25 Best Early Black Friday Deals (2023): iPads and Scooters

You might be thinking, “How can there already be Black Friday deals?! November just started!” Well, dear reader, capitalism can’t be slowed by mere dates on the calendar. Plus, if you can get ahead of the Black Friday madness and make a dent in your holiday shopping, why not? I’m certainly doing my best to get my Christmas shopping over as soon as possible, whether it’s Cyber Monday or not. To help you do the same, we’ve tracked down great sales on our favorite products right now, from iPads and earbuds to stand mixers and bed sheets. Let the season of shopping gifting commence.

We test products year-round and handpicked these deals. Products that are sold out or no longer discounted as of publishing will be crossed out. We’ll update this guide through November.

Updated November 3, 2023: We’ve added new deals, including the Google Pixel 7A, Buffy Breeze Sheet Set, Herman Miller Zeph Office Chair, and more.

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Apple Deals

Read our Best iPads guide and Which Macbook Should You Buy? guide for more advice.

iPad Air

Photograph: Apple

We love the sixth-gen iPad Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends) for an upgrade splurge. It’s still a little pricier than our favorite model, but it’s a good tablet that packs a better processor, a higher-resolution selfie camera, and support for Center Stage for video calls. It also has a larger screen while being lighter to carry around.

If portability is your priority, look no further than the iPad Mini (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It has a design similar to the iPad Pro, but with an 8.3-inch screen. While it doesn’t have as powerful a processor as the iPad Air, it can still handle pretty much any app or game. This isn’t an unusual price for it to drop to, but it’s the price we recommend trying to snag it for. Just know that Apple is expected to debut a new iPad Mini next year.

Apple’s iPad (7/10, WIRED Review) isn’t our top pick when you’re shopping for an iPad—we still recommend the ninth-gen model over the latest (also on sale)—but it does have a few notable changes from the previous model. The design has been modernized, there’s no more Home button, and the bezels around the screen are slim. The rear camera has been upgraded, while the selfie camera has been moved to the center of the iPad for video calls, and it’s powered by a more powerful chip. It’s a fine choice if you already have a first-generation Apple Pencil, since this model doesn’t have support for the second-gen version.

Moft Snap Phone Tripod Stand

Photograph: Moft

Moft makes some of our favorite iPhone accessories, but there are also plenty of items for Android users, along with desk and laptop accessories. Its Black Friday sale has already started with a blanket 30 percent off through November 27, but you can nab additional discounts if you use a code. Use BF10 to get $10 off orders over $50, BF20 for $20 off orders over $100, BF37 for $37 off orders over $150, and BF60 for $60 off orders over $200.

There’s not much of a difference between last year’s Series 8 and the new Series 9, so why not save some cash and go with the older model? That includes Crash Detection to alert emergency responders if you’re in an accident and unresponsive and the usual health and fitness tracking features. Read our Best Apple Watch guide for more details.

Smartphone Deals

Read our Best Android Phones guide for more smartphones worth shopping for.

Photograph: Google

The Google Pixel 7A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a lot of pros. It’s got great performance, an excellent camera, and an OLED display. The build quality is fantastic too, and it comes in fun colors. It’s not perfect—the battery life is middling—but this is still our favorite smartphone for most people. Read our Best Pixel Phone guide for more details.

The coolest part of this phone is the back. Sure, the front has a 120-Hz AMOLED screen and it’s powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, but the back is quite literally where the Nothing Phone (2) (7/10, WIRED Recommends) shines. The LED “Glyph” lights can flash when you get notifications or calls, and you can set it up to alert you about app notifications you choose, too. Those lights can also be used as countdown timers, or even show the status of your Uber driver. It only works for T-Mobile and AT&T users.

Headphone Deals

Read our Best Wireless Earbuds and Best Wireless Headphones guides for more.

Google Pixel Buds Pro

Photograph: Google

The Pixel Buds Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are an Android user’s AirPods Pro. They’re cute and colorful, have great noise canceling, are comfortable to wear, and have seven hours of playtime (more than Apple’s equivalent earbuds). This is also the best price drop we’ve seen in recent months.

Whether you’re an Apple or Android user, our favorite earbuds overall are the Beats Fit Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends). They’re made by Apple and will work with an iPhone as seamlessly as AirPods can, but these earbuds still function great for Android users. They have active noise canceling, boast a decent mic, and come in multiple colors.

The latest AirPods Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) aren’t wildly different from past models; they come with USB-C now in the charging case and have a revamped audio architecture, but otherwise they still feature everything we loved about the previous generation. The AirPods Pro have been frequently on sale for a similar price in the past few months, but it’s still a great discount for iPhone users looking to grab their own AirPods Pro. (They also work on Android but with limited features.)

TV Deals

Check out our Best TVs guide and Best Roku Devices guide for more options.

Photograph: LG

This is our favorite TV for gamers. The LG C3 delivers fantastic image quality with vivid pictures that are loaded with detail, particularly with tone and texture, but never overblown. For gaming, the response times are nice and fast (9.2 milliseconds), and it supports every current-gen console feature across all four of its HDMI sockets. It also has everything else you’d want in a TV: a webOS smart TV interface, Quick Media Switching, pairing the built-in speakers with compatible LG soundbars, and an elegant center-pedestal design.

