Black Friday AirPods deals 2024: early deals at Amazon, Walmart and more
All the best Black Friday AirPods deals in one place
This year's Black Friday AirPods deals could be very interesting, thanks to Apple launch of new and updated models back in September. AirPods always ranking among the most popular Black Friday deals, so we've no doubt that there will more in 2024, and we'll track them all.
As you've probably noticed in recent years, you may not need to wait until the end of November for those AirPods Black Friday deals. The official date of Black Friday is November 29th 2024, but Best Buy starts its sales on November 8th, with Walmart following on November 11th. In the UK, the likes of Currys and John Lewis have already started their deals events, though AirPods offers have been thin on the ground.
We've tested every AirPods model, and we've been tracking their prices for years, so we know what makes a really good AirPods Black Friday deal, what's worth passing on for now. On this page, we'll add any early deals we see, with our analysis of whether they're a good choice or not – and we'll highlight the retailers to keep your eye on.
Today's best AirPods deals in the US
- Amazon: AirPods Pro 2 at $189
- Best Buy: 3 months free Apple Music
- Target: AirPods Pro 2 for $189
- Walmart: AirPods from $89
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was $249 now $189 at Amazon
★★★★½ rating! The AirPods Pro 2 are the best-selling earbuds on the planet for a reason: They sound excellent, the noise cancellation is top tier, Dolby Atmos spatial audio is amazing for movies, and they even have an unloseable case, thanks to tech that literally points you to where it's hiding (and a speaker to help, too). They's also very small and light, so are great for comfort. They were $179 last week, and they have dipped to $168 before now, so you will probably get a better price than this as we get closer to Black Friday, but it's the best at the time of writing. Our AirPods Pro 2 review digs into all the extra info you might want to know.
Apple AirPods 4: was $129 now $119 at Amazon
I suspect Apple's all-new AirPods 4 will be a hot item at this year's Black Friday sale, and you can already grab a first-time discount at Amazon. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort, and pack Apple's H2 chip, which supports Personalized Spatial Audio and voice isolation. You're also getting a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and supports USB-C for wireless charging. These are the version without active noise cancellation (and some other extra features).
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: was $179 now $169 at Amazon
If you want Apple's open-ear fit (without the in-ear tip) but with active noise cancellation to make it easier to hear your music, these are the buds for you. They also have spatial audio, Find My in the case (including a speaker), and wireless charging. They sound very fun, too, with a full sound. This is the first discount we've seen on them, basically. We'd suggest most people should pay the little extra for the AirPods Pro, but if you don't like that kind of in-ear fit, these will work nicely.
Apple AirPods Max (Lightning): was $549 now $459 at Amazon
Apple's elite over-ear headphones have fallen under $400 before, so this isn't their best price by a long way. I suspect they'll drop further over Black Friday, particularly because this deal is on the older Lightning version rather than the newer USB-C one (though the charging port is the only change). Still, this is the best price available at the time of writing, and gets you their natural and highly detailed sound, excellent spatial audio, and smart Apple-friendly features.
Today's best AirPods deals in the UK
- Amazon: Usually matches prices
- Argos: AirPods 3 for £129
- Currys: 3 months free Apple Music
- John Lewis: Free Apple Music & long guarantee
- Laptops Direct: Best AirPods deals this week
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was £229 now £199 at Laptops Direct
★★★★½ rating! AirPods Pro 2 are the best-selling earbuds on the planet, thanks to their superb sound quality, top-tier noise cancellation, excellent spatial audio, auto-switching between different Apple devices, gesture control and more. They've fallen to £179 in the past, so this £199 price isn't particularly special, but it's the best at the moment – I suspect better deals will come on Black Friday itself.
Apple AirPods 4: was £129 now £119 at Laptops Direct
These are very new, so any discount on them is good – though I'm hoping we'll see another £10 dropped from the price later in Black Friday. The AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort, and pack Apple's H2 chip, which supports Personalized Spatial Audio and voice isolation. You're also getting a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and supports USB-C for wireless charging. This version doesn't include noise cancellation, wireless charging or the Find My speaker in the case.
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: was £179 now £169 at Amazon
If you want Apple's open-ear design that doesn't go right into your ear canals, but you still want active noise cancellation to make it easier to hear your music, these are the buds for you. They also have spatial audio, Find My in the case (including a speaker), and wireless charging. They sound very fun, too, with a full sound. At £10 off, I'd still advice most people to wait for AirPods Pro 2 to fall to £180 again, and pay the little amount more for even better sound and features – but if you want this kind of ear fit, this is the best price for these so far.
Today's best AirPods deals in Australia
- Apple AU: 3 months free Apple Music
- Amazon AU: up to 15% off select AirPods
- eBay Australia: AirPods 4 for AU$207.54 with code PRES15
- Vodafone: 3 months free Apple Music
I lead TechRadar's audiovisual coverage, including AirPods. I've tested every model of AirPods ever released, and I have every current model within arm's reach as I write this. I've led our AirPods Black Friday coverage for the last three years, and I've been working on Black Friday deals hunting for five years.
Black Friday AirPods deals: FAQs
When will the Black Friday AirPods deals start in 2024?
You'll need to keep your eyes peeled from now onwards! While Black Friday itself is November 29th, retailers are now all trying to outdo each other by being the first to launch major discounts, and get your money before anyone else has the chance, so expect to see a constant stream of offers from now. We already saw Amazon's 'Big Deals Day' in October, for example, which has huge discounts on all kinds of tech.
