The first big change is the design of the wireless earbuds themselves, sporting a design not dissimilar to that of the AirPods Pro, with a short stem, a more contoured shape and accentuated black mic cut-outs. It also borrows the control system of the Pro-level buds, swapping taps for squeezes via a force sensor in the stem. There’s also access to Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio content (complete with head tracking) thanks to Apple’s H1 chip, and you’ll find Adaptive EQ tech to dynamically tune the headphones’ audio to make sure it sounds the way it should. That’s not to say there isn’t an improvement to sound output though; with a custom low-distortion driver and high dynamic range amplifier, Apple seems confident that the audio quality will be noticeably better for upgrading users. Essentially, the third-gen AirPods are a solid option, making them ripe for deals this Black Friday, and there are plenty of retailers in the US and UK getting in on the fun with bargains to be had if you know where to look. If you’re interested, here’s where you can buy the AirPods (2021) right now, including some of the top deals for UK and US readers hand-curated by the Tech Advisor team. If you want to find out more about the wireless buds, we round up all you need to know about the AirPods 3 separately.
AirPods 3 live price tracker
The best starting point is our live price tracker, keeping track of the best AirPods 3 prices online right now.
Where to buy the AirPods 3 in the US
If you’re on the hunt for a bargain in the US, these are the stores to try where we’ve most consistently seen bargains so far:
WalmartBest BuyB&H Photo VideoTargetApple
Where to buy the AirPods 3 in the UK
Similarly, these are the stores UK readers should keep an eye on for the biggest savings: Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
