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These Are the Best Black Friday Deals in Tech

6 minute read
Updated: | Originally published: ;

After you finish stuffing yourself full of (hopefully) perfectly cooked turkey this Thanksgiving, you may want to snag something nice for yourself (or save some money on a gift for a family member) during Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when deals and discounts take center stage at every retailer.

Not every price drop is created equal, however. Where some retailers may offer incentives like gift cards or reduced activation costs for items like smartphones, others might just slash a few hundred bucks off the sticker price.

Here are just a few of the best deals you can expect to find on your most desired electronics on Black Friday. Of course, be sure to go for what you want before it’s out of stock, and remember you can probably get the same deal on some of the most popular gadgets at a competing retailer if one store’s stock runs dry. Also remember: patience is a virtue, so don’t fret if your order arrives a bit later than usual. You’re not the only one who wants a gigantic TV, after all.

Black Friday Smartphone Deals

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

You can get a $300 Target gift card when you purchase and activate a Samsung Galaxy Note9 on Verizon or AT&T. That’s just enough to pay for a $279 43-inch Samsung Smart UHD TV, now $100 off.

Google Pixel 3

For pure Android lovers, you can get a $200 Target gift card when you activate your new Google Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL on Verizon, enough for a smart home assistant and some lights.

iPhone XS or XS Max

Apple fans, meanwhile, can get themselves a $250 Target gift card when they buy a new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max on Verizon, Sprint or AT&T. Those $159 AirPods are looking pretty appealing right about now.

Black Friday Video Games Deals

Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle

For $299, you can get your hands on a Nintendo Switch bundle that includes the console with red and blue Joy-Con controllers and Mario Kart 8, one of the best incarnations of the classic racing game franchise.

Playstation VR Bundle

For $249, you can get into some virtual reality gaming on the cheap with Sony’s PlayStation VR Bundle. Originally $349, the bundle includes a PS VR headset, tracking camera, and a pair of motion-sensing PS Move controllers. There’s also copies of boxing game Creed: Rise to Glory and innovative and stylish first-person shooter game Superhot.

Nintendo Labo Bundle

Nintendo’s novel cardboard-based gaming and learning accessories are a blast to construct and even more fun to play with. You can save $40 to $80 and get two Labo kits for $99, perfect for kids who love building and hate sharing.

Xbox One X

Microsoft’s beefiest game console, the $500 Xbox One X, is available for $100 off. It’s a powerhouse of a machine, so if you’re in the market for something that plays both 4K games and 4K UHD Blu-Ray discs, you’re in luck.

Sony PS4 Spider-Man Bundle

For $199, you can snag a PlayStation 4 bundle with the PS4-exclusive Spider-Man along with a 1TB slim PlayStation 4, saving $160 in the process. That’s a great deal on one of TIME’s top video games of 2018, too.

Discounted Games

If you’ve already got your consoles, you might want to stock up on some cheap games to play. Best Buy is slashing $30 off various games, including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, while Target is offering games like Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Dragonball FighterZ for $25.

Black Friday Laptops & Tablets Deals

Amazon Fire Tablets

Amazon’s inexpensive tablets are dirt cheap just in time for Black Friday. You can get Amazon’s $80 Fire HD 8 tablet for $50, the $150 Fire HD10 for $100, and the kid-friendly version of the older $100 Fire 7 tablet for $70, perfect for handling your child’s more destructive tendencies.

ASUS ROG Strix Gaming Laptop

The $1,000 gaming laptop, complete with a 15.6-inch 1080p display, Intel Core i7 processor, 128GB SSD and 1TB hard disk, NVIDIA GTX 1050 graphics, and more ports than you can shake a thumb stick at (including USB-C), can help you sharpen your competitive edge. You can get one from Newegg for yourself for $800.

Sony Digital Paper E-Reader

Educators, lawyers, and other academic types who spend all day annotating documents and reading term papers instead of e-books can save $100 on the purchase of any Sony Digital Paper e-reader. It’s great for writing naturally on a digital document, and comes in 10 and 13-inch sizes.

iPad

You can save $80 on the purchase of any sixth-generation iPad, making the cheapest iPad $249. That’s almost enough to justify the purchase of the compatible $99 first-generation Apple Pencil.

Black Friday TV & Home Deals

Samsung Q6FN Series HDR 4K UHD TV

You want a huge TV that blends into the wall when you’re not using it? Well, you can get Samsung’s $4,499 82-inch Q6FN 4K TV for $2,997 from either Newegg or B&H Photo, knocking $1,500 off the sticker price.

Google Smart Home Devices

New to smart homes? The $150 Google Home Hub can be yours for $100. It’s a great smart home assistant that includes a built-in display to help you ease into the connected abode life.

Google’s other voice assistants are also discounted both at Google’s store and at various retailers, so you can snag the $50 Google Home Mini for $25 or buy both the $35 Chromecast and Google Home Mini for $45, and save yourself $40.

Amazon Smart Home Devices

Amazon’s devices are pretty discounted, so if you want a voice assistant in your life, there’s no better time. You can get the $50 Echo Dot for $24, the $150 Echo Plus (which serves as a smart home hub) for $110, or the $229 Echo Show for $179.

Black Friday Toys & Accessories Deals

Beats Headphones

Save a big chunk on your new pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones, available in a few less ostentatious colors. At Target, the $300 cans are discounted by $120 to a more palatable $179.

DJI Tello

DJI’s $100 Tello drone is cheap, simple to operate, and can perform some cool tricks to impress first-time drone pilots. At $80 (or $100 if you purchase the Boost version, which includes three batteries and a charging station) it’s gift that’ll both delight and educate thanks to its educational app teaching you how to control the drone with code.

Other Black Friday Tech Deals

  • Amazon’s got the Blue Yeti USB microphone available for $90 compared to its usual $130 or so; it’s a favorite among the podcaster and streamer crowd.
  • You can grab a 256 microSD card for $40, a ludicrous amount of storage for that price and great for adding more stuff to your compatible smartphone or Nintendo Switch.
  • You can get a variety of Sonos speakers with a rare discount, including the Sonos Beam, Sonos One and Sonos SUB.
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    Write to Patrick Lucas Austin at patrick.austin@time.com