Black Friday is fast approaching. On 24th November, Black Friday officially takes place... but the deals will start long before then. In fact, there are some early Black Friday deals around already.
Last year's event saw the lowest-ever prices on a range of products that are genuinely worth your hard-earned cash, from five-star LG C2 OLED TVs to the award-winning Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds and the newer Sony XM5 over-ear headphones.
Elsewhere there were deals on cheap 4K TVs, Dolby Atmos soundbars, hi-fi and Bluetooth speakers, Fire TV Sticks, stereo amplifiers, and plenty more besides.
And this year promises more. Much more. Among all the hype, there are some genuinely good deals to be had. We'll be updating this page in the run-up to Black Friday and on the day itself.
In the meantime, check out everything you need to know about Black Friday, as well as some great early deals to get you in the mood...
When is Black Friday 2023?
The Black Friday 2023 date is Friday 24th November. Cyber Monday 2023 will be Monday 27th November.
Black Friday always takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which means this year it will fall on Friday 24th November. Most retailers will want to make the most of what will typically be the busiest 24 hours of the event, meaning we can expect deals going live at midnight and running until the end of the day.
Of course, you can rest assured that Black Friday will stretch out longer than just 24 hours – those days are long gone. Instead, expect at least a week of build-up, maybe longer, from many retailers. And of course, the Black Friday sales continue through to Cyber Monday, which is always the Monday after Black Friday.
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday began on the other side of the Atlantic but in recent years has very much become a worldwide and UK shopping phenomenon. It's regarded (and backed up by stats) as the busiest shopping day of the year – both online and in-store – and officially kicks off the holiday season.
Why is it called Black Friday? The date was traditionally the start of the Christmas shopping season when retailers hoped to move out of the "red" (loss) and into the "black" (profit), hence Black Friday. Cyber Monday is the online equivalent to Black Friday, and was created to give smaller websites a chance to compete with larger retailers.
What is Cyber Monday?
The term 'Cyber Monday', meanwhile, was coined by Scott Silverman and the National Retail Federation's Ellen Davis in a bid to encourage people to take their shopping online during the Black Friday event. That was back in 2005, when people needed such encouragement! It's always the Monday after Black Friday.
How long will Black Friday last?
Well, Black Friday is 24 hours. And Cyber Monday is 24 hours. But like other big sales events, you always have preliminary and aftermath offers.
For one, deals will run during the weekend sandwiched in the middle of the two days. And in the days and weeks building up to them, there will be plenty of early Black Friday deals flooding the internet.
Are Black Friday deals any good?
After the initial few years of excitement around Black Friday in the UK, we naturally moved to the apathy stage, as people began to question whether the offers were genuinely good deals. And it remains up for debate.
For example, it's not unusual to see discounted products rise in price in the summer months ahead of a "price cut" come Black Friday; naturally this means you're essentially just getting the original discounted price from earlier in the year. That said, there are always genuine deals to be had – it's just finding them amongst the onslaught of offers.
That's where we come in; we'll handpick all the the best TV, audio and AV deals across retailers to identify the genuine Black Friday 2023 deals. And don't forget: you can always refer back to our in-depth reviews to check up on a specific product's performance, features and value for money.
It's best to have a rough idea of what you want in mind – whether that be noise-cancelling wireless headphones under £200, a discounted 55-inch 4K OLED TV or a cheap record player – but restricting yourself only to specific models will reduce your chance of being lucky in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Pick the features you fancy, then see what ticks your boxes and has the best Black Friday discount.
Best early Black Friday deals 2023
What Black Friday deals can you expect?
LG OLED TVs, JBL Bluetooth speakers, Sony wireless earbuds and Bose headphones, Alexa and Echo devices, Apple AirPods... you get the picture. Some of the most popular products of the year are almost guaranteed be on offer at pretty much every electronics retailer during Black Friday 2023.
Previous big-sellers over Black Friday also include the Sonos One and Beam, Sony WH-1000XM4 and XM3, Amazon Echo and Fire products, Bose wireless earbuds and noise-cancelling headphones, UE speakers, Naim Mu-so products, Denon AV receivers, OLED TVs and plenty more.
This year we're hoping for great deals on the LG C3 OLED TV, Sony's excellent WF-1000XM5 wireless earbuds and maybe even the iPhone 15 range. And if we saw chunks lopped off the price of the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max and Sonos Beam (Gen 2), all the better.
Where to get the best Black Friday deals?
Amazon is obviously one of the biggest players. That's not only down to its size and ubiquity – it also discounts its own products by massive amounts. Considering they're already some of the most competitively-priced devices in their product areas, there are some real bargains to be had.
Amazon recently unveiled a new range of Fire TV Sticks and its first Fire TV soundbar. Could these see some hefty discounts? We would bank on the firm's range of Echo speakers also seeing some price cuts.
Of course, it's not all about Amazon. Google's Pixel 7 range could feature heavily – especially in light of the Pixel 8's launch – as could the firm's Chromecast streamer. These are sold direct from Google, as well as many third-party retailers.
LG's C3 OLED TV has already fallen significantly in price since launching earlier in the year, but given the C range's history, further discounts could be in store. Look out for it at all the usual suspects: Currys, Argos, Sevenoaks, AO, Hughes...
Games consoles usually fare well during Black Friday, so keep an eye on the big high street shops like Argos, Currys and John Lewis. The dark days of PS5 and Xbox Series X shortages are thankfully behind us, though low prices could see stock shortages once again.
We won't forget the hi-fi and home cinema kit, so will be on the lookout for deals on B&W and KEF speakers, not to mention 4K and portable projectors, AVRs, turntables and more.
We're confident the specialist AV retailers such as Richer Sounds and Sevenoaks will deliver some hi-fi and home cinema bargains – last year's What Hi-Fi? Award-winners are a good place to start when it comes to finding a price reduction.
The likes of Amazon, Argos, eBay, Currys and AO.com will be competing in the bun fight to offer the lowest prices on audio and video too – which is only good news for the consumer.
Last year's best Black Friday deals
There was no shortage of great Black Friday TV deals to take advantage of last year, including £650 off LG's Award-winning 42-inch C2 OLED TV and over £900 off the also-Award-winning Sony XR-55A80J 2021 OLED TV.
Meanwhile, those looking for Black Friday headphones deals were treated to a considerable price drop for Sony's two Award-winning noise-cancelling over-ear headphones: the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 – the latter had a whopping £90 off. Even Apple's AirPods Pro got in on the action, being reduced by £65.
We also spotted some tasty Black Friday hi-fi and audio deals and home cinema savings. We've listed some of last year's best Black Friday deals below – many have expired but it gives you a good idea of what to expect.
Best Black Friday early deals quick links
- AirPods Pro
was £249now £184 at John Lewis (save £65) - Alcohol: big savings on beer, wine and spirits
- Amazon deals: save on TVs, Amazon devices & headphones
- Apple gift cards: select from £10 to £100 at Amazon
- Argos deals: save on Toshiba TVs, Google phones, Xbox Series S and more
- Batteries: save £5 on Duracell Plus AA batteries
- B&W speakers: save up to £400 at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision
- Cambridge CXA81 amplifier
was £1099now £999 at Amazon (save £100) - Currys deals: 6 months of Apple TV+ with every purchase
- Dolby Atmos Sony soundbar
was £899now £699 at Sevenoaks (save £200) - Echo Dot smart speaker
was £40now £17 at Amazon (save £23) - eBay: up to 50% off with refurbished tech
- Echo Dot (3rd Gen)
was £40now £17 at Amazon - Fire HD10 tablet
was £200now £130 at Amazon (save £70) - Fire TV Stick:
was £29.99now £17.99 at Argos (save £12) - John Lewis deals: save up to £450 on TVs, and more
- Lego Store: save up to 40% on toy sets
- LG C2 OLED:
was £1399now £749 at Sevenoaks - PS5 deals: we round-up the best PS5 deals
- Richer Sounds deals: 'lowest price ever' on selected hi-fi and AV products
- Ring doorbell:
was £89now £60 at Argos (save £29) - Sevenoaks Sound & Vision: cheapest prices on LG OLED TVs
- Sonos: save 20% on Arc, Beam, One, Roam and more
- Sony WF-1000XM4
was £250now £159 at Amazon - Sony WH-1000XM5
was£380now £290 at Amazon - Sony XR-55A80J 2021 OLED TV
was£1899now £998 at Amazon - Sky TV: lowest ever price on Sky Glass deals
- USB DAC: Audioquest DragonFly
was £299now £219 (save £80) - Wireless earbuds: Echo Buds
was £110now £60 (save £50)
18 of the best Black Friday deals
Best Black Friday deals: TVs
Best Black Friday deals: Headphones
Best Black Friday deals: Soundbars
Best Black Friday deals: Projectors
Best Black Friday deals: Bluetooth speakers
Best Black Friday deals: Hi-Fi speakers
Best Black Friday deals: Turntables
Best Black Friday deals: Hi-Fi systems, separates, portables
Best Black Friday deals: Home cinema
MORE: