There are always new headphones being released, which means it can sometimes be hard to know when to make the leap and buy a new pair. As someone who has tried all six new AirPods Pro 2 features, I can confidently say that the recent upgrades have made what we already rated as Apple’s best AirPods even better value.
Are they worth buying at this year’s second Amazon Prime Day on October 10–11? I think so, especially seeing as Apple no longer sells the AirPods Pro 2 with Lightning connectivity on its own site. You can still find the original models that were released in September 2022 on retailers for a steep discount, though – and I'd recommend buying on Prime Day instead of waiting until Black Friday deals, because if they're an especially good price thanks to being being sold off, they probably won't last until November.
If you don't mind having the Lightning port and missing out on the improved IP54 dust rating, then I’d recommend saving a bit of cash by looking at the AirPods Pro 2 on Amazon when the retailer’s sales event, which it is calling Prime Big Deal Days, kicks off at midnight on October 10, 2023. The ’pods hit record low prices during Amazon Prime Day in July, so that could be a good indication that we might see further price drops again with the new USB-C version out.
During the Prime Day sales earlier this year, I had been looking to purchase a pair of Apple's best headphones, knowing that Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 won’t stay this cheap for long, but held off as I wasn't in a rush to purchase them right away.
In retrospect, I wish I had, because if the Lightning model now turns out to be hard to get at a discount, the new USB-C model will be the only option, and it may not get as heavy a discount.
Of course, this is all speculative. But given that Apple's push into USB-C is an area that it wants to roll out across all of its products, then it could well mean that it wants to focus on clearing its old stock rather than discounting its new, improved model. Plus, there's also the matter that it didn't release a fully new pair of AirPods this year, which means that it won't be looking to discount existing stock too heavily to not impact their sales too much.
If, however, there are discounts on the AirPods Pro 2 USB-C version, then don't make my mistake. I wouldn't wait to snap them up as those discounts might not last for long.
Opinion: These are the Apple AirPods I’d recommend buying on Amazon’s Big Deals Day
We review a lot of the best headphones here at TechRadar, so needless to say we know what we’re looking for when it comes to finding the best sound quality, features, design and value in audio gear.
During our rigorous testing, we’ve found that Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are by far the best from the range, and they’ve recently got even better with a load of new features as part of iOS 17 including Adaptive Audio, Personalized Volume and – my personal favorite – Conversation Awareness.
We rate the second generation of the Pro series as being among the best noise cancelling earbuds for their highly effective ANC – so now that they've become even smarter thanks to the new machine learning features, they're even more tempting for Apple fans.
Of course, Apple isn't the cheapest of brands to buy from, but with discounts already appearing and potentially more coming on Amazon's Big Deal Days, then I would recommend picking up a pair. Check out our roundup of the best AirPods Pro sales and deals for more great savings across Apple's headphone range.
Early Prime deals to browse now
Early Prime Day deals in the US
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