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Oct 25, 2024

Best Black Friday earbuds deals 2024: when they'll arrive and what to look out for – including AirPods | TechRadar

Black Friday earbuds deals will start cropping up way ahead of November… When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Looking for the best

Black Friday earbuds deals will start cropping up way ahead of November…

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Looking for the best Black Friday earbuds deals already? Wow, time really marches on – but the cash-conscious buyer (good work on that, by the way) knows that gift-giving season is fast approaching. What we all chiefly need is a few choice Black Friday deals to put us ahead of the game and ready for the festivities.

First up, a timeline: Black Friday itself isn't until November 29th 2024 – but that's only half the story, as you'll probably know. We fully expect retailers to start listing Black Friday earbuds deals long before that date, especially since these are some of the most popular products on the planet. It's still early days in terms of 2024's Black Friday bargains, but we're prepping this page now, so you can stay informed on the best earbuds deals in the run-up to late November.

Below, you'll find a quick list of the early earbuds deals to check out ahead of Black Friday. This list will grow and expand as the sales season heats up in the coming weeks, so save this page for quick reference over the next month.

We've provided a list of the best Black Friday earbuds deals we saw last year too, at the bottom of this page. Think of it as your warm-up exercise for what to expect from 2024.

I've reviewed over 150 audio products since becoming a tech journalist, ranging from super-budget earbuds to high-end Hi-Res Audio music players. Before joining TechRadar, I spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing everything the world of audio had to offer; before that, I was a professional dancer. This is my fifth Black Friday covering earbuds, so between my experience of previous years and of the buds themselves, I know the real deals.

It's starts now! And runs on, after the big day itself, into early December (Cyber Monday is another sales event worth noting, and that falls on the Monday after Black Friday). Again, Black Friday itself isn't until November 29th, but prices will start crashing way ahead of the calendar date as retailers go early to attract your custom first – that's why we're informing you about it now, and keeping on top of the deals.

The thing is, your TechRadar team's been in this game longer than we'd care to admit – which means we're not easily fooled: 'Black Friday' branded deals are not created equal, so we'll tell you which are actually worthy of your attention, and which to ignore for the time-being.

Interestingly, Amazon held a 'Big Deals Day' sale in October of this year, which was both unusually late and basically Amazon Prime Day Part Deux. Several retailers launched mini sales events in retaliation, but the point is that we're into 'deals season' right now and will be until the new year. We're be keeping our ears to the ground for the best earbuds deals, which we'll put right here, on this page. The deals will be ramping up from the beginning of November – but again, competing retailers will likely go early to beat each other to the punch.

A resounding yes. While we can't promise you unequivocally there's no better time to buy your particular next set of buds, Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to buy anything you've got your heart set on – it is the biggest sale of the year. And you needn't simply take our word for it either; Adobe Analytics data clearly shows the biggest electronics discounts happened during the peak of last year's Black Friday sales.

So, if you've had your eye on an upgrade to the best wireless earbuds, want to bag yourself a set that supports next-gen audio, or just need an extra pair for the gym, you'll almost certainly find some of the lowest prices ever on earbuds throughout November. Discounts could be especially good this year given that some older models (such as the Sony WF-1000XM4) have gone off-sale, meaning that other buds – such as Sony's own WF-1000XM5 – are falling in price to fill that gap. That's alongside the release of some excellent high-end competitors from Technics, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins, and some amazing budget buds from Sony and Nothing.

AirPods will surely be huge this Black Friday, as they have been regularly. The introduction of two AirPods 4 models in September means that any remaining stock of the two older iterations they supersede will likely be heavily discounted to fully clear. Those would be the AirPods 3 which support Apple's own Spatial Audio, and AirPods 2019, which don't. Discounts here could be huge and unprecedented, but we'll be telling you all about them if and when they land – and whether they're really the best use of your cash compared to other options.

The Cupertino giant also updated it's inaugural AirPods Max over-ears to use USB-C in September, which means you may well see big discounts on the older stock that uses the Lightning port. Last year, AirPods Max dipped as low as $395 / £399 in the UK, both at Amazon, so we might look for prices to even dip a touch lower.

As sure as eggs is eggs, AirPods Pro 2 will be a most-wanted item over Black Friday. Prices have gone as low as $169 or £179 prior to now, and that was before Apple brought hearing aid features to these second-gen (and still current) Pro-suffixed AirPods. Expect discounts for sure, and if you see these prices again, jump in.

