Best Buy’s ‘Black Friday In July’ Sale Has Prime Day-Beating Deals on Electronics

Amazon is drawing all the attention this week with Prime Day, but Best Buy came out swinging with a counter-sale to grab some attention of its own. The retailer’s Black Friday In July event started on Monday and runs through tonight. Even though Amazon delivers good prices, Best Buy often finds a way to go lower on certain brands, so don’t let this sale pass you by. We dug through all the discounts and offers in the sale right now and found some seriously huge price cuts on Apple Watches, Lenovo laptops, smart home accessories, and more. Here are the best deals from Best Buy’s Black Friday in July event.

Yes, there’s a newer iPad Air on the market, but that doesn’t mean you should look past a tremendous $250 discount on the last generation, which still outperforms the competition in every way that counts. In our review of the 2022 iPad Air, we called it “the epitome of a mobile tablet” for its perfect balance of light weight, durable construction, and peppy performance. Powered by Apple’s M1 silicon, it’s fast, responsive, and a breeze to use, and compatibility with the second-generation Apple Pencil makes it a great pick for creatives.

We’re huge fans of the Apple Watch, as it continues to add new features with each iteration. The Series 9 got an Editors’ Choice award from us, and we said in our review that it “has a faster processor, a brighter display, and a more eco-friendly build than its predecessor.” Some of our favorite features include the new double-tap gestures for hands-free operation, on-device Siri without needing a phone nearby, and an ultra-bright 2,000-nit display. With a wide selection of comfortable straps and metal case finishes, Best Buy has discounts on a ton of Apple Watch models during its Black Friday in July sale.

The tactile satisfaction of a mechanical keyboard is one of the true Gamer’s Pleasures, and if you’re on the market for a small-scale model with all the latest features, this is a great deal. The Corsair K65 Plus is super-flexible, with support for Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, and USB wired connections making it a great fit for just about any setup. The keycaps feel great and are mounted on hot-swappable switches for easy customization, and Corsair’s versatile iCue software lets you customize the RGB and more. In our review, we gave it an Excellent rating and said “it’s an excellent mechanical-keyboard option for gamers who want a compact wireless model.”

One of the best TV deals at Best Buy right now is this massive 4K Toshiba display, which leverages Amazon’s easy-to-use Fire TV platform to make streaming so simple your grandmother could do it. At $200 off retail, it’s a steal. This is definitely the company’s budget model, but it has a lot to recommend it, and in our review we said the C350 was “loaded with features for the price” and praised its low input lag, making it great for gaming. You’re not likely to find a 4K screen this size for this cheap, so snap it up while it’s still on sale.

It’s not surprising that the creators of the Android operating system would make some of the best hardware for it, and Google’s Pixel phones have been getting steadily more impressive with each generation, many of them featuring some of the absolute best camera arrays you can get on a consumer phone. The Pixel 8A was released just a few months ago, so it’s a big deal to see any sort of price drop on it. When we reviewed it, we said that the Pixel 8A was “one of the best midrange phones you can buy right now,” lauding its cool AI features, speedy G3 processor and seven guaranteed years of software support.

If you’re depending on your TV’s built-in speakers to accompany your movies, there’s simply no way you’re going to have a truly satisfying home theater experience. But if you don’t have the floor space or budget for a full Dolby surround system, bridging the gap with a soundbar is a fine alternative. We’re quite taken with LG’s 3.1 channel system, which kicks out 24-bit 96kHz audio with Dolby Atmos compatibility through 420 watts of total system power. The stand-alone subwoofer delivers deep, rumbling bass to make explosions especially juicy, and this is a massive $430 price cut that’s only good through tomorrow night.

While more and more home products are shipping with smart features built-in, you don’t want to replace everything in your house all at once. If you’ve got sentimental attachments to older lamps and other electrical appliances but also want the convenience and versatility of being able to control them with your phone or your voice, TP-Link’s Tapo smart plugs are a solid solution. They quickly integrate with your Wi-Fi network and existing smart home systems for convenient controls and timers. In our review, we said that their “extensive compatibility and its unobtrusive design make it an excellent choice for early adopters,” and at $27 off retail there’s no better time to pick a few up.

The Lenovo Ideapad 1 isn’t going to dazzle anybody with computing power, but if you just need a portable to handle your work or school tasks, Lenovo is the way to go. Even their budget models overdeliver, and the Ideapad 1 is a steal at $130. In our review, we noted that the Ideapad 1 defied expectations by including “a full HD display, a comfortable keyboard, and reassuring build quality.” This configuration comes with an Intel Celeron N4020 Processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, plus Windows 11 Home.

There are multiple players in the wireless in-ear headphone space, but as far as we know only Jabra is proclaiming their Elite 8 earbuds to be created from military-grade specifications. We reviewed the Elite 8 and were impressed enough to give them an Editors’ Choice award, saying that they “easily justify their price with dynamic audio, good active noise cancellation (ANC), and an intuitive companion app.” Fully sealed against dust and water and accompanied by a durable case, they’re excellent for runners, have solid battery life and deep, resonant bass response. Taking $70 off makes them extremely competitive.

Logitech is one of the most time-tested peripheral companies in the PC market, and they’re constantly innovating new concepts to make your hardware even more responsive and comfortable to control. We took the G502 X Plus wireless gaming mouse for a spin in our review, saying it “tracks with the best gaming mice and has rock-solid wireless capabilities” and giving kudos to its comfortable feel, satisfying click response and plentiful buttons. Our only misgiving had to do with the price, so a $30 discount makes it much more competitive.

Xbox Series X (1TB)

The best in current-gen gaming at $50 off

$449.99
at Best Buy

$499.99
Save $50.00

Console hardware deals don’t come around too often. Conventional wisdom is that Microsoft loses money on the Xbox and makes it back in software, so dropping the price on the Series X even by $50 is pretty meaningful. This is the best of the latest generation of gaming consoles, a potent powerhouse with access to a massive library of titles through GamePass. In our review, we gave it an Editors’ Choice award and said the Series X “stands at the top of the ladder in terms of power and features, with 4K, HDR graphics, impressive performance, and incredibly fast load times thanks to its Zen 2 CPU, RDNA 2 GPU, and SSD storage.” A comfortable and versatile controller rounds out the package.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Garmin has accomplished a successful pivot from GPS devices to smartwatches, creating a line of durable and classic-looking watches with some of the best navigation features in the industry. The Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar has everything you need for roughing it, including the ability to charge up with the sun in case there’s no outlet in the wilderness. With exceptional exercise tracking, digital breadcrumbs for re-tracing your steps in the backcountry, a built-in flashlight and more, it’s a top performer that more than justifies its price. Not convinced? Check how it stacks up against our list of the best smartwatches for 2024.

The Best Product Categories to Shop This Prime Day

Looking for more deals? Amazon Prime Day 2024 is nearly over, and we’ve got coverage of the lowest prices all over on tech you need.