AirPods: Apple Finally Releases Product That Isn’t Overpriced [Opinion]

Apple’s AirPods may be the company’s most revolutionary product in years. They have garnered the best reviews out of any Apple product released in 2016.

“The AirPods are pretty great. Their strange design does present some problems — but not the ones everyone’s complaining about,” says David Pogue of Yahoo Finance. He adds that not only do the AirPods not fall out of your ears, but that the sound is also really good as well.

It looks like a lot of people agree with Pogue; Apple’s AirPods are nearly impossible to find in stores just eight days after the initial release date. This author received his early on Tuesday morning and has not been able to take them out of his ears. Apple’s AirPods are much better than anybody had ever predicted.

(Mostly) Comfortable Fit

There have been many who are afraid that the AirPods would not fit in their ears, or that they would fall out. This author has been able to put the AirPods in his ears and shake almost violently without them falling out. Many others have said the same thing. The AirPods don’t have wires, so there is nothing pulling them down.

Simple Pairing

Once you take Apple’s AirPods out of the case, which is very similar to dental floss, you will get a picture on your iPhone that allows you to pair the buds instantly. There is no hassle. There is no going into the Bluetooth settings to get the AirPods to work. That’s because of Apple’s W1 chip, which also senses when you put the earbuds in your ears or take them out. Unlike regular Bluetooth headphones, you will rarely get a drop of an audio signal.

Good Sound

The AirPods will not replace your $300 Bose headphones, but they actually sound pretty good — the sound is fuller, clearer, and has a greater presence of bass than the EarPods that come with the iPhone. The more you dig the buds in your ear, the more bass you hear. Remember, you are paying $159 for the true convenience of wireless earbuds, not high fidelity headphones. Don’t put your $400 Sennheiser or Bose wireless over-the-ear headphones on eBay just yet.

Very Good Phone Quality

The phone quality on Apple’s new buds is about as good as it is with the regular EarPods — and that’s not a bad thing. The fact that you are actually talking into a microphone built into the buds makes it all the more fascinating. People on the other line said that the AirPods definitely separate the background noise from the main voice. Talking to somebody while walking down a busy street worked well, though you (if not the person you are talking to) can still hear all the background noise since the AirPods don’t have active noise cancellation.

Battery

Apple says that the AirPods will last about five hours on a single charge, and tests revealed the accuracy of that. However, if you run out of juice, all you have to do is pop the buds back in their “dental floss” case for 15 minutes, and you’ll get three more hours. Pop them in for a half hour, and you’ll get a full five hours recharge. The battery case can charge the buds up to 24 extra hours of time, though you will need to charge the case itself at least once every two or three days, depending how much you’ll use the buds.

Conclusion

You will actually end up using the AirPods a lot more than you thought you would. They work seamlessly, offer good sound, and fit so well in your ears that you’ll forget that they are there. Apple may overcharge for their other devices (see new MacBook Pro), but the $159 you spend on the AirPods will be the best $159 you’ve ever spent.

[Featured Image by Daryl Deino]