Apple Watch S11 Cyber Monday deals 2025?

Big if true

Hey, I did exactly what you’re planning: skipped a couple gens and hunted deals on a launch-year model (I grabbed a Series 9 45mm GPS last year, watched S10 too).

From my experience watching Amazon/Best Buy/Target:
- Launch-year base models: usually ~ $50 off (so ~8–12%), sometimes $70 on certain colors
- Cellular: often $70–100 off *or* carrier promos like “$300 bill credits over 24 months” if you add a new line
- Gift cards: Target and sometimes Best Buy did $40–$50 gift cards on full‑price watches instead of a big direct discount
- AppleCare+: basically never discounted; the only angle I’ve seen is buying with a store card (Best Buy/Target/Apple Card) to get 3–5% back on both watch + AppleCare.

What I’d do for S11:
1. **Have a “buy if hits X price” number** – e.g. $50 off GPS / $80 off Cellular. If you see that early Cyber Monday, just grab it. The big drops usually show up fast, then stock for popular colors/bands gets weird.
2. **Watch Amazon + Best Buy first**, Target if you’re okay with gift card deals, and your carrier’s site if you’re open to cellular.
3. **Don’t wait days hoping for a miracle discount**. I’ve almost never seen launch-year Apple Watch go from $30 off → $100 off mid‑week. It’s more like $50 off → sold out in the nice colors.

So yeah, I’d absolutely hold out for Cyber Monday, but once you see ~$50 off on the exact 45mm you want, I’d pull the trigger rather than chasing an extra $10–20. I’ve done the “wait” game before and ended up stuck with a band/color combo I didn’t really want.

Hope this helps! Happy hunting.

Honestly, I wouldn’t expect anything crazy on a launch‑year S11: probably ~8–12% off GPS, maybe better value via carrier promos/gift cards on cellular, but colors/bands you actually want tend to vanish stupidly fast, so I’d grab it early Cyber Monday instead of waiting for some mythical “end of day” price drop that, in my experience with S9/S10, almost never showed up.

Hey,

I’m kind of in the same boat, except I’m a bit more paranoid about safety/reliability than the pure discount side after some not‑so-great experiences.

**Quick background:** I bought a launch‑year Watch before (not S11 obviously), grabbed it on a “deal” at Best Buy on Cyber Monday. Price was fine… but I ran into random crashes, battery getting weirdly hot on workouts, and one time it froze mid-run and didn’t detect a fall properly. Apple fixed some of it with updates, but it honestly wasn’t as good as I expected for something that’s supposed to help with health/safety.

**Why this matters for S11:**
- Launch‑year models + first few months = you’re basically beta-testing the new sensors/algos for fall detection, heart alerts, etc.
- Cyber Monday doesn’t change that risk; it just makes it a little cheaper.
- If you actually care about safety features (fall detection, crash detection, heart notifications), I’d prioritize *stability* over squeezing an extra 5–10% off.

**What I’d do for S11 specifically:**
1. **Watch early user reports first** (Reddit, Apple forums) about overheating, random reboots, inaccurate HR/SpO2, false safety alerts, etc. Personally I’d wait until at least 1–2 major watchOS updates have landed.
2. **If you do buy on Cyber Monday, get AppleCare+ no matter what.** It’s not usually discounted, but it paid off for me when my battery degraded fast and Apple swapped the watch. For a safety device on your wrist 24/7, that’s kinda cheap insurance.
3. **Pick reliability over color/band.** If one specific config is known to be glitchy (it happens), I’d skip it even if the color you want is on sale.
4. **Cellular version:** cool for safety (calling/emergency without phone), but I’d double‑check carrier reliability and any horror stories about dropped SOS calls or activation bugs. Sometimes the “free line” promos lock you into annoying contracts.

Realistically, yeah, expect maybe 5–12% off on GPS and slightly better *effective* deals on cellular (gift cards, bill credits). But if you’re depending on the S11 for health or emergency stuff, I’d say: don’t chase the absolute lowest Cyber Monday price. Chase the combo of: stable software reviews + decent deal + AppleCare+.

If that means waiting until after Cyber Monday and paying $20–30 more for something that’s already had a couple firmware updates… IMO that’s the safer play.

Hope this helps! Happy to compare notes if you’re thinking GPS vs cellular mainly for safety reasons.

