Black Friday deal alert: If you’re looking for a new pair of noise-canceling earbuds, there are some good deals on Apple AirPods right now, but you might be able to spend half as much to get similar performance. I’ve found that the Air Pro 4 earbuds from Earfun are legitimate contenders to the AirPods, at a much lower price. Right now at Amazon for Black Friday, you can get the Air Pro 4s for a steal — they’re 34% off, which drops their price down to $53.

In short, they’re great, and the black ones are currently available on Amazon for $53, near the lowest price we’ve ever seen them sell for. The other colors are also on sale; the glossy white and royal blue are both $68.

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How these earbuds silence the noise around you

I prefer in-ear headphones because they offer active, electronic and passive noise cancellation. Passive noise cancellation basically consists of plugging your ears with the rubbery tips included with the earbuds.

The Earfuns fit well for me when I use the second-largest of the five swappable ear tip sizes, and they stay sealed and comfortable for hours. Sometimes I have to reseal one after I yawn or something, but that’s the case with other in-ear headphones, too.

For reading, I prefer Earfun’s «Strong ANC» noise-canceling mode, which makes a big difference when blocking out the noise around you, but there are a bunch of other noise-cancellation options. The Ambient Sound function is good for when I want to pay attention to my surroundings.

Overall, I found the app easier to use than Sony’s and just as capable. The main difference is that Sony’s app has a variable slider for ambient sound.

The Earfun app also includes a white noise section in the app. Normally, I prefer Spotify for white noise (and I download my favorite playlists for offline listening) but this feature is useful for people who don’t have another music service. It includes birdsong, waves and rainfall, all of which are short clips that repeat automatically.

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Why I chose these earbuds over AirPods

These headphones have every other feature I’d expect, including the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and programmable touch-sensitive controls on the buds. Plus, battery life has been more than ample for me, even after a marathon reading session. 

There’s also a finder function if you misplace either earbud (unlike Apple FindMy, however, they have to be connected and in Bluetooth range). For actual music and voice calling quality, they sound fine, albeit not as good as my big Sonys.

I have an iPhone and briefly thought about buying Apple AirPods, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The AirPods 4 with noise cancellation cost $115 more than these Earfuns and have an open-ear design, so they rely entirely on the electronic (not passive) method. The AirPods Pro 2 are in-ear and superb, but I didn’t want to spend $250 on a pair of secondary headphones. 

Yes, I could probably save some money on an even less expensive pair of in-ear noise-cancelling headphones, but I’m not sure I’d be as happy with their fit, long-term comfort, battery life and noise-cancellation performance. The Earfun Pro 4 buds help me relax and concentrate on my book, and for me that’s priceless.

For more headphone savings, check out our roundup of all the best deals on headphones, or find bargains of all kinds in our roundup of the best Amazon Prime Day deals going on now. 

Truth be told be told, I have a thing for flashlights. Not a bad thing, just a certain appreciation for a well-designed torch, as the Brits might say. 

Bright flashlights are good, naturally, but a small, sleekly designed rechargeable everyday carry flashlight that puts out a decent amount of light is high on my list of flashlight favorites, and the new Olight ArkPro and its slightly brighter sibling, the ArkPro Ultra, fit the bill. They’re both on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday for 20% off. The ArkPro is down to $80 ($100 list) while the ArkPro Ultra’s price has dipped to $104 ($130 list).

The flashlights are upgraded versions of Olight’s Arkfeld Pro ($70) and Arkfeld Ultra ($84), with higher brightness ratings. Both new models have similar flat, IPX7 waterproof designs with sturdy metal bodies and a magnetic base that allows you to attach the flashlight to anything metal. There’s also an integrated clip-on mount, and they come in cool white and neutral white color temperature versions. 

You get three lighting modes: a 1,500-lumen floodlight mode (1,700 lumens for the ArkPro Ultra), an 800-lumen, 205-meter reach spotlight mode (it’s the same for the Ultra) and a UV light mode. You can also activate a green beam laser pointer. 

The flashlights come with a wireless charger that magnetically attaches to the base, but you can also charge them via USB-C, which I found more convenient.

I mainly tested the flashlights while walking my dog at night in a pretty remote rural area in New York. The floodlight mode works better for dog walking, but I’d sometimes switch to spotlight mode when I wanted to gauge what was further ahead of us or check whether anything was lurking in the trees or bushes.

These smaller EDC flashlights are well-suited to a variety of activities, including camping and anything you’re doing where you’d like to have a flashlight handy that you can easily carry around in a pocket. You can find similar flat flashlight designs from other brands on Amazon — some of them for significantly less money. However, Olight is considered a premium EDC flashlight brand, though some flashlight enthusiasts are less enthusiastic about the brand for a few reasons. That said, I’m just fine recommending these new ArkPro models when they’re discounted like this. And they do make for nice gifts this time of year.      

Spending this Black Friday shopping for a holiday gift for an audiophile? With tons of items on sale, there are plenty to chose from. Sennheiser is behind some of the best wireless headphones you can buy, but its headphones can be prohibitively costly.

But for two days only, Woot is running a Black Friday deal that brings the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones down to $179 from the original $450 price. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones are for audiophiles who want great quality and comfort. You have to be quick, as this deal ends on Nov. 30, or sooner if supplies run out.

Sennheiser Signature Sound gives you rich, balanced audio, and the companion Smart Control app lets you fine-tune the sound to your liking. Adaptive noise cancellation keeps outside distractions at bay, making these headphones great for work, commuting or just zoning out at home. The battery lasts up to 60 hours at moderate volume, and the voice-calling quality is solid, so you can rely on them for everyday use.

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If this style of headphones isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe a pair of the best wireless earbuds will be better suited to your needs. If you’re shopping on a budget, check out our roundups of the best gifts under $100, $50 and $25 to see more great gift-giving ideas.

Why this deal matters

This deal surely won’t last. Sennheiser has made a name for itself as one of the best in the audio business, and that’s clear with the Momentum 4 wireless headphones. They offer adaptive noise cancellation, a Bluetooth connection and up to 60 hours of playback. When it comes to comfort and quality, it doesn’t get much better, especially with a discount like this.