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Which AirPods should you buy on Black Friday 2021?

Phil Nickinson
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One of the hottest tech products is sure to be one of the best Black Friday deals once the shopping holiday hits. And that means pretty much the entire United States is going to be in search of the best Black Friday AirPods deals. The question, then, involves deciding which AirPods are the ones to get come Black Friday.

  • View AirPods Black Friday deals at Amazon
  • View AirPods Black Friday deals at Apple
  • View AirPods Black Friday deals at Best Buy
  • View AirPods Black Friday deals at Walmart

Which AirPods should you buy on Black Friday?

Choosing which AirPods to buy isn’t the easiest of things on a normal day. But Black Friday Apple deals may well make that decision just a little easier.

There currently are four models of AirPods for sale, either directly from Apple, or from other retailers. Three of the models are earbuds, the fourth are over-ear cans. And all hit a smattering of prices.

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What you pay and what Black Friday discounts are really what should drive your decision when it comes to purchasing over the shopping holiday. Here’s how we’d look at things:

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AirPods Pro
Dan Baker / Digital Trends

AirPods Pro are the way to go

There’s a reason the AirPods Pro are the most expensive of the AirPods (earbuds) lineup — they’re also the best. It’s almost unfair how good they sound given their small size, and that’s before you get into the fact that they’ve got excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) built in.

The good news here is that given that we’ve seen some decent discounts leading into Black Friday, there’s a better-than-average chance that AirPods Pro will continue to be on sale on Black Friday itself.

It can be a tough pick between these and AirPods 3, which we’ll get into below, and that choice doesn’t get any easier if sale prices close the gap even more. But the simple fact is these are the best AirPods earbuds you can buy, and they’re an even better buy if you can get them at a steal on Black Friday.

  • View AirPods Pro Black Friday deals at Amazon
  • View AirPods Pro Black Friday deals at Apple
  • View AirPods Pro Black Friday deals at Best Buy
  • View AirPods Pro Black Friday deals at Walmart

AirPods 3 if you’re looking to save

These are the newest entry into the AirPods lineup, which could mean that they’re the most likely to see a Black Friday price cut. But it also could mean that they’re as likely to stay at the retail price because they’re new.

Either way, the AirPods 3 fit squarely between the previous-generation AirPods 2. They look the part — not quite full straight AirPods, but also not quite the curvy look of the AirPods Pro — and they also have that in-between price.

You lose out on active noise cancellation, which is a same. But on the other hand you get these at a lesser price than the AirPods Pro, which is a good thing. You very much get what you pay for with AirPods 3.

  • View AirPods 3 Black Friday eals at Amazon
  • View AirPods 3 Black Friday deals at Apple
  • View AirPods 3 Black Friday deals at Best Buy
  • View AirPods 3 Black Friday Deals at Walmart

AirPods Max and the price to match

Woman wearing Apple Airpods Max.
Apple

There’s something a little odd about calling AirPods Max “AirPods” given that they’re not the same sort of device as the two above at all, save for the fact that they pump audio into your ear holes.

AirPods Max are over-the-ear headphones, which provides for a much richer experience than you can get with earbuds. That’s just the way this works. But given that they have the richest sound in the AirPods lineup, they also have the biggest price tag.

That means they’re the headphones for which everyone is going to be looking out for some sort of deal. Any sort of deal. Even if it’s just a tiny fraction of what you’d usually pay for the sleek, stylish cans.

That’s not to say that a discount is predetermined. It might be that Apple’s willing to take e little bit of a cut on the smaller buds, and not these monsters. But that’s all the more reason to be diligent and watch out for AirPods Max deals.

  • View AirPods Max Black Friday deals at Amazon
  • View AirPods Max Black Friday deals at Apple
  • View AirPods Max Black Friday deals at Best Buy
  • View AirPods Max Black Friday deals at Walmart

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Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
Section Editor, Audio/Video
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
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