Angus Kidman at Lifehacker Australia:
Apple’s annual “Black Friday” sale is happening in its retail stores and online until midnight tonight. The big difference this year? Rather than taking money off some products, Apple is offering Apple Store gift cards when you purchase major hardware items. Our verdict? That’s not as good as a proper saving.
A full list is available on their site. These one-day events have never been amazing, but tacking on gift cards feels a little stingy, especially for one of the richest companies in the world.
Anyway, here’s the brass tacks: a Mac purchase will score you a $150 Apple Store gift card, while an iPad Air comes with a $75 card. iPad 2 or mini shrinks the gift to a $50 card. There’s also a variety of 3rd-party accessories available too with $25-50 cards attached — my pick of these would be the Fitbit Flex for $129 with a $25 gift card.
I also enjoyed the very deliberate wordplay they used in describing today; don’t you dare call it a sale, it’s a shopping event!
Still, if you’re keen on making a purchase today, consider making it through our affiliate link. You’ll be helping out the site. <3