I’m trying to figure out how to prepare for Apple Black Friday 2025 deals and avoid missing the best discounts like I did last year. What usually goes on sale, when do the biggest price drops happen, and which stores or online sites are actually worth trusting for real Apple discounts without scams or sketchy refurbs?
Quick breakdown based on the last few years of Apple Black Friday / holiday patterns. Target: Black Friday 2025, but you want to prep starting early November.
- What usually goes on sale
-
iPhone
- Apple Store: almost never real discounts. They give gift cards, usually 50 to 100 dollars on older models only.
- Best Buy, Target, Walmart, carriers:
- Big savings on installment with trade in, like 200 to 1000 off spread over 24 or 36 months.
- Gift cards for buying on a specific carrier, like 200 Target gift card.
- Straight discounts on previous gen, for example iPhone 15 when 16 is out.
-
MacBook Air / Pro
- M2 / older: often 150 to 300 off.
- Newer models: 50 to 150 off at best.
- Best deals: Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Costco.
- Apple Store: usually gift card only, like 100 to 200.
-
iPad
- Base iPad and iPad mini: 50 to 100 off.
- iPad Air and Pro: 80 to 200 off depending on age and storage.
- Apple Store again mostly gift cards.
-
Apple Watch
- Older Series and SE: 50 to 120 off.
- New Series: 20 to 60 off.
- Best Buy, Amazon, Target usually match each other.
-
AirPods / Beats
- AirPods 2 / 3: 20 to 50 off.
- AirPods Pro: 50 to 90 off.
- These often hit their lowest price of the year on Black Friday weekend.
-
Accessories
- Apple Store: small gift cards on some items.
- Third party retailers: 20% to 40% off cases, MagSafe chargers, bands, hubs.
- When the biggest drops happen
- Early November
- Some stores start “early Black Friday” the first or second week.
- These deals often match the later ones on older models.
- Monday to Wednesday before Black Friday
- Ad leaks and deal previews show up.
- Use these to plan instead of panic on Friday.
- Black Friday itself
- Good for doorbusters and popular SKUs like base storage MacBook Air or entry iPad.
- Risk of quick sellouts on best prices.
- Cyber Monday
- Often repeats Black Friday pricing.
- Sometimes better for accessories and AirPods.
- December
- Some Apple gear drops again mid December, mostly on Amazon and Best Buy, once demand settles.
- Gift card promos at Costco and Target on Apple gift cards appear, like 80 to 90 dollars for a 100 dollar card.
- Where the best deals usually are
- Apple Store
- Gift cards instead of discounts, often 50 to 200 depending on product.
- Good if you want AppleCare, custom config, or easy returns.
- Amazon
- Strong price drops on MacBook, iPad, AirPods, Watch.
- Prices move fast through the day. Use price trackers.
- Best Buy
- Good for in store pickup, bundle promos, open box deals.
- Total membership sometimes adds extra discounts or points.
- Target
- Good for iPads, Apple Watch, gift card bundles.
- RedCard gets you an extra 5 percent.
- Walmart
- Strong on iPhone and iPad gift card bundles and older Apple Watch models.
- Costco / Sam’s Club
- Good for members, slightly lower base price and extended warranty.
- Apple gift card deals are solid if you plan to buy from Apple.
- How to avoid missing the best stuff
-
Decide your targets by product and minimum price
- Example:
- MacBook Air M3 13 inch, target 150 off.
- AirPods Pro, target under 189.
- iPad Air base storage, target 80 to 120 off.
- Write this down so you do not get distracted by random bundles.
- Example:
-
Use price tools and alerts
- Set price alerts on sites like camelcamelcamel for Amazon.
- Use deal aggregators like Slickdeals or r/buildapcsales and r/appledeals style subs.
- Check historical charts on previous years to see if a price is actually good.
-
Plan your timing
- For high demand stuff like AirPods and base MacBook Air, watch starting Monday of Thanksgiving week.
- If you see a price that matches last year’s Black Friday low, grab it. Waiting for an extra 10 dollars off often backfires.
- Keep a backup retailer in mind, for example if Amazon sells out, try Best Buy or B&H.
-
Stack discounts
- Store cards and memberships
- Target RedCard, Best Buy card, Costco membership.
- Cash back portals
- Rakuten, TopCashback, etc for extra 2 to 10 percent back when they run promos.
- Apple gift cards
- Buy Apple gift cards on sale at Costco or Target.
- Then use them in Apple Store sales with the Apple gift card promo for double benefit.
- Student pricing
- If you or someone in your household qualifies, Apple Education Store plus a gift card promo is often strong.
- Store cards and memberships
- What usually gives the best value
- Newest flagship iPhone
- Best effective discount through carrier deals with trade in.
- Read the small print for bill credits, early termination fees, and plan requirements.
- Previous gen MacBook and iPad
- M2 MacBook Air and previous iPad Air often hit their lowest prices in this window.
- AirPods
- Historically hit all time lows around Black Friday, then bounce back.
