Apple Memorial Day sales bring major discounts on MacBooks, AirPods, iPads and more – Yahoo Tech

Apple’s entry-level AirPods remain a good buy for iPhone owners who don’t need active noise cancellation and hate the feeling of earbuds that jut all the way into their ear canal. They still sound more pleasant than most open-style earbuds you can buy, and like all AirPods they come with a barrage of Apple-friendly features, from hands-free Siri to Find My tracking to automatic device switching. Battery life is just OK at five-ish hours per charge, however, and there are no built-in volume controls. This discount is a good way off the lowest price we’ve ever seen but still $30 less than buying from Apple directly. Also at Walmart.

The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s best wireless earphones, bringing robust active noise cancellation, better battery life, a more stable in-ear fit and a fuller sound profile compared to the standard AirPods 4. They also include a built-in heart rate sensor for workouts, and you can swipe up and down their “stems” to adjust volume. This $50 discount isn’t quite an all-time low, but it matches the lowest price we’ve tracked in a few months. Also at Verizon.

The Series 11 isn’t as much of a raw value as the lower-cost Apple Watch SE 3 (which isn’t on sale), but if you can stretch your budget a bit further, it gets you a bigger display, longer battery life, a slightly thinner design and more advanced health features like an ECG app and hypertension alerts. We’ve seen this deal pop up on several occasions, but it ties the best price we’ve tracked. Just note that there’s no real need to upgrade if you already own an Apple Watch Series 10.

The latest iPad Air is mostly a spec bump, bringing a faster M4 chip, more RAM and improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support. The base iPad is still a better pure value for most people, even with this discount, but the Air is a more futureproof device with a superior display and better accessory support for those who can afford it. This discount matches the lowest price we’ve seen for the 11-inch model.

Apple’s most affordable tablet tops our guide to the best iPads. If you only need a tablet for roaming the internet, streaming video, playing the occasional game or doing some lighter work, it’ll do the job. Recent iPadOS updates have given it some of the multitasking features of Apple’s pricier models as well, though you still have to put up with a non-laminated display and a less futureproof A16 chip. It’s also worth noting that Apple reportedly plans to launch an updated model this year. But if you can’t wait, this discount still takes about $50 off Apple’s list price, even if it’s not quite an all-time low. Also at Best Buy.

While the MacBook Neo — which isn’t discounted right now — might be the best laptop for casual Mac users, the newest MacBook Air remains a far more powerful and full-featured notebook that’ll hold up better in the long-term. This $200 discount on the 15-inch version with Apple’s M5 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage marks a new low for the notebook since it launched in March.

The 13-inch version of the MacBook Air M5 is virtually the same as the larger model, only it’s lighter, thinner and smaller. This base model technically has with a slightly less powerful GPU too. This $150 discount matches the best price we’ve tracked. Other configs are similarly discounted. Also at Best Buy.

The most recent MacBook Pro is still more laptop than most people need, but it’s a powerhouse for coders, creative professionals or anyone else with particularly demanding workflows. Compared to the MacBook Air, it gets you a faster chip, more memory and storage, a brighter and more accurate display and more ports, among other upgrades. This deal applies to the 14-inch model with an M5 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD — it’s about $15 more than the best price we’ve seen from major retailers but still $200 cheaper than buying directly from Apple.

The 16-inch version of the MacBook Pro is effectively identical to the 14-inch model, only it packs a couple more hours of battery life inside a thicker and heavier design. Still, if you need a more spacious display, it could be worthwhile. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the configuration with an M5 Pro chip, 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

The Pencil Pro is Apple’s most advanced stylus. Unlike the standard USB-C model, it offers pressure sensitivity — meaning it can express how hard you’re pressing against the screen — along with wireless charging, haptic feedback and a few handy gesture controls. Just be aware it’s not compatible with the base iPad and several older Apple tablets. This is another discount we’ve seen several times, but it’s a decent $30 off Apple’s list price all the same. Also at Walmart.

Apple’s Magic Keyboard iPad case gives the tablet a MacBook-esque trackpad and typing feel. It draws power from the tablet itself and has its own USB-C port for pass-through charging, plus it lets you adjust the angle of the display fairly widely without feeling unstable. The only issue is that it’s wildly expensive, though this discount — which matches the best price we’ve seen in several months — lessens the blow at least a little. The catch is that this specific model is only compatible with the M4 and M5 versions of the 13-inch iPad Pro, and that it only applies to the white model.