From phones to flat screen TVs, tech gadgets are a holiday season must-have.
But before you drop hundreds of dollars on holiday tech gifts, here's the insider scoop on which electronics are worth spending your money on this upcoming Black Friday weekend, and when to buy them.
Deals happening now
At Best Buy, manager Seph Swaenepoel said shoppers don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving night for deals to drop.
Best Buy's big sales on TVs and laptops are already live.
"The sizes of the TVs are getting larger and larger," Swaenepoel said.
At Walmart, Black Friday deals roll out online starting Nov. 25 with in-store sales Nov. 28-30.
WATCH: Retail experts show us which tech items to buy right now for the best prices:
"We have the PlayStation 5 bundle, the Meta Quest VR set, AirPods," said manager Matt Goans.
Target is advertising "up to 50% off tech and video games" from brands like Nintendo, Bose and Samsung.
Staples is pushing early access Black Friday deals like an HP LED Laptop for $218.99.
Scoring the best tech deals
More than half of holiday tech shoppers are counting on Black Friday sales to save them money, according to a survey by CNET.
CNET’s shopping experts identified some of the most popular tech this season and ways to save:
Headphones:
"Last year we saw the previous generation AirPods Pro be the lowest price that we'd ever seen," said CNET's shopping content director Russell Holly.
He expects good discounts on the AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, and Beats, but know older products will get better markdowns.
Nintendo Switch 2:
Holly recommends grabbing a bundle when you see it.
"Maybe the console itself is not discounted, but the console may come with an extra controller and a video game, and that bundle itself will be discounted," Holly said.
To save, he said don’t worry about accessories because older Switch controllers still work, and suggests deals on older games since they’ll still work with the Switch 2.
Apple AirTags:
Holly said don't rule out small tech gifts like Apple AirTags, which CNET expects to be heavily discounted.
"Apple also sells them in bundles of four, which honestly makes them solid stocking stuffers," Holly said.
Robot vacuums:
"Robot vacuums that you might see previously for around $1,500 have been getting discounts throughout the year that are closer to $800 or $900," Holly said.
Cyber week is just a few weeks ahead of CES. According to CNET, that could mean deep discounts as companies prepare to announce their newest models.
Do your research
One warning ahead of Black Friday: Consumer and money-saving expert Andrea Woroch urges shoppers to be cautious of doorbuster deals on off-brand tech products.
"These may be manufactured specifically for the savings event to keep prices low. It might not stand up to the test of time," she said. "A low price on a lousy product is never a good deal."
She suggests shoppers do their research before any big tech purchase but take advantage of sales while they last.
"If you're going to buy a TV, why not buy one when they are on sale," said Best Buy shopper Dave Klein.
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