Here are the best pre-Black Friday tablet deals (so far)

While it’s inevitable that plenty of great Black Friday tablet deals are forthcoming in the next few weeks, lots of retailers are already offering up early Black Friday sales.

In many cases, the deals are for older-model tablets, and not just for the best Android tablets either. So if you have been looking for a budget tablet you can use to knock around with at home, a premium one to use for work or bring on vacation, or one you can comfortably hand over to the kids, now is the time to save. A tablet is a great gift under the tree, ideal for playing games, watching videos, or, with some models, even for doing work when you attach a keyboard or use a stylus pen.

Major online retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart are already giving a sneak peek into the kinds of deals they will be offering and even starting to discount items.

Have a look through this list to see some deals you can get right now, and check back as we’ll be updating it as new deals become available.

Best tablet deals:

• Amazon Fire
• Apple
• Samsung
• Other Black Friday Android tablet deals

Where to find the best Black Friday tablet deals

Compared to the best Black Friday phone deals, the best Black Friday tablet deals are much easier to find. Start your search with Amazon; it’s had the majority of the early tablet deals we’ve found thus far. Also keep your eye on Best Buy, which is running early deals throughout November with “Black Friday guaranteed” prices. Walmart could also have some steep discounts as well closer to the main deals event.

• Amazon: The greatest discounts, especially for Fire tablets
• Best Buy: Early deals on Samsung, Amazon, and Microsoft tablets
• Walmart: A great retailer for deals on budget tablets

When do the Black Friday tablet deals begin?

At the moment, there are a surprising number of Black Friday Android tablet deals available right now, well before the week of Black Friday. The S7 series are all majorly discounted, while most of the Amazon Fire tablets have seen major price reductions as well. Apple tablet deals are harder to come by, but we have seen a respectable iPad Pro (2021) discount already.

We expect plenty more deals to be had on the actual day and week of Black Friday, including deals on both older models you can get at deep discounts and newer ones you can snag for some money off. Whether you want an Android or iOS tablet, a premium or budget model, or a tablet for yourself or for the kids, we expect major Black Friday discounts across the board.

That being said, if you see a deal you like now, there’s no guarantee that same model will be discounted on Black Friday. If you see a deal you like now, snag them before they’re gone and cross something off your holiday list.

Black Friday tablet deals: Amazon Fire

Among the best Amazon Fire tablets, we’ve spotted discounts on the Fire HD 8 (2020) and 2019 Fire HD 10 thus far, along with major savings on several Kids Edition tablets. If you want the most up-to-date model, the excellent Fire HD 10 Plus is $50 off, too.

Looking through last year’s Black Friday Amazon Fire tablets deals, we never saw any deals more than $85 off on the day itself, with $60 to $70 in most cases. We’re already seeing those prices now, so there isn’t much of a reason to wait if you like the price you see! Then again, Amazon is the company least likely to run out of stock, so you could take a risk and wait for a better deal come the end of November.

If you want our advice on which tablet to buy, the Fire HD 8 will save you money while offering basically the same experience as the newer Fire HD 10 Plus. The latter gives you a larger screen and slightly more RAM, but it’s not as comfortable to hold as the compact 8-inch, nor as affordable. We’d suggest only getting the 10 if you really value screen real estate and the deal price lessens the blow.

Black Friday tablet deals: Apple iPad

Black Friday iPad deals have tended to be slim pickings in previous years. Last year, we spotted $50 off the iPad Pro (2nd gen) and $20 off the iPad Mini — not exactly doorbusters. But given how stingy Apple can be with discounts, it’s better than nothing if you’re shelling out Apple-level money on a tablet.

As of today, the best deal we’ve spotted is $99 off the new iPad Pro, which is one of the best laptop-replacement tablets for students that we’ve ever seen. We’ll be impressed if a Black Friday deal beats that; but given that it already sold out on Amazon, you’ll have to hope for another similar deal down the line.

The lesson here is that you shouldn’t wait: if you see even a small iPad discount on a newer model like the iPad Mini 6, grab it while stock lasts. Older tablets like the iPad Air 2020 seem more likely to have bigger deals, but that’s only a guess.

Black Friday tablet deals: Samsung

Among the best Android tablets if price is no object, three Galaxy S7 tablets top the list: the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7+, and Galaxy S7 FE. And all three are currently on sale for $100-$200 off on Amazon.

These aren’t strictly Black Friday Android tablet deals; Samsung has been discounting the S7 series for months, though the S7 FE discount is somewhat new. We suspect it has to do with the upcoming Galaxy Tab S8, as Samsung is clearing out stock to prepare for the new launch. These current deals are already excellent, and while you could wait for something better on Black Friday, we recommend grabbing one at these superb prices now.

If you’re looking for a more affordable Android tablet deal, look to the Galaxy Tab A series or the older S6 series instead. During Black Friday 2020, we saw deals of over $100 off on both tablet lineups. Even if they’re not very powerful, the Galaxy Tab A tablets are some of the best cheap Android tablets if you prefer not to buy Amazon. And the S6 series gives you former flagship quality at a lower price.

The other Black Friday tablet deals

Outside of Apple, Amazon, and Samsung, there are other Black Friday tablet deals to look out for. We’ve seen early deals on Lenovo tablets, which tend to be affordable rivals to the Galaxy Tab A series. But for some tablet deals, you’ll want to look outside of iPadOS or Android.

For example, we’ve seen $200 off the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 at Amazon. It’s a 2-in-1 laptop with a touchscreen and removable keyboard, meaning it can work as a tablet while primarily functioning as a work device. Or you could look at the best Black Friday Chromebook deals, as several Chromebooks have 2-in-1 designs and can function as tablets. These devices are typically more expensive but also will have bigger discounts during Black Friday.