All I want for Christmas is the Apple AirPods Pro 2 (for my daughter), almost 40% off for Black Friday

Last Christmas I gave her a dud, and the next day she threw it away. This year, to save me from tears, I’m giving her something special.

All apologies to the late, great George Michaelbut let me explain. The “her” is my 13-year-old daughter, who has been asking for AirPods for Christmas for the past two years. Last year I decided to give her a lesson in my hypocrisy and frugality instead. It didn’t go well.

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When my daughter unwrapped a pair of Amazon Echo Buds (which are on sale for Black Friday) and realizing that they were not, in fact, real Apple AirPods hit her disappointment hard. She didn’t have a negative word to say, bless her holiday spirit, but her unspoken response said it all. A few days later I noticed she never wore them, so I asked why. She told me with a straight face that she had lost them.

Naturally, I told her that I thought AirPods were too expensive, that other earbuds were just as good, and that I didn’t think she should bow to peer pressure from her classmates (who she said all wear “real AirPods”). One guess if any of my words made her happier.

So this year, when I saw that it was real Apple AirPods Pro 2 retails for $154 for Black Friday I attacked. Once bitten and twice shy, strange, you can’t fool me anymore.

If you’re looking for other Apple deals for Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, check out Apple’s new M4 MacBook Pro for $400 off and the best Black Friday iPad deals.

Well, it’s been a year, ANC doesn’t surprise me

Why did I choose AirPods Pro 2 instead of the newer AirPods 4 with ANC? First off, as I mentioned in another article about another pair of earbuds I recently purchased during a Black Friday sale, I think sealed in-earbuds are better than open design models like the AirPods 4. The seal provides an extra layer of sound insulation and contributes to superior sound quality, and if you want to pay attention to the world you can always turn on the ambient sound mode, which Apple calls Transparency mode.

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Also a factor was the comment of CNET reviewer David Carnoy, who rates the Pro 2 as Apple’s best noise-canceling wireless earbuds: “Although we’re quite impressed with those new models – and the AirPods 4 ANC in particular – the AirPods Pro 2 remain perhaps the best Apple AirPods you can buy if you don’t mind having silicone eartips in your ears.”

My daughter uses earplugs all the time to help her sleep, so she definitely qualifies as someone who likes putting things in her ears. Like her fingers when I start using words like ‘sigma’, ‘skibidi’ and ‘recognizable’ to try to relate to her.

I asked Carnoy if the Pro 2 might not fit her childhood ears, and he assured me that Apple’s line of eartips with the Pro 2s “now includes XS, so they should fit.”

Now I know what a fool I have been

Finally, I had a few recent conversations with my daughter to confirm her desires without giving too much away. When she assured me she would rather have AirPods than a $170 gift card to Sephora, that sealed it. Now I dream of a white Christmas present and the joy it will bring my Apple-happy child.

If you’re looking for more Apple devices this holiday season, here are the best Apple deals for Black Friday happening right now, and here are our favorite tech gifts under $100 and the best gifts under $10.