Whether you think Apple's AirPod
headphones make you look goofy or not, here's the bigger question: Are they
actually good headphones? And are they worth buying versus other "true
wireless" models, with separate left and right earpieces, let alone versus
"regular" Bluetooth in-ear headphones, those quaint old-fashioned
wireless models that connect the two earbuds with an actual cable?
The short answer is that these
$159 Apple headphones (£159 in the UK and AU$229 in Australia) are better than
you'd expect, especially for owners of Apple products. That general sentiment
has led to them being the runaway hit that they are today. It also helps that
they're comparably well priced, particularly when you consider that such
competitors as the Jaybird Run and Bose SoundSport Free cost more (in the case
of the Bose, significantly more.
But if there's one thing I've
learned from using them for several months -- and from hearing from other people
who've used them -- is that a person's love for them is correlated to the shape
of their ears and how securely the AirPods fit inside them. While they fit most
people's ears reasonably well, for a certain percentage of users they fit
really well. They drop them in their ears and they stay there. For that latter
group, AirPods are fantastic.
For others (like me) who have ears
that aren't designed to be the perfect AirPod vessels, the experience using
them isn't quite as awesome. They're still conveniently compact in their tiny
charging case (a new, wireless charging version of that case has been announced
and is rumored to arrive soon). And they still sound the same and work just as
well. But my love for them is tempered by a niggling fear that they'll fall out
of my ears if I try to do too much while using them, like run down a set of
stairs in the subway to catch a train.
That said, I've a grown to like
these headphones more over time. Apple has quashed a number of early bugs,
including one where the AirPods would cut out during phone conversations on the
iPhone 6S (Apple never acknowledged the bug). And with the arrival of iOS 11,
you can now double-tap on a bud to advance tracks forward or back (you can
assign a few different functions to the double-tap feature for each bud).
Those tweaks and the fact that a
year after their launch the AirPods remain well-priced for premium truly
wireless earphones, led me to bump up their rating by half a point (from 3.5
stars to 4). My thoughts on the pros and cons of the earphones listed below
have largely remained the same, but I've made some updates throughout as well.
It's also worth noting that --
after almost a year of weeks-long backlogs -- AirPods are finally available
with little to no wait. You should be able to find them in stores and online at
most Apple retailers.
Editors' note: This review has
been updated from the original version published on Dec. 21, 2016, with
additional impressions on software fixes and iOS 11 features. The rating has
been raised from 3.5 to 4 stars.
Fit and comfort: The AirPods are
super lightweight and stayed in my ears better than Apple's EarPods, the
default wired headphones that Apple includes with every iPhone. Although the
AirPods look similar to their wired siblings, they have some small design
upgrades that are supposed to help create a better fit. The EarPods' cords are
slim but still add weight to the buds, which can cause them to slip out if your
ears aren't EarPod-friendly (mine aren't). But with nothing dragging them down,
the AirPods sat loosely nestled in my ears. (The key word here is
"loosely." As I mentioned earlier, some people will get a very snug
fit).
I also found them very easy to get
in and out of my ears and very comfortable to wear, thanks to how light they
are.
W1 chip makes for seamless
pairing: Apple's custom Bluetooth chip, the W1, is designed to allow for
automatic pairing with Apple devices running iOS 10 or later, WatchOS 3 or
later or MacOS Sierra or later. And it totally delivers: Just place the headphones
near your compatible device and they'll automatically be detected and ask for
pairing, no diving into settings menu needed. You can also transition easily
between Apple devices, toggling between the sound of your computer to that of
your iPhone or iPad. For Apple Watch owners, that seamless transition between
Watch and iPhone is critical, and it's one reason that AirPods are something of
an appealing accessory for Watch owners.
Yes, AirPods work with non-Apple
Bluetooth audio devices (I paired them to a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Samsung
Galaxy S8 Plus), but you can't access their special features.
Flexibility and special features:
The AirPods work very well as a stereo or mono headset -- if you want, you can
use only one bud, left or right. According to Apple, they're equipped with a
pair of "beam-forming microphones to focus on the sound of your
voice." I made several calls and the people I spoke to were generally
impressed with the call quality.
Thanks to dual optical sensors and
accelerometers in each earpiece, the connected device (iPhone, iPad, Mac) knows
when the AirPods are in your ears and will pause your music when one or both of
them are removed. Depending on the music app you're listening to, they'll
unpause your music when you put them back in your ears.
Not surprisingly, everything works
flawlessly with Apple Music, but with Spotify, when I took both AirPods out of
my ears, the music had to be restarted manually. That's still the case a year
after they were launched.
Reliable wireless: The wireless
connection between the two earbuds is almost rock solid, with only the
occasional hiccup. I've tried several "truly wireless" earphones and
some of the early models were prone to dropouts. The AirPods' latest
competitors, including the Bose SoundSport Free, Jabra Sport Elite, Bragi The
Headphone and Skybuds, offer reliable connectivity, but the AirPods are at the
top of the class in this department.
Double-tap enhancements: Unlike
the inline remotes -- with volume and play/pause controls -- that you're used
to on traditional wired headphones, the only control on the AirPods initially
had was the ability to access Siri with a double tap. You can give voice
commands to Siri to advance tracks forward and back, but those commands are
designed to work with Apple Music and not rival streaming services like Spotify
and Tidal. You can also use your Apple Watch as a remote, but not everybody has
an Apple Watch.
In our initial review, we cited
the limited controls as a downside. However, when Apple released iOS 11, it
came with a small but important AirPod enhancement: you can now program the
double-tap functionality of each bud separately (you go into the Bluetooth
setting on your Apple device and click on the info button to getting to the
AirPod settings).
When I double-tap on the right
bud, it advances the track no matter what music service I'm using.
Double-tapping on the left bud brings up Siri, but I could have have assigned
"Previous track," "Play/Pause," "Next track" or
"Off" to it. It's worth noting how quickly the track advances when
you double tap. There's virtually no delay.
It'd be nice to have touch volume
controls on the buds, but it's not as important as being able to advance tracks
quickly without pulling out your phone.
