Early Black Friday tech deals are already pushing prices to their seasonal lows with headline discounts on Apple, Samsung, HP, and Bose and more top brands. Retailers are heavily touting price-match guarantees and extended returns, so if you need a deal, it’s probably happening now rather than on the big day. Historically, some of the steepest markdowns are for electronics during this period, and early traffic indicates that this year is no different.
Adobe Analytics has regularly found that electronics see the biggest average discounts of the season; look for 20–30% off, typically. The National Retail Federation reported a record holiday crowd shopping last year — a sign that retailers are poised to compete hard on price once more. The abbreviated version: if you’ve been waiting on headphones, TVs, laptops, or tablets, the time to buy is now.
Top Early Doorbusters on Apple, Samsung, HP, Bose
Apple doesn’t often offer direct discounts, so the best early price drops tend to come from big-name retailers on AirPods, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Under these discounts, I’d anticipate seeing AirPods slump near historical sale floors, iPad touch down in that sweet-spot sub-$300 zone for entry models, and Apple Watch SE get some compelling cuts relative to GPS-only rivals. Gift-card packages and open-box “excellent” condition models from authorized sellers could stretch your savings even further with no loss of warranty.
Samsung’s ecosystem is a perennial doorbuster magnet. Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Tab A-series slates regularly see early heavy discounts, while QLED, Neo QLED, and OLED TVs receive aggressive pricing to attract cord-cutters and gamers. If you’re a current-gen gamer, you should focus on TV support for HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz; both features have become fairly ubiquitous at much lower prices than the very top screens.
HP’s site and first-party store tend to wheel out deep doorbusters on laptops and desktops. Be on the lookout for modern “AI PC” configurations with Intel Core Ultra–class chips, at least 16GB of RAM, and 512GB or 1TB SSDs — those are the specs that have become the new longevity baseline. Student, teacher, or newsletter sign-ups frequently lead to bonus stackable savings at checkout.
Laptops and Desktops: What’s a Real Deal
For productivity laptops, aim for 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, Wi‑Fi 6E or 7, and a bright (300- to 400-nit) display. If you can find a system with those specs below retail prices by around 25–35%, you are in “buy” territory. Color-accurate screens (sRGB or DCI-P3 coverage is listed by manufacturers) and fast storage are key considerations for creators; if you edit video, investing in more RAM and SSD capacity will yield better returns than chasing a little extra processor speed.
For gaming, aim for an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060–class GPU in laptops for smooth 1080p on high, and move up a tier if you’re aspiring to play at 1440p. The discounts on similar desktop chips are strong, but so too is the current market for pre-built systems with them. Do your math and factor in Windows, licenses, support, and warranty — a good case can be made for buying even when parts are cheap.
TVs and Monitors: Big Screens at Their Annual Lows
Televisions tend to hit their best prices of the year within this Black Friday window, and early tags are right around the corner. When it comes to movies and prestige TV, OLED still sets the picture-quality pace with perfect black levels and excellent contrast; QD-OLED panels bring richer color volume. If you view in well-lit rooms and have gigantic-screen aspirations on a not-so-gigantic budget, the Mini-LED lineup delivers superb brightness and local dimming at less-expensive prices. And for gamers, the model you buy should have mandatory features like 120Hz and HDMI 2.1 (both are now common even on midrange models) along with low input lag.
On the monitor front, we’re looking at huge discounts on 27-inch 1440p high-refresh displays and premium OLEDs in the 27–32-inch range with 240Hz refresh rates. Ultrawide 49-inch “dual QHD” gaming screens are also getting in on strong promos. If color work matters to you, consider factory calibration, Delta E numbers, and wide-gamut certifications; if esports matter, focus on refresh rate and response time over resolution.
Audio Upgrades From Bose and Sony at Deep Cuts
Over-ear ANC flagships from Bose and Sony are still among the top early buys, with street prices tumbling $100 or more below list at times like these. Sony’s WH-1000XM series takes the all-around sound/noise-canceling crown (again), while Bose’s QuietComfort remains supreme with leading ANC and a lighter clamp force to suit many would-be commuters. For earbuds, look for multipoint Bluetooth, LE Audio/LC3 support, and transparency modes that don’t sound tinny.
Upgrading your home theater is also tempting. Dolby Atmos soundbars from Bose, JBL, Sony, and Vizio get big discounts, and the best values pair true up-firing height channels with a wireless sub and eARC for lossless TV passthrough. If you’re apartment-bound, look for “night modes” and adjustable sub levels to make your bass neighbor-friendly without neutering dialogue clarity.
Tablets, Wearables, and Smart Home: Strong Value Buys
Entry-level iPad models and Samsung’s Tab A-series routinely go on sale below their usual stickers, so they’re easy wins for streaming, reading, and casual gaming. At a minimum you’ll want 64–128GB of storage, and with Android tablets, microSD expansion can help make up for a small internal drive. If you sketch or jot things down, factor in the cost of a stylus — often it makes sense to buy accessories with the tablet in a bundle.
Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, and Garmin wearables are already seeing significant price cuts. For a fitspo-first shopper, seek built-in GPS with third-party-tested heart-rate accuracy and multiple days of workout battery life. If you’re closely tied to an iPhone or a Galaxy, match its brand for the most health features and messaging integration.
Robot vacuums are a staple early-Black-Friday play: high-end 2-in-1 vacuum/mop models with a self-empty dock and lidar navigation tend to tumble 30–40% off list. If carpets are your majority floor surface, focus more on suction specs and brush design; if you have pets, hair management and roller maintenance features can be more important than sheer power. Whole-home Wi‑Fi is also discounted — Wi‑Fi 6 mesh kits do a great job of blanketing most homes, while Wi‑Fi 7 systems garner the biggest discounts for future-proofed multi-gig setups.
How to Shop Smart: Price History, Returns, and Stock
Check the price history of items to make sure that these are good deals and compare them against sale floors from last season. Don’t jump on crazy-high MSRPs; the real measure is the lowest street price these days. Many large retailers now boast a policy that promises to adjust the price if an item drops again during a predetermined window, so hold on to receipts and bookmark your cart in time for new waves of promos.
Preventing stockouts means jumping on limited-quantity doorbusters and popular sizes early in the day, and using in-store pickup to secure inventory. Try factory-certified refurbished units direct from the brand for potential savings with a warranty. Finally, take advantage of post-holiday extended returns — shop boldly, test heartily, and return that which isn’t quite right. With the competition stiff and the customers flowing in, so to speak, the early Black Friday deals are very much available now.
