Apple Black Friday deals guide: AirPods, iPhone, iPads, MacBooks

Black Friday — and sales in general — is not really ‘s thing. The company doesn’t typically participate in the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, and if it does, gift cards take the place of actual sale prices.

While Apple doesn’t join in the Black Friday fun on its official site, that doesn’t stop other retailers from adding Apple into the mix for us. Bless their souls. The tricky part about that is you have to do a bunch of searching and cross comparing to figure out where the best deal is.

But that’s literally what we get paid to do, so rest your weary searching fingers because we’ve found all the best Black Friday Apple sales that are happening right this very second. (So, you don’t even have to wait until Black Friday!) 

We’ve also broken down where you’ll get the best deal, what you should and shouldn’t get excited about, and what you should wait to buy until Black Friday officially kicks off.

iPhones

Image: apple / mashable composite

You will not find many great deals on iPhones and they usually only apply to older phones. For some people, having an older phone to save some cash, especially if there are special promos and sales happening. 

That being said, there are some deals that are at least worth taking at look at. One of the best that we found is at Target, where you can get an with qualified activation. The drawback is that you can’t order the phone online and it appears to be low or out of stock in many stores. So, if you can find it in a Target close to you, it’s a nice deal.

Walmart has some iPhones listed at rollback prices, but don’t fall for those. Typically the rollback price is the new standard price, so you can find it anywhere. (Granted, getting a phone for cheaper than the original MSRP is still a decent buy — just nothing special for Black Friday.) Walmart will be with iPhone purchases on Black Friday if you want to wait until then to actually score a deal.

If you want a new iPhone, shopping directly from phone carriers seems to be the way to go. Verizon is running special offers on a few iPhones, including the iPhone 11 (!!!). If you buy an iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, you can . This isn’t the most accessible deal because you have to buy two phones and open a new phone line, but if you’re in a spot to do that, you can save a good chunk of money.

Verizon is also offering if you open a new line and with a new line. Sprint has some deals on their leasing plans: An and an . 

If you’re OK opting for a used iPhone, Amazon has some renewed phones on sale. These are the deals you should pay attention to if you’re looking for an older phone. Buying renewed saves you money and helps cut down on e-waste. 

A at Amazon — a would cost you $1,049. You can get an at Amazon — a refurbished 64GB iPhone X if you bought it directly from Apple’s site.

AirPods

Image: apple / mashable composite

We typically don’t see major price drops on AirPods, but that means that any discount is one worth mentioning. The second-gen AirPods are actually at their lowest price right now at $139 across the board at , , and . But heads up, has the earbuds dropping down to $129 ($30 off MSRP), so we suggest waiting until then to snag them for a super low price.

are a different story. The recently launched earbuds from Apple are not expected to see any wild Black Friday price drops, but Amazon has them right now. We know that’s not much, but you could be paying the full $249 if you shop anywhere else.

MacBooks

Image: apple / mashable composite

When it comes to MacBooks, Amazon and Best Buy are the places to shop for deals. We’re not really seeing any Black Friday-specific sales, but if you want to save on a MacBook, Amazon is offering up to $200 off the new , up to $450 off the new , and $100 off the new .

Best Buy has the , but you get the better deal if you buy from Amazon. (So, do that.)

iPads

Image: apple / mashable composite

Don’t expect anything big from iPads this Black Friday. The only one we’re seeing in ad scans is the seventh-generation 10.2-inch WiFi iPad, which will be discounted $80, dropping the price to $249.99. (It will be this price at and .)

As for other models? You’re better off shopping the regular sale prices happening right now. 

Apple Watches

Image: apple / mashable composite

Series 3 is seeing the best deals of all the Apple Watch models, which is not surprising considering there are two newer iterations of the smartwatch. If the features from Series 4 and Series 5 aren’t vital for you to have, we highly suggest snatching up a Series 3. 

Walmart has the best prices right now with the 38-millimeter GPS model at its lowest price ever at $169.99 (it was originally $329, but has been reduced to $199 for the better part of this year) and the 38-millimeter GPS and cellular model at $199, down from an original price of $379.

Best Buy is the place to go for deals on the Apple Watch Series 4. You’ll save $50 on the GPS model in both sizes, meaning the 40-millimeter is $299 and the 44-millimeter is $329 (that’s actually $100 off their original prices, BTW). The Series 4 GPS and cellular model is on sale at Best Buy with both sizes costing $399 — that’s $100 off the 40-millimeter original price and $130 off the 44-millimeter original price.

Series 5 models have very slight discounts at Walmart at the moment — save $15 on both the 40-millimeter with GPS and the 44-millimeter with GPS.

Amazon’s Apple Watch selection is super weak right now, so pay them no mind in your Apple Watch Black Friday shopping.

Check out BlackFriday.com to get more insight into Black Friday 2019 sales, including Apple and other tech.