Ipad Black Friday 2018 Deals

Black Friday sales 2021? Everything you need to know

Want to save money this Black Friday on an Apple product? Here's where to go to get iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods & more discounts.

Black Friday is nearly here and many UK resellers have already started their sales.

With so many new devices in Apple's lineup, we're hoping that Black Friday 2021 will be bigger and better than ever, with discounts across iPad, iPhone, AirPods, MacBook, iMac, Apple Watch and Apple accessory deals (and not to mention refurbished Apple goods too!)

In this article, we're answering your most popular Black Friday questions, and offering our top tips to guide you through the discount carnage so you can find the best best deals across all your most-desired Apple hardware and software too!

We're focusing on UK deals here, but if you're visiting from the US, we are also tracking the Best Black Friday Apple Deals in the US from major retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon and more.

When is Black Friday 2021?

Black Friday always falls on the day after US Thanksgiving. This year, the date is 26 November.

While the event itself falls on the tail-end of the month, discounts and deals started rolling in well before then. Recent years have shown that Black Friday is no longer a singular event, but an entire period.

This year the following Black Friday sales have already kicked off:

Amazon launched its Early Black Friday Deals event at the end of October.
AO.com's Black Friday deals are already live.
Currys has also started their Black Friday sale - check this page for their latest Black Friday deals.
eBuyer has also kicked off the Black Friday sale already. You can see more here. eBuyer says that it is offering its Black Friday prices now, they say that if the price goes lower they will refund the difference.
You can already find Black Friday savings at Laptops Direct here.

Which leaves the following hanging on to start their sales later in November:

John Lewis hasn't started its Black Friday deals yet, but you can check this page for the latest information.
KRCS's Black Friday deals will kick off on 26 November - you can check here for more information.

The fact that Black Friday sales have already started is good news for shoppers for a couple of reasons. First off, it means there is no need to wait until the end of November and face the inevitable frenzy for limited stock on an isolated day or week. Second, in a post-coronavirus world, pacing deals out over a series of weeks instead of days will no doubt help prevent delivery overloads and help the resellers managed stock at a time when stock shortages are likely.

Will Apple have a Black Friday 2021 sale?

Apple's Black Friday 'sale' isn't a sale really, the company just gives vouchers to people who buy certain products. So rather than save money buying a product you save money on your second purchase.

Last year, Apple's own four-day event started on Black Friday itself (27 November) and carried on through to 30 November (a.k.a. Cyber Monday). Apple customers received a gift card worth up to £120/$150/AUD$210 with select purchases.

The event was hosted on Apple's Black Friday Shopping Event page, but right now Apple is promoting its holiday shopping gift guide here.

We suspect Apple will kick off its Black Friday event on 26 November this year, and will offer vouchers to those who buy its M1 MacBook Pro and Air and Mac mini devices, along with the iPhone 12/12 mini phones. We might also see vouchers offered with sales of the Apple Watch SE and Series 3. Don't expect vouchers with any of Apple's newest products - especially as stock is so limited right now.

See our full coverage of last year's sale for a taste of what to expect.

Official Black Friday shopping event aside, we'd also suggest you keep an eye out on the Apple Refurbished Store for any discounts on iPhone handsets, iPads, Watches, MacBooks and other devices.

Apple iPad 2021

What is Black Friday?

On Black Friday, retailers offer huge discounts to shoppers ahead of the holiday season. It all began in the US, falling on the day after Thanksgiving, but over the past few years it has really taken off around the world, including here in the UK. The Black in Black Friday is to describe the day when the accounts ledgers go into the black, rather than red (as in the shops are no longer making a loss).

A more recent trend is Cyber Monday, which came about because it tends to be the busiest day of the year for online shopping. Cyber Monday always falls on the Monday after Black Friday, meaning this year it will land on 29 November.

Remember when the sales used to start after Christmas? Not any more.

Where to find the best Black Friday Apple deals

Below are all the places we expect to see Black Friday discounts on Apple products and software. We've listed noteworthy offers from last year too.

Don't forget Mac software deals either, especially on cleaning tools like MacPaw's CleanMyMac, antivirus, and VPNs. See our separate roundups of the best Antivirus deals for Mac and best VPN deals for Mac.

