Best Black Friday Deals 2021: What to buy TODAY

It’s November 3rd and the Black Friday deals have already started, with Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart offering discounts on everything from laptops and tablets to robot vacuums and TVs. But with the sales happening a lot earlier than usual it’s difficult to 1) keep on track of who’s doing what; 2) find the cheapest price on the item you want; and 3) know what to buy. That’s where we come in: We’re rounding up the latest Black Friday news and the best Black Friday deals you can shop each day, so you don’t have to search far and wide for them.

Retailers with Black Friday Deals Now

• Amazon Black Friday Deals: Amazon is offering ‘Black Friday-Worthy Deals’ today, cutting the price of must-have wishlist products like AirPods, the Apple Watch and iPads, so you can beat the rush with guaranteed delivery in time for the holidays — see deals.
• Best Buy Black Friday Deals: Best Buy’s Black Friday deals are here, bringing steep discounts on everything you could possibly need this holiday season, including appliances, laptops, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and everything in between — see deals.
• Dell Black Friday Deals: Dell has kicked off a Black Friday sale of sorts, cutting the price of its laptops, gaming PCs and monitors for the next 48 hours. This includes Dell XPS laptops and select Alienware models, so if you’re picking one up for the holidays, beat the rush now — see deals.
• Target Black Friday Deals: Keen not to be left out of the action, Target has followed Best Buy’s lead and is offering considerable discounts on electronics, kitchen appliance and holiday gifts, backed by promise to refund the difference if it has anything you buy cheaper next month — see deals.
• Walmart Black Friday Deals: The Walmart Black Friday Sale has arrived, and there’s no shortage of discounts on popular products from brands like Apple and Samsung. Whether you’re shopping for a new coffee maker, laptop, tablet, or television, Walmart has you covered — see deals.

Today’s Best Black Friday Deals

• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K — $35, was $50
• Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case — $197, was $249
• Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones — $248, was $350
• Apple Watch Series 6 (40mm, GPS) — $330, was $399
• 70-inch Samsung TU6985 4K TV — $600, was $750

Best Black Friday Deals — Appliances

• Bella Series Analog Air Fryer — $30, was $60
• Instant Vortex 4-in-1 Air Fryer — $50, was $60
• Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker — $70, was $80
• Instant Pot Duo Plus (9-in-1) — $90, was $120
• KitchenAid Professional 6000 Stand Mixer — $530, was $600

Bella Series Analog Air Fryer — $30, was $60

If it’s Black Friday air fryer deals you’re after, then they don’t get much better than this offer on the Bella Series Analog Air Fryer that sees it on sale for 50% off at Best Buy, dropping the price from $60 to only $30. This no-frills model can air fry, broil, bake, roast and reheat, reaching temperatures of up to 400°F. It’s perfect for making succulent fried chicken, roasted salmon, French fries, kale chips, and everything in between. You’ll want to act fast, though: This is one of the best Black Friday deals we’ve seen, and stock won’t last long.

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Best Black Friday Deals — Apple

• Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case — $197, was $249
• Apple Watch Series 6 (40mm, GPS) — $329, was $399
• Apple iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $539, was $599
• Apple iPad Pro 11.0 (128GB, Wi-Fi) — $749, was $799
• Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (128GB, Wi-Fi) — $999, was $1099

This is not a drill — shop the early Black Friday Apple deals today. Apple has been hit hard by the microchip shortage and some of its most popular products are already on backorder, like the iPad 10.2 which has a shipping window of between November 18 and December 7 at both Amazon and the manufacturer itself, so if you’re waiting out for Black Friday AirPods deals, Black Friday Apple Watch deals, Black Friday iPad deals, or Black Friday MacBook deals, stop — shop what’s in stock now or risk the product not arriving this side of 2022.

Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case — $197, was $249

You already know about the AirPods Pro. These puppies hare sweat-resistant, offer active noice-canceling to block out background sound and have interchangeable silicone ear tips to help you get the perfect fit for a more comfortable extended-listening experience. The AirPods Pro can last up to 4.5 hours on a single charge with noise-canceling enabled, and are on sale at Amazon today for $197, down from $249. You’ll want to be quick with this deal, though: AirPods are always one of the best-sellers on Black Friday and stock can run out at any second.

