Discounts this Prime Day are juicy: AirPods 4 for about $119, Sony and Bose over-ear cans up to 70 percent off, and sub-$60 true wireless earbuds that actually sound fine. But price alone won’t make the right buy—new wireless codecs, multi-device needs, and AI-driven smart-home assistants are rewriting what “good” headphones mean.

Retail events compress months of product churn into 48 frenetic hours. Amazon’s October Prime Big Deal Days (through Oct. 9 at 3 a.m. ET) have slashed prices across earbuds and over-ears, from Apple’s AirPods 4 to budget Galaxy Buds FE, creating pressure to buy now. The Verge’s deals coverage shows bargains like AirPods 4 with ANC near $118.99 and Galaxy Buds FE at $54.99, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story: compatibility, latency, and feature trade-offs matter for real use.

What tech to weigh beyond the sticker price

At the same time, the smart home is getting smarter. Google and Amazon rolled out big generative-AI upgrades this month—Gemini for Home and Alexa Plus—that promise assistants which understand context and take actions, not just respond to commands. That changes the listening landscape: microphones, low-latency connections for voice interactions, and local processing become reasons to favor one headset over another. If you care about calls, hands-free control, or future features, the cheapest earbud may be the one you regret buying next month.

What tech to weigh beyond the sticker price

How smart-home AI changes the earbuds checklist

Buying audio on sale used to be simple: fit, sound, ANC. Now you must ask about codecs (aptX Adaptive, LDAC, AAC), multipoint pairing, and whether a pair supports low-latency modes for gaming or cloud streaming. aptX Adaptive matters because it scales bitrate and latency dynamically; Sennheiser’s new HDB 630 supports aptX Adaptive and even bundles a USB-C transmitter to bring that codec to phones that don’t support it natively, a smart move for $499.95 preorders, shipping Oct. 21, 2025 (42 mm drivers, up to 60 hours with ANC on, seven hours from a 10-minute charge). See Sennheiser’s specs at https://www.theverge.com/news/796327/sennheiser-hdb-360-wireless-headphones-aptx-adaptive-bluetooth-high-res-audio.

Microphones and on-device processing have become make-or-break for real-world use. Cheap earbuds can list ANC and mics, but voice quality in real environments depends on beamforming arrays and noise suppression. If you use voice assistants—especially the new LLM-powered assistants—look for hardware that supports wake-word processing locally to avoid latency and privacy headaches. The Verge’s reporting on Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home highlights that both companies are betting on assistants that understand context; Panos Panay called Amazon’s combination of software and new hardware “magically connected experiences,” so microphone performance matters more than ever (https://www.theverge.com/report/796138/alexa-plus-gemini-for-home-problmes-solutions-smart-home).

Deals worth your attention right now

How smart-home AI changes the earbuds checklist

Generative AI assistants aim to let you say things like “I’m going to cook dinner, turn the lights on” and have the system infer intent across devices. That ambition creates two requirements for headphones: reliable low-latency audio for natural conversation and robust mic pickup so the assistant hears you over room noise. Google’s Gemini for Home rollout this month is explicitly designed to better interpret natural language in the household context—if your earbuds can’t get your voice through, you won’t get the benefit (https://www.theverge.com/report/796138/alexa-plus-gemini-for-home-problmes-solutions-smart-home).

You should also consider ecosystem tie-ins. AirPods continue to win on iPhone integration—spatial audio, seamless switching, and deep iOS features—so Apple users will often prefer AirPods even on sale (AirPods 4 with ANC is seeing steep discounts during this event). Android users benefit from devices that support higher-quality codecs: aptX Adaptive and LDAC can yield measurable improvements on compatible phones, a detail Sennheiser is courting with its bundled dongle.

Sources

• The Verge — Sennheiser’s new HDB 360 headphones support high-res audio without a wire (2025-10-08)

• The Verge — The 207 best October Prime Day deals (2025-10-08)

• The Verge — The problems with AI in the smart home and how Amazon and Google plan to fix them (2025-10-08)

• The Verge — You can still save up to 70 percent on headphones from Bose and Sony today (2025-10-08)