Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other companies are eyeing Black Friday, which is approaching rapidly. Of course this is the day after Thanksgiving when U.S. shoppers hit the stores to snap up Christmas deals. Josh Smith of GottaBe Mobile tells us what we can expect this year regarding Black Friday deals from Apple.
Apple expected to start early
Black Friday deals have been starting earlier and earlier this year, with many folks deciding to stand in line on Thanksgiving rather than spending time with their families. Some stores have even decided to open on Thanksgiving, depriving their employees of family time, just to extend the Black Friday shopping period.
It’s unlike that Apple Stores will open on Thanksgiving, but according to Smith, the company’s Black Friday deals will probably start before the big shopping day arrives. Unlike other retailers, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) doesn’t see long lines of shoppers in the early morning hours. The company sees longer lines on iPhone and iPad launch days.
Predicting Apple’s Black Friday deals
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will probably focus its Black Friday efforts online, according to Smith, who has been covering the company’s efforts for years. He also provided some of his own predictions regarding what shoppers looking to snap up Apple products can expect.
He believes the company will slash $21 off the price of the iPod Touch this year, dropping the iPod Touch without a camera to a little more than $200 and the model with a camera to around $280. Retailers selling Apple products may sweeten the deal by offering a $50 gift card along with the iPod Touch. He expects to see a $20 to $50 retailer gift card offered along with the iPod Nano as well.
What about Apple’s iPad on Black Friday?
Although the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2 are brand new this year, there may be a few opportunities to get a few bucks off of them—if you’re able to find them in stock somewhere. Smith is predicting $41 off the iPad Air, taking the price to $458 for the 16 GB version. He thinks Target and Best Buy will offer a $50 to $60 gift card along with the tablet. Retailers may also offer $70 to $100 off the older iPad 4, which isn’t sold in Apple Stores anymore.
He expects to see $75 to $100 discounts on the iPad 2, which would be similar to what was offered last year.
Perhaps the biggest wild card this year is deals on the brand new iPhone 5C and 5S. Pricing controls have already been relaxed somewhat, so it will be hard to predict what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will do this year.
