I’ve owned Apple’s AirPods since their first debut, way back in December 2016. Yet it wasn’t until I bought AirPods Pro in 2020 that I was truly sold on what they could do — mainly thanks to their wicked noise-canceling. I’d never been able to switch between transparency mode and noise-canceling with my previous headphones. Unfortunately, I was one of a certain set of users, who would experience the crackling in one AirPod — and this happened three times.
It dampened the experience of owning them, I admit, causing frequent trips to the Apple Store to get them replaced. You can imagine my excitement when the AirPods Pro 2 were announced — no more crackling, no more replacements, and no more trips to the Apple Store. I bought a pair back in July during the Amazon Prime Day sale and I loved the improved noise-canceling that they offered.
Soon after though, I’d be unlucky once again, but not due to a fault with the buds themselves. Instead, a new version with a USB-C port in the case was released not two months after I bought my Lightning-equipped pair. Apple didn’t see fit to sell the new case separately, thanks to the AirPods being improved as well — I am told to prepare for hi-res audio with Apple Vision Pro.
I was gutted. In my backpack, I have a few USB-C wires to charge my Mac, Steam Deck, and Sony XM5 headphones — but just one Lightning cable for my AirPods Pro. Thanks to Amazon’s Black Friday sale, however, I may be able to move on from my frustration and invest in a pair of USB-C AirPods Pro 2. It’s not often they’re reduced, but you can currently get a pair for $189, down from $249.
The best AirPods deals in the U.S
The best AirPods deals in the UK
I hear you say that I could choose another pair of AirPods that have even better deals — but I want noise-canceling and USB-C. The ones I’d really like are the AirPods Max, which would replace both my in-ear AirPods Pro and over-head Sony XM5 headphones. The AirPods Max are four years old at this point though, so I worry that these will be replaced by a brand new model as soon as I buy my fourth AirPods Pro.
Instead, I’ll play it safe, and see how well these AirPods Pro USB-C fare — especially as this means that I’ll finally be free of Lightning port. If you're looking for a great AirPods deal, then make sure you check out the best AirPods Black Friday deals.
