Amazon released its new Fire TV Stick 4K at the end of September for $59.99. It’s now $25, part of the early Black Friday sale Amazon opened today under a banner advertising as much as 65% off Amazon’s own hardware. That’s $5 below what the same stick cost during Prime Big Deal Days in October, and it’s the sort of price that gets a second one added for the bedroom TV without much thought.
Amazon’s own gadgets are the easiest things in a sale like this to buy and some of the harder ones to judge. Each is tied to an Amazon account and runs Amazon’s software, and many lean on a subscription that keeps billing long after the box is recycled. The timing matters too. Between late September and late October, Amazon replaced a big part of its lineup, so much of what’s discounted today is either brand new or the model that just got replaced.
I’ve gone through the device deals one family at a time, using the prices reported as the sale opened and what Amazon has already said in its Nov. 9 preview of Black Friday Week, which starts Nov. 19.
Fire TV sticks: the cheapest 4K model runs different software now
Most of the Fire TV discounts work out to roughly 40% to 60% off list. Here’s how the sticks compare:
| Stick | Early sale price | List price | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire TV Stick 4K (2026) | $25 | $60 | Vega OS, Wi-Fi 6, no Dolby Vision, Amazon Appstore apps only |
| Fire TV Stick 4K Plus | $40 | $70 | Android-based Fire OS, Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision |
| Fire TV Stick 4K Select | $22 | $50 | Vega OS, the earlier model the new 4K replaced |
| Fire TV Stick HD | $20 | $40 | 1080p only |
The new 4K stick runs Vega OS, Amazon’s own operating system, instead of the Android-based Fire OS. AFTVnews laid out the tradeoffs at launch. It handles HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG video but not Dolby Vision. The stick can’t decode Dolby audio itself and passes it through to your TV or soundbar. It has 1 GB of memory, and you can’t sideload apps, so you’re limited to a smaller Amazon Appstore catalog. If your TV doesn’t do Dolby Vision and every app you use is in that store, none of this matters much, and $25 is a strong price.
The 4K Plus is the better buy for everyone else. It runs Fire OS, supports Dolby Vision and has Wi-Fi 6, for $15 more. The new stick officially replaced it, but Amazon’s support page still lists security updates for the 4K Plus through at least Dec. 31, 2030. Skip the 4K Select. It’s the earlier Vega OS stick, and the newer model costs only $3 more. The HD stick only makes sense on a 1080p set in a kitchen or guest room.
On timing, the new 4K was $29.99 through Prime Big Deal Days, so today’s price is its lowest so far. Amazon’s preview also names the Fire TV Stick 4K among the new devices it says will be up to 35% off during Black Friday Week. Taken literally, that would put it near $39 at best, which makes $25 the price to take if a stick is on your list. If it drops further, Amazon’s holiday window, which lets purchases made Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 go back until Jan. 31, 2027, leaves you room to return and rebuy.
Kindles: the previous generation is where the value is
Amazon announced its 2026 Kindles on Oct. 1, and prices went up. The basic Kindle is $149.99, the Paperwhite $199.99 and the Colorsoft $289.99, with pricier aluminum Signature Editions above the last two. What changed is real but modest: a flush front with no raised border around the screen, thinner bodies, the option of an aluminum back and quicker book opening, which Amazon puts at 30% faster on the basic model.
On an e-reader, those upgrades are hard to justify at full price. A 2024 Paperwhite reads the same books, shops the same store and borrows library books the same way. Amazon’s preview points at the older generation too, since the 2024 Kindle Colorsoft is on its Black Friday Week list at up to 45% off. If you see a 2024 Kindle marked down this week, measure the deal against what the new version costs, not against the older model’s own list price.
Two details matter for gifts. The Kindle Click, the $34.99 page-turn remote Amazon launched with the new models, works with Kindles from 2024 or later, so an older model doesn’t shut you out of it. And the kids’ versions of the new Kindles include 12 months of Amazon Kids+. Write down the date that year ends when you give one, because that’s the day a parent has to decide whether to keep paying for it.
Echo speakers and displays: settle the Prime question first
The new Echo devices are built around Alexa+, and on an Echo, Alexa+ needs either a Prime membership or a paid Alexa+ plan. Amazon’s own page for the new Echo Show 16 says certain features require Alexa+, which comes with Prime. An Echo bought this month mostly makes sense if you’re keeping Prime, so if canceling is on the table for next year, count that first.
