I found 20 Black Friday deals on the best headphones and earbuds based on years of testing

Major headphone and earbud models from Apple, Beats, Bose, Sony and budget brands are seeing deep Black Friday discounts, with many at or near all-time lows: basic AirPods dropping below $100, AirPods Pro 3 and Pro 2 hitting record lows, AirPods Max within roughly $30 of its lowest price, Bose QC Ultra 2 and QuietComfort lines heavily reduced, Sony buds under $80, and budget ANC options like EarFun and EarFun Air Pro 4 available below $70 (and as low as ~$50 with promo codes). CNN Underscored notes these selections are editor-tested and price-tracked, signaling credible buying opportunities for consumers and likely short-term revenue and inventory dynamics for retailers and headphone vendors while keeping upward pricing power for premium models under pressure.

Analysis

CNN Underscored documents broad, deep Black Friday discounts across major headphone franchises: basic AirPods dipping below $100, AirPods Pro 3 registering the biggest discount seen to date while AirPods Pro 2 are at all-time lows, AirPods Max roughly $30 above its lowest-ever price, Beats Fit Pro and other Beats models at lowest-ever levels, Bose QC Ultra 2 within $16 of their low and QuietComfort lines materially reduced, Sony buds under $80 and WH-1000XM6 near steep markdowns, and budget ANC options like EarFun Air Pro 4 falling below $70 or to about $50 with promo codes. These price points are characterized as editor-tested and price-tracked, which supports the credibility of the reported all-time lows and intense promotional activity across retailers and brands. The discounting pattern implies a classic holiday inventory-clearing and traffic-driving approach that should boost near-term unit sales and retailer revenue while exerting downward pressure on average selling prices and potential margin compression for premium models. Supporting data signals show a mildly positive sentiment score (0.3) and low market-impact score (0.12), suggesting the event is bullish for consumer demand/read-throughs but unlikely to be a major market-moving structural shift absent stronger macro evidence.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Monitor weekly Black Friday unit sales, same-store/online traffic and ASPs closely, because outsized unit growth at record-low prices would favor short-term retail revenue beats
• Consider short-duration long exposure to large omnichannel retailers to capture holiday traffic, sizing positions conservatively and planning to trim on post-holiday inventory or margin warnings
• Avoid increasing long-term exposure to premium-headphone makers solely on holiday demand, as heavy discounts this season signal risk to pricing power and margin on flagship models
• Use promo depth, return rates and inventory reports plus AAPL and SONY commentary as primary catalysts to adjust positions ahead of quarterly results