The best Black Friday headphone and earbud deals
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
There’s no better time than the holidays to treat yourself (or someone you care about) to an overdue upgrade and pick up a fresh pair of earbuds or headphones. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a great opportunity to save big on the latest products from Apple, Bose, Google, Samsung, Sony, Sennheiser, and countless other brands. Plus, the extended return period at many retailers gives you ample time to test out whatever you buy and make sure it’s the ideal choice.
While you browse through the 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, be sure to reference our buying guides for the best wireless earbuds and best noise-canceling headphones, which break down the strengths and weaknesses of many of the products featured below.
Quick gifts $100 and under
The Nothing Ear (a) are on sale for $69 ($30 off) directly from Nothing and at Amazon, if you’re a Prime member. The noise-canceling earbuds are our favorite pair for under $100, with surprisingly good sound for the price. They also offer an impressive feature set that includes multipoint Bluetooth pairing, a decent IP54 dust and water resistance rating, and even a low-latency mode for gaming. Read our hands-on impressions.
Apple
The original AirPods Max with a Lightning port are down to $399 ($150 off) at Target — which is just $5 shy of their lowest price to date — while the updated USB-C model is going for $499.99 ($51 off) at Amazon. Both pairs of headphones offer the same luxe, comfortable design, with terrific sound, ANC, and a natural-sounding transparency model. However, the updated model supports USB-C charging and comes in a few extra colors. Read our original AirPods Max review.
Beats
The Beats Studio Buds Plus are on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $129.99 ($40 off), which is one of their better prices to date. The wireless earbuds offer significant improvements over their predecessor, delivering superior sound, active noise cancellation, and battery life. Admittedly, they don’t silence your surroundings as well as Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro, but they do offer native support for both iOS and Android features. Plus, Beats offers a translucent option that looks way slicker than the AirPods Pro. Read our review.
Bose
Samsung
Sennheiser
Sony
The WH-1000XM4, Sony’s last-gen flagship headphones, are on sale starting at $198 ($152 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s not the shockingly low $130 they dropped to earlier this year, but it’s still a great price for a pair of cans that offer some of the best sound quality and noise cancellation performance around. They offer 30 hours of battery life, a foldable design, and flexible ambient audio modes, including a speak-to-chat feature that reduces volume while you’re talking. Read our review.
Other
Jabra may have stopped selling consumer earbuds, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t discounts available on the existing models. Right now, for instance, you can purchase the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 for an all-time low of $199.99 ($80 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. In addition to noise cancellation, the semi-open Elite 10 come with an LE Audio charging case, which lets you wirelessly transmit audio from an external device. They also feature physical buttons and support other essentials, including multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
There’s no better time than the holidays to treat yourself (or someone you care about) to an overdue upgrade and pick up a fresh pair of earbuds or headphones. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a great opportunity to save big on the latest products from Apple, Bose, Google, Samsung, Sony, Sennheiser, and countless other brands. Plus, the extended return period at many retailers gives you ample time to test out whatever you buy and make sure it’s the ideal choice.
While you browse through the 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, be sure to reference our buying guides for the best wireless earbuds and best noise-canceling headphones, which break down the strengths and weaknesses of many of the products featured below.
Quick gifts $100 and under
The Nothing Ear (a) are on sale for $69 ($30 off) directly from Nothing and at Amazon, if you’re a Prime member. The noise-canceling earbuds are our favorite pair for under $100, with surprisingly good sound for the price. They also offer an impressive feature set that includes multipoint Bluetooth pairing, a decent IP54 dust and water resistance rating, and even a low-latency mode for gaming. Read our hands-on impressions.
Apple
The original AirPods Max with a Lightning port are down to $399 ($150 off) at Target — which is just $5 shy of their lowest price to date — while the updated USB-C model is going for $499.99 ($51 off) at Amazon. Both pairs of headphones offer the same luxe, comfortable design, with terrific sound, ANC, and a natural-sounding transparency model. However, the updated model supports USB-C charging and comes in a few extra colors. Read our original AirPods Max review.
Beats
The Beats Studio Buds Plus are on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $129.99 ($40 off), which is one of their better prices to date. The wireless earbuds offer significant improvements over their predecessor, delivering superior sound, active noise cancellation, and battery life. Admittedly, they don’t silence your surroundings as well as Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro, but they do offer native support for both iOS and Android features. Plus, Beats offers a translucent option that looks way slicker than the AirPods Pro. Read our review.
Bose
Samsung
Sennheiser
Sony
The WH-1000XM4, Sony’s last-gen flagship headphones, are on sale starting at $198 ($152 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. That’s not the shockingly low $130 they dropped to earlier this year, but it’s still a great price for a pair of cans that offer some of the best sound quality and noise cancellation performance around. They offer 30 hours of battery life, a foldable design, and flexible ambient audio modes, including a speak-to-chat feature that reduces volume while you’re talking. Read our review.
Other
Jabra may have stopped selling consumer earbuds, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t discounts available on the existing models. Right now, for instance, you can purchase the Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 for an all-time low of $199.99 ($80 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. In addition to noise cancellation, the semi-open Elite 10 come with an LE Audio charging case, which lets you wirelessly transmit audio from an external device. They also feature physical buttons and support other essentials, including multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.