Apple Teases Black Friday Deals, Offering up to $200 Apple Store Gift Cards with Some Products

Apple has just announced its own official Black Friday shopping event, which will run from Black Friday on November 29 through Cyber Monday on December 2, offering its own deals on the purchase of Apple gear from its retail and online stores.

Last week Apple announced its annual Holiday Gift Guide for the 2019 season, helping people to pick out the best Apple devices to purchase for friends and family — everything from iPhones, iPads, and Macs to AirPods, HomePods, and Apple Watches. Naturally, the iPhone 11 Pro and the AirPods Pro are right at the top of the list, which are expected to be in huge demand this year.

Now the company’s Black Friday event will offer the opportunity to save a bit of money on the latest Apple gear with a bonus gift card. At this point, Apple hasn’t said exactly what the deals are going to be, but it’s teasing the shopping event, asking users to save the date and announcing that it will be offering an Apple Store Gift Card of “up to $200” on the purchase of certain products.

Apple is also using this opportunity to tout its new Apple Card, pointing out that users still have time to apply and get approved for the Apple Card before the shopping event later this week, offering them an additional 3 percent cash back on their Apple Store purchases, which could add an extra incentive for some people.

However, it’s worth noting the key phrase “up to” in Apple’s offer. Last year, the maximum $200 gift card only came with the purchase of certain new Macs, and the then-current iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 4 devices from the promotion entirely. AirPods were also conspicuously omitted from the savings.

Meanwhile, those buying older iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch models received a $50 or $100 gift card, while customers could get a $25 gift card with the purchase of an Apple TV.

Apple has taken the approach of giving away gift cards with purchases for its Black Friday shopping event for the past few years now. While it obviously encourages customers to buy more Apple products, for those looking to do so — even just to add some accessories to a new Mac purchase — it works out to be a better deal than Apple offered in the past, when it simply discounted its products by considerably smaller margins.

Getting the Best Deals

Still, if Apple follows its past Black Friday shopping events, you’ll almost certainly be able to find better deals on many Apple devices elsewhere. Apple’s also already pretty late to the game; Walmart announced its Black Friday deals a month ago, and most other big retailers like Best Buy and Amazon had posted their deals earlier this month.

While you still probably won’t find any amazing deals on Apple’s flagship devices like the iPhone 11 and AirPods Pro — after all, Apple doesn’t need to discount devices that are already flying off the shelves — there are a lot of great savings to be had on some of Apple’s less wildly popular devices like the new 10.2-inch iPad, various 2019 MacBook Air models, and of course the HomePod. You can also rack up some pretty significant savings if you’re willing to go for last year’s models; for example there are some great deals on the now-discontinued Apple Watch Series 4 which you won’t find in an Apple Store at all anymore.

While Black Friday is a big event in the U.S. (and has also trickled north into Canada in the past few years), those who live in areas where the shopping event isn’t as widely celebrated by retailers may find Apple’s offer more appealing, since the company is also offering it in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and several other countries around the world, with gift card values appropriate for local currencies.

Planning to venture out on Black Friday? Check out our 10 tips for getting the best deals on Apple gear this holiday shopping weekend.