Black Friday earbuds deals 2024: the best offers live now – including Bose, Nothing, Sony and AirPods

Apple AirPods Pro 2 and Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds 2 next to a sign saying Black Friday Earbuds Deals
(Image credit: Apple / Bose / Future Publishing)

Looking for the best Black Friday earbuds deals? Good call: the cash-conscious buyer knows that gift-giving season waits for no one. What you need is a few choice Black Friday deals to put you one step ahead of the game and ready for the festivities. Well, you're in luck: we got you!

First up, a timeline: Black Friday lands on November 29th 2024 – but that's only half the story, as you'll probably know. Plenty of deals are available right now at Amazon; check the 'today’s deals' pages at Amazon US and Amazon UK for starters.

If you reside in the US, Best Buy's Black Friday sale kicked off November 8, with new deals promised week, and Walmart's sale was hot on its heels on November 11.

Across the pond in the UK, the Argos sale is now live – with price promises through to Dec 3, as are sales at Currys (who will match/refund any lower prices through December 2) Very, John Lewis and Boots.

Below, you'll find a quick list of the earbuds deals to check out right now, ahead of Black Friday proper. This list will grow and expand as we get closer to the end of November, so save this page for quick reference. Stay tunes folks, it's going to be intense!

Today's best earbuds deals in the US

Apple AirPods 4 (without active noise cancellation)
Apple AirPods 4 (without active noise cancellation): was $129 now $119 at Amazon US

I predict Apple's all-new AirPods 4 will be a hot item during this year's Black Friday sales, 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.

You can also get the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation on sale for $169 (originally $179).

Apple  AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was $249 now $179 at Amazon US

★★★★½ rating! The AirPods Pro 2 are the best-selling earbuds on the planet for a reason, and although they have dipped to $168 before now, this is still a great deal, making them great value for iPhone and Apple tech owners. 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. Our AirPods Pro 2 review digs into all the extra features they have for Apple users – Android users should look to the Bose buds on this page instead.

Sony WF-C510
Sony WF-C510: was $59.99 now $48 at Amazon US

★★★★½ rating! If anyone asks us for a great pair of really cheap 2024-release earbuds and they don't care about ANC, the Sony WF-C510 is usually our go-to answer. They're light and comfortable, provide excellent sound quality for the cost, and have a battery life of up to 20 hours. We awarded them 4.5/5 and called them 'great value for money' in our Sony WF-C500 review. And this is a return to their lowest price ever – a steal.

Apple  AirPods (third generation)
Apple AirPods (third generation) : was $169 now $94 at Walmart

The AirPods 3 feature the newer design with shorter stems that includes touch-capacitive force sensors for easy control. The earbuds also deliver impressive sound with spatial audio, resulting in an immersive experience and a MagSafe charging case that provides more than 30 hours of total listening time. No ANC, of course, (and AirPods 4 are newer) but if those things don't bother you, they're a good bet.

Apple AirPods (2019)
Apple AirPods (2019): was $129 now $89.99 at Walmart

This is actually a fairly 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've actually been on sale for as little as $69.99 before now too, so while a sub-$90 fee may be tempting, it's not the cheapest they've been. They don't have the more advanced features of newer models, but they do feature fast pairing, auto-switching between Apple devices, and Find My support.

Audio-Technica  ATH-SQ1TWBK
Audio-Technica ATH-SQ1TWBK: was $79 now $39.99 at Amazon US

★★★★★ rating! TechRadar's Audio Editor, Becky Scarrott, adores these 2021-release super-cool earbuds and her five star review proves it. Look, they're not the youngest around any more and you won't get app support or ANC. But the sound is excellent and the design is really quite beautiful. A steal at the price – even though they briefly dipped to $5 less than this once before.

Today's best earbuds deals in the UK

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbud
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbud: was £299 now £219.50 at Amazon UK

★★★★ rating! Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are back down to their lowest-seen price yet for Prime Day in the UK too. The star here is Bose's all-new proprietary Immersive Audio feature for several head-tracked spatial audio profiles) and Snapdragon Sound certification. In short, these are the most advanced noise-canceling Bose earbuds you can buy, now back down to their lowest-ever price – but we don't know how long it'll last!

