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Amazon Prime Day: Most purchased items we covered last year

Readers gravitated toward Apple products, face masks, smart TVs, exercise bikes and more. Here are the top choices they made.
Illustration of the YOSUDA Indoor Cycling Bike Stationary, Kindle and the Blueair 411
The most purchased products we've covered during Prime Day 2020 include exercise bikes, face masks, TVs and more.Amazon
By Shari Uyehara and Lauren Levy

Amazon announced in a recent press release that Prime Day 2021 will occur toward the end of June. As we enter the month that brings us summer and Father's Day, we took a look at what readers cared most about during the most irregular Prime Day 2020. The most popular products aligned with the same priorities readers have had throughout the last year: health and wellness, high-functioning and high-quality personal tech and Covid 19-centric products (from face masks to work-from-home devices).

And it wasn't just on Amazon that we saw traction during Prime Day. Though Amazon started its Prime Day sale in 2015, it has since grown so much that other retailers offer similarly large-scale sales during Prime Day. Last year we saw deep discounts at Shopping reader favorite retailers like Wayfair, Walmart and Target. We also noticed many readers seemed to be drawn to sales at Dell, Nordstrom Rack, Best Buy, REI and more. As we continue to report on the coming Prime Day sales event, we compiled some of the most purchased products we covered during Prime Day 2020.

1. Apple AirPods Pro

  • Rating: 4.8-star average rating, nearly 197,300 reviewers
  • Highlights: Tech expert Whitson Gordon notes these earbuds are the best wireless earbuds for Apple users able to invest some more into their headphones. Fitness expert Stephanie Mansour considers the non-Pro edition, the Apple AirPods, the best wireless earbuds for her routine. The Pro version of the earbuds were discounted to this price in mid September for several days, after which they jumped up closer to their $235 average price over the last year, according to price comparison site CamelCamelCamel.

2. Safe+Mate x Case-Mate

  • Rating: 4.2-star average rating, over 55,000 reviewers
  • Highlights: The Case-Mate mask, part of the company’s Safe+Mate health and safety product line, is available for kids or adults and comes in Adult S/M, Adult L/XL, Kids Age 3-6 and Kids Age 7-11. It’s machine-washable, made of cotton and polyester and it features a pocket for a filter. Plus, it sports a black elastic strap for comfort and convenience. It comes in numerous colors and patterns including Camo, Cheetah, Meadow and more, and you can get it in a pack of three. This is the lowest price it’s ever been listed on Amazon.

3. Samsung 65-Inch Class QLED Q90T Series Smart TV

  • Rating: 4.6-star average rating, over 1,200 reviewers
  • Highlights: With an ultra-wide viewing angle, this highly-rated smart TV from Samsung equips built-in Alexa, 4K resolution and its four speakers are designed to track sound around the room to resonate realistically with the picture. Given the investment needed for this deal, consider that tech expert Whitson Gordon has this to say about Samsung TVs: "Samsung's TVs are all well-made ... their top-of-the-line models are where the good stuff is." According to camelcamelcamel, this is the lowest price it’s ever been listed on Amazon.

4. YOSUDA Indoor Cycling Bike Stationary

  • Rating: 4.5-star average rating, nearly 13,000 reviewers
  • Highlights: This model features an adjustable non-slip handlebar, four-way padded seat and adjustable resistance levels for customization. The LCD monitor shows your speed, distance, calories burned, odometer and, of course, time spent on your new machine. If you want to spin while watching your favorite show or listen to a virtual meeting (with your camera off, of course), rest your iPad on the dedicated holder.

5. Amazon eero mesh Wi-Fi system

  • Rating: 4.5-star average rating, over 16,700 reviewers
  • Highlights: Eero is one of the pioneers in the consumer mesh Wi-Fi space, and since Amazon acquired it, they’ve released this new base-level system. While it may not be the fastest mesh system, it's relatively much more affordable than the competition and very easy to set up.

6. Kindle Paperwhite

  • Rating: 4.6-star average rating, nearly 107,300 reviewers
  • Highlights: Since its original launch in 2007, Amazon has released over 15 different versions of its Kindle e-readers. One Shopping contributor noted that with the highly-rated Paperwhite version, "I can read whatever I want, wherever and whenever I please." This is the lowest price the Paperwhite has ever been on.

7. Blueair Blue Pure 411 Air Purifier

  • Rating: 4.6-star average rating, over 7,100 reviewers
  • Highlights: The Blueair Pure 411 is one of the best budget air purifiers, though it only purifies smaller spaces. This model is great to have in your home office or living room. The purifier is compact and comes in different colors to match your room’s decor. This model comes with the brand's own HEPASilent technology (which is not the same as an approved, true HEPA filter) and a CADR rating. Besides being affordable, the Pure 411 has low-cost replacement filters and is more energy-efficient than other models. During Amazon Prime Day 2020, it was at the lowest price it had been since December 2019.

8. iRobot Roomba 692 Robot Vacuum

  • Rating: 4.4-star average rating, nearly 12,900 reviewers
  • Highlights: Roomba vacuums are popular among NBC News Shopping and this model features a three-stage cleaning system and auto-adjust its cleaning head with multi-surface brushes for cleaning carpet or hard floors. For convenience, you can schedule it to clean your home through the iRobot Home app or voice controls via Google Assistant or Alexa. Plus, it includes smart sensors for dirt detection and more effective cleaning and can run for up to 90 minutes when charged.

9. Ring Video Doorbell 3

  • Rating: 4.6-star average rating, nearly 14,400 reviewers
  • Highlights: From the easy installation to the improved motion detection to four-second video previews to give you extra time to see what was going, this WiFi-enabled system brings smart security to your front door. The 1080p HD video doorbell pairs with Alexa-enabled devices and can send notifications to your mobile phone to keep you alert to what’s going on near your door.

10. Echo Show 8

  • Rating: 4.7-star average rating, more than 215,400 reviewers
  • Highlights: Alexa can bring more to your room with an 8-inch HD screen. This voice-enabled smart device also allows you to stay connected with friends and family near or far with video calling. However, it also brings peace of mind when it comes to privacy by letting users disconnect microphones and the camera with one button as well as a built in slide shutter that covers the camera.

Other popular deals during Prime Day 2020

Below are some other noteworthy items readers gravitated towards from Amazon, Target, Lululemon and more.

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Shari Uyehara

Shari Uyehara is the manager of editorial operations of Select on NBC News.

Lauren Levy

Lauren Levy is a contributor with work published on The Knot, PopSugar, CafeMom, Mom.com, Bridal Guide and Care.com.