Early Black Friday Apple deals include $250 off a MacBook Air

Apple’s own Black Friday offers typically take the form of gift cards, so the article recommends checking major retailers for direct price cuts. Deals can sell out before the holiday weekend, and the guide’s selections were assessed against recent price histories, how often discounts appear and Mashable reviewers’ product experience.

The standout picks include AirPods 4 for $89 at Walmart, down $40 from $129, and a 13-inch MacBook Air with an M5 chip, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for $1,349.99 at Amazon, a $249.01 saving. The MacBook price is its lowest since June, according to the article. An 11-inch iPad Air with an M4 chip, 128GB and Wi-Fi costs $649 at Amazon, $100 below its $749 price; it has previously fallen to $559.

Best Buy is offering the Apple Watch Ultra 3, 49mm with GPS and cellular, for $549, a $250 discount from $799. The guide says this is the strongest Apple Watch deal currently available, comparing it with the Ultra 4’s $799 sale price.

The article cautions that Apple raised prices on MacBooks, Macs, iPads, HomePod, Apple TV and Vision Pro in June, with iPhone increases following in September. That makes earlier lows harder to reach. It says shoppers could watch for the MacBook Neo to return to $599, the base iPad to improve on $399.99, and the 11-inch iPad Pro to receive a larger cut than its current $99.01 discount. AirPods Pro 3 are $199, but the $50 reduction is described as common; they reached $169 ahead of June’s Prime Day sale.