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Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale, essentially an October Prime Day event, started Tuesday and ends Wednesday. It arrives just in time to kick-start your holiday shopping. These events usually bring some of the online retailer’s best prices of the year, and right now you can take advantage of all of the best deals.

If you’re looking to save big ahead of the holidays, now might be a good time to take the plunge on a Prime membership, which you’ll need to get these deals. A standard Prime membership will run you $139 a year, or $15 a month. If you’re a student, you can get a Prime membership for $69 a year, or $8 a month, and if you qualify for government assistance programs the monthly subscription price drops to $7.

You won’t just get free shipping with your Prime membership. With your subscription you’ll also receive access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, discounts at Whole Foods and on Amazon Alexa products, and even more perks.

Prime Days usually mean big deals on tech (think phones, tablets and smartwatches) and home products (like air fryers and espresso machines). So, if you think a Prime membership is right for you, read on and we’ll walk you through how to sign up. If you’re still on the fence, no worries: You can sign up for a 30-day free trial.

For more, Amazon’s layaway program could be an ace up your sleeve for big-ticket items.

How to sign up for Amazon Prime

To take advantage of Prime Day deals, you’ll want to be a Prime member. To sign up, all you’ll need to do is:

1. Navigate to www.amazon.com/amazonprime.

2. Tap the rectangular orange box that says Start Your 30-Day Trial.

3. If you already have an Amazon account, sign in. If you don’t have an Amazon account, tap Create Account. You will be prompted to enter your name, email address and password. Amazon will require you to verify your email address with a one-time password.

4. Select your payment method — which can be a credit card, debit card, gift card or whatever other payment method you choose — and add that information. Then click Continue.

And that’s it. You’re now officially a Prime subscriber.

How to cancel your Prime membership

If you decide a Prime membership is no longer right for you, or if you want to end your free trial, it’s pretty easy to cancel.

1. Sign into your Amazon account, and tap the Account & Lists dropdown menu.

2. Then select Prime Membership in the Your Account column.

3. Next, under the Manage membership heading, tap Update, cancel and more.

4. Then, simply select End Membership.

If you don’t want to follow these steps, you can also go to this support page and jump directly to the End Membership button. Either way, after selecting End Membership you will no longer be subscribed to Amazon Prime.

While most modern TVs come with a smart TV system, grabbing a streaming stick from your preferred platform can make a big difference. Handily, there are a lot of great early Prime Day deals at both Amazon and Best Buy on several Roku streaming devices, from the basic Roku Express to the fancier Roku Streambar, with prices from just $21.

If you want to grab a Roku streaming device for as cheap as possible, the new Roku Express is a great option, and Amazon has even discounted it down to $21 from $30. It can stream in HD quality, with upscaling to 1080p if you have a full HD TV, although it doesn’t support any HDR standards. Though, we’d probably suggest grabbing the Roku Express 4K Plus instead, since it’s only $8 more at a discounted price of $29. While it also uses upscaling, it’s much better and can hit 4K resolutions. It also supports HDR10 Plus, which is nice to see at this price.

If you want something a bit more high-end, there’s the Roku Streambar, which is a streaming device and a soundbar in one. Granted, it’s not going to give you the most premium audio quality, at least when compared to stand-alone soundbars near the same price range, but for a discounted price of $100, it’s a great device to pick up if you’ve just bought a TV and would like a bit better sound than it can deliver. It also comes with several excellent features, from the HDR and 4K to the voice-controlled remote and app — this is a really great soundbar and streaming device combo.

T-Mobile is forcing users on its older unlimited plans to move to some of its latest options. The carrier confirmed to CNET that starting next week, notices will be sent out to T-Mobile users on its older One, Simple Choice, Magenta and Magenta 55 Plus plans alerting them that starting with their November bill cycles their respective plans will change and that their monthly pricing will go up.

The notices will go out starting on October 17 and T-Mobile tells CNET that “there will be an increase of approximately $10 per line with the migration.” A spokesperson noted that those who sign up for AutoPay can save $5 per line (on up to eight lines per account).

T-Mobile recently changed its automatic payment rules to require a linked bank account or debit card as opposed to a credit card, though with the company’s troubled history of data breaches consumers may be wary of linking banking information to their accounts.

“We’re always looking for ways to give our customers more from our services so we’re moving a small number who were on older rate plans to newer plans that will deliver them enhanced features,” T-Mobile said in a statement. It was not immediately clear how many people will be impacted or what a “small number” meant.

The company adds that those who don’t want to have their plan changed will be able to reverse the move, but they will need to call T-Mobile’s Customer Care support line to make that happen.

The carrier is giving users an undisclosed period of time to call in and reverse the forced switch, but how long that period will be was similarly not immediately known. It was also not known if those who go back will be able to stay on their older plans for good or if any reversal simply buys these users a little more time before a switch is once again forced upon them.

News of the plan changes first leaked on Reddit, The Mobile Report and on the Tech Life Channel on YouTube.

