We are into the Black Friday week and both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce platforms are offering some of the hottest deals of the year with some gadgets available at their lowest-ever prices. Thanks to the slowing consumer spending in the US, some deals this year look quite a bargain. Here we will discuss some of the biggest tech deals that consumers should watch out for during the Black Friday annual shopping extravaganza.
To begin with, we’ll look at Apple products. The iPhone maker announced a flurry of new updates this year including the AirPods, Macs, and perhaps most importantly the Apple Intelligence-powered iPhone 16.
Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, which doubles as a hearing aid, is available for just $169.99 on Amazon. The product’s base price is $249 and the current deal is the second-best ever. Similarly, the AirPods 4 are available for $119 on Amazon which is the second cheapest the product has ever been.
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Apple Products on Massive Discounts During Black Friday Sale
Now might also be a great time to pick up that tablet that you’ve been itching for. The 2022 Apple iPad (10th Generation) is available for $279 on Amazon. However, some color options (silver and blue) come with a $29 coupon, effectively bringing down the buying price to $250, the lowest ever.
The latest Apple iPad Air 2024 (6th Gen, 11-inch with M2 chip and 128 GB memory) is available for $499 on Amazon, which is $100 below its list price. The 256 GB and 512 GB options also come with a $100 discount, but in percentage terms, the discount is the highest for the 128 GB model and it looks like a good deal this Black Friday.
If you are looking to buy a new iPhone, Verizon has a plan that gives you the phone for virtually free after accounting for a monthly credit of $27.77 on your Verizon bill for three years. If you are not too keen on the Apple Intelligence features (the main selling point of 16 models), AT&T offers an iPhone 15 for an effective price of $5.99 per month for three years.
There are exciting deals on Apple watches too and Apple Watch SE is available for $169 on both Amazon and Walmart with the price matching the all-time low that we saw during the Prime Day sale in October. The Apple Watch Series 10 (42 mm case) is available at $329 which is the lowest it has ever been.
Best Deals on Personal Computers
The PC industry has been struggling in recent years so it’s no surprise that they are offering especially large discounts on Black Friday. For someone looking to buy a budget laptop, Walmart is offering a 15.6’’ HP laptop with 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an Intel Core i3 processor for almost 50% off at only $281. An even basic model is the HP Stream 14’’ laptop with Intel Processor N4120 4GB RAM that Walmart is selling for $129 today.
For gamers, Best Buy has a good deal for the iBUYPOWER gaming desktop PC, powered by an Intel Core i5 14400F CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GPU, is available for $700 which is $250 below its list price. For those looking at more advanced features and more mobility, the ASUS Zephyrus G16 laptop that comes with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 and a 1TB SSD is available for $1,599 at Best Buy.
Gaming Console Deals for Black Friday
For gaming enthusiasts, the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, which is the flagship gamepad for Nintendo Switch is available for $50 or $20 less than its usual price, making it a product worth looking at this Black Friday. The console seldom goes on sale and these prices are available across various platforms including Target and Best Buy.
The unusual discount is likely due to a slump in sales for the Switch. Nintendo now expects to sell 12.5 million units of the ageing product this fiscal year, ending in March 2025, and expects to launch its new flagship console that many have termed “Switch 2” before long.
Similarly, Sony Play Station Console owners can also look forward to some good deals this Black Friday and the PS5 Dual Sense wireless controller is available at a discount of $20 and can be bought for $55 on Amazon, Target, as well as Best Buy. You can also get a PS5 Slim for $424 versus a list price of $500 on Amazon.
Other Products That Available At a Bargain During Black Friday Sale
Apart from the above-mentioned products, some of the other gadgets are available at a bargain during the Black Friday sale. These include
- Bose QuietComfort headphones for $199 (43% lower than list price) on Amazon.
- Meta Quest 3S 128GB at an effective price of $225 after a $75 credit from Amazon. While the virtual reality headset has been challenged, consumers still find value in budget headsets and Meta Quest 3S is available at a bargain price during Amazon’s Black Friday sale.
- If you are looking for a VPN service provider, Proton VPN Plus is available at only $72 for two years.
- Amazon is selling its Fire TV Stick for only $22 which is its lowest price ever.
- For those looking to buy a beautiful smart TV, Samsung is selling its Neo 85’’4K Smart TV for $1,750 on its website during its Black Friday sale. It’s still pricey but this is a huge discount since its list price is $4,000.
Black Friday is on November 29 and usually sales end the very next day but that may not be the case this year. Weak consumer sentiments forced companies to both start their sales early and run them longer than usual. That said, since some products can be in short supply, it might be prudent to jump on the best sales quickly.