How Much Should You Spend on AirPods for Black Friday?

If you wait until Black Friday to buy a new pair of Apple AirPods, you’re making the right decision. Black Friday is undoubtedly one of the best times of the year to buy Apple products, including some of the best wireless earbuds, at a significant discount. Although the Apple Store hosts its own Black Friday sales, you’ll usually find the best deals at third-party retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart. We’ve covered the Black Friday deals we hope to see from Apple, but here are our specific predictions on price drops for the top AirPods models.

How Much Should You Spend on AirPods for Black Friday?

The prices of Apple AirPods are quite easy to predict, as long as they are actually on sale. Historical trends over the past year show that AirPods generally drop in price by a similar amount during each major sale. During one of the bigger sales events like Black Friday, a retailer is more likely to exceed expectations and drop prices to a new ‘lowest price ever’, but for AirPods that would only be 1-5% lower than our conservative estimate. That said, here are our predictions for all current-gen AirPods for Black Friday 2024.

Apple AirPods Black Friday Price Predictions

Does not reflect current prices

AirPods Pro

The AirPods Pro currently cost $249. The best price we saw was $169.99 during Amazon’s Prime Day event. A typical retail price would be $199.99. Our prediction is that the Black Friday price will be between $169 and $180.

The AirPods Pro are the best-sounding “truly wireless” earbuds for iPhone users, thanks to their passive isolating in-ear design, low-distortion driver and amplifier, and the newer Apple H2 chip. In addition to being one of two AirPods earbuds with active noise cancellation, the AirPods Pro also includes useful features such as ‘Adaptive Transparency Mode’ to hear your surroundings without removing the earbuds and ‘Conversation Mode’ that automatically cancels out people’s voices. who you talk to strengthens. talk to. The newer 2nd generation AirPods Pro replaces the Lightning port with a more universal USB Type-C port so you don’t have to mix and match cables, and also come standard with a MagSafe charging case.

AirPods ANC (4th generation)

Airpods ANC (4th generation)

The AirPods 4 ANC (or active noise cancellation) are currently on sale for $179. The best price we saw in September was $159.99 from Amazon-owned Woot!. A typical retail price would be around $169.99. Our prediction is that the Black Friday price will be between $159 and $169.99.

The AirPods 4 were launched in September 2024. For an Apple product that has only been available for a few months, we don’t expect any significant discounts. The AirPods 4 follows the inherent open-ear earbud design of its predecessors. Unlike the AirPods Pro, which sit in the ear canal, the AirPods 4 sit just outside your ear. It’s easier to put on and take off, and it’s definitely more comfortable to wear. Upgrades over the AirPods 3 include the newer Apple H2 chip (vs. H1), Bluetooth 5.3 support (vs. Bluetooth 5.0), new IP54 resistance rating, which now protects against dust ingress (vs. IPX4), and adoption of the USB Type-C standard (vs. Lightning).

This particular model also features active noise cancellation. It’s not as good as the AirPods Pro simply because it doesn’t have any significant passive noise isolation (which you can only get with an in-ear design), but it’s still quite effective and improves sound quality well.

AirPods (4th generation)

Airpods (4th generation)

The AirPods 4 currently cost $129. The best price we’ve ever seen was $109.99 in September as part of the same Woot! sale where the AirPods 4 ANC were also offered at a discount. A typical retail price would be around $119.99. Our prediction is that the Black Friday price will be between $109 and $119.99.

The AirPods 4 are, as you would expect, the AirPods 4 ANC without the noise canceling feature.

AirPods Max

The AirPods Max are currently on sale for $549. The best price we saw was $399.99 for the Lightning connector model during Amazon’s Prime Day sale in October. A typical retail price would be around $449.99. Our prediction is that the Black Friday price will be between $399.99 and $450.

Unlike its AirPods brethren, the AirPods Max are more traditional over-ear headphones. If you’re not a fan of earbuds that fit in your ear, then over-ear headphones are definitely a better fit for you. A large part of the AirPods Max’s high cost comes from the materials and build quality. The AirPods Max have an all-metal construction with silicone-like material wrapped around the headband and knitted mesh and memory foam earcups that both sit comfortably on your ears and effectively seal out sound. The hinge and adjustment mechanisms are smooth and very easy to use. Apple went all-in on the craftsmanship and it certainly shows.

Eric Song is IGN’s commerce manager responsible for finding the best gaming and technology deals every day. When Eric isn’t looking for deals for other people at work, he spends his free time looking for deals for himself.