It’s that time of year again—Black Friday, the yearly shopping event where everyone hunts for the biggest deals. Apple’s AirPods are famously popular gifts and travel companions, and various models are often on sale throughout the year. So keep your eyes peeled for great deals on AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max as the Black Friday sales take off.
We typically see Black Friday deals starting in early November, and culminating in the post-Thanksgiving weekend. In 2023 Black Friday falls on November 24 and Cyber Monday on November 27. We expect to see some truly fantastic deals. For example, in 2022 we saw discounts of $50-100 on various AirPods models.
Return here throughout November as we highlight the best deals leading up to and through Black Friday.
Black Friday: Apple’s shopping event
Apply typically holds a four-day shopping event in which some products come with a free Apple gift card, the amount of which varies depending on what you buy. These are the AirPods deals Apple had in 2022:
- AirPods (2nd gen), AirPods (3rd gen) with Lightning Charging Case: $25/£25
- AirPods Pro (2nd gen): $50/£50
- AirPods Max: $75/£75
We expect something similar in 2023, where buying directly from Apple gets you a gift card of varying amounts. Generally speaking, you can often find bigger bargains at other retailers.
Black Friday: Best AirPods deals
Heading into Black Friday, these are the best deals we could find.
Deals in the U.S.:
- Amazon, AirPods Max: $479 ($70 off)
- Amazon, AirPods Pro (2nd-gen) USB-C: $199 ($50 off)
- Amazon, AirPods (2nd gen): $99 ($30 off)
- Amazon, AirPods (3rd gen, MagSafe case): $150 ($19 off)
Deals in the U.K.:
- John Lewis, AirPods Pro (2nd gen): £219 (£30 off the old price, but note this is the Lightning version not the new USB-C one)
- eBuyer, AirPods Max: £490.98 (£8.02 off; current RRP £499)
Black Friday 2022: Latest AirPods Pro deals
The 2nd-generation AirPods Pro look just like the first-gen model, but they sound better, have longer battery life, and offer a few other welcome improvements. You should look for the just-updated version with USB-C charging case, which retails for $249 / £229 but is often on sale for at least $50 off.
Latest AirPods deals
The third-generation AirPods are a significant upgrade over the 2nd-gen model. They typically retail for $179 / £179 with the wireless charging case, but you can often find them a little cheaper. Apple also sells a model with a wired Lightning case for $169 / £169.
The biggest discounts are typically found on second-generation AirPods. They’re a bit out of date and don’t have nearly the features or sound quality of the third-gen model, but if you primarily want to use them for phone calls rather than music, they’re not a bad buy and you can save a lot of money. Apple sells them for $129 / £129 but you can easily find them for a lot less.
Latest AirPods Max deals
Frankly, AirPods Max are overpriced (even on sale). Compared to other consumer-oriented over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones, you might pay hundreds more. Apple’s price is $549 / £499, and they’re easy enough to find for up to $100 less, but a good price would be under $400.
Black Friday 2023: All Apple deals
Stay on top of the best Black Friday deals as they arrive with our dedicated roundups.
Best Black Friday 2023 MacBook deals
Best Black Friday 2023 Mac deals
Best Black Friday 2023 AirPods deals
Best Black Friday 2023 Apple Watch deals
Best Black Friday 2023 iPad deals
Best Black Friday 2023 iPhone deals
Best Black Friday 2023 Mac monitor deals
Best Black Friday 2023 SSD and external hard drive deals
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