The best Apple deals to shop ahead of Amazon’s fall Prime Day event

4 hours ago 2

Sheena Vasani

writes about tech news, reviews gadgets, and helps readers save money by highlighting deals and product recommendations for The Verge.

If the past is any indication, Prime Big Deal Days — Amazon’s upcoming fall Prime Day event — should deliver a wave of deals on Apple devices, letting you save on everything from AirPods and AirTags to the latest iPad. But if you can’t wait until the sale kicks off on October 7th to land a bargain, you don’t have to. A few Apple products are already receiving sizable discounts at Amazon and other retailers, giving you the chance to save ahead of Amazon’s two-day sales event next month.

Admittedly, the current discounts aren’t as steep as what we’ve seen during previous Prime Day events — and possibly this year’s October Prime Day — but they’re still a solid way to save on a lot of older Apple devices if you can’t wait. The last-gen Apple Watch Ultra 2 has returned to its all-time low, for instance, while the M1-powered MacBook Air is available at its best price to date. We’ve rounded up a handful of other Apple deals worth taking a look at below, so let’s dive in.

The best wireless earbud and headphone deals

$199

The second-gen AirPods Pro improve upon Apple’s original pair with much better noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and onboard volume controls. The latest refresh also ships with a USB-C charging case, as opposed to Lightning. Read our review.

You can buy a pair of the AirPods 4 on sale for $119 ($10 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Staples. Apple’s entry-level wireless earbuds offer better sound than their predecessor, with richer bass and much clearer voice quality. The earbuds also feature an upgraded IP54 water and dust resistance rating, deep integration with iOS and other Apple products, and support for spatial audio with head tracking. Read our review.
Alternatively, you can buy the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for around $169 ($10 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Staples. Like the aforementioned base model, they deliver strong noise cancellation and a solid transparency mode, although they’re still not quite on par with Apple’s Pro models. The step-up ANC model also supports wireless charging and comes with a case that features a built-in speaker, making it easier to locate via Apple’s Find My network. Read our review.

$17

Apple’s wired earbuds are comfortable, offer great microphone quality for the price, and feature a built-in remote for controlling audio playback.

You can buy the latest AirPods Max at Amazon and Best Buy in select colors starting at $499, which is a far cry from their all-time low of $399 but still a solid $50 discount. The plush over-ear headphones feature a luxe stainless steel and aluminum design, along with excellent active noise cancellation and an exceptionally natural-sounding transparency mode. They also support lossless audio, deliver up to 20 hours of playback on a single charge, and sport a USB-C port. Read our original review.

$80

The Studio Buds feature support for iOS and Android as well as noise cancellation, a cozy fit, and good sound quality for the price. They don’t offer the same features as Apple’s iconic AirPods, but their broader compatibility may make them a fine choice on a budget. Read our review.

$449

The latest 11-inch iPad Air features Apple’s fast M3 chip with GPU upgrades like dynamic caching for smoother performance in demanding apps. It also supports the Apple Pencil Pro and the newest Magic Keyboard, which features a larger build and a 14-key function row. Read our review.

The 13-inch version of the M3-powered iPad Air with 128GB of storage is also on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, where you can buy it for an all-time low of around $649 ($150 off). Aside from a larger screen and better speakers, it’s identical to the aforementioned 11-inch model. Read our review.

$1196

The newest iPad Pro comes in either an 11- or 13-inch configuration with Apple’s M4 processor. Both models also feature an OLED display, a much thinner and lighter build, new horizontal placement for the front camera, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro. Read our review.

You can buy the latest iPad with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart for $299 ($50 off), which is $20 shy of the tablet’s all-time low. It offers twice the base storage of its predecessor and faster performance thanks to the inclusion of Apple’s A16 Bionic chip; however, it still lags behind its higher-end siblings in performance and doesn’t support the newest Apple Pencil, nor does it support any of the AI-based Apple Intelligence features baked into the latest iterations of iPadOS. Read our review.

$599

The 2020 MacBook Air has been discontinued but remains a great value. It comes outfitted with the company’s original M1 chip in one of three different colors (silver, space gray, and gold).

The 13-inch M4-powered MacBook Air is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy in all four colors starting at $799 ($200 off) with a 10-core CPU, an eight-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. The fantastic laptop — which we consider to be the best option for most people — builds upon its predecessor with additional RAM and Apple’s faster, more powerful M4 chip. It can also connect to two external displays with the lid open, as opposed to just one. Read our review.
If you need more screen real estate, you can grab the latest 15-inch MacBook Air at Amazon and Best Buy with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage starting at $999 ($200 off). It offers the same features as the 13-incher, but features an improved six-speaker sound system and your choice of either a 35W Dual USB‑C Port Compact Power Adapter or a 70W USB‑C Power Adapter.

The best Apple Watch deals

$649

The rugged Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes in one size: 49mm. It offers a large, bright display along with long battery life and excellent performance. It sports Apple’s last-gen S9 SiP, too, allowing you to take advantage of Apple’s double tap feature. Read our review.

The last-gen Apple Watch Series 10 is on sale at Amazon and Walmart in the 42mm configuration with GPS starting at $329 ($70 off), which is $50 shy of its all-time low. While it lacks the Series 11’s more scratch-resistant glass and only lasts 18 hours, as opposed to 24, the wearable still delivers a bright, wide-angle OLED display along with depth and water-temperature sensors. It also includes FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and supports Apple’s new hypertension notification feature. Read our review.

AirTags and other miscellaneous deals

$22

Apple’s AirTag is unobtrusive, waterproof, and taps into the massive Find My network for out-of-range locating. Read our original review.

The Apple Pencil Pro is down to $99 ($30 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which is $10 shy of its best price to date. Unlike Apple’s entry-level USB-C stylus, the Pro model charges wirelessly and offers other advanced capabilities, including Find My support, pressure sensitivity, and a “Barrel Roll” gyroscope that allows you to adjust the angle of your pen or brush strokes with a simple twist. However, compatibility is limited to the latest iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and M2- or M3-based iPad Air models.

$35

Apple’s latest MagSafe charger now fully supports the Qi2.2 standard, allowing it to charge compatible devices (including the iPhone 17 series and Google’s Pixel 10 lineup) at 25W rates.