Black Friday: The Best Apple Deals

Because Apple’s hardware is so rarely on sale anywhere, bargain hunters know that Black Friday presents rare opportunities to snag some significant discounts on a desired item. And of course, if you have Apple faithful in the family, many of the latest gadgets out of Cupertino are excellent holiday gifts that might be within the budget (albeit still pricey). While it remains fairly tricky to buy an iPhone for someone else, that’s much less true of the Apple Watch, iPad, and the company’s various Macbook computer. It’s also the case for Apple’s Beats brand of headphones, which have been a popular stocking stuffer since Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine dreamed them up years before Tim Cook paid them billions to take over the company. Let’s look at the deals out there.

Apple Watch

Launched just seven months ago, the Apple Watch has already found its way onto about 7 million wrists. According to some pundits, that makes it a “flop” but having owned one since day one, I’ve come to find it indispensable. If you’ve been craving one, now’s the best time to buy so far. At Best Buy, the aluminum model Apple Watch Sport is $50 off ($299/$349 depending which size face you choose) and the stainless steel model known as Apple Watch is $100 off ($499/$549).

Target will do Best Buy’s deal better on the Sport Model, offering $100 in the form of a gift card to the store. The same $100 gift card is provided if you choose the stainless model as well. The downside is you pay more upfront, including the extra sales tax in most states. The upside is that the vast majority of people choose the Sport model and can make use of a $100 Target gift card. Also, if you have Target’s Red Card, you will still get 5% off and that’s on the higher price, adding $15-17.50 worth of discount to the deal even on the less expensive model.

Target is giving buyers till January 24 to decide if they like the product according to the web site (please double-check this on your own to confirm its eligible for returns until then). Best Buy is offering free setup help from the Geek Squad.

iPad

One thing has become clear: The absolute best time of year to buy a new iPad is on or around Black Friday. The products have been out a while so availability tends to be strong, iPads aren’t as hot  as they once were, and retailers knows its a big seasonal seller. That makes it a good product to get people in stores with a hefty promotion. As in recent years, the majors are prepared to delight would-be buyers.

Let’s start with the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2. If you have access to a Sam’s Club, it’s your best bet. All models will be $150 off, discount applied at purchase. That makes the least expensive model just $349 instead of the normal entry price of $499. Target has the $150 discount on every variety as well, but it’s again in the form of a gift card. Red Card holders win, picking up $25 in discounts up front, then getting $150 back to use later at Target. At Best Buy, if you get a model with 16 or 64GB of memory — as most will do — the discount is just $100. If you choose a 128GB model, the discount moves to $125.