Hands-On With Apple's New Second-Generation AirPods

[MatrixRabbit]

WOW I just saw that Apple cancelled it's Wireless Charging Mat future product. Right after selling me "wireless" AirPods? LOL back in the mail they GO. You're telling me 1-2 weeks ago they didn't know that was going to happen?

Missed opportunity to at least sell regular versions with unique colors, improved bass, etc.

This REALLY has to be an April Fools Joke? I'm going to wait until Monday to see.

 

[Abazigal]

does it activate your phone at all?

Yup, that’s how it works. It basically lets you activate Siri on your phone without having to double tap on the Airpods.

So for instance, I can be walking home from work listening to a podcast along the way, then go “Hey Siri, call home” or “what song is playing” or “play overcast” or some other command.

 

[DNAppleGold]

Yup, that’s how it works. It basically lets you activate Siri on your phone without having to double tap on the Airpods.

So for instance, I can be walking home from work listening to a podcast along the way, then go “Hey Siri, call home” or “what song is playing” or “play overcast” or some other command.

I too am amazed at how much the no touch “hey Siri” transforms my experience.

On a purely practical basis there are lots of circumstances where it’s hard to tap (or press a button on wired headphones). Waking the dog with a grocery bag in the other hand, riding a bike, wearing a knit cap when it’s cold. The function also gives effectively 3 controls. Left for play/pause, right for next song, plus the no tap hey Siri.

But more than just practical, the no tap function makes the technology practically invisible. It’s feel so free just to call out to make a call or play a song.

This is easy the best implementation of Siri. I’ve had 100% success having Siri respond and a higher than normal success rate at Siri understanding. (Ok that’s a low bar but still). Along with the faster pairing and Siri response time, the whole process is seamless

 

[CPTmom2wp]

I'm curious as to how someone working at Apple would know.

The charging light is on the outside (original pod case had it on the inside). The light is easily seen even with a cursory glance.

 

[Mlbkiwi]

Wireless case not charging

Anybody else have the wireless charging case that will NOT CHARGE when the AirPods are in it. I don’t have a charging pad because I was waiting for Apple to release theirs and that is also why I shelled out for the more expensive wireless charging case version. I can only verify this issue with the plug in. It charges when empty but not when the AirPods are in it. I’ve done a reset and looked everywhere for similar issues but haven’t found it yet.

Apple's second-generation AirPods, announced last week, started showing up on people's doorsteps this morning and also became available for purchase in Apple retail stores. We picked up a set of AirPods 2 to see how they compare to the original AirPods.

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Second-generation AirPods actually come in two configurations: with a new Wireless Charging Case and with a Lightning-only charging case, with the former priced at $199 and the latter priced at $159. We purchased the version with the Wireless Charging Case, as the new case is one of the major changes.

Design wise, you're not going to be able to tell the new AirPods from the original AirPods. They're still only available in white and they continue to feature the exact same design - white plastic buds with a stem at the bottom.

All of the changes to the AirPods are actually internal. There's a new H1 chip that replaces the W1 chip and brings quite a few improvements. In our experience, AirPods 2 connect to your devices much more quickly than the original AirPods, and swapping between devices is faster.

Latency has been cut down, and because the AirPods 2 support Bluetooth 5.0, you may see some range and quality improvements. We think the AirPods 2 seem to sound a bit better, especially at higher volumes.

There's a new "Hey Siri" feature that lets you activate Siri hands-free without the need to tap on the AirPods, and when talking on the phone, battery life is now three hours instead of two.

A major difference between AirPods 1 and AirPods 2 is the aforementioned Wireless Charging Case, which comes with AirPods 2 and can be purchased on a standalone basis for AirPods 1 for $79. The Wireless Charging Case lets you use any Qi-based wireless charger to charge up your AirPods, and it will let the AirPods work with the AirPower if Apple ever releases it.

If you try to use an original AirPod with a second-generation AirPod in the AirPods Charging Case, it will flash red to let you know they're incompatible, but the same warning also appears if you try to use AirPods from different sets of the same generation.

There's no real way to visually tell the two versions apart, but if you connect them to your iPhone, you can see which version you have by opening up the Settings app, choosing General, and scrolling down to the AirPods section. You can tell the Charging Case from the standard case because the LED light that indicates charging is on the outside of the case rather on the inside.

The second-generation AirPods shipped without features many were hoping for such as a new color and health tracking capabilities, but still mark a solid upgrade over the original version. What do you think of Apple's new AirPods? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Hands-On With Apple's New Second-Generation AirPods

An

 

[Yodameister]

If the Airpods 2 are Bluetooth 5.0 why is there no increase in range? They have the same range as the original AirPods. One of the selling points of Bluetooth 5.0 is increased range(up to 800 feet) from your transmitting device. I cannot find anywhere in the packaging or in the specs that the new Airpods are Bluetooth 5.0. People are reporting they are, but all I see is a reference to the H1 chip. Curious to know.

