Apple has announced its official Black Friday shopping event, which runs from Black Friday (Friday 29th) through Cyber Monday (December 2nd).
Following the release of Apple’s official guide, Apple is teasing its Apple Store deals today with a homepage banner, inviting customers to ‘save the date’. The company will offer up to $200 gift cards with the purchase of eligible Apple products like iPhones, iPads and Macs. As is usual, third-party sellers like Amazon will almost certainly beat Apple on deal prices.
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The exact details of the offer are yet to be announced. Apple says that gift card values vary based on products purchased, so be wary of the “up to” phrasing. It’s likely that some of Apple’s newest products will be ineligible for any gift card at all.
Gift card giveaways are Apple’s usual approach to holiday shopping deals. Rather than discount the price of its premium devices, it gives away a gift card with the purchase. With a $200 maximum value, users could get Apple AirPods ‘for free’ this Friday through Monday.
The Apple Shopping Event is taking place in many regions around the world, with up to £160 gift cards in the UK, 200 euros in Europe and CAD$280 in Canada.
Of course, the Apple Store is not known for offering the most competitive Black Friday deals. The MacBook Air is already sold at $200 discount from list price and he latest 16-inch MacBook Pro is already discounted by a hundred dollars at Amazon before any real Black Friday promotions kick in.
We’ll have to wait and see which products qualify for the full $200 gift card and which don’t. In most cases, you are likely to find better value for money outside of the Apple Store. For instance, sites like Amazon and Staples are selling the 10.2-inch iPad for $249 — an $80 reduction over the normal price where Apple is likely to only give a $30-$50 gift card.
Keep it locked to 9to5Toys who will be tracking all the best Black Friday Apple deals.
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