As we say goodbye to the official Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates for another year, there are still some deals loitering around on AirPods, for anyone looking to make a last gasp purchase. We've already seen plenty of discounts on AirPods over the Black Friday weekend, that continued through until Cyber Monday, but we're still keeping our eyes peeled for any deals on AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max headphones.
Sadly, the deals in the UK were, and still are, more limited, with only minor discounts on the original AirPods Pro and AirPods 3rd Gen.
Of course, it's not just AirPods – we have a whole guide to the best Black Friday wireless earbuds deals from all companies – but AirPods are always some of the most-wanted products this year, so if you want to save a little, we're here to help.
- UK readers: Jump to Black Friday deals
- AU readers: Jump to Black Friday deals
Black Friday AirPods deals (US): quick links
- Amazon: browse the AirPods range
- Best Buy: see the latest prices
- BH Photo Video: small discounts
- Walmart: see all AirPods options
The best Black Friday AirPods deals in the US
Black Friday AirPods deals (UK): Quick links
- Amazon UK: low prices on AirPods
- AO.com: some small discounts
- Currys: browse the AirPods range
- John Lewis: includes Apple Music free
The best Black Friday AirPods deals in the UK
Well, Black Friday has been massively disappointing for UK AirPods fans. There's some money off the new AirPods Pro, which is great, but even that deal isn't as good as what the US is getting. The prices we're seeing for the classic AirPods 2nd Gen are nowhere near as low as we've seen them in the past even outside of Black Friday. And AirPods Max are somehow full price everywhere, even though they've had basically permanent discounts over the last year…
Here are the deals we've been able to find that are worth more than a glance, but they're not what we hoped for.
Cyber Monday AirPods deals (AU): Quick links
- Amazon: regular deal opportunities for AirPods
- JB Hi-Fi: stocks the lot with bargains in mind
- Kogan: Refurbished and new models alike at competitive prices
The best Cyber Monday AirPods deals in Australia
The AirPods deals in Australia were a little on the disappointing side this year, but we did still see some discounts, many of which are still available. Whether this is because of stock issues across various retailers is unclear, but if you're after a set, take a look below.
Should you wait for a Black Friday AirPods deal?
It's now standard for AirPods to be discounted over Black Friday, but they don't tend to be the kind of huge, dramatic "40% off!!" deals you might find on some products. They tend to be more in the 20% region… and they're not exclusive to Black Friday.
At Last year's Amazon Black Friday deals event, we saw very few new deals launch on Black Friday itself – the best ones were already live. So our advice is not to wait until November 25.
If you see the AirPods model you want for a price you're happy with in the weeks beforehand, grab it, be happy with it, and if you find that it does drop by another $10/£10 a couple of weeks later, don't kick yourself – you were happy with the deal at the time, right? In any case, we'll be right here, telling you which Black Friday AirPods deals are worth snapping up, and which are worth leaving for a bit longer.
In the case of the AirPods Pro 2, we saw the price fall to $223, down from the launch price of $249. For a brand-new product, that's not a bad saving at all. We're not sure you'll see any lower a price than that even at Black Friday. Conversely, we also saw the AirPods (2019) drop to $89 in October – but the lowest they've ever been is $79, so it may be worth waiting to see if they fall again in November.
Black Friday AirPods deals: our predictions
When will the best Black Friday AirPods deals start in 2022?
While Black Friday is officially November 25 this year, you can expect a much longer and looser holiday sales season than normal this year. That's partially due to fears around inflation, rising prices and the cost of living crisis: we're expecting more people to want to spread their spending out; and, equally, for retailers to want to spin the sales period for as long as possible.
So you should start keeping your eye out for AirPods deals from now – the sales season has already kicked off following Amazon's Prime Early Access event, and other retailers will be holding money off from now until Black Friday… and then after too, probably.
Last year followed some of this pattern: most of the best Black Friday AirPods deals launched a week or two early, and simply continued through the day itself. We think you'll see the price rise and fall a couple of times before we get to the end of November.
Where will the best Black Friday AirPods deals be?
We'll bring you all the best Black Friday AirPods deals here when the time comes, naturally, finding the lowest prices from all the top retailers.
In the US, third-party sites like Amazon and Walmart are likely to offer the best discounts: both regularly offer record-low prices on Apple's lineup of earbuds. In the UK, it's the same kind of thing – sites such as Amazon and Currys always have the best AirPods deals for Black Friday.
While the Apple store doesn't offer direct Apple Black Friday deals, the tech giant is known to offer gift cards and freebies when you purchase select devices.
