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Black Friday 2025: The real deals worth buying now (and the ones to skip) illustration
Consumer Tech·4 min read

Black Friday 2025: The real deals worth buying now (and the ones to skip)

By Riley Hart

Black Friday has turned into a week-long price war, and a handful of honest-to-goodness steals are already live: Apple’s new AirPods 4 have dropped to a record-low $69, the M4 MacBook Air is down $250 to $749, and popular accessories from Anker are roughly 30 to 50 percent off. If you need a gift or a practical upgrade, these are the deals to prioritize.

Retailers from Amazon to Best Buy and Costco rolled out steep discounts over the Thanksgiving weekend, and many of the best offers are on everyday tech-earbuds, laptops, chargers, and speakers-rather than headline-tier luxury gear. Those bargains matter because they intersect with real buying decisions: do you swap a three-year-old laptop for an M4 MacBook Air, or keep it and invest in a battery bank that actually keeps you working on the road?

Standout steals and who should buy them

If sound is your priority, the AirPods 4 without active noise cancellation are the clearest bargain. The non-ANC model is down to $69, about 47 percent off the usual $130, offering Apple’s H2 chip, Voice Isolation, Personalized Spatial Audio, roughly five hours of listening per charge and about 30 hours with the USB-C case. For commuters who value fit and seamless iPhone pairing, that price is hard to beat.

For a laptop that handles everyday work and light creative tasks, the M4 MacBook Air with 256GB is at an all-time low of $749, a $250 cut. The M4 Air’s newer configurations offer a baseline of 16GB of RAM, a 12MP Center Stage webcam, and the ability to drive two external displays-features that make it a sensible pick for students, remote workers, and anyone who needs snappy battery life without carrying a Pro.

If you want to gift something that looks personal, Aura’s 12-inch Aspen digital frame is back near its low of about $199 with a 1600 x 1200 HD display, anti‑glare matte finish, and iCloud/Google Photos integration. It’s a niche purchase, but for relatives who don’t want more clutter, it’s practical and emotionally resonant.

Picking the right deal: what to prioritize

Don’t sleep on accessories: Anker’s Laptop Power Bank, typically $135, is marked down to about $88, and a raft of wireless chargers and wall bricks are 30 to 50 percent lower than normal. If your phone keeps dying between meetings, a robust power bank or a 140W charging brick delivers more day-to-day value than a marginal headphone upgrade.

Know the tradeoffs. On earbuds, saving $60 to $80 by skipping ANC means you lose Transparency Mode and Conversation Awareness, plus Apple’s hearing-health tools; what you keep is lighter weight and better battery for some users. If you spend hours on airplanes or in loud offices, ANC is worth the premium; if you mostly walk around town or use earbuds at home, the non-ANC AirPods 4 are a rational cut.

Timing, tactics and the price‑safety checklist

With laptops, focus on RAM and storage more than color. The 13-inch M4 Air’s jump to a 256GB baseline and larger memory options materially affects longevity; a $250 discount on the base model makes bumping storage or RAM later less urgent. Also check ports and external-display limits: Apple now lets this Air connect to two external displays with the lid open, a small change that improves productivity for many users.

For accessories, measure wattage and real capacity. Anker’s Laptop Power Bank lists both capacity and watt output-use those specs to match the charger with your laptop, phone, or tablet rather than buying on brand alone. Testing-backed recommendations are useful because they surface chargers with the right combination of ports, PD support, and tested longevity.

Timing, tactics and the price-safety checklist

Black Friday and Cyber Monday trends now blur into a week; some sales persist through Cyber Monday, which this year falls on Dec. 1, 2025. Set price alerts and watch for short restocks-popular SKUs like the AirPods 4 at $69 can appear and disappear in hours. Retailers often match prices across Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco, so check all three before you click.

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