Best Black Friday tech deals, according to an expert

Huge deals and discounts are already rolling in now Black Friday is officially upon us, and a bunch of retailers have already kicked off their sales. From now until December, you’ll find huge discounts on everything from headphones and fitness trackers to smartphones, games consoles and TVs.

Major tech retailers like Amazon, Argos and Currys have launched their Black Friday deals, so now’s the perfect time to grab the gadgets you’ve been eyeing up all year long.

Whether it’s Apple hardware, high-spec laptops or gaming deals and VR headsets from Sony, Xbox, Meta or Nintendo, you’ll find major discounts taking our top-reviewed tech down to their lowest-ever prices. Below, I’m rounding up all the best tech Black Friday discounts to shop now.

As one of IndyBest’s tech experts, I know a good tech deal when I see one, so I have rounded up the best discounts from tried and tested brands that I trust. Get online now and swipe up these deals before they are all gone.

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Save a huge 24 per cent on the Meta Quest 3 VR headset in this deal that has just dropped after the release of the Meta Quest 3S. “The Meta Quest 3 is an astounding virtual-reality headset, and is arguably the best consumer VR device currently out there,” I said in my review. “With full-colour passthrough, a faster processor, a more comfortable and ergonomic fit, as well as better hand tracking and, of course, those sweet, sweet pancake lenses that make everything so much more stable, this is the VR headset to beat.”

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Despite only launching a week ago, the EE Store has already slashed the price of the PS5 Pro by £40 in its early Black Friday sale, taking it down to just £660. Boasting 8K graphics, more internal memory, improved ray tracing and upscaling through Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology, it’s a powerhouse of a games console, blowing the Xbox Series X out of the water. It also comes with 2TB of internal storage, so you can store even more games.

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You can save £50 on the all-new iPhone 16 by buying the phone from Giffgaff. Just add a £10 mobile phone contract, then cancel it or switch it as soon as you’ve got the phone – you’ll end up paying £50 less for the phone itself. Sneaky.

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A huge phone with a capacious display that’s ideal for getting work done, the Galaxy S24 Ultra includes an S-Pen stylus that slides out of a compartment in the frame. You can stay productive with quick note-taking and sketching, while Galaxy AI features can transcribe meetings into neatly formatted minutes, or add fun extras to your photos.

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Discounted by a third, Google’s flagship Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best smartphones we’ve ever tested. “This year’s Pixel phones go hard on fancy generative AI features, but underpinning all of Google’s software cleverness is an excellent device boasting a significant hardware upgrade over last year’s model,” our writer said in their review. “With a telephoto lens and extra RAM, as well as a Tensor G3 processor, AI-fuelled photo editing features and a glorious 120Hz display, it’s the Android device to beat.”

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The cheapest iPad around is the 10.2in model, which launched in 2021 and is still sold by Apple. The ninth-generation iPad is still a fast and powerful tablet with a great screen and full-sounding stereo speakers. It works with the Apple pencil and the smart keyboard, too, unlocking extra functionality for anyone who wants to stay productive while on the move. With a £50 discount, this is a pretty good saving on the entry-level iPad.

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The Oura smart ring is a revolutionary device that helps track your sleep, activity, stress, heart rate and more. When tech writer Kat reviewed the ring, she particularly liked the sleep features: “The recommended bedtime was a bit like that best friend who’s always looking out for you – it did give me an extra push to put my phone down and go to sleep.” The ring comes in six colourways, including silver, gold, brushed titanium and rose gold.

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Although simpler than the Garmin Forerunner 955 and with fewer features, the 255 still includes a wide range of health and fitness tracking functions, including a race widget to help you prepare for your next event. There’s also a whole catalogue of daily workout suggestions, a widget for estimating your recovery time after each exercise session, and detailed running metrics, including cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance.

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Reduced by 58 per cent, Amazon’s Echo Dot is perfect for those on a budget. IndyBest’s tech critic, Alex, said that “the fifth generation smart speaker has even better sound than all the Echo Dots that have come before it (a mean feat given how hard it is to eek good sound out of a small device).” Praising its top functionality and neat new indoor temperature sensor, he said it can be placed anywhere in your home to deliver weather reports, set timers, play music, podcasts, the news and more.

