AirPods Max Are Finally Back in Stock With Over $100 Off During Prime Day.

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I adore my AirPods Max, but I can rarely recommend them. It’s a shame, because they should be obvious to anyone in the Apple ecosystem: they connect easily to all your devices, offer excellent noise cancellation (they’re my favorite in-flight headphones), and sound fantastic.

What’s not to like? The price, of course. AirPods Max typically retail for $549, making them one of the most expensive consumer headphones. Similar headphones in this category cost between $250 and $450, making the AirPods Max a tough buy for those not fully committed to the Apple ecosystem. If you’re only looking for high-quality over-ear or over-ear headphones, you might be able to find something cheaper.

However, during Prime Day, you can get the new AirPods Max for $429—over $100 off, or 22% off the suggested retail price. While that’s still pricey, these headphones are at the top of their category, not almost $100 off the top. I can confidently say that if you’re interested in these headphones, now is the perfect time to buy.

As for the headphones, AirPods Max are quite easy to use. Like other AirPods, when you put them on your head, they automatically connect to your active Apple devices. If you’re listening to music on your Mac but pick up your iPhone to watch a video, the headphones will automatically switch to the new active source. You don’t have to use this feature , but it’s improved so much in recent years that it works seamlessly across devices.

The headphones feature excellent noise cancellation, as well as its opposite: Transparency mode. This feature channels sound through tiny microphones in the AirPods, allowing you to have a full conversation without removing the headphones. (Even with noise cancellation turned off, the AirPods Max can block out a significant amount of noise simply by wearing them.)

But perhaps my favorite feature of the AirPods Max is their battery life. They’re rated for up to 20 hours of continuous use, significantly longer than other Apple headphones. If you regularly place your AirPods Max in the case between uses, you’ll find you won’t need to charge them very often. (Although, it’s still worth using the case, as you can’t turn off the AirPods outside of the case.)

Should you buy the new AirPods Max or the original ones?

You may or may not know that these AirPods Max aren’t the original model Apple released in 2020. Apple updated the earbuds last September, though it might not be immediately obvious. Essentially, both versions of the AirPods Max are virtually identical, save for three things: new colors, a USB-C connector instead of Lightning, and an “ultra-low latency” feature that allows for lossless audio over a wired connection .

While these are certainly improvements, especially the last two, for a while I recommended the original pair over the new model. First, Apple hadn’t yet released exclusive wired playback features, and second, the original model could be found at a deeper discount than the new model, especially during events like Prime Day. If you’re willing to use Lightning instead of USB-C, you’ll save a decent amount and get a similar experience with the AirPods Max.

Things are different now. Not only is the new model better, but the original ones seem to be harder to find. The original earbuds can be purchased for $399 or less, but they’ll be refurbished. If that’s okay with you, go ahead and buy the savings. But I think $429 is a good price for new, unopened AirPods Max.

As an alternative, consider AirPods Pro.

If you’re looking for high-quality audio that also works well with the Apple ecosystem, you can’t go wrong with the AirPods Pro. In fact, for some, they may even be a better choice than the AirPods Max, as despite the lower price, they offer a number of exclusive features. I’d love to see Apple add Conversation Awareness to the AirPods Max—an improved version of Transparency mode that automatically lowers the volume of music or audio when you start talking to someone.

While Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 3 remain at their full price of $250, Amazon is offering a great deal on the AirPods Pro 2 during Prime Day. So, if $429 is still too steep, consider the Pro. You’ll get the features you’ve come to expect: noise cancellation, automatic device switching, high-quality sound, and much more.

Looking for something different? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are running Prime Day sales, which are especially helpful if you don’t have an Amazon Prime subscription.

• Walmart’s Prime Day sale runs from 7:00 PM ET on October 6th through October 12th and includes discounts of up to 50%. This is an especially great deal for those with a Walmart+ subscription.

• Best Buy’s Prime Day sale runs from September 27th to October 12th and is one of the best tech sales in the world. It’s especially great for My Best Buy Plus or Total members.

• Target’s Prime Day sale runs from October 5th to 11th, with discounts up to 50%. Joining Circle is free.

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