Black Friday Apple Deals 2015

First and foremost, Apple Black Friday deals are biggest at retailers like Best Buy, Staples, Walmart and Target, so don’t shop the Apple store on Black Friday. While the Apple store does have some Black Friday deals, they’re generally small potatoes (10% to 13% less) than the deals offered by resellers.

Check out our full list of Black Friday Apple deals below. We’ve included deals by store as well as store hours and timeline info. We’ve also got a list of Black Friday caveats to keep your wallet safe this shopping season.

In this article, don’t miss:

• Pre Black Friday Apple Deals – Deals that start now.
• Black Friday Apple Deals – Thanksgiving night through Black Friday
• Black Friday Trap Warnings – Don’t get suckered. Follow our tips.

PRE Black Friday Apple Deals

For the Apple deals below, there’s no need to wait until Black Friday hits. These deals started on 11/15/2015 and they’ll run until 11/21 or, in some cases, straight through Christmas.

The coolest deals below are $150 off an Apple MacBook or iMac for students, a $200 Best Buy gift card with an iPhone trade in, and 20% off all Belkin WeMo accessories. Tech site GottaBeMobile calls WeMo the easiest home automation tool on the planet. Why not control your home’s lights and security from your Apple device? With 20% at Best Buy, now’s the time.

Also see: Don’t Buy a Laptop on Black Friday

In the table above, “selected models” of MacBook and iMac available for $100 off at Best Buy ($150 for students) are as follows:

• MacBook 1.1GHz, 12 inch, 2015 model, 8GB/256GB for $1,199.99
• MacBook 1.2GHz, 12 inch, 2015 model, 8GB/512GB for $1,499.99
• iMac 1.6GHz, 21.5 inch, 2015 model, 8GB/1TB for $1,199.99
• iMac 3.3GHz, 27inch, Mid-2015 model, 8GB/1TB for $1,759.99
• MacBook Pro Retina 2.9GHz, 13 inch, 2015 model, 8GB/512GB for $1,699.99

Black Friday Apple Deals by Store

Now for the real deals: Black Friday Deals on Apple products, listed by store. We’ve got in-store deals and online deals (at MacMall and on eBay) listed below. In store deals include deals at Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Target.

Best Buy

Best Buy has some of the best Apple Black Friday deals for price and selection. Their Apple sale starts at 5pm on Thanksgiving Thursday and goes until 10pm on Black Friday. Best Buy will be offering $50 off many Apple Watch models, $100 to $125 off various iPads and a $200 Best Buy gift card deal with iPhone. They’ve also got some good deals on Apple MacBooks, MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, iMacs, iPods and accessories.

One thing to watch out for with Best Buy on Black Friday is that they’ve been caught advertising great deals, then running out – but wait! They just happen to have the same deal in store optimized by Geek Squad for only another $100. They’ve been called out on this bait-and-switch enough online that they’ve largely stopped it (yay blogging!) but keep your eyes open just in case.

Best Buy Black Friday Apple Deals

Also see: Don’t Buy a TV on Black Friday

Walmart

Walmart has some of the best Black Friday Apple deals. How about $100 off (20% off) an iPad Air 2 16GB? That’s a pretty solid deal, and it’s not a bait-and-switch. As long as shoppers hit the store between 6pm and 7pm on Thanksgiving Thursday, they’ll get this deal. There’s no “while supplies last” on this one.

There’s also a $200 off deal on iPhone, which comes as a Walmart gift card for $100 and a $100 phone bill discount for the other $100. Not to mention deals on other iPads, iPods and accessories.

Walmart’s Black Friday Apple deals start at 12:01am on Thanksgiving Thursday and roll straight through ’til Saturday at 12:01. You might want to bring elbow pads.

Apple Black Friday Deals at Walmart

Sam’s Club

OK, Sam’s Club only has one Apple Black Friday deal, but it’s a big one. $150 off ALL MODELS of the iPad Air 2. That’s a gigantic Apple deal. The deal is available at to all Sam’s Club members, in store from 12:01am on Thanksgiving Thursday through 12:01 am on Saturday.

