Apple's 3rd-Generation AirPods Arrives Next Week With a New Design, Spatial Audio (arstechnica.com) 9
At its Fall Mac event today, Apple announced the new third-generation AirPods, featuring a slightly revamped design with shorter stems and touch-based "force sensor" and support for spatial audio. Ars Technica reports: The new AirPods retain their usual hard plastic finish and do not have in-ear tips like the AirPods Pro, though Apple says they are now officially IPX4-rated for sweat and water resistance. Apple says the earbuds have six hours of battery life and up to 30 hours when including the charging case. (That's compared to five and 24 hours, respectively, on the second-gen model.) The included case supports MagSafe and wireless charging, though the earbuds do not feature active noise cancellation or a transparency mode like their pricier siblings.
Though the second-gen AirPods were renowned more for their ease of use than their audio quality, Apple says it has updated them with a redesigned driver and an adaptive EQ feature that automatically tunes your music based on the AirPods' fit in your ear. The earbuds will also use Apple's spatial audio tech, which makes audio sound like it is coming from around the user's head. To help with that, the new AirPods support dynamic head tracking like the AirPods Pro and the over-ear AirPods Max. The third-gen AirPods cost $179 and are available to order online today, with in-store availability starting October 26. Notably, Apple will continue to sell the existing second-gen AirPods for $129 alongside the new pair.
Though the second-gen AirPods were renowned more for their ease of use than their audio quality, Apple says it has updated them with a redesigned driver and an adaptive EQ feature that automatically tunes your music based on the AirPods' fit in your ear. The earbuds will also use Apple's spatial audio tech, which makes audio sound like it is coming from around the user's head. To help with that, the new AirPods support dynamic head tracking like the AirPods Pro and the over-ear AirPods Max. The third-gen AirPods cost $179 and are available to order online today, with in-store availability starting October 26. Notably, Apple will continue to sell the existing second-gen AirPods for $129 alongside the new pair.
Battery "Life" (Score:2)
The previous generations suffered from battery life that was so diminished after a year of use that they were essentially unusable. What I am most interested in is how long this new gen will last before they need to be "recycled". Or, you know, even better would be if the owner could replace the batteries after a year or two themselves.
Existing Airpods Pro still superior (Score:1)
Three days ago I bought a set of Airpods Pro by walking into a Best Buy store (the U.S. retail chain). Cost: $219 USD, $40 more than today's announced price ($179) of the next generation Airpods. The extra tech in the Airpods Pro make that extra $40 worth it IMO.
It's interesting that Apple did not uggrade the Pro line. I have not read an explanation.
As for the battery life in my new Airpods Pro, I'll find out soon enough. The battery in the case can be charged with a Qi pad, which I have no experience with.
There's Something About Mary (Score:1)
I still can't look at anyone wearing an Airpod without laughing a bit inside about what appears to be dripping off their ear.
Re: There's Something About Mary (Score:1)
Will the microphones still suck 10x worse than the wired Earpods?
Whatever happened to reviewers doing objective testing of frequency response in mics and speakers as was expected and typical in audio equipment magazines and even *advertisements* until the iPod came out?
Why do microphones not matter? (Score:1)
All previous generations of Airpods have been useless for making phone calls because the mics are unbearably awful. loo
Will the microphones still suck 10x worse than the wired Earpods?
Whatever happened to reviewers doing objective testing of frequency response in mics and speakers as was expected and typical in audio equipment magazines and even *advertisements* until the iPod came out?
Are current generations just too stupid to understand simple frequency response graphs?
No built in air tags? (Score:3)
If they had built in air tags, I would buy them. In the case and in the pods. a lost opportunity.