Elsewhere, we recently saw discounts on Sony's WF-1000XM5, which have sold for as little as $228 in the US (albeit very briefly, during Prime Day), which is an incredible deal. In the UK? Well, their lowest-ever price in this region is £189, which happened in September of this year. Our advice? For that money, they're more than worth it.

Other notable releases this year include the excellent Nothing Ear (a), which were recently discounted to as low as $79 or £77, and the Sony WF-C520, which are both very new and incredibly reasonable already – might we still see a minor saving there?

Finally, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have been seen for as little as $229 or £212 in the UK. If you see these figures on one of our deals posts (or even a touch lower), it's a superb deal. If you want the best noise cancellation around, you won't regret it.

As always, we'll be working some serious overtime on this and when we see the deals, you'll be the first to know.

Let me introduce myself! I'm your friendly audio editor and writer of this missive. I've personally covered Black Friday for five years, first as Staff Writer at What Hi-Fi?, then as Senior Staff Writer and now Audio editor on TechRadar. I was on the first Black Friday deals team in 2019 for our friends at What Hi-Fi? – and I've seen how much things have changed in just a few years.

I regularly hunt down the best prices on headphones and earbuds all year, not just during big sales events. Also, we now have dedicated deals teams in the US and the UK and (it's impossible to write this without sounding just a little full of ourselves, for which I apologise) we know what we're doing: we emphatically know a deal worth shouting about when we see it.

I also lean on the expertise of the wider TechRadar team – we've got decades of experience between us, and the site has been running for over 16 years. We've spent years testing and reviewing all of the latest noise-cancelling earbuds, budget buys and more. We know the brands that are worth spending money on, and we've reviewed over 2,400 audio products in our time. The ones we really rate are the Black Friday earbuds deals I'll focus on here. My aim? To get you a deal on a set of earbuds that checks all your boxes but doesn't blow your budget.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was $249.99 now $168.99 at AmazonThat's right, the newest USB-C AirPods Pro 2 were heavily discounted. You're getting the same great sound quality and smart features for Apple devices as the previous AirPods Pro 2, but with boosted dust resistance and the future-proofed new charging port.

JLab Go Air Pop: was $24.88 now $9.88 at WalmartBefore we get carried away, the JLab Go Air Pop are not the last word in sonic brilliance. But I cannot emphasize enough that also, they aren't half-bad – in fact they're alarmingly good for this ridiculous asking fee. For less than two big-chain coffees, you'll get rock-solid Bluetooth connectivity, killer battery life, comfortable and light earpieces, plus pleasing musicality on the go. It would be churlish to expect more – and this deal (which applies to various color options) is so much cheaper than we've ever seen them to date, on any site.

Sony WF-C700N: was $119 now $89.99 at Best BuyFive-star earbuds for under $90? You better believe it. We absolutely loved the audio quality of these comfortable, lightweight buds, and were impressed by the features and app control. This is the cheapest we've seen these buds, but whether they last until Cyber Monday is not a certainty so we wouldn't delay.

Sony WF-C500 wireless earbuds: was $98 now $29 at WalmartFancy getting some of the best budget earbuds money can buy for a third of the list price? This deal at Walmart knocks a massive $70 off the excellent Sony WF-C500, a pair of buds we awarded a four-and-a-half star score when we reviewed them at release. Are they world-beating buds? No, but they sound great for the price, feature excellent app integration and controls, and are exceptionally comfortable. They don't have the best battery life, but it's tough to complain when they're going for just $30 – though should note that you've commonly been able to find them for around $50 rather than full price.

Earfun Air Pro 3: was $99 now $55.99 at AmazonExcellent 4.5-star review? Check. Noise cancellation? Oh yes. Whacking great saving? Also yes – it's 44% off their MSRP. You have to be an Amazon Prime member to get this deal even during Cyber Monday, (30-day free trials are available and we'll link to that below) but if you're prepared to sign up, this is a top deal on some great earbuds containing hi-res audio codec support and tech to future-proof your listening for quite some time.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: was $279 now $199 at AmazonIf you want the best noise-blocking power you can get for the price, these deliver it. They also sound superb, and have a ton of useful smart features. But the headline is the noise cancellation, and you can't get better for under $200. Actually, you basically can't get better, period. Oh, and this is the cheapest they've ever been – we'd be surprised if they go any lower.

