The AirPods, released in December 2016, are Apple’s newest and most high-tech iteration of their classic earbuds. I’ve had my pair for about three weeks, and I couldn’t be happier with them. I’ve used many different types of earbuds, both wired and wireless, but I was never quite satisfied with them. Every type of earbuds I tried either tended to slip out of my ears over time, or the cable was annoying and limited my movement, especially when running or working out.
The AirPods are truly wireless, with no cable connecting them to each other like some other “wireless” earbuds. Included in the box are the two earbuds, a charging case, and a Lightning to USB-A charging cable. Each earbud and the charging case have their own separate battery. To charge the AirPods, they can be inserted into the charging case. The charge will then be transferred from the battery in the charging case to the batteries in the AirPods. The charging case can be used to charge the AirPods regardless of whether it is currently connected via the Lightning cable to the main power source. The AirPods can play up to 5 hours of music on a single charge, and the charging case can store enough power to fully charge the AirPods about 5 times before the case needs to be recharged. The charging is also very quick. 15 minutes inside the case will charge the AirPods enough for 3 hours of music playback.
The feature that sold me on the AirPods is the true wireless capability, paired with the size and weight of the earbuds. The size and weight are such that if I shake my head as hard as I can, not only do the earbuds not fall out, but they do not even move. This is a revolutionary feature for me, and I have never used another pair of earbuds where this is the case. Before my AirPods arrived, I was worried about how well this feature would work for me, but I have been completely satisfied with the result. Of course, this may vary depending on the shape of your ears, but every other online review I have seen has been consistent with my experience in this regard. I have to commend Apple on this feature, as it seems that they have been able to refine the size and shape of the AirPods so that they will remain snug in a variety of ear shapes.
The AirPods are compatible with any device that supports bluetooth, but when paired with a device running iOS 10 or macOS Sierra, extra features are available. The AirPods include proximity sensors and can detect when they are in use, so when you remove one AirPod the audio you are listening to will pause, and resume when you put the Airpod back in. You can also tap an AirPod twice to skip to the next track. Both of these features are configurable in the bluetooth settings. The AirPods also feature a microphone inside each earbud, which can be used to make calls or use Siri. The sound quality on the AirPods is of course not comparable to a full-sized set of studio headphones, but for earbuds the quality is about as good as can be expected.
The only feature that I feel the AirPods are missing is the ability to change the audio volume. If I need to pause the music I remove an earbud instead of using the tap to pause feature, so in my opinion it would be ideal if tapping the left Airpod lowered the volume and tapping the right one raised it. If the software on the AirPods can be updated, perhaps Apple will consider adding this feature in the future. Overall though, I would highly recommend the AirPods to anyone looking to upgrade their earbuds, especially for use during workouts.
The AirPods are $159.99, and are unfortunately currently on backorder due to their popularity. Open this link to submit your email address and we’ll get in touch as soon as they are available!