Our Favorite Wireless Headphones for iPhone Owners Are $150 Off

yesterday I wrote Nothing about a deal on the (1) headset, an amazing pair of active noise-canceling headphones that compete with some of the best options available at a fraction of the price. For those who don’t mind compromising, and already have Apple devices, I also found an attractive discount on the Apple AirPods Max. That’s right, the price of Apple’s biggest and baddest headphones has been dropped to just $400 at both Best Buy and Amazon.

Even with the hefty price tag, the audio quality on the AirPods Max is nothing short of incredible. When WIRED writer Parker Hall initially reviewed them, he called them “the best-sounding wireless headphones ever” [he’s] ever heard, and by a significant margin.” Even when pitted against the big hitters from Bose and Sony, they have an impressively open soundstage, letting details shine in every genre, from high-produced pop to soft jazz. The active noise cancellation is also extremely powerful, with the pass-through mode being sharp and clear.

As long as you’re in the Apple ecosystem, these have an impressive level of features and excellent sync between devices. Like most AirPods, simply place them near your iPhone or iPad and they’ll connect instantly, no extensive pairing or app installation. Because they always run in a low-power state, you can take them out of their little case or put them on your head, and they’ll connect to the nearest iOS device and start playing. It’s a neat trick, but one that always drains the battery slowly, so you may find them dead if you don’t use them for too long.

Although the headset has occasionally been discounted, to my knowledge this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for an updated USB-C model. This matches a similar markdown on the older Lightning port version in July 2024, just before the update, though there don’t seem to be any rumors floating around about another update this time. Although availability may vary depending on your location, as I write this, all five colors are in stock and discounted at Best Buy, but the orange color is selling out at Amazon.