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Apple AirPods

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AirPods offers a cord-free wireless audio experience with up to 5 hours of battery life. They are rechargeable through the included case that get you up to 24 hours on a single charge. AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro support wireless (Qi) charging, Hey Siri, and include the H1 chip.

Apple’s truly wireless wireless and cord-free earbuds now with Qi support

AirPods 1 Features

AirPods are Apple’s wireless, cord-free in-ear headphones, and were unveiled alongside the iPhone 7 on September 7, 2016. Priced at $159 they were originally announced to be available in late October, 2016, but were delayed until December 13.

They have a very similar form-factor to the company’s wired EarPods, with the obvious omission of a cable and the addition of Bluetooth connectivity. Despite this, early reports suggest that they are better at staying in your ears.

They offer Apple’s latest wireless pairing system, based on the W1 chip. They pair instantly, and that pairing propagates across all your Apple devices via iCloud. The secret sauce behind the new pairing system turned out to be all in the W1 chip in the headphones themselves, so it works with Bluetooth LE devices all the way back to the iPhone 5.

AirPods 2 Features

In March of 2019, Apple released AirPods 2. The new version is available for $199 with the wireless charging case, or available with the standard case for $159. Existing version 1 owners can purchase the wireless charging case separately for $79.

Version 2 moved away from the W1 chip to the new H1 chip to deliver up to 50 percent more talk time compared to the first generation. The H1 should also speed up switching between devices, with Apple saying version 2 should now connect two times faster. Version 2 also includes ‘Hey Siri’ support as well.

AirPods Pro

In October 2019, Apple announced AirPods Pro. The Pro model features “Active Noise Cancellation and superior, immersive sound in an all-new lightweight, in-ear design.” The new in-ear design of the Pro model makes for better noise cancellation. Apple says that the Pro headphones are sweat and water-resistant rated for IPX4. The box includes three different sizes of ear tips, which should make them relatively versatile.

AirPods Pro vs. AirPods comparison

There are five major features that the Pro model has have that Version 2 don’t:

  • Active noise cancellation
  • Audio Transparency mode
  • IPX4 water/sweat resistance
  • Adaptive EQ
  • In-ear design with three sets of tips
How AirPods Pro and AirPods gen 2 compare

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Belkin launches new multi-use ‘AirPods Cleaning Kit’ alongside AirPods 4

Belkin's new AirPods Cleaning Kit

Today, Apple announced the latest generation in its popular earbuds line, the AirPods 4. While Apple’s game-changing earbuds are known for being easy to use, as any long-time user will tell you, keeping them in pristine, clean condition is a bit more challenging. With this in mind, Belkin has launched an updated version of its AirPods Cleaning Kit to help keep your wireless earbuds clean.

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Why ‘AirPods SE’ could debut next week as Apple’s new entry model

AirPods SE

Apple’s September 9 event is almost here, and we’re expecting a lot of new product announcements. These include the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, Apple Watch Series 10, Ultra 3, and SE, and new AirPods 4 and likely AirPods Max 2. But Apple may have a surprise up its sleeve: AirPods SE. Here’s why the entry-level AirPods 4 could be the first ever AirPods SE model.

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Updating AirPods firmware should be as easy as updating Beats devices on Android

Apple on Wednesday released a firmware update for the Beats Studio Pro headphones, introduced last year, with audio sharing. Of course, many users want to try out the new feature as soon as possible, but updating the firmware of Beats headphones or even AirPods from an iOS device is something really obscure. On Android, on the other hand, this process is much easier.

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Here’s what makes AirPods Pro 2 special (and more reasons are on the way)

Apple continues to deliver updates to its best wireless earbuds: AirPods Pro 2. Gen-two hardware (Lightning or USB-C) launched with impressive Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency, and more. A year later, Apple dropped a big update that added Adaptive Audio mode, Conversation Awareness, and more. Later this year, Apple will release another feature update that adds even more enhancements.

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New accessory setup in iOS 18 is good for us, and for Apple

New accessory setup in iOS 18 (screengrab shown)

When Apple first launched AirPods back in 2016, it also introduced a whole new accessory setup process, designed to avoid the usual pain point of Bluetooth pairing.

For almost eight years, it seemed like the company wanted to keep this exclusive to its own headphones, with competitors unable to take advantage of it. But all that changes in iOS 18

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Soon you’ll be able to tailor AirPods Pro’s Adaptive Audio to your liking

AirPods iOS 18

Apple announced several new features coming to AirPods later this year, like detection of head nods and shakes, voice isolation, and a special dynamic tracking feature for gaming.

One change it didn’t announce, but which is available in the latest AirPods firmware beta, is the ability to tailor last year’s Adaptive Audio feature to your exact liking.

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