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With a discount of 42 per cent, now’s the time to upgrade your home entertainment system for less. The nifty Fire TV Stick 4K lets you watch all your favourite shows from various streaming platforms at a higher resolution than the standard version. Serving up a crisp picture, it plugs into the HDMI port on any TV, turning any telly into a smart one.

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The newest version of IndyBest’s favourite tried and tested video doorbell is now 41 per cent off at Amazon thanks to its Black Friday sale making it the lowest price ever. IndyBest tester Zoe found the second-generation Ring doorbell to be the best overall in her review, and now the newest model can be all yours for less than £60. Zoe praised the device for being easy to install and loved the efficiency of the Ring app in alerting her to parcels, something we’re all going to need during Black Friday.

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The best wireless earbuds you can buy are cheaper than ever at Amazon. Down to just £188.99, the Sony WF-1000XM5 feature superb active noise-cancellation and sound quality. The Independent’s tech critic Alex Lee was impressed, saying “they’re packed with features, impeccable sound quality and some of the best active noise-cancellation I’ve heard on any pair of buds before”.

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Landing a spot in the best running headphones guide thanks to the fact they lead the way in delivering music via your cheekbones rather than your ears, Shokz is unlike standard earphones. Instead, the open-ear design allows for the wearer to still feel connected to their surroundings while delivering a premium audio experience. Our review found that they “performed well at blocking out a lot of ambient noise and the noise cancelling microphone worked well too”.

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You can save 50 per cent on this top-rated soundbar from Sonos. When I put the device to the test, I said: “The Ray boosted the clarity of people’s speech in films with poor sound mixing, making it easier to understand conversations.” I added that, while “bass wasn’t as heart-thumping as I had liked, the Ray handled music really well.” Overall, this is a nice starter Sonos soundbar if you want to get into Sonos’s burgeoning ecosystem.

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Sony’s flagship over-ear wireless headphones comfortably hold the top spot in my review of the best wireless headphones. They’re currently discounted by over £100. With next-generation features and impressive noise cancellation, I can attest to their quality. “Whether it’s orchestral music, rap, podcasts or your favourite pop tracks, the WH-1000XM5 handle it all with poise and gumption,” I wrote in my review. “They never miss a beat”.

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One of our favourite Bluetooth speakers now has a whopping 40 per cent off at Amazon. Home tech and appliances reviewer Tamara found this contemporary, slick speaker offers great versatility and quality. In her review, she wrote: “Its 12-hour battery life is also pretty impressive for a speaker that packs this amount of power.” It was the easy-to-use app that cinched it for her, though. She said the app can be used to “tweak the speaker’s EQ (equalisation), adjusting elements such as bass and treble”, creating a fully customisable hi-tech audio experience.

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Released in September, GoPro’s all-new flagship Hero 13 Black action camera has just received a £70 price cut at Amazon. The latest camera is compatible with three new HB-Series lenses with auto-detect, adds compatibility for magnetic latch mounting and charging. Plus, it boasts a redesigned battery that the company says has a 10 per cent higher capacity than its predecessor.

All of the products we select in our Black Friday guides have been tested by us – no dud products get through, so when you find a discount at IndyBest, you know that the product you’re about to buy has been through its paces and is something we recommend.

From speakers and headphones to laptops, games consoles and smart home gadgets, we’ve reviewed them all, so you can trust our picks. We’ve also been covering the Black Friday sales since the shopping event started in the UK many moons ago, so we know what’s a good a deal and what’s worth ignoring.

Black Friday always falls on the day after Thanksgiving in the US. This year, that means Black Friday kicks off on Friday 29 November.

The event has blown up in recent years, with many retailers now offering discounts for the entire weekend, culminating in the Cyber Monday sale (2 December), which will be your final chance to score a saving.

While Cyber Monday originally referred to online-only discounts, it’s now simply a chance for brands and retailers to extend their Black Friday sales. The gaming deals you’ll find on Black Friday will likely be just as good on Cyber Monday, so there’s no need to stress too much about which day to shop.

For the latest offers on tech and more, try the links below:

Prepare to save, with our cheat sheet to the Black Friday 2024 sale