, $129 for the original Google Home, or a whopping $399 for the Google Home Max.

However, as great as the Home series is, don’t forget that Smart Displays are just on the horizon.

Announced at CES 2018, Smart Displays are essentially smart speakers with the Google Assistant and a touch screen display that can show you helpful visuals when talking to them. It’s basically Google’s answer to the Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot, and we can’t wait to see more from them.

Everything you need to know about Google’s Home speakers

Then again, is an always-listening speaker the right fit for your home?

However, the convenience of a Google Home (or any smart speaker for that matter) does come at the cost of privacy. Speakers like the Google Home are “always listening”, meaning they’re constantly on the lookout for a hot word to know when you’re talking to it (such as “Ok, Google” and “Hey, Google”).

This means the microphone on a Google Home is always active, but it’s not necessarily storing all the audio it hears when it doesn’t detect its hot word.

Most all speakers allow you to restore some privacy by being able to mute the microphone, but if you want to start asking the Assistant questions, you’ll need to unmute it first.

To learn more about these “always listening” speakers, I’ll pass the mic over to Jerry

Big upgrades are coming to the Assistant on Wear OS

Switching gears for a second, the Google Assistant on Wear OS (formerly Android Wear) is about to get a big upgrade.

In the near future, the Assistant on Wear OS will support Assistant Actions (basically apps for the Assistant) and give you the option to hear its responses through your watch’s speaker or a pair of connected Bluetooth headphones.

Along with this, Google will be adding something called “smart suggestions.” After asking the Assistant for the weather, for example, you’ll see little bubbles for “weather tonight”, “use celsius”, and more so you can continue the conversation with just the tap of your finger. Google Assistant on Android offers something similar, and it’s a great tool to have.

IFTTT supercharges the Assistant’s usefulness

IFTTT (If This Then That) is a powerful online tool that allows you trigger something (that) if a certain event (this) happens. You can connect IFTTT to the Google Assistant to create your own recipes using this formula, and it can allow for some incredibly helpful combinations.

Some of our favorite uses for IFTTT and the Assistant include adding contacts to your Google account, setting your Google Calendar status to Busy for a certain period of time, and much, much more.

Getting started with IFTTT can take some time and patience if you’re new to it, but once you’re all set up and ready to go, it can prove to be a lifesaver.

How to connect Google Home and IFTTT to do amazing things with your connected tech

You’ll get the same experience no matter what devices you use

With so many devices capable of running the Assistant, it’d be easy to think that the experience you get on one gadget would be different from another. This is something that Google struggled with for a while at first, but we’re finally in a position where the Assistant experience you get on a smart speaker, for example, is the same you’ll get on your phone.

There are a handful of features here and there that still create for some discrepency, but for the most part, the Assistant you use on your Pixel 2 is the same one found on Google Home.

Google Home and Google Assistant finally offer the same experience

Google Duplex is actually going to be a thing

Google showed off Duplex — Google Assistant making natural-sounding phone calls on your behalf — at I/O 2018, but quickly noted that it was just an experiment. Flash forward a couple months, and Google announced that certain users have started testing Duplex, and a public release will be here in the next few months. Before you know it, Google Assistant will be able to book hotels, dinner reservations, hair appointments and more without you lifting a finger.

More: What is Google Duplex?

Updated July 2018: Added the Google Duplex and language support sections, as well as links to recent Assistant news.

5 things YouTube Music needs to fix in offline playback before it can be worth paying for

When you pay for YouTube Music Premium, you pay for three things, and one of them doesn’t work properly right now.

Since streaming music can chip away at your data plan — and streaming video will eat your data cap alive — offline music is especially important to YouTube Music and the users who pay for YouTube Music Premium. There’s just one problem: offline playback on YouTube Music has more pitfalls than an Indiana Jones soundtrack, Downloaded music downloads and redownloads and redownloads itself at the most inopportune times, and the app doesn’t handle offline mode or offline playback consistently. No matter how careful you are, chances are one of these traps is going to put a thorny poison dart in your side.

How to download music for offline playback on YouTube Music

Always be downloading

Over half a dozen times in the last few weeks, I’ve gotten in the car, opened YouTube Music to get my Offline mixtape going, and been greeted by YouTube Music kicking into “Looking for incomplete downloads” mode. While looking for incomplete downloads, YouTube Music makes all of your offline music inaccessible as it re-downloads it all, meaning whenever this happens during a drive, I’m stuck listening in silence or kicking back over to Google Play Music via Android Auto.

