All the best AirPods deals ahead of Tuesday's Apple event

In the days leading up to Apple‘s fall hardware event on Monday, Sept. 9, every AirPods model is on sale — even if it’s (probably) not getting replaced next week.

Word on the street is that the Cupertino tech giant will at least announce a new version of its standard wireless earbuds, if not a new entry-level and a new mid-range version. The second- and third-generation AirPods are priced accordingly, with several major retailers marking them down within $20 of their record lows.

Successors to the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro are less likely to debut at the event, and the AirPods Max are almost definitely not getting updated this month (but maybe before the end of the year). Meanwhile, their current iterations are $30 and $150 off, respectively, putting them within $21 and $5 of their cheapest prices ever.

If anything, consider waiting to buy a pair of the standard AirPods until after Tuesday’s Apple event: There’s a good chance they’ll get even cheaper as retailers ditch their inventory to make room for their replacements (if they do indeed launch). Otherwise, these are mostly solid buys if you need to upgrade, but care more about saving than having the latest, greatest tech. Below, we go deeper on the best AirPod deals of the week:

Why we like it:

Read Mashable’s full review of the Apple AirPods (2nd Gen).

If ANC isn’t a must-have, we actually prefer the second-gen AirPods from 2019 over the third-gen ones from 2021, which brought too few upgrades for too high a price. With a comfortable fit, a five-hour battery life, hands-free Siri support, and totally fine sound, these offer “the best bang for your buck” out of the current AirPods lineup, said Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard — even more so at $89, or 31% off, instead of their usual $129. (That’s a deal we only saw at Amazon and Walmart, by the way: They’re 99 cents more at Best Buy and Target.)

More AirPods deals:

2nd generation

• Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Apple AirPods (2nd Gen) — $59.99 $129 (save $69.01)

3rd generation

• Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Apple AirPods (3rd Gen) — $89.99 $169 (save $79.01)

• Apple AirPods (3rd Gen) — $139.99 $169 (save $29.01)

Best AirPods Pro deal

Why we like it:

Read Mashable’s full review of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen).

The AirPods Pro 2 from late 2022 are the AirPods we recommend most people buy if their budget’s slightly more flexible. These offer “well-rounded sound, impressive active noise cancellation, plenty of portability,” and they’re frequently on sale for well under their $249 MSRP, wrote Allard. They’re also the only current AirPods that charge via USB-C instead of a Lightning port, so if you have an iPhone 15 (or will soon upgrade to the iPhone 16), you won’t need to keep track of separate cables. At the time of writing, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart all had them marked down to $189.99 — a 24% savings.

More AirPods Pro deals:

• Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen) — $159.99 $249 (save $89.01)

Best AirPods Max deal

Why we like it:

Read Mashable’s full review of the Apple AirPods Max.

There are better noise-cancelling headphones out there, but the AirPods Max remain a popular, stylish pick even four years after their release — and they feel much more reasonable at $399 than their usual $549. (Note that this pricing only applies to the Pink variant at Amazon: The Space Gray, Blue, Green, and Silver ones were all at least $50 more there; Best Buy had them listed for $20 off; and Target was holding them at full price.)

More AirPods Max deals:

• Geek Squad Certified Refurbished Apple AirPods Max — $339.99 $549 (save $209.01)