Apple AirPods

Along with its recently launched AirPods 2, Apple also released a standalone Wireless Charging Case for the AirPods. The Wireless Charging Case is an $80 accessory that works with both the first and second-generation versions of Apple’s wireless earbuds.

If you own a set of first-gen AirPods, should you consider forking over more money for the privilege of wireless charging? Watch our brief hands-on video review for the details.
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Following just hours after a Digitimes report on ‘AirPods 3′, the veritable TF Industries’ Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple is set to launch two new AirPods hardware models as early as the fourth quarter of 2019, quoting a ‘4Q19 – 1Q20’ timeframe.

One of these models is reported as an iterative update to the existing AirPods, and other will come with an all-new form factor and associated higher price.

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Digitimes today reports that Apple is working with assemblers and suppliers to ready a third generation ‘AirPods 3’ by the end of this year. This is not the first rumor of this ilk. AirPods 2 with wireless charging case debuted in March, and even before then there were publications claiming there would be separate spring and fall AirPods refreshes.

Digitimes says the primary feature of the late 2019 AirPods will be noise cancellation. Like AirPods 2, AirPods 3 are expected to be manufactured by Inventec and Luxshare Precision.

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Using AirPods with a Mac isn’t quite as slick of an experience as with iOS, but the third-party app ToothFairy offers some nifty features. ToothFairy has today been updated with new customization options, user interface improvements, and more.

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AirPods are set to gain a pair of new competitors in the truly wireless earbuds market. In addition to Amazon’s forthcoming headphones, both Microsoft and Libratone are also seemingly working on completely wireless earbuds.

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Apple was widely mocked when Phil Schiller used the term ‘courage’ to describe its decision to drop the headphone socket from iPhones, starting with the iPhone 7/Plus – a likely callback to a Steve Jobs comment on the decision not to support Flash on iOS devices.

The reason to move on: courage. The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us.

But two-and-a-half years on, does the decision now seem to have lived up to the word?

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As AirPods continue to grow in popularity, the truly wireless earbud market is also becoming increasingly crowded. Samsung, for instance, just launched the Galaxy Buds, while Apple’s Beats brand also introduced the Powerbeats Pro.

Amazon is also rumored to be planning an entry into the totally wireless earbuds market with a focus on sound quality. But can they compete with AirPods?

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Apple’s AirPods are set to gain a new competitor sometime this year. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Amazon is preparing its first pair of wireless earbuds that integrate the Alexa voice assistant.

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Last month, 9to5Mac exclusively revealed the design of Apple’s new truly wireless Beats Powerbeats Pro, as well as their accompanying charging case. Today, Apple made Powerbeats Pro official and confirmed they will launch in May, giving AirPods 2 their first real challenger.

Powerbeats Pro face intense competition from AirPods – which were also just updated to version 2. Which should you buy? Read on as we walk through a full comparison.

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Apple’s first real competitor to AirPods has finally arrived: Beats Powerbeats Pro. Apple has owned Beats since 2014, of course, which explains much of the magic behind the latest truly wireless earphones.

So what are Powerbeats Pro? A serious evolution of the wireless-but-with-a-cord version of Powerbeats earphones. Beats describes Powerbeats Pro as ‘totally wireless’, replacing the microUSB-charged corded hardware with a totally cordless version that has its own Lightning-powered charging case.

Powerbeats Pro also retains the connectivity and intelligence of Apple’s new AirPods thanks to the Apple-designed H1 chip inside, driving reliable wireless connectivity and even voice-activated “Hey Siri” control. There’s more to Powerbeats Pro too…

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Bragi, maker of the Dash truly wireless earbuds, is exiting the consumer hardware business. The company confirmed to Wareable that it has sold its hardware business to an unnamed “third-party buyer” and will instead focus on licensing its artificial intelligence business.

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At last, new AirPods have arrived! That’s great news for early adopters who have experienced serious battery life degradation like me. If you have a fresh pair of the original AirPods, you can probably sit this version out for now.

The differences in features aren’t night and day, but there’s also never been a better time to buy AirPods if you’ve been undecided about the purchase. The new AirPods are just as great as the originals — you just have to decide between the classic wired or new wireless charging case.

AirPods are my daily carry headphones, always in my pocket when I leave home and always in my ears at the gym or on runs. This is my upgrade experience with the second generation AirPods.

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In a Friday afternoon announcement, Apple shared today that AirPower is officially dead. The news came as a surprise as support for the special wireless charging mat was found in a recent iOS beta and other evidence was pointing to an imminent release. Now that Apple’s advanced wireless charger is off the table, let’s take a look at some of the best AirPower alternatives you can buy today.

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A new Apple product is out, and it of course hasn’t taken iFixit long to do its usual teardown – as well as x-rays (above). As you’d expect from the largely unchanged exterior, the iFixit teardown of new AirPods finds very few changes from the first generation, but does see two apparent improvements to the build quality …

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A new Counterpoint Research report estimates that AirPods captured a 60% share of the true wireless in-ear headphones market in the final quarter of 2018.

The company says this is particularly impressive in the light of two factors …

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When the first-generation AirPods were announced in September 2016, I didn’t give them too much thought. At the time, I was editing videos with large headphones on for eight hours per day, and the idea of swapping one set of headphones for another after work just wasn’t appealing. Purchasing a set didn’t cross my mind until one year later when Apple showed off the AirPods wireless charging case and elusive AirPower mat.

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The second generation AirPods landed on my desk today, and as a big fan of the originals, I was excited to review the AirPods 2 (2019) edition. At first glance it’s immediately evident that it’s not a radical change from the original design, even the box is more or less the same outside of a few changes.

The second-generation AirPods are more like AirPods version 1.5 than they are AirPods 2, but that’s primarily a testament to how right Apple got the product on its first at bat. Watch our hands-on AirPods 2 review video as we explore top features, make comparisons with the original AirPods, and share our hands-on impressions.
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