With Black Friday on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to make those big-ticket tech purchases you’ve been putting off all year hoping prices fall. And while it feels like the calendar’s biggest shopping event is already underway with tons of early deals cropping up, there are a few items I long to see go on sale in the coming weeks.
I’ve got over a decade of experience writing about tech, and for most of that time I’ve been helping folks upgrade their gear without paying full price. With smartphones, laptops, TVs and headphones topping holiday shopping lists this year, according to CNET research, my wish list includes items in those major categories, plus a couple of picks to make your day-to-day tech experience a little better. All are products that are well-loved among CNET staff, and I’m here to provide the context necessary to nab a good deal on them.
Read more: Surviving Black Friday 2025: Everything You Need to Save More, Including Start Times and Price Trackers
TECH DEALS OF THE WEEK
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
1. Apple AirTag (4-pack)
Apple’s AirTag trackers are incredibly useful for keeping tabs on your keys, luggage, bike and other personal belongings (but definitely not your pets). While there are swirling rumors of second-gen AirTags in the offing, I wouldn’t hesitate to stock up on more of Apple’s current trackers if the price is right. We’ve seen the four-pack drop to a low of $65 — which it is currently at right now via Amazon — but I’m hoping we see these drop as low as $15 a pop via the multipack. That would be a total steal and should be a no-brainer pickup for any iPhone owner. (I’m not counting this momentary pricing blip from Apple as a deal worth comparing to.)
Read more: 5 Spots to Stash an Apple AirTag for Peace of Mind
2. Samsung S95F OLED TV
Black Friday and TVs buying go hand in hand, and selfishly the Samsung S95F is the one I’ve got my eye on. It’s CNET’s favorite overall TV, with our TV expert Ty Pendlebury stating that it has the “the best picture quality I’ve ever tested.” That’s enough of a recommendation for me. I’m in the market for an OLED upgrade, although the list price of $3,000 for the 65-inch model gives me pause. We’ve just seen it drop below $2,300 for the first time but I’m not pulling the trigger just yet in case that price drops lower in a couple of weeks.
3. Anker 165-watt laptop power bank
This is a product I already own, but I appreciate it so much that I hope it goes on sale so that everyone else can benefit from it. While it’s just a 25,000mAh power bank from everyone’s favorite charging brand Anker, it has a couple of really neat features that make it extremely versatile.
First, it’s capable of 165 watts of power output, meaning it’s perfectly usable for charging laptops and tablets, and its capacity is just under the TSA threshold for flying with. I use it for charging my laptop when working away from home at places where wall outlets are scarce or non-existent. The second thing I like about it are two incorporated USB-C cables. Those cables mean I don’t need to remember to bring a cable with me. Additionally, one of the cables is a two-foot retractable cord that is extremely useful for using on the go, allowing you to keep the battery stowed in the pocket of your jacket even when in use (it slips really nicely into the exterior water bottle pocket of most backpacks, for example). It’s not on sale right now, sitting at its $120 list price, but we’ve seen it drop below $90, and it’s very much worth that price.
4. Sony WH-1000XM6 wireless ANC headphones
Sony makes some of the best headphones on the market, and these are the latest flagship noise-canceling cans from the premium audio brand. But the Sony WH-1000XM6 are not cheap, and we haven’t seen significant savings on them since their release earlier this year (seriously, they’ve dropped in price by around $20 at most). More than $400 is a lot to spend on a set of headphones, and you can get decent pair for much less. But if you can hold off for a couple of weeks, there’s a good chance that you can get the headphones that CNET audio expert David Carnoy called “the new noise-canceling king” for much less than ever before.
5. Eero Wi-Fi 7 routers
Wi-Fi 7 is popping up in more devices, like the latest phones and laptops, but upgrading your home network to the new wireless standard is still prohibitively expensive for most folks. The tech itself promises faster speeds, lower latency and better connectivity, but there’s no point having Wi-Fi 7 in your new iPhone 17 if you’re limping along with a Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi 6 network. That’s why I’m hoping to see some steep discounts on Wi-Fi 7 routers this Black Friday, and I’d be particularly pleased if Eero’s lineup of Wi-Fi 7 gear dropped even lower as I’m already invested in that system. It offers a few models — Eero 7, Eero Pro 7 and Eero Max 7 — with varying features and prices, but the Amazon-owned brand is pretty good at cutting prices across the board during major sale events. The routers are discounted by 18 to 30% right now, representing all-time lows, and if they don’t drop further in price in the near future I’m probably going to make the jump to Wi-Fi at these prices.
Read more: I Tried the New Wi-Fi 7 Eero Router and It’s Amazon’s Fastest Yet
Still on the lookout for Black Friday recommendations? We’ve got budget finds to sort out your desk clutter and cheap pickups for improving your travel experience. Plus, we’re rounding up the top 100 gadgets of the year according to CNET readers to help you find the most popular picks overall.
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