Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
We ’re impressed with Apple ’s AirPods – sound timbre is splendid , the car swordplay / interruption function is great , the accuracy of the Siri controls is a pleasant surprise and call character is telling . Considering the small form factor of the earphone , the amount of technical school within is incredible . When looking at other wireless headphone on the mart , it ’s exonerated to see that Apple has succeeded where others have failed , and has deliver the goods in integrating true intelligence within its AirPods that put up a capital listening experience . It ’s not that expensive either , specially when you Consider that competitors like Earin charge like amounts for ‘ dumb ’ wireless earphones with no medium controls , or even a build - in microphone .
Best Prices Today: Apple AirPods
Apple ’s wireless AirPods , announced alongside theiPhone 7andiPhone 7 Plusback in September 2016 , at last score the shop in December 2016 after a two - month delay . But are thewireless earbudsgood enough to warrant their lofty £ 159 price tag end , and would we be happy to use them in our day - to - day life ? Find out in our AirPods review .
take note : Apple has now ( as of March 2019 ) announced the Modern interlingual rendition of AirPods which include upgrade like a wireless commit slip and ‘ Hey Siri ’ support . Find out more about what are commonly known asAirPods 2 .
AirPods review: Design and build quality
The AirPods look like a traditional twosome of Apple earbuds , except they cut off dead a pair of inches below the bud . It ’s an uneven feeling – they drop down from your spike like weird futuristic earrings , or the detachable heads from an electric soup-strainer – but having a jut out bit gives you something to solicit on when you want to activate Siri . It ’s an unusual look , but one we rather like .
The humans seems to agree too , witha report showingthat mere workweek after launching that the time of the AirPods ’ launch check the largest individual day of headphone sales in 2016 , beating Black Friday .
Of naturally , the first thing everybody asks about when they see the AirPods is the fit : do they in reality remain in your ear ? After all , the medical prognosis of one dropping out and landing in the sewer is disheartening open that Apple rouse £ 65 for a switch bud .
Your mileage may depart , but we – and most other reviewers – have found them fairly solid on this front . They continue in while running , jumping around listening to euphony , reach ourselves on the forefront and so on . ( Normal activities , in other parole . )
However , while they have n’t in reality fall out of our ear , we ’ve establish that we have to adjust them every now and again because they be given to grow a little easy . This will vary from individual to person , of trend , as our ear come in all physique and sizes , but Apple tried to line up the good common convulsion without let to include a range of removable earbud tips .
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The Apple AirPods are essentially the same in excogitation as the pumped up EarPods , so it ’d be a good idea to employ those ( if potential ) for a few days before to make up one’s mind whether the ‘ fit ’ is right for you .
Some hoi polloi opt a more good , snug fit with memory foam tips while others require earphone that are easily removable – it ’s personal option . The AirPods are well-to-do to wear and light to remove , but could be a lilliputian more snug if we were to nitpick .
It ’s also deserving pointing out that there are n’t any forcible medium control on the AirPods themselves , with consumer need the manipulation of Siri ( or the smartphone / source itself ) to control playback – something we discuss in more detail below .
The AirPods , rather smartly , come with a little charging example , which should exsert their time away from the main . They ’re good for five hr themselves , but you’re able to then pop them back into the case and they will top themselves up with quick - institutionalize technology . grant to Apple , the pillow slip itself proffer around 24 hours of assault and battery life before it ’ll require charge .
( Here’show to amend AirPods battery life . )
A quick glance at the built - in LED will give you real - time feedback on the electric battery life of the AirPods , vary from green which indicates a ( near to ) full battery , to orange and ultimately red , which indicate that you ’ll need to put them on charge rather rather than later .
you’re able to also glance at the Battery thingumabob on your connected iOS twist for a genuine - time update on the battery aliveness of each individual earbud , as well as the case itself , allowing you to easily manage the battery living .
The blame case is small enough to go in the small compartment of a jeans pocket , meaning it ’s easy to have on you all the time – unlike some competition .
And the proficient matter about it is that when you flip spread out the top of the case , a Bluetooth connexion will mechanically be initiated with your iPhone ( assume it has iOS 10 or later on ) . It ’s an almost clamant connection when open up the carry case , but the audio output wo n’t change until it find that it ’s in - spike – sound for phone calls and FaceTime , as well as listen to music .
This automobile - coupling is really , really impressive and commodious , although it does n’t work with iPads , and Apple declined to talk over why this is the case .
Once the AirPods have been connected to your speech sound for the first fourth dimension , they should also automatically connect to any of your iOS devices scat iOS 10 or Macs run macOS Sierra , thanks to iCloud syncing .
While Apple has n’t reinvent the steering wheel with the intromission of AirPods , you’re able to tell that the company has put a peck of thought into the smaller elements that provide a great all - round wireless phone experience .
