Apple AirPods Pro 3 Back To $199 — Don’t Miss This Holiday Sale
For the second time this month, Apple's recently launched AirPods Pro 3 are down to an all-time low price with a 20% discount over MSRP on tap. If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea, this is a fantastic option. It also underscores why we often recommend against paying full price for audio products, even ones that just launched, because the MSRPs rarely stick.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Are Down To $199 In Time For Christmas
Having debuted at $249, Apple's AirPods Pro 3 are on sale for $199 at Amazon (20% off, save $50), and the timing couldn't be better. Christmas is now less than a week away, meaning there's urgency to get online orders placed sooner rather than later to ensure Santa and his merry band of Prime delivery partners have enough of a head start to deliver your package in time for the holiday.
Apple unveiled the AirPods Pro 3 in September, touting several upgrades including a claimed 2X jump in active noise cancellation (ANC) performance compared to the previous generation, and a 4X improvement over the original AirPods Pro. I own the original AirPods Pro and find that the ANC performance works very well, to the point where I have to be careful when going on walks where the sidewalk ends—cars have a tendency to creep up unnoticed/unheard.
The AirPods Pro 3 also feature a bit of a redesign. Apple didn't change the overall stem design, but the company says it utilized over 10,000 ear scans with more than 100,000 hours of user research to refine the fit for more people.
If you're looking for a reason not to buy these—maybe you've blown your holiday budget and want to avoid the temptation to spend even more—it would be the atrocious repairability, or lack thereof, as outlined by the DIY repair gurus at iFixIt. However, earbuds with exceptional DIY repair chops are unfortunately the exception to the rule.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) Still An All-Time Low Too
If you're looking for a premium alternative to Apple's AirPods, then check out the excellent Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) that can be found for $249 at Amazon (17% off, save $50). These earbuds also just recently launched, and as I noted in my review, they're awesome earbuds with one of the only gripes being the premium $299 asking price. This deal somewhat mitigates that complaint.
Bose's newest earbuds take a different approach than Apple's stem design. I found them to be comfortable for long music listening sessions. I also appreciate the balanced audio with the ability to get down and dirty with relatively hard hitting bass when needed.
ANC is great on these too, and I really like the SpeechClarity feature. This drowns out surrounding noise so that when you're making a phone call, the person on the other end only hears your voice. I tested this by standing next to a loudly flushing toilet and running washing machine in a cramped bathroom, neither of which the person I was talking to could hear. That's pretty neat.
Here are some earbud deals in time for Christmas...
- Technics Reference Class Hi-Fi EAH-AZ100-K: $231.45 (23% off)
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 FE: $119.99 (20% off)
- Google Pixel Buds 2a: $99 (23% off)
- Samsung Galaxy Buds FE: $69.99 (30% off)
- Soundcore by Anker Sport x20: $55.98 (30% off)
- Soundcore by Anker Life A1: $34.9 9(30% off)
- Soundcore by Anker P30i: $24.99 (17% off)
- Jxrev Wireless Earbuds: $16.14 (35% off)
