Best early October Prime Day tablet deals: New Amazon Fire HD 8 debuts at 45% off

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UPDATE: Oct. 2, 2024, 4:15 p.m. EDT This story has been updating with new deals, plus current pricing and availability.

The best early October Prime Day tablet deals at a glance:

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Amazon has released another wave of official early offers ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, its members-only “October Prime Day” sale (set for Oct. 8 and 9) — and among its selection of tablet deals is a heavily discounted new Fire HD 8.

Quietly announced in an Oct. 2 post on the About Amazon blog, the refreshed 8-inch tablet features more RAM and a better camera than the previous model from 2022. Amazon has also equipped it with several new generative AI features, which “all compatible Fire tablets” will start supporting later this month. It starts at $99.99 with 32GB of storage, a $30 drop from its predecessors’ sticker price, but it’s on sale for just $54.99 through the end of Prime Big Deal Days.

The new Fire HD 8 is one of nine Fire tablets that are currently sitting at all-time lows in the lead-up to the 48-hour savings event. That includes four of Amazon’s flagship tablets and five models that are specially designed for kids. (These come with age-appropriate content, parental controls, a protective case, a two-year worry-free guarantee, and at least six months’ worth of Amazon Kids+.)

Elsewhere, we’ve also spotted record lows on two Apple iPads, including the new 13-inch, M4-powered iPad Pro. These deals aren’t technically included in Amazon’s formal pre-Prime Big Deal Days programming, but the size of their discounts makes them worth mentioning.

Amazon’s live discounts across the Samsung Galaxy Tab line-up are far less exciting — none of them were close to their previous record lows at the time of writing — and there were zero Google Pixel tablets on sale there when we last checked. As such, we don’t recommend buying any of those models at present, but we’ll still be keeping a close eye on them: They’ll probably get much cheaper once Prime Big Deal Days begins next week.

Below, we’ve gone into more detail on the early October Prime Day tablet deals that are actually worth it. Note: Deals marked with a 🔥 have dropped to an all-time low price.

Best Amazon Fire tablet deal

Why we like it

The new Fire HD 8 has the same display, processor, 13-hour battery life, and storage options as the older model, but Amazon’s added a gig of extra RAM for “enhanced performance while streaming, gaming, browsing, or downloading photos and videos.” (Don’t expect it to be super powerful, but more memory never anyone.) Its rear camera has also gotten a bump from 2MP to 5MP, which should translate to slightly better shots. On the software side, its newly added generative AI features include Writing Assist, Webpage Summaries, and a Wallpaper Creator.

No need to upgrade if you already own the previous model, but those in need of a new portable, affordable tablet should consider short-listing this guy. The 32GB base model is on sale for $54.99 through Oct. 9 (the second half of Prime Big Deal Days), which works out to a 45% savings.

More Fire tablets on sale

Best Apple iPad deal

Why we like it

Read Mashable’s full review of the 13-inch Apple iPad Pro (M4).

The latest iPad Pro is a beefy tablet for creative professionals that’s powered by the lightning-fast M4 chip, which Apple hasn’t used in any MacBooks yet (though that’s rumored to be changing later this fall). Mashable tech editor Kim Gedeon gave it a 4.5/5 rating, which nabbed it a Mashable Choice Award, praising its “power efficiency, striking [tandem OLED] display, and breakneck performance.” Note that it lasted more than six hours longer than its rated battery life in our testing.

At $1,198, or $101 off, this is the 256GB base configuration’s lowest price on Amazon since launch.

More Apple iPads on sale

• Apple iPad, 10.2-inch (A13 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $224 329 (save $105)

• Apple iPad, 10.9-inch (A14 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $329 $349 (save $20)

• Apple iPad mini, 8.3-inch (A15 Bionic, WiFi, 64GB) — $379.99 $499 (save $119.01) 🔥

• Apple iPad Air, 11-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $549 $599 (save $50)

• Apple iPad Air, 13-inch (M2, WiFi, 128GB) — $745 $799 (save $54)

• Apple iPad Pro, 11-inch (M4, WiFi, 256GB) — $927 $999 (save $72)

Samsung Galaxy Tabs on sale