Skip the engraving, the best AirPods Pro Cyber Monday deals are not on Apple

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Opinion: Get the deals, skip the gift card

Apple AirPods Pro Engravings
(Image credit: Future)

Cyber Monday is all about saving money right now. Not later, when you've saved up again to splurge on holiday gifts. That's why I'm not a huge fan of Apple's penchant for offering Apple Gift Cards instead of discounts. More frustrating, still, Apple further muddies the waters by offering free engravings. If you ask me, that's not worth it, either.

To be clear, Apple's Cyber Monday Deals gift cards, which range from $50 / £50 to as much as $250 / £250 for a Macbook Pro, are nothing to sneeze at. Even so, friends and family have asked me the same question that's been nagging at me since Black Friday: "Why not a real discount?"

I explain that Apple is so hell-bent on you buying more Apple products that it likes to stack the odds in its favor by handing you a gift card that can only be used with Apple.

Today, though, someone pointed out that not only does Apple offer a $50 gift card off its excellent AirPods Pro 2, "but they throw in free engraving!"

I stared back at them with hard-set eyes and a frown. "And what good is that in the end, really?"

My point was, what is that engraving really worth? Yes, there's a moment of joy when someone looks down at their personalized Apple gift and sees letters gently etched just for them. Now, instead of just words, we can add emojis. Doesn't that sound like fun?

It does, but I don't think the engravings make it worth skipping one of the true $199 AirPods Pro 2 deals you can get at Amazon, Walmart, or Best Buy.

Wasted effort

Why don't engravings turn me on?

The very first iPad I gave my wife, almost a decade ago, was engraved to her with something silly, "Mom's iPad. No you touchy." I know, I am so funny 🤦‍♂

Where is that iPad today? I have no idea. She's since moved on to her second one and is probably due for another iPad upgrade shortly.

My kids' broken and long-ago discarded iPods also had their names engraved on them.

My point is, you're giving up cash discounts for personalization that, in the long run, won't matter much at all. AirPods Pro 2 will eventually stop accepting a charge or, a couple of years from now, you'll upgrade to AirPods Pro 3. Are you recycling the personalized AirPods case? When you buy a new one, do you repeat the engraving?

Overall, I think Apple doesn't quite get the spirit of Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and the whole Holiday Shopping experience. It's not just about getting and giving the gifts, it's about the gamesmanship of saving money. Who doesn't love to tell people about how much they saved on a PS5, an iPhone 14, Sonos Beam, or AirPods Pro 2? No one talks in gift cards and even fewer add, "But at least I got it engraved."

Check out the Cyber Monday deals below:

More US Cyber Monday deals

More UK Cyber Monday deals

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Lance Ulanoff
Lance Ulanoff
Editor At Large

A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.