Best Black Friday Deals: Picks From Our Experts for the Best 2023 Deals

Folks have been counting down to Black Friday for weeks, but with just two days to go until the main event, sales are in full swing, which means many of the season’s best deals have already arrived. A team of more than a dozen CNET shopping experts has been spending many hours each week analyzing thousands of offers from trusted retailers, and we’re reporting the best of them here, paying close attention to those products we’ve tested and reviewed in our labs. Below, we’ve rounded up the most notable deals worth shopping this Black Friday, along with some tips on getting the most out of Black Friday sales. We’ve also included links to all our related coverage.

Best Black Friday deals

With Black Friday fast approaching, the latest AirPods Pro have fallen back down to just $190. That’s almost $60 off the Apple Store price and only $1 above their record low.

The Peloton Bike Plus is an upgrade that incorporates the best features from the original model and has new features like a 24-inch HD rotating touchscreen display and a more powerful speaker.

Our favorite 4K streaming device is 38% off for Black Friday. With this early Amazon deal, you can snag the Roku Express 4K Plus for just $25.

Dyson makes some of the best fans and space heaters, and you can score a huge $120 off this model that can do both. Plus get a further $20 off your order with code HOLIDAY20 if you’re new to QVC.

If you’re looking for a huge upgrade to your entertainment space, the LG C3 is the best high-end TV on the market. It has an OLED screen with incredible picture quality as well as excellent gaming features. Plus, you can save $900 on the 65-inch model right now.

More Black Friday tech deals

Apple iPad (9th gen): $230 (save $99)Apple Watch Series 9: $329 (save $70)Windows 11 Pro: $23 (save $177)Apple 15-inch MacBook Air M2: $1,099 (save $200)Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones: $328 (save $72)
Apple Pencil 2: $89 (save $40)Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K: $25 (save $25)Chromecast with Google TV (HD): $20 (save $10)
Apple AirTag (4-pack): $80 (save $19)Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro 3D printer: $280 (save $60)Amazon Echo bundles: Up to 71% off

More Black Friday home deals

Keurig K-Elite: $119 (save $71)Samsung Jet 60 Pet cordless vacuum: $200 (save $130)Bella Pro Series 9-quart air fryer: $70 (save $110)
KitchenAid Deluxe 4.5-quart stand mixer: $259 (save $141)
Branch Verve office chair: $466 (save $84)Cricut Explore 3: $249 (save $70)Bissell Little Green carpet cleaner: $89 (save $35)

More Black Friday health and fitness deals

Fitbit Sense 2: $200 (save $100)Fitbit Charge 6: $100 (save $60)Peloton Bike: $1,095 (save $350)Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Sapphire Solar: $700 (save $200)Hydrow Wave rowing machine: $1,445 (save $450)Therabody Theragun Mini massage gun: $150 (save $50)

Best early Black Friday deals by category

Best Black Friday iPhone deals

Black Friday Apple Watch deals

Best Black Friday TV deals

Our Black Friday TV deals roundup has got you covered this holiday season, whether you want to upgrade to a premium OLED model or nab a cheap TV set for a guest bedroom.

Black Friday robot vacuum deals

Black Friday air fryer deals

Black Friday headphone deals

We’re tracking headphone and earbud prices this holiday season in our dedicated Black Friday headphone deals roundup. Save on brands like Apple, Sony, Bose and many more.

Black Friday laptop deals

Featured deals in our best Black Friday laptop deals guide include Apple MacBooks, Microsoft Surface, Acer Chromebooks and many more. You can save hundreds on your next laptop purchase this fall.

We’ve got you covered when it comes to Black Friday PS5 deals, from console bundles to game and accessory deals.

Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals

From streaming sticks to full TV sets, there are plenty of Roku Black Friday deals to shop right now with prices starting as low as $20.

Black Friday soundbar deals

Need a Black Friday soundbar deal to go with your recent TV upgrade? We’ve rounded up deals from Polk, LG, Klipsch and more if you want to give your audio experience a boost.

