Apple’s third-gen AirPods have dropped back down to a record-low price for the Black Friday shopping season. This $30 discount comes back around every so often, but it remains rare in the world of AirPod discounts. That also means that these buds tend to sell out quickly when they’re on sale, so if you’ve needed a new pair for yourself or want to gift these to someone for the holidays, now’s a good time to grab them.
Released in 2021, the third-gen AirPods brought massive improvements to Apple’s popular wireless earbuds. The company redesigned them to be more comfortable and fit better in different ear shapes, and those hardware changes also help lift sound quality. A custom driver and a high-dynamic-range amplifier also bring a lot to the table, and the whole revamped package produces noticeably better sound than that of their predecessors. While these buds do not support ANC, they do support spatial audio, dynamic head tracking and Adaptive EQ, all of which contribute to the overall sound improvements.
Battery life has improved here as well: Apple estimates six hours of listening time on a single charge, and up to 30 hours when factoring in the extra juice their charging case provides. When we reviewed these buds, we managed to get around seven hours of life on a single charge (spatial audio on, dynamic head tracking off), and overall, those battery life estimates are pretty decent when it comes to true wireless earbuds.
These AirPods, like every other pair of earbuds Apple makes, has an H1 chip inside that enables features like hands-free Siri and quick pairing and switching between Apple devices. It’s one of the reasons the company’s earbuds are so popular: if you live within the Apple ecosystem and use an iPhone, iPad or MacBook, using AirPods with any and all of those devices is pretty seamless. Given this sale, the third-gen buds could make a good gift for the Apple obsessive on your list this year, or a good replacement for any aging earbuds you may have.
Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-third-gen-apple-airpods-are-down-to-140-in-amazons-black-friday-sale-145507691.html?src=rss