Our prediction that Apple would offer gift cards rather than cash discounts on Black Friday was confirmed when the U.S. and Canadian stores went live this morning. We first saw this in Australia and New Zealand, whose time-zones made them the first stores to open for Black Friday business.
While Europe bucked the trend, offering cash discounts instead, the North American gift card deals are dollar-for-dollar with Australia. The main ones are:
- All Macs (MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac): $150 gift card
- iPad Air: $75 gift card
- Retina iPad Mini: Nothing ($50 gift card on non-Retina model)
- iPod Touch: $50 gift card
- iPod Nano: $25 gift card …
There are also a range of gift card deals on accessories, with the gift card value reflecting the purchase price.