The best Amazon Black Friday deals: What you need to know – CNET

Things are moving fast in the run-up to Black Friday. You might have seen Amazon’s Happy HoliDeals page, which has a smattering of Amazon gear mixed among a smorgasbord of various gadgets and accessories. But before you buy a anything with the Amazon branding on it — Echo smart speakers, Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers and so on — be aware: The company just revealed the full slate of Amazon Black Friday device deals, many of which rival what we saw during this year’s Prime Day. In the meantime, we continue to see new price cuts on non-Amazon stuff, like the Sony WH-1000XM3 over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones for $278 — a nice markdown from $350 for what’s arguably the best active noise-canceling headphone out there.

If you’re planning to buy any of the aforementioned Amazon devices, you should sign up for TopCashback first; the cash-back service is offering an unparalleled 10% rebate on Amazon devices. And yeah, you think you’re already a pro at saving money on Black Friday sales, but I recently discovered a few tricks that you may not know about. So check out my advice on how to save an extra 10-20% at Amazon.

Here’s a list of our favorite gear that’s on sale at Amazon right now, followed by the Amazon device deals that start as of Nov. 22.

Amazon Black Friday deals available now

As expected, some of the best early discounts are on Amazon devices (though some of the items below will be even cheaper in a few weeks, as noted above). But I found a few noteworthy non-Amazon deals as well, so check those out, too.

Chamberlain

Actually, this app-powered garage-door controller originally sold for $130, so in a way you’re saving $100. It’s been steadily creeping down in price, but this is the lowest I’ve seen it. It’s compatible with most garage doors, and its usefulness cannot be overstated. Arguably the best $30 you can spend on your house right now.

Read our Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub review.

23andMe

Got some saliva to spare? Send a little to 23andMe and receive back over 125 DNA-based reports on your health, wellness, ancestry and the like. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on this kit, which normally runs $199.

Bose

Sure, there’s an avalanche of competition out there, with more noise cancelling headphones than you can soundlessly shake a stick at. But Bose always seems to lead the pack with superb comfort, noise cancelling, and overall sound quality. Right now, you can get Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Bluetooth Headphones for $70 off at Amazon. If you don’t care about getting a dedicated Google Assistant button, you can still find otherwise identical, refurbished copies of the original Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones at Amazon as well. That said, the price has been fluctuating a bit — we saw the QuietComfort 35 II for as low as $235 recently, so there might still be some surprises between now and Black Friday. But you certainly shouldn’t pay more than $279 if you’re in the market between now and the new year.

Read a full review of the Bose QuietComfort 35 II.

Amazon

Actually, there are savings to be had on several Insignia models, including the 32- and 39-inch ones. But if you just need something small for the den, bedroom or the like, it’s hard to beat a full-featured Fire TV for $100.

See all Fire TV sets on sale

Amazon

Between Bose, Sony and now Apple AirPods Pro, active noise-canceling headphones are all the rage. And now, we’re seeing an old favorite from Sennheiser that’s currently just $80 at Amazon — down from $200. We reviewed the nearly identical Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC two years ago, and found it to be a formidable Bose competitor at that $200 price. That model is down to $108 on Amazon, but this model — the HD 4.50 SE — has literally the exact same specs, aside from some cosmetic color differences. 

Sony

While Sony’s WH-1000XM3 noise cancelling headphones showed up to party at $228 very briefly last week, we can’t be sure that wasn’t just a pricing error rather than a deliberate effort to undercut Bose. Nonetheless, it’s now priced at $278, and we’d be surprised if it went any lower before the holidays. There’s little doubt that these excellent-sounding headphones are the ones to beat right now, which is great, since they’re priced about the same as its chief competitor Bose QuietComfort 35 II.

Read CNET’s review of the Sony WH-1000XM3.

Amazon deals starting Friday, Nov. 22

Amazon deals starting Sunday, Nov. 24

Amazon deals starting Wednesday, Nov. 27

Amazon deals starting Thursday, Nov. 28

That’s it for now! Have you spotted any other great deals in Amazon’s super early sale? Share them in the comments.


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Originally published earlier this month. Updated as new deals arrive and others expire.


CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page, and find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.

source: cnet.com