EOFY 2021: tech deals to expect from Australia’s end of financial year sales

The end of financial year sales form one of the biggest shopping events in Australia, and now EOFY is already right around the corner. It’s the time of year when Aussie retailers offer significant discounts on a wide variety of products, from cars to kitchen appliances, to tech and beyond. 

Australian retailers will be looking to clear stock – quite often last year’s stock – to make way for newer items arriving in the year. It can be a lot to trawl through, but excellent deals can be found if you know where to look.

That’s where the Australian TechRadar team comes in – we’ll be on hand during EOFY sales to help you hunt down the best bargains on electronics over the month of June, and we’ll list all our finds right here. So, whether you need a new laptop or phone, a TV or some audio gear, you’ll be able to save a packet.

EOFY 2021 sale: what and when is it?

Australia’s end of financial year is June 30. That means, from July 1 to the end of October 2021, individuals and businesses will need to file their tax returns with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Prior to that, retailers will be racing to shift old stock to make way for fresh items, and they’ll be slashing prices on plenty of products – which could be tax deductible if you use them for work-related purposes.

Australia’s EOFY sales traditionally begin June 1 and end on June 30, although many retailers tend to jump the gun, offering a few tempting discounts to lure shoppers in towards the end of May. The best EOFY offers will arrive in June though, and not all retailers will have month-long sales. 

We’ve found that offers often change through the month, so you’ll need to keep checking back in to see if what you’re after has seen a price drop.

EOFY 2021 sale: deal predictions

If you’re looking to save some money on electronics during Australia’s EOFY sale, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve been following tax-time deals for a few years now and can safely predict what you can get for a cheaper price.

So, what kind of tech can you find during EOFY sales in Australia? Plenty. From computers to gaming gear, the best flagship smartphones to noise-cancelling headphones. Here are our predictions for EOFY 2021:

Laptops, PCs & peripherals

Computing gear are some of the most popular items that’s purchased during EOFY. Manufacturers such as Microsoft, Lenovo, Dell and HP will host sales on their sites, but you’ll also be able to grab laptops and desktop PCs from major retailers as well, with average discounts of about 15% to 20%. You’ll be able to snag bargains on accessories as well, with printers, keyboards, mice and SSDs – maybe even those elusive RTX 3000-series GPUs – all going on sale during this time.

Gaming

From Nintendo to Sony and Microsoft – there were plenty of deep discounts on gaming gear last year, but we’re not so certain about 2021. The current-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X are in short supply and often out of stock, so it’s highly unlikely we’ll see them for less. On the other hand, the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite could see some cracking deals (and keep an eye out for bundles too). There’ll also be some blockbuster gaming titles available for cheap if you’d like to expand your gaming library.

Smartphones & tablets

Good smartphone discounts are few and far between throughout the year, but there can be decent deals to consider during EOFY if you’re looking to upgrade your handset. Last year saw some great discounts on Samsung’s then-flagships, so if you’re an Android user, you may be able to score a new phone without having to pay full retail price. It’s also a great time to pick up a discounted tablet as well – particularly iPads – and they’re often tax deductible if you use them for work.

Home entertainment & personal audio

There were plenty of TVs, sound bars and speakers on sale during the last couple of EOFY sales, and we don't expect that trend to change any time soon. And with some excellent 4K smart TVs already seeing price drops outside of big sales, we're looking forward to seeing how much more affordable they'll be during 2021 tax-time.

Portable Bluetooth speakers and headphones will be discounted as well. We’re expecting to see deals on the top-notch Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. We may also get surprised by a rarer discount on the Apple AirPods. While discounted prices may not match Black Friday offers, tax-time deals still see a decent chunk of change saved on premium products.

Cameras

The EOFY sales are also a great time for photographers – beginners, pros or hobbyists – to grab the latest gear. Last year saw plenty of cameras go on sale, particularly from Nikon. We also saw action cameras from GoPro and DJI drop in price last year, so keep your eyes peeled for excellent bargains. Sales on DSLRs, mirrorless snappers, compacts and more are highly likely to see a discount, or if you’re happy with the camera body you already own, we’re expecting lenses, tripods, bags and SD cards to see some decent price drops as well.

Smart home devices

Smart gadgets can now be found for every room in the home – from smart lights to smart security systems, and the speakers and displays to control them all. Amazon discounted its Echo range of smart speakers last year and we're quite sure that will happen again, along with the other smart devices found on Amazon, such as Philips Hue smart lights. You’ll also find plenty of retailers offering discounts on Google's range of smart speakers and displays.

Home appliances

If the appliances in your home are looking a little out of date, the EOFY sales will help you save plenty on the brand-new appliances you want. You can expect to see bargains on Dyson vacuum cleaners, robovacs, fridges, dishwashers, washing machines and plenty more. Retailers such as Myer, David Jones and Peter's of Kensington will certainly have sales, where you could find great deals on smaller kitchen appliances too.

EOFY 2021 sale: best offers from last year

To get an idea of what to expect in 2021, let's take a look at what was on offer last year:

Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model | i7 / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD / RTX 2070 | AU$3,599 (save AU$1,000)

There was a huge packet to save on this dream gaming machine. The series is rated by our colleagues at PC Gamer as one of the best gaming laptops you can buy, making this steeply discounted Razer an absolute steal at the time.

Dell XPS 13 (9300) | i7 / 8GB RAM / 512GB SSD | AU$2,399 (save AU$600)

In addition to gaming laptops, we saw plenty of discounts on premium machines, such as this Dell XPS 13. This powerful configuration was a fairly new model at the time, but it was still available with a 20% price drop from Dell. Take that as evidence that it’s not just older tech discounted during EOFY sales.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (128GB) | AU$999 (save AU$300)

Last financial year, this Samsung S10 Plus was knocked down just shy of the AU$1,000 mark by Amazon. Samsung has now released its S21 family of flagships, so there’s a decent chance we’ll see the S20 series on sale this June.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 | AU$469 (save AU$130)

These excellent noise-cancelling headphones were 20% off during last year’s EOFY sales. We’ve since seen the Bose 700 drop as low as AU$359 during Black Friday in 2020, which could be a promising sign of what’s to come this June.

Sonos Playbar | AU$759 (save AU$240)

This is one of our favourite soundbars, and it usually doesn’t come cheap. But last financial year, Amazon slashed AU$240 off the excellent soundbar, making it a little more tempting to update your home entertainment setup.

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