Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 are now available at your nearby Apple Store or favorite electronics store for $249/£219, the same price as the previous model. They replace the AirPods Pro 2, which Apple no longer offers for sale in its retail stores or online.
But you can find the AirPods Pro 2 in the Apple section on Amazon U.S. They’re $199, and they are prominently featured as part of Apple’s AirPod lineup both on the main product page and atop individual listings. You won’t find the same treatment for the Apple Watches that have just been released (even though you can still find the older models in the store), so that seems to imply that Amazon will offer the AirPods Pro 2 for some time alongside the newer model.
Perhaps it’ll be an Amazon-only deal, similar to how Apple still sells the M1 MacBook Air through Walmart. The Amazon U.K. Apple AirPods page also features the AirPods Pro 2 in its lineup for £199, but the product page states that the earphones are currently unavailable. We’ve contacted Apple for clarification.
So, what’s the big deal? There are compelling reasons to get the AirPods Pro 2 instead, especially at a hefty discount. They support Live Translation, the charging case actually has a longer battery life, and they include a charging cable in the box. If you don’t care about the AirPods Pro 3’s heart rate monitor, then the AirPods Pro 2 could be a better option, especially since it’s $50 cheaper.
What about the AirPods Pro 3 foam tips? You can buy similar ones from third-party sellers for about $20, such as these tips from Comply that we love, and still come out ahead by $30. Apple did say it redesigned the AirPods Pro 3 so they fit better, and we can’t vouch for that yet. We’ll have a full review of the AirPods Pro 3 soon.
If you still want the AirPods Pro 3, then you can save a little bit of cash at Amazon, where they are $239, a $10 savings.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.