According to the leak on Reddit, those on Simple Choice will be moved to either Magenta or Essentials Select, those on Magenta or One will move to Go5G and those on Magenta 55 Plus will be migrated to Go5G 55 Plus. Business users on Simple Choice Business will similarly be switched over to the carrier’s Business Unlimited Advanced.

The forced changes to legacy plans come over three years after T-Mobile completed its merger with Sprint. One of the promises to get the merger approved by regulators was that the carrier would not raise rates on plans for three years. It has since introduced a “Price Lock” promise to not raise rates on plans, but that guarantee largely only applies to its newer plans from the last two years.

As part of its “Price Lock” page, T-Mobile does note that those who are on “eligible plans” from before April 28, 2022 and don’t want to switch to a new T-Mobile plan will be able to have the carrier cover “your final month’s recurring service charge if we were to raise prices and you choose to leave.”

Those looking to take advantage of that offer will simply need to give the carrier notice “within 60 days.”

If there’s one thing I’m picky about, it’s the quality of sound, so before I invested in a small Bluetooth speaker I did my research. (By which I mean I went through CNET’s list of the best Bluetooth speakers.) The one I chose, and one that continues to rank high in quality for its size, is the Bose SoundLink Flex Bluetooth speaker, and it’s $30 off right now for October Prime Day.

Instead of its usual $149, the SoundFlex Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $119 at Amazon. And as another perk for people who’d rather support a business besides Amazon: The speaker is also $120 at Best Buy and $119 through Bose itself.

I really love this speaker for the reasons you’d love a speaker — music sounds really good on it, speech is clear when I’m listening to a podcast and the sound is full enough to fill my (tiny) studio apartment.

But I like it more for another reason: As a restless and light sleeper, I need some sort of sound going that’ll mask the noise from inside and outside my apartment building. In a series of events I don’t completely remember, I found that playing the “Commercial Airliner” soundscape track from my Calm app through my Bose speaker effectively blocked the bass sounds I can hear in my apartment. It’s also a whole lot more comfortable than trying to sleep with the same track flowing through headphones (which, I’ll note, weren’t designed for sleeping either).

While I can’t compare its off-label use as a white noise machine to the real white noise machines out there, I can say its versatility is one of the main reasons I’m tied to this Bluetooth speaker. In terms of how it tests in overall audio quality, you can read David Carnoy’s full Bose SoundLink Flex review here.

There’s nothing worse than low battery anxiety — that point where your phone goes below 20% battery life, and you have no idea when you’ll be seeing a charger in the next few hours, be it because you’re on a plane, a train or just out and about. That’s why a supplementary battery is a must.

For iPhone owners, there are plenty of choices, but it’s the Anker MagGo 622 that I’ve grown to appreciate — first with my iPhone 14 Pro, and now that I’ve upgraded to an iPhone 15 Pro Max. All five colors of this device are currently $40 for Prime Big Deal Days — a nice 20% discount from the usual $50 price, or a whopping 43% off the list price.

Previously, I had — and liked — the similar 321 model. Like Apple’s similar (and now discontinued) MagSafe Battery Pack, the MagGo 321 magnetically attaches and powers recent iPhones that are MagSafe-equipped (that’s most models since 2020’s iPhone 12). However, that Anker only cost me $22 at the time. And it gave my iPhone another full charging cycle, while still being slim enough to fit in my pocket without any annoying connecting cords or cables.

Read more: Best MagSafe Accessories for iPhone

But the MagGo 622 adds a fold-down kickstand. That’s a key feature when I’m traveling — plop it on the tray table of a plane or a train, and you can enjoy video on your phone in landscape or portrait mode. Have a nearby power outlet? The 622 has passthrough charging via its USB-C connector. (And now that the iPhone uses USB-C too, that’s one less cable in my bag.)

Now, a few notes and caveats:

• The Anker products aren’t officially compatible with Apple’s MagSafe standard, so they charge more slowly than those pricier Apple-sanctioned products. (The latest iPhones support the newer Qi2 wireless charging standard, but few if any of those have hit the market yet — and Apple has yet to detail which improvements, if any, the new chargers will deliver.)
• You’ll need to have a MagSafe-compatible phone case for the 622 or any magnetic battery to attach properly. And, like most gadgets nowadays, you’ll need to bring your own power adapter, as only the USB-C cable is provided in the box.
• Lastly, you don’t get the fancy on-screen indicator of how much juice the battery has left in it (but it does have a four-bar LED indicator on the side for that).

But those are all basically quibbles. If I’m spending the day traveling — or just walking around — the Anker MagGo 622 is clipped onto my iPhone, ready for action.

This story was originally published for the July Prime Day event, and has been slightly updated for October’s Prime Big Deal Days.

Bluetooth speakers are one of the big consumer electronics commodities these days. Everybody has one, but a lot of them are no-name plastic blobs with tinny sound — or worse, so old they have a micro-USB charge port. That’s why I’m always excited to share when the JBL Go 3 goes on sale. The list price remains at $50, but during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale, it’s back down to $25 — half off, and tying the lowest price we’ve seen.

