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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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Apple has already begun work on an H3 chip and next-generation AirPods: report

With the launch of AirPods Pro 3 last month, one detail about them surprised many people – they still utilized the H2 chip from 2022. This meant that most of AirPods Pro 3‘s upgrades came from better hardware, whether that be larger batteries or foam-infused ear tips, rather than Apple silicon magic. Despite that, Apple is hard at work on future AirPods silicon.

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A rare look inside Apple’s AirPods testing and refinement labs

A rare look inside the Apple audio lab used to test and refine AirPods | Fantasia Studio shown

Apple runs literally thousands of tests while validating, tuning, and refining AirPods in a facility which includes mini recording studios with real instruments.

One tech writer got a rare tour of the facility, which is even home to a large vintage hi-fi setup donated to an earlier generation of Apple audio engineers by Steve Jobs

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iOS 26 can notify you when your AirPods case is running out of battery

Your AirPods and AirPods Pro are getting even better with iOS 26. As well as new features like camera remote and sleep detection to pause media, Apple is also improving the charging experience.

With the new update, your iPhone can automatically remind you when your AirPods are running out of juice. These alerts can show even when your AirPods are not currently in your ears, but stored in their case, that is running low on battery. This is perhaps relevant for the new AirPods Pro 3, which have a smaller case battery size than the previous generation.

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Reverse wireless charging may not be possible on the iPhone 17 Pro

Reverse wireless charging would be great for three reasons – but there may be a problem | AirPods and Apple Watch shown with an iPhone

One feature that has been available for a number of years on Android has long been expected to come to iPhone too: reverse wireless charging. A leaker yesterday suggested that it’s coming to the two iPhone 17 Pro models.

If true, this would be good news for three reasons, but there is reason to suggest that may not be possible – due to MagSafe …

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