The best Black Friday Apple deals on iPads, MacBooks, AirPods and more

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When it comes to aesthetics, innovation and user-friendly interfaces — not to mention pure desirability — Apple’s a tough act to beat. But Apple devices aren’t cheap. Black Friday deals have made many of the brand’s best and most recent products much more affordable, and many of these discounts happen to be the lowest we’ve seen yet. We’ve sifted through what’s out there (and it’s a lot) to find the best prices on the latest tech from the folks in Cupertino. Anyone looking to get or gift Apple Watches, AirPods, iPads, and more, these are the deals to go for. Here are the best Black Friday deals on Apple devices. 

AirPods Pro

Released just a few months ago, the AirPods Pro are the second generation of Apple’s premium ear buds and deliver a massively improved sound quality with excellent noice cancellation. Amazon has them for just $200, which is $50 less than we saw it for during Prime Day back in October. Our reviewer and audio expert Billy Steele gave them an 88 in a hands-on review, saying they have “the best transparency mode you’ll find on earbuds.”

Buy AirPods Pro (2nd gen) at Amazon – $200

AirPods

The third generation of Apple’s AirPods are $30 off for Black Friday, bringing them down to $140. They scored an 88 in our review, earning high marks for a comfortable fit, massively improved audio and more than six hours of battery life on their own and 30 hours with the case. They don’t have active noise cancellation (ANC), for that feature, grab the Pros up above. If you want the previous generation of AirPods, those are going for $79 right now.

Buy AirPods (3rd gen) at Amazon – $140 Buy AirPods (2nd gen) at Amazon – $79

Apple Pencil (2nd gen)

Apple Pencil 2nd generation

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

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.

Buy Apple Pencil (2nd gen) at Amazon – $89

AirPods Max

Released about two years ago, Apple’s AirPods Max, the company’s premium (and only) over-ear headphones have gone up and down in price, but this deal is a near-best at $449. With an Engadget review of 84, AirPods Max pair up a sleek design with solid noise cancellation and on-board controls that are a joy to use. At their usual MSRP of $549, they aren’t cheap, which makes this Black Friday deal a very attractive buy.

Buy AirPods Max at Amazon – $449

Apple Watch Ultra

The Apple Watch Ultra on a wrist held in mid-air with a compass on its screen. The compass is showing the letter W with

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

We gave the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple’s latest and most premium watch, a solid 85 in our review. If you’ve had your eye on the toughest wearable Apple’s ever made, grab it now. Amazon has it for just $739, which is 8 percent off and the lowest it’s been since its debut. When we took it on a hike, we had to admire its monster (yet comfortable) build and slew of outdoor-focused features, including a customizable Action button and on-board SOS siren. Of course you also get all of the health and fitness tracking Apple Watches are known for, plus a full three days of battery life on a charge. 

Buy Apple Watch Ultra at Amazon – $739

Apple Watch Series 8

The Apple Watch Series 8 came out just one week before the Ultra, making it the latest non-top-tier Apple Watch, and it usually sells for $389. Black Friday has brought that price down to $349, which means you save $50 on a premium smartwatch that’s only a couple months old. In our real world test we called it “superb watch that makes a great multipurpose wearable with excellent health and fitness tools.” While it doesn’t have the hype of the new Ultra, or the budget appeal of the SE, it’s still the best smartwatch around.   

Buy Apple Watch Series 8 at Amazon – $349

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE (2022) with a starlight case and starlight band, on a person's wrist.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

In our review back in September, we called the new Apple Watch SE “the best smart watch $250 can buy,” awarding it a score of 89. Now that the pre-holiday sale has dropped the price down to $229, Apple’s most affordable smartwatch is an even better buy. While the battery doesn’t have the same longevity as its Apple Watch siblings, we found it lasted until midnight even with heavy use, and never took more than an hour to refill. We liked its crisp display and snappy responsiveness and found that the health and fitness tracking were on par with the more expensive Series 8. 

Buy Apple Watch SE at Amazon – $229

AirTag (4 pack)

Apple AirTags

Chris Velazco/Engadget

Apple’s Bluetooth trackers come in one shape and size: small and round. But the amount of accessories made to hold them has reached dizzying heights. They make great stocking stuffers for anyone with a penchant for losing stuff and right now a four-pack of AirTags is going for $80. That’s the lowest price the pack has seen, making each tag $20 each, against their usual $28-per-piece price. They pair up with the Find My app on your iPhone and you can even digitally label each AirTag.  

Buy Apple AirTag 4-pack at Amazon – $80

Apple TV 4K (2022)

Apple TV 4K

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Apple TV 4K, the brand’s third generation set-top streaming device just came out in October and is down to $124 for Black Friday. It got an enthusiastic score of 94 in our review earning high marks for its zippy speeds, polished interface and glorious picture quality. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your existing TV or if you want to turn any display with an HDMI port into a powerful streaming device, this is a the time to snap this up.

