The 29 Best Early Black Friday Deals at Best Buy
Many shipping times are already delayed this year due to supply chain issues and labor shortages. It’s best to start shopping now for those on your holiday list instead of waiting for the last possible moment. (Read our Black Friday tips to learn more.) Best Buy started its holiday deals event early, with Black Friday prices guaranteed—if it gets lower, it will refund you the difference. We think that’s a pretty good deal. Below are some of our favorite products discounted so far.
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Streaming Deals
Roku Streaming Stick Plus (older version)
Photograph: RokuWe’re testing this new Streaming Stick. So far it’s as good as any Roku device. (We like them all.) Its new remote has a voice option for controlling your TV hands-free (or asking it where the remote is). Just say “Hey Roku” like you would with any other voice assistant—you can turn this off if you don’t want it listening. This version comes with headphones for private listening.
If you don’t need programmable shortcut buttons on the remote and don’t mind having to push the microphone button to use your voice, you can save $10 with this 4K stick.
If you’re a fan of Prime TV, you may prefer a streaming device that’s geared heavily toward that service. This is the newest 4K device from the brand, which we haven’t yet tried, but we liked the older version and it has not changed drastically.
Headphones Deals
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones
Photograph: SonyThese are our favorite wireless headphones. They have a whopping 30 hours of battery life and they even pause on their own when they sense you talking. Block out external noise while you work, and sound good during video meetings, too. Sony’s WF-C500 wireless earbuds are also discounted to $78 ($22 off) if you’d rather earbuds but want to stick with this brand, though we have not tested them yet.
These earbuds (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are pricey, but they have excellent sound quality and noise cancelation. The older Elite Active 75T earbuds are still great and they’re cheaper. They’re discounted to $100 ($80 off).
These cute little Buds2 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are comfortable to wear, and sound great with its dual driver. They’re rated IPX2 for water resistance, so you can work out with them. Plus they have nice lavender and olive color options, in addition to the standard black and white.
The Galaxy Buds Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) are good for everything, and they’re better than Apple’s AirPods in nearly every way: They sound better, are more comfortable, and their battery life is longer. Associate reviews editor Parker Hall says he can go from Zoom meetings to listening to music to a run, and these earbuds perform each time.
Amazon Echo Buds
Photograph: AmazonAmazon’s earbuds (8/10, WIRED Recommends) also give Apple’s AirPods a run for their money (and they’re cheaper than the Buds Pro). In his review, Parker Hall notes that they have the best app integration available today, so if you’re a fan of Alexa, it’s a good time to snag a pair.
Our friends across the pond at WIRED UK rated these earbuds a 9/10, saying their noise cancellation is outstanding. However, the battery life leaves something to be desired and they’re more expensive on sale than some of our other favorites listed here.
We haven’t tested either of the JBL headphones that are discounted right now, but we generally like the brand’s headphones and earbuds. They tend to put out good products, so if you know you like them and the price is right, either these or the more expensive JBL Tour One headphones for $250 ($50 off) should work.
Storage Deals (Cards, Hard Drives, and SSD)
Samsung T7 500 GB Portable SSD
Photograph: SamsungThis is one of our favorite portable drives for its speed. It’s light but tough, thanks to its metal body so you can take it anywhere and not worry about it breaking in your bag. But they’re typically the highest priced SSDs per-gigabyte.
This Easystore drive is essentially the same as the Elements drive we recommend in our guide, but this one doesn’t have a power button. They’re fine for backups and storage, but WIRED senior writer Scott Gilbertson doesn’t recommend them for editing video or something else where speed is essential. If you need even more room, the 14-terabyte drive is also discounted to $200 ($220 off).
If you need more storage for your phone or Nintendo Switch, Ultra cards tend to be better for that. Gilbertson recommends going with the 126 GB Extreme Card for $37 ($31 off) for a camera, although he notes that they may not work well for some cameras that shoot higher than 4K.
