William Gallagher
Just ahead of its Black Friday promotion that begins on November 29, 2024, Apple has revealed that it will yet again be offering bundled gift cards — even as other firms offer actual discounts.
Once more, Apple's Black Friday offering sees no discounts on any items. Instead, buyers of certain products get an Apple Gift Card ranging between $25 and $200 toward their next Apple purchase.
It has to be that the card is used against some future Apple purchase, so there are time when this can be useful. If you already know, for instance, that you are going to buy two items, you can get the gift card and use it as a discount on the second item.
An Apple Gift Card can be used toward the purchase of any Apple product. But Apple is very careful about which gift cards it gives with which devices — if any.
For Black Friday 2024, the announced deals are:
- iPhone 15, iPhone 14, or iPhone SE — up to $75
- M3 15-inch MacBook Air, M2 or M3 13-inch MacBook Air — up to $200
- iPad, iPad Air, or iPad Pro — up to $100
- Apple Watch SE — $50
- AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 — up to $75
- Apple TV 4K, HomePod — up to $50
- Beats Studio Pro, Beats Solo 4 Wireless, Beats Solo Buds, Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Buds, Beats Pill, or Beats Flex — up to $50
- Accessories: Magic Keyboard, Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil (2nd generation), Magic Keyboard Folio, Smart Folio for iPad Pro, Smart Folio for iPad Air, or Smart Folio for iPad (10th generation) — $25
Until November 29, it is not possible to delve further and determine why some deals are only "up to" a certain amount.
Most significantly, there are key omissions from the list. Buyers will not get gift card at all if they buy:
- MacBook Pro
- Mac mini
- iMac
- iPad mini
- Apple Watch Series 10
- Apple Watch Ultra 2
- Apple Watch Nike
- Apple Watch Hermes
- Any iPhone 16 model
Yet at least most of these are included in the Black Friday deals from other resellers. And those resellers all offer actual discounts, rather than gift cards.
Amazon's full list of Black Friday Apple deals, for instance, includes an M4 Mac mini with up to $100 off.
It's not impossible that Apple will add other items to its Black Friday promotion, but it is unlikely. And it is certain that Apple will only offer its gift cards.
Since resellers offering actual discounts will sell out, keep an eye on the live AppleInsider and constantly updated guide to the best Black Friday Apple deals.
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Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
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3 Comments
Apple has issued gift cards for Black Friday purchases for several years and there's little chance of them changing this anytime in the foreseeable future.
Gift cards ensure that all of the money will be redirected back at Apple whether it be hardware, software, or services. With most third party content Apple will get some sort of cut (often 30%) so a $100 Apple card is really $30 (at least) back in their pocket rather than $100 being spent elsewhere.
This also allows them to maintain pricing (deep discounting devalues luxury brands) and their all-important gross margins. Apple gift cards would show up on the financials elsewhere (not part of COGS).
Maybe 10-15 years ago Apple offered very modest Black Friday discounts on selected items (anywhere from about 5-12% off). Those days are long gone. The current gift card strategy is far craftier and better for their balance sheet.
Wow all the m4 macs aren’t included i guess education pricing is still the way to go