Black Friday is finally here, and retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and more are offering early savings on popular fitness trackers and smartwatches. Now is your time to save on brands like Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit.
Smartwatches and fitness trackers make great gifts (including a gift for yourself). These devices can count steps, track your heart rate, and, depending on the model you choose, provide detailed health insights and easy app access. They can also provide valuable information like sleep tracking and blood pressure readings.
Also: The best Black Friday deals: Live updates
We rounded up the best deals on smartwatches and fitness trackers to help you find the best deals based on our device testing and deal-hunting expertise. This list will be updated regularly through Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is lighter and brighter than the rest. ZDNET’s Matthew Miller tried it out and appreciated its smaller build.
Review: Apple Watch Series 10
“The thin and lightweight build not only feels great on the wrist, but it also makes sleep tracking far more comfortable than with the Watch Ultra 2 (and any other bulky wearable), which protrudes an extra 4.7mm and can feel a bit bulky overnight,” he said.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a premium smartwatch option for those that use Samsung devices. ZDNET contributor Matthew Miller called it perfectly sized and one of his favorite new smartwatches. It has a host of capabilities like specific running insights and sleep tracking.
Review: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Smart rings offer a more compact alternative to smartwatches. They may not have a touch screen or tell the time, but they offer more accurate health insights. For the past year, this was our pick for the best smart ring overall, until the new Oura Ring 4 arrived. However, it’s still a solid choice, especially at a discount.
Review: Oura Ring Gen 3
Apple is not for everybody, as a lot of people may need compatibility with a Samsung smartphone. We’ve got you covered with this deal. The Galaxy Watch 6 is just a model behind the latest Galaxy 7 and has many features like sleep tracking, a heart monitor, and more personal health insights.
Also: 3 surprising features that sold me on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Garmin is a reliable brand of fitness trackers for athletes of all trades. This watch, however, treads into smartwatch territory with its touchscreen and messaging abilities. With training apps, phone connectivity, and GPS, this watch can do just about anything. We also ranked it as the best watch for sleep tracking in 2024.
Review: Garmin Venu 3s
The best fitness tracker is one that suits your needs the most. Brands like Fitbit and Garmin specifically cater to athletes and fitness tracking, while Apple and Samsung watches cater more to a brand and compatibility with smartphones, but still offer great health insight options. For example, if you are a runner, the best fitness tracker for you may be the Garmin Forerunner. If you are a more casual athlete but want more productivity functions on your watch, maybe an Apple or Samsung watch may be for you.
Other publications usually cite Garmin as the most accurate fitness tracker, but at this point, just about all of the trackers on this list provide thorough and accurate information.
They can. Fitness trackers can be handy in the case of certain medical conditions. They could help you monitor your heart rate, sleep, and blood pressure. However, do not become too paranoid about it and/or begin to diagnose yourself — always consult a doctor.
Yes. They track performance and encourage exercise. However, I would check out a Garmin model if you are a more serious and dedicated athlete.
Yes, absolutely. Fitbit makes some of the best fitness trackers in the market. It is ranked number one on this list for a reason! Fitbits are reliable and tailored to track fitness, acting as perfect devices for casual athletes or workout fanatics.
Black Friday is today, the day after Thanksgiving in the US, on November 29.
Cyber Monday takes place the Monday after US Thanksgiving, which falls on Dec. 2 this year.
Often, yes. Like most sale days across the calendar year, these wearables may dip in price more than usual. Brands often sell their devices for 10-40%, with some even up to 50%. However, that doesn’t mean a product you’ve been eyeing will get a price cut. Brands tend to lower the price of older models to eliminate stock and make way for newer product versions. However, you may be surprised to find how much things get marked down. There are other occasions within the year, like Amazon Prime Day, where similar price cuts occur. However, Black Friday traditionally holds the best deals.
Nothing, really. Before most sales moved online, Black Friday was the biggest shopping occasion of the year, conveniently before the gift-giving season. With the rise of online commerce, holiday sales now take place throughout an entire week, where retailers mark down certain products. Therefore, the only real difference is that Black Friday technically exists in stores, while Cyber Monday is strictly online.
At ZDNET, we only write about and note sales that we would buy ourselves. We carefully dive into the deepest parts of online retailers to find the best deals on products we have tested and recommended- or know is a good buy. We aim to find the deals that save the most money while still offering a great user experience. We also do extensive research if a product is not within our current knowledge. We do the work for you—finding the best deal so you can give the best gifts this holiday season.
Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more offer the best deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Sales will be in-store and in-person, but there will also be lots more online.
ZDNET’s experts have been searching through Black Friday sales live now to find the best discounts by category. These are the best Black Friday deals so far, by category:
And more Black Friday deals:
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Black Friday promos are in full swing now, and that’s brought many of our favorite gadgets down to their lowest prices of the year. Case in point: the Fitbit
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