Usually, we wouldn’t recommend picking up a pair of AirPods 3 — they cost too much while lacking most of the premium features of their slightly more expensive cousins, the AirPods Pro 2.
Now, however, you can head over to the Apple Store where you can get a pair of refurbished AirPods 3, with a relatively hefty discount on their high price.
Refurbished AirPods at Apple
The AirPods 3 are a weird entry into the AirPods range. They don’t have noise canceling or silicon buds to make them fit into your ears better, but they do have Spatial Audio and wireless MagSafe charging.
They cost almost as much as the AirPods Pro 2 do when the latter is on sale, and way more than the AirPods 2 when even when they’re not on sale. They do sound good though, which is arguably one of the most important parts of a pair of earbuds.
Now, so that you don’t end up paying the full $180 price tag, you can buy a pair of refurbished AirPods 3 to save you a little money. They’ll cost you $149 for the MagSafe charging case, presenting a $30 saving, and the lightning version will cost you $139 — another $30 saving.
Refurbished AirPods — iMore’s take
Should you buy the refurbished AirPods 3? If you want some cheap AirPods 3, then you should definitely take this new option very seriously. They’re a great pair of buds, just at far too high a price for the most part — this new option brings them to a price that fits their feature set and sound quality.
Usually, we’d say just pay the extra few bucks and go for the AirPods Pro 2. You’ll get better sound quality, noise canceling and more for only around $20 more if you shop on Amazon. With this discounted refurbished price, however, they have more of a competitive advantage over their noise-canceling cousins.
As for the refurbished part, you needn’t worry. Buying a pair of refurbished AirPods from Apple means that you’ll be getting a pretty much new pair. The case and buds will have been reconditioned from the ground up with Apple parts by Apple engineers, where only the highest of standards are acceptable. The iMore podcast even talked about this exact topic — if you want to shop on the Apple Store and save some money, then buying refurbished is the way to go.