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Apple iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $539, was $599

A step up from the standard Apple iPad 10.2, the latest iPad Air features a larger, higher-resolution screen and better performance. It’s compatible with Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio Case which debuted alongside the iPad Pro and can be used with the Apple Pencil too. It’s a must-have for anyone looking for one of the best tablets on the shelves for both work and play, who don’t need the increased processing power that comes with the iPad Pro. For most, the iPad Air is the perfect fit, and it’s a must-have down $60 from the usual $539 sticker price.

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Apple Watch Series 6 (40mm, GPS) — $330, was $399

Replaced with the Apple Watch Series 7 earlier this month,  the Apple Watch Series 6 is still one of the best smartwatches money can buy and it’s on sale for only $329 — down $70 from the usual $399. It’s in stock too, while Apple currently has the newer Apple Watch Series 7 on backorder until December 6. If you can live without the brighter, larger, crack-resistant screen, newer chipset and faster charging that comes with the newer model, then you’ll love the Apple Watch Series 6 and the $70 discount that comes with it today.

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Best Black Friday Deals — Headphones

• Beats Solo 3 — $119, was $200
• Beats Studio Buds — $130, was $150
• Beats Studio 3 — $170, was $350
• Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case — $197, was $249
• Sony WH-1000XM4 — $248, was $348

We can’t believe some of the Black Friday headphone deals we’re seeing today. Anyone searching for the best headphones money can buy should turn their attention to this offer on the Sony WH-1000XM4 that sees them on sale for $248, down from the usual $350 — their lowest-ever price and consequently topping the list of the best Sony WH-1000XM4 deals. We’re drowning in Beats headphones deals as well, with the brand’s trademark Beats Studio 3 discounted from $350 to $170 at Best Buy, and other Sony headphone deals too.

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones — $248, was $350

When we say best Black Friday deals, this is really what we mean: Amazon has knocked a massive $100 off the Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headphones, dropping them down to their lowest-ever price of $248. That’s an incredible price to pay for what are hands-down the best wireless headphones on the shelves right now, offering top-tier sound, excellent comfort and impressive noise-canceling. They’re best-suited to anyone looking for total sonic isolation and wireless convenience, but don’t want to give up high-fidelity sound to get it.

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Best Black Friday Deals — Laptops

• Lenovo Chromebook 3 11.6 — $119, was $219
• Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) — $230, was $355
• Microsoft Surface Laptop Go — $550, was $700
• Dell XPS 13 (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $700, was $950
• Apple MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $929, was $999

Lenovo Chromebook 3 11.6 — $119, was $219

We can’t believe we’re typing this, but the 11.6-inch Lenovo Chromebook 3 just got a $100 discount at Best Buy. This sees this Chrome OS-powered laptop on sale for $119 — easily one of the Black Friday Chromebook deals we’ve seen this year. Granted, it may be a little small for most people, but if you’re looking for a laptop to take around campus or use on the train to work, then it’s ideal. With 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, it’s the perfect companion for document editing and web-browsing on the move, or even for a first laptop for a child or a parent.

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 — $280, was $355

There’s a reason Dell is a household name and is the computer manufacturer of choice for businesses all over the world: It makes some of the best laptops money can buy. The Dell Inspiron 15 3000 is something of a kitchen sink, catering to both professional and personal users alike. It features a 15.6-inch screen, 4GB of RAM, and an 128GB SSD. That’s a little large to lug around, but if you’re looking for a laptop to use at home or in the office, it’s perfect. It retails for $355 but it can be yours today for only $280. Like most Dell laptop deals, stock is limited so act fast.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go — $550, was $700

After decades as a software company, Microsoft is now making computer hardware of its own, and the Surface Laptop Go is a sleeper hit. Its 12.4-inch size is perfect for a laptop you can take on the go, but don’t let the size fool you: That display (which is also a touchscreen!) has a 3:2 aspect ration, giving you more real estate to work with than most laptops. That means that it feels bigger than it is, and its sleek chassis design doesn’t hurt, either. A $150 discount lets you grab this machine for $550 — a steal for a top offering from one of the best laptop brands.

Dell XPS 13 — $700, was $950

Widely regarded as not only one of the the best Dell laptops, but one of the best laptops period, the Dell XPS 13 is a workhorse that easily rivals the Apple MacBook Pro 13. This particular model, which usually retails for $950 but is on sale for $700, features an Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It features a 13.3-inch screen and comes with a free Windows 11 upgrade that can be installed out of the box. As far as Black Friday Dell XPS deals go, this is the best we’ve seen and one anyone in the market for this machine can’t afford to miss.

