Prime Day is back on its normal schedule this year, following in the wake of the 4th of July sales. It's an exciting time for techies and deal-hunters, and if you're an Apple fan, there are already some enticing early Prime Day Apple deals up for grabs right now. Whether or not it's worth shopping the early Prime Day deals or if it's better to wait until the sale officially lands on July 12 remains an open question, but it never hurts to look. Below, we've rounded up the best early Prime Day Apple deals you can shop today, along with some insight as to whether now's a good time to buy.
Apple AirPods Pro — $200, was $249
Apple almost single-handedly ushered in the wireless earbud revolution (many of us still remember the furor over the removal of the 3.5mm audio jack from the iPhone), but the brand hasn't sat on its laurels in the years since. There's a lot of competition in the true wireless earbud market, and Apple has responded by improving upon the AirPods over the years, with several new refreshes of the original model along with the release of the newer AirPods Pro.
And Apple didn't miss with these. The AirPods Pro are, simply put, the best AirPods money can buy, and are a strong contender for the best true wireless earbuds period. The sound quality of the AirPods Pro is excellent, addressing one of our major complaints with the original AirPods. They're comfortable in the ear for extended periods of listening, too, and the built-in mics deliver crisp and clear voice quality for taking calls.
The AirPods Pro feature some other nice enhancements, too, including active noise canceling which works very well to isolate ambient sounds for more immersive enjoyment of whatever you're listening to. However, the Transparency Mode allows you to let in environmental noises when you want to be aware of your surroundings (such as on a busy street, for example). It also comes standard with a wireless charging case -- no need to pay a premium for this option.
Apple Watch SE (40mm, GPS) — $220, was $279
Smartwatches never really caught on despite the hype, with one big exception: the Apple Watch. In fact, the popularity of Apple's smart wearable has made this tech company one of the largest watchmakers in the world, and there have been quite a few updates and different models released since the Apple Watch first hit the scene in 2015.
The flagship Apple Watches can get a little pricey, so Apple released the Apple Watch SE in 2020 as a more budget-friendly alternative for people who want the basic functions of these wearables without paying a premium for bells and whistles they don't need. It sports the same sleek aesthetic and great build quality as its more expensive siblings, along with slick WatchOS software, snappy performance, and a nice set of health- and fitness-tracking functions.
It cuts a few corners to keep the price low, as you can imagine. For instance, the Apple Watch SE lacks the always-on display of later models, and is missing some of the more advanced health-tracking metrics. It does include GPS tracking and a heart rate monitor, though, and you're still getting the core functionality and the most important features that you'd want from a smart wearable. The Apple Watch SE is a great choice for most people and is one of the best Prime Day Apple deals available today.
Apple iPad (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $299, was $329
Sometimes, you just can't beat a classic. There are four different iPad models available now (five, actually, if you count the two iPad Pro sizes separately), but for the money, the standard 10.2-inch iPad is a tough act to follow. It's the iPad we recommend to most people considering its great value, solid performance, and nice size for doing tablet stuff, and it's a great bang for your buck —especially with Prime Day Apple deals making it even a little bit cheaper.
The newest iPad represents the ninth generation of Apple's iconic tablet. Released last year, the Apple iPad 9th gen didn't reinvent the wheel, and that's fine with us. It retains the solid hardware, generous battery life, and nice 10.2-inch display of the previous model, but does add some noteworthy improvements. Namely, the front-facing camera got a huge upgrade to a 12-megapixel sensor from the chintzy 1.2MP front camera on the 8th-gen iPad, and the base storage was increased from 32GB to 64GB.
Those aren't earth-shattering advances, but they're welcome to see and adequately address a couple of the (admittedly very few) quibbles we had with the 8th-gen iPad. The newer 9th-gen iPad also retains the great price point as its predecessor, making it far and away the best value in Apple's tablet lineup and an attractive proposition for anybody on the hunt for an iPadOS device that's easy on the wallet.
Apple Watch Series 7 (41mm, GPS) — $329, was $399
The Apple Watch remains the best smartwatch you can buy, and the Series 7 is the latest flagship model in Apple's stable of smart wearables. Apple has continued to refine its smartwatch formula with each new release and the Apple Watch Series 7 is nearly perfect: It's reliable, built like a tank, looks great, and delivers a great experience with its intuitive and responsive WatchOS software.