Hey,

I’ve been watching Apple Watch deals for a few years now and, from a pure budget/value angle, here’s what I’d do if you’re eyeing the S11:

1. **Set a “buy” threshold now** – e.g. ~10% off GPS and ~15% effective off cellular (including gift cards/trade‑ins). If you see that on Cyber Monday morning from a big retailer, I’d personally buy and not wait.

2. **Prioritize the watch price over AppleCare+ deals** – AppleCare+ almost never gets meaningfully discounted. I’d be happy with full‑price AppleCare+ if I already scored a solid discount on the watch itself.

3. **Use total cost, not just sticker price** – include tax, gift cards, and trade‑in. Sometimes Apple + trade‑in + gift card ends up cheaper long‑term than a slightly lower Amazon price.

4. **Watch these in order**: Amazon (fast drops), Target/Best Buy (gift cards + RedCard/Totaltech), then carriers for cellular BOGOs/credits if you’re ok with bill credits.

5. **Color/band risk** – if you want a specific color, buy as soon as you see a decent discount. The “good” colors in 45mm really do go first.

Overall, I think: don’t chase the absolute rock‑bottom price; aim for a “good enough” deal that you’re happy with and lock it in.

Hope this helps!

Hey,

I totally get holding out for S11 deals. Just to throw a slightly different angle in: if you zoom out and look at the *overall* smartwatch market, Apple discounts on launch-year models are usually weaker than what you see from competitors… but Apple still holds value better.

From what I’ve seen in previous years:
- **Apple Watch (S9/S10 equivalents):** launch-season discounts were usually ~5–12% at Amazon/Best Buy/Walmart, but stock on popular colors vanished fast. Real “wow” deals tended to be gift-card bundles at places like Target/Best Buy, or carrier promos on cellular (e.g., bill credits over 24 months).
- **Samsung / Pixel / Garmin:** you’d often see 15–25% off in the same window on their latest-gen watches. So if you were brand‑agnostic, you get more raw discount outside Apple.

So, if you’re locked into iOS and really want the S11, I think it’s smarter to:
- Watch **Amazon + Best Buy + Target** for small price cuts **plus** gift cards.
- Treat any clean ~10% off on the exact size/color you want as a solid win for launch year.

If you’re actually open to switching brands, then it might be worth comparing S11 full price vs. something like Galaxy Watch / Pixel Watch that’ll probably get steeper Cyber Monday cuts.

Hope this helps you frame expectations a bit from the “market” side!

Hey, so I’m kinda the “DIY deals” person in my friend group, and here’s how I’d approach S11 specifically.

Instead of just waiting for one big Cyber Monday drop, I’d **build your own deal** using stackable stuff:

- Trackers: set price alerts on Amazon / Best Buy / Walmart *now* and watch for small dips (even 5–8%).
- Gift cards: around BF/CM, places like Costco/Target sometimes discount Apple / store gift cards 5–10% – that’s basically a DIY discount on top of any sale price.
- Trade‑in: check Apple, Best Buy, carrier trade‑in values ahead of time so you know if it’s worth doing or better to sell your old watch locally and put that cash toward the S11.
- AppleCare+: I’ve never seen it truly “on sale”, but you can sorta hack it by buying it with discounted gift cards, or using a credit card that extends warranty so you can skip/downsized AC+.

In my experience, launch‑year watches don’t get massive markdowns, but if you stack a small sale + discounted gift cards + maybe a trade‑in, you can end up effectively saving 15–20% without needing some unicorn Cyber Monday deal.

If you’re picky about color/band, I’d grab it as soon as you see *any* decent stackable combo, then stop refreshing every 5 minutes 😅

Hope that helps a bit — how locked are you on a specific color/band combo? That’ll change how aggressive you can be with waiting.

If you care about long‑term value more than the headline discount, I’d pounce on a solid ~10% S11 deal early on Cyber Monday rather than chasing an extra $10–20 and risking the color/band you want selling out, because in my experience (had S5 → S7 → S9) the *bigger* savings over 3–4 years come from 1) getting AppleCare+ right away (I’ve unfortunately had two cracked screens that would’ve been brutal without it) and 2) choosing GPS vs cellular correctly for how you’ll actually use it—my “future‑proof” cellular S7 felt wasted since I barely used the line and kept paying monthly, so now I only pay the launch‑year or Cyber Monday premium for features I know I’ll use daily, not the “just in case” stuff retailers dangle in promos.