There are certainly not a lot of 2019-released tech products we'd recommend you give a second thought to in 2024, but Apple's "classic" second-gen AirPods can still be considered among the very best wireless earbuds you can buy right now... at the right price.

$129 is probably not it, but fortunately, most major US retailers are pretty regularly selling these bad boys at cool discounts of 20 or 30 bucks nowadays. Being able to save $40 happens far less frequently, but if you hurry, you can do precisely that at both Amazon and Best Buy.

This basically makes the non-Pro AirPods 2 cheaper than they've been in a good couple of months, although in the spirit of full disclosure, we should point out that various Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 sales dropped Apple's non-noise-cancelling buds with a "traditional" Lightning charging case included to an even lower price of $79.99.

At $10 more, these remain unbeatable for hardcore Apple fans on tight budgets who don't have the patience or sheer force of will to wait and see if the aforementioned $50 markdown comes back in the near future. Of course, there are no guarantees that will ever happen, so if you're in the market for a nice Valentine's Day gift or simply want to buy yourself a decent pair of wireless earbuds at a killer price today, you know what to do.

Powered by an Apple H1 chip, the "ancient" AirPods (2nd Generation) are obviously inferior to both the AirPods Pro 2 and non-Pro AirPods 3 in many crucial departments. But the connectivity is still flawless, the design... unmistakable, the overall audio quality pretty decent for the sub-$100 category, and the battery life... not that bad to completely break what's otherwise a very hard-to-resist deal.

If you only have eyes (and ears) for Apple-branded gadgets, we would go so far as to deem the AirPods 2 an absolute must-buy today, especially since we suspect this new promotion will not last long and could even go away by Valentine's Day.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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