When looking for the best deals on electronics—I’m an all-out Black Friday shopper (online only). Over the past several years, I have taken advantage of these deals to build my collection of Phillips Hue bulbs, lamps, and accessories, and Alexa devices. Not only have I expanded my repertoire, but that of my family and friends.
My connections at display companies told me that Black Friday deals are lower than what is extended to them via an employee discount. We upgraded our HDTV to an OLED two years ago and couldn’t be happier with that purchase.
Following are some personal favorite Black Friday announcements and some that are sure to pique the interest of AV Technology and SCN readers.
Hurry before the supply chain runs out!
P.S. The prices noted, and availability might have changed since this posting. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Tunify Streaming Service for Bluesound Professional
Bluesound Professional, the premium distributed audio ecosystem for commercial spaces, has announced the integration of Tunify, the music streaming service specifically for professional users. With this latest integration, all BluOS Enabled devices from Bluesound Professional can now access more commercially licensed music. Ahead of the US Black Friday holiday, users will be prompted to update their BluOS players with the latest firmware update, BluOS 3.16, at which time, Tunify will be available as a streaming music service option.
In June 2021, Bluesound Professional announced its BSP200 Network Streaming Speaker.
Samsung Black Friday Business Deals – Buy in Volume
For AV/IT managers in higher education or corporate looking to stock up on tablets, phones, earbuds, SSDs, you can save up to $500 per unit on some items. Here are a few that I suspect will help stretch your budget.
Save $500 each on 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitors
$1,599.99 $1,099.99
Whether you’re in game development, finance, web development or any other industry that works with lots of fast-moving content at once, the Samsung Odyssey G9 is the solution. Limited time offer.
Save up to $100 each on Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G, plus get a free Chromebook 4 32GB per device and exclusive bulk discounts
$1,199.99 $1,099.99 before trade-in and volume discounts. Buy more, save more with a Samsung Business Account. Get a free Chromebook 4, 11.6-inch, 32GB, 4GB RAM ($229.99 value) per device. Plus, trade in and save up to $275 per device. Limited time offer.
Save $45 each on 980 PRO M.2 1TB Client SSDs plus exclusive bulk discounts
$229.99 $184.99 before volume discounts. Unleash the power of the Samsung 980 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for next-level computing. The 980 PRO delivers 2x the data transfer rate of PCIe 3.0, while maintaining compatibility with PCIe 3.0.
Save 15% each on Galaxy Tab Active3 and Pro rugged tablets
$489.99 $416.49 before trade-in discounts. Trade in and save up to $100 per device. Dust, dirt, sand and water won’t get in your way with the IP68 rated Galaxy Tab Active3 and its S Pen. It’s even MIL-STD-810H compliant, so you can drop it from a height of 1.5M and it’ll absorb the shock. Limited time offer.
Check out more Samsung offers for business here.
And if you want skip the deals because bigger is better, check out Samsung’s The Wall, 2021 Edition.
Cindy’s Personal Favorites Curated from Our Sister Publication, TechRadar
LG OLED G1 Series 55-inch OLED
$1,999.99 $1,696.99 at Amazon
Save $303 - Black Friday TV deals are live at Amazon, and we've spotted LG's gorgeous OLED G1 series on sale for a record-low price of $1,696.99. The G1 from LG is an outstanding OLED TV that offers excellent contrast, better brightness than we've seen before, and an impressively thin design. It's no surprise that it's on TechRadar's list of best TVs of 2021.
Bose QC35 II
$349.99 $179.99 at Amazon
Save $150 - Bose is no stranger to great comfort and impressive sound quality, and the Bose QC35 II doesn't fall far from the tree. These wireless headphones also boast two levels of active noise cancellation, a 2-microphone system, and are on sale for $199.99 - just $20 more than the record-low price.
Samsung 55-inch The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV (2021)
$1,499.99 $999.99 at Samsung
Save $500 - If you're after the popular Frame TV, Samsung's 55-inch art-inspired is on sale for $999 in this early Black Friday deal. That's a massive $500 discount and the cheapest deal we've ever seen. The 65-inch TV transforms into a beautiful piece of art to seamlessly blend into your home's decor and includes customizable bezels, a QLED display, and smart capabilities.
Ring Video Doorbell Wired with Echo Dot
$99.98 $41.99 at Amazon
Save $18 - Amazon's early Black Friday has the Ring Video Doorbell wired on sale for a record-low price of $41.99, and a free 4th generation Echo Dot smart speaker. The Alexa-enabled doorbell is installed using your existing doorbell wiring, so you'll get non-stop power and won't have to worry about replacing the battery.
Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds
$279.99 $248 at Amazon
Save $31.99 - This is the first time we've seen a significant discount on the Sony WF-1000XM4, which are our pick for the best true wireless earbuds of 2021. This price could drop further over Black Friday, so you may want to hold off on buying these buds right away.
MacBook Air (M1, 2020), 8GB RAM, 256GB
$999 $799.99 at Amazon
Save $200: The best laptop in the world just crashed to its lowest price ever in one of the best Black Friday deals we've spotted at Amazon so far. The MacBook Air M1 is now on sale for $799.99 when you apply the additional $150 discount at checkout. That's a total savings of $200 and an incredible price for the powerful Apple laptop.
Oculus Quest 2
$50 e-gift card
$50 voucher - Black Friday deals on the Oculus Quest 2 are extremely rare, but Best Buy just dropped this rare offer - Regardless of which Oculus Quest 2 you buy on November 21, Best Buy will gift you with a $50 voucher that will entitle you to spend that amount on other products online.
iRobot Roomba i6+
$799.99 $549.99 at Amazon
Save $250 This is a great saving ahead of Black Friday on a very smart Roomba. The i6+ is particularly good at handling pet hair, and because it's self-emptying, it can keep cleaning your floors for up to 60 days all by itself. It can also learn your cleaning habits and suggest a custom schedule just for you.
Echo Dot (3rd Gen) Smart Speaker
$49.99 $19.99 at Amazon
Save $34.99 - This Black Friday deal from Amazon slashes the best-selling Echo Dot to a record-low price of just $19.99 and includes a free Sengled Bluetooth Color bulb for a total savings of $34.99. The smart speaker can play music, answer questions, check the weather and control your new smart bulb - all you have to do is ask Alexa.
Sony PlayStation 5 Disc Version
$499.00 at Walmart (Walmart+ Early Access)
It needs no introduction, really – the PlayStation 5 is one of the most hyped and coveted consoles in history, and stock shortages mean the device is still a hugely hot commodity. Launching at 1pm PT / 4pm ET, the PS5 goes live an hour later than other Walmart+ exclusives, so set your alarms, make sure you've got your Walmart+ subscription, and be quick on the trigger. We give you about 5 seconds to snap one of these up.
Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer And Volumizer Hot Air Brush*
$59.99 $34.88 at Amazon
Save $25.11 –
Join the viral crazy of the top-rated Revlon hair dryer brush that's on sale for $34.88 at Amazon. With over 320,000 positive reviews, the one-step hair dryer is always a Black Friday top-seller and a popular Christmas gift idea. Today's offer is the best deal you can find right now and just $12 more than the record-low price.
*[I own one of these and can tell you it’s the best thing since sliced bread.]
Apple Watch 5 GPS and Cellular, 44mm
$749 $459 at Amazon
Save $290 - Amazon has the Apple Watch Series 5 with Celluar on sale for just $459 - just $10 more than the record-low price. The 44mm smartwatch includes LTE connectivity, which allows you to get internet and phone connectivity on your watch even when your iPhone is far away.
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 with black Type Cover (128GB)
$959 $599 at Best Buy
Save $360 - Now that the Surface Pro 8 is here, the Surface Pro 7 is seeing some decent Black Friday discounts - starting with Best Buy, which has the 128GB model on sale for just $599. That's a massive $360 discount and the lowest price we've seen for the tablet-laptop hybrid. This bundle deal also includes a black Type Cover worth $159.99 on its own.
Amazon Echo Show 5
$89.99 $44.99 at Amazon
Save $40 - If you're looking for a Black Friday deal on a smart home display, Amazon has the 2nd generation Echo Show 5 on sale for just $44.99. That's the lowest price we've seen and a fantastic deal for a feature-rich smart home display that includes the Amazon Alexa voice assistant.
Xbox Series X
$499.00 at Walmart (Walmart+ Early Access)
Just like the PS5, the Xbox Series X has had gamers lusting after it since launch, and with stock selling out incredibly quickly. The home of Forza, Halo, Gears of War and tons more, this Walmart+ exclusive drop is bound to sell out fast.
Philips Hue White and Color Lightstrip Plus 2M Starter Kit
$109.99 $68.99 at Best Buy
Save $41 – There's a significant $41 saving on this starter set for the Philips Hue Lightstrip. Use it to jazz up the ambiance in any room around your home. Be that adding a customizable glow effect behind the TV, fitting strip lights in the kitchen, or whatever your imagination decides.
Check out all the best Black Friday deals 2021 from TechRadar here.
