This is the Black Friday AirPods Pro deal I’d go for — and it’s from Apple

The AirPods Pro 2 being held up with the ocean in the background
(Image credit: Future)

There are no shortage of Black Friday deals on headphones or Apple gear. What's more, there are no shortage of deals on Apple's second generation AirPods Pro either. 

You can pick up the AirPods Pro 2 for just $199 at Amazon, and for the same price at both Walmart and Best Buy. However, as an Apple fan and owner of the AirPods Pro 2, those aren't the deals I'd go for. 

Right now, Apple has dropped its prices for the AirPods Pro 2 to match the competition. Well, kinda. You can buy the AirPods Pro 2 for $249 at Apple and get a $50 gift card. That takes your total spend to $199 as you get $50 back. You'll also benefit from free delivery. In my mind, this is one of the best Apple Black Friday deals on AirPods.

Now, hear me out. Why would you spend more money to then get $50 back but locked to Apple? Two words: 'engraving' and 'finance'. Apple are also offering free engraving with the AirPods Pro 2 when bought on its site. That means you can personalize your charging case, making your AirPods unique to you or someone you're buying them for. What's more, you can take advantage of Apple's 0% finance to spread the cost during these challenging times.

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen): $249 with $50 cash back @ Apple

AirPods Pro (2nd Gen): $249 with $50 cash back @ Apple
The AirPods Pro 2 are Apple's flagship earbuds taken to the next level with 2x better noise canceling, plus 6 hours of battery life on a charge. Not only are the earbuds IPX4-rated, but the wirelessly chargeable case is too, and has a built-in microphone that helps you find it when it’s lost. 

As an Apple fan and a lover of personalization, this would be the deal I'd go for. I'm always buying Apple gear, so would definitely make use of the $50 gift card. I also like my stuff to be customized, from my tech and computers, through to my cars and even my two pet greyhounds (who each wear personalized sweaters in winter). If you're not buying for yourself, engraving is a great way to make the AirPods an even more special gift for Christmas or a birthday. 

I already own a set of the AirPods Pro 2, which I picked up in a previous sale. Take it from me, these headphones are seriously good. Our AirPods Pro 2 review praised their active noise cancellation, and it's easy to see why. Fitted snugly into your ear, they cancel out sound better than any other ANC headphones I've used before, both in-ear and over-ear. It's impressive.

While audio fidelity won't blow you away, the AirPods Pro 2 certainly still offer great sound, especially when you've effectively blocked out the entire world using ANC. I absolutely love spatial audio, too, and have converted from Spotify to Apple Music to make the most out of it, as well as Apple Music's lossless playback. 

They're sweat resistant, so I've stopped breaking my headphones at the gym (this happened with my old AirPods... twice!). The cherries on the cake are that battery life and charging time are both excellent, and that the charging case emits sound, meaning you can ping the AirPods using Find My when you've lost them somewhere around the house. I lose mine a lot, although less than my previous set of AirPods, as the AirPods Pro 2 feature a lanyard loop and often stay attached to my wrist.

If you want more great savings, check out the Black Friday deals we'd actually buy.

Peter Wolinski
Reviews Editor

Peter is Reviews Editor at Tom's Guide. As a writer, he covers topics including tech, photography, gaming, hardware, motoring and food & drink. Outside of work, he's an avid photographer, specialising in architectural and portrait photography. When he's not snapping away on his beloved Fujifilm camera, he can usually be found telling everyone about his greyhounds, riding his motorcycle, squeezing as many FPS as possible out of PC games, and perfecting his espresso shots.