US:
Amazon: often has the lowest prices
Walmart: great stock levels and will price-match
Best Buy: gives you free Apple subscriptions
BH Photo Video: good discounts but limited stock
UK:
Amazon UK: try first for the biggest deals
Currys: free gifts and good trade-in offers
John Lewis: get Apple Music free for six months
AO.com: price-matches other retailers
How good will this year's Black Friday AirPods deals be?
AirPods aren't the kind of product that see 50% off or more, as we've mentioned before – but we expect that two or three models will hit record-low prices in Black Friday this year, probably by beating the old record-lows by another 10% or so, rather than huge price swings. But remember, we mean that extra 10% on top the already lowered prices we've seen in the past, so we're talking some real money saved compared to the original price.
What AirPods Black Friday deals do we expect in 2022?
Let's start with AirPods Pro here. Apple has said that this is the most popular model of AirPods, and we've seen the Pros being huge hits over the last few Black Fridays – and this year, they could be an even bigger hit, because there's a new version out.
Don't expect the AirPods Pro 2 to get any major deals, because they're so new – but we've seen $25 off them already, so more of that is likely on Black Friday.
The original AirPods Pro (2019) could see some great action though. There's a lot of stock still around, but they've officially been discontinued by Apple, and that stock is now just taking up space – we've already seen them hit around $189/£179 at their lowest, so we'd expect another $20/£20 off that. Maybe more, but it will depend on how quickly they clear the shelves.
If you want the biggest, headline-grabbing savings on a pair of AirPods, that'll be AirPods Max. It's been possible to find them with discounts of $100/£100 fairly often, and in the UK they've even had as much as £150 off. This year, we'd look for that again – perhaps even a little more, though we wouldn't bet hard on it.
AirPods 3rd Gen haven't seen many large discounts since their release last year, so this could be the Black Friday where they get more than about $20/£20 off, which is the most we've really seen. However, that would still make them around $150/£150, which is what we're hoping the original AirPods Pro might drop to. The older Pros are still better overall, so in terms of value, these AirPods may have a tough Black Friday.
Finally, the cheapest AirPods, the AirPods 2nd Gen version from 2019, regularly cost around $99/£99. We'd be surprised to see a widespread drop below $89/£89 – perhaps they might hit the £79/$79 region, which would be their lowest-ever price.
Buying tips: 3 AirPods to look out for this Black Friday
The best Apple earbuds right now
AirPods Pro 2 are pretty new, so are unlikely to get major discounts – but we already saw a price drop of around $25 in the US, so we might see that or more over Black Friday. The active noise cancellation is best in class, the sound quality is wonderful, the new Find My features make them impossible to lose (nearly), and they're still small, light and comfortable.
For
- Amazing noise cancellation
- Excellent sound quality
Against
- Small discounts likely
The hidden AirPods hero of Black Friday?
Despite the launch of AirPods Pro 2, there's still stock of the originals around. We expect them to get some major discounts over Black Friday – maybe as low as $150. At that price, their sound quality is superb, as is their active noise cancellation. The new version is better, but for $100 less, these would be fantastic.
For
- Great deal potential
- Excellent set of features
Against
- Low battery life
Apple's elite over-ear headphones
AirPods Max offer some of the best audio quality you can get from wireless headphones today. They're expensive, but you can hear that sound is a step above the likes of the Bose QuietComfort 45. And they tend to get big Black Friday deals – if they drop to $400 or even $350, they're good value.
For
- Incredible sound
- Strong noise cancellation
Against
- Expensive
How can I get the best AirPods Black Friday deals?
1. Don't buy from Apple directly to save cash
The one place you definitely won't find any price cuts on AirPods is from Apple itself. It never does straight discounts on its products, and its own Black Friday deals usually involve gift cards or a free period of something like Apple Music. If you buy from Apple, you'll be paying full price – so look to other retailers if it's a straight saving you want.
2. Older models are likely to see discounts
We already alluded to this further up, but the biggest discounts are likely to come on the original AirPods Pro, AirPods 2nd Gen or AirPods Max, because they're the older models. Whereas the brand-new AirPods Pro 2 are unlikely to get much money off at all, and the AirPods 3rd Gen will likely see less discount being just a year old.
3. Be sure to check around before buying
It's a basic tip, but it's always important. If you see AirPods for the price you want and you're ready to buy, do take a moment to check the other big retailers, because you never know: maybe they've decided to undercut the deal you saw with an extra $10/£10 off.