On top of that, the best AirPods are so popular that retailers will use deals on them to draw people in, so you're especially likely to see early deals on these headphones compared to others.
Is Black Friday the best time to buy AirPods?
Probably! At the very least, it'll be an equally good time. We tend to see record-low prices on AirPods over Black Friday – it's just that we also see these prices at other times of the year – the record-low AirPods Pro 2 prices of Black Friday 2023 have been repeated a few times during 2024.
Obviously, it's possible that we'll see deeper discounts than ever during this Black Friday – wouldn't that be nice? And we may see the first-ever deals on the new AirPods 4 models. The main point is this: I seriously doubt Black Friday's AirPods prices will be any higher than other deals events.
What Black Friday AirPods deals should I expect?
Let's start with the easy one: AirPods Pro 2. The record-low price on these is $169 / £179, and I fully expect that to be repeated. It's quite possible that we'll see them fall to prices a little higher than this in the run-up to Black Friday, and then the final extra drop on the day. At $179 / £189, they'd still be a great deal, so if you wanted to buy early and not worry about it later, that'd be understandable.
Is it too soon to expect deals on AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC, which both launched in September? My guess is that we'll see small discounts on them both – $10-$20, perhaps.
But that may partly depend on if there's still stock of the old AirPods 3 and AirPods (2019) lying around. If there is, we might see it reappear over Black Friday for super-low prices. The AirPods (2019) have fallen as low as $69 in the past, so perhaps they'll fall even further if any are left. And if the AirPods 3 drop to $129 or so, they could be worthwhile – though given how good the likes of the Nothing Ear (a) and Sony WF-C700N are, which sell for about $79/£79 during sales events, I think you could still spend that money better elsewhere.
And then there's the AirPods Max, which have just been updated with USB-C, but no other new features. Will this mean juicier discounts on the Lightning models – and perhaps the USB-C model get record-low prices too, since they're otherwise the same? Maybe! I would definitely expect some discounts, so if you see AirPods Max for around $349/£349, they're a great buy even four years on from their launch.
Why trust TechRadar this Black Friday
We've been covering Black Friday for years, and we've followed its evolution in the last few years from being a US-only thing that ran for a few days, to a multi-continental, month-long deals phenomenon. We have a dedicated deals team who track discounts on all the biggest products, and carefully comb through every retailer's deal events to see what's really a good offer, and what's not.
TechRadar has been testing and judging tech for over 16 years, and we have decades of tech journalism experience between us – and we've reviewed over 2,400 audio products alone.
I've been working in tech publishing from 15 years, and I've covered AirPods since their launch in 2016. I've used every model extensively, and I've reported on their pricing for years now, so I know what makes for a genuinely good deal, and what will probably be beaten later. Updates to this page will also come from TechRadar's knowledgable AV team, who've also used these products, and know the wider world of the best wireless earbuds and the best headphones, well.
Last year's best Black Friday AirPods deals in the US
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (Lightning): was $249 now $169 at Walmart
This is the lowest price we've ever seen for the AirPods Pro 2 Lightning-connected model, which is being sold off cheap now that the new USB-C version is out. They sound great, they're full of smart features, and they've never been cheaper – perfect! If you've been considering picking a pair, we wouldn't delay as this deal probably won't last long.
Apple AirPods (3rd Generation): was $169 now $139.99 at Amazon
Amazon's Black Friday deals include Apple's AirPods Gen 3 on sale for $139.99, which is the lowest ever price we've seen them hit before – they were only discounted to this price twice before now. They offer Spatial Audio, improved battery life over the AirPods 2nd Gen, and better sound quality.
Apple AirPods (2nd Generation): was $129 now $69.99 at Amazon
This is a pretty average price for Apple's oldest and simplest AirPods. You get some smart features such as auto-switching between devices, easy pairing and Find My support, but the sound is more basic than other models.
AirPods Max: was $549 now $449.99 at Amazon
Finally! Our favorite Apple over-ears are discounted by 18% this Black Friday. This isn't the lowest price we've ever found them – they've been known to hit as low as $429 before – but a $99 discount is still a decent chunk of change saved. You're getting all the usual Apple features, such as spatial audio, as well as multi-point pairing and effective active noise cancellation.
Last year's best Black Friday AirPods deals in the UK
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was £229 now £199 at Amazon
This is the cheapest that the new AirPods Pro 2 USB-C version has been, making this a no brainer really if you want a pair of Apple's best earbuds. You get great audio quality, superb noise cancellation, smart features including Adaptive Transparency and Spatial Audio, and a small, comfortable design.
Apple AirPods (2nd Generation): was £129 now £99 at Amazon
This is a typical price for these earbuds these days, so we wouldn't say it's much of a deal really – but if you want the cheapest AirPods available, here you go. They don't have the more advanced features of newer models, but they feature fast pairing, auto-switching between Apple devices, and Find My support.
Apple AirPods (3rd Generation): was £169 now £149 at Amazon
This 12% saving isn't the lowest ever price we've seen Apple's third generation AirPods hit – they've sold for £143 before – but it is the lowest they've been in the past four months. Keep in mind this is for the lightning charging case model, so if you'd prefer the MagSafe charging case then you'll have to spend an extra £10 at Amazon.
Apple AirPods Max: was £549 now £499 at Amazon
This is currently the best discount we've found for Apple's AirPods Max, but it's basically what you can pay for them all year around. We've seen them drop below £400 during sales events before, so this year is disappointing.
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Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.