Here are the best “early Black Friday” deals we’re seeing this weekend [Updated]

Update (11/6/21 9:00 am EDT) : For this weekend’s Dealmaster roundup, we’ve updated our list of the best offers we can find from the various “early Black Friday” sales going on at Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and other retailers this week. We’ve ensured that the prices of our curated picks are all up to date, and we’ve added a few new offers, marked below by the ” NEW ” tag.

Our additions include a joint-lowest price on Amazon’s latest Fire HD 10 tablet , which we recommend for those on a budget who want a large-screen tablet for casual media consumption. It’s down to $100 . Meanwhile, the PS5 and PS4 versions of Hades , our 2020 game of the year , are available for a new low of $20 . A couple of HyperX gaming headsets we like, the Cloud Alpha and budget-friendly Cloud Stinger , are also down to lower-than-usual prices at $60 and $30 , respectively. We also have an all-time low on Apple’s high-performing AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones, discounts on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited and Music Unlimited services, a good price on a well-reviewed Lenovo Chromebook, and a new low on an excellent gaming chair from AndaSeat . You can find all these offers, along with a refreshed version of our original roundup, below.

Original post (11/1/2021 6:30 pm EDT) : With each passing year, “Black Friday” becomes more and more like “Black November.” What used to be a single weekend of sales has increasingly stretched out to weeks of breathless promotions. Much to the dismay of the Dealmaster’s work-life balance, this trend is not stopping any time soon. So, right on cue , retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy have already started to roll out so-called “early Black Friday” events that promise to offer the same discounts that’ll be available at the end of the month.

For today’s roundup, the Dealmaster has pored through the most recent of these promos to find the discounts that might actually hold true to Black Friday’s claims. To be clear, we’re positive there will be a much wider range of good tech deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday proper than there are in the sales going on as of this writing. The majority of what’s out there today is advertising hype (that is, even more than usual), and there’s still a chance that some of the prices below fall a few bucks lower in the coming weeks. That said, the number of genuinely noteworthy sales within these early Black Friday events appear to have picked up since our last roundup.

Among these more recent highlights, Amazon has launched its yearly array of discounts on its own Fire tablets, Fire TV streamers, and Echo smart speakers. The latest Fire HD 8 tablet is down to $45 , for instance, which is the lowest price we’ve tracked for consumers who want a competent tablet for basic e-reading and video viewing. Almost all of the Kids editions of these slates— which add protective bumper cases, deeper parental controls, and a year’s subscription to Amazon’s Kids+ child-friendly content service—are down to new lows as well. Same goes for the company’s newest Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 smart displays , among others.

Beyond that, the best-ever price we saw last month on Sony’s excellent (if horrifically named) WH-1000XM4 headphones is back again, bringing the versatile noise-canceling headphones back down to $248 . Bose’s QuietComfort 35 II, meanwhile, are available for a low of $179 : they’re technically a generation old now , and they charge over the ancient microUSB. But if you want to save $70 and prioritize comfort over all else, the QuietComfort 35 II may be worth a look. Sony’s true wireless WF-1000XM4 are also down to $248 and are similarly effective at noise cancellation for those who prefer an in-ear design.

Elsewhere, we have a sweeping sale on Google’s Nest smart home speakers and smart displays, deals on well-reviewed LG OLED and TCL Roku TVs, lows or near-lows on previously recommended devices like Logitech’s G305 wireless gaming mouse , Fitbit’s Sense smartwatch , SanDisk’s Nintendo Switch microSD card , and much more. You can see our full list of recommended deals below; we’ll continue sorting through the early Black Friday cruft to find the offers worth your time over the coming weeks.

Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs .

Featured deals of the day

• Amazon Fire HD 8 (32GB, ads) 8-inch tablet for $50 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $85).
• Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids (32GB) 10.1-inch tablet for $120 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $185).
• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K media streamer for $25 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $35).
• Roku Streaming Stick 4K (2021) media streamer for $30 at Amazon, Walmart , and Best Buy (normally $50).
• Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for $248 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $325).
• Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) 7-inch smart home display for $50 at Best Buy, Target , and Adorama (normally $100).
• Microsoft Xbox Game Pass for PC 3-month membership for $1 at Microsoft (new subscribers only—normally $30).
• NEW HyperX Cloud Alpha gaming headset for $60 at Best Buy (normally $80).
• NEW Hades (PS5, PS4) for $20 at Amazon and Walmart (normally $30).
• NEW AndaSeat Fnatic Edition XL gaming chair for $250 at AndaSeat (normally $530).

Electronics deals

• NEW SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 (2TB) for $225 at Best Buy and Amazon (normally $285).
• Fitbit Inspire 2 activity tracker for $60 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $100).
• Fitbit Sense fitness smartwatch for $200 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $280).
• OnePlus 9 (128GB) 6.55-inch unlocked smartphone for $600 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $695).
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch for $199 at Amazon, Best Buy , and B&H (normally $245).
• NEW Garmin Venu Sq fitness smartwatch for $130 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $180).
• Apple iPad Air (256GB, 2020) 10.9-inch tablet for $650 at Amazon and Costco (discount seen at checkout—normally $675).

Headphones and audio deals

• NEW Apple AirPods Max Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for $430 at Amazon and Sam’s Club (normally $495).
• Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for $248 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $325).
• Bose QuietComfort 35 II Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for $179 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $280).
• Jabra Elite 85h Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones for $150 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $200).
• NEW Jabra Elite Active 75t true wireless noise-canceling earphones for $100 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $165).
• Jabra Elite 45h Bluetooth on-ear headphones for $60 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $85).
• Beats Powerbeats Pro true wireless earbuds for $150 at Best Buy and Amazon (normally $195).
• Marshall Emberton portable Bluetooth speaker for $129 at Best Buy and Target (normally $150).

Amazon device deals

• NEW Amazon Kindle Unlimited 4-month membership for $5 at Amazon (new subscribers only—normally $30).
• NEW Amazon Music Unlimited 3-month membership for free at Amazon (new subscribers only—normally $20).
• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K media streamer for $25 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $35).
• Amazon Kindle (8GB) 6-inch ebook reader for $50 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $80).
• Amazon Fire HD 8 (32GB, ads) 8-inch tablet for $50 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $85).
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus (32GB) 8-inch tablet for $55 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $100).
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (32GB) 8-inch tablet for $70 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $125).
• Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro (32GB) 8-inch tablet for $70 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $125).

• NEW Amazon Fire HD 10 (32GB, ads) 10.1-inch tablet for $100 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $140).
• Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids (32GB) 10.1-inch tablet for $120 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $185).
• Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro (32GB) 10.1-inch tablet for $120 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $185).
• Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition (4th gen) smart home speaker for $35 at Amazon (normally $50).
• Amazon Echo (4th gen) smart home speaker for $60 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $95).
• Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd gen) 5.5-inch smart home display for $55 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $75).
• Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd gen) 8-inch smart home display for $100 at Amazon, Best Buy , and Target (normally $120).

Smart home device deals

• Google Nest Hub (2nd gen) 7-inch smart home display for $50 at Best Buy and Target (normally $100).
• Google Nest Hub Max 10-inch smart home display for $180 at Best Buy and Target (normally $230).
• Google Nest Audio smart home speaker for $60 at Best Buy, Target , and Adorama (normally $100).
• Google Nest Thermostat smart home thermostat for $100 at Amazon and Best Buy (normally $130).
• Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance A19 LED Starter Kit : includes 3x multicolor smart LED bulbs, dimmer switch, and Hue Bridge hub for $140 at Best Buy (normally $190).