Beats Fit Pro: was $199.99 now $150 at Best BuyWe are big fans of these earbuds because they're great for working out. In fact, we rate them as the best wireless earbuds for sports, giving them four stars in our Beats Fit Pro review. They're essentially like the AirPods Pro but adapted to be better suited for sports with an IPX4 waterproof rating. They fell to under $150 early in 2023, and to $159.99 over Cyber Monday proper.

JBL Live Pro 2 was $149.95 now $74.95 at AmazonIn a loving ode to these earbuds, TR's audio aficionado Becky Scarrott wrote: "For eradicating extraneous chit-chat and low-level constant office irritations, I've not heard better for $150 to date. And you can quote me on that." Only, that price fell to just $75 as long as the blue pair works – and for clarity, we'd only ever seen them dip to $99.95 before this. This is a truly rock-bottom deal on 'buds that arrived in June 2022. Our advice? If you're looking for noise cancelling earbuds, you'll struggle to better them for customisable and effective ANC with all the whistles and bells.

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C): was £249 now £179 at AmazonThe AirPods Pro 2 are the best-selling earbuds on the planet for a reason, and Amazon's sales have seen the earbuds for £10 cheaper than their previously lowest ever price of £189, a fee they briefly dropped to in February 2024. What will you get? Superb sound quality, top-tier noise cancellation, excellent spatial audio, auto-switching between different Apple devices, gesture control and more. Highly recommended for this money.

Sony WF-C700N earbuds: was £99 now £74.99 at AmazonSimply the best cheaper noise-cancelling earbuds you can buy – that's what I said in my five-star review of these April 2023-release earbuds. And I stick by it too. They're lovely and small, they're comfortable, and although you don't get on-ear volume control or Sony's higher-res LDAC support, they've never seen a discount like this before – which is a whopping 24% off the asking price. They briefly dropped to £75.99 for Prime Day earlier in the year, so this deal means an extra pound stays in your pocket. Tidy.

JLab Go Air Pop: was £24.99 now £17.99 at AmazonBefore we get carried away, the JLab Go Air Pop are not the last word in sonic brilliance. But they also aren't half bad – in fact they're alarmingly good for their lowly asking fee. If this is truly where your budget maxes out, you'll get reliable Bluetooth connectivity, killer battery life, comfortable and light earpieces and solid music on the go. It would be churlish to expect more – and this deal (which applies to various colorways) is a whole £2 cheaper than we've ever seen them.

Earfun Air Pro 3: was £99 now £69.99 at AmazonNo need to be a Prime member to get this deal at Amazon if you live in the UK! Excellent 4.5-star review? Check. Noise cancellation? Oh yes. Whacking great saving? Well – they dropped to 50% off their January 2023 RRP for Cyber Monday, but this is still a fair saving on some great earbuds with hi-res audio support and tech to future-proof your listening for quite some time.

Sony WF-C500 wireless earbuds: was £90 now £43.69 at AmazonThis is the cheapest that these earbuds have ever been to our knowledge, though only by a couple of pounds. Still, half price is superb for a pair of buds we awarded a four-and-a-half star score to when we reviewed them at release. Are they world-beating buds? No, but they sound great for the price, feature excellent app integration and controls, and are exceptionally comfortable. They don't have the best battery life, but it's tough to complain at this price. We should be clear, it's been standard to find these for around £50 for a while, rather than the full £90, but this is still a great price.

Sony WF-1000XM5: was £259 now £219 at AmazonSony's latest flagship buds only launched recently, and now they're at their lowest-ever price in this deal. They offer great sound quality, solid active noise cancellation, and great customization and app control, all in a new smaller and lighter design compared to Sony's previous premium buds. You can read our full review here.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II: was £279 now £199 at AmazonIf you want the best noise-blocking power you can get for the price, these deliver it. They also sound superb, and have a ton of useful smart features. But the headline is the noise cancellation, and you can't get better for under £200. Actually, as long as the lack of multipoint or wireless charging doesn't bother you (and you don't have tiny ears) you basically can't get better, period.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro: was £219 now £149 at CurrysThis is the joint lowest these buds have ever been, which is a fantastic price for some premium earbuds that we gave 4.5 stars to in our review. They're capable of hi-res audio when used with Samsung phones, but they just sound great and offer strong ANC for everyone else. They're also really nicely made, and are comfortable to wear.

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Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.

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