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AirFly Pro Launches at Apple Stores With Receiver Mode for AUX Ports, Headphone Splitting, and More

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Twelve South today announced that its new AirFly Pro accessory is now available to purchase at Apple.com and Apple Stores worldwide.

airfly-pro-800x400.jpeg
AirFly Pro​

Like the classic AirFly, the Pro version allows Bluetooth headphones like AirPods or Beats to work with 3.5mm headphone jacks. For example, on an airplane, you can plug the AirFly dongle into the headphone jack, pair AirPods with the AirFly via Bluetooth, and then listen to the in-flight entertainment system wirelessly.

AirFly is also ideal for treadmills with headphone jacks for listening to a TV at a gym, and it is also compatible with the Nintendo Switch.

What sets the AirFly Pro apart from the classic version is that it can turn any AUX port into a wireless audio receiver, useful for sending audio from an iPhone to a rental car, boat, or speaker without Bluetooth. AirFly Pro can also be paired with multiple Bluetooth headphones for shared listening.

AirFly Pro has a built-in battery that is rated to last 16+ hours and recharges via USB-C. The dongle is available for $54.95 on Apple.com.

Article Link: AirFly Pro Launches at Apple Stores With Receiver Mode for AUX Ports, Headphone Splitting, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/11/14/twelve-south-airfly-pro/
Last edited:
H3LL5P4WN

H3LL5P4WN

macrumors 68040
Jun 19, 2010
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Pittsburgh PA
groovyf said:
Are there any better/smaller alternatives? A recent flight with newly-purchased PowerBeats Pro had me wondering about such a device.
Click to expand...

I bought the best-rated BT receiver off Amazon a while back and it not only was it not that great in the audio department, it wasn't reliable in the connection department either.

So while this thing is stupid big, I'm pretty interested.

Edit: I just read the product page and it's just a Blue Tooth RX/TX... I thought it was AirPlay 2.
 
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jaytv111

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Oct 25, 2007
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groovyf said:
Are there any better/smaller alternatives? A recent flight with newly-purchased PowerBeats Pro had me wondering about such a device.
Click to expand...

With the exact same features, probably not. Receiver mode for instance (audio sent from iPhones to stereos), or USB-C charging, or even having a battery at all, or having 2 headphone mode, hard to find anything that has these same features all at once.

If you don't care about that stuff though then you can get alternatives much cheaper.
 
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oneMadRssn

oneMadRssn

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Sep 8, 2011
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Wait, is this a bluetooth receiver or bluetooth transmitter or both?

In the car, you want a bluetooth receiver to receive a bluetooth signal from your phone to the car.

On a gym treadmill or in a plane, you want a bluetooth transmitter to transmit a bluetooth signal from the entertainment center to headphones.

Or is this a thing that does both? If it's both, it should be referred to as a "transceiver"
 
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Haquers

Haquers

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Sep 28, 2016
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oneMadRssn said:
Wait, is this a bluetooth receiver or bluetooth transmitter or both?

In the car, you want a bluetooth receiver to receive a bluetooth signal from your phone to the car.

On a gym treadmill or in a plane, you want a bluetooth transmitter to transmit a bluetooth signal from the entertainment center to headphones.

Or is this a thing that does both? If it's both, it should be referred to as a "transceiver"
Click to expand...
Hybrid
 
J

jaytv111

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Oct 25, 2007
970
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Rychiar said:
booo... for a split second I thought maybe this was a wireless CarPlay dongle. def my number one request for gadgets
Click to expand...

There are such things, one is called carplay2air, the other Carlinkit, problem seems to be they work with certain cars, but they convert wired Carplay to wireless Carplay.
 
E

EatinPonies

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Feb 15, 2016
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groovyf said:
Are there any better/smaller alternatives? A recent flight with newly-purchased PowerBeats Pro had me wondering about such a device.
Click to expand...
I've used the older version of this one for a long time. But I use it to turn wired headphones into bluetooth headphones. My friend uses one plugged into the Aux port in his car, just like this article says. ...But this thing is a fraction of the price - not sure why MR is "plugging" this one... (See what I did there?)

www.amazon.com

Mpow BH129 Bluetooth Receiver for Car, Aux Bluetooth Car Adapter 5.0 for Wired Speakers/Headphones/Home Music Streaming Stereo,15-Hour Battery Life,Easy Control On/Off Slider

Mpow BH129 Bluetooth Receiver for Car, Aux Bluetooth Car Adapter 5.0 for Wired Speakers/Headphones/Home Music Streaming Stereo,15-Hour Battery Life,Easy Control On/Off Slider
www.amazon.com
 
D

Dainin

macrumors regular
Sep 4, 2009
211
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oneMadRssn said:
Wait, is this a bluetooth receiver or bluetooth transmitter or both?

