if you’ve been eyeing a pricey MacBook recently, now is the time to hit that buy button. Apple Black Friday deals are already here and several WIRED-approved gadgets are on sale—from iPads and MacBooks to Apple Watches and AirPods. All of these deals are from third-party retailers like Amazon and Best Buy; Apple doesn’t have sales of its own, and the only promotion you’ll find on its website is the ability to get up to a $200 gift card if you buy an eligible product.
WIRED Featured Deals
WIRED’s Black Friday 2024 Coverage
MacBook and Desktop Deals
This is our favorite MacBook for most people (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It has a solid 13.6-inch LCD screen, a 1080p webcam, and an M3 chip that delivers a noticeable boost in performance compared to the older M1 chip. It handles everyday tasks with ease but it can also hold its own with some photo and video editing.
If you want a MacBook more powerful than the M3 in the MacBook Air, this is the next step up. Unlike its predecessor, it has three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 in addition to an HDMI port, SD card slot, headphone jack, and MagSafe charging port. Apple also increased memory on the base model to 16 GB (up from 8 GB). This sale applies to the model with the base M4 chip, which is a decent upgrade over the MacBook Air above. But you can also configure it with an M4 Pro or M4 Max for more power—both are on sale.
The 15-inch MacBook Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is still my daily driver, even though I have an M4-powered Pro at my disposal. I suggest going for the 16 GB of unified memory to get smoother performance, but this M3-powered machine works great for all my tasks, including streaming content, video calls with an 1080p webcam, word processing and web browsing. Its a great option for those who’d like a larger screen without all the bells and whistles that come with a MacBook Pro. —Brenda Stolyar.
For ultimate power, there’s the 16-inch MacBook Pro (7/10, WIRED Review). Along with a Mini-LED screen, 120-Hz refresh rate, 1080p webcam, and six-speaker sound system, it also comes with new USB ports that support Thunderbolt 5 (120 Gbps/sec) for speedier data transfers. You’ll have the choice between an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. We tested the M4 Pro which was only slightly faster than last year’s M3 Max chip. But it’s a great choice if you want a MacBook Pro that can handle anything and everything you throw at it.
Apple recently launched the M4-powered versions of the MacBook Pro, but the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) remains a great option. It has a bright display with mini-LED and a 1080p webcam built in. You’ll also get a 120-Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling. As usual, it packs plenty of ports, including two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI, a MagSafe charging port, an SD card slot, and a high-impedance headphone jack. We recommend it if you don’t want to spend over $2,000 on a MacBook Pro.
The brand-new iMac with M4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t all that different than the M3-powered version, but it does come with a few upgrades. There’s a 12-megapixel webcam with support for Center Stage, a nano-texture display that makes for a better viewing experience, and all peripherals now have USB-C ports (finally). Thanks to the new M4 chip, it also delivers great performance. It’s the top pick in our Best All-in-One Computers guide. On Amazon, if you clip the coupon button, you’ll also save an additional $50, dropping the price to $1,149.
I’ve been using my Studio Display (9/10, WIRED Recommends) alongside the M4-powered MacBook Pro daily. The large 27-inch screen is great for getting work done. It lacks HDR, which means colors look a bit more saturated than the neutral tones you’ll find on Apple’s Pro Display XDR. But the 5K resolution is stunning and sharp. It’s expensive, yes, but it’s also a great monitor that comes complete with a 12-megapixel camera, plus built-in speakers and mics. —Brenda Stolyar
iPad Deals
If you’ve been waiting for Apple’s new iPad Mini (8/10, WIRED Recommends) to go on sale, wait no longer. The changes to the latest model are largely internal. It comes equipped with an A17 Pro chip (the same inside the iPhone 15 Pro), which can handle both graphically demanding games and support for Apple Intelligence (the company’s suite of artificial intelligence features with iOS 18.1). It’s also compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, so you don’t have to get an iPad Pro to enjoy the improved stylus. Its tiny stature also makes it great to travel with, whether you’re using it for reading ebooks or gaming.
The iPad (10th-gen) (7/10, WIRED Review) is our favorite iPad to recommend to most people. It has an A14 Bionic chip (which you’ll also find in the iPhone 12) that never felt sluggish while testing it. It also has a modern design, with slim bezels around a large 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display (IPS LCD), Touch ID integrated into the power button, a USB-C port for charging, and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera that’s located in the center of the iPad.
If you don’t want the basic 10th-gen iPad, this is the next step up (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Between the 11-inch or 13-inch screen. the larger size is brighter—not to mention the extra real estate makes for a great secondary screen to use for work or TV watching. Same as with the M4 iPad Pro, Apple moved the front-facing camera to landscape orientation, which is much less awkward during video calls.The device’s M2 processor delivers smooth performance. Walmart also has the devices on a slight discount, if Amazon’s deals sell out (which it looks like they might).
