The 9 best Black Friday Apple deals: MacBooks, AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad and more.

Black Friday is in full swing, which is great news if you’ve seen an Apple device but have been waiting for a hefty discount to pull the trigger. Apple devices are notoriously expensive and you don’t usually see many discounts throughout the year. Fortunately, Black Friday brings remarkable Apple deals, not only from retailers, but also from Apple itself. Just like we do every year, we’re cutting through the noise to bring you the best Black Friday Apple deals we can find.

Below are some of the most valuable Apple deals we’re seeing at the time of writing. As always, we’re focusing on products we’d actually recommend based on our time reviewing them, and we’re excluding products we don’t think are worth your money. Finally: there haven’t been any major iPhone deals that we think are worthwhile, so the focus here is on other products.

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More coverage for Black Friday 2022

Apple iPad Air 2022 10.9-inch for $500 ($560) at Amazon (discount at checkout)

Also at Apple for $680 with a $50 Apple Gift Card

Nowadays it is not difficult to show that Apple at a lot makes iPad models. The lineup has become complicated and confusing, with some models offering more value than others. Fortunately, if you can afford it, there’s one clear recommendation for the vast majority of prospective tablet owners: the iPad Air.

The iPad Pro’s 120Hz display, Face ID authentication, and other bells and whistles are all nice to have, but they’re not essential. And at the other end of the lineup, the new 2022 iPad sacrifices a little too much compared to the Air given the price difference.

The Air doesn’t skimp on anything essential: it has the speedy M1 chip, second generation Apple Pencil support, a great screen and strong accessory support. It is currently on sale at Amazon for $500 ($60 off the regular street price), but Apple is also offering it at full retail for $680 with a $50 Apple gift card.

MacBook Air 2022 for $1,050 ($1,200) at Amazon

The Mac has gone through many permutations (and ups and downs) over the years, but the recent move from Intel processors to Apple’s own custom-designed silicon has made it clear that now is as good a time as any to go Mac.

While many of Apple’s Macs (such as the MacBook Pro or the Mac Studio) are specialized products for particular audiences, the 2022 MacBook Air is the Mac that makes the most sense to most people. The M2 processor is frankly faster than most desktop processors, and a recent redesign has modernized a classic laptop, albeit at the cost of some of its unique identity.

You can buy the Air for a $150 discount from Amazon ($1,050 for 256GB or $1,350 for 512 GB) or you can buy it directly from Apple and get a $150 gift card.

If you need more power or a bigger screen, check out our post Best Black Friday laptop deals, where we’ve got discounts on the well-featured, multi-port-toting 14-inch MacBook Pro on sale for $1,600 ($400 off) and the most powerful Apple laptop, the 16-inch MacBook Pro for $2,000 ($500 off).

Apple AirPods Pro (second generation) for $249 with a $75 Apple Gift Card from Apple

Also for Amazon $199 and first generation before $159 at Walmart

AirPods are more convenient than any of the other wireless headphones we’ve used, offering essential features like spatial audio and transparency mode, and the sound quality is generally okay for the price too. You can definitely find other headphones that beat any of Apple’s similarly priced AirPods models in sound quality or noise cancellation (although you’d be hard pressed to find something that’s this easy to use wirelessly), but as a complete package, let’s just say that AirPods aren’t for nothing wildly popular. Just don’t bother if you don’t have an Apple device to pair them with.

The best AirPods for most people are the AirPods Pro; they find a perfect balance between price and performance. Both the first and second generation AirPods Pro are on sale now. While both deals offer solid value, the second generation is objectively better headphones in all relevant ways, as you’d expect. If you can use a $75 Apple gift card, we recommend grabbing Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro deal.

Noise cancellation has been improved, as has spatial audio performance, contributing to a more immersive sound experience. The second generation also improves listening time from four and a half hours on the first generation to six hours on the latest generation, while adding extras such as a MagSafe charging case with a built-in speaker and chip for new Find My capabilities, in for in case your AirPods ever go missing. The first-generation AirPods still sound very good, and noise cancellation is at the higher end of the spectrum compared to most earbuds. So again, if you can’t take advantage of a $75 Apple gift card, we can’t blame you for saving a few bucks and getting the first-gen Pros instead.

Apple TV 4K 2021 64GB front $100 ($130) at Amazon

Apple TV HD 2021 32GB $59 ($99) at Walmart

Apple recently released a new revision to its Apple TV 4K streaming box, but it wasn’t a massive upgrade over the previous model unless you’re using a TV that only supports HDR10+ rather than Dolby Vision. With the new ones on the market, last year’s model is mostly the same steep marked down, making it the best deal out there for a streaming TV platform. As always, compared to offerings from Roku and others, the appeal is less if you don’t already live in Apple’s ecosystem, but if you have an iPhone or AirPods, the current discount is a steal.

If you don’t need 4K quality, the Apple TV HD is also heavily discounted for the lowest price we’ve ever seen on a new Apple TV at $69.

Apple Watch SE second generation (40mm) for $229 ($270) Amazon

Apple now offers a plethora of Watch models, including the new flashy, outdoor Apple Watch Ultra. But the truth is that the entry-level Apple Watch SE (available in 40mm or 44mm) packs most of the features most people would want. We’re not beating the Series 8 or the Ultra – they have a lot going for them. If you want the device with the most health features, the Apple Watch Series 8 is the way to go, and it’s on sale now for $350 ($50 off). But if you’re just looking for something to help you track your workouts and stay connected, the SE will do the job for a lot less money.