To be clear, there are plenty of great Bluetooth speakers on sale right now. But for me, the Go 3 hits the sweet spot for an impulse purchase. I own it, and it’s one of my favorite gadgets and travel companions. It’s also IP67 waterproof, so it’s at home in the shower or by the pool. In fact, I installed a Command Hook by the bathroom sink where it can hang from its durable braided loop, so I can listen to news or music during my morning shower.

Beyond the playback controls and volume, the only two buttons are Bluetooth sync and power. It’s worked flawlessly with any phone, laptop or tablet I’ve ever tried to connect to it. I also love that it has a USB-C port for charging. Now that the iPhone has gone USB-C, it’s pretty much the standard connector for the entire gadget world.

And the sound? For something that fits in the palm of my hand, I think it sounds great. With a good bit of midrange and even a touch of bass, you actually feel like you’re getting some of that JBL audio DNA that you wouldn’t find in those no-name speakers. But don’t trust me: Check out the full JBL Go 3 review from CNET audio guru David Carnoy, who also enshrined it on our list of best Bluetooth speakers.

Sure, there are a couple of quibbles: The battery life is a bit short (about five hours), and — for whatever reason — the battery life indicator doesn’t show up on my iPhone, like nearly every other speaker or headphones I connect to it. But otherwise, there’s very little not to like about the Go 3, which is also available in a range of several fun colors, including teal, pink and even military camo. If sustainability is important to you, note that the newer Go 3 Eco version, which incorporates between 90 and 100% post-consumer recyclable materials into the plastic body and speaker grille fabric, respectively — all for the same $25 price.

If you have an older portable speaker with tinny sound or flagging battery life, this makes a no-brainer replacement. It’s also a great gift for anyone who travels or just likes listening to music or podcasts around the house.

Check out even more great Amazon October Prime Day deals under $25.

If you’ve been waiting for a sale to pull the trigger on a new high-end TV, your wait could be over. The LG C2 OLED TV, which is my current pick for the best high-end TV for the money, just dropped in price for Amazon’s October Prime Day sale to levels that either match or come close to all-time lows.

I review TVs for CNET and in my side-by-side comparisons the C2 was superb, outperforming any non-OLED model and holding its own against other OLED TVs that cost a lot more. It also has just about every important feature I recommend in a high-end TV, including state-of-the-art gaming extras, along with sleek style and all the connections you need. It’s a 2022 model, but it performed just as well as the 2023 C3, which currently costs $300 more at the sizes listed below.

I can’t predict the future but if I had to guess, the prices on these TVs will likely be the lowest available on any TV this good until the Black Friday season, which hits in mid-November. (To illustrate that point, I wrote the first version of this story in July during the original Prime day sale, I said the same thing then and I was wrong: each of these TVs is $100 cheaper now than it was in July).

Looking for another size? The three sizes above are the only C2 models currently available at Amazon that I would recommend. The C2 does come in other sizes (namely 42-, 48- and 65-inch) but they’re either sold out or only available refurbished. If you’re interested in those other sizes sizes I’d recommend going with a C3, and if you could, waiting for prices to fall as we get closer to Black Friday.

Beats’ sleek and stylish headphones are some of the most popular pairs on the market — and for good reason. Several models have claimed a spot on our list of the overall best headphones and earbuds of 2023, and right now Prime members can get their hands on select pairs at a record-low price. Amazon is currently offering up to 50% off Beats headphones at its massive October Prime Day sale, including a whopping $170 off the new Beats Studio Pros, dropping them down to an all-time low price of just $180. The sale runs until 11:59 p.m. PT (2:59 a.m. ET) tomorrow night, but there’s no guarantee these deals will stick around until then. We’d recommend getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these incredible savings.

Our reviewer David Carnoy likened the latest and greatest Beats Studio Pros to a more affordable version of Apple’s ultra-pricey AirPods Max. And at 49% off the list price, they’re one of the best pairs of over-ear headphones you’ll find in this price range. They feature active noise-cancellation, an impressive 40-hour battery life and support lossless audio via USB-C. Amazon currently has all four colors on sale for Prime members, dropping the price to an all-time low of $180.

If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative, you can grab a pair of on-ear Beats Solo 3 headphones for $100, which is 50% off and just $21 more than the all-time lowest price we’ve seen. They don’t have any noise-canceling capabilities, but do support spatial audio when paired with Apple devices, and also feature a 40-hour battery life.

If you prefer earbuds, there are a few different pairs to choose from. The Beats Studio Buds aren’t the latest model in their lineup, but still feature active noise-canceling capabilities, an IPX4 water-resistance rating and a 24-hour battery life on a single charge. And right now they’re back down to their all-time low price of just $90 for Prime members, which saves you $60. There’s also the Beats Fit Pros, which are some of our favorite earbuds for runners. They’re equipped with an Apple H1 chip, a noise-canceling and transparency mode and they’re $40 off right now, dropping the price down to $160. And serious athletes can save $100 on the Beats Powerbeats Pro, which have an integrated ear hook to keep them firmly in place, dropping them back down to the all-time low price of $150.

Be sure to check out our full roundup of all the best October Prime Day headphones and earbuds deals for even more can’t-miss bargains.