- How to prep now for 2025
- Track current prices in 2024 and 2025 so you know if a 150 discount is good.
- Decide ahead if you are ok with previous gen. Those get the biggest cuts.
- Set calendar reminders
- Early November
- Monday of Thanksgiving week
- Black Friday morning
- Make a simple spreadsheet or note
- Item
- Normal price
- Target price
- Max budget
- Retailers to check
If you post your exact wish list, like “iPad Air, AirPods Pro, Apple Watch, which year”, people here tend to drop links to best current and past deals so you can set realistic targets.
I’m going to zoom in on what you should actually do, instead of rehashing what usually goes on sale like @kakeru already covered.
I slightly disagree with the “start early November and watch” approach. That’s how you lose hours doom-refreshing. Better to systematize it so you only need a few short check-ins.
Here’s a practical playbook for Black Friday 2025:
-
Decide now if you’re buying new‑gen or previous‑gen
- Biggest savings are almost always:
- Previous‑gen MacBook / iPad / Watch
- Current‑gen AirPods
- If you insist on “latest iPhone, latest MacBook Pro,” expect smaller raw discounts and more gift card / carrier bill credit tricks.
- Write down: “I’m OK with last year’s model” or “latest only.” It changes what counts as a good deal.
- Biggest savings are almost always:
-
Use “price sanity checks” instead of guessing
- Starting around mid‑2025, whenever you see a product in your list, note the real street price, not Apple’s MSRP.
- Example: If iPad Air sits around 549 at Amazon for months, a BF price of 529 is not “epic,” it’s just decent.
- Two quick ways:
- Browser extension price history (for Amazon, etc.).
- Manually jot a few prices in a note once a month. Takes 3 minutes.
-
Build a very short hit list
Keep it to 3 to 5 items, max. Something like:- iPhone: carrier deal ok / no carrier / trade in ok or not
- iPad Air: base storage only
- MacBook Air M2 or M3: any color, 16 GB RAM non‑negotiable
Next to each, add: - “Will settle for older gen: yes/no”
- Max budget (not “target,” actual hard ceiling)
This prevents “oh wow $30 off some random iPad I didn’t even want.”
-
Decide where you’re willing to buy before the chaos
Shortlist 3 channels per product type:- iPhone: “Only through carrier” or “Only fully unlocked at Amazon / Best Buy / Apple”
- Macs / iPads: “OK with Amazon / Best Buy / Costco, but no weird third‑party sellers”
- Apple Watch / AirPods: “Whoever is cheapest as long as it’s a legit retailer”
That way when you see a deal, you’re not googling “is this sketchy site legit” at 2 AM.
-
Use “set and forget” alerts instead of live hunting
Where I diverge a bit from @kakeru: don’t rely on watching forums all week unless you like that kind of thing. Instead:- Set price alerts in October for each item and your actual trigger price.
- Turn on notifications for 1 or 2 deal communities, not 10. Keep it minimal.
- When it pings, you check, decide in 5 minutes, done.
-
Have a one-shot buying rule
To avoid missing the best discounts like last year:- Pick a date window where you pull the trigger when your target is hit. Something like:
- “From Monday of Thanksgiving week through Cyber Monday: if it hits my trigger price, I buy. I do not wait for a mythical extra 20 off.”
- The real loss for most people is “waiting one more day” and then it sells out or the promo ends.
- Pick a date window where you pull the trigger when your target is hit. Something like:
-
Think in “effective price” instead of sticker price
A lot of people mess up here. Evaluate:- Discounted price
- Stacked extras: store card 5 percent back, cashback portal, gift card promos
- Resale value of your old device if you sell it independently instead of trading in
Sometimes: - Apple direct with gift card + student discount + Apple gift cards bought at Costco beats Amazon’s raw lower price.
Run the math once in a simple note so you’re not doing mental gymnastics on Black Friday morning.
-
Protect yourself from fake “deals”
Quick gut checks:- If it’s “up to 40 percent off” but the product you want is only 5 to 10 percent off, that’s marketing fluff.
- If a “Black Friday” price matches what you see periodically through the year, that is not a must‑buy. It’s just a convenient time.
- Carriers: read length of contract and what happens if you leave early. A “free” iPhone that locks you into an overpriced plan is not really free.
-
Timeline that avoids FOMO
- Early November: finalize your hit list and alert thresholds, not actual buying.
- Week before Black Friday:
- Check the big retailers’ ads once. Adjust your target price if they are clearly lower than you expected.
- Monday of Thanksgiving week: start being ready to buy if you see your target number.
- Black Friday / weekend: buy when your trigger hits. Don’t wait for Cyber Monday hoping for miracles.
- Cyber Monday: ok to chase accessories or a second‑tier item you were unsure about.
If you want, drop your specific list (like “iPad Air, Apple Watch SE, AirPods Pro, no carrier, prefer Costco/Target”) and what you missed out on last year. People here can usually tell you if your 2025 expectations are realistic or if you’re chasing unicorn pricing.