Smart Home Deals
TP-Link Kasa camera
Photograph: TP LinkI tried an older, 1080p version of this camera and liked it. They’re cheap and easy to use, but they don’t have two-factor authentication which gives you an added layer of security against hackers.
These are our favorite smart bulbs, despite the name difference (C by GE was rebranded as Cync, but some products still exist with the old name and logo—they’ll still work.) They’re easy to set up and use thanks to Cync’s super simple app. Change colors, set schedules, and turn them on and off without lifting more than a finger.
iRobot Roomba i7+
Photograph: RoombaA smart home needs a robot vacuum. This is a great, self-emptying bot vac (9/10, WIRED Recommends) that can remember up to 10 floor plans.
This can vacuum and mop your floors all while avoiding the things you don’t want it to pick up, like socks or wires. A version of it is on our list of Best Robot Vacuums.
You can make your homes smart with lights, cameras, and plugs, but being able to control the air’s temperature from wherever you are (including out of the house so it’s perfect when you get there), is really a luxury. We have a guide on setting it up. The Nest Video Doorbell is also discounted to $130 ($50 off).
Phone Deals
OnePlus 9 Pro
Photograph: OnePlusThe OnePlus 9 Pro is a solid phone, but it’s also more expensive than the rest included in this sale (and one of the priciest OnePlus phones to date). The standard OnePlus 9 is also discounted at $600 ($130 off) if you want to save a few bucks, but the Pro is better. It’s camera is great for photos and videos (and ultrawide shots). It’s fast and powerful enough to handle most games and apps, thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip and 8 gigabytes of RAM. Both phones have solid battery lives and should last you an entire day or more. The OnePlus 8T is also on sale for $500 ($100 off), but it isn’t as good.
If you’re a Motorola fan, this Ace is the one to get. It’s better than the G Series phones with smoother performance overall and two days of battery life. Plus this one has near-field communication (NFC) sensors so you can pay with your phone (the G Series phones don’t).
Of the G Series phones, this is the one to get. It’s not a bad phone, but as WIRED Reviews editor Julian Chokkattu says, you can find better phones for around $250. However, its battery lasts nearly three days, or 3x a normal phone, which is all you may want to know.
Gaming Deals
Logitech G502
Photograph: AmazonThe G Pro X is our favorite overall gaming headset and this price beats the previous all-time low by $5. Like a lot of Logitech gear, these are more like high-quality headphones than a gaming headset.
Logitech’s G502 mouse isn’t the sleekest little thing on the market, but it is killer for gaming. With a sensor capable of hitting 25,000 DPI it can be as sensitive and quick as you need it to be, but the sensitivity is also easily adjustable so you can swap between hair-trigger and fine-tuned control at the touch of a button.
Razer’s Basilisk Ultimate gaming mouse is one of our favorites. It looks great, feels great in the hand, and comes with a charging cradle so it’s easy to keep it topped up when you’re not using it. Not to mention, situated on its charging dock, it’s a nice little bit of gaming PC decor.
This SteelSeries bundle includes one of our favorite headsets, keyboards, and mice and throws in a nice plush mousepad to boot. The Arctic 1 is a solid all-around gaming headset with a broad soundstage and resonant sound, and the Rival 3 is an adorable little mouse that’s perfect for smaller hands. The Apex 3 Keyboard is no slouch either. It features tactile mechanical switches and one of the best RGB LED systems we’ve ever tested—great for producing a rainbow of lovely colors.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this deal, but it’s still a match of the lowest price this game tends to reach. You’ll either love it or hate it.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Courtesy of UbisoftThis is another polarizing game, but it’s down to one of the cheapest prices we’ve tracked.
This game is a bit older now, but great nonetheless, especially at this price and especially if you haven’t played it before.
This game normally costs between $25 and $30, rarely jumping to $60. If you’re in the market, snagging it for $15 is a good deal.
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