Analysis: Best Black Friday Tablet Deals, 2016
[Editors’ Note: For our Black Friday guides, we analyzed the “previewed” (i.e., intentionally leaked) ads from the major retail brick-and-mortar chains for the best tech deals in various categories, emphasizing products we’ve tested. We’ve done our best to ensure accuracy, but check your local retail circulars—paper and online—closer to Black Friday to confirm store opening hours before making the trip. Note that not all stores will carry all items, so check first to avoid disappointment. Also: Some vendors were unclear about the online availability of some deals, so be sure to check the sites, as well. To see even more deals, also check out our Daily Deals page.]
Judging by the space they’re taking up in the 2016 circulars—and by the quality of the deals—tablets are, again in 2016, one of the best things to buy on Black Friday outright. They’re excellent gifts at any time, but many 2016 models are seeing especially deep price cuts for Black Friday.
We are especially surprised by the breadth and depth of the price cuts on Apple's iPad Air 2, hardware that is seldom discounted much year-round. But even if you're not in it for an iPad, there's a host of other non-Apple tablet deals, among them a Surface Pro 4 (with its pricey Type Cover included!) for $599, and a $33 Amazon tablet (which was already crazy-cheap at $50).
Let’s check out the best deals on offer.
1. Amazon Fire HD 8 for $59.99 (Best Buy)
The Deal: Best Buy is offering the Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet for $59.99, $30 off its regular price on Amazon. Note that this is a doorbuster deal, so quantities will be limited. According to Best Buy's flyer, tickets for these deals will be handed out up two hours before store opening. So be sure to get there early.
The Terms: Most stores open Thursday at 5 p.m. and close at 1 a.m. on Friday. They reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday. Tickets are required to purchase in-store doorbusters.
The Skinny: Amazon's 2016 Fire HD 8 is one of today's best-value buys in a tablet of any stripe, especially for entertainment consumption. If you’re buying this tablet to shop at Amazon, and to consume the stuff you buy at Amazon, it's a very fine value. It's the best brand-name tablet you can buy at this price, and it excels as a starter or replacement tablet for seniors, kids, and those who are less tech-savvy but want to start using something. And it’s an especially good deal if you’re already an Amazon Prime customer.
The Research: See our full review of the Amazon Fire HD 8.
The Hotness: 4.5 of 5 stars
2. Amazon Fire for $33.33 (Best Buy or Staples)
The Deal: Best Buy is offering the Amazon Fire, a 7-inch budget tablet, for $33.33, $16.66 off its regular $49.99 price on Amazon. (Staples will have it for a similar price.) Note that this is a doorbuster deal, so quantities will be limited. According to Best Buy's flyer, tickets for these deals will be handed out up two hours before store opening. So be sure to get there early.
The Terms: Most Best Buy stores open Thursday at 5 p.m. and close at 1 a.m. on Friday. They reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday. Tickets are required to purchase in-store doorbusters.
The Skinny: Don't expect a stunning display or extremely snappy performance. But if you're looking for a budget tablet and the costlier Fire HD 8 is too expensive for your budget, you won't do much better than the entry-level Amazon Fire—especially at this reduced price of under $35. This tablet is best for basic media consumption. It can provide hours of entertainment, especially if you already have an Amazon Prime subscription, which gives you access to the company's growing library of streaming video.
The Research: See our full review of the Amazon Fire.
The Hotness: 4 of 5 stars
3. Microsoft Surface Pro 4 With Type Cover for $599.99 (Best Buy)
The Deal: Best Buy is offering a version of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Windows 10 tablet, along with its Type Cover keyboard accessory, for $599.99. That's $430 off what you'd pay to buy the $899 Core m3 entry-level model of the Surface Pro 4 and its $129 Type Cover separately! Note that this is a doorbuster deal, so quantities will be limited. According to Best Buy's flyer, tickets for these deals will be handed out up two hours before store opening. So be sure to get there early.
The Terms: Most stores open Thursday at 5 p.m. and close at 1 a.m. on Friday. They reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday. Tickets are required to purchase in-store doorbusters.
The Skinny: With a Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive, this model of the Surface Pro 4 isn't the powerhouse that the pricier models can be. But you'll get the same gorgeous 2,736x1,824-resolution screen and the premium build of Core i7 models that cost several hundred bucks more, plus long battery life. Note, though, that the snazzy Surface Pen is sold separately with this model.
The Research: See our full review of the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.
The Hotness: 5 of 5 stars
4. Apple iPad Air 2 (32GB, Wi-Fi) for $274 (Target)
The Deal: Target is offering the Apple iPad Air 2 (the 32GB Wi-Fi version), a 9.7-inch premium tablet starting at $274, which is $125 off the $399.99 base price. Best Buy is offering a similar deal that takes $125 off all models of the iPad Air 2, so if you want more storage, you may want to shop there instead.
The Terms: Most Target stores will open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Friday hours were not yet clear; check with your local store.
The Skinny: Apple's iPad Air 2 is no longer the company's flagship tablet, with two sizes of the Apple iPad Pro now available with beefier specs. But the iPad Air 2 is still a formidable, premium-looking tablet with snappy performance, improved cameras, and Touch ID for security and Apple Pay purchases.
The Research: See our full review of the Apple iPad Air 2.
The Hotness: 4.5 of 5 stars
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