Rather than downloading your music once and keeping it downloaded the way Spotify or Google Play Music do, YouTube Music redownloads all offline content regularly, just as the main YouTube app does. While there are some understandable reasons for YouTube Music to do this, having YouTube Music randomly kick into that mode and randomly dump all your offline music until it reaches Wi-Fi again isn’t just an annoyance; that is a a service killer.

If you can’t depend on your music to be there when you’re offline and need it the most, then why would you trust YouTube Music enough to switch to it?

Downloaded copies aren’t the defaut

If you’ve downloaded an album for offline playback, you’d expect YouTube Music to play that downloaded copy instead of streaming it whenever you play that album or a song on it, right? Unfortunately, YouTube Music does not default to the downloaded copy, which was a very alarming discovery for users on capped data plans.

So, when does downloaded music actually play?

• If you play a downloaded playlist or album from the Downloads section of My Library, it plays the downloaded version.
• If you play music from anywhere else in the YouTube Music app, YouTube Music will stream the music rather than playing the downloaded version.

I’m not sure if this is a bug — goodness knows YouTube Music has plenty of those — or an intended behavior, but it is one that all users should be aware of, especially if you don’t have “Stream via Wi-Fi only” turned on.

Offline mode is jarring and incomplete

Speaking of Wi-Fi only, when YouTube Music loses the data it needs to stream — be it from airplane mode or “Stream via Wi-Fi only” — that the transition to Offline mode is abrupt and more importantly renders all but one submenu of one tab of YouTube Music utterly useless. In Offline mode, Home Hotlist and Library are all inaccessible; you can only open, view, and play the Downloads section and the playlists and albums within it.

This is especially jarring when it combines with YouTube Music’s habit of streaming downloaded music when played elsewhere in the app. You can start a playlist you know you’ve downloaded from Recently Played or Playlists, leave Wi-Fi, and then the music screeches to a halt, telling you to go to Downloads and start your playlist over again.

Coming to YouTube Music from its predecessor Google Play Music, I’d love to see YouTube Music steal its Downloaded Only mode, which repurposes the Home tab for recently played downloaded and cached content.

Shuffle All — or just shuffle anything

One of the features most-used in Google Play Music’s Downloaded Only mode is Shuffle All, which starts a shuffle of all downloaded music. Shuffling all downloaded content is an easy way to get a mix going when offline, and it’s a useful tool for any music app to have. That said, I’d settle for a Shuffle Play option for anything in Downloads.

If you open a playlist in Playlists, there’s a Shuffle play option. If you open that same playlist in Downloads, Shuffle play is gone. Admittedly, you can start playing from any song, swipe up on the queue and turn on shuffle, but why are playlist options taken away when you open the downloaded version?

Get a cache going

Another Google Play Music feature that I think all music players should steal is a glorious little gem in its playback settings called “Cache music while streaming”. This feature allows Google Play Music users to build up an offline library without having to go manually download every song, album, or playlist individually; your offline library will build up organically while you’re streaming the music you like.

Cache while streaming could allow users to build up a sizable offline library — especially when using YouTube Music’s tentpole Your Mixtape radio station — and while caching video could indeed eat up a user’s storage more quickly than the audio-only caching occuring on Google Play Music, anything that gives users more and more consistent offline music to listen to would be a boon.

How do you get down(loaded music)?

Have you had issues with YouTube Music dumping your library in the middle of your afternoon commute? Do you live in the Downloads section when you’re outside the safety of Wi-Fi? Tell us how offline playback in YouTube Music has been treating you in the comments.

Read more: Everything you need to know about YouTube Music

The Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot touchscreen deadbolt is only $134

Upgrade your front door.

The Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt is down to $134.13 with the 20% off for Prime on the product page. This deadbolt has been regularly selling around $170 recently, and it was selling as high as $180 toward the end of last year. It has never dropped below $150 directly before, so this is a new low price.

While the Schlage will work with Alexa and other voice assistants, it uses Z-Wave to connect. You will need a Z-Wave compatible hub like the SmartThings Hub or the Wink Hub. Unfortunately, Amazon does not have any native devices with a Z-Wave radio. The deadbolt uses a touchscreen keypad and can store up to 30 user codes at a time. It has a built-in alarm with three settings and uses AA batteries. It is rated ANSI Grade 1.

You will need Amazon Prime for this deal.

