Mobile Technology

Apple's AirPods finally available to order

Apple's AirPods finally available to order
The Apple AirPods have an unusual design, with a stick-like portion protruding from your ear
The Apple AirPods have an unusual design, with a stick-like portion protruding from your ear
View 2 Images
The Apple AirPods have an unusual design, with a stick-like portion protruding from your ear
1/2
The Apple AirPods have an unusual design, with a stick-like portion protruding from your ear
AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices
2/2
AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices

When Apple axed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, that created a problem for many customers. The company offered three solutions: 1) Lightning-connected earbuds ("EarPods," included in the box), 2) an adapter to convert regular headphones to Lightning (also in the box), and 3) wireless AirPods, earbuds that pair seamlessly and automatically with iPhone. More than three months after Apple's latest phones launched, the third answer is finally an option.

The US$159 AirPods are wireless earbuds that distill the setup and pairing process to practically nothing (assuming you exclusively use Apple devices, of course). After a one-tap/one-time setup, the earbuds will supposedly connect immediately to all of your available Apple devices as soon as you put them in your ears.

The AirPods are touch-sensitive, letting you double-tap either one to enable Siri.

AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices
AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices

Apple quotes 24 hours of battery life for the earbuds. They use the AAC codec for audio streaming, which should, at least in theory, make audio sound better than standard Bluetooth.

While their initial pairing process will require a few extra taps, there are plenty of other wireless headphone options that will work with the iPhone 7, including Bose QC30, Bose QC35, Sennheiser Momentum wireless, Sony MDR-1000X and Bowers & Wilkins P7 wireless.

The AirPods are available now from Apple's online store for $159. The estimated shipping date for US customers, at the time of publication, is Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Product page: Apple

When Apple axed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, that created a problem for many customers. The company offered three solutions: 1) Lightning-connected earbuds ("EarPods," included in the box), 2) an adapter to convert regular headphones to Lightning (also in the box), and 3) wireless AirPods, earbuds that pair seamlessly and automatically with iPhone. More than three months after Apple's latest phones launched, the third answer is finally an option.

The US$159 AirPods are wireless earbuds that distill the setup and pairing process to practically nothing (assuming you exclusively use Apple devices, of course). After a one-tap/one-time setup, the earbuds will supposedly connect immediately to all of your available Apple devices as soon as you put them in your ears.

The AirPods are touch-sensitive, letting you double-tap either one to enable Siri.

AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices
AirPods are designed to seamlessly pair with all Apple devices

Apple quotes 24 hours of battery life for the earbuds. They use the AAC codec for audio streaming, which should, at least in theory, make audio sound better than standard Bluetooth.

While their initial pairing process will require a few extra taps, there are plenty of other wireless headphone options that will work with the iPhone 7, including Bose QC30, Bose QC35, Sennheiser Momentum wireless, Sony MDR-1000X and Bowers & Wilkins P7 wireless.

The AirPods are available now from Apple's online store for $159. The estimated shipping date for US customers, at the time of publication, is Wednesday, Dec. 21.

Product page: Apple

3 comments
3 comments
Chizzy
my first thought based on the picture was, "apple is doing vape sticks?". wonder which part goes in the ear? they don't look comfortable, but they do look like a Cybermen stealth infection.
habakak
Fantastic! I love the Apple pod style earphones. The infatuation with earbud style earphones are beyond me. They are just terrible. They fall out very easily and create a very bad sound. Unless you jam them into your ear which hurts and is not recommended. And even if that doesn't matter, the way they sit 'inside' your ear causes all sounds to be amplified down the speaker wire. Even the wire moving against your body gets picked up and it sounds like someone is grating cheese or filing wood inside of your ear! I have an Android phone but refuse to use earbud style earphones. I don't understand how people put up with it.
Derek Howe
Chizzy - lol, I thought it was a pipe for weed...for the futurist crowd.