Adobe - 2020 offer: 20% off All Apps
Amazon
AO.com
Apple Black Friday -2020 offer: Up to £120/$150/AUD$210 gift cards with select purchases until Cyber Monday
Affordable Mobiles
Argos
Carphone Warehouse - 2020 offer: Up to £400 off iPhone with trade-in
Currys PC World - 2020 offer: Up to £130 off 13in MacBook Pro with Touch Bar 2020 512GB
eBay
Ebuyer
John Lewis
KRCS - 2020 offer: Up to £75 off new Silicon Macs with M1 chip
Laptops Direct -
MacPaw's CleanMyMac - 2020 offer: Up to £125.79 off one-year subscription
Mobiles.co.uk - 2020 offer: 100GB SIM for £12.50, cheap Apple iPhone SE deals
Mobile Phones Direct -2020 offer: Excellent iPhone bundles with PS4, Xbox One S, Dyson Supersonic, AirPods, Beats & more
MusicMagpie - 2020 offer: Up to £75 off all refurbished iPhones, £50 off iPads
NordVPN - 2020 offer: 68% off and an additional 2 years for free new subscribers
Parallels - 2020 offer: 20% off Parallels Desktop 16, 10% off upgrades, 50% off Student Edition + additional 10% off
Scan - 2020 offer: Up to £100 off refurbished MacBook Air (older model)
Very

If you've found that you're missing out on Amazon's Lightning deals, which run for just a few hours and offer limited stock, we'd recommend signing up for Amazon's 30-day free trial of Prime, which will get you access to deals 30 minutes before everyone else. Plus, you'll get free next-day delivery with the Prime trial, as well as access to Prime Instant Video and more. Sign up for Prime now.

We're also tracking the best Black Friday tech deals across all of the web over at our sister site Tech Advisor. US readers should also see US-specific Black Friday coverage on Macworld US.

We also have this round up of Black Friday Mac deals.

Best Apple deals 2021

Here's an overview of our pick of the very best Apple deals available right now.

How to get the best Black Friday (2021) deals

Spotting a good Black Friday deal takes a bit of work but luckily we have pulled together all the best Apple deals by product in the following deal roundups. We include the prices that you would pay if you bought the product (or equivalent product) from Apple.

Our team of Apple experts is always scouring the web for the top deals, offers and discounts on Apple products and accessories on sale, whether it's Black Friday or not.

We use our knowledge of Apple, its products, and the retailers that sell them to highlight only the best money-off offers and weed out the deals that aren't as good as they appear to be.

We have picked out the current best Apple deals we've found across all retailers in the UK below:

Where to buy the latest Apple devices at the best price:

Best iPhone 13, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max and 13 mini deals
Where to buy the iPad mini (6th gen, 2021)
Where to buy the iPad (9th gen, 2021)
Where to buy the 24in iMac with M1: Best Deals
Where to buy the M1 MacBook Pro, Air and Mac Mini
Where to buy the iPad Pro 11 & iPad Pro 12.9 (M1 2021 models)
Where to Buy the iPad Air 2020
Where to buy the iPad 8th gen

Best iPhone deals

Best iPhone deals
Best iPhone 12 deals (all models)
Best iPhone SE (2020) deals
Best iPhone 11 deals
Best iPhone 8 & iPhone 8 Plus
Best iPhone XS deals
Best iPhone XS Max deals
Best iPhone XR deals
Best iPhone X deals

Best MacBook, iPad, and Watch deals

Best iMac deals
Best Mac mini deals
Best MacBook Pro deals
Best MacBook Air deals
Best iPad deals
Best Apple Watch deals
Best AirPods deals
Best HomePod deals (also see: Where to Buy the HomePod Mini)
Best Apple TV deals

You may also find these articles helpful for deals on non-Apple products:

Best printer deals
Best Antivirus deals for Mac
Best VPN deals for Mac

Should I wait for Cyber Monday 2021?

Our advice is clear: if you see a good deal, don't wait. While Cyber Monday promises impressive deals, it's likely prices won't go any lower after Black Friday offers. Don't run the risk of losing out on stock. If you see a deal on something you want, just pick it up!

Author: Somrata Sarkar, Senior Staff Writer

Somrata Sarkar

Somrata researches and writes about the best tech deals to help readers make smart, informed buying decisions. She's an expert on accessories and also reviews laptops, phones, audio and other devices.