Fire TV works differently. Since Aug. 19, Amazon has made Alexa+ free on current Fire TV sticks, the Fire TV Cube and Ember TVs in the U.S., with or without Prime. Some extras still need Prime or the paid plan, including Alexa Routines and certain Ring camera features on the TV.
Then there’s the generation question. The new Echo Dot that went on sale Oct. 28 costs $99.99. Compared with the Dot it replaces, it adds a built-in smart home hub, a fourth microphone and more bass (Amazon claims 50% more). If you’re building out smart lights and locks, the hub earns its keep. If the Dot’s job is timers, weather and a radio station in the kitchen, a discounted previous-generation Dot does that fine.
The Echo Show 16 is the hard call. It’s on preorder with $100 off its $499.99 price, about 20%, and 9to5Toys reported that shipping starts Dec. 16. It’s also on Amazon’s up-to-35% list for Black Friday Week. If the product page shows Amazon’s “Pre-order Price Guarantee,” you’re charged the lowest price Amazon.com offers between your order and the release date, so a preorder placed today would still get a lower Black Friday price if one appears. Without that message on the listing, wait for Nov. 19 and compare.
Ring and Blink: the hardware is the small part of the bill
Ring’s early prices are low: the Battery Doorbell 2K is $40, down from $100, and the Indoor Cam 2K is $25. The plan is the bigger number. Ring says its cameras give you Live View, motion alerts and two-way talk with no subscription, but saved recordings need one, and the cheapest, Ring Solo, is $49.99 a year. That turns a $40 doorbell into a $90 first year.
Blink is the Amazon camera line that can keep clips without a plan, on a USB drive plugged into its Sync Module 2, which matters if the person you’re shopping for won’t pay monthly. Either way, give a camera only to someone who asked for one. It comes with a subscription decision and a question about where video of their front door is stored.
eero and tablets: buy for a specific problem
An eero mesh system fixes weak Wi-Fi in far rooms. It won’t speed up a slow internet plan, so run a speed test standing next to your router before you buy one. The optional eero Plus subscription costs $99.99 a year for extras like security features and parental controls, and the Wi-Fi works without it. If you already own eero, check the Echo you have first: eero says select Echo models, including the Echo Dot and Echo Pop, can extend an existing eero network by up to 1,000 square feet.
Tablets are mid-switch. On Oct. 14 Amazon started selling Alexa Tablets, which run regular Android with the Google Play Store, at $229.99 for the Alexa Tablet 8, $329.99 for the 11 and $499.99 for the 12 Pro. They’re taking the place of the Fire tablet line, which makes a discounted Fire tablet an awkward buy. It still works and still gets security updates (Amazon lists the 2024 Fire HD 8 through at least Dec. 31, 2029), but you’d be buying into the Amazon Appstore on a tablet just as Amazon moves its tablets away from it. The Alexa Tablets are on the up-to-35% list for Black Friday Week, so if you want one, Nov. 19 is the earliest I’d look.
Three checks before you place the order
- Who’s selling it. Amazon promises security updates for at least four years from the day you buy a device new with Amazon as the seller, or until the date listed for that model if that’s later. Buy the same device from another seller, or refurbished, and you’re covered only through the listed date.
- Which generation. Amazon reuses names, so an Echo Dot or Kindle Paperwhite in a deal may be this fall’s model or the previous one. Read the generation or year on the listing before comparing prices.
- Whose account it’s on. If a device you’re giving away shows up under Devices in your Amazon account, deregister it there before you wrap it: pick the device, then choose Deregister. That way it sets up on the recipient’s account instead of yours.
What I’d buy today and what I’d leave for Nov. 19
Today, the new Fire TV Stick 4K at $25 is worth buying if your TV and apps fit its limits, and the 4K Plus at $40 if they don’t. A Ring doorbell at $40 is fine for someone who has already decided to pay for a plan. Everything else here waits nine days: the Echo Show 16 unless the preorder guarantee covers you, plus the Echo Time, the Alexa Photo Frame, the Alexa Tablets and the 2024 Kindle Colorsoft, all of which Amazon named in its preview.
Black Friday Week opens just after midnight Pacific time on Thursday, Nov. 19. Paying today’s price for a smart display or tablet that Amazon has already put on that event’s list is the one move I’d avoid this afternoon.
