The holiday shopping season will be here before you know it. If you want to get a head start before Black Friday kicks off, there are already deals to be had across retailers like Amazon, Walmart<!–>, and Best Buy–> on all things tech — including popular tablets.
Also: Black Friday 2024: Everything you need to know
If you’re looking to buy or gift a tablet this year, those from big brands like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and more are going to be heavily discounted for the Black Friday shopping weekend. We’ve scoured retailers and found the best early tablet deals live now, so you can check one more thing off your shopping list.
Our favorite early tablet deals for Black Friday 2024
- Apple iPad Mini (6th gen)<!–>: $350 (save $149 at Amazon): The iPad Mini is a powerful tablet packed into a small package, with features like support for the second-gen Apple Pencil, a slightly bigger screen size, and a USB-C port for charging and data transfer.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra–>: $900 (save $300 at Best Buy): Listed as one of our top picks for the best large tablet, this 14-inch Samsung tablet is a well-rounded Android device that lets you take advantage of Samsung’s DeX platform and comes with an S Pen.
- Boox Note Air 3 C<!–>: $450 (save $50 at Amazon): Our top pick for the best smart notebook almost never goes on sale, but you can get $50 off right now and experience the color e-reader display with Android app capabilities.
- Amazon Fire Max 11 Tablet–> $170 (save $110 at Amazon): Amazon’s flagship tablet has a vivid 11-inch display that’s ideal for mobile entertainment, web browsing, and productivity tasks.
- Google Pixel Tablet<!–>: $319 (save $80 at Best Buy: A top pick on our list of the best Android tablets, the Google Pixel Tablet has an included charging dock that converts it to a smart home display when you’re not using it.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab A7–>: $140 (save $90 at Walmart): This Samsung tablet has a 10.4-inch screen, a 10-hour battery life, 32GB of storage, and a quad-speaker system with Dolby Atmos sound.
- Apple iPad (9th generation)<!–>: $260 (save $69 at Walmart): Although not the most recent model, this iPad has a 10.2-inch Retina display, a powerful A13 Bionic chip, and an Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage.
- Current price: $350
- Original price: $499
Apple’s smallest tablet comes with an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, an A15 bionic chip, and compatibility with the 2nd-gen Apple Pencil. Of course, you’ll also get iPadOS 16 with features like shared tab groups, Stage Manager, and external display support if you ever need to see something on a bigger screen.
Review: Apple iPad Mini (6th Gen)
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- Current price: $900
- Original price: $1,200
With a 14.6-inch display, you’re sure to have enough room for work and play on the Tab S9 Ultra. Included in the box is Samsung’s S Pen stylus that can be used for drawing out ideas or writing notes, or you can use it to navigate the tablet’s Android 13 interface – and even write in any text field and have it automatically converted to digital text.
Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
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- Current price: $450
- Original price: $500
This e-ink tablet has all the best features of the best Android apps, like templates, audio recording, color-coding, inserting links and attachments to notes, and more.
Review: The best E Ink tablet I’ve tested is not by ReMarkable or Kindle
Some of its standout features enhance your productivity, like the split screen feature that allows you to switch between two different apps, so you can take notes on one side while reading an article on the other.
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- Current price: $160
- Original price: $280
For 43% off, you can get Amazon’s largest tablet, which is also the only Amazon Fire tablet that works with a stylus. It’s perfect for streaming and light work, thanks to its 14-hour battery life, 128 GB storage (with the option to expand to up to 1 TB with a micro-SD card), and an 8 MP camera for faster, clearer, and smoother connections on calls with family or colleagues.
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Best Black Friday tablet accessory deals
- Apple Pencil Pro–>: $93 (save $36 at Walmart): Apple’s newest stylus incorporates advanced features like squeeze, barrel roll, and haptic feedback to make marking up, taking notes, and creating a masterpiece more intuitive and valuable.
- Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard<!–>: $130 (save $20 at Best Buy): Compatible with the base-model iPad, this keyboard has iOS shortcut keys, an adjustable backlight, and a smooth trackpad.
- Wacom Bamboo Ink Plus Smart Stylus–>: $77 (save $32 at Amazon): This stylus works with most Windows tablets, and has an eraser button and great pressure sensitivity.
Best Black Friday Samsung tablet deals
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite<!–> for $230 (save $45 at Amazon): This is a lightweight 10.4-inch entry-level tablet, with 64GB of storage and Samsung DeX compatibility for better productivity.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE–>$327 (save $123 at Amazon): The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE has an 8,000mAh battery, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of included storage, and support for a microSD card up to 1TB.
- Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+<!–>$170 (save $50 at Target): This tablet is great for entertainment purposes like streaming movies or games, and has an engaging 11-inch screen.
FAQs
When is Black Friday?
Black Friday always occurs the day after Thanksgiving in the US. This year, it falls on Friday, Nov. 29. However, you can expect deals the week leading up to the day, as well as all weekend long.
When is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday and only applies to online deals. This year, it falls on Monday, Dec. 2.
Are tablet deals really better on Black Friday?
For some big-name brands, Black Friday is the only time specific devices go on sale all year. It’s also the time of year that you’ll see the biggest discounts for popular devices like the iPad, Kindle, and more, so yes, it’s definitely a better time to snag a deal on a tablet than other sales events.
What’s the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
The main difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is that historically, Black Friday deals can be found both in-store and online, while Cyber Monday deals are almost exclusively online that Monday. However, both days now offer substantial online and in-store discounts.
How did we choose these Black Friday deals?
ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy – devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.
We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we’re recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing – in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.
Where can you shop the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals?
All major retailers should have sales and discounts leading up to and during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Expect deals from Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, B&H Photo, and more. If you prefer to shop in-person, there will be plenty of in-store deals as well, but we’ve also found that some of the best deals are exclusive to online.
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