Your neighbor's Halloween pumpkins may still be on display, but early Apple Black Friday sales are here to tempt you to click "add to cart." This is great news for anyone looking to upgrade an aging MacBook or get some holiday shopping out of the way, but there's also a problem: The abundance of discounts make it harder than ever to tell the difference between a deal and a dud.
Having covered tech Black Friday deals for more than a decade, I've got the experience to sift through all the offers for you. This way, you can focus on making sure your holiday travel plans are complete, instead of worrying you bought the wrong iPad or clicked on a sale that wasn't worth your time. Here are the first nine must-click Apple deals of this Black Friday season.
Apple AirTags, 4-Pack
Amazon
I misplace bags and keys all the time, and so I'm happy that I've seen the light on Apple AirTags. This set of four is currently 19% off, making it easier to keep track of all your valuables. AirTags also help highlight when you've actually lost something, as you'll get notifications when you leave belongings behind.
Read our review
$99 $80 at Amazon
$99 $80 at Walmart
$99 $90 at Best Buy
Editor Favorite
Apple AirPods Pro 2 With USB-C
Amazon
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the new AirPods Pro 3 to go on sale when Apple's still-excellent AirPods Pro 2 are 32% off. These wireless earbuds offer fantastic active noise cancellation and also pack Apple's new Live Translation tools. And all that can be yours for $79 less than sticker price, with a deal that matches the one we saw on October Prime Day.
Read our review
$249 $170 at Amazon
$239 $199 at Walmart
$250 $210 at Best Buy
Apple iPad (11th Gen)
Apple
Apple's most affordable iPad is the best tablet we tested and the one I recommend most people buy, thanks in part to how this new model features twice as much storage as before. This way, you're much less likely to get those annoying messages that you need to buy more iCloud space. This early Black Friday deal on the best iPad for most is a mere $20 shy of the best price we've seen.
Read our review
$349 From $299 at Amazon
Beats Solo 4 On-Ear Headphones
Beats
We've also found a whopping 35%-off early Black Friday deal on Apple's on-ear headphones from its Beats brand. This deal is a mere $32 more than the historical low, and it's a great price considering these headphones offered strong sound and tremendous battery life in our testing.
Read our review
$200 $130 at Amazon
Best Tested
Apple 13-Inch MacBook Air M4
Amazon
The best laptop is also back down to its best price ever. Apple's MacBook Air M4 continues to be my "just get it," pick for anyone who doesn't rely on Windows. This is a super-snappy laptop that's also quite thin and light. Now you can save $200 on the 512GB configuration, in case you (like me) always run out of storage space all the files you accrue.
Read our review
$999 From $799 at Amazon
Editor Favorite
Apple 15-Inch MacBook Air M4
Amazon
When it came time to recommend a new laptop to my own mother, I told her this 15-inch version of the Air M4 was the best MacBook for her needs. It's $200 off just like the 13-inch model, and it's perfect for those who multitask or often increase the size of the text on their laptops.
Read our review
$1,199 From $999 at Amazon
Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro M4
Amazon
Yes, it's not the brand-new MacBook Pro M5, but I still think many should opt for last year's model instead. That's because there's not much difference between these two versions other than a mere performance boost. So, if you want a MacBook Pro for its superior display and ports, you should save $251 with this deal.
Read our review
$1,599 From $1,348 at Amazon
Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
To help them stay on track
Walmart
Curious about the Apple Watch life? This early Black Friday deal on the second-generation Apple Watch SE means now is a great time to jump in. This fitness tracker offers heart rate notifications, fall and crash detections, and it's even water-resistant for swimmers. Right now, you can get $60 off the sticker price.
Read our review
$249 $189 at Amazon
Apple Watch Series 10
Apple
Apple's sleep apnea detection is one of the best recent features the company's come out with, and it's available in the Series 10, which is currently $70 off in this early Black Friday deal. This model is also simply better than those that came before it because it offers a bigger screen and slimmer body.
Read our review
$429 From $359 at Amazon
Why these Black Friday deals are worth shopping
Black Friday may still be the one day after Thanksgiving, but we've noticed its deals creeping up earlier and earlier in the calendar. Since there are a lot of fake deals out there set by vendors hoping you don't know the historical prices of each product, people have become more concerned than ever about getting tricked when they are just trying to save on a post-Halloween treat. This is why the CNN Underscored team and I sift through page after page of digital products, looking for the right sales. The current fruits of my labor are these nine deals you should consider adding to your online shopping cart.
My team has used a mix of our own historical data and price-tracking tools to shine our biggest spotlight on the deals that actually matter, so you can focus on picking the products that are right for you and your loved ones, using our own product reviews to verify these gadgets are worth your cash.
Why trust CNN Underscored
CNN Underscored thoroughly tests the products we review and recommend, and explain how we do that work to give you full transparency so you can be confident in your purchase. We're made up of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted.
Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has been writing product reviews for over a decade, and a lot of those years was spent tracking Apple rumors and deals. He's also spent a ton of time actually reviewing Apple's tech, including his recent iPhone Air review where he discovered a glitch that Apple has since fixed.