Our Prime Day Picks: The Best Deals You Need to Know About

For the fourth year in a row, Amazon is hosting its Prime Day, a veritable discount bonanza that takes place smack dab in the middle of summer ... giving new meaning to Christmas in July! This year the event has been extended to 36 hours long, kicking off today at 3 p.m. ET and ending on Wednesday (7/18) at 3 a.m. ET. 

Prime Day Lesson #1: If you aren’t a Prime member, now’s probably a good time to enroll in the 30-day trial. Lesson #2: Take advantage of the steep markdowns Amazon is offering on its branded products (we’ve included eight of our favorites below). Lesson #3: There are more than 1,000,000 price cuts being offered — so don’t try to sift through them all yourself!

Below are 26 of this year’s best deals you can get on this hallowed day of consumerism. Need a new TV? The Fire-enabled Toshiba 50" 4K is a smokin' deal. Love you a smart home? Critically-hailed home robot Jibo is majorly on sale, making him (almost) afforable now. Harried mom to little ones? Play-doh for 50 cents a pop is unheard of. Novice chef? You’ll be wanting to put that Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker in your cart —and your kitchen—stat. 

Something to keep in mind: Christmas is just six months away. We know, we know. Shopping ahead of time is overwhelming and requires you to think about winter and budgets and lots of other not-fun things. BUT. But! Some of last year's hottest Christmas gifts are included in today's deals, like the Nintendo Switch that is a great video game entry for elementary- and middle-school-aged kiddos. And the Bose noise-canceling headphones are a must-have for any travelers in your life. Got a college kid on your Christmas list? The Bose micro speaker is perfect for dorm living.

Oh, and we don’t want to forget Lesson #4: Hurry! All of the Prime Day products are going fast thanks to limited quantities, so if you love and need it ... buy it before someone else does.