Black Friday hasn't arrived just yet, but all of the major retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, have already kicked off their Black Friday Sales. There are a lot of deals out in the wild, perhaps too many. You'll still want to wait until Thanksgiving Day (then's when the "real" Black Friday deals start) to make most of your purchases, but there are some deals here that are actually worth getting right now. Below are some of my favorite picks.
Apple AirPods Pro
The price of the second-generation Apple AirPods Pro wireless noise-canceling earbuds has dropped to $153.99. This discount brings the price down to the same level as the Apple AirPods 4 with noise cancelation. Between the two, the AirPods Pro is still Apple's best earbuds because it offers better sound quality and better noise cancellation performance.
PlayStation 5 Consoles
Sony's Black Friday PlayStation deals all went live on Friday, November 21, including big discounts on PlayStation 5 consoles, and they have trickeld down to several of Sony's major authorized resellers. Just because this deal is available in several prices doesn't mean it's a great deal. In fact, this is one of the best deals for Black Friday. I almost never see a price drop on the PS5 consoles during the rest of the year, and certainly not by this much.
Meta Quest 3S VR Headset
You'll get a bonus $75 Amazon digital credit when you purchase a Meta Quest 3S VR headset for $299. The Quest 3S also comes bundled with the Batman: Arkham Shadow VR game and a three-month trial of Meta Quest+. This deal is also available at Target, albeit with Target's own $75 gift card.
Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Smart Glasses
Amazon and Target are offering a 20% discount off and a bonus $90 gift card (or digital credit) when you purchase a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Smart Glasses. Combine the two and you're saving up to 50% off. With these smart glasses, there will inevitably be privacy issues that you'll have to deal with, and it's up to you to be responsible for how to use them. But right now I'm here to say "if you're going to get them, there's no better place and time than Black Friday."
Current Generation Apple iPads (But Not All of Them)
Most Apple iPads are already discounted, but not all of them are worth picking up immediately. In fact, the only iPads worth getting right now are: the iPad 10th Gen, iPad Mini (A17 Pro), and iPad Pro M4. They have all been discounted to new historical price lows, compared to the other iPads that - although inexpensive - are not necessarily the best prices ever.
Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
For anyone on a budget, this is the Apple Watch to get, especially at the current price of $149. The Apple Watch is indisputably the best smartwatch for iOS users. It's sleek and stylish, it's chock full of useful features that complement your iPhone, and with this Apple Black Friday deal, it's one of the least expensive smartwatches on the block.
Calvin and Hobbes Paperback Box Set
Both the Hardcover Box Set and Paperback Box Set are on sale today. Each set contains 1,440 total pages spanning every Calvin and Hobbes cartoon that ever appeared in syndication, from its initial publication in 1985 to Bill Watterson's retirement in 1995. It makes for an amazing holiday gift idea and there's plenty of time to receive it well before Christmas.
Microsoft Xbox 360 Collector Building Set
One of the coolest toys to come out of the Target Black Friday Sale is this MEGA Showcase Xbox 360 Collector Building Set, a buildable 3:4 scale replica of the Xbox 360 console with a brick count total of 1,342 pieces (5.5 cents per brick). The details in this build are, frankly, incredible, and include interactive elements, lighting effects, and the coolest accessories. This would make an incredible gift idea for any gaming fan who loves working on complex building block kits like LEGO.
Audible Premium Plus
Not only is Audible giving non-current Audible subscribers three months of Audible Premium Plus for $0.99 per month, they're also throwing a bonus one-time $20 Audible credit on top of a credit every month that you can redeem for one audiobook each. You get to keep that audiobook indefinitely, even if you don't maintain your subscription.
Asus ROG Ally X
Best Buy is the only retailer that has discounted the Asus ROG Ally X. In our Asus ROG Ally X review, Jacqueline Thomas wrote that "the Asus ROG Ally X is simply the best handheld gaming PC on the market right now. With more and faster memory and double the battery as the Ally, the Ally X will run any modern game without dying in an hour and a half."
34" Samsung Odyssey G5 Gaming Monitor
Walmart still has the best Black Friday gaming monitor deal. This is an outstanding price for a very capable 34" ultra-widescreen gaming monitor with a 3440x1440 resolution (110 ppi pixel density), an immersive 1000R curved panel design, fast 1ms MPRT response time, and up to 160Hz refresh rate.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Walmart's got everyone beat. Nowhere else can you pick up a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $30. Physical copies are already sold out, but you can still get the digital edition for the same price. In our Tears of the Kingdom review, Tom Marks wrote that "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds."
Star Wars Outlaws
For those of you who have been patiently holding out on the $49.99 Star Wars Outlaws offer, kudos to you. Target has dropped the price further to $39.99. This is a good time to get into the game since Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment recently deployed a massive update bringing a host of performance and gameplay enhancements, a range of visual improvements, and bug fixes to the open-world sci-fi game on console and PC.
Popular Board Games on Sale
Target's online storefront has a great assortment of board games, definitely much broader than the selection you'll find in its retail stores. Some of these board games are on sale right now with discounts of up to 50% off, and I expect more board games deals to be added to the list. Board games are always a great gift for anyone who enjoys gaming with friends.
WD Black C50 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox
Because Microsoft decided to make storage expansion proprietary on the Xbox Series X|S, your buying options are limited and expensive. The WD Black C50 is one such option; it's officially licensed, it doubles or quadruples your existing storage depending on which model you bought, and it's $50 off for Black Friday.
27" Dell G2724D QHD Gaming Monitor
The Dell G2724D offers all the features you'd want in a gaming monitor for well under $200. The display's 2560x1440 resolution (109 ppi) is a nice upgrade from the 1080p resolution you normally see on monitors in this price range. It has the gaming features you'd want like a fast 1ms response time and up to 165Hz refresh rate over DisplayPort (144Hz over HDMI). The IPS panel produces great color accuracy and wide viewing angles so it also makes for a great general purpose monitor.
When Is Black Friday 2024?
We’re in the home stretch: Black Friday falls on November 29 this year. All month long, retailers have been rolling out sales, ramping up to massive discounts on Black Friday and through the weekend into Cyber Monday. There are already some fantastic deals available on PS5 consoles and controllers, video games for all platforms, AirPods Pro, and tons more.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.