For the Series 7, Apple made a few upgrades to its hugely popular wearable. At a glance, this model doesn't look much different than the Series 6 -- Apple has pretty much stuck to its original design philosophy and aesthetic with these things. Look closer, however, and you'll notice that the Series 7 has a slightly bigger always-on display thanks to slimmed-down bezels. It's also more resistant to the elements, with newer crack-resistant Ion-X glass and a waterproof depth of up to 50 meters.
Apple Watches have always been great for fitness tracking and the Series 7 carries on this pedigree. It boasts the best suite of health- and activity-tracking functions we've seen yet, including a heart rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor, sleep quality monitor, workout detection, and more. It even gives you electrocardiogram (ECG) readings and can warn you of heart beat irregularities. If you're looking for the best smartwatch out there, the Apple Watch Series 7 is it.
Apple AirPods Max — $480, was $549
When we said that Apple has continued to improve upon its headphone offerings over the last couple of years, we weren't just talking about true wireless earbuds. Last year, Apple surprised even us when it dropped a new pair of wireless, full-sized, over-ear headphones, the somewhat oddly named AirPods Max -- oddly named, of course, because these aren't small "pods" at all, at least not in the same way that the regular AirPods are.
On the contrary: The AirPods Max are bona fide audiophile-quality headphones. Apple spared no expense designing these cans, either. Their sound quality is incredible, they offer best-in-class active noise canceling, and -- let's admit it -- they look fantastic. Their sleek aesthetic has "Apple" written all over it, and the aluminum construction, while a bit heavy on the head, feels expertly crafted and super sturdy.
Active noise canceling is quickly becoming a stapler feature on headphones, and it's definitely something you want to see on any pair being offered at this price point. The ANC on the AirPods Max works beautifully, as does the transparency mode that lets you decide when you want to hear your surroundings and when you want to drown out the noise. If you're an audiophile who also happens to be an Apple fan, the AirPods Max are an easy choice and well worth the premium.
Apple iPad Air (64GB, Wi-Fi) — $559, was $599
For awhile, the iPad Air seemed to be stuck in a sort of no man's land between the standard iPad and the higher-end iPad Pro. What was the point? But in recent years, this mid-range iPad seems to have finally found its place, and this is clearer than it's ever been with the new iPad Air 5. Released just this year, the 5th-gen iPad Air adds Apple's fantastic M1 CPU to the mix, giving the performance a serious upgrade and closing the gap a bit more with the iPad Pro.
The 2022 iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Retina display, making it slightly larger than the standard 10.2-inch iPad. The Air's touchscreen is bright, colorful, and razor sharp (no surprise given Apple's penchant for great displays), and the iPadOS software is smooth and easy to use. It's also faster and more responsive than ever thanks to that M1 processor doing its thing under the hood.
The iPad Air doesn't quite pass muster as a "laptop replacement" like the iPad Pro does (one of its biggest hindrances is the 64GB of storage on the base model, which is insufficient for serious use in our opinion), but it comes awfully close. It can still pull light 2-in-1 duty with a keyboard case, though, so you have the option. For the money, though, the iPad Air gives you a lot of tablet, and it's an upgrade over the standard iPad that's worth considering.
Apple MacBook Pro 14 — $1,799, was $1,999
As popular as MacBooks are, Apple is sometimes surprisingly slow to update them. Thankfully, the brand has changed things up a bit in recent years with the release of its new M-series CPUs, and last year, it took things even further by releasing an entirely new MacBook Pro. Like the Apple iPad Pro, this new MacBook Pro is available in two sizes -- 14 inches and 16 inches -- with both packing more or less the same hardware underneath.
The smaller 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 is arguably the "Goldilocks" pick of the two, hitting a nice sweet spot in size between the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro and the now-discontinued 15-inch model. We've been complaining for years about the MacBook Pro's outdated design, and Apple heeded the call. Those obnoxious bezels have finally been slimmed down, and while we could do without the new notch, we're not looking this gift horse too hard in the mouth. The Liquid Retina XDR display is a dream to look at, as well.
The updated M1 Pro chip is fantastic, combining an eight-core CPU with a 14-core GPU (yes, you read that right) that delivers superb performance and even gives this laptop some muscle for gaming. On top of that, you've got 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for plenty of multi-tasking power as well as storage space for your software and files. The new MacBook Pro 14 does it all in style, and Prime Day Apple deals are a good opportunity to save a nice chunk of change on one.
