While the actual sales day might not arrive until November 29 this year, there Black Friday deals have already started popping up, which makes it a great time to seek out cut-price for some of our best tablets.
Major US and UK retailers, from Walmart and Best Buy, to Currys and Argos, have sales underway, and some of those include deals on tablets. For example, there are a suite of deals to be had on iPad in both the US and UK.
Some of these are older models, but as we test all the tablets we recommend, you can rest assured that you’ll not be buying a dud high-tech slate. So with that in mind, keep reading for early Black Friday tablet deals and everything you need to know about the sales period.
Today’s best tablet deals in the US
- Amazon: save $100 on the 10.2-inch iPad 9th Generation
- Best Buy: $300 off the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
- Best Buy: up to $100 off the 13-inch iPad Pro
- Target: save on the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus & Apple iPads
- Target: save $100 on the iPad 9th Generation
- Walmart: $110 discount on the 2021 iPad mini
Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet: was $139.99 now $74.99 at Amazon
One of my favorite pre-Black Friday deals is the Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet on sale for a record-low price of $74.99. Perfect for watching content or using any number of Amazon’s own-brand applications, the Fire HD 10 features a big, bright 10-inch Full HD display, 3GB of RAM, and an octa-core processor for relatively decent performance (for the money).View Deal
iPad Pro 13-inch (2024): was $1,299 now $1,194 at Amazon
If you want the biggest and best iPad, Amazon has the iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) on sale right now. It’s a mighty tablet and one that’s all the more attractive with $105 off its price tag, though this deal only applies to the silver model right now. For deals on the black model at larger storage capacities, head to Best Buy).View Deal
iPad Pro 11-inch (2024): was $999 now $924 at Walmart
Both Amazon and Best Buy have the new iPad Pro on sale for around $949 right now, but Walmart’s $924 deal price trumps the lot. In our iPad Pro (2024) review (albeit for the 13-inch model), we describe Apple’s latest flagship tablet as “the impossibly thin king of iPads – and maybe all tablets.” It’s worth noting, though, that we saw the 11-inch iPad Pro for as low as $899 during Amazon’s most recent Prime Day sale, so it may return to that price soon.View Deal
iPad Air 11-inch (2024): was $599 now $549 at Amazon
The new iPad Air is the closest thing you can get to an iPad Pro without having to pay upwards of $1,000, which is why we believe it’s the best iPad for students in 2024. For almost half the price of Apple’s professional-grade iPad, you’ll get a beautiful Liquid Retina display, a MacBook-level M2 chipset, a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, and landscape stereo speakers with spatial audio. For $549 for the Space Grey model is the best price you’ll find for the new iPad Air right now (if you want a different color for a similarly low price, head to Walmart).View Deal
iPad 10.9 (2022): was $349 now $298 at Amazon
Apple slashed the recommended starting price of the iPad 10.9 (2022) to $349 earlier this year, but Amazon has now dropped that figure even further. We said Apple’s latest base-level tablet is a big upgrade over the previous generation model in our iPad 10.9 (2022) review, with a larger Liquid Retina display, a new A14 Bionic chip, improved cameras, USB-C support, and a sleek design.View Deal
iPad mini (2021): was $499 now $389.99 at Walmart
Apple’s previous-gen iPad mini is a fantastic all-rounder. The powerful A15 Bionic chip delivers all the performance most people need, while the 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is small enough to make the device beautifully portable. This display has True Tone support, P3 wide color, and ultra-low reflectivity, so it looks great wherever you’re using it.View Deal
iPad 10.2 (2021): was $329 now $199.99 at Amazon
Amazon has discounted the iPad 10.2 (2021) – also known as the iPad 9th-generation – to a record-equaling low price ahead of Black Friday. Despite its age, this iPad offers a gorgeous 10.2-inch screen with True Tone technology, decent battery life, and it’ll also continue to be supported with software updates until at least 2027. Put simply, the iPad 10.2 (2021) is the best iPad if you’re on a budget, and we don’t expect to see Amazon’s $199.99 price bettered in the coming months. View Deal
Today’s best tablet deals in the UK
- Amazon: save more than £70 on the OnePlus Pad
- Amazon: 10% or more off a range of iPads
- Argos: save 10% on the last-gen iPad mini
- Argos: grab some more early tablet deals
- Currys: £100 off the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus
- Currys: save £30 on the 13-inch iPad Air
- John Lewis: up to £430 off the 2022 iPad Pro range
iPad 10.2 (2021): was £300 now £219 at Laptops Direct
Laptops Direct has discounted the iPad 10.2 (2021) – also known as the iPad 9th-generation – to a market-leading price ahead of Black Friday. Despite its age, this iPad offers a gorgeous 10.2-inch screen with True Tone technology, decent battery life (we got around 10 hours in our testing), and it’ll also continue to be supported with software updates until at least 2027.View Deal
iPad 10.9 (2022): was £349 now £308 at Amazon
