Amazon is discounting Apple gear before its own biggest sale event has even started.
The retailer has cut the price of Beats 360 Cushion Kits to $9.99 from $49.99, a deal running for the next month on headphones that only launched last week. Amazon is also taking up to $50 off the new M5 Max Mac Studio and M6 Mac mini, plus $19 off the Apple Watch Ultra 4, bringing it to $779.99. The Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 all shipped last month, so these are the first cash discounts on any of them. The cuts landed days ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon's October 6-7 sales event.
Apple hardware rarely drops in price this soon after launch - retailers usually wait for a holiday or a successor product before touching the sticker. Discounting month-old computers and a watch before the headline sale even opens suggests Amazon wants carts filled early, not just traffic spiking on day one.
The 80 percent cut on cushion kits dwarfs anything on the computers, a reminder that accessory margins give retailers far more room to play than freshly launched silicon does. Prime Big Deal Days starts tomorrow; whether the bigger-ticket items get cut any further is the real test.