Wireless headphones are the future; at least that’s what Apple would have us believe.
The company “courageously” removed the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus thereby forcing people to adapt to either using the in-box lightning headphones or to get a pair of Bluetooth headphones, ideally the AirPods.
The AirPods look weird, we all know that, but looks aside, are they worth the money?
Look & Feel
The question that I get asked most often is “will they fall out of my ears?”
The simple answer is that if Apple’s wired EarPods fit your ears comfortably and don’t fall out, then you won’t have to worry about the AirPods falling out.
Unlike other Bluetooth earbuds – think Samsung’s Gear Icon X for example – the AirPods do not come with a variety of tips to fit different ear sizes, AirPods are designed to be one size fits all.
Because these are not wired earbuds, they don’t have a cable at the tail end of the earbuds weighing or pulling them down which makes them slightly more comfortable than traditional EarPods.
Functionality & Usability
Pairing the AirPods with a compatible Apple device is a dream. All you need to do is switch on Bluetooth on your iOS device, keep the AirPods close and flip open the carry case. Your iOS device will automatically detect your AirPods and you’re good to go.
The entire process takes just a few seconds and makes you wonder why Bluetooth pairing takes so long with other products.
The joy of the AirPods is that they also work with non-Apple devices but they’ll have to be paired the regular way and they don’t have Siri functionality.
The AirPods are incredibly to use, once they’re in your ears a tone sounds and you can begin listening to your music.
Each bud has dual optical sensors as well as motion detecting accelerometers that detect when they’re in your ears. These sensors mean that the earbuds pause music playback when they’re removed from your ears and resume it when you put them back in your ears.
Double tapping the top part of the bud activates Siri, which is the only way you can change the volume or skip a song without using your phone (or whichever Apple device you’re connected to).
If you have an Apple Watch, you could use that to control your music playback but we’re not saying that you should go out to buy one just for that.
Sound Quality
If you’re an audiophile then you’re not going to want AirPods. These are not high-end, mind blowing, sound redefining earbuds.
In fact, they sound fairly similar in quality to Apple’s EarPods with slightly improved base and clearer sound reproduction.
AirPods are not noise cancelling, so they don’t form a tight seal in your ears when wearing them, which means that you’ll be able to hear some external noise.
Overview
Apple’s AirPods are a good first generation product with a few caveats.
The lack of music controls is annoying and makes these not as user friendly as most of Apple’s products.
For a company that prides itself on design, these are not the most attractive looking earbuds on the market, they’re not ugly just weird.
Having said that, battery life on the AirPods is better than expected with Apple claiming up to 5 hours usage on a single charge. The charging case provides an additional 24 hours charge, however on a recent international trip, the case was charged once and did not need charging for more than 7 days despite having used the AirPods for up to an hour each day.
The AirPods are not perfect but they do fall in the same price range as many other wireless earbuds. They perform equally as well as other earbuds with the advantage of Siri, the W1 chip, the ability to work on both Apple and non-Apple devices and a more reliable Bluetooth connection most other earbuds on the market.
If you have just under R3000 lying around and you’re looking for Bluetooth earbuds to work with your iPhone 7, AirPods are definitely worth considering.
Verdict:
Cost: From R2,599
Thank you to the iStore for sending us a pair to use for this review.
