Apple shoppers looking for early Black Friday savings are finding discounts on AirPods, MacBooks, iPads and the Apple Watch, but Mashable says some of the more tempting price cuts may still be weeks away. The retailer promotions arrive after Apple raised prices on several product lines this year.
Mashable lead shopping reporter Bethany Allard published a guide on November 7 identifying 14 early deals. She wrote that Apple raised prices on MacBooks, Macs, iPads, the HomePod, Apple TVs and the Vision Pro in June, followed by iPhone increases in September, with some products rising by up to $200. Because of that, she said, record-low prices are less likely, so she tracked items at or near their lowest levels over the past five months.
Where the savings are
Mashable’s top picks, with prices as listed in the guide at publication, were:
- AirPods 4 without active noise cancellation: $89 at Walmart, down from $129.
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD): $1,349 at Amazon, down from $1,599. Mashable called it the lowest price it had seen on that model since June.
- 11-inch iPad Air (M4, 128GB, Wi-Fi): $649.99 at Amazon, down from $749.
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 (49mm, GPS + cellular): $549 at Best Buy, down from $799.
The guide also lists smaller discounts, including the AirPods Max 2 at $449, the MacBook Neo at $684, the base iPad at $399.99, and the 11-inch iPad Pro (M5, 256GB) at $1,099. It notes that AirPods 4 are no longer sold new by first-party sellers at Amazon, Apple or Best Buy, and suggests Walmart may be clearing remaining stock.
What Mashable would wait for
Allard advised shoppers not to treat every current sale as a bottom price. The AirPods Pro 3 are $199 against a $249 list price, a common discount that she expects to deepen; they reached a record low of $169 before Prime Day in June. She said the MacBook Neo would need to return to its former $599 price to count as a Black Friday standout, and that the base iPad used to sell for $299 before the price increase.
For the 11-inch iPad Pro, she described a $99 reduction from roughly $1,200 as modest, saying a $200 cut would be more appealing. On the Apple Watch, she expects the SE 3 to return to $199 and hopes for a $50 markdown on the Series 12, currently $349.99. Those are the reporter’s expectations, not announced price cuts.
Limits of the guide
The prices come from Mashable’s November 7 article, which says deal pricing and availability are subject to change. Eastern Herald has not independently verified retailer prices or stock. Mashable also states that it may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through its links, and this article does not include those links.
Allard also said that buying directly from Apple during Black Friday typically yields a gift card rather than a straightforward discount, which is why she focuses on Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target. Black Friday falls on November 27, and she noted that the strongest offers can sell out quickly. Readers following Apple pricing can use the guide as a snapshot of early-season offers rather than a forecast of the final Black Friday lineup. The details are drawn from Mashable’s Apple Black Friday guide.
