11 Best Apple Black Friday Deals on MacBooks, iPads, AirPods

if you’ve been eyeing a pricey MacBook recently, now is the time to hit that buy button. Apple Black Friday deals are already here and several WIRED-approved gadgets are on sale—from iPads and MacBooks to Apple Watches and AirPods. All of these deals are from third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy; Apple doesn’t have sales of its own, and the only promotion you’ll find on its website is the ability to get up to a $200 gift card if you buy an eligible product.

WIRED Featured Deals

MacBook Deals

This is our favorite MacBook for most people (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It has a solid 13.6-inch LCD screen, a 1080p webcam, and an M3 chip that delivers a noticeable boost in performance compared to the older M1 chip. It handles everyday tasks with ease but it can also hold its own with some photo and video editing.

If you want a MacBook more powerful than the M3 in the MacBook Air, this is the next step up. Unlike its predecessor, it has three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 in addition to an HDMI port, SD card slot, headphone jack, and MagSafe charging port. Apple also increased memory on the base model to 16 GB (up from 8 GB). This sale applies to the model with the base M4 chip, which is a decent upgrade over the MacBook Air above. But you can also configure it with an M4 Pro or M4 Max for more power—both are on sale.

For ultimate power, there’s the 16-inch MacBook Pro (7/10, WIRED Review). Along with a Mini-LED screen, 120-Hz refresh rate, 1080p webcam, and six-speaker sound system, it also comes with new USB ports that support Thunderbolt 5 (120 Gbps/sec) for speedier data transfers. You’ll have the choice between an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. We tested the M4 Pro which was only slightly faster than last year’s M3 Max chip. But it’s a great choice if you want a MacBook Pro that can handle anything and everything you throw at it.

The brand-new iMac with M4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t all that different than the M3-powered version, but it does come with a few upgrades. There’s a 12-megapixel webcam with support for Center Stage, a nano-texture display that makes for a better viewing experience, and all peripherals now have USB-C ports (finally). Thanks to the new M4 chip, it also delivers great performance. It’s the top pick in our Best All-in-One Computers guide. On Amazon, if you clip the coupon button, you’ll also save an additional $50.

iPad Deals

If you’ve been waiting for Apple’s new iPad Mini (8/10, WIRED Recommends) to go on sale, wait no longer. On Amazon, if you clip the coupon, you can save a whole $100! The changes to the latest model are largely internal. It comes equipped with an A17 Pro chip (the same inside the iPhone 15 Pro), which can handle both graphically demanding games and support for Apple Intelligence (the company’s suite of artificial intelligence features with iOS 18.1). It’s also compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, so you don’t have to get an iPad Pro to enjoy the improved stylus. Its tiny stature also makes it great to travel with, whether you’re using it for reading ebooks or gaming.

The iPad (10th-gen) (7/10, WIRED Review) is our favorite iPad to recommend to most people. It has an A14 Bionic chip (which you’ll also find in the iPhone 12) that never felt sluggish while testing it. It also has a modern design, with slim bezels around a large 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display (IPS LCD), Touch ID integrated into the power button, a USB-C port for charging, and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera that’s located in the center of the iPad.

AirPods Deals

These are our favorite AirPods (8/10, WIRED Recommends). They come with a bunch of great features including Adaptive Transparency mode (which combines noise cancellation and transparency to adjust audio), support for Find My in case you lose them, Conversation Awareness (which lowers the music and background noise when having a conversation), and an IP54 sweat- and dust-resistance rating. Sound quality, meanwhile, is above average with crisp highs, authoritative bass, and excellent noise cancellation. You’ll also gain access to Apple’s new hearing aid features, designed for people with low to moderate hearing loss.

This past September, Apple finally updated the AirPods Max (8/10, WIRED Recommends) to include USB-C. Aside from the new port, the rest of the features remain the same as on the Lightning version (those are on sale as well). You do, however, have the choice between a few new colors including orange, purple, blue, starlight, and midnight. These over-the-ear headphones come equipped with a massive soundstage, rich bass, and great noise cancellation. It also has great build quality, with a mesh headband and fabric (replaceable) earcups.

Not into AirPods? The Beats Studio Buds+ are our favorite alternative for Apple users. They come with all the essential features including active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and spatial audio. They’re comfortable to wear and easy to use, complete with physical buttons on the outside of each bud. They feature great battery life—36 hours when combined with the charging case. You can also pick from various colors including silver, ivory, black, and transparent.

Apple Watch Deals

The Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the newest Apple Watch to join the lineup. It has a bigger screen than any other Apple Watch that came before, yet it’s also thinner, lighter, and supports fast charging. The smartwatch runs the latest WatchOS 11 operating system, so you’ll have features like Training Load, which displays how your workouts impact your fitness over time, and Vitals, to check your baseline each morning. It’s important to note, however, that it doesn’t come with a blood oxygen sensor.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our go-to smartwatch recommendation for anyone who mainly participates in outdoor sports. It delivers fast performance thanks to the S9 chip and an ultrawideband chip for enhanced precision finding. It also comes equipped with dual-frequence GPS, a Backtrack functionality for creating virtual breadcrumb trails on the Compass app (via the Action button), and access to offline maps (that you’ll have to download to your iPhone). Oh, and you won’t have to charge it every day.