Black Friday fitness deals

With a plethora of Black Friday fitness deals available now, you can get a head start on your New Year health goals. Save on everything from Peloton bikes and treadmills to dumbells, fitness trackers, shoes and apparel.

Black Friday mattress deals

Black Friday mattress deals offer some of the best prices of the year. If your mattress is a little long in the tooth, now’s the time to consider swapping it out for something now.

When is Black Friday?

In 2023, Black Friday is on Nov. 24. The major sale event always takes place the day after Thanksgiving is observed in the US, which is on the fourth Thursday of November each year. That being said, Black Friday sales have expanded greatly in recent years, moving from a post-holiday weekend event to a month-long bonanza.

Read more: Black Friday and Cyber Monday Cheat Sheet

Which stores have Black Friday sales?

Basically all major retailers — both online and brick-and-mortar stores — have tons of deals and discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday each year. That includes the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart, as well as more specialized retailers such as B&H Photo, GameStop and Dell.

Amazon Black Friday saleWalmart Black Friday saleBest Buy Black Friday saleTarget Black Friday saleStackSocial Black Friday saleB&H Photo Black Friday salePeak Design Black Friday saleMoment Black Friday saleSatechi Black Friday sale Robert Rodriguez/CNET

When do Black Friday sales start?

Though Black Friday always falls late in the month, Black Friday sales tend to begin much earlier. These days, much of the month of November is dedicated to early Black Friday deals with many of the big retailers launching showing off their Black Friday ads and launching their sales weeks before Black Friday itself.

As well as sharing online sales, we’ll be rounding up all of the Black Friday store hours and Thanksgiving store closures to help you decide when to shop in person versus online.

Are the best Black Friday deals available online?

Generally speaking, yes. The days of lining up outside of your nearest big-box retailer in the early hours of Black Friday are essentially over. The number of deals launching exclusively in stores has been dwindling in recent years, and this was certainly accelerated during COVID-19 when crowds were discouraged, with much of the shopping at this time of year moving online. Some retailers — such as Walmart — are even launching their Black Friday deals earlier for online shoppers before in-person shoppers get a look in.

Read more: Which Black Friday Sales Are Better? Online vs. In-Store Deals

When is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday takes place on the Monday after Black Friday, so that’s Nov. 27 in 2023. But with Black Friday sales running throughout November, both in-store and online, there’s less delineation of the two sales than in years gone by.

How long do I have to return Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases?

This varies by store, but most will offer extended returns windows for items purchases in pre-holiday sales. This should give you some peace of mind when it comes to picking out holiday gifts for loved ones. We’ll be rounding up all of the notable holiday return windows here.

Why is it called Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

The term “black” has historically been used to denote distressing or calamitous events. The earliest known use of Black Friday for the Friday after Thanksgiving was to refer to the practice of workers calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving in the early 1950s. Around that same time, US police adopted the term to describe the traffic conditions during the first major holiday shopping date.

After attempts to move to the term “Big Friday” failed, merchants attempted to ameliorate the term Black Friday in subsequent years, suggesting that its origin was not due to the poor traffic conditions the shopping day created, but because the profit it generated put stores “back in the black” in financial terms.

Then, in 2005, the National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday” because it had noticed a spike in online traffic the Monday following Thanksgiving. At the time, they believed it was because people were making online purchases while they were at work following the holiday so their kids couldn’t see any gift purchases and because work computers usually have faster internet connection.

There was some chatter about calling the date Black Monday or Blue Monday — because hyperlinks are blue — but eventually, everyone settled on the more futuristic-sounding Cyber Monday. In 2014, Cyber Monday became the biggest online shopping day in the country.

The CNET Deals team will keep you up to date on all of the best deals all year long, so be sure to follow the team on X and sign up for the CNET Cheapskate Deals newsletter.