AirPods review: Features
The AirPods propose a rather nerveless power : they can mechanically detect when the earphones are being taken out of your pinna thanks to built - in optical sensors and motion accelerometers , and will pause your music accordingly .
This is a attentive bit of pattern : Apple realises that people may not see you ’re hear to music on wireless headphones , so has added this feature to make those conversations a little prosperous . Once the conversation is over , putting the phone back into your ears will automatically summarise music playback .
Do n’t worry about phone calls though , as Apple wo n’t hang up on your call if you take an earphone out – the conversation will proceed through the stay on headphone . But while we assume that it ’d be saucy enough to clear when both earphones had been removed and reroute the call back to the iPhone itself , it was n’t .
The machine intermission / play functionality sound coolheaded in theory but is much more helpful than we first imagine , specially when in shops and happen into somebody in the street . It seems , however , that if you take one headphone out for too long , the music wo n’t restart when you put it back in your ear .
Siri
you could activate Siri on your AirPods with a double tap ( aside from that there are no buttons on the earphones ) . The deficiency of button have Siri tonality to the equivalence : if you ’re not comfortable using Siri to control your media playback and volume , you ’ll still have to use your iPhone , which is a shame .
It ’s also worth take down that using Siri require an active internet connection , making it useless on the tube , on plane and other surroundings with low-spirited - to - no - signal .
The good news is that Siri on the AirPods has evidence extremely accurate , unless you ’re in a very noisy environment . While our asking started off rather canonical ( skip vocal , play our favorite Paul Potts binding , etc ) , the existent good luck charm of Siri is that it understands what you need improbably well , so we were shortly put in rather complex quests ( play the number one song in 2015 at 80 percent loudness ) without it even breaking a sweat .
We found ourselves using Siri more often over the week that we spent with the AirPods and we have to intromit , we use Apple ’s practical assistant more via AirPods than on any other gimmick – peculiarly for music discovery .
It ’s not just for music control though – you may employ Siri on AirPods to perform any Siri - relate task . You could evenget Siri to say silly things , if you want .
Taking calls
The inclusion of saucy microphone engineering within the AirPods means that in addition to use with Siri , users can also take speech sound vociferation on - the - tent-fly ( as briefly mentioned above ) .
We ’ve traditionally steered away from using wireless headphones for telephone call as the microphones , generally talk , are n’t that great and are n’t close enough to the mouth to pick up what we ’re saying understandably . It ’s not an enjoyable experience for us or the individual at the other end of the call , but thankfully , that does n’t happen with Apple ’s AirPods .
We ’ve tried call people in a number of environments , from tranquil route to busy shopping centres and in railway car , and for the most part , the recipient was unaware that we were using AirPods for the call . The call calibre is exchangeable to that provided by the iPhone unless you ’re in an extremely loud environment , in which case the recipient role could hear over - aggressive interference cancellation and compression .
So , fundamentally , unless you ’re at a Beyoncé concert or on the Tube , calls adopt via AirPods are groovy .
AirPods review: Audio quality
Here ’s the million - Irish pound question : do the AirPods sound good enough to justify that gamey price tag ? In a Scripture , yes .
The AirPods voice really effective – as long as they ’re in properly . You lose a act of quality when they come unaffixed , although that ’s to be expected . While the earphones sound slightly matt when we first got our hands on them , after using them for a few week ( long enough for them to be ‘ broken in ’ ) they bring forth fertile , balanced , warm timbre and rather telling levels of basso perfect for a wide reach of music .
It does n’t quite have the clarity of , say , the Bose QC35 ’s but at £ 329 compared to £ 159 , you ca n’t really await it .
The AirPods are also the only Bluetooth phone we ’ve ever used that have n’t ‘ drop out ’ over a wireless connection . While this should be expected with most high-pitched - end wireless phone , even the Bose QC35s drop out every now and again , making it all the more impressive that Apple ’s petite wireless in - pinna do n’t .
It ’s a small factor to view , granted , but being strike with a few seconds of quiet at your favourite part of the birdcall you ’re listening to is a rather frustrating experience – especially when it chance more than once .
Despite all its praise , it ’s worth mentioning that there is zero haphazardness cancellation . It was n’t refer as a feature article , granted , but if you were expecting it , be warned : you could almost always pick up environmental noise , specially when in noisy environments like on the London Underground .
AirPods review: UK price and availability
Apple ’s AirPods be £ 159 in the UK , and are now available to buy in the UK follow a 19 December 2016 launch . you may buy them from Applehereand from John Lewishere . ( Read ourBest AirPods dealsarticle for the latest whirl . )
Apple is require to launch newfangled AirPods in 2018 . TheAirPods 2could launch in conjunction with Apple ’s rumouredStudioPods , over - capitulum headphones the company is said to have in the pipeline .
