Apple AirPods - a revolutionary wireless headset specifically for the iPhone 7

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

AirPods are a wireless headset that Apple has decided to make up for for the lack of a headphone jack in the new iPhones.

As expected, in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple got rid of the traditional headphone jack. The company is not the first time to abandon common connectors for the sake of modern and promising technologies.

However, in this case, there are far fewer people in agreement with Apple than even if the 12-inch MacBook was ditching USB in favor of USB-C. Thanks to one decision of engineers from Cupertino, millions of owners of wired headphones were left out of work. What is the alternative left?

It is clear that these are wireless headphones. This segment of the market is actively developing, having received an additional incentive with the first rumors about changes in the new generation of iPhone. Numerous manufacturers offer many options without wires for almost any wallet, because there are not so many truly high-quality and budget wireless headphones yet.

Apple was simply obliged to present its version of wireless headphones. And the company did it at the presentation of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The result is EarPods, torn from the wires, which have been used in Apple smartphones for several years. However, this wording is very superficial, because AirPods wireless headphones are much more interesting than it might seem at first glance.

Design

The AirPods design, as noted above, is largely the same as the wired EarPods. At least in the part that is inserted into the ear. AirPods have no wires, there is not even a cord that would tie the headphones together. This idea, by the way, has already been picked up by third-party manufacturers. In the part where the wire should be attached, AirPods have a slight elongation that protrudes from the ear and performs several tasks at once.

It helps each earbud better fit in your ear. In addition, the battery, antenna and microphone are located inside, but more on that later.

Thus, if the original EarPods that came with your iPhone seemed inconvenient to you for one reason or another, then you should not count on a miracle. AirPods will almost certainly behave the same way. Only they are also easy to lose.

Technical device

Apple's new wireless earbuds are a bit of a revolution because engineers have positioned many of the components inside to make the headset easier to use.

Firstly, everything is based on the W1 chip (from the English. Wireless - wireless). It ensures the operation of the headphones, their communication with each other and with the sound source, and much more. Secondly, each AirPods is equipped with a dual optical sensor designed to detect the presence of the headset in the ear and activate Siri, a pair of microphones for confident speech recognition, two accelerometers and the already mentioned antenna. All this is inside tiny headphones.

During the presentation, it was noted that AirPods will provide unprecedented sound quality for wireless headphones. Believe it or not, considering how seriously Apple took the hardware of the headset.

Possibilities

The battery life of the headset is up to five hours. This may sound like a pretty modest value, but AirPods come with a carrying case that charges the earbuds at the same time. The capacity of the battery built into the case is enough to extend the life of the headset by 20 hours. At the same time, 15 minutes in the case will provide AirPods with three additional hours of work. In other words, the owners of the device do not threaten to remain without music in their ears for a long time in the vast majority of situations.

The AirPods case serves another important function: when you open it, the headset starts pairing with one of your devices. You just need to confirm this process from the required device.

The earbuds can be connected to any Apple gadget, including the Apple Watch. Therefore, during training, it will be possible to completely abandon the iPhone. Plus, the headphones can easily switch between devices within your Apple ID account.

Finally, we left the interaction with AirPods. There is not a single button on them, an optical sensor is used to detect touches to the earphone. A tap launches the Siri voice assistant, which, in turn, already follows the user's commands: changing the volume, controlling playback, and much more, including making calls.

Price and sales start dates

Considering that both AirPods are completely symmetrical, Apple took an interesting step and allowed them to be used separately. In other words, AirPods can act as a regular headset for conversations.

Concerns about the loss of one of the headphones are already being voiced by potential buyers. Apple has thought that out, too. The company will allow you to purchase headphones separately, instead of lost ones. The price, of course, will be noticeably lower than the cost of the new AirPods kit with case.

The headset will go on sale in October. The exact date is still unknown. The price of the device is rather biting - $ 159. Considering the abandonment of the 3.5mm connector in the new iPhones, you can count on the demand for AirPods among buyers.