Apple’s Black Friday event has started, and the deals are a cross of mostly-ho-hum and stupendously disappointing. As in past years, you can get an Apple gift card with the purchase of qualifying Apple products. On the awesome side is that all of Apple’s product lines have eligible products. On the Seriously? side, Apple’s newest iPhones, iPads, and Macs aren’t eligible.
Here’s the breakdown on what Apple is offering in its 4-day Black Friday shopping event:
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
iPhone
Get a $50 Apple Store Gift Card when you buy select SIM-free iPhone models.
Eligible devices: iPhone 7/Plus and iPhone 8/Plus
iPad
Get an Apple Store Gift Card of up to $100 when you buy select iPad models.
Eligible devices: iPad Mini 4, iPad (9.7-inch), and iPad Pro 10.5-inch
Mac
Get a $200 Apple Store Gift Card when you buy select Mac models.
Eligible devices: MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air (not new), iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro
Apple Watch
Get a $50 Apple Store Gift Card when you buy Apple Watch Series 3.
Eligible devices: Apple’s 2017 Apple Watch Series 3 lineup
HomePod and Apple TV
Get a $50 Apple Store Gift Card when you buy HomePod. Or a $25 gift card when you buy Apple TV.
Eligible devices: HomePod, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV (4th Gen)
Beats
Get a $50 Apple Store Gift Card when you buy select Beats.
Eligible devices: Beats Studio 3 Over-Ear, Beats Studio 3 Wireless Over-Ear, Beats Solo 3 Wireless On-Ear (two models), PowerBeats 3 Wireless Earphone (two models)
The Beats products are a good opportunity, as are the offers on Apple TV and HomePod. I’ve seen HomePod at that price from other retailers, and cheaper in small quantities. The gifts cards on Macs are pretty anemic in that only the most expensive (and mostly outdated) Macs are eligible for the full $200. That it’s a previous generation of MacBook Air is sad.
There are better deals out there for iPad, and again the newest models aren’t included in the promotion, and the same goes for iPhone. Apple Watch Series 3…yawn.
Apple has never been big on sales, but there’s something about making everything but the newest models eligible for gift cards extra insulting. But maybe that’s just me.
Exactly. I looked at it and it looked more like an old stock clearance sale than a big holiday event. I scanned the site for about a minute and went on to other things. Nothing to see here.
This will be a significant year. For the first time in quite a long while I will go a year without buying any apple gadgets. Our Macs, iPads, and iPhones are good. I was interested in an Apple Watch when it was released, but in the insuing two months have talked myself out of it. So, nope, this year my credit card will not get a workout.
That is what happens when financial reporters diss AAPL