Are Apple Products Cheaper on Black Friday or Christmas? When Prices Are Lowest

Two dates four weeks apart both get called the cheapest time to buy Apple gear, and you only want to pay once. In 2025, AirPods Pro 3 were $219.99 at Amazon on Black Friday and $199 by Dec 13, yet for a lot of other Apple products the opposite happened.

Based on 2025 prices, Black Friday had the lower price on three of the five Apple products we tracked, the iPad, MacBook Air (by a single dollar) and AirPods 4, while the Apple Watch Series 11 and AirPods Pro 3 dropped further in December. Apple's own store gives gift cards instead of price cuts, and we found no sign of a general Christmas sale from Apple. Thanksgiving lands on Thursday, Nov 26 this year, so Black Friday is the Friday right after it, Nov 27, and Cyber Monday follows on Nov 30.

The Short Answer: Black Friday for Most, December for a Few

Black Friday won on three of the five products below in 2025, and December won on two. The prices come from deal roundups that MacRumors, CNET and TechRadar published on the dates shown. Each was true on its day only, so treat them as a guide to the pattern and check the seller's own page when you shop this year.

Product (2025)	Black Friday price	December price	Lower price
Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm)	$339 at Amazon, Nov 28	$299 at Amazon, Dec 13	December, by $40
AirPods Pro 3	$219.99 at Amazon, Nov 28	$199 at Amazon, Dec 13	December, by about $21
AirPods 4	$69 at Amazon, Nov 28	No lower price found	Black Friday
MacBook Air 13-inch (M4)	$749 at Amazon, Nov 28	$750 at Amazon, Dec 3; $799 at Best Buy, Dec 8	About even, Black Friday slightly ahead
iPad 11-inch (A16)	$274 at Amazon, Nov 28	$279 at Best Buy, Dec 8	Black Friday, by $5

Read the last column as the whole story: the gaps are small, and the December lows landed in the second week of the month, well before Christmas week.

What Apple Itself Does on Black Friday

Apple doesn't cut its own prices for Black Friday, as we explain in does Apple do Black Friday deals. It hands out an Apple Gift Card with a qualifying purchase, which you spend later. In 2025, its Black Friday Shopping Event ran from Friday, Nov 28 through Cyber Monday, Dec 1, and the cards were worth, as Macworld reported the terms:

• $75: on a Mac, and on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
• $50: on an iPad, and on Apple Watch SE, Series 10 and Ultra 2.
• $25: on AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max, Apple TV 4K and HomePod.

The newest models sat out. iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Vision Pro and Apple's own refurbished products were all excluded.

A gift card works like a coupon for your next trip to the same store. A $75 card on a $1,000 Mac is worth $75 only if you were going to spend $75 more at Apple anyway. The terms can change from year to year, so check its Black Friday page on the day for 2026.

Why Waiting for Christmas Can Backfire

Holding out for Christmas is a gamble rather than a sure saving, for two reasons: the lowest price can come early, and Apple's price protection skips sale events.

Think of a sale as a train you can catch at several stops. In 2025, one major deal tracker listed AirPods Pro 3 at $220 and Apple Watch SE 3 at $200 on Nov 4, the same prices it confirmed as the year's lows on Black Friday, 24 days later. If you're looking at one of those, early November was already the stop.

Apple's own price protection won't help you bridge the gap. Its shopping help page says: "Should Apple reduce the price on any Apple-branded product within 14 calendar days from the date you receive your product... request a refund or credit of the difference in price." The next line is the catch: "This excludes limited-time price reductions and special sales events, such as Black Friday."

This means buying from Apple in mid-November and hoping for a Black Friday credit won't work. The 14-day window only covers a lasting price change, not a sale event.

Product by Product: The Best Time to Buy Each One

Here is how each product line behaved last year, with a buy-or-wait call for each:

1. iPhone

Apple's iPhone deals came as gift cards on older models ($75 on iPhone 16 and 16 Plus in 2025), while carriers offered bill credits spread over 24 to 36 months, tied to a trade-in or a plan. Cash cuts on unlocked phones were small. Verdict: if it's the newest iPhone 17 you want, the date on the calendar barely moves the price at Apple, so buy when you need it.