 

[Shanghaichica]

does it activate your phone at all?

No it doesn’t. If you have the AirPods in Siri responds through the AirPods. The visual information displays on the phone but the spoken response is via the AirPods. If you have your AirPods in it will even override the HomePod.

 

[DNAppleGold]

No it doesn’t. If you have the AirPods in Siri responds through the AirPods. The visual information displays on the phone but the spoken response is via the AirPods. If you have your AirPods in it will even override the HomePod.

Ha! Since the phone is always in my pocket when i use they Siri function, i never noticed info displayed on my phone. I’ll add that this is the best implementation of Siri. I’ve had 100% success having Siri respond and a higher than normal success rate at Siri understanding. (Ok that’s a low bar but still). Along with the faster pairing and Siri response time, the whole process is seamless

 

[alexhardaker]

Well, my Airpods Gen 2 arrived today and I took them out tonight on a typical dog walk and they did not disappoint!

As I was leaving the house I thought about whether to bring my iPhone X or not since I usually just stream podcasts from my Apple Watch S3. But I took the phone anyway since that is what I had “paired” the new Airpods with earlier and I didn’t want to find that my watch wasn’t on the same page during the walk.

So, I started my podcast from my iPhone and started walking. After a minute or two I thought, “oh, I’ve not started my outdoor walk workout” at which point I was faced with a dilemma. Do I use the touch interface on my Watch to start the workout given that my Airpods are connected to my phone? Or do I use “Hey Siri” on the Airpods but then start the workout on my phone and miss out on heart rate data?

Well, I just did the obvious thing and said, “Hey Siri, start outdoor walk” and to my delight, she replied, “Starting workout on your Apple Watch” or words to that effect!

Now, I’m a software engineer with 25 years experience and currently I’m contracting for a client developing a voice assistant product for the hospitality sector and I have to say this blew me away! The level of sophistication required to have two independent Airpod devices plus an iPhone and Apple Watch all work together with the iPhone delivering podcast audio to the Airpods while they listen for “Hey Siri” and then somehow my Watch being told to start a workout and then seamlessly carrying on my podcast from my iPhone is just mind blowing!

Anyone who has worked with Bluetooth on a technical level will appreciate the Airpods far more than is rational. I am one of those people and I can tell you this is not far short of witchcraft!

I tried this when I saw this post, and it worked. However, whenever I try now, I either get a reply saying for these to work with HomePod, they need to be on the same WiFi network- I don’t own a HomePod and my watch and phone are on the same WiFi - or I get a response saying Siri can’t do it. The last time I tried, it played a song I’d never heard of. Does it work every time for you?

 

[funkymonkeyboy]

Only had these a few months and the left earpod stopped working. Took them back for a refund. Not up to the usual apple standard.

 

[grimwanderer]

Only had these a few months and the left earpod stopped working. Took them back for a refund. Not up to the usual apple standard.

So you had an issue and Apple took care of it? I understand that it is not ideal but in a mass produced world, the occasional device failure is hardly surprising.

Apple (to me) has always been pretty solid and when things do go wrong (again, only speaking about my experience here) they take care of it.

 

[funkymonkeyboy]

So you had an issue and Apple took care of it? I understand that it is not ideal but in a mass produced world, the occasional device failure is hardly surprising.

Apple (to me) has always been pretty solid and when things do go wrong (again, only speaking about my experience here) they take care of it.

Yes they did take care of it, as expected, I got a refund which is only right. But I am disappointed as my Bose and other branded headphones have run flawlessly for years and never missed a beat. But the AirPods didn't even last two months, maybe Apple are pushing even themselves here, with a lot of tech in such tiny devices. I can't fault Apple's other devices but I was very shocked at this happening.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Only had these a few months and the left earpod stopped working. Took them back for a refund. Not up to the usual apple standard.

When I had an issue like that once, all I had to do was go to bluetooth settings and "forget" the AirPods. Then I reset the AirPods by pressing and holding down the sync button for 15 seconds, and I repaired them to my iPhone and everything has been fine since.

 

[funkymonkeyboy]

When I had an issue like that once, all I had to do was go to bluetooth settings and "forget" the AirPods. Then I reset the AirPods by pressing and holding down the sync button for 15 seconds, and I repaired them to my iPhone and everything has been fine since.

I took them to the Genius Bar and they confirmed that the left earpod was faulty. Would not even show on the battery levels.

 

[badbob2019]

And anyone who thinks that these things have good sound quality need to put an actual quality headphone in their ears.
All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

A good parametric equalizer makes a miraculous change to the sound.