See on Amazon

Google Assistant just got proactive – and a lot more useful

A bit of the old and a lot of something new are going to make Google Assistant seem more like an assistant.

One of Android’s killer features for a lot of us was Google Now. Google Now could tell you when your Mastercard payment was coming up, let you know that you might need to take an umbrella for your trip to Cleveland, and remind you about things like that dentist appointment you made 6 months ago and forgot about. Once given access to your Google account — and mind you, it needed a lot of access to everything you have stored in Google — it seemed like a real assistant.

Fast forward a few years, and the debut of Google Assistant proper left many a bit disappointed. Assistant is smart enough to turn on your lights or set your thermostat for you, and that’s really cool, but as an assistant, it just wasn’t as useful as Google Now. It seemed like a small regression to the dark days before Google was all up in your business, but being helpful about it. Today’s news about Assistant getting more proactive looks like it might change that up and make Assistant a bit more … assistive.

Assistant will do things a bit differently than we’re used to seeing. Before the age of smartphones, folks used planners or Dayrunners to lay out the days itinerary and activities. Pick up the dry cleaning at 9, then lunch with Susan at P.F. Changs. Meet with a business contact at 2, then take your little brother to baseball practice at 5. Whether your life is incredibly mundane or if you’re some sort of RockGod, a planner you carried around kept track of everything.

Google Now tried to recreate that but use a different format where cards would pop into view when and where they were relevant. That was really cool and really smart. Now you would have directions to the cleaners available at your fingertips or the menu for P.F. Changs on your screen (the Mongolian Beef is to die for). That was helpful information that we didn’t have to go looking for, and the fact that we didn’t need to search it out is what made Google Now great. Not the interface, nor the way it knew everything. How it presented that bit of extra information was the icing on the cake.

It looks like Assistant is going to give us that bit of extra information, but do it in a way that is a bit retro with a scrolling day planner style view. This allows for some nice changes from how things used to be by keeping everything there to see at a glance on the same screen or card, while still dropping those bits that make it special like a button to make a call or a live traffic map. It’s not anything new in itself — Google Assistant will already give you all of this through regular notifications if you provide it with the information — but it’s far more useful than a mess of notifications that we will probably end up dismissing by accident or a set of cards that we’ll inadvertently swipe away.

No more poking around because we mistakenly swiped the card with our boarding pass away.

I’m looking forward to seeing what I need to know in a modern take on the Today theme from an old Palm Pilot or BlackBerry, but the addition of some extra bits of information like a discovery section that can help me find something to do where I’m at when I’m there, or integration with apps like Google Keep or Todoist are the fascinating features. Allowing Assistant to suggest app actions and dig into an app’s data (with our permission, of course) mean that your daily overview will look very different from my daily overview, but we’ll both have what we need at our fingertips.

It’s the little things that separate a good piece of software from a great piece of software. Checking the traffic or reminding you to pick up a package are little things that we can use plenty of other apps to do, but now that they are bundled into Google Assistant, a good app might become a great one again.

Alto’s Odyssey for Android: Everything you need to know

Alto’s Odyssey is coming to Android next month — are you pre-registered?

Alto’s Odyssey has been out on iOS since February, and it’s AMAZING. Developed by the same group of folks responsible for the masterpiece that is Alto’s Adventure, Team Alto has taken everything we loved from the first game — the gorgeous graphics, beautiful atmosphere and butter smooth gameplay — and stepped it all up a notch while giving us a brand new story and a beautiful and diverse new environment for us to endlessly explore.

If I sound excited, it’s because Alto’s Adventure is hands-down one of the best free-to-play games ever released for Android. Period. Seriously, if you’ve never played Alto’s Adventure go download it right now. and then come back.

July 17, 2018 — Alto’s Odyssey Android release date confirmed for July 26!

Alto’s fans rejoice! We’re just over a week away from getting our hands on Alto’s Odyssey on Android with an official release date set for July 26.

The wait is almost over: Alto’s Odyssey is launching on @GooglePlay on July 26th 🎉 https://t.co/98uEkwJA3Y

— Alto’s Odyssey (@altosadventure) July 17, 2018

Follow the link below to be notified when Alto’s Odyssey is ready for download.

Pre-register at Google Play

What new in Alto’s Odyssey?

Alto and his pals have traded the snow-capped mountains of the original Adventure for the rolling sand dunes of a mystical desert complete with hot air balloons and other surprises to contend with.

