Best cheap AirPods deals for December 2021

Black Friday and Cyber Monday may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any AirPods deals to be had. In October, Apple finally launched its third generation of AirPods, introducing a new AirPods lineup and dropping the starting price of the second-gen, entry-level AirPods from $159 to $129. Since then, we’ve seen many retailers starting to discount the second-gen AirPods as well as the more expensive AirPods Pro and Max, which offer noise cancellation and better sound quality than the standard model. We’ve even seen some of the first discounts on the latest AirPods, despite how recently they launched.

Here, we’ll run through the best deals available on each model, including the entry-level AirPods, the AirPods Pro, the third-gen AirPods, and the AirPods Max.

The best entry-level AirPods (second-gen) deals

Once $159, Apple recently lowered the list price of the second-gen AirPods — now the entry-level model — to $129. Moreover, it only sells the model with a wired charging case, which charges via a standard Lightning cable. What’s great, though, is that this version frequently gets discounted, so you can buy it for even less. During Black Friday, we saw this model drop to as low as $89. While the price has since increased, you can still find Apple’s most affordable pair of AirPods discounted down to $109 at Amazon and $115 at Walmart.

As previously mentioned, the newest pair of wireless earbuds support Apple’s MagSafe technology. The short stems allow for a more subtle design, while improved sound and features like sweat and water resistance, support for spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and improved battery life render them a nice improvement over the last-gen model.

Deals were once hard to come by on the third-gen model given how recently they launched, but we finally started seeing some significant deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday that are still available. Right now, Amazon is selling the $179 earbuds for $150 at checkout, their lowest price yet. Walmart is also discounting the third-gen model, but only by $10 or so.

AirPods (third-generation)

Similar in appearance to their sleeker sibling, the AirPods Pro, the latest entry-level AirPods boast a new charging case and shorter stems. They’re also water-resistant, unlike the 2019 model, and sport better battery life.

We think Apple’s premium true wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro, are the best wireless earbuds that iPhone owners can buy, regardless of the price. They have better sound quality than the models above, offer active noise cancellation, and come with a wireless charging case. The earbuds also support Apple’s spatial audio feature, which adds an immersive surround sound effect to select content, and comes with swappable silicone tips. In addition, they recently received a firmware update that added Conversation Boost, an accessibility feature for those who are hard of hearing.

Additionally, Apple recently launched a new version of the AirPods Pro with a wireless charging case that supports Apple’s MagSafe technology, just like the third-gen AirPods. These start at $249, but you can buy them right now for $197 at Amazon or $200 at Target. That’s not quite as low as the $159 price we saw this model drop to during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but it’s still roughly a $50 discount.

The AirPods Max aren’t the iconic in-ear style that has become synonymous with the AirPods name. They’re large and luxurious, wrapped in aluminum, steel, and mesh fabric that remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. They also sport excellent noise cancellation, Apple’s spatial audio feature, and wide, balanced sound, even if they lag behind some of their peers when it comes to bass response. They’re not the best noise-canceling headphones for most people — blame the $550 sticker price — but it’s hard to find a pair of Bluetooth headphones that sound better and feature more intuitive controls.

Apple AirPods Max

Apple’s AirPods Max feature exemplary build quality, sound phenomenal, and keep up with the best at noise cancellation.

Although the AirPods Max were discounted to $429 at Amazon during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, prices have since increased. Still, the Max are currently available in various colorways at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo for $479, one of their better prices in recent months.