Apple slashed the recommended starting price of the iPad 10.9 (2022) to £349 earlier this year, but Amazon has now dropped that figure even further. We said Apple’s latest base-level tablet is a big upgrade over the previous generation model in our iPad 10.9 (2022) review, with a larger Liquid Retina display, a new A14 Bionic chip, improved cameras, USB-C support, and a sleek design. If stock runs low, John Lewis is offering the same deal on the same colors.View Deal
iPad Air 11-inch (2024): was £599 now £559 at Amazon
The new iPad Air is the closest thing you can get to an iPad Pro without having to pay upwards of £1,000, which is why we believe it’s the best iPad for students in 2024. For almost half the price of Apple’s professional-grade iPad, you’ll get a beautiful Liquid Retina display, a MacBook-level M2 chipset, a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, and landscape stereo speakers with spatial audio.View Deal
iPad Pro 11-inch (2024): was £999 now £955.99 at EE
In our iPad Pro (2024) review (albeit for the 13-inch model), we describe Apple’s latest flagship tablet as “the impossibly thin king of iPads – and maybe all tablets.” Naturally, that level of quality comes at a premium, but EE has seen fit to discount the 256GB, Wi-Fi-only variant of the 11-inch iPad Pro (2024) to a slightly more digestible price ahead of Black Friday. Not even Amazon is offering this price right now.View Deal
iPad Pro 13-inch (2024): was £1,299 now £1,249 at Amazon
If you want the biggest and best iPad, both Amazon and John Lewis have the iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) on sale right now. It’s a mighty tablet and one that’s all the more attractive with £50 off its price tag. View Deal
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9: was £169 now £129 at Currys
The basic Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 is down to an impressively low price at Currys for Black Friday – though I have seen it £15 cheaper in the past. This basic tablet has an entry-level processor, a small 8.6-inch screen and only 64GB of storage so expect slightly slower performance and struggles with games or multitasking, but it’s still a great tablet for light mobile computing. View Deal
Black Friday tablet deals: FAQs
When will the Black Friday tablet deals start in 2024?
To keep it simple: they have already. Although Black Friday lands on November 29 this year, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy are already building momentum with great deals on some of our favorite tablets. Amazon kicked off the unofficial ‘deals season’ with its recent Prime Day sale, which in turn inspired copycat sales from rival retailers.
Naturally, we expect to see the highest concentration of deals around Black Friday itself, but that won’t preclude retailers from offering a wide variety of tablet deals from now up until the end of November. Expect to see some great savings online and in stores long before the big day itself.
Is Black Friday the best time to buy a tablet?
Typically, Black Friday is one of the best times of year to buy a tablet. Retailers tend to offer their best prices during the sales season towards the end of the year. It’s been a big year for tablet model refreshes too, and there’s sure to be a number of iPad and Android tablet models waiting in clearance.
So whether you’re eyeing up the ultra-premium iPad Pro 13-inch, the class-leading Android OnePlus Tab 2, or the astoundingly huge Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, there’s likely to be a great deal for you this Black Friday. Apple’s iPad lineup is in a strong position this year, which may mean we see moderate discounts, but this could drive harder undercuts from competitors.
What Black Friday tablet deals should I expect?
In the past, we’ve seen serious discounts across a range of tablets on Black Friday. Retailers like Amazon, Target, and Best Buy will almost certainly offer discounts on their supply of tablets, and we may see some offers from tablet makers themselves. Apple is unlikely to offer direct discounts, instead offering vouchers after the fact, while Samsung and others may just slash some cash from the price tag.
Really, though, third party vendors are your best bet. Last year’s Black Friday sales included a range-wide $100 discount on iPads at Amazon, with savings of as much as $200 on several Samsung models. At the lower end of the spectrum, this could push tablets like the base-model iPad, iPad mini, and Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE towards budget prices, meaning we could see very capable tablets sold for very reasonable prices.
Why trust TechRadar this Black Friday
We’ve covered Black Friday for over decade here at TechRadar and we’ve learnt when all the best sales start and how to uncover all of the top deals. We also monitor sales throughout the year and track the lowest prices of dozens of the most popular products as so we know a bargain when we see it.
The Mobile Computing team at TechRadar is comprised of phone and tablet experts with a deep knowledge of both the internal power of smart devices and the user experience these components create. We take our time testing and reviewing products from all the leading phone and tablet makers, and keep an eye out for all the latest news and updates.
This means we can recommend products with confidence, and where a question lands beyond our expertise we work with the wider TechRadar team to make sure you get the best information and the best deals. Combined, we’ll bring you the best Black Friday deals on all the top-rated and well-reviewed products available to buy right now so you come away with some excellent tech at a great price.