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Amazon is continuing its pre-Black Friday discounts from yesterday with a new collection of solid markdowns on Apple products and accessories. Today we're tracking sales on Apple Pencil 2, Apple TV 4K, and the MacBook Air.

ipad-mini-apple-pencil-green.jpg
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple Pencil 2

Following a deal at Verizon late last week, Amazon is now providing the best current deal on Apple Pencil 2 at $99.99, down from $129.00. This sale is a match of one of the lowest prices that we've ever tracked for the Apple Pencil 2, and as of writing it's only available on Amazon.



We very rarely see the Apple Pencil 2 dip below this sale price, so if you've been on the hunt for one at a discount, now's a great time to buy. The Apple Pencil 2 is compatible with the following iPads: iPad mini (6th generation), iPad Air (4th generation), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd, 4th, and 5th generations), and 11-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations).

Apple TV 4K

Next, Amazon has the 32GB Apple TV 4K (2021) for $169.00, down from $179.00. This is the second-best price that we've ever tracked on this model of the Apple TV 4K, and it's been the most consistent discount on the accessory.

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You can also get the 64GB Apple TV 4K for $189.98, down from $199.00. We've seen this Apple TV 4K discounted by an additional $10, so this sale is another second-best price. Both of these Apple TVs are sold by Amazon, and they're in stock and ready to ship today.

MacBook Air

Lastly, you can get the 256GB M1 MacBook Air for $899.00, down from $999.00 in all three colors of Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. This is currently the best price available online among the major Apple resellers, and overall it's the second-best price we've tracked.

macbook-air-deals.jpg


The 512GB M1 MacBook Air is also on sale, available for $1,149.99, down from $1,249.00. Similar to the 256GB model, this is a second-best price on this 2020 MacBook Air. Both notebooks are shipped and sold directly from Amazon.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Article Link: Deals: Amazon's Pre-Black Friday Sales Continue With $29 Off Apple Pencil 2, $10 Off Apple TV 4K, and More
 

4jasontv

Suspended
Jul 31, 2011
6,272
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The Apple TV may be the best product Apple makes. Sure, it doesn’t perform as many tasks as an iPhone or Mac, but it does exactly what it’s built to do without issues. The UI is intuitive for all ages. And despite feeling like a premium product it’s priced low enough that it makes a great gift.
 

nerdherdster

macrumors newbie
Mar 31, 2019
17
36
The Apple TV may be the best product Apple makes. Sure, it doesn’t perform as many tasks as an iPhone or Mac, but it does exactly what it’s built to do without issues. The UI is intuitive for all ages. And despite feeling like a premium product it’s priced low enough that it makes a great gift.
I want to like it, but given that Roku Streaming Stick 4K has Airplay and Apple TV (and all the other apps of course) for $29 right now, I find the Apple TV to be just too overpriced for what it offers. And that's coming from someone who just bought the new M1 Macbook Pro 16 and is all-in on the Apple ecosystem otherwise. Maybe someone who has owned both can explain what features or value the Apple TV offers because I really don't see it.
 
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4jasontv

Suspended
Jul 31, 2011
6,272
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I want to like it, but given that Roku Streaming Stick 4K has Airplay and Apple TV (and all the other apps of course) for $29 right now, I find the Apple TV to be just too overpriced for what it offers. And that's coming from someone who just bought the new M1 Macbook Pro 16 and is all-in on the Apple ecosystem otherwise. Maybe someone who has owned both can explain what features or value the Apple TV offers because I really don't see it.
I tried the Roku but couldn’t overlook the ads. It’s the same reason I just can’t use a console to stream either.
 
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sinsin07

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2009
3,608
2,668
Amazon starting selling Apple 2 pencil for $99 last Thrusday October 28th. It was listed on a common Deal site.
 

ddtmm

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2010
230
796
The $169 item is $10 off, and the $129 item is $29 off. Looks like they're making a pretty good margins on the pencils if they can discount it that much.
 

rukind2

macrumors regular
Jul 8, 2012
221
129
PNW
It must have been a short-lived sale for the Apple Pencil (2nd Generation). It's $117.64 today.
 

cjrulli

macrumors regular
Feb 3, 2010
237
82
Is the apple pencil worth it for someone who doesn't do much drawing? Best use case I can see for it is note taking and sketching out some process maps for work but not sure how either of those experiences would fare on an 11" IPP
 

nicetriangles

macrumors regular
Apr 25, 2021
157
385
Seattle / Amsterdam
Is the apple pencil worth it for someone who doesn't do much drawing? Best use case I can see for it is note taking and sketching out some process maps for work but not sure how either of those experiences would fare on an 11" IPP
I exclusively use mine for drawing so I can't really comment on other uses but I will say that I have used a number of other styluses including those that come with Wacom Intuos Pros and Cintiq Pros and the Apple pencil is by far my favorite. It's so damn good.
 

nostresshere

macrumors 68030
Dec 30, 2010
2,729
326
I tried the Roku but couldn’t overlook the ads. It’s the same reason I just can’t use a console to stream either.
What ads?

We watch Netflix, Prime, Discovery+, etc and do not see any ads.

We have two TVs that have Apple TV alongside Roku and we use the Roku 99% of time. Even watch AppleTV+ on the Roku
 

ipoddin

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2004
1,138
200
Los Angeles
What ads?