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C)
Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was £249 now £175 at Amazon UK

The AirPods Pro 2 are the best-selling earbuds on the planet for a reason, and this is a whole £4 cheaper than we've ever seen them until now. What will you get? Superb sound quality, top-tier noise cancellation, excellent spatial audio, auto-switching between different Apple devices, gesture control and more. Could the AirPods Pro 3 be on the horizon for 2025? Yes, but you get the new hearing-aid-features update in this set. Highly recommended for this money.

Nothing Ear (a)
Nothing Ear (a): was £99 now £69 at Amazon UK

★★★★★ rating! The latest Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds offer exceptional bass along with powerful active noise cancellation, so they’re immediately off to a good start. Their talented 11mm drivers are bigger than the norm and there’s 42.5 hours of battery life via the charging case, multi-point connectivity, and even ChatGPT support via the pinch stems if you're using a Nothing phone. This 30% discount also makes them back at their lowest-seen price too: bargain.

Sony WF-C700N
Sony WF-C700N: was £99 now £77 at Amazon UK

★★★★★ rating! The WF-C700N ripped our notions on what is achievable at this entry level to smithereens when they burst onto the scene in April 2023. The Nothing Ear (a) have since surpassed them at this price level for us (especially since they're even cheaper), but if you prefer Sony's style, these are the buds to go for. Our Sony WF-C700N review describes their fantastically rich sound and impressive extra features, including good noise cancellation.

Nothing Ear
Nothing Ear: was £129 now £99 at Amazon UK

A £30 off saving (a 23% discount and the lowest they've ever been – albeit only by 58p) is a huge deal for Nothing's flagship earbuds. Here, you get to personalise your listening experience with Nothing's excellent Sound Personalisation mode, which is so good our reviewer wrote a dedicated feature on how it changed his approach to earbuds in general. This price also means you're getting flagship perks (including an excellent app, solid ANC and pinch-to-speak to Chat GPT from a Nothing Phone) for under £100. And that is, as far as we're concerned, unique.

Sony  WF-1000XM5
Sony WF-1000XM5: was £259 now £195 at Amazon UK

Sony's flagship wireless ANC earbuds are now greatly reduced – in fact, this deal makes them only £6 more than they've ever been (having briefly dropped to £189 in early September). Built-in Alexa functionality makes them a joy to use and the fit is good for smaller ears. The AI-based noise reduction algorithm and bone conduction sensor might not be as effective at blocking noise as the very best in the business (read more in our Sony WF-1000XM5 review), but they still deliver great results.

Curated by
Senior audio staff writer Becky Scarrott, in a field
Curated by
Becky Scarrott

I've reviewed over 150 audio products since becoming a tech journalist, ranging from super-budget earbuds to high-end Hi-Res Audio music players. Before joining TechRadar, I spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing everything the world of audio had to offer; before that, I was a professional dancer. This is my fifth Black Friday covering earbuds, so between my experience of previous years and of the buds themselves, I know the real deals.

Black Friday earbuds deals: FAQs

AirPods 4

(Image credit: Future)

When will the Black Friday earbuds deals start in 2024?

Short answer: Black Friday has started! And the sales will run on, after the big day proper, into early December (Cyber Monday is another sales event worth noting, and that falls on the Monday after Black Friday). Again, Black Friday itself falls on November 29th this year, but prices started crashing way ahead of that calendar date, as retailers went early to attract your custom first – that's why we're informing you about it now, to keep on top of the deals.

The thing is, your TechRadar team's been in this game longer than we'd care to admit – which means we're not easily fooled: not all 'Black Friday' branded deals are created equal, so we'll tell you which are actually worthy of your attention, and which to ignore for the time-being.

Interestingly, Amazon held a 'Big Deals Day' sale in October of this year, which was both unusually late and basically Amazon Prime Day Part Deux. Several retailers launched mini sales events in retaliation, but the point is that we're well into 'deals season' right now and will be until the new year. We're be keeping our ears to the ground for the best earbuds deals, which we'll put right here, on this page. The deals will be ramping up from the beginning of November – but again, competing retailers will likely go early to beat each other to the punch.

