They ain’t cheap. But man are they good. Apple’s AirPods have literally changed my life. Here’s how.
I have always wanted a good solution for talking on the phone hands-free, whether driving or not. It’s just uncomfortable to have to hold your phone up to your ear for more than a minute or two. I have always wanted a good solution for listening to music privately, like when you’re in a public place. The solution is of course headphones of some kind. But that’s where the problems start.
Over-the-ear headphones can sound great, but they’re too big to lug around and many don’t have microphones anyway. So earbuds it is. They can sound ok. They’re easy enough to keep a pair in your bag. Problem is, they’re wired. You don’t have true freedom of movement. Ever yank em out accidentally? Of course you have. That’s just what they do.
Wireless? I admit to having bought at least 3 pairs of wireless earbuds prior to getting AirPods. They’re all collecting dust in desk drawers that I rarely open. Why? Bluetooth. They all use Bluetooth and Bluetooth can really suck to use. Especially for something you want to connect and disconnect all the time.
Recognizing that Bluetooth isn’t cutting it in the usability department, Apple went ahead and built a layer on top of it that just makes it work more seamlessly. Case in point. When I first got my AirPods, I opened them with one hand and held my phone in the other, thinking “I wonder how you–” And that’s when a gorgeous popup displayed on my phone asking if these new AirPods it had just detected were mine. Why, yes. Yes they are.
Using them is wonderful. If I get a phone call and it’s going to last more than a minute, I just pop one earbud out and put it in my ear. Bingo, my call audio is transferred and the mic is activated. It’s that quick. Then I put the other one in and I put my phone back in my pocket and chat away. Even if this was everything there was to say about AirPods they’d be worth the money. But there’s more.
Battery life. It’s great. I think you’re supposed to get a few hours out of them before they need recharging. But as a practical matter I wouldn’t have to plug them in for days, even if I talk on the phone with them every day. That’s because the case they live in is itself a battery that charges the buds. Every time I pull them out they’re at 100%. If they ever do run out, pop them back in the case for 15 minutes and you get another three hours of use out of them.
They’re programmable! Each one has a double-tap function. What’s the function? You get to choose. Right now I have the left one activating Siri and the right one skipping the current track. Your mileage of course will vary.
What if you lose them? Well, Apple’s thought of that, too. If you lose the whole case you can always find them with the Find My Phone feature. Your AirPods show up, too. And what if you loose a lose earbud? You can make them emit a high pitched sound so you can follow your ears to wherever they are under your couch cushion.
They aren’t perfect. There’s no way to adjust the volume without asking Siri or using your phone. But man are they good. For a 1.0 product, it’s a home run.