Don’t miss super-cheap AirPods before these deals end! Here’s why I’d skip the $99 deal and get AirPods Pro 3 instead — you’ll thank me later

The $99 AirPods aren't great value, but the Pro absolutely rock When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Some of the most popular deals of Amazon Prime Day has been the discounts on AirPods, including AirPods 4 for $99 at Amazon (was $129), AirPods Pro 3 for $179 at Amazon (was $249) at Amazon, and AirPods Max 2 for $399 at Amazon (was $549).

However, Prime Day ends today, so these deals may end this evening as well. • Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale That's not confirmed Ah, but which pair? Surely the $99 pair is the most tempting?

Well, I've tested them all, and I'm here to tell you to avoid the AirPods 4 today. $99 is now a pretty standard price for them, but last Black Friday, they fell to just $69. That's the price where they start to get tempting, because frankly they're just not very good value at $99 So, maybe the AirPods 4 with ANC for $148 are a decent deal?

Also no. These have fallen to $99 in the past, and that's a good price for them. No, the only pair of earbuds here that are a stone-cold bargain are the AirPods Pro 3.

Now, they fell to $169 recently, but Amazon's $179 deal is still a phenomenal price for earbuds this good — I wouldn't worry too much about the 10 bucks. If you can afford the extra $80 over the $99 AirPods 4, you'll get way more than that in extra value. If you can't stretch to that extra, that's totally fair (I'm not really going to touch on the AirPods Max 2 here — they're their own thing, in their own price world, but $399 is their cheapest price to date, and is great value.)

In the UK? Scroll down for the best UK deals They're the most popular earbuds in the world for a reason. Apple's newest premium buds feature improved active noise cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking.

My favorite features are the Dolby Atmos spatial audio for movies, and the unloseable case, which has a speaker in it and special location tech so your phone can literally point to where it's hiding. Here's our full AirPods Pro 3 review. These are the new new March 2026 edition, with the H2 chip and all of the upticks in performance that brings.

And though many might have predicted an Apple-style $50 saving (yawn), this $150-off steal is wild! Nobody had this on their bingo card for Prime Day. Let me be abundantly clear: the noise cancellation here is absolutely fantastic, as is the sound quality If you want Apple's iconic buds in the UK for cheaper, you're in luck.

This is the cheapest we've ever seen them. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship when it comes to audio and features, and the noise-cancellation quality is outstanding. So why do I rate the AirPods Pro 3 so much better than the AirPods 4?

They're better than the cheaper model in every way, offering massively better sound quality, active noise cancellation, and all the same features, plus a load of others that are genuinely useful, and complete game-changers in some cases. Take the case, for example. AirPods Pro 3's case has a 'UWB' wireless chip, which means your iPhone can detect what direction it's in when it's lost, and can literally point you towards it, so you can see which jacket you left it in.

And the case has a speaker in, which you can also trigger to help find it. Or take the Live Translation of other languages in your ears, or the heart-rate tracking, so you can keep an eye on your fitness without a wearable. Basically, AirPods 4 are a poor value for budget earbuds compared to the competition.

AirPods Pro 3 are an excellent value for premium earbuds compared to the competition. Which means with just an $80 difference Matt is 's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine.

com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week.

He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.