Walmart must be feeling nostalgic for the days when zombie-apocalypse-level hordes would await the opening of the doors on Black Friday, because it just opened up its Early Black Friday sale even earlier than most of the competition. Maybe they should call it Extra Early Black Friday. There are constantly more deals being added, but even this first batch has some of our favorite gear on sale.
Speaking of our favorite stuff, be sure to check out our full guides to the Best TVs, Best Gear for Tiny Kitchens, Best Smartwatches, and Best Air Purifiers.
WIRED tests products year-round and handpicked these deals based on the actual discounts, not just the discounts retailers claim to offer. Products that are sold out or no longer discounted as of publishing will be crossed out. We’ll update this guide through November.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get WIRED for just $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, full Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Home and Kitchen Deals
As a mid-level model in Dyson’s lineup, the V12 Detect Slim (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a few bells and whistles, such as an LCD screen that allows you to select one of three power levels and see remaining battery level and filter and blockage information, among other things. Like all of Dyson’s stick vacuums, it’s lightweight and easy to maneuver around tight homes. Not having to mess with cords is a blessing for compact spaces, and being able to convert it from a floor vac to a hand vac keeps you from having to find room to store two vacuums. It also has a removable battery.
The motor isn’t quite as powerful as the more-expensive Artisan model—300 watts versus 325 watts—but this mixer is powerful enough for all but the thickest, stickiest of doughs. The head tilts back so that you can add and remove attachments and remove the mixing bowl, which is quicker to use than the Professional’s non-tilt head. KitchenAid stand mixers have a reputation for being durable, so while it’s an investment, you can expect it to last for many years.
One of my favorite pieces of cookware, the enameled Dutch oven does away with bare cast iron’s needy tendencies. You can scrub away at the interior and exterior of this Lodge with all the dish soap you like and never have to wipe it down with vegetable oil to keep it from rusting overnight. The nonstick, nonreactive surface is perfect for slow-cooking stews, oysters, and practically anything else on the stovetop for long periods. I’ve found that the exterior enamel isn’t as durable as much more expensive competitors’ Dutch ovens, but as long as it doesn’t chip on the interior, outside damage is purely aesthetic.
Dyson is a master of wedging function into beautiful form. When we tested the Pure Hot + Cool, we were struck by how well it integrates a fan, electric heater, and air purifier into one. It’s capable of filtering out 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 microns in size, and its built-in air quality monitor displays indoor VOC and particulate levels on a bright, easy-to-read display on the front of the unit.
Low on caffeine—and counter space? The K-Express is a mere 6.5 inches wide and 12 inches deep, yet its 36-fluid-ounce, removable reservoir holds enough water to make a round of coffee for you and your friends without having to constantly refill it. Just do the planet a solid and make sure to use Keurig Reusable Pods to cut down on single-use plastic waste.
TV Deals
It’s not often that a newly released TV goes on sale. When we called the QN900C (8/10, WIRED Recommends) “among the prettiest you can buy,” we gushed over the brilliantly clear and detailed video, rich color shading, deep blacks, and butter-smooth motion processing. It’s able to display up to 8K resolution, so your only issue (aside from the price) may be finding enough 8K content to show on it.
“Absolutely loaded with detail.” That’s how senior reviews editor Parker Hall described the picture quality of the C3, with vivid, high-contrast images playing out across the 4K display. Stunningly fast response times of 9.2 milliseconds and support for every current-generation console feature, by way of its four HDMI sockets, justified our crowning the C3 the Best TV for Gamers.
At its full retail price, the XR A90J faces stiff competition from the likes of LG and Samsung, but at this shockingly discounted price, you’re arguably getting the best deal in premium-yet-affordable TVs, at least for the next few days while it’s on sale. It features Sony’s 4K upscaling to make HD shows and films appear as if they’re in 4K resolution, and the built-in Google TV provides a way for you to stream channels without futzing around with external streaming sticks or boxes.
Personal Wearables Deals
We make no bones about it. The Versa 4 is the best Fitbit available, as we say in our guide to the Best Fitbits. The claimed six-day battery life impressed us, but what really impressed us was that real-world testing actually lived up to the claim—if you don’t leave the display on the entire time. A vibrant, 1.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen is easy and snappy to use, and the old third-party apps have been replaced by Google apps, such as Maps. Built-in Google Assistant joins Amazon’s Alexa, and GPS and Fitbit’s latest PurePulse heart-rate sensor round out the rich features list.
The Series 9 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t enough of a leap forward to justify replacing your Apple Watch Series 8 (or even your Series 7), but if you’re buying into the Apple Watch ecosystem for the first time or replacing your even-older smartwatch, you’ll find a host of spiffy, new features, such as daylight tracking and haptic gesture control. And of course, if you’re an iPhone user, the Watch pairs quickly and easily, making setup almost a complete non-issue.
Do we even have to introduce the often-imitated Aviators? The classic teardrop lenses have been wowing folks for nearly a hundred years to the extent that they’ll call any brand mimicking them “Aviators,” and so you may as well buy the real deal. Ray Ban Aviators are often on sale, but we haven’t seen them this cheap. Unlike with cheaper brands, I’ve yet to have the tinting flake off a pair of Ray Ban lenses, and the optical quality is spot-on.
