If you’ve had your eye on a new set of AirPods, Amazon’s latest Prime Day sale looks like a decent time to pounce. Each model in Apple’s wireless headphone lineup is now on sale for its lowest price to date, from the AirPods Pro to the AirPods Max to the base-model AirPods. We’ve broken down all of the discounts below.
Before you take the plunge, though, keep in mind that Apple is reportedly planning to release new headphones by the end of the year. If you’re not in a huge rush to upgrade, it’s probably worth waiting, particularly if you’re looking at one of the two lower-cost models. But if you absolutely need a new set of headphones today, you can at least save a little more than usual.
As a reminder, Prime Day runs through July 17, and you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to access most of the deals. If you’re not dead-set on AirPods, meanwhile, we’ve put together a more general roundup of Prime Day headphone deals as well.
Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
The latest AirPods Pro are on sale for $169, which matches the lowest price we’ve seen. Apple sells the noise-canceling earphones for $249, though they’ve frequently been available for $190 on Amazon in recent months.
The AirPods Pro remain the “best for iPhones” pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds. Like all AirPods, they work particularly well with other Apple devices, but they also include above-average active noise cancellation (ANC), a top-notch transparency mode (which blends your audio with outside noise) and a fuller, more pleasingly warm sound profile than Apple’s other earbuds. That said, they aren’t as customizable as many of their peers, and their five- to six-hour battery life is nothing to write home about. But if you’re a diehard Apple fan, they do more right than not. We gave them a review score of 88 back in 2022; just note that this model comes with a USB-C charging case.
Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
The AirPods Max are down to a new low of $395, which is roughly $85 off their average street price on Amazon in recent months and $154 off Apple’s list price.
We gave this pair a review score of 84 when it arrived way back in December 2020. Despite its age, the Max remains one of the more premium sets of wireless headphones you can buy. It sounds impressively detailed and balanced, its aluminum frame looks and feels high-end and its ANC is still among the strongest on the market. Battery life is OK at roughly 20 hours per charge, and its Apple-Watch-style digital crown is more responsive than typical touch controls. Most (but not all) of the usual AirPods features are still here, too, from hands-free Siri to Find My tracking to faster pairing and device switching with other Apple hardware. The metal design is fairly hefty, however, and it weirdly lacks a power button, instead relying on a flimsy “case” to enter a low-power mode. You’ll still need to be an Apple loyalist to get the most out of it. But with this discount, it’s much more competitive.
It’s worth noting that we may see a revised AirPods Max by the end of 2024, according to past reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, possibly around the launch of the next iPhone. That said, the new model isn’t expected to be a massive overhaul: Gurman says the only major change will be a swap to USB-C for charging and wired playback. The current set uses Lightning. If you can live with that, it’s still worth considering at this price.
Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget
The third-gen Apple AirPods are also on sale for $120, another all-time low. This is $49 off Apple’s list price and $20 below the typical sale price we’ve seen at other retailers over the last few months.
This pair is harder to recommend than the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, as its semi-open design lets in a good chunk of outside noise, limits bass response and won’t fit everyone’s ears well. What’s more, Bloomberg has reported that Apple will launch two new fourth-gen AirPods models later this year with revamped designs, improved sound quality and ANC in one variant. (New AirPods Pros aren’t expected until 2025.) Again, if you can wait, you probably should. Still, if you really want to save cash and hate the feeling of earbuds that dig into your ear canal, the third-gen AirPods sound better than most wireless unsealed earbuds, and they remain particularly convenient to use with Apple devices. We gave the third-gen AirPods a review score of 88 back in October 2021.
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Lastly, the older second-gen AirPods have dropped to $69, which matches the largest price drop we’ve seen from a major retailer. Apple sells the earbuds for $129, though they’ve hovered in the $80 to $90 range on Amazon for most of 2024.
Like the third-gen model, the entry-level AirPods are a tough sell these days, particularly with updated versions reportedly in the works. You can get better sound quality for less, battery life is poor at roughly four to five hours, and the one-size-fits-all design still won’t fit everyone nicely. But if you prefer an unsealed design and just want the core AirPods feature set for as little as possible, it’ll probably be a while until any next-generation Apple earbuds are this cheap. These earbuds also have a thinner shape than the third-gen model, so they might suit some ears better.
Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.