My top 5 tech deals for Black Friday 2024 all hit all-time low prices

I admire the patience of people who know the tech they want but still wait for the best deals and discounts to appear on Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday. That patience has paid off this year as there are some very attractive deals available on great products.

It’s brutal trying to narrow down this year’s best deals, but the deals below are my top five. I bought or tried all five of these products this year so I can personally vouch that they are all outstanding. And I was delighted to see all five products hit their all-time low prices on Black Friday.

Also: Best Black Friday Deals: Live Updates

1. Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses

Smart glasses have never looked so good — or looked so much like regular glasses. Meta partnered with Ray-Ban to bring audio-based augmented reality glasses to these iconic frames. And the sound quality is truly the best feature. These glasses are great for taking phone and video calls, as well as for playing podcasts and audiobooks. And while nifty audio is their top feature, these glasses can also take photos and videos of the same quality as a 3-4 year old smartphone camera. They also offer a hands-free AI assistant that can answer questions, translate languages, and regularly receive software updates to add new features.

the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses is one of the hardest tech products to get hold of in the first half of 2024 because many models have been sold out for months — and so price cuts are rare. But for Black Friday, Amazon is offering an innovative deal on the standard version with black frames and green lenses. These products retail for $299, but Amazon is selling them for $239 (20% off) and also includes a $90 digital credit to spend at Amazon.com. So if you can spend that $90 on other Amazon shopping you’ve been meaning to do, that effectively makes the price of the Meta Ray Bans $149. I highly recommend purchasing Meta Ray-Bans with transition lenses so you can wear them inside and outside. Those products retail for $379 and are on sale for $303 (20% off) and so the $90 digital credit will bring them down to an actual price of $213. dollars — this is still a great price.

2. 10th generation iPad

Apple now makes a lot of very advanced and very expensive iPads that can easily cost over $1,000 – and even scale to over $2,000. However, I only recommend those iPad Pro and iPad Air models to digital artists, creators, and multimedia professionals.

For most people, the best iPad to buy is the standard iPad iPad 10th generationactually looks a lot like the iPad Pro and iPad Air and is the first iPad to have a front-facing webcam on the long side of the iPad to make it perfect for video calls. The 10th generation iPad is powerful enough to do the things most people do with their iPads – watch streaming services, read books, surf the web, and respond to messages.

Apple products rarely have big discounts, but Amazon does iPad 10th generation for 28% off ($100 off). It retails for $349 and Amazon lists it for $259 but you can also check the box for a $9.01 instant coupon and get it for $249.99. Considering this tablet was selling for $450 until less than a year ago, this is an even better price than it looks – especially for an Apple product.

3. Sony Bravia X90L 65 inch TV

I looked at the best TVs of 2024 from Sony, Samsung, LG, TCL and Hisense, and the one I still recommend the most is last year’s Sony X90L LED TV. While it won’t wow you in terms of specs, this TV stands out in any room — mounted to the wall or on a stand — and it does just about everything. It has a great design, a high-quality remote, a great software interface powered by Google TV, and great picture quality right out of the box.

This is a mid-range TV so it’s never going to get a big discount – except for the giant 98-inch model – but nearly all sizes of this TV are heavily discounted at Amazon and Best Buy for Friday Black. I would highly recommend the 65-inch model to most people, and it’s on sale for an all-time low price of $998 (23% off the retail price of $1,299).

Now, if you’re someone who loves a good photo and really wants the best image quality money can buy then I recommend LG G4 OLED TV. The 65-inch is on sale for $2,297 (32% off the retail price of $3,399). Just note that you can get two X90Ls and a soundbar for that price.

4. Hisense AX5125H 5.1.2 sound system

If you have a TV that’s in good working order, the best way to upgrade it without having to buy and install an entirely new TV is to add a soundbar. In fact, getting clearer sound with better bass and surround sound is often a bigger upgrade, making your viewing experience more cinematic, than buying a TV with a better picture. .

The best cheap soundbar I tested is Hisense AX5125H 5.1.2 channel sound system. It comes with a 500W wireless subwoofer and two rear speakers. It’s easy to set up using the HDMI eARC port and has clear sound and loud volume for a medium-sized room.

It retails for $350 and is 29% off for Black Friday so you can get it for $250.

5. AirPods Pro 2

AirPods are a perennial favorite among Black Friday deals. Apple rarely gives them discounts, but third-party retailers don’t mind it. The AirPods Pro 2 are now the best-selling model, and they received a major software upgrade in 2024, now making them medically approved hearing aids. So, as a gift, AirPods Pro 2 is more widely used than ever.

And on the occasion of Black Friday, AirPods Pro 2 are available at the lowest price we’ve ever seen for Apple’s professional earbuds. Amazon is selling them for $154 (38% off the retail price of $249). The crazy thing about this deal is that it discounts the professional earbuds for less than Apple’s standard earbuds — AirPods 4 at $165.