Is Black Friday the best time to buy earbuds?

A resounding yes. While we can't promise you unequivocally there's no better time to buy the particular set of buds you've had your eye on, Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to buy anything – it is the biggest sale of the year. And you needn't simply take our word for it either; Adobe Analytics data clearly shows the biggest electronics discounts happened during the peak of last year's Black Friday sales.

So, if you've got your heart set on upgrading the best wireless earbuds you currently own, want to bag yourself a set that supports next-gen audio, or just need an extra pair for the gym, you'll almost certainly find some of the lowest prices ever on earbuds throughout November. Discounts could be especially good this year given that some older models (such as the Sony WF-1000XM4) have been removed from shelves, meaning that other buds – such as Sony's own newer WF-1000XM5 – are falling in price to fill that gap. That's alongside the release of some excellent high-end competitors from Technics, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins, plus some amazing budget buds from Sony and Nothing.

What Black Friday earbuds deals should you look out for in 2024?

AirPods will surely be huge this Black Friday, as they have been regularly. The introduction of two AirPods 4 models in September means that any remaining stock of the two older iterations they supersede will likely be heavily discounted to fully clear. Those would be the AirPods 3 which support Apple's own Spatial Audio, and AirPods 2019, which don't. Discounts here could be huge and unprecedented, but we'll be telling you all about them if and when they land – and whether they're really the best use of your cash compared to other options.

The Cupertino giant also updated it's inaugural AirPods Max over-ears to use USB-C in September, which means you may well see big discounts on the older stock that uses the Lightning port. Last year, AirPods Max dipped as low as $395 / £399 in the UK, both at Amazon, so we might look for prices to even dip a touch lower.

As sure as eggs is eggs, AirPods Pro 2 will be a most-wanted item over Black Friday. Prices have gone as low as $169 or £179 prior to now, and that was before Apple brought hearing aid features to these second-gen (and still current) Pro-suffixed AirPods. Expect discounts for sure, and if you see these prices again, jump in.

Elsewhere, we recently saw discounts on Sony's WF-1000XM5, which have sold for as little as $228 in the US (albeit very briefly, during Prime Day), which is an incredible deal. In the UK? Well, their lowest-ever price in this region is £189, which happened in September of this year. Our advice? For that money, they're more than worth it.

Other notable releases this year include the excellent Nothing Ear (a), which were recently discounted to as low as $79 or £77, and the Sony WF-C520, which are both very new and incredibly reasonable already – might we still see a minor saving there?

Finally, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have been seen for as little as $229 or £212 in the UK. If you see these figures on one of our deals posts (or even a touch lower), it's a superb deal. If you want the best noise cancellation around, you won't regret it.

As always, we'll be working some serious overtime on this and when we see the deals, you'll be the first to know.

Why trust TechRadar this Black Friday

Let me introduce myself! I'm your friendly audio editor and writer of this missive. I've personally covered Black Friday for five years, first as Staff Writer at What Hi-Fi?, then as Senior Staff Writer and now Audio editor on TechRadar. I was on the first Black Friday deals team in 2019 for our friends at What Hi-Fi? – and I've seen how much things have changed in just a few years.

I regularly hunt down the best prices on headphones and earbuds all year, not just during big sales events. Also, we now have dedicated deals teams in the US and the UK and (it's impossible to write this without sounding just a little full of ourselves, for which I apologise) we know what we're doing: we emphatically know a deal worth shouting about when we see it.

I also lean on the expertise of the wider TechRadar team – we've got decades of experience between us, and the site has been running for over 16 years. We've spent years testing and reviewing all of the latest noise-cancelling earbuds, budget buys and more. We know the brands that are worth spending money on, and we've reviewed over 2,400 audio products in our time. The ones we really rate are the Black Friday earbuds deals I'll focus on here. My aim? To get you a deal on a set of earbuds that checks all your boxes but doesn't blow your budget.

TOPICS
Becky Scarrott
Audio Editor

Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.