Apple’s latest iPad Pro tablet (6/10, WIRED Review) has several new features. It packs a bigger and brighter display, an upgraded OLED screen, and the front-facing camera has landscape mode. Under the hood is the latest M4 chip, which delivers snappy performance. It’s also compatible with various new accessories including Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil Pro, and Smart Folio case. However, we still recommend the 2022 M2-powered iPad Pro. So, it’s a great alternative if you want to save even more cash.
AirPods Deals
These are our favorite AirPods (8/10, WIRED Recommends). They come with a bunch of great features including Adaptive Transparency mode (which combines noise cancellation and transparency to adjust audio), support for Find My in case you lose them, Conversation Awareness (which lowers the music and background noise when having a conversation), and an IP54 sweat- and dust-resistance rating. Sound quality, meanwhile, is above average with crisp highs, authoritative bass, and excellent noise cancellation. You’ll also gain access to Apple’s new hearing aid features, designed for people with low to moderate hearing loss.
This past September, Apple finally updated the AirPods Max (8/10, WIRED Recommends) to include USB-C. Aside from the new port, the rest of the features remain the same as on the Lightning version (those are on sale as well). You do, however, have the choice between a few new colors including orange, purple, blue, starlight, and midnight. These over-the-ear headphones come equipped with a massive soundstage, rich bass, and great noise cancellation. It also has great build quality, with a mesh headband and fabric (replaceable) earcups.
Not into AirPods? The Beats Studio Buds+ are our favorite alternative for Apple users. They come with all the essential features including active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and spatial audio. They’re comfortable to wear and easy to use, complete with physical buttons on the outside of each bud. They feature great battery life—36 hours when combined with the charging case. You can also pick from various colors including silver, ivory, black, and transparent.
Apple Watch Deals
The Series 10 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the newest Apple Watch to join the lineup. It has a bigger screen than any other Apple Watch that came before, yet it’s also thinner, lighter, and supports fast charging. The smartwatch runs the latest WatchOS 11 operating system, so you’ll have features like Training Load, which displays how your workouts impact your fitness over time, and Vitals, to check your baseline each morning. It’s important to note, however, that it doesn’t come with a blood oxygen sensor.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our go-to smartwatch recommendation for anyone who mainly participates in outdoor sports. It delivers fast performance thanks to the S9 chip and an ultrawideband chip for enhanced precision finding. It also comes equipped with dual-frequence GPS, a Backtrack functionality for creating virtual breadcrumb trails on the Compass app (via the Action button), and access to offline maps (that you’ll have to download to your iPhone). Oh, and you won’t have to charge it every day.
This is our favorite budget-friendly Apple Watch. It doesn’t have a cutting-edge suite of health tracking features, but it’s still perfectly capable of logging things like steps, workouts, sleep, and heart rate. It also works with Family Setup so it’s a nice option to pick up if you don’t want to drop $500 on your 9-year-old’s first wearable. Small wrist havers can rejoice in the 40-mm case option, though it also goes up to 44 for a bit more cash.
Apple Accessory Deals
Photograph: Apple
The second-gen Apple Pencil features pressure sensitivity, handwriting support, tilt sensitivity, and double tap (which lets you switch quickly between tools by tapping the stylus twice). It has support for wireless pairing and wireless charging too, so you can magnetically connect it to the top edge of the iPad and start charging. It works with the iPad Mini (6th gen), iPad Air (4th gen and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st gen and later), and the 12.9-inch (3rd gen and later). It’s not compatible with the new iPad Air (M2) or iPad Pro (M4) though.
The first-generation Apple Pencil has been around for years and it’s still very good, provided you have a compatible iPad. It sports features like pressure sensitivity (the lines get thicker as you press harder on the display), tilt sensitivity (for shading), and handwriting support within apps and search fields. As for supported iPads, it works with the base model iPad (6th gen and later), iPad Mini (5th gen), iPad Air (3rd gen), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st and 2nd gen), and iPad Pro 10.5-inch. It reaches this price often, but it’s still a good deal. With the current lineup, that means only the 10th-gen iPad is compatible.
Photograph: Amazon
The latest Apple Pencil comes with a “squeeze” capability that triggers the tool palette (though you can also use a double-tap). The pencil also offers a haptic engine that delivers feedback when you squeeze the stylus. The built-in gyroscope sensor also allows you to change the orientation of each tool as you twist it, giving you finer control. It’s only compatible with the iPad Air (M2), iPad Pro (M4), and iPad Mini (A17 Pro).
