Apple's Black Friday shopping event begins in Australia, shows what offers to expect in the States

Apple announced that it’s having a special Black Friday shopping event a couple of days ago, even urging people to save the dates, bringing expectations for some good deals on the latest Apple products. Those more familiar with past Apple Black Friday sales were already skeptical, but if the offers on Apple’s Australian store (it’s already Friday over there) are any indicator, the event will be truly disappointing.

Of course, Apple’s US store might have different deals, but it’s unlikely that it will stray too far off. Anyway, here are the groundbreaking special offers available to Aussies for the next four days:

Gift cards. And more gift cards. All of them are, of course, for the Apple Store. They start from $35 AUD (Australian dollars, around $25 USD) and can reach $280 AUD ($203 USD), depending on what you buy. Buying an iPhone will bring you a whopping $70 AUD ($50 USD) in store credit, and you don’t even get that if you buy one of Apple’s latest smartphones. The gift card is only for those who decide to buy an iPhone 7/7 Plus or 8/8 Plus. Not exactly the products people were saving money for.

To get the maximum amount with a single purchase, you’d need to spend at least $1,499 AUD ($1,087 USD) on a Mac computer. The $280 AUD gift card is enough to buy you an Apple TV and a fast charger for your iPhone, since you didn’t get one in the box (but not the USB-C to Lightning cable you’d need for it).

Again, we might see other offers when the event starts in the US, a few hours from now, but don’t get your hopes up. If you were waiting for Black Friday to buy an Apple product for personal use or a gift, you’re better off shopping somewhere else. You can find deal posts all around our website right now, but for a more comprehensive collection of offers you can check our big Black Friday deals compilation.