The second-gen AirPods have dropped back down to $99 at Amazon
SAVE $59.01: As of Jan. 24, Apple's second-generation AirPods are on sale at Amazon for only $99. That's 37% off their suggested retail price of $159.99.
With no noise cancellation and a high price point, the AirPods 3 were one of Apple's more disappointing launches of 2021. On the bright side, their lackluster specs have made 2019's AirPods 2 a decidedly more compelling buy — they offer great sound and a decent battery life for way less money.
Speaking of, Amazon has those second-generation AirPods on sale for just $99 as of Jan. 24. (They usually retail for $159.99, so this is saving you a little under $60.) That isn't their lowest price ever, to be sure, but it's safer than waiting for the return of their $89 pre-Black Friday deal: Jeff Bezos has a really tough time keeping them in stock whenever they drop to that price.
As a quick recap, the AirPods 2 pack an H1 chip for effortless pairing with other Apple devices, support hands-free "Hey Siri" voice controls, and come with a wired charging case that pushes their battery life over the 24-hour mark. Former Mashable tech reporter Ray Wong called them "the gold standard for wireless earbuds" upon their release and wound up giving them our Mashable's Choice Award — something we can't say about their successors, for what it's worth.
Amazon was the only retailer offering this $99 deal at the time of writing, by the way; Walmart and Target were selling them for $119.99 the last time we checked, while Best Buy had them listed for $129.99.
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Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.