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Black Friday is finally here and if you haven’t started your holiday shopping, now’s the best time to do so. While we’ve seen some of our favorite gadgets go on sale since the start of November, today’s the day you’re almost guaranteed to find the best prices of the year across laptops, TVs, speakers, tablets, wearables and much more. For example, one of the stand-out Apple Black Friday deals is on the latest AirPods Pro, which are on sale for $200 for Black Friday. But, as usual, the sheer volume of Black Friday deals on tech across the web today makes it even harder to pick out the gems among them. There are absolutely tech “deals” out there today that are not worth your time. To make ease the burden of deal-hunting, we collected the best Black Friday tech deals we could find right here.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
The latest AirPods Pro are on sale for $200 for Black Friday. That $50 discount is the most significant we’ve seen on these buds that just came out a couple of months ago. The new Pros earned a score of 88 from us for their improved sound quality, excellent Transparency Mode and solid active noise cancellation. We also appreciate the addition of the U1 chip inside the buds’ wireless charging case, which enables Precision Finding using the Find My app.
A four-pack of Apple’s AirTags is on sale for $80 right now, which is $20 off their usual price. That also brings the price per tracker down to $20, which is one of the lowest we’ve seen. These stocking-friendly gadgets make great gifts for iPhone users who want to digitally keep track of their things. They can use the Find My app to check the last known location of their keys, wallet and other belongings, and use their iPhones to be led directly to their stuff with on-screen directions if it’s nearby.
Apple 10.2-inch iPad
The 2021 iPad remains on sale for $270, which is the best price we’ve seen it. While Apple did just come out with an updated version, that latest model is much more expensive, coming in at $449. The 10.2-inch iPad is still a great option if you want iPadOS but only have so much to spend. We gave it a score of 86 for its solid performance, improved front cameras and excellent battery life.
MacBook Air M1
Apple’s M1-powered MacBook Air is down to $799 for Black Friday, which is the best price we’ve seen. Although the M2 laptop is available now, the M1 machine remains a good option if you’re upgrading from an aging Intel model. We gave it a score of 94 for its blazing fast performance, lovely Retina display and lack of fan noise.
Apple Watch SE (2nd gen)
The second-generation Apple Watch SE is on sale for $229, which is an all-time-low price. Apple upgrade a lot in this smartwatch — it has a new SiP and a larger screen, both of which help the new SE look and feel more modern. Apple still left some features to the Series 8, include an always-on display, ECG reader, skin temperature sensor and a few others, but if you can live without those upgrades, the Apple Watch SE gives you a ton of value at its relatively affordable price.
Apple Pencil (2nd gen)
The second-generation Apple Pencil is back down to a record-low price of $89 for Black Friday. There are still a couple of iPads that only work with the first-gen stylus, but most of the higher-end models support this one. We consider it to be the best stylus for the iPad, and we like it for its low latency and built-in magnets that let it attach to the side of your tablet.
Chromecast with Google TV
Both the 4K and HD Chromecasts with Google TV are on sale for Black Friday, coming in at $40 and $18, respectively. These two streamers are essentially the same, expect for the resolution that each support: the higher-end model with stream 4K content, while the other tops out at 1080p. They share a compact design and both come with a handy remote that makes navigating the Google TV interface much easier. Plus, you can speak to the Google Assistant through these dongles, calling about it to search for things to watch, answer questions and more.
Anker Nano
Anker’s Black Friday deals have discounted a bunch of charging devices, including the Nano 3 30W charger, which you can pick up for only $16. The Nano 3 combines versatility with affordability thanks to the fact that it can fully power-up things like your phone, tablet and even a MacBook Air without breaking a sweat. Only the white model is on sale, and its discounted price expires at the end of Black Friday.
Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT
The excellent and already affordable ATH-M20xBT are on sale for $59 for Black Friday, which is a record low. These are our current favorite budget cans thanks to their good sound quality, comfortable design, Bluetooth multi-point connectivity and 60-hour battery life. They may not have as slick of a design as more expensive headphones, or advanced features like noise cancellation, but you can’t beat their value.
Bose QuietComfort 45
The Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are back on sale for $249 right now, or 32 percent off their usual price. These are some of our favorite over-ear cans thanks in part to their excellent active noise cancellation and clear, balanced audio. The design isn’t as slick as some of our other favorites, but they’re comfortable to boot, plus their 24-hour battery life means you’ll be able to wear them for long stretches of time without interruption.
Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones are down to $348 right now, which is the best price we’ve seen since they came out earlier this year. These are our current favorite wireless headphones, and Sony essentially changed only a few things about the previous WH-1000XM4 to make these cans even better. They have improved noise cancellation and sound quality, plus a slick new design and a solid battery life. We also appreciate their Speak-to-Chat feature and multi-device connectivity.
Google Pixel Buds Pro
Google’s best earbuds yet, the Pixel Buds Pro, have dropped to $150, which is $50 less than their usual price. these are the Android-maker’s answers to Apple’s AirPods Pro, and they are, without a doubt, one of the best pairs of wireless earbuds you can get if you don’t have an iPhone. We gave them a score of 87 for their deep, punchy bass, reliable touch controls and wireless charging case.
Elgato Stream Deck MK.2
Elgato’s Stream Deck MK.2 has dropped to $120 for Black Friday, which is a new record low. We’ve recommended various versions of the Stream Deck for a while now as an essential accessory for game streamers, but also a handy peripheral for power users to have, too. The MK.2 has 15 programmable buttons that let you trigger actions like launching an app, muting your mic and more, plus you can truly make it your own with a custom faceplate.
65-inch LG A2 OLED smart TV
Both 2021 and 2022 LG TVs have been discounted for Black Friday. If you have your heart set on an OLED, the 65-inch A2 model is over $500 off and down to just under $1,200, while this 65-inch LG G2 Gallery Edition OLED TV is just over $800 off and down to $2,200. While that’s still expensive for a TV, the Gallery Edition sets are some of the best that LG makes. On the more affordable side of things, this 55-inch QNED80 Mini-LED smart TV is $150 off and down to just under $650.
Roku Streaming Stick 4K
Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K is on sale for $25 right now, or half off its usual price. This small dongle connects directly to your TV’s HDMI port and streams content in 4K, supports Dolby Vision and offers voice command capabilities via its remote. This updated model also has fast, long-range WiFi and a private-listening feature that lets you listen to your TV’s audio video the Roku mobile app.
Fitbit Inspire 3
The new Fitbit Inspire 3 is down to $70 for Black Friday, which is $30 off its usual price. We named this the best budget fitness tracker you can get right now, and that’s only more true when you can pick it up while on sale. The Inspire 3 is more slim than the Charge 5, and while it doesn’t have built-in GPS, you can use its connected GPS feature to map runs and bike rides if you have your phone with you. We also like its automatic workout tracking and long battery life.
Amazon Echo Dot
On the top of the rest of the Amazon Black Friday deals, the latest Echo Dot has dropped to $25, and that’s the first real discount we’ve seen since the device came out a few months ago. Amazon added a bigger speaker inside this Echo Dot for improved sound, and it has a new built-in temperature sensor as well. That will come in handy if you have other smart home devices you control with Alexa because, if the temperature sensor reaches a certain level, you can program a routine to, say, start a fan to keep your environment precisely how you like it. The new Dot can also pair with an Eero WiFi system to add up to 1,000 extra square feet of coverage.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 is on sale for $800 right now. Each iteration of Samsung’s foldable phones is better than the last, and the Flip 4 is no different. It has a slick design that neatly folds in half, rendering it small enough to slip into your pocket. Not only do we appreciate its attractive and more durable design, but we also like its improved battery life and the increased number of hands-free applications it supports.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
Samsung’s Black Friday deals include the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is $430 off and down to $1,370. It’s certainly the most polished Fold Samsung has created, and we gave it a score of 86 for its brighter main screen, upgraded main and telephoto cameras, sleeker hinge and noticeably better battery life.
OnePlus 10 Pro
You can pick up the OnePlus 10 Pro smartphone for only $549 right now, which is the lowest we’ve seen it. The standout feature of this handset is its remarkably fast charging technology: you can get a full charge in just over a half hour using 80W SUPERVOOC charging. However, US users are capped at 65W SUPERVOOC, but that’s still the speediest charging standard available stateside. Otherwise, we also appreciated the 10 Pro’s lovely 120Hz display and its fast face-unlock feature.
iRobot Roomba j7
iRobot’s Roomba j7 is on sale for $349 right now, which is the cheapest we’ve seen it, and you can get the j7+ for $599. This is one of iRobot’s latest robo-vacs and it has enhanced obstacle avoidance which lets it navigate around a robot vacuum’s arch nemesis: pet poop. It also has 10x the suction power of a standard Roomba, plus support for smart mapping and Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. With the j7+ model, you’re also getting a clean base into which the robo-vac will empty its bin after every job.
