After shaky start, Apple’s new AirPods work great
I was rather concerned when the sound coming through a set of AirPods kept stuttering and dropping out as I attempted to listen to music wirelessly on my iPhone 7 Plus.
Apple’s new wireless $159 earbuds had been delayed for months, after all, with no real explanation as to why, and now I finally had a pair supposedly ready for prime time. Except, it wasn’t.
Apple made a huge deal about its wireless headphones because the company ditched the long-standard 3.55mm headphone jack with the iPhone 7 in favor of its Lightning connector. That meant either employing the adapter that came with the phone to use your own wired headphones, using the wired EarPods with a Lightning connector that came with the phone or relying on wireless Bluetooth headphones.
I informed Apple about my snags with the AirPods, and the company rushed out the replacement pair I’ve been using on vacation. I’m happy to say they’ve been working great.
Pairing them to the iPhone couldn’t be easier. I simply removed the AirPods from their compact dental-floss-like charge case, tapped the iPhone screen and it recognized them right away. No additional pairing was required when I listened later via a Mac. It took a bit more effort, but I also paired and used them with a Google Pixel phone.
The charging case holds multiple charges. Apple says you’ll get about five hours of battery life off a single charge.
The promise of wireless headphones, of course, is no more wires to fuss with or get tangled. And the AirPods passed their most important test: Sound is splendid. Moreover, the one-sizefits-all AirPods stayed in my ears, