Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals Revealed: No Discounts, Free Gift Cards w/ Purchase

Apple’s in the midst of launching its Black Friday 2013 promotions around the globe. Unfortunately, Apple is not offering Black Friday discounts and is instead offering gift cards with select purchases. The gift cards can be redeemed at the Apple Store only and cannot be used for iTunes or App Store purchases.

Apple rarely discounts its iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macs to the general public, though it does regularly offer college students and businesses discounts. Last year Apple offered $101 off Macs on Black Friday and many were expecting Apple to repeat the offer this year.

Read: Best Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals

Apple isn’t officially calling its gift card promotion a Black Friday event since it is offering the deals around the world. Though Black Friday is an American phenomenon, Australians are the first to benefit from the promotion.While the gift card amounts and linked items in the Apple store are advertised in Australian dollars, we expect them to translate over to U.S. dollars. We’ll know with certainty once Apple officially launches its Black Friday deals on its U.S. online store in the wee hours of Black Friday.

Apple typically launches products, early ordering and promos based on PST since the company is headquartered there. That means those on the east coast will have to wait up until about 3am EST if they want to be amongst the first to take advantage of the deals. Unlike iPhone, iPad and Mac resellers, Apple is not likely to run out of any of its own items which means there’s no need to rush.

Apple’s Black Friday iPad deals aren’t as attractive as Walmart’s and Target’s. Those retailers are offering up to $100 in gift cards with iPad purchases on Black Friday, but quantities are limited and they are not available online. Apple is offering an $$75 gift card with the iPad and an $50 gift card with the iPad mini and iPad 2.

Apple is offering an $150 gift card with the purchase of any iMac or MacBook. That’s a superb deal on the cheapest Macs, such as the $999 11? MacBook Air since it amounts to a 15% discount. However, it isn’t much to brag about on the high-end 15? MacBook Pro, which costs up to $3,199 at retail depending on configuration.

Perhaps the best deal at Apple stores and Apple.com is the $50 gift card that can be had by purchasing the $249 iPod touch, effectively dropping the price to $199. The iPod touch is a superb Christmas gift since it offers many of the benefits of the iPhone without the messiness of gifting a device that requires a long-term wireless contract.

Read: iPod touch Review

The iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s are notably absent from Apple’s Black Friday Australian landing page. Apple is however offering gift cards with its own accessories and third-party accessories.

Best Apple Black Friday 2013 Deals

The iPhone Black Friday deals cut the price of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c dramatically and gift card bonuses make things even better. Walmart offers the best iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c prices for shoppers who want a contract with AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.

The deal includes a $45 iPhone 5c and a $189 iPhone 5s and a $75 gift card. T-Mobile is offering an iPhone 5s for $0 down and $20 a month for 24 months and Sprint is offering $100 off for switchers.

You will need to sing a new contract for most of these deals and be eligible for an upgrade. Check out the rest of the iPhone Black Friday 2013 deals for other stores near you which may have similar offers. If you want the iPhone 5s without a contract, RadioShack offers an iPhone 5s on Virgin Mobile for $549, a savings of $100.

Black Friday 2013: U.S. Apple stores offer gift cards instead of discounts on iPad, Mac products

Summary: The company's discounts used to be small, but this year they have been replaced with store gift cards with the purchase of select Apple products and third-party accessories.

Apple watchers woke up Thanksgiving morning to a new wrinkle in the company's typical Black Friday plans. Instead of the usual small discounts the company offered across most of its product lines in years past, the Australian Apple Store launched with gift cards being promoted for the purchase of many items instead. Then to confuse things more, European Apple Stores came online after midnight with the typical discounts, and not the gift cards.

What would Apple do in the U.S.? After the online store went down for a few hours this morning, it's returned with the same Black Friday gift card "deal" as greeted Aussie shoppers. In other words, there will be no sale prices for products sold at Apple stores this Black Friday, just gift cards.

If you're still willing to buy directly from Apple today, be prepared for further disappointment if you're planning to buy an iPhone 5c or 5s or the iPad mini with Retina display. That's because Apple isn't offering a gift for these popular new products. In comparison, Walmart will provide a $75 gift card if you pick up a 5c or 5s at its stores this weekend, and Target is offering a $75 card for an iPad mini with Retina display purchase.

You will receive a $75 Apple gift card if you buy an iPad Air, which is $25 less than what Target is offering on Black Friday if you purchase the tablet from that store. You can get a $50 gift card with the purchase of an original iPad mini or an iPad 2 -- Walmart offered a $100 gift card for an iPad mini purchase yesterday as part of its first round of doorbusters, while Best Buy matched it online earlier this week. Target is offering $75 gift cards for the first-generation iPad mini and $100 cards for an iPad 2. 

Those looking for a new Mac can score a $150 Apple gift card, whether you're grabbing a new iMac or a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Note, however, that Best Buy is slashing the price on Macs for Black Friday, either by $150 or $200 depending on the configuration. Though a gift card is nice if you're planning on buying other in-store purchases, when it comes to systems, the lower price is probably preferable to most buyers. 

The iPod is still around and kicking, and will be part of the Black Friday gift card fest. The iPod touch comes with a $50 card, while the latest iPod nano includes a $25 card. Some miscellaneous Apple products are also being offered with gift cards, ranging from the Apple TV ($25 card) to the AirPort Extreme and 2TB AirPort Time Capsule ($50). 

Finally, there are some third-party accessories that Apple will sell with gift cards worth up to $75. Many will include a $25 card, such as the Nike+ FuelBand SE, Powerbeats by Dr. Dre headphones, and Mophie Juice Pack Air iPhone 5 battery case, while purchases of such items as the second-generation Nest Learning Thermostat, GoPro HERO3+ camera, and Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones will come with a $50 card. Buying the $499.95 Bowers & Wilkins A5 AirPlay wireless music system nets you a $75 gift card.

Topics: Apple, iPad, Laptops, Tablets, PCs

Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.

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