Let's be honest about the black friday deal at apple for a second. If you walk into a sleek, glass-walled Apple Store on the Friday after Thanksgiving expecting a 40% discount on a brand-new iPhone 17, you're going to be disappointed. Very disappointed.
Basically, Apple doesn’t do "sales" in the traditional sense. They do "events."
While Amazon and Best Buy are busy slashing prices and screaming about doorbusters, Apple sits quietly and offers you a gift card. It’s a bit of a psychological game. You pay full price upfront, but then you get a little something back to spend on a pair of AirPods or a year of iCloud storage. It feels like a win, but is it actually the best way to spend your money?
Honestly, it depends on what you're hunting for.
The Truth About the Apple Shopping Event
Every year, like clockwork, the Apple Shopping Event kicks off. For 2025, it ran from November 28 through December 1. If you bought an eligible product, you walked away with a gift card ranging from $25 to $250.
But here’s the kicker. Apple almost always excludes the "latest and greatest." This past year, the iPhone 17 and the M5-chip MacBook Pros were nowhere to be found on the promotion list. If you wanted a gift card, you had to "settle" for an iPhone 16 or an M4 Mac. For many people, that’s a dealbreaker. For others, it’s a brilliant way to grab last year’s tech—which is still incredibly fast—and get the Apple Store credit to buy accessories you were going to buy anyway.
Breaking down the gift card tiers
- The $250 "Big Kahuna": This was reserved for the heavy hitters. We're talking 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros (M4 Pro/Max models). If you’re a pro user, this is actually a decent kickback.
- The $100-$200 Mid-Range: This is where the M4 MacBook Air ($175-$200) and the iPad Air ($100) lived.
- The $50-$75 "Sweet Spot": Most people ended up here. Buying an iPhone 16 or 16 Plus netted a $75 card, while the Apple Watch Series 11 or AirPods Pro 3 got you $50.
- The $25 "Stocking Stuffer": Accessories like the Apple Pencil Pro or the Apple TV 4K.
Why Third-Party Retailers Often Win
If you want actual cash off your credit card statement, you have to look elsewhere. Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart play a different game. They don't want you to have a gift card; they want you to buy the device from them instead of Apple.
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Take the MacBook Air M4. While Apple was offering it at full price with a $175 gift card, Amazon slashed the actual price of the 13-inch model down to $749. That's a $250 direct discount. You save more money instantly than the value of Apple's gift card. Plus, you don't have to worry about how to spend $175 at the Apple Store later.
Where Amazon and Best Buy crushed it:
- AirPods 4: Amazon dropped these to $79.99. Compare that to Apple's $129 price tag with a measly $25 gift card. You do the math.
- iPad 11-inch (A16): Walmart listed this for $274, which is a massive $75 haircut off the retail price.
- Apple Watch Series 10: Since the Series 11 was the "new" model, the Series 10 saw huge clearances. We saw some cellular models at Walmart for 40% off.
When Should You Actually Buy From Apple?
You might think I’m telling you to avoid the Apple Store entirely. Not necessarily. There are specific scenarios where the black friday deal at apple is actually the superior choice.
First, consider the trade-in. Apple’s trade-in program is seamless. If you have an old iPhone 14 Pro and you want to move to a 16, Apple often gives a very fair value that applies instantly. When you stack that trade-in credit with the Black Friday gift card, the "out-of-pocket" cost can feel much lower than a raw discount at Best Buy.
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Second, the "Education" overlap. If you’re a student or a teacher, you can sometimes find ways to combine education pricing with holiday perks, though Apple usually tries to keep those separate.
Third, and this is the big one: The Gift Card for Services. If you already pay for Apple Music, Apple TV+, or extra iCloud space, that gift card is basically as good as cash. You’re going to spend that money anyway over the next 12 months. Using a $250 gift card from a MacBook purchase to pay for your entire family's "Apple One" subscription for a year is a pro-level move.
Real Examples of the 2025 Price War
Look at the AirPods Pro 3. They were the surprise of the season. Released in late 2024, they actually made it onto Apple's gift card list for $50. Most experts thought Apple would gatekeep them.
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However, Best Buy countered by dropping the price to $219.99 (a $30 discount). In this specific case, Apple’s $50 gift card actually offered "more value," provided you had a use for the credit. It’s these weird little discrepancies that make Black Friday shopping for Apple gear feel like a high-stakes poker game.
The Refurbished Secret Nobody Mentions
If you really want to win at the black friday deal at apple game, you need to check the "Refurbished" section of Apple’s website. During the holiday season, they often restock older models that are basically brand new—new outer shells, new batteries, same one-year warranty.
The prices on refurbished M2 or M3 MacBooks during Black Friday are often lower than any "new" deal you'll find at a big-box store. And because it's Apple, the quality is indistinguishable from a fresh-off-the-line unit.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Apple Purchase
Don't just click "buy" because you see a countdown timer.
- Check the math on gift cards vs. discounts. If the cash discount at Amazon is $50 but Apple is offering a $75 gift card, ask yourself if you actually need anything else from Apple. If you need a case or a charger, take the gift card. If you're broke, take the cash discount.
- Avoid the "Base Model" trap. Retailers love to discount the 128GB versions of iPads and iPhones. If you actually need 256GB or 512GB, you'll often find that the discounts disappear or become much smaller.
- Monitor the "Early" sales. In 2025, the best deals on AirPods and Apple Watches actually happened a full week before Black Friday. By the time Friday morning rolled around, the best stock was gone.
- Use an Apple Card if you have one. Buying directly from Apple with an Apple Card gets you 3% Daily Cash back. On a $2,000 MacBook, that's an extra $60 in your pocket on top of the $250 gift card. That’s how you actually "win" Black Friday.
The reality is that Apple doesn't need to discount. They know we want the gear. But by playing the retailers against the mother ship, you can usually find a way to shave a few hundred bucks off that ecosystem tax.
Next Steps for Savvy Shoppers:
Before your next purchase, verify the "sold by" tag on Amazon to ensure you're getting a genuine Apple warranty. If you are eyeing a Mac, always prioritize 16GB of RAM over a slightly lower price on an 8GB model, as Apple Intelligence features in 2026 and beyond will heavily depend on that memory overhead. Finally, bookmark the Apple Certified Refurbished page; it updates at random hours and often carries the best price-to-performance ratio in the entire tech world.