Apple’s latest AirPods Pro are cheaper than the AirPods 4 right now

Black Friday and AirPods discounts go together like, well, AirPods and iPhones. We thought the latest AirPods Pro were an incredible deal at their recently discounted price of $189, but they’ve dropped even further at Amazon, Walmart, and Target where you can now pick them up for a new low of $153.99 ($95 off). That’s less than the current price for the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, which are down to $164.99 ($14 off) at Amazon.

Sure, the AirPods 4 are newer, but Apple was mostly playing catch-up with their release. The second-gen AirPods Pro are still the best wireless earbuds in Apple’s lineup, even a couple of years after their initial release. Their voice call quality is fantastic, and their noise cancellation performance is more effective than Apple’s entry-level earbuds, as the latest Pro come with a selection of silicone tips that seal your ear to keep out more sound. The added tips also make for a tighter bass response, and we think they have more natural and convenient volume control.

There are other advantages, too. The AirPods Pro last up to six hours with ANC on or an extra 24 hours with the included charging case. The AirPods 4, meanwhile, last only up to four hours with ANC enabled or another 15 hours or so with the included case. Oh, and they’re even certified for use as hearing aids, thanks to the release of iOS 18.1.

Both the Pro and AirPods 4 come with a wireless charging case with USB-C for wired charging and a built-in speaker for easier Find My tracking. There’s more feature parity elsewhere, too, including spatial audio with head tracking, adaptive audio, and transparency modes. There’s really no question here: unless you prefer a smaller case or you don’t find ear tips to be comfortable, the Pro are the better deal.

The only AirPods in Apple’s lineup that sound better are the AirPods Max, but they cost a lot more and aren’t nearly as discrete. Thankfully, Apple’s luxe noise-canceling headphones are on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target in the Lightning configuration starting at $399 ($150 off), nearly matching their all-time low. Alternatively, if you prefer the new USB-C AirPods Max, they’re on sale for $499.99 ($51 off) at Amazon and Best Buy for Black Friday, which is only $1 more than their lowest price to date.

Update, November 29th: Updated to call out a Black Friday deal on the AirPods Max.