2. iPad

The 11-inch iPad (A16) hit $274 at Amazon on Black Friday and sat at $279 at Best Buy on Dec 8. Verdict: buy on Black Friday, or any time near it, since the December price was only $5 higher. For the full calendar, see the best time to buy an iPad, or browse Apple iPad Black Friday deals.

3. MacBook

The 13-inch MacBook Air with the M4 chip was $749 on Black Friday and $750 a few days into December, then $799 at Best Buy on Dec 8. Apple's own Black Friday offer on Macs was a $75 gift card. Verdict: Black Friday through the first days of December; the one later price we found was higher.

4. Apple Watch

The Apple Watch Series 11 was the clearest December win: $339 for the 42mm model on Black Friday, $299 at Best Buy by Dec 8 and at Amazon by Dec 13. Verdict: if you can wait two weeks, the second week of December looked better last year. Our look at whether Apple Watches go on sale on Black Friday covers the models in more detail.

5. AirPods

AirPods split. AirPods 4 were $69 on Black Friday with nothing lower after, while AirPods Pro 3 fell from $219.99 to $199 by Dec 13. Verdict: buy AirPods 4 on Black Friday; for AirPods Pro, a short wait paid off in 2025.

If You Buy Before Christmas: Returns

Apple's standard return window is 14 days from the day you receive your product. In 2025, Apple extended it for the holidays: products received between Nov 12 and Dec 25 could be returned through Jan 8, 2026, as Apple news sites reported at the time, with exceptions such as carrier-financed iPhones and gift cards. Apple sets the dates each year, so check its returns page before you buy a gift.

If you shop with Plug, every order comes with 30-day returns.

Where Plug Certified Fits: Certified Pre-Owned Prices That Don't Wait for a Sale Day

A Plug Certified device has no Black Friday cliff. The price follows live market data instead of a sale date, so nothing about it expires at midnight on Cyber Monday. You can also see what else is marked down in our Black Friday tech deals.

Here are Plug's "from" prices on the holiday tech deals collection, read on Oct 23, 2026 (phones are unlocked):

• iPhone 13, 128GB: from $259.99.
• iPhone 14 Pro Max, 128GB: from $469.99.
• AirPods (4th Generation): from $89.99.
• AirPods Pro (3rd Generation): from $179.99.

Prices move, so check the listing on the day you buy. For a rough sense of scale, Plug Certified AirPods Pro (3rd Generation) were listed below the $199 that new AirPods Pro 3 hit in mid-December last year, though those are different years and a new box versus a pre-owned pair.

What stays the same every day of the year is what comes with the device:

• 90+ Point Inspection: each device goes through it before it leaves Plug.
• A full year of cover: Plug's 12-Month Warranty takes care of hardware and software faults under normal use.
• 30-day returns: on every order.
• Free shipping: on US orders.

Every device carries our name and our warranty. That's our promise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the iPhone price drop on Black Friday?

Not by much in cash, as how much iPhones drop on Black Friday shows. In 2025, Best Buy had the iPhone 16 at $679, just $19 under its regular price, and Walmart took $100 off a carrier-locked iPhone 16. The bigger figures, like AT&T's up to $700 off iPhone 17, were bill credits that only add up if you stay on the plan.

Which month is best to buy Apple products?

November is the best time for most of the lineup, but two other windows are worth knowing. A previous-generation iPhone or Apple Watch often gets cheaper in the weeks after Apple's September launch, and students can look at Back to School offers between June and September.

Are Apple products cheaper after Christmas?

Not reliably. We found no sign of a general after-Christmas sale from Apple (more on that in do iPhones go on sale after Christmas), and no dated price data we found shows January beating November. Some sellers of pre-owned devices say leftover stock may be marked down after the holidays, but that varies by store, so compare the price you see then with last year's Black Friday low.

Pick the product, set the price you'd happily pay, and buy when it hits that number, whether that's Nov 4, Nov 27 or a Saturday in mid-December.