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Bargain hunters need not wait to cash in on major deals. Black Friday (Nov. 29) is on the horizon and dozens of retailers have seriously ramped up the savings ahead of the big event. Black Friday sales are already in full swing at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and other major competitors right now, and you’ll find some of the year’s absolute best prices on everything from the latest Apple devices to cozy bedding for the winter months.
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But with so many deals out there, finding the true bargains takes a bit of legwork. That’s why Adam Oram and other members of CNET’s dedicated deals teams have scoured the web for some of the absolute best deals you can shop right now. We’ve rounded up some of the best current offers below, and we’ll continue to update this page throughout the holiday shopping season, so be sure to check back often for the latest batch of bargains.
Best early Black Friday tech deals
This ninth-gen Apple iPad from 2021 is marked down by nearly $100 at both Amazon and Best Buy. It has a 10.2-inch screen with an A13 Bionic chip running the show, 64GB of storage, Wi-Fi (not cellular) as well as a 12-megapixel front camera and 8-megapixel back camera. CNET’s Scott Stein reassessed the 2021 iPad last year and gave it an Editors’ Choice as an affordable, basic tablet that’s perfect for kids. The current 10th-gen iPad starts at $349 and is only a year newer.
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If you’re looking to snag a massive TV on sale during Black Friday, this 85-inch Hisense is a great option at over $400 off the usual price. It features a QLED display with vibrant colors, and it automatically upscales your content to 4K quality. It also boasts HDR10 and HLG support, and it has a dedicated gaming mode with low latency.
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Thanks to advanced features like personalized spatial audio and lossless audio support, the noise-canceling Beats Studio Pro earned a spot on our list of the overall best headphones of 2024. They also boast up to 40 hours of listening time per charge, six built-in microphones and hands-free Siri control.
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Turn any display into a smart TV with the fastest streaming device of 2024. It features HDR10 Plus, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support for an immersive watch experience, and right now, you can grab it on sale at an all-time low price.
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Best early Black Friday home and kitchen deals
We named the Tineco Pure One S11 the overall best cordless vacuum of 2024. It boasts 130W of suction power, is equipped with a four-stage HEPA filter and weighs in at just over 6 pounds, so it’s easy to maneuver.
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An air fryer is one of the most versatile appliances you can add to your kitchen. This Ninja model boasts a 6.5-quart capacity, six preset cooking functions and can reach temperatures of up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus, the crisper plate and basket are dishwasher-safe for easy clean-up.
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Nectar is known for being one of the best brands in the mattress industry, and right now you can pick up this 12-inch, queen-size mattress for $250 off. It’s made of gel memory foam with medium firmness for support, and it has a breathable top layer to help you stay cool at night.
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A limited-time 40% deal has been applied to this Oral-B iO Series 3 electric toothbrush. It has three cleaning modes: Daily Clean, Sensitive and Whitening. It also has a sensor that signals when pressure is too strong, so your gums will be protected.
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Best early Black Friday laptop, PC and gaming deals
The latest model in Apple’s lightweight lineup, CNET named the M3 MacBook Air the overall best laptop of 2024. This model features a stunning 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, an 18-hour battery life, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It’s also designed to work with Apple Intelligence. You’ll find all colors and configurations on sale for $200 off at Best Buy, which drops the starting price down to $799.
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This UltraWide LG monitor is a great way to upgrade your home office. It features a 34-inch full HD IPS display, and it boasts a 100Hz refresh rate with a 5-millisecond response time. It’s also compatible with AMD FreeSync and has two HDMI ports.
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The HyperX Alloy Origins is one of our favorite gaming keyboards on the market right now. It’s a wired keyboard with mechanical red linear switches and features customizable RGB lighting. It’s also easy to take on the go with a lightweight aluminum body and a compact 65% form factor.
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Best early Black Friday fitness deals
This budget-friendly Apple Watch is also one of our favorite fitness trackers of 2024. It has 12 preset workout modes that make it easy to track your distance, pace and calories burned, and it allows you to monitor helpful health metrics like your heart rate, respiratory rate and sleep patterns. You’ll find most colors and configurations on sale for $189 right now at Amazon.
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Recovery is a critical part of any workout routine, and a massage gun can help expedite the process. This Ekrin Athletics Kestrel is one of our favorite massage guns of 2024 and features six speed settings, a 13mm amplitude, an eight-hour battery life and six attachments to target specific areas. Just be sure to activate the on-page coupon to get the discount.
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Adjustable dumbbells are a must-have if you’ve got limited space for a home gym. These Bowflex SelectTech 552 dumbbells are our overall favorites of 2024, boasting a weight range of 5 to 52.5 pounds, which means they can replace 15 regular pairs of weights.
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When is Black Friday?
Black Friday will take place on Nov. 29 this year. It always lands the day after Thanksgiving in the US, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Expect hundreds of price cuts and sizable sales from the biggest online retailers.
Which stores have Black Friday sales?
Almost all major retailers offer tons of deals and discounts for Black Friday. Think the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart, as well as more specialized retailers such as B&H Photo, GameStop and Dell. Major retailers with brick-and-mortar locations — such as Target and Walmart — will be offering online-only savings, whereas Best Buy’s Cyber Monday deals are both in-store and online. Keep in mind physical locations can run out of stock, too.
When do Black Friday sales end?
Black Friday sales tend to last a few days after the major sales event itself, which is Nov. 29. this year. With this in mind, it’s fair to assume offers will run throughout the weekend into early December. It will then be taken over by Cyber Monday on Dec. 2. Just note that the best deals are expected on the main Black Friday date.
Are Black Friday deals only available online?
Generally speaking, yes. The number of deals launching exclusively in stores has been dwindling in recent years, and this was certainly accelerated during COVID-19, when crowds were discouraged and much of the shopping moved online. We’ve seen retailers like Walmart and Target previously offering online-only deals, whereas others like Best Buy extend their Black Friday savings to in-store locations, as well.
When is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is scheduled to take place on Dec. 2 this year. The major sale event always takes place the first Monday after Thanksgiving is observed in the US, which is on the fourth Thursday of November each year. Between Black Friday — which is the day after Thanksgiving — and Cyber Monday, we see an uptick in sales, though in recent years the shopping event has become a monthlong bonanza.
Why are they called Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
The term “black” has historically been used to denote distressing or calamitous events. The earliest known use of Black Friday for the Friday after Thanksgiving was to refer to the practice of workers calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving in the early 1950s. Around that same time, US police adopted the term to describe the traffic conditions during the first major holiday shopping date.
After attempts to move to the term “Big Friday” failed, merchants attempted to ameliorate the term Black Friday in subsequent years, suggesting that its origin was not due to the terrible traffic the shopping spree created, but because the profit it generated put stores “back in the black” in financial terms.
Then, in 2005, the National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday” because it had noticed a spike in online traffic the Monday following Thanksgiving. At the time, it was believed it was because people were making online purchases while they were at work following the holiday so their kids couldn’t see any gift purchases and because work computers typically had faster internet connections. There was some chatter about calling the date Black Monday or Blue Monday — because hyperlinks are blue — but eventually, everyone settled on the more futuristic-sounding Cyber Monday. In 2014, Cyber Monday became the biggest online shopping day in the country.
Be sure to check out all of the great deals each day at CNET.com/deals and sign up for our CNET Cheapskate newsletter for a daily digest of deals delivered to your inbox. You can also sign up for CNET Deals text alerts for curated deals during the event and install our CNET Shopping browser extension to help ensure that purchases you make all year round will be at the lowest price available.
