I finally got my Apple AirPods which I ordered months ago and finally received. I have to say I am very impressed with the Apple AirPods. Apple is known for very tightly connected hardware and software and the Apple AirPods are no exception. I have to say I almost gave up on the Apple AirPods the 6 to 8 week turnaround time has been going on since January and looks to keep happening the long and short of it from Apple is the AirPods are so popular they can’t make them fast enough.
AirPods, which lists for $159 dollars on Apple site are really amazing and fit the Apple feeling of “it just works”. You take the AirPods out of their box, open up the lid to the case and a pop-up window appears from the bottom of your phone’s screen, asking if you want to connect your new AirPods you press the very large “Connect” button, and you’re done. The same worked for my MacBook Pro.
The AirPods after they are connected every time you take them out of the case and put the AirPods in your ears, a bright ding will let you know you’re connected to your phone. The AirPods feel great in my ears and I can leave them in for hours without any issue.
After testing many Bluetooth devices I got the best response and sound quality while on phone calls from AirPods. I can be honest my music sounds great but the Bluetooth SOL Republics has better sound quality but lacked very much in the phone department. I love using the AirPods for phone calls above all else. They’re the first Bluetooth headphones that sound as good as if I’m holding my phone to my ear. I think this great phone call capability is because of the dual-mic setup Apple is using. Apple also using noise-canceling tech that uses subtle vibrations to know you’re speaking. All together I think what Apple lacks in sound quality it makes up for by being one of the clearest remote-input devices I’ve ever used.
I make a lot of phone calls and really use my earbuds more for talking to people then anything else so for me if the caller can’t hear me the device is useless. On the other hand, someone like my wife who never talks on the phone is worried more about music sound quality. This will come down to you as a consumer are you more worried about talking on the phone and having clear input or is sound quality more important when listening to music. The AirPod sound quality is good and works well but it’s not the best sound quality for music like SOL republic or Beats.
I like how I can double tap to get Siri or enable Hey Siri to use voice commands I found that convenient. The only thing I did not like is there are no volume controls on the ear bud you have to use Siri or pull your phone out of your pocket.
I do like the fact you can use both earbuds or you can pull just one out and use the device in monotone. If you pull both out and put one away it works fine I have had no issues but I have had other users complain about that but I have had no issues at the time of this writing.
The AirPods will work as standard Bluetooth headphones with any device, but features like auto-pairing and Siri will only work with headphones that incorporate Apple’s new W1 chip.
I think AirPods are great and very much enjoy them with my iPhone 7. For me, I like how great the device works for phone calling and the sound quality for listening to music is good enough. As long as my music plays with no breaking or cracking I am fine with the head phones for music and podcast listening. I am overly impressed with the input aspect as I have been testing wireless Bluetooth headsets for over a month and companies like Jawbone and Jabra can’t compare to the quality input of the AirPods dual microphone setup. Apple did a great job on these headphones no wonder they are so hard to get your hands on.