We watch Netflix, Prime, Discovery+, etc and do not see any ads.

We have two TVs that have Apple TV alongside Roku and we use the Roku 99% of time. Even watch AppleTV+ on the Roku
Ads on the Roku home screen. On the right side when you're scrolling through your apps.
 
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nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,555
2,459
DE
The Apple TV may be the best product Apple makes. Sure, it doesn’t perform as many tasks as an iPhone or Mac, but it does exactly what it’s built to do without issues. The UI is intuitive for all ages. And despite feeling like a premium product it’s priced low enough that it makes a great gift.

Couldn't agree more. It doesn't hurt that my wife and I are engrained in the Apple ecosystem, but other than briefly owning a Chromecast years ago, we've always had Apple TV's in our house, especially since we cut the cord a couple years ago. The UI is great and it's intuitive for anyone to use.
 

CarAnalogy

macrumors 603
Jun 9, 2021
5,021
9,082
I want to like it, but given that Roku Streaming Stick 4K has Airplay and Apple TV (and all the other apps of course) for $29 right now, I find the Apple TV to be just too overpriced for what it offers. And that's coming from someone who just bought the new M1 Macbook Pro 16 and is all-in on the Apple ecosystem otherwise. Maybe someone who has owned both can explain what features or value the Apple TV offers because I really don't see it.
Roku is laggy, riddled with ads, and is one day going to lose one of their many contract disputes. Apple TV has none of these problems. I felt the same way you did, and one day bought one (at this sale price) on a whim to see for myself, sure I’d be returning it.

I used it, and was so impressed I bought another one to go on our cheap small Roku TV with Samsung soundbar that requires a separate remote. That tv was laggy to the point lips frequently got out of sync. The Apple TV was able to learn the codes for the sound bar so now we have one remote and a much better experience. No lag at all, apps load and content plays basically instantly. Even the volume coming out of the exact same sound bar with the same tv connection is louder and richer.
 
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nerdherdster

macrumors newbie
Mar 31, 2019
17
36
Roku is laggy, riddled with ads, and is one day going to lose one of their many contract disputes. Apple TV has none of these problems. I felt the same way you did, and one day bought one (at this sale price) on a whim to see for myself, sure I’d be returning it.

I used it, and was so impressed I bought another one to go on our cheap small Roku TV with Samsung soundbar that requires a separate remote. That tv was laggy to the point lips frequently got out of sync. The Apple TV was able to learn the codes for the sound bar so now we have one remote and a much better experience. No lag at all, apps load and content plays basically instantly. Even the volume coming out of the exact same sound bar with the same tv connection is louder and richer.
Current generation Rokus are not laggy, but older Rokus and probably some Roku TVs don't have the CPU power to keep up with updates to the OS. However, the cost of updating is a new $29 device every few years (you can always get a current generation model for that price around the holidays). The current generation also have a volume control on the remote which works great for my TVs. I agree that ads on the homescreen and in the screen savers is not preferred, but they are not intrusive and given that most time is spent inside specific apps where there are no ads I think the tradeoff of the cheaper device is totally worth it.

For example, for one TV I have purchased 3 Rokus across roughly... 10? years. Each one around the holidays for between $20-$40. Let's round up and say I paid $40 for each, that's $120 for 10 years of streaming for a single TV. I still have TWO more upgrades (and likely 6 more years) before I even hit the price of a single Apple TV.

I'm willing to pay more for a better experience, but I've been very happy with the Roku experience and especially since they added AirPlay to most models (as a free software update no less).

Anyway, not trying to diss anyone who prefers Apple TV - paying more for a better experience is literally what Apple does, so I suppose at some level this is like arguing about how a $500 Windows laptop is a way better deal than a $2500 MBP. It's just that in this case the tradeoffs are minimal, so it's clearly the right choice for myself (and probably many others).
 

CarAnalogy

macrumors 603
Jun 9, 2021
5,021
9,082
Current generation Rokus are not laggy, but older Rokus and probably some Roku TVs don't have the CPU power to keep up with updates to the OS. However, the cost of updating is a new $29 device every few years (you can always get a current generation model for that price around the holidays). The current generation also have a volume control on the remote which works great for my TVs. I agree that ads on the homescreen and in the screen savers is not preferred, but they are not intrusive and given that most time is spent inside specific apps where there are no ads I think the tradeoff of the cheaper device is totally worth it.

For example, for one TV I have purchased 3 Rokus across roughly... 10? years. Each one around the holidays for between $20-$40. Let's round up and say I paid $40 for each, that's $120 for 10 years of streaming for a single TV. I still have TWO more upgrades (and likely 6 more years) before I even hit the price of a single Apple TV.

I'm willing to pay more for a better experience, but I've been very happy with the Roku experience and especially since they added AirPlay to most models (as a free software update no less).

Anyway, not trying to diss anyone who prefers Apple TV - paying more for a better experience is literally what Apple does, so I suppose at some level this is like arguing about how a $500 Windows laptop is a way better deal than a $2500 MBP. It's just that in this case the tradeoffs are minimal, so it's clearly the right choice for myself (and probably many others).
I think you nailed it in the last paragraph. Also we have a Roku TV and while the TV is fine, it’s underpowered for the software and the roku remote couldn’t learn the soundbar. The Apple TV fixed all its problems.
 
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