A hands-on look at the jet black Apple AirPods by ColorWare

Apple’s AirPods come in just one color, but it was only a matter of time before ColorWare provided a colorful alternative to the all white earbuds. As we noted earlier this week, ColorWare is now accepting orders for Apple Airpods in a variety of solid or metallic colors in a matte or glossy finish.

Jonathan Morrison of TLD already got his mitts on ColorWare’s handy work, and he went for one of the most logical choices — a glossy black finish that closely resembles the Jet Black iPhone 7.

ColorWare provides customization for the pair of AirPods along with the charging case. In total there are 58 different colors to choose from in two finishes. The customized AirPods by themselves start at $299, but adding in a customized charging case raises the price to $339. Yep, that’s more than double the price of the stock AirPods, but this amount of ridiculously detailed customization isn’t easy.

As Morrison shows us in his unboxing and hands-on video, the attention to detailed paid to these colorized AirPods is very impressive. Every nook and cranny was seamlessly painted, and even the small ‘L’ and ‘R’ text near the end of the AirPods’ stem have been properly addressed.

Unfortunately, the AirPods remain super-hard-to-get, and as such, shipping times are around 10-12 weeks right now. It also looks like ColorWare has raised the price of its custom AirPods. You’ll now need to pay $10 extra for the AirPods, and $10 extra for the charging case, than initially advertised.

I love the look of the Jet Black AirPods, and I also appreciate the matching charging case. I wish that the inside of the charging case could be painted as well, but with the charging contacts contained inside, doing so probably wasn’t feasible to pull off at scale.

Do be sure to watch the video, because Jonathan does a great job of testing ColorWare’s work. Not only does he verify the integrity of the general functionality, but he dumps the AirPods in a jar of water to simulate intense sweat.

If you value individuality, then ColorWare’s AirPods might be a worthwhile investment. As the video brings out, there’s no doubting the quality of the paint job, and ColorWare backs up its work with a 12-month warranty just in case.

But unless you’re dead set on AirPods, you may want to also consider the BeatsX. Like the AirPods, the BeatsX feature Apple’s W1 chip for easy pairing, but these $149 earphones are offered in four colors — Black, White, Blue, and Grey. Be sure to read our hands-on experience with the BeatsX, and also see how they compare to other W1-enabled options.

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