We’ve been fans of TVs with Roku’s interface for a while, and Roku’s in-house line makes our favorite entry-level TV. For the price, WIRED editor Parker Hall was impressed with the picture and color on the screen. It doesn’t have the best refresh rate for gaming, but otherwise, it’s hard to beat at this price (especially on sale).

Smart Home Deals

Read our Best Smart Speakers and Best Smart Display guides for other recommendations.

Google Nest Hub Max

Photograph: Google

The Google Nest Hub Max is our favorite smart display for a lot of reasons—the 10-inch touchscreen display, the solid speakers, and the unobtrusive display, to name a few. It also doubles beautifully as a digital photo frame if you’re a Google Photos user. This one has a camera, so you can use it with video-calling apps.

Nanoleaf’s beautiful wall panels are eye-catching but usually pricey. While this isn’t a spectacular discount, it’s still a good sale to jump on if you’ve got the wall space for these hexagonal wall panels. Use that $40 to shop around the rest of Nanoleaf’s range of smart lights.

This is a big discount on the Amazon Kids Echo Dot, which we love as an Alexa-powered speaker for (you guessed it) kids. Both the dragon and owl designs are a little over half off, making it a much safer purchase to put in your destructive little ones’ playroom.

Home and Kitchen Deals

Read our Best Robot Vacuums and Best Sheets guides for more picks.

JCPenny Wrinkle Guard Sateen Sheets

Photograph: JCPenney

(This price is for the queen version.) These sateen sheets are soft and cool to the touch, drape beautifully, and won’t keep you too warm while you sleep. It’s hard to tell the difference between these and more expensive sateen sheets, making them a great value—and that’s before the current sale.

Eucalyptus sheets? You might question why you’d want to dive into alternative materials for your bedsheets. Eucalyptus sheets usually take less water and less harsh materials to make, compared to cotton or bamboo sheets. Buffy’s Breeze Set is one of our favorite sets of sheets. It’s lightweight and airy, but still keeps you warm without making you sweaty.

We recommend this robot vacuum-mop as the best for the price, and it’s at an even better price right now. It has no mapping function, but that just means it doesn’t have a camera that can take pictures of your butt and send them to the company. The hardware is almost fool-proof, but it does require boundary tape to prevent it from bringing the wet mop onto the carpet.

Photograph: Target

Dreaming of your very own KitchenAid? The 5.5-quart bowl is made for making large batches of cookies, kneading a few pounds of bread, or even mashing potatoes (Thanksgiving is around the corner, after all).

According to WIRED editor Parker Hall, Solo Stove’s Yukon firepit (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is nearly indestructible with its stainless steel design yet it’s still lightweight and gets nice and hot without any lighter fluid or kindling required (his tip: get harder wood, like oak, so it’ll last longer within the firepit). Both this model and the smaller Bonfire are on sale right now, so you can choose the best size for your yard. (We tested the original Yukon model; the new one comes with a removable ash pan for easier cleaning.)

Office Deals

Check out our Best Office Chairs guide and our Work-From-Home Gear guide for more picks.

Photograph: Herman Miller

The Zeph looks like it’s a choice for aesthetics rather than comfort. Especially since it’s made of plastic, and the only adjustment you can make is moving it up or down. But WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu found it quite comfortable. After a month of sitting in it, he says, it was still supportive for his 6’4″ frame, and it can even double as a fine-enough recliner. He recommends adding on the seat pad and arms, which will run the sale price up to $516 ($129 off, so still a good deal).

Note: You’ll need to choose a graphite frame and medley upholstery to see the lowest price. If you’re looking for luxury in your office chair, this is the one to buy. WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu says it can take a few weeks to get used to it, but it’s worthwhile. The upright positioning supports your back, and the initially rigid seat will become more comfortable over time. It’s one of the most adjustable chairs around, allowing you to pull out the seat, change the height and angle of the armrests, and change the Backfit adjustment to fit your spine perfectly. It’s pretty, too.

It’s heavy, but it’s built to last. The Ergotron LX Monitor Arm is worth the weight not just for how long it lasts, but its great range of movement. WIRED contributor Simon Hill says it’s easy to adjust his monitor—the 34-inch Alienware display—into a better position. It stays nice and stable while latched onto a standing desk, and it doesn’t wobble where others do. Plus, it has built-in cable management and can handle displays up to 34 inches (like Simon’s!) and up to 25 pounds.

Electric Scooter Deals

Apollo Phantom V3

Photograph: Apollo

Enter code WIRED10 at checkout to see the discount. The Phantom V3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is a beast of an electric scooter at 77 pounds, but it has excellent range. WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu traversed on it from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to Fort Lee, New Jersey—a 22-mile trip—and had 43 percent left in the tank. Now that’s a commuter scooter.

Enter code WIRED10 at checkout to see the discount. WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu tested the 2022 model of the Air (6/10, WIRED Review) and wasn’t crazy about it, but the 2023 model gets notable tweaks, like a revamped handlebar, self-healing tires, and a better folding mechanism. The 500-watt motor can go up to 21 miles per hour, and most people should expect roughly 15 miles of range or less at those speeds (depending on other factors as well).


Retailer Sales Pages

Want to shop Black Friday sales yourself? Here are the relevant pages.

Source

Author: showrunner