Although the newly released Apple AirPods apparently are the first wireless earpiece that work reliably and the best fully wireless earbud to date, techies who are among the early adopters say it may not be worth its price. A reviewer, however, finds the AirPods predictable in a lot of ways.
From opening the predictable signature case to setting up the AirPods which are already in pairing mode on arrival, Digitaltrends reviewer Caleb Denison writes that his first impressions of the latest Apple product are mostly positive. Although made for Apple devices, the AirPod could be forced into pairing mode for gadgets not made by the Cupertino-based tech giant by holding down a small and almost invisible button on the charging case’s back.
Just Enough Functionality
While other earphone makers have loaded their listening device with too much functionality, Denison finds that AirPods just have sufficient technology to make it interesting. To summon Siri, the digital assistant of the iPhone, tap the outside of any of the wireless earbud similar to press and hold the home key of an iPhone.
The AirPods have accelerometers and other sensors which know if the piece has been removed from or inserted into the ear. Removing one AirPod would pause the audio until it is reinserted, and whatever it is the owner is listening to, the podcast or music would pick up where it paused. However, removing both AirPods would make the audio stop and shut down the earpiece, which saves battery life.
Battery Life
A full single charge would allow the AirPod user to listen to music for five hours or talk for two hours. It takes only 15 minutes of charging to use the earpiece for three hours of listening or one hour of talking.
Denison observes that the AirPod’s sound quality is identical to the EarPods that come with the iPhone. He adds the AirPods are excellent to take phone calls, but it is weak when it comes to noise isolation.
Gizmodo reports that Apple would charge the AirPod owner $50 for battery service and charging case. Lost AirPods would cost $70 which is also the cost of a lost case.
