The Apple Black Friday sales are now live – its 5 best deals and the top alternatives

The full list of Apple’s Black Friday gift cards and more

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TheApple Black Friday salesare now officially live from today until November 27 – and whileAppleconsiders itself above doing straightforward discounts, it is offering a wide range of gift cards. A handful are worth considering, but many aren’t – as we shall explain in this roundup.

The value of these gift cards varies wildly depending on whether you’re looking for a MacBook or some AirPods – and Apple unfortunately usually doesn’t offer any gift cards on its newest products, like theiPhone 15series.

But some of the gift cards (which we’ve picked out below) are worth considering if you’re either looking to use Apple trade-in for an old product or are planning to buy some accessories from Apple in the future.

While the bestBlack Friday Apple Watch dealsand the topBlack Friday AirPods salesfrom retailers are better than Apple’s own offerings, here are the vouchers that are worth checking out – plus the best retailer deals on its other products right now.

Apple Store Shopping Event deals

We’ve scoured the full list of Apple’s Black Friday gift vouchers – and while most of them can be beaten elsewhere, there are a few that match or beat the best discounts we’ve seen from retailers.

First, theiPhone 13is now down to $599 / £599 at Apple – and you also get a $50 / £40 voucher if you buy it during the Apple Store Shopping event. That’s great value and you can also use theApple trade-inprogram to knock a significant chunk off that price. If you’re looking for another model, the bestBlack Friday iPhone dealsoffer some superior discounts (see further down this page).

Next up, theApple iPad 10.2 2021 (64GB)is available from $449 / £499 with a $50 / £40 gift voucher. That matches the best deals we’ve seen from retailers, assuming you’re looking to use that gift voucher soon – for example, on one of thebest iPad cases.

Apple’s biggest discounts are reserved for its MacBooks and we reckon the pick of its vouchers is the $150 / £120 one you get when buying theMacBook Air 13in (M1). If you’re already planning to get some accessories for it, that’ll then match the straight discount we’ve seen at Best Buy in the US,which takes it down to $749.99. If you’re in the UK, though, thenthis Amazon deal taking the MacBook Air M1 down to £799is a better bet.

We reckon the Apple Store is also currently the best place to get theHomePod 2.Not only do you get a $50 / £40 gift voucher (if you buy it by the end of Monday 27), but Apple also gives you six months of free Apple Music. Lastly, while theBlack Friday iPad dealsare better at retailers (again, see further down this page), Apple is offering a decent $50 / £40 gift voucher with theMagic Keyboard Folio, which could help you pick up a cheap Apple Pencil or other accessory.

Apple Store Shopping Event deals

Apple Black Friday deals

Apple iPad 10.2 2021 (64GB):was $329 now$229 at AmazonThis 9th-gen iPad doesn’t qualify for Apple’s Shopping Event gift cards, but fortunately, this excellent deal has brought it down to a record-low price of $229. If you mainly need a table for browsing, streaming movies, and some light work, then this10.2-inch iPadis a fine choice – particularly with today’s $100 discount.

Apple Watch Series 8 GPS & Cellular 45mm:was $459.99now$354.99 at TargetIf you’re looking to pick up a larger 45mm version of the Watch Series 8, this is an excellent $105 discount from Target. Bear in mind that it only applies to the Product Red version though.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C):was $249.99 now$189.99 at AmazonA much better bet than the $50 / £40 gift voucher you can get from Apple for the AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) is this fine discount from Amazon. It’s the best AirPods deal we’ve seen so far, though if you want the Lightning version they’re alsoavailable for $169 from Walmart.

MacBook Air 15-inch, 8GB (M2):was $1,299 now$1,049 at AmazonWhile some of Apple’s MacBook gift vouchers match the discounts available from retailers, that isn’t the case for the pricier 15-inch Air. This $250 discount on the 8GB RAM version takes it down to its lowest-ever price. OurMacBook Air 15-inch reviewpraised the laptop’s display, performance, design, and speaker array, making this a fine buy.

Apple Black Friday deals

Apple Watch SE 2 40mm:was £259.00now £199.00 at CurrysWe reckon the SE 2 is the best-value Apple Watch of the current crop and that’s particularly the case at this price. This deal is on the black or white 40mm version, with the 44m version only getting a £10 discount. So if you’re looking for a smaller watch, this is a particularly fine deal.

MacBook Air (M1, 2020):was £999now£799 at AmazonIt’s hard to beat this great price on the MacBook Air M1 this Black Friday. While you can now get the newer M2 model, this is still a very powerful creative workstation that’ll handle most non-professional tasks. If you’ve had an eye on the laptop we called a ‘game-changer’ in ourMacBook Air M1 review, then now’s still a good time to buy.

iPhone 12:was £549 now£449 at John LewisThis John Lewis deal takes the iPhone 12 down a price that’s lower than Amazon – in fact, we’ve never seen it cheaper at the retailer. Right now, only the red version is still available at this price. But if you want a different one, thenVery is currently offering the same deal.

NEW MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3, 2023):was £1,699 now£1,569 at AmazonIt’s only been out a few weeks, but Amazon has already cut £130 from the price of the latest MacBook Pro 14-inch model. Considering the Pro range isn’t included in Apple’s Shopping Event gift vouchers, that’s very good news indeed. This model has the base M3 chip, which is still more than enough for most tasks unless you’re looking for more memory.

More Apple deals:

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Mark is TechRadar’s Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he’s contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph’s Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London’s Square Mile.

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