In the car, you want a bluetooth receiver to receive a bluetooth signal from your phone to the car.

On a gym treadmill or in a plane, you want a bluetooth transmitter to transmit a bluetooth signal from the entertainment center to headphones.

Or is this a thing that does both? If it's both, it should be referred to as a "transceiver"
Click to expand...

The Pro version is a transceiver. You can flip a switch to transmit or receive.

The non-pro version is is a transmitter only.
 
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cjgrif

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Oct 25, 2011
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Salisbury, MD
Rigby said:
Yes, but has anyone found a model that supports AAC over BT? The ones I found at best support AptX, which is not supported by Apple/Beats BT headphones, so you only get crappy SBC quality.
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. I've seen some that are meant more for stereo/entertainment center set ups (for example: Monoprice Premium Bluetooth 5 Transmitter & Receiver), and even that is only AAC in receiver mode. I also can't find any specifications for this AirFly Pro, though none of the other AirFly models support AAC based on their Amazon listings.
 
S

SwagPrince99

macrumors newbie
Nov 14, 2019
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Still only available in US Apple Stores - any one have an idea if or when it may be coming to Australia ??
 
christophermdia

christophermdia

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Sep 28, 2008
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I have this device and worth every penny especially if you travel a lot. It’s smaller than previous version and works like a charm ... it is a transmitter and receiver.

oh and I bought 2 weeks ago in the airport in Atlanta.
 
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mrow

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Aug 15, 2009
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You can get something for a third of the price by a Chinese no name brand on Amazon. If you’re willing to wait a month for shipping direct from China you can get one from AliExpress for a sixth of the price.
 
B

Braderunner

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Rigby

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Aug 5, 2008
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Braderunner said:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HDO66NK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I know. It’s Bluetooth 4.2. But, it supports AAC, and I like the compact design.
It is difficult to find ones that support AAC.
Click to expand...
That's only a receiver. For using BT headphones with in-flight entertainment you'd need a transmitter. Oh well, I guess I'll continue to carry a pair of wired earbuds for that. Would have been nice to be able to use the noise cancellation of the Airpods Pro though ...
 
FairlyKors

FairlyKors

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Jun 21, 2018
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Staines, East London
Rychiar said:
booo... for a split second I thought maybe this was a wireless CarPlay dongle. def my number one request for gadgets
Click to expand...

Why hasn’t this been done? Is it impossible to receive and transmit an signal if it’s encrypted? Obviously, I don’t know **** about wireless communications, but it would seem like something could be done. Maybe a tiny dongle to fit *inside* the lightening port on the iPhone, and then a receiver it could sit on, sort of working like a dock, minus the physical lightening connection.

I also hate ***** around with that damn lightening cable every time I get into and out of the car... to say nothing about CarPlay being perhaps the least imaginative and underdeveloped technology to be rolled out at this level across so many platforms.

Apple should call CarPlay “iScreenRepeater for iPhone” (Of which it supports about 10 apps, with severely limited functionality).
 
BeefCake 15

BeefCake 15

macrumors 68020
May 15, 2015
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I bought the TaoTronic one from Amazon and while it does the job, it takes too long to connect especially compared to how fast the AirPods connect with the phone...if this had the same chip that makes it connect the same way AirPods do then definitely worth it!
 
FloatingBones

FloatingBones

macrumors 65816
Jul 19, 2006
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oneMadRssn said:
Wait, is this a bluetooth receiver or bluetooth transmitter or both?
Click to expand...

Did you look for any reviews before asking here?

Lory Gil published a review on iMore on Tuesday. It's a transceiver; there's a switch to change from transmitter to receiver mode. The box can be paired with any BT headphones; she tested on multiple devices including the AirPods Pro. It will simultaneously pair with 2 sets of BT headphones -- great for sharing audio on an airplane. Lory said on MBW that she's traveling to Japan. Twelve South noted that the AirFly has sufficient battery power for the longest long-haul flights. The cons from the review were that the device must be manually turned on/off and there's no indicator for the charge level of the device.
 
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