If you've been waiting to buy a tablet from a popular brand, Black Friday is the time to pull the trigger. You'll be able to get huge discounts on devices from the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung, all thanks to this rather special retail holiday.
Whether you're an avid user or an adamant skeptic, tablets have become the third arm of the portable consumer tech community, right between smartphones and laptops. They're handy, they're portable, and they're increasingly powerful, which means you can get more done on these devices than ever before.
While price points are dropping across the industry, it never hurts to shop the sales, particularly with Black Friday so close. Luckily, we've collected a few choice deals to start your holiday shopping off right. Check them out below:
In This Guide:
Best Black Friday iPad Deals
When you think of tablets, iPads are the first thing that come to mind. Since the iPad's debut in 2010, Apple has done a great job of keeping its tablet lineup relevant as the competition heats up.
From the Pro to the Mini, iPads are the high performance, feature-heavy devices everyone is after during the holidays. Although the price tag can be pretty high, the seamless integration possibilities, beautiful displays, and compatible Apple Pencil make the high cost worth it – if you can afford it, that is.
Unfortunately, from a Black Friday standpoint, you aren't likely to see a lot of huge deals on iPads, as Apple likes to keep its products in the premium category. However, it's still worth keeping an eye out, just in case one of your favorite models drops in price.
We'll keep this post updated throughout Black Friday week to catch any further deals as they come through.
Apple iPad 9.7
- Great value large-screen iPad
- 32 GB of storage
- Wi-fi only, no cellular
Apple iPad mini 4
- Latest generation of iPad
- Impressive 10.2-inch display
- $80 saving
Apple iPad Pro 10.5 (older model)
- Great time to get a discount as newer model has been launched
- Powerful processor
- Fantastic screen quality
Best Black Friday Samsung Tablet Deals
While they might not be the first company you think of when it comes to tablets, Samsung has certainly established itself as one of the best consumer tech producers in the world. With a firm grip on the smartphone and their influence felt in a wide range of other markets, it's safe to say Samsung's tablet lineup is impressive.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab lineup is filled with options which vary in price, performance and size. The Galaxy Tab S4, for example, is their heavy duty, high-powered flagship tablet. It has a stunning HDR display, quality Dolby Atmos speakers, and a battery that can provide 16 hours of video – and it will cost you a pretty penny. Conversely, you have the Tab A and Tab E, which both provide a more standard experience at a fraction of the price.
As far as Black Friday deals are concerned, you're definitely going to want to keep your eyes peeled. Whether you're looking to save a few hundred on the Tab S4 or just get the Tab A or Tab E for an even further discounted price, trends have shown these models dipping heartily during the holidays.
- Affordable, LTE-connected tablet with available kid mode
- Runs Android 8.1 Oreo
- 32 GB of storage
- Compact, lightweight, very affordable tablet
- Runs Android 7.1.1. Nougat
- Kid-friendly
- Robust, expensive, flagship tablet from Samsung
- Up to 256 GB of storage
- Samsung S Pen included
Best Black Friday Amazon Fire Tablet Deals
Odds are you're looking for Black Friday deals on Amazon already, so why not take a look at their very impressive Fire tablet lineup? These e-readers-turned-high-powered-tablets are compact, comprehensive, and competitively priced, so you can jump on the tablet bandwagon without breaking the bank.
The Amazon Fire tablet lineup consists of the Fire 7, the Fire 8, and the Fire 10, each designed for a specific kind of user. The Fire 7 is the most affordable, offering the most compact option of the three, but notably lags in performance. The Fire 8 is the best bargain on the list, with comparable speed to the Fire 10 at a little more than half the price. The Fire 10 is the most expensive Amazon tablet, but offers 2 GB of RAM and a Full HD resolution display.
On Black Friday, expect Fire tablets to absolutely go on sale. The Fire 7 and Fire 8 have both dipped in price by $20 in the last few months, whereas the Fire 10 has gone as low as $50 off, so keep an eye out.
Fire 7 with Alexa
- On Sale From 22 Nov
- $29.99 — $20 off
- At this price, the Fire 7 with Alexa is the ultimate bargain tablet — it won't beat an iPad, but you cannot get better for less.
- It has a 1024×600 7″ LCD display and uses Amazon's FireOS version of Android, so it should feel familiar to most people
- It also features Alexa, and has up to 256GB expandable storage
Amazon Fire HD8 with Alexa
- On Sale From 22 Nov
- $49.99 — $30 off
- Arguably Amazon's best tablet, the HD8 gets improved specs all-round with only a modest price increase
- Sharper 1280×800 resolution screen, more Ram and storage and up to 10 hours of battery life
- Alexa is available all the time
Amazon Fire HD 10 with Alexa
- On Sale From 22 Nov
- $99.99 — $50 off
- The Fire HD 10 is Amazon's most expensive and highly-specced tablet with a 10″ 1920×1200 display, 2GB Ram and an upgraded processor
- The Show Mode Charging Dock also turns the Fire HD 10 into, effectively, an Echo Show, giving you two devices for the price of one. You can read more about how it works here.
Best Black Friday Microsoft Surface Tablet Deals
Now that we're past the affordable models, let's get to some tablets that have some serious potential for Black Friday savings. The Microsoft Surface lineup consists of some of the most popular tablets on the market today. Whether it's because of the stunning displays or the easy-to-use attachable keyboards, Microsoft Surface tablets are highly sought-after during the holidays.
As for the specific models available, Microsoft has three Surface tablet options: the Surface Pro, the Surface Go, and the Surface Book. The Surface Book is the most expensive model available, and that's because it's half tablet, half laptop, with a detachable base for easy transitions. The Surface Go is the smaller, more affordable option, but it comes with a lot fewer customization options and less performance power. The Surface Pro comes in all shapes and sizes, giving you a lot of options for processors, storage, and RAM, all more impressive than the Surface Go.
Black Friday could see some serious dips in price for these devices. While the Surface Pro is brand new and has no precedent for a drop, Microsoft could be looking to get a little holiday buzz around its new toy. As for the other two, historically they've dropped a lot around the holidays, so make sure to set an alert for these big-ticket items.
- Newest model with lots of customization options
- Lightweight for the size
- 14-hour battery life
- Cheaper version with comparable basics and no customization
- Very lightweight and portable
- 2-5 hour battery life
- Heavy-duty half-tablet, half-laptop with a high price tag
- Detachable base
- Surface Pen included
Tech.co is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Tech.co to provide free advice and reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews.