Best Early Black Friday Deals at Walmart
Our experts have found some great prices on CR-tested products ahead of Black Friday
By Consumer Reports
Black Friday may not have begun yet, but you can still find big savings. Walmart’s deals have already started popping up—both on the retailer’s website and in brick-and-mortar stores. And starting Monday, the retailer will be resuming its annual "Deals for Days" sales, releasing sales every Monday on popular items like TVs and headphones.
To help you find the best prices on high-quality products at Walmart (as well as other retailers), Consumer Reports’ experts are combing through all the offers for items that have performed well in our rigorous tests. Here are some of the great discounts available now at Walmart.
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• Headphones
• Laptops and Chromebooks
• Fitness Trackers & Smartwatches
• Small Appliances
• Smart and Bluetooth Speakers
• Wireless Routers
• More Deals
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Headphones
Apple AirPods Pro
The Apple AirPods Pro aren’t the best-scoring noise-canceling headphones in our ratings, but they might be the most popular. And unlike the earlier generations of AirPods, the Pros deliver when it comes to performance, with solid sound quality and fantastic noise cancellation.
Why it’s a good deal: These are at the best price we’ve seen all year, and they’ll be $10 less ($159) on Nov. 7.
Apple AirPods (2nd Gen) with Wireless Charging Case
You won’t find Apple products for under $100 that often, so while these second-generation AirPods aren’t the latest version, they’re certainly a good value. They deliver average sound quality, which casual listeners will probably find sufficient for music and movie soundtrack playback.
Why it’s a good deal: This matches the best price for these true wireless Apple headphones.
Sennheiser CX Plus
The Sennheiser CX Plus offers really good value in a true wireless noise-canceling earbud. According to our testers, the sound quality is more than solid, while the active noise-canceling performance is among the best we’ve tested and includes a transparency mode so that you can hear traffic while you’re walking. Some users might find the buds a bit bulky, but our testers found the fit to be fine for most users.
Why it’s a good deal: This deal puts the CX Plus earbuds significantly below their list price.
Sony WF-1000XM4
Sony WF-1000XM4 noise-canceling earbuds are one of our top-rated models, and this discount is a hefty one. If you’re in the market for some new audio gear, they’re worth your time. Expect audio quality and noise cancellation that ranks among the very best options in this category of products, a long battery life, and handy features such as an ambient sound-monitoring mode that lets you keep an ear on your environment.
Why it’s a good deal: This marks the lowest price we’ve seen for these headphones by about $20.
Laptops and Chromebooks
LG UltraPC 15
The 15.6-inch LG UltraPC 15 has performance speeds that are faster than average to perform demanding tasks, including gaming. Its battery life is above average at 15.5 hours in web-browsing tests. The display scores high as well.
Why it’s a good deal: The price for this model has fallen steadily in recent weeks, most recently falling $20 compared to what we’ve seen.
Fitness Trackers & Smartwatches
Garmin Forerunner 35
While technically a fitness tracker, this model offers a watchlike feel. You get a 1.3-inch monochrome display that shows your step count and heart rate. The Forerunner 35 has a built-in GPS and a claimed battery life of nine days, and we found in our testing that it makes good on its water-resistance claim of 164 feet. CR testers give the fitness tracker top marks for heart rate tracking and step-count accuracy, as well as ease of use.
Why it’s a good deal: Though we’ve seen this dip to about $100 before, this is still a solid deal for a trusty tracker.
Fitbit Inspire 2
The Fitbit Inspire 2 fitness tracker has been on sale since mid-April, but the price continues to fall. It’s now only $7 more than the lowest we’ve seen all year. It gets top marks from our testers for step-count and heart-rate accuracy, and it earns a spot among the best fitness trackers for its ease of use, pairing, and readability in low light. The Inspire 2 also has a very generous claimed battery life of 10 days (we don’t test that characteristic) and built-in GPS, a feature not found on many other fitness trackers.
Why it’s a good deal: This isn’t much more than the lowest price we’ve seen, which was closer to $60.
Small Appliances
KitchenAid KCM1208DG
If you love the look of KitchenAid stand mixers, then you might want to consider this KitchenAid KCM1208DG coffee maker. It features the iconic wraparound metal band from the stand mixers and offers the performance to match. Its many features include a permanent filter, a removable water reservoir, a cleaning indicator, auto-shutoff, brew-strength control, and programming.
Why it’s a good deal: This brewer beats out machines that cost twice as much, and it’s currently $10 off its list price. It could drop again closer to Black Friday; we saw it for $109.99 earlier this week.
NutriChef NCFP8 Multipurpose 12 Cup Multifunction
With variable speeds, dial controls, and a reversible shredding and slicing disc, the NutriChef NCFP8 food processor isn’t one to miss. Although the model doesn’t fare as well when it comes to grating, it still manages to score high in overall performance in Consumer Reports’ tests. Included in the set you’ll find a dough blade plus whipping and juicing attachments.
Why it’s a good deal: It’s one of the best options under $100, and the Walmart price just dropped by an additional $5 compared with recent weeks.
Dash Digital Tasti-Crisp Air Fryer 2.6 Quart
The Dash Digital Tasti-Crisp is small but mighty. At a measured capacity of 1.9 quarts and a footprint of less than a square foot, this 6-pound model is one of the most compact air fryers in our ratings. Still, it ranks among the best, earning solid scores for controls and cleaning, and acing our noise test. It shares the honor of being the quietest air fryer in our ratings, along with its analog counterpart, the Dash Express Tasti-Crisp, which is also on sale for more than $20 off since the Prime Early Access Sale. It has a 1-year warranty, which is typical for air fryers.
Why it’s a good deal: Walmart has the lowest price we’ve ever seen for this model. It’s now sold out at Amazon, where it was on sale for $63 for over a month.
Emeril Power AirFryer 360
There’s quite a lot going for this 1,500-watt Emeril Power Toaster Oven. It’s a cinch to operate, and we’ve found that it’s particularly good at making toast and baking cookies. If you’re looking to save counter space, this model doubles as an air fryer, too, and its 0.5-cubic-foot interior has the capability to turn out a 4- to 6-pound rotisserie chicken. The best part? It’s almost half off.
Why it’s a good deal: Walmart has the lowest price we’ve seen for this model.
Hamilton Beach 70730
If you grate cheese for pizza, shred potatoes for hash browns, or dice veggies for salads, you’ll like the 450-watt Hamilton Beach 70730 Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper. It has two speeds and a 10-cup capacity, and it’s dishwasher-safe. It also comes with reversible blades, a bowl scraper, cord storage, and a 1-year motor warranty. Our tests found that it can be a little noisy, however.
Why it’s a good deal: This model typically sells for over $50, but Walmart has a solid discount.
Calphalon Auto-Speed BLCLMB1
Though this blender isn’t among our top-rated, the Calphalon Auto-Speed BLCLMB1 is one of the most reliable models in our tests. The 1,100-watt blender comes in dark stainless steel with a 68-ounce BPA-free Tritan jar, plus a 25-ounce smoothie cup you can take on the road. It weighs 8 pounds and has a pulse option and a removable blade.
Why it’s a good deal: This is a great discount. We did see it for a little less during the recent Amazon sale, though, so it may get cheaper again closer to Black Friday.
Keurig K-Elite K90
The Keurig K-Elite K90 is the best Keurig-branded pod brewer in our ratings. Its first-cup brew speed is a tad slow, but this Keurig makes up for it with great temperature and size consistency. It packs plenty of features, too, including programming, auto-shutoff, an iced-coffee brewing mode, a removable reservoir, and a height-adjustable drip tray.
Why it’s a good deal: This coffee maker was $20 cheaper earlier this week, but this is still a great deal to snag if you need a new machine now.
Smart and Bluetooth Speakers
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
JBL Charge 5
Our testers found that the JBL Charge 5 has satisfying sound quality, it’s easy to use, and is able to deliver enough volume for a midsized room. JBL says the Charge 5 is dust-resistant in addition to being water-resistant, claims that CR doesn’t test.
Why it’s a good deal: This sale price is the typical discount, but it comes and goes, so if you want this speaker, take advantage while it’s here.
Wireless Routers
Asus AC2900 (RT-AC86U)
The Asus AS2900 RT-AC86U has great throughput at all ranges, making it a top choice for any size home. It also comes with many extras, like a game accelerator from WTFast that lets you enjoy smooth gameplay in supported multiplayer online games, AiProtection from Trend Micro, a year of free Trend Micro Mobile Security for two mobile devices, and Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus+ for two Windows PCs. AiMesh is also supported, so you can connect to other compatible ASUS routers to create a WiFi mesh network.
Why it’s a good deal: Walmart has the router for vastly less than other retailers.
Google Nest Wifi (3-pack)
The Google Nest WiFi three-pack provides decent all-around performance, scoring well for throughput at near- and medium-range distances. It may fall a bit short in large homes, though, and it’s “only” WiFi 5 compatible. But at this price, it’s hard to complain.
Why it’s a good deal: This router system typically retails for $350, making this an impressive deal.
More Deals
Skil DL529303
The 20-volt Skil DL529303 does fast work of drilling holes and driving fasteners. It’s also light and comfortable to hold and weighs a little over 3 pounds. It comes with only one lithium-ion battery but charges up very quickly, and it has an LED work light and a belt hook. This model comes with a generous 5-year warranty.
Why it’s a good deal: This is the best sale price we’ve seen all year.
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