Black Friday has come and gone, but Cyber Monday is here. And that means Cyber Monday deals are out and about right now, including on big products, such as things made by Apple. So, if you’re an iPhone user and want the best headphones for your iPhone, this is a great time to get AirPods, whether you’re going for a primary pair or a backup pair. The following deals represent the best of the best of what’s out there now, and all come from reliable sources. You can also get some budget shopping done with the best Cyber Monday deals under $25 and best Cyber Monday deals under $50.
Our Top Pick: Apple AirPods Max (Lightning) — $400 $549 27% off
The AirPods Max are the AirPods, which are very fine standard over-the-head-with-a-band headphones. This deal, the best we could find, still uses the older lightning cable instead of USB-C, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem, considering their 20-hour battery life.
Apple AirPods 4 — $119 $129 8% off
The latest and (nearly) the greatest — check out the ANC version, too! — of Apple’s AirPods. They’re sweat-resistant, provide a personal spatial audio experience, give USB-C charging, and have incredible battery life. The discount, at just $10, isn’t huge, but these are really new and are just a hair over $100, anyhow.
Apple AirPods 4 with ANC — $165 $179 8% off
Getting a sense of déjà vu? Design-wise, these are practically identical to the regular AirPods 4, but they bring with them intense active noise cancellation, allowing you to tune out the surrounding world for even better studying and winning imaginary arguments in your head.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 — $187 $250 25% off
This is Apple’s current pro-tier earbuds, and (for most people) the best earbuds you can buy for your iPhone. They’ve got an excellent listening experience, active noise cancelation, and the ability to boost ambient sounds to make them easier to hear. They’re quite nicely priced at under $190 right now.
How to choose AirPods on Cyber Monday
One of the first things you have to understand about AirPods (and, generally speaking, most Apple products) is that they are extremely popular. Now, you might already know this, but why is that relevant to Cyber Monday deals?
It’s relevant because Apple has the upper hand. Apple (or any retailer that carries its products) doesn’t need to give discounts to make us interested in their wares; we already buy them anyway. This is a we-take-what-we-can-get situation.
So, how should that affect your Cyber Monday choices? It shouldn’t. And that’s the whole point. During Cyber Monday, you should pick the AirPods you wanted to begin with, and if there is a good deal going on, you can be happy you got it. But, chances are, prices aren’t going to swing so much that it makes sense to switch up what you’re buying at this time.
How we selected these Cyber Monday AirPods deals
Remember how we just established that Apple AirPods deals are a we-take-what-we-can-get situation? It’s that way just as much for us as it is for you. There are some considerations that we take that are a bit different, though.
Here, we wanted to present deals that are good and from reliable sources, and we did search far and wide. From Walmart to the AT&T store, in fact. We also know to look at each color of a product, as that can affect price. During the first iteration of this article, for instance, the pink AirPods Max headphones had a better discount than the rest (and that may still be the case today), and that’s likely a result of the feminine association with the color pink. Yet, upon closer look, despite sharing a name with Victoria’s Secret underwear line, we think that the color can be very suitable for many readers of The Manual, especially ones that take value over outward appearances.
At the end of the day, we searched high and low to present you with good deals, including ones that you might’ve skipped over yourself.
