Best Buy is selling Apple AirPods Max for $100 off in every color

2026 is here, and a new year is the perfect time to treat yourself. If you’ve been daydreaming about a pair of quality headphones, check out the AirPods Max (USB-C). These swanky headphones don’t often see significant sales, and right now, Best Buy is selling them for $100 off. This is one of the better discounts we’ve seen on the cans in a few weeks, though we’ve seen better discounts during past Prime Day and Black Friday events. 

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ZDNET editor Kyle Kucharski has previously highlighted the headphones when they went on sale during October Prime Day. Kucharski says though Apple’s AirPods Max headphones have “been around since 2020 and haven’t received a ton of design iterations since then — but [are] still a competitive pair of headphones.” 

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Several features caused us to write about the AirPods Max headphones again and again, citing everything from their sleek and logo-less design to the device’s Personalized Spatial Audio and eight microphones used for top-notch ANC. The form of the AirPods Max headphones is, as is Apple’s signature, exceptionally polished.

 The headphones are built with stainless steel on the mesh canopy headband and aluminum on the earcups, but our expert say the AirPods Max aren’t heavy. ZDNET writer Jason Cipriani says that the headband “doesn’t apply hardly any pressure at the top of [the] head, and the memory foam cushions on each ear are even more comfortable.” 

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Another noteworthy aspect of the AirPods Max headphones is their improved 20 hours of battery life — especially when you constantly use their ANC or spatial audio features. But according to Cipriani, the best and most impressive feature of the AirPods Max is the sound quality. Cipriani wrote that the headphones provide “a crisp sound for individual instruments,” and former ZDNET editor in cheif Jason Hiner mentioned that the AirPods Max “are in the same league as the best headphones on the market, including the ones from Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser. 

Also: Are work headsets a gimmick? Read our review

Our audio expert approves, too. ZDNET editor Jada Jones wrote that the Transparency Mode on the AirPods Max is “the clearest, most transparent, and most natural-sounding” when compared to similar modes from other brands. Plus, the software update in spring 2025 brought “new USB-C connectivity and new color options” to the AirPods Max, as well as “long-awaited professional upgrades that landed in iOS 18.4,” and “24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio, [which] preserves more details from the original studio recordings.”

A major perk of the Apple AirPods Max includes their ability to “switch quickly and seamlessly across an unlimited number of Apple devices.” Plus, their element of “ultra low-latency audio when connected via a USB-C cable” now provides a level of quality and precision suitable for professional music and video production technicians. The only major downside I’ve seen across the board is the case, which, according to writer Jason Cipriani, is “well, a joke.” It offers little protection and doesn’t even make transportation easier, as the headphones don’t fold. 

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If you’ve been looking for a comfortable, high-quality pair of headphones that offer top-notch connectivity and incredible audio features, now is the perfect time to grab the AirPods Max headphones, currently available for $100 off at Best Buy. 

How I rated this deal 

This deal is undoubtedly good, but not great, especially when you consider that the headphones were just on sale during Cyber Week for $150 off. Still, it’s an exceptional audio device that will enhance your home or work setup at a considerably more affordable price than usual.