Shark AV2511AE AI Robot Vacuum
The latest version of Shark’s AI Robot Vaccum has dropped to $299 for Black Friday. This is one of our favorite robo-vacs thanks to its strong suction power, smart mapping feature and the included clean base into which it empties its bin after every job. We also appreciate that the clean base is bagless, so you don’t have to regularly buy proprietary bags for it.
Crucial MX500 (1TB)
Crucial’s MX500 internal drive is down to a new low of $68 for the 1TB version, and you can find discounts on the other configurations, too. We’ve long recommended this drive for its standard form factor, its sequential reads/write speeds of up to 560/510 MB/s and its AES 256-bit hardware encryption. It also has integrated power loss immunity, which saves all of your work even when there’s a power outage.
Jabra Elite 3
Jabra’s Elite 3 wireless earbuds are on sale for $50, which is the best price we’ve seen. Considering these buds start out at less than $100, you won’t find some advanced features on them like noise cancellation or wireless charging. However, they pack impressive sound quality for the price, along with a comfortable design, reliable onboard controls and good battery life.
Google Nest Audio
We called Google’s Nest Audio smart speaker “a steal at $100” when we reviewed it, giving it a score of 87. And now it’s half that price for Black Friday. For just $50, you get a smart speaker powered by the AI of the Google Assistant, plus a speaker that delivers surprisingly good sound quality for its size and price point. We did note that the Nest Audio sounds even better as a pair, and now might be a good time to grab two.
Amazon Echo Show 5
Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is back on sale for $35 for Black Friday. This has been one of our favorite smart displays for quite some time, primarily because it acts as a great smart alarm clock. It has a 5-inch display that shows the date, time, weather conditions and more, plus it has a handy tap-to-snooze feature. And if you want it to wake you up visually, too, its sunrise alarm will slowly adjust the screen’s brightness to wake you up more naturally.
Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite has been discounted to $95 for Black Friday. While we consider the Signature Edition to be the best e-reader, period, the standard Paperwhite comes in at a close second. It has a 6.8-inch display with 17 front LEDs for better illumination, plus a water-resistant design, Audible support and a battery that can last weeks on a single charge.
Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite
Amazon’s most affordable streaming stick is on sale for only $15 right now, which is half off its usual price. This is a good option if you want to upgrade an old, “dumb” TV in your home into a smart one. The Fire TV Stick Lite provides access to Amazon’s Fire TV OS, through which you can access services like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and others. The TV Stick Lite supports FHD content, and you can use the included Voice Remote Lite to ask Alexa to show you the content you want to watch. If you want to upgrade a bit to Dolby Atmos, you can get the standard Fire TV Stick for only $5 more.
Blink Mini
Amazon has brought back the two for $30 Blink Mini deal for Black Friday. This compact, wired security camera is only meant for indoor use and you’ll have to keep it close to an outlet, but it shares all of the basic features with the larger Blink Indoor and Outdoor cameras. It record 1080p video and supports two-way audio, plus it’ll send motion alerts to your phone and you can control it via Alexa voice commands.
Peloton Bike
The original Peloton Bike is $300 off and down to $1,145 for Black Friday. If you’re somehow unfamiliar, this is the company’s first exercise bike that comes with a built-in screen for taking cycling classes as well as other strength, yoga and bootcamp routines. Also, one of the company’s latest gadgets, the Peloton Guide, is on sale for $245, too.
JBL Charge 5
A little larger in both size and sound than the JBL’s Flip 6, the Charge 5 is usually $180 but is down to $120 for Black Friday. It has a separate tweeter, and dual bass radiators for bigger sound and of course can handle a dunk in water. It’s got a long 20 hours of battery life and can even share some of that juice with your devices thanks to the USB-C port.
Sonos One
Sonos’ Black Friday deals include the Sonos One speaker for only $175, which is $44 off its normal price. Sonos gadgets rarely go on sale, much less direct on Sonos’ site, so the entire sale is one to consider this Black Friday. The One earned a score of 90 from us when it first came out for its attractive design, excellent audio quality and its support for Amazon’s Alexa, the Google Assistant and AirPlay 2. Also included in the sale is the Sonos Arc, one of our favorite soundbars, which is $180 off and down to $719.
Buy One at Sonos – $175
Buy Arc at Sonos – $719
Shop Sonos Black Friday deals
Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.
Source: www.engadget.com