Awesome features such as Zen Mode are included right out of the gate, and there are new tricks available and new ways to interact with the procedurally-generated areas. I mean, the developers drew specific inspiration from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (which explains the emphasis on intuitive controls) and that era in the THPS franchise is celebrated for adding subtle improvements to the gameplay that opened up a new way to link tricks and explore levels.

By all accounts, Alto’s Odyssey is the perfect sequel to an amazing game that, too, took its time coming over to Android in 2016 after becoming a smash hit on iOS in 2015.

How much will it cost?

This is the other really interesting question that we don’t have an answer for yet.

Both Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey were released as paid apps in the iTunes App Store, but when Snowman partnered with Noodlecake Studios to bring Alto’s Adventure to Android, they opted for a free-to-play model that included video ads to revive Alto and in-app purchases for premium upgrades. It was an experiment of sorts that offered a great game for free to Android users with minimal ads — and tens of millions of downloads from the Google Play Store.

Of course, the iOS and Android app markets are unique beasts, and while Team Alto has been hush on a firm release date, they also haven’t said anything about whether Alto’s Odyssey on Android will be free-to-play or require an up-front purchase.

Either way, we’re eager to hit the sandy slopes of Alto’s Odyssey just as soon as it’s available for download.

Pre-register at Google Play

Are you excited about Alto’s Odyssey?

Let us know in the comments!

Best Amazon Prime Day Deals

Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt

$134.13


$170.00


Save $36

Connect this deadbolt to your home automation for voice control and control from your smartphone.

Instant Pot 6-quart Multicooker Prime Day Deal

$58.99


$99.95


Save $41

This regularly sells for $100, and today’s deal beats the best price ever by $10.

$50 Regal Theaters gift card

$39.50


$50.00


Save $11

Don’t miss out on this Lightning deal for $10 off a Regal Entertainment gift card! It can be used at Regal Cinemas, Edwards Theaters, and UA theaters.

$60 Spotify Gift Card

$47.40


$60.00


Save $13

Amazon has the $60 Spotify gift card discounted to $47 as a Lightning deal right now!

• Top Deals
• Amazon Devices
• TVs
• Smart Home
• Unlocked Smartphones
• Kitchen
• Audio & Headphones
• Gaming
• Home Improvement / DIY
• Everyday Essentials
• Kids & Toys
• Entertainment
• Fashion

Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!

Android Gaming

• Best Android games
• Best free Android games
• Best games with no in-app purchases
• Best action games for Android
• Best RPGs for Android
• All the Android gaming news!

Mophie Announces New Apple-Exclusive Powerstation Portable Chargers With Lightning Ports

Mophie today announced the launch of a new series of iPhone-exclusive Powerstation models, which are equipped with a Lightning port to allow them to be recharged using a Lightning cable rather than a traditional micro-USB cable.

With the ability to charge over Lightning, customers who purchase one of the new Lightning-equipped Mophie Powerstations will be able to charge their iPhones and their portable charger using the same cable.

Mophie is offering several new Powerstation options, with varying battery capacities and price points:

• Powerstation Plus ($79.95) – 6040mAh with built-in Lightning connector and a single USB port. Available in heather gray, slate, and black.
• Powerstation Plus XL ($99.95) – 10,000mAh with built-in Lightning connector and a single USB port. Available in heather gray, slate, black, and deep blue. Qi wireless charging is included, allowing the Powerstation Plus XL to be recharged via a Qi-based wireless charger.
• Powerstation ($59.95) – 6,040mAh with two USB ports for charging two devices at once. Available in indigo blue and millennial pink.
• Powerstation XXL ($99.95) – 20,200mAh with three USB ports for charging three devices at once. Available in black.

The Powerstation and Powerstation XXL, designed for use with iPhone, iPad, and AirPods, offer up an extra 20 and 70 hours of iPhone battery life, respectively, and come in an aluminum design.

The Powerstation Plus and Powerstation Plus XL offer built-in Lightning connectors, alleviating the need to supply your own Lightning cable for charging purposes. Both of these models offer a fabric-covered design with fabric over the top and bottom plates and can provide up to 34 hours of extra battery.

All of the Powerstation options include an LED power indicator to provide details on charging status and battery life, along with Priority Charging capabilities that send power to your device before recharging the Powerstation when it’s plugged in.

The new line of Mophie Powerstations are available exclusively from Apple retail stores, the Apple online store, and the Mophie website.

Tag: Mophie
Discuss this article in our forums