Black Friday Streaming Media Player Deals Preview
Apple TV 4K Could See Notable Discounts
Apple TV deals are pretty rare, and it's a toss-up on whether or not we'll see any for Black Friday this year. We didn't come across any deals on these devices during last year's Black Friday sales, but we've seen a handful in 2020 already. It's worth keeping an eye out when the sales begin.
Note that we saw a used 4th-generation Apple TV HD for $94 earlier this year, and refurbished Apple TV 4K models hit lows of $123 for the 32GB iteration. However, the most notable deal we saw was for the Apple TV 4K 64GB model. Earlier this year, an offer dropped the price of it to $174 — that's $5 less than the list price for the 32GB iteration! While we could see these promotions resurface for Black Friday, it's not a guarantee.
Google Chromecast Will Dip Down to $25
Don't confuse the Google Chromecast and the new Chromecast with Google TV; the latter product is brand-new and retails for $50. Rather, we expect the $25 one to be the basic Google Chromecast, which has a list price of $30. We saw it drop to $25 last Black Friday with pickup at Walmart, and we're expecting similar deals to return this year.
As for the new Chromecast with Google TV, we're not expecting crazy discounts. However, there's a chance we could see a modest drop — a deal that brings the device to $35 is a reasonable prospect.
Fire Streaming Devices Could Be Half Price
Amazon has four different Fire TV streamers now: the Fire TV Stick Lite, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, and Fire TV Cube. The Lite iteration just came out, and with a list price of $30, it's affordable but has plenty of room for discounts. Amazon isn't above dropping the price of its streaming devices to half their normal cost. And there's a real chance we could see the Fire TV Stick Lite drop to $15 for Black Friday. If it doesn't go that low, a $10 cut to a special price of $20 is still a reasonable expectation.
The Fire TV Stick fell to $20 last year, and the Fire TV Stick 4K dropped to $25. We absolutely expect these deals to pop up again for Black Friday 2020. As for the Fire TV Cube, we saw it drop to $90 in 2019, and Amazon is cutting the price down to $80 for Prime Day. Because of that, there's a good chance it'll hit $80 again for Black Friday.
Roku 4K Devices Will Drop to $29
Streaming 4K entertainment has gotten more affordable over the years, and Roku has definitely helped that along. Last year, we saw the Roku 4K Streaming Stick+ fall to $29 with pickup at Walmart during Black Friday. This year we've seen the Roku Premiere, which supports 4K and HDR streaming, hit the same low at Amazon. We're not expecting many deals this Black Friday to be reliant on in-store pickup, so there's a good chance we'll see these devices hit this low price in general.
The new Roku Ultra 4K HDR streamer likely won't see a drop like this, but it should still get a significant discount. The last couple of years, we've seen Roku Ultra devices fall to around $48 for Black Friday — even better, some of those deals included JBL headphones. Because these offers have been so consistent during recent Black Friday sales, we expect to see them return again this year.
Black Friday Smartwatch and Fitness Tracker Deals Preview
Shop Kohl's for the Best Fitbit Deals
Fitbit already has a range of affordable products, but Kohl's shoppers can save even more around Black Friday. For instance, last year we saw both the Fitbit Ace 2 kids' activity tracker and Fitbit Inspire for only $50 each. As a bonus, each product was bundled with $15 Kohl's Cash.
While we also saw a deal for a $90 Fitbit Versa Lite, Kohl's shoppers could snag a more desirable offer. The same smartwatch was priced at $100 at Kohl's, though it came with $30 Kohl's Cash, effectively dropping the price to $70.
A whopping 74% of the deals we saw for Fitbit products last year came from Kohl's. All of them included at least $15 Kohl's Cash, but some of the more expensive models were bundled with up to $45 in Kohl's Cash.
Apple Watch Series 6 Will See Modest Drops
The Apple Watch Series 5 arrived last fall, and by Black Friday, we saw deals for around $355. Given the starting price was regularly $399, this wasn't a super-noteworthy discount, but it was nothing to scoff at, either. We're counting on similar offers for the Apple Watch Series 6 this year. And as the Apple Watch Series 3 is still available, we're expecting to see it drop to $170 again for Black Friday, if not slightly lower.
Apple Watch SE Could Hit $250
Apple introduced the Apple Watch SE as a more affordable smartwatch this year, and with a starting price of $279, it certainly is less pricey than the higher-end Apple Watches. However, because it already starts at a lower price, we're not expecting to see vast discounts. If anything, we could see a deal offering it for $250, but that's as low as we would expect it to go.
Select Fossil Smartwatches Will Fall to $50
If Apple isn't your pick, Fossil will likely have sleek smartwatches for as little as $50 for Black Friday. Last year, Fossil smartwatches started at only $67, and we've already seen hybrid smartwatch and fitness trackers by the brand go for as little as $47 this year. Because of that, it seems reasonable for select smartwatches to go down to $50 when Black Friday rolls around.
Black Friday Speaker and Headphone Deals Preview
Save Up to 50% on Headphones at Amazon
While we routinely see earbuds under $10 for Black Friday — last year, a pair of JBL in-ear headphones fell to $7 — those aren't the only affordable pieces of audio gear you'll find. We'll likely see plenty of sales on headphones in 2020.
We're expecting a sale on speakers and headphones to drop prices as low as $30 at Amazon, and the online retailer should have big discounts again this year. Last year, it knocked up to 50% off both Skullcandy and Jabra headphones, a deal that should return for Black Friday 2020.
Take Up to 50% Off Bose Audio Items
If you're interested in higher-end items, know that Bose products should be on sale at a variety of retailers. In 2019, both Amazon and eBay knocked up to 50% off Bose items. Additionally, shoppers could find select Bose products in Crutchfield's Black Friday and Beyond Sale, an event that took up to $2,000 off.
Snag Floorstanding Speakers for as Little as $55 per Pair
Black Friday 2019 saw pairs of speakers from Polk Audio for as little as $55, but there were plenty of options for every budget. We also saw pairs of Bluetooth bookshelf speakers for $50, and even a Logitech 5.1 surround sound system for $90.
The highly rated Sonos Play:1 speakers have been officially discontinued, but the Sonos One and Sonos One SL models have replaced them. We saw a pair of One SL speakers last Black Friday for $298. That deal also included a $20 Amazon gift card, which made it even more enticing. While we haven't seen this deal return yet this year, it could make a reappearance for Black Friday 2020.
Klipsch 12" 600W Powered Subwoofer