Update: The offer has sold out. But Verizon has the AirPods Pro on sale for $219.99, which is their second-cheapest price ever.
The best cheap AirPods deal of the year is here. Staples currently has the AirPods Pro on sale for $199. That's $50 off and blows away all other AirPods Pro sales we've seen this year. (The sale has sold out, but Verizon has them on sale for $219.99). Meanwhile, Staples has the AirPods with Standard Charging Case on sale for $129. That's $30 off and also the cheapest price of the year. Both deals are among the season's best back to school sales.
We recommend opting for the AirPods Pro. They're among the best wireless earbuds we've reviewed and they probably won't hit this price point till Amazon Prime Day, which is rumored to occur sometime in October.
The AirPods Pro sport a redesigned, compact form factor with three built-in microphones and six sensors. They're also fitted with Apple's H1 chip, so they connect to your iPhone or MacBook instantly.
As we note in our AirPods Pro review, we love their noise-cancelling performance, water resistance, and their Transparency mode, which lets you hear ambient noise when noise cancellation is turned on. I've been using these buds since their launch for all types of workouts. Whether I'm doing burpees or running outdoors, they sound great and stay in place. I previously owned the Jabra Elite Active 65t, but those buds would constantly fall out when running. The AirPods Pro are my favorite workout earbuds and also my go-to buds for everyday use.
Both AirPods deals will last through August 1, but we suspect they might sell out fast, so we'd get them asap.