Buy Apple TV 4K (2022) at Amazon – $124

2022 iPad  

Apple 10th-generation iPad (2022)

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Apple’s 2022 standard-model iPad is the 10th generation of the multipurpose slate, earning an 85 in our review back in October. We were concerned at the price hike over the previous generation, which brought it to a steep $449. But now that it’s going for $426, it’s a little bit easier to add the base model iPad to your life (or someone else’s). What we did like was the complete redesign, the solid 10-plus hours of battery, and the addition of a landscape-oriented front-facing camera. Note that the iPad standard only works with the first generation of the Apple Pencil. For iPads that work with the second-gen pencil, go with the Pro or Air below.   

Buy iPad (10th gen) at Amazon – $426

iPad Pro  

Apple iPad Pro (2022)

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

The latest iPad Pro earned an 87 in our review for its fast and powerful M2 chip and having “one of the best screens Apple has ever made.” At the $800 list price, it’s steep. But right now Amazon has the premium slate for $40 off the 11-inch and $100 off most storage sizes of the 12.9-inch. Both came out in October of this year, and this is the biggest discount we’ve seen so far. That’s a good opportunity to get one of the best designed tablets on the market, complete with a nine-hour battery life and second-gen Apple Pencil support.  

Buy iPad Pro (4th gen, 11-inch) at Amazon – $759 Buy iPad Pro (6th gen, 12.9-inch) at Amazon – $999

iPad Air

Apple iPad Air (2022)

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

While it might be the lightest of the iPad lineup, the latest iPad Air is curiously performed just as nimbly as the Pro in our tests. It earned a 90 score, with our reviewer and Apple expert Nathan Ingraham calling it “the best iPad for most people.” It runs on Apple’s zippy M1 chip, which combined with the 5G connectivity option, effectively future-proofs the slate. We got two hours more than the promised 10-hour battery life in our tests and were impressed by the fast speed and lovely screen. For Black Friday, you can pick it up for $500 thanks to a discount and a coupon that will be applied at checkout.

Buy iPad Air (5th gen) at Amazon – $500

iPad Mini

Apple iPad mini 2021

Valentina Palladino / Engadget

If an eight-inch iPad is more your speed, Black Friday has knocked $100 off the price of the latest iPad Mini. We gave it an 89 in our review, impressed with the complete design overhaul the latest Mini received. It’s got a great new Liquid Retina display with bezels that are the perfect size for carrying the (ultraportable) tablet around or using the Mini as an e-Reader. Overall, we’re calling this “the best small tablet out there.” And now the price is even smaller. 

Buy iPad Mini (6th gen) at Amazon – $400

MacBook Air M2

MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Apple’s MacBook Air M2 earned an enthusiastic review score of 96 back in July. Right now it’s 13 percent off, bringing it down to $1,049. Our senior editor and computer expert Devindra Hardawar said this version of the MacBook Air “set a new standard for ultraportables.” You get the blazing fast M2 chip and an expansive and engrossing screen, all tucked into a frankly gorgeous, razor-thin computer. One of the only downsides we noted was the high price, but Black Friday is fixing that for now. 

Buy MacBook Air M2 at Amazon – $1,049 Buy MacBook Air M2 at B&H Photo – $1,049

MacBook Air M1

Apple MacBook Air M1

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

If you want to save even more and aren’t worried about having the latest model, the MacBook Air with the M1 chip is on sale for just $799. We gave it an 94 in our review, calling it a the MacBook for most people when it first hit the scene, especially those looking for a casual computer. The M1 chip will still feel like a big upgrade if you’re coming from an aging Intel machine, and we also liked this laptop’s lovely display, lack of fan noise and good battery life.

Buy MacBook Air at Amazon – $799

14-inch MacBook Pro 

The MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 (2022) sits open on a wooden dining room tabletop in a room with blue walls and white doors.

Devindra Hardawar / Engadget

Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro is a whopping $500 off and down to $2,000 for Black Friday. We gave it and the 16-inch model scores of 92 in our review, with appreciation for the fast M1 Pro and Max processors, excellent display and solid battery life. 

Buy MacBook Pro (14-inch) at Amazon – $2,000

HomePod Mini

Apple HomePod Mini

Apple

If you’ve been thinking about connecting your home with Siri’s helpful AI interface, the HomePod mini is on sale for $94 for Black Friday. The diminutive home speakers earned an 84 score in our review, thanks to their solid sound quality and Siri’s continuing improvements to user interactions.

Buy HomePod Mini at B&H Photo – $94

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.

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