Apple is kicking off the holiday shopping season with a Black Friday promotion: from November 28 through December 1, customers who purchase select Apple products will receive an Apple Gift Card worth up to $250.
While that sounds sweet, you might want to shop elsewhere.
Apple Store Black Friday Shopping Event deals start soon
With demand for Apple gear peaking ahead of December, the deal sets the stage for a competitive shopping weekend as consumers hunt for rare savings from the typically discount-averse brand.
The Apple Store Shopping Event, available online and in Apple retail stores, applies to a range of eligible devices and accessories, giving buyers a bonus credit to spend on future tech — or holiday gifts.
Apple’s Black Friday promo includes a gift card up to $250 with the purchase of a high-end MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. There are also deals on MacBook Air, iMac and Mac mini.
Or get a gift card up to $75 with an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16e. The Apple Store offers a gift card up to $100 with an iPad Air, iPad (A16) or iPad mini. And the sale includes a $50 gift card when buying an Apple Watch Series 11 or Apple Watch SE 3.
Remember that this is a limited-time deal. The Apple Store Shopping Event starts Friday, November 28, and only runs through December 1.
Be a smart shopper for Apple deals
Realistically, don’t think of the Apple Store as the place to find deals. In fact, it’s rarely the best option.
For example, Amazon has the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air for only $749 and the 15-inch version for only $949. That’s $250 in savings in cash, not a gift card. And it’s available now, not next week.
And grab AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation from Amazon for $109.99, a whopping $69 in savings. Apple offers a $25 gift card instead.
There’ll be plenty of other outstanding Black Friday deals on Apple gear as the big day approaches. Think hard before shopping at the Apple Store with a gift card as the only reward.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
