Best AirPods Deals (April 2022): Get The Lowest Prices On Apple Earbuds

Looking for the best Apple AirPods deal? Whatever you do, do not head to the Apple Store, where these wireless earbuds cost £169, especially as there are a number of great discounts and offers around on the latest-generation AirPods. These new AirPods, officially called Apple AirPods (Third-Generation), arrive with improved sound quality, an hour extra battery life on a single charge and up to six hours more with the charging carry case, support for Spatial Audio, and sweat and water-resistant design – so you don’t need to worry about wearing these ‘buds in the gym or getting caught in a downpour. Express.co.uk has rounded up the best AirPod deals below…

If you’re looking for the best Apple AirPod price, it’s worth looking at the previous generation of these popular wireless earbuds.

Apple still sells its second-generation AirPods which, until a few months ago, carried a £159 price tag on the Apple Store. Following the launch of the third-generation Apple AirPods, which joined the AirPods Pro (find the latest discounts on the AirPods Pro here) and AirPods Max in the lineup, Apple decided to drop the price to £119.

However, there are even better discounts on the AirPods if you know where to look. A number of retailers regularly slash the UK price of the standard AirPods in sales – so it’s possible to secure some impressive savings if you stray from the Apple Store. Like the AirPods (third-generation), this older pair boasts seamlessly wireless pairing to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and other Apple gadgets, the ability to summon Siri hands-free with a “Hey Siri” command, and 24-hour battery life with the included carry case.

If you’re happy to miss out on a few features that remain exclusive to the newer AirPods (third-generation), the older model is guaranteed to be the best AirPods price that you’ll find anywhere. We’ve rounded up the latest deals and price drops on the second-generation AirPods below…

What Are Apple AirPods?

Apple unveiled the first generation of AirPods back in September 2016 alongside iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. These ‘buds were designed to solve many of the headaches of wireless ear / headphones, including the hassle of scouring the Bluetooth settings on your iPhone to connect to the device each time you wanted to listen to a song or podcast.

This process would have to be repeated each time that you wanted to switch to another device, like a tablet. Apple AirPods ended all of that palaver, thanks to the custom-designed chipset inside the ‘buds.

Instead of beginning in the Settings menu to pair your new AirPods, Apple allowed owners to simply flip open the charging case close to their smartphone, which triggered a prompt on-screen to begin pairing. And that’s it.

Better yet, AirPod owners don’t need to go through this step with every Apple-branded gadget in their cupboards – any device associated with the same iCloud account will be paired with the AirPods simultaneously. With a single tap, owners will see their new AirPods linked to iPads, MacBooks, and even Apple TVs (perfect for watching without the speakers built into your telly or sound system late at night).

Apple uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to decide which device you’re trying to use with your AirPods at any one time. After all, you might have an iPhone in your pocket, but want to watch on an iPad. AirPods are pretty accurate when it comes to switching to the right device, although if the earbuds make a few mistakes, it is possible to turn off this behaviour in the Settings menu. By default, Apple will always switch your AirPods back to an iPhone when it detects an incoming call – even if you’re in the middle of watching a Netflix show on your iPad, or listening to music on a Mac. That’s useful as you don’t want to miss an important call because you’ve been fiddling in the Bluetooth settings (and let’s be honest, we’ve all seen it happen to others).

AirPods Pro launched in October 2019 and introduced a more compact form factor. These ‘buds were also the first to introduce interchangeable silicone tips, which create a better seal within the ear canal than the one-size-fits-all approach employed by the original AirPods. To this day, AirPods Pro remain the only ‘buds in the lineup with interchangeable silicone tips. To ensure you pick the correct size (there’s a choice of Small, Medium, and Large in the box) Apple added an Ear Tip Fit Test inside the Bluetooth menu that uses software to analyse whether you’ve got the best possible seal for your ear shape.

AirPods Pro also introduced Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, which applies directional audio filters to Dolby Atmos, surround 5.1 and 7.1 signals so that music, movies and podcasts can be placed in three dimensions around you. The optical head-tracking ensures that sounds remain in the same space, even as you move in the physical world.

By tweaking the frequencies, Apple’s Spatial Audio can make it appear as if sound is coming from directly in front of you, from the sides, behind and even above. When watching movies, it creates a surround sound-like experience in your headphones. Some artists have started to specifically tune their albums for Spatial Audio too, which is included at no extra cost with a standard Apple Music subscription.

AirPods Pro and AirPods (third-generation) both support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, while the second-generation AirPods do not. If you’re not an Apple Music subscriber or don’t watch boxsets or blockbusters on your iPhone or iPad, this isn’t something that you absolutely need to spend extra to ensure that you have. However, those who spend a lot of time consuming content on their Apple devices will benefit from the audio boost.

Both AirPods (third-generation) and AirPods Pro can be recharged using a MagSafe charger, which snaps to the back of the case with magnets and charges at a faster speed. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models all support this new technology too, so you’ll be able to use the same MagSafe charger puck for both devices.

The AirPods (second-generation) can only be recharged using a Lightning cable, unless you spend extra to buy the optional wireless charging case. However, while this accessory works with all Qi-compatible chargers, it doesn’t have magnets inside to ensure that it attaches to the MagSafe charging puck.

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