Why You Can Trust CNET Best Black Friday Headphone Deals: Save Up to $90 on Beats, Samsung, Apple and More
If you need a new pair of earphones or headphones, these early Black Friday deals will save you some cash.
As we get closer to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, we're seeing a lot of great early Black Friday deals on headphones and earbuds. A lot of them are also at the lowest price they've been, so you might not need to wait for Black Friday. That's especially true since the whole of November has become an unofficial Black Friday sale.
Many retailers start "Black Friday" sales as early as Halloween, or even earlier. The quality of deals can vary early on, but as November progresses, many of the deals are as good as the deep discounts you’ll see during Thanksgiving weekend. See the best Black Friday deals we’ve found, and keep up with all the latest deals with our full Black Friday live blog coverage.
There are also deals coming in from everywhere, including Amazon, Walmart and even Apple, so you can take advantage of any memberships or cards you might have with them. Be sure to check back regularly as we find more deals and retailers.
Shopping for new phone accessories?
Add CNET Shopping
The Apple AirPods 2 are probably some of the most popular earbuds on the market, and for good reason. You can grab a pair at Walmart for just $99, one of the lowest prices ever, saving you $30.
They're back: Best Buy again has the JLab Audio JBuds Air earbuds on sale for $30. JLabs makes a lot of true-wireless earphones, and these are its most affordable and are a decent set of true wireless earbuds at a relative bargain at this price. Also, if you buy two or more, you can save 4%, so if you and a friend or family want to grab a couple, you can save a little extra.
Most cheap noise-canceling headphones aren't great, but Anker's Soundcore Life Q20i are an exception. They're quite decent for their regular list price of $70, but you can get them for just $40 at Best Buy.
The Beats Solo3 have gone through quite a few iterations since they were originally released, and they're a great all-around set of headphones that you can grab for just $130.
You can save $50 on these Sennheisers right now at Best Buy. At this price, they're a solid budget alternative to premium models from Bose and Sony.
As CNET's David Carnoy found, the AirPods Pro 2 are some of the best lightweight earbuds you can buy, especially if you already have an iPhone. You can get them from either Amazon or Best Buy for just $230, a $19 discount on the regular price.
Bose's excellent noise-canceling headphones are packed with features. They originally listed for $400, but some retailers have them on sale for $339, or $40 off their usual price.
- JBL Vibe Beam: $30 (save $20)
- JVC True Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones: $35 (save $35)
- JBL Tune Flex: $50 (save $50)
- Soundcore by Anker Life P3: $55 (save $80)
- Skullcandy Hesh Evo: $57 (save $48)
- JBL Reflect Mini: $60 (save $90)
- JBL Endurance Peak 3: $70 (save $30)
- Beats Studio Buds: $100 (save $50)
- Apple AirPods 3: $160 (save $10)
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro: $175 (save $55)
- Beats Powerbeats Pro: $180 (save $20)
- Sennheiser HD 560S: $180 (save $50)
- Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2: $199 (save $80)
- Sony WH-1000XM5: $328 (save $27)
- Apple AirPods Max: $480 (save $69)
Should you buy headphones on Black Friday?
Black Friday is usually one of the best times of the year for electronics deals, and that includes things like headphones and earbuds. While there are some deals that happen throughout the year, such as Prime Day, these are few and far between, and we've already passed both Prime Day events for this year. As such, this is probably the best time for buying headphones until next summer.
Where is the best place for Black Friday headphone deals?
The big retailers -- like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target -- often have the biggest deals. That said, a lot of the brands offer deals on their own websites as well, so you might want to take a look at the websites of Samsung, Sennheiser, JBL and, potentially, Apple, though it rarely offers deals.
What makes a good Black Friday headphone deal?
One thing to keep in mind is that the list price of a product doesn't always tell you the real value, especially as retailers have started offering Day 1 deals on products. Often the list price is artificially inflated to make the deal look more attractive, so you'll want to check around and see what the true value or "street price" of a product is. There are handy historical price checking sites out there that can help you check if the deal is actually notable or if it's been discounted to the price regularly. You might also want to install CNET's Shopping plug-in to give you a bit of help with all of that.
More Black Friday deals from CNET
CNET is covering a wide array of deals on tech products and much more this holiday season. Find the hottest sales and discounts on the CNET Deals page, as well as the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and offers. Check out our CNET Coupons page for current Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and more from hundreds of other online stores. Sign up for the CNET Deals Text to get daily deals sent straight to your phone. And add the free CNET Shopping extension to your browser for real-time price comparisons.
Shopping for new phone accessories?
Add CNET Shopping