Amazon Prime Day dilemma: Get AirPods Pro now or wait for AirPods Pro 2?
The AirPods Pro is discounted, but should you wait for the AirPods Pro 2? We don't think so
Apple’s stellar AirPods Pro is a prime candidate for the best Amazon Prime Day deals, and as we’ve seen over the past 24 hours or so, Cupertino's premium pair of true wireless earbuds has been discounted below $200. And in the U.K., the AirPods Pro is on sale for £187, down from the original price of £249. Both are among the best Prime Day AirPods deals.
Discounted AirPods Pro aren’t to be missed, as it holds the second spot on our best wireless earbuds list and makes for a rather excellent companion to the likes of the iPhone 12 Pro (incidentally, check out our best iPhone Prime Day deals). But there may be one reason to cause you to pause and not splash the cash: the AirPods Pro 2.
AirPods Pro: was $249 now $189 @ Amazon
The AirPods Pro offers noise cancellation, a Transparency mode and both sweat and water resistance (IPX4 certified). You can also get a personalized fit with the included eartips, and the wireless charging case is included. This is one of the lowest prices of the year.
Naturally, Apple has kept tight-lipped about the AirPods Pro 2, but from the leaks so far we’ve got some idea of what this upcoming set of buds could do. According to some rumors, it could arrive in the fourth quarter of 2021, we’ve got a good few months to wait.
But other reports have the AirPods Pro 2 arriving in 2022, which would keep you waiting even longer. With that in mind, if you want a good pair of earbuds with active noise cancellation, then it might be worth taking the plunge and getting the AirPods Pro while they’re discounted.
AirPods Pro: was £249 now £187 @ Amazon UK
AirPods Pro consistently ranked high on our best wireless earbuds ranking. Any saving on AirPods Pros always ends up being among the most popular Prime Day deals, and this £62 saving is a very healthy discount that likely won't last long.
As for AirPods Pro 2 features, the rumors have them tipped to get built-in fitness tracking, use a new Apple H2 chip for sound processing and ANC, as well as feature a new compact design.
Fitness tracking can be handy, but there's an argument that you’d be better off with an Apple Watch; check out our best Prime Day Apple Watch deals. And while sound quality is expected to get a boost with the AirPods Pro 2, the current AirPods Pro delivers very impressive sound. And that's all in a design that’s still suitably compact yet good at picking up your voice when making a hands-free call, thanks to the little microphone stalks on the earbuds.
For folks worried about battery life, the AirPods Pro offers up to 4.5 hours of ANC-enabled play time; we’ve got no indication the second-gen earbuds will beat that, especially if they have a compact design. MagSafe charging has been tipped for the AirPods Pro 2, which would be a pretty slick addition, but hardly essential.
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As such, if you're after a new pair of wireless earbuds or an upgrade from the standard AirPods, then we’d suggest you jump on the AirPods Pro deal. It's an excellent pair of earbuds and well worth snapping up in a sale.
But if you don’t fancy going down the Apple route, then the Sony WF-1000XM3 has been discounted for Prime Day. While the Sony WF-1000XM4 has been released, the WF-1000XM3 still delivers excellent sound quality and noise cancellation, making this set of buds earbuds a solid alternative to the AirPods Pro.
But whatever you choose to do, Amazon Prime Day is one of the best days of the year to find an impressive pair of earbuds or headphones and low prices.
Amazon Prime Day: Quick links
- Alexa device sale: Echo devices from $14
- Adidas: up to 55% off polo shirts, sneakers, jerseys, more
- Amazon Basics Home: bedding deals from $11
- American Apparel: tops/bottoms from $10
- Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS/40mm): was $399 now $279
- Apple AirPods Pro: was $249 now $189
- Athleisure wear: yoga pants, workout tops from $6
- Back-to-school sales: Notebooks, Elmer's Glue from $5
- Bedding & bath: deals on comforters, shower curtains, more
- Bissell vacuums: 50% off floorcare and air purifiers
- Black + Decker: power tools up to 50% off
- Blu-ray movie sets: Batman, Indiana Jones from 45% off
- Board games: up to 60% all games
- Books: best sellers from $4
- Bose: headphones and speakers from $129
- Bowflex: home gym deals extra 20% off sale prices
- Camping gear: Coleman, Igloo, Zippo from $8
- Chromebooks: HP, Lenovo, Acer from $209
- Clothing: up to 50% off Anne Klein, Bulova, Izod,
- Deep fryers: Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, more from $24
- Designer apparel: Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein up to 45% off
- External hard drives: Seagate, WD, more from $38
- Fitness: deals from $6
- Garmin smartwatches: up to 30% off deals from $49
- Gift cards: 20% off Old Navy, Adidas, Cold Stone
- Groceries: up to 35% off Quaker, Starbucks, Lay's, and more
- Gym bags: Puma, Nike, Adidas from $12
- Halloween: costumes from $10
- HDTVs: smart TVs from $99
- Headphones: Sony, Bose, Anker deals from $10
- Heating/cooling: fans and air conditioners from $12
- Juicing machines: save on NutriBullet, Breville, more
- Kitchen appliances: save on Ninja, Keurig, Instant Pot
- Keurig coffee makers: machines from $69
- Laptops: save on MacBooks, Chromebooks, and Windows machines
- Levi's: up to 55% off men's/women's shorts and jeans
- LifeStraw: up to 50% off water filters
- Luggage/travel: sets and accessories from from $8
- Magazines: 90% off Food & Wine, Real Simple, more
- Nike: up to $50 off sneakers & shorts
- Nvidia RTX GPUs: up to $140 off video cards
- Office chairs: deals from $39
- OLED TVs: up to $1,500 off LG and Sony
- Pet food/supplies: save on Blue, Fresh Step, Wellness
- Power tools: DeWalt, Black & Decker, Bosch up to 50% off
- PS5 games: deals from $29
- Robot vacuums: iRobot, Shark, more from $129
- Samsung storage sale: deals from $24
- Sneakers: Skechers, New Balance, Asics from $19
- Surface laptops: from $599
- Swimming pool toys: up to 60% off inflatables
- Xbox Series X|S games: from $19
- Xmas decor: lights, stockings more from $2
Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.