Apple MacBook Air — $929, was $999

The world’s most recognizable portable laptop, the MacBook Air, is on sale for $929, down from $999. It may not seem like the largest discount in the world, but Black Friday MacBook deals are few and far between, and this is the cheapest we’ve seen on this particular machine, which is armed with Touch ID for fingerprint authentication and promises an all-day battery life of 18 hours. Whether you’re shopping for business, pleasure or study, the MacBook Air is sure to impress, making this one of the best Black Friday laptop deals you can shop today.

Best Black Friday Deals — Phones

• Motorola Moto G Power — $170, was $200
• Samsung Galaxy A10s — $190, was $200
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus — $750, was $1000
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 — $850, was $1000
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra — $950, was $1200

Black Friday 2021 is a fantastic time to pick up a new phone, and we’re already being blessed with some incredible Black Friday phone deals on some of the best phones money can buy. The single best offer we’ve seen is one of Amazon’s best Black Friday deals — a generous $250 price cut on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which sees it on sale for just $950. The retailer also has some other fantastic foldable phone deals happening today, headlined by this unexpected discount on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, dropping it from $1000 to $850.

Best Black Friday Deals — TVs

• 43-inch TCL 4-Series 4K TV — $282, was $350
• 50-inch Insignia 4K Fire TV — $350, was $450
• 70-inch Samsung TU6985 4K TV — $600, was $750
• 75-inch TCL 4-Series 4K TV — $749, was $1299
• 82-inch Samsung 7 Series 4K TV — $1400, was $1500

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Black Friday TV deals are now well underway. The best one we’ve found so far? This 70-inch Samsung TU6985 4K TV, which has had its price cut from $750 to $600 at Best Buy. You’ll want to act fast though: 70-inch TV deals are in high demand and rival Walmart has stopped taking new orders for a lot of the models it carries, so you’ll want to pick one up while you can. Just remember to do your research and make sure the television you’re looking at has all the bells and whistles you want before pulling the trigger.

70-inch Samsung TU6985 4K TV — $600, was $750

We can’t believe it: A 70-inch Samsung 4K TV for $600, a discount of $150 from the usual $750. Now that’s one of the best Black Friday deals we’ve seen in a long time. You’ll want to be quick with this one — Best Buy had something similar last year, though not quite as good, and it sold out in a couple of days, and that’s when the market wasn’t plagued with stock and shipping issues. Best of all, this product is covered by the Best Buy Black Friday Price Guarantee, so if the price slips further at the retailer (unlikely) you’ll be credited the difference.

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Should You Shop the Black Friday Deals Today?

I can’t stress this enough: SHOP NOW.

We’re going to see the same supply chain issues as last year, if not worse, so beat the rush and do your holiday shopping today. If you wait until Black Friday it’s likely the item you purchase won’t arrive in time for the holidays. In fact, chances are must-have gifts like the Nintendo Switch will be on backorder before November. The best Black Friday deals today bring hefty discounts, and it’s hard to imagine them being cheaper on Black Friday itself — an extra $10 or $20 off, if anything. But what’s a few extra bucks in your pocket if the item doesn’t arrive in time?

There are some products that’ll sell out faster than others, of course. You’ll want to buy an Apple Watch before Black Friday if you’re in the market for one. We’d also don’t recommend waiting until Black Friday to buy an iPad. In fact, we can make this a bit easier: Apple products are among the most sought-after for the holidays, and among the best-selling on Black Friday, so you’ll want to pick these up now. Apple has already said it’s having trouble producing the iPhone 13 and has had to cut down on orders, and it’s safe to assume that’ll extend to everything.

Other items we expect to be in high demand are the Nintendo Switch, Instant Pots, the Ninja AF100 Air Fryer, and anything gaming-related, including the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, and gaming laptops and gaming PCs. Retailers are already experiencing shortages of GPUs and CPUs, with RAM set to follow, so you’ll need to stock up now if you’re shopping for someone who’s building their own computer or building one themselves — and this will only get worse with new GTA 6 rumors encouraging people to upgrade.

Thanks to schemes like the Best Buy Black Friday Price Guarantee, there’s no harm in shopping now either. Say you buy a TV in the Black Friday sales at Best Buy today and the retailer knocks an extra $20 off it on Thanksgiving or even Black Friday, you’ll be credited back the difference. Granted, this doesn’t cover you across different retailers so if you shop at Best Buy and Walmart has it cheaper, you aren’t covered. But to reiterate what I said earlier: These early Black Friday deals are so good it’s hard to imagine anyone undercutting them by much.

If we do see some of these items cheaper, it probably won’t be by more than $20 and you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll be on backorder and won’t arrive in time for the holidays, so you need to ask yourself whether you want to take the chance and hold out until Black Friday or still take advantage of a fantastic deal (hundreds of products are already at their cheapest-ever prices, including the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 at Best Buy) and potentially miss out on a few extra bucks in savings, but have the item in your hands in time for the gifting season.

Use Return Windows to Your Advantage

However, if you’re intent on getting the best deal possible you may want to consider taking advantage of return windows. Some retailers including Amazon and QVC have extended theirs to January 2022. This means you can buy an item today and return it later, assuming you haven’t opened it. So if you find something cheap at Amazon today, buy it and get it in your hands, then if you find it cheaper on Black Friday, purchase it again. If the new one arrives in time for the holidays, send the first one back to Amazon in exchange for a full refund.

Latest Black Friday News

In the second week of October, Best Buy launched a $200-per-year membership program promises to provide subscribers with exclusive access to hard-to-find products during the holiday season, possibly including early access to Black Friday deals. It’s recommending shoppers sign up or the Totaltech program ahead of Black Friday to receive special notices and access members-only savings events. Unlike Walmart+, Best Buy isn’t offering a free trial of Totaltech so you’ll need to hand over $200 to take it for a spin. Is it worth it? We’ll have to wait and see.

Then, on October 18, Walmart followed Best Buy’s lead and announced that it will offer exclusive Black Friday deals to its Walmart+ members. These customers will be able to shop online sales four hours earlier than other customers throughout November. You can sign up for a free one-month Walmart+ subscription to shop the sales for free. Just sign up at the start of November and it’ll see you through the end of the month. Cancel before the renewal date if you don’t want to continue with your subscription and you won’t be charged for another month.

Wondering what people are purchasing in the early Black Friday deals? Amazon’s Movers & Shakers list shows sales of the Roku Streambar are up 715%, which is discounted from $130 to $100 in its Black Friday sale. The Roku Ultra and Roku Premiere are also on the list, both up 76%. The Roku Ultra is on sale for $69, down from $100; the Roku Premiere got a modest $5 discount, dropping it from $40 to $35. Sales of the Amazon eero Mesh Wi-Fi Extender are up 110%, as the price drops 25% to only $89. Suffice to say, Roku is hot right now.

The Best Buy Black Friday deals officially started on October 19 — and they certainly don’t disappoint. In typical fashion, we’ve rounded up all the best deals, but if you’re after the single greatest offer that would have to be this 70-inch Samsung 4K TV, which is discounted from $750 to $600 from now through the end of Black Friday. This is of course covered by the Best Buy Black Friday Price Guarantee, so if the price is slashed by even a dollar more after you buy, you’ll get the difference credited back (automatically for My Best Buy customers).

Dell kicked off a Black Friday sale of sorts on October 19 as well, cutting the price of its laptops, gaming PCs and monitors for the next 48 hours. This includes the Dell XPS 13, Dell XPS 15, Dell XPS 17, and select Alienware models, so if you’re picking one up for the holidays, beat the rush by shopping now. The event brought some of the best Dell laptop deals we’ve seen all year, and marked the first time we’ve seen Black Friday Dell XPS deals arrive before November. As expected though the best offers are selling out fast, so get a wiggle on.

Black Friday Deals Shopping Tips

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: For every good deal out there during a shopping event like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, there are at least a dozen bad. That’s why it’s important to not only consult an impartial source of buying advice to find out whether the deal you’re looking at is really worth your hard-earned cash, but to also have an understanding of the tricks retailers use to dupe customers into thinking they’re looking at a no-brainer. Below, we’ve thrown together some advice to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal this Black Friday 2021.

Make an Informed Decision

Look around for recommendations if you know you need something, but you aren’t sure exactly what to buy. The perfect example would be you know you need a new laptop, but you aren’t sure which one to buy. You can easily fall into the trap of buying the wrong one that’s underpowered or doesn’t have the one feature you need because you were drawn in by the cheap price, so do some research and consult some best lists. If you’re shopping for a laptop, you’d want to check out our collection of the best laptops. We’ve littered links to these throughout this article.

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