Also see: Don’t Buy a Refrigerator on Black Friday

Staples

Staples has some pretty good Black Friday deals on Apple iPads and accessories. Their selection isn’t nearly as comprehensive as Best Buy’s. Standout deals include $150 off the 64GB version of the Wi-Fi Only Apple iPad Air 2 and $100 off selected Beats by Dre headphones.

Staples doesn’t have Thanksgiving Thursday hours (which, admit it, is kind of a relief). They’re open 6am Black Friday through 12:01 am on Saturday.

Staples Apple Black Friday Deals

Target

There’s something kind of cool and intuitive about Target’s Black Friday gimmick of popping a $100 or $150 gift card at shoppers who buy select Apple products. While it’s not exactly $100 off, the retailer assumes you’re probably going to shop again at Target in the future anyway.

Target’s Black Friday Apple deals start at 6pm on Thursday and go all day Friday. They’ve got a pretty decent selection too. No MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Minis or iMacs on sale here, but they do have Apple Watch, iPad and iPhone on sale. Target also has deals on iPod and Apple accessories this Black Friday.

Probably their coolest deal is a $250 Target gift card with an Apple iPhone 6s or 6s plus, with carrier service plan.

Target Black Friday Apple Deals

Also see: How to Save Money All Year at Amazon

Online Black Friday Apple Deals

Looking for a Black Friday deal on an Apple product but you don’t want to have to wear a full-face helmet to get it? Try online. Yeah, Cyber Monday’s not bad, but eBay and MacMall have some sweet deals on Apple gear on Black Friday too.

EBAY

EBAY is running deals on Apple gadgets starting on Thanksgiving Thursday. A lot of their deals are kind of meh, but two that stand out are:

• MacBook Air 11 inch, 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB for $729 (19% off) Black Friday only
• iPad Air 2, 16GB for $359.99 (28% off) Black Friday only

B&H Photo

B&H Photo offers good deals on Apple products year round and doesn’t charge sales tax for out of state orders. That can be a huge difference in states like California, where sales tax is 8.75%. But is it a Black Friday deal? Not on your life. Whether a store charges sales tax or not, customers are responsible to pay it. The IRS doesn’t take kindly to tax cheats, even on holidays.

MacMall

MacMall.com has some choice Black Friday Apple deals too. The good thing about these is, their deals start 11/17/15 and carry on through the holidays. Their stand out deal is $159 off on a MacBook Pro Retina, 15.4 inch, Quad core 2.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB HD. They’ve got lots of other though, so they’re worth a look if you want Apple discounts without braving the mob.

Black Friday Deals or Black Friday Traps? Watch Your Step

When shopping for Black Friday Apple deals, watch your step so you don’t land in bait-and-switch quicksand.

First things first: Don’t try to get a deal on an Apple product at the Apple store. That doesn’t seem right, but it is. Traditionally, the Apple store has had Black Friday price savings, but the deals at resellers like Best Buy and Walmart have trumped them by 10% to 13%.

Second: watch for the bait-and-switch. Some stores will advertise good deals on Apple products on Black Friday, then run out suspiciously fast. The only way to avoid getting caught by this one is: 1) Get there early and 2) Steel yourself to buy only the good deal. Resolve ahead of time that if the store runs out of stock, you’ll go home empty handed but feeling good you didn’t get ripped off.

Third: Black Friday is dangerous and not very fun. If you’d like to avoid the risk and hassle, stay home and buy Apple products at other times of year.

For more armor against Black Friday mayhem, check out our articles on why you shouldn’t buy refrigerators, TVs or laptops on Black Friday.

Best Times of Year to Buy Apple Products

The best deals on Apple iPhones, MacBooks and iMacs don’t always come on Black Friday. The biggest discounts on everything Apple come right after a new version is released. To get a major price drop on the old versions, it’s all in the timing. Release dates for Apple products varies year to year and product to product. That means it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the web to see when the next release is for the product you want. The table below shows generalities only:

Either way, notice that according to the table above, the best time to get the best deal on anything from Apple is hardly ever on Black Friday.