Black Friday is just around the corner, and there's no time like the present (pun intended) to start making those holiday shopping lists and checking them twice. And every good gift-giver knows that the best time to score big savings on TVs, headphones, smart accessories, and more is during Cyber Week, which kicks off with Black Friday on Nov. 28 this year. Or is it?
Also: Our favorite early Black Friday deals
Suppose you think Black Friday hasn't been the same since we stopped tackling each other in aisles, queuing over expensive systems and coveted toys, and rushing out to brick-and-mortar stores to hit the midnight sales -- and maybe you're right. The truth is, some of today's deals are actually quite shady -- inflated markups that aren't necessarily seasonal bargains.
As a result, there's more onus than ever on you as a consumer to vet holiday purchases and prices to make sure they are truly deals worth buying. ZDNET is dedicated to helping you not only find the best tech products, but also get the best deals on them and the most trustworthy places to buy them.
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I cover deals 24/7, and I've watched the prices of popular tech products fluctuate throughout the last 10 or so months this year. I know what's a reasonable offer, what's not, and what, quite frankly, misses the mark. That's why I teamed up with ZDNET's Editor in Chief, Jason Hiner, to share the top products we hope to see on sale this Black Friday -- and why.
We analyzed the lowest prices, best discounts, product age, and new product releases to help us narrow down our picks, and with some sales already underway, we're not sugarcoating anything. We won't be adding any of these products to our carts unless we see some great prices, and for their sake, we hope these brands are channeling the ghost of Christmas deals' past this holiday season. Here's why.
Note: All price data was gathered on Nov. 20 from CamelCamelCamel using the respective product links from Amazon.
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AirPods Pro 2 Jada Jones/ZDNET What we want to see: On sale for under $139. Why: Apple, we're bored. The initial AirPods Pro 2 were released in 2022, and have since been replaced by the newer AirPods Pro 3 -- but they only recently dropped below $160. And if you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2, they're anywhere from two to three years old, depending on their charging connector. Though they once sold for $250, the Pro 2 flexed between $169-$199 at various points over the last year, and with their age and placement in Apple's earbud lineup considered (yes, even the USB-C model), they're due for a really great discount. Walmart cut the buds to $139 during its first holiday deals event (and its still live now), so we'd really like to see other retailers offer even better savings on Nov. 28 -- not just match that. Bring back real Black Friday discounts. We want to see the AirPods Pro 2 for $139 or less for Black Friday, making them a sub-$130 buy that's highly giftable and still a great investment for someone wanting to stay in Apple's ecosystem with their earbuds, and get a few more features than those offered in the base model AirPods. We'd also love to see a more substantial discount on the newer AirPods Pro 3 this Black Friday, though that may be less likely. Also: AirPods Pro 2 vs. AirPods Pro 3 Show more View now at Walmart View now at Best Buy
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