The annual Black Friday celebrations are nearly upon us. The once a year happening occurs on November 27th this year, and invariably sees retailers from all over the United States, both physical outlets and online, massively slash their prices on literally thousands of items. Those price-cuts exist purely to lure consumers into their store or onto their website, and can range from household goods all the way through to high-end electrical equipment. Apple’s iPad has always managed to raise consumer interest even further during the holiday period, with stores offering some pretty neat deals on the tablet, especially around Black Friday.
As we approach Black Friday, we are going to take a look at the best iPad deals around that have already been announced.
Walmart
If you happen to be looking to purchase an iPad at a disco tuned rate then these various pre-Black Friday deals will likely be of high interest. To kick things off, extremely popular retailer Walmart is serving up a deal on the Wi-Fi only iPad mini 2 model. Walmart will be offering a $68 discount on that particular model, letting the price drop to $199.
In-store Black Friday deals will be launched at 6:00PM on Thanksgiving Day while online deals will go live at 12:01AM Pacific Time on Thanksgiving morning.
Best Buy
Best Buy will be serving up some great deals in-store during its Black Friday promotions. Consumers will be able to save up to $125 on Apple’s iPad Air 2. In terms of the breakdown, those who purchase a 16GB iPad 2 will be granted a $100 discount with the tablet costing just $399. Opt for a larger 64GB variant and get the same $100 discount while paying $499. Go all out and purchase the largest 128GB iPad 2 that’s on offer to get the full maximum $125 saving with the tablet costing you just $574.
Best Buy will also be catering for those who prefer Apple’s iPad mini with a deal on the 64GB and 128GB iPad mini 4 that sees a discount of $100 being applied. That means those two versions will be available at $399 and $499 respectively.
Stores in the U.S. will open at 5:00PM on November 26, and close down at 1:00AM. They will re-open on November 27 at 8:00AM and will remain open till 10:00PM, however timings may vary across the U.S. depending on location. It is important to note that deals for the iPad Air 2 are considered to be ‘doorbusters’, meaning that these will be available in a limited quantity, so you will have to get in early to have a chance for grabbing the device.
Update: Best Buy’s early access iPad deals are live. You will need to enter special promotion code to get discounts on 64GB and 128GB models. For 64GB models, enter IPADAIR2DEAL as promotion code during checkout to get $100 off, and IPADSAVE125DEAL for getting $125 off 128GB models. These codes are valid for online purchasing only and are valid till 11/24/15 at 11:59 p.m. CT. You will need to be My Best Buy member in order to avail this offer. You can create My Best Buy member account for free.
Sam’s Club
All iPad Air 2 models will benefit from discounts. All versions of the hardware will receive a $150 discount, taking the entry-level model of the tablet down to $349 from $499.
Online deals will be available starting 12:00AM CST, November 26, with in-store deals beginning at 7:00AM local time on November 27.
Staples
Yet more discounts on the iPad Air 2. Staples will be offering a $150 discount on the 64GB WiFi only iPad Air 2, taking it to $449 from the original $599 price. The entry-level 16GB WiFi only model will drop by $125 taking the price down to $374 from $499. This discount will be applied to all color variants.
Staples will also be attempting to shift the 16GB WiFi only iPad mini 4 for $299 – a good $100 discount. This discount will only be applied to the Space Gray and Gold versions. For those who prefer the larger iPad, there’s an $80 discount to be had on the 16GB WiFi only iPad Air, coming in at $319, while the 32GB model will be discounted at $90, letting you grab it for $359.
Online deals will be launched on November 26, with in-store deals going live at 6:00AM local time on Novermber 27.
Target
Rather than simply applying a discount to the top-end retail price of the iPad, Target is going down a different route. Anyone purchasing an iPad Air 2 or an iPad mini 4 (any model), during Target’s Black Friday promotions, will also receive a $150 and $100 Target gift card respectively, to be redeemed at the retailer. An $80 gift card will be offered to those purchasing a second-generation iPad mini, or a $100 gift card with the purchase of an iPad Air.
Deals at Target will go live starting 6:00PM local time on November 26.
eBay
eBay will be offering the 64GB iPad mini 4 for $459, giving you a discount of $40 on the original $499 price tag and will be available for the grabs on Thursday. On Friday, you will have the option to grab the 16GB WiFi iPad Air 2 for $359 only with a discount of $140.
These eBay deals will be starting on at 9:00PM Pacific Time on November 26, and the retail giant will be adding new deals every hour, so keep your eyes peeled.
It’s highly likely that a lot of these retailers will amend, alter and generally add to the available deals as part of the run up to the actual Black Friday shopping day. We’ll continuously keep this list updated so make sure you keep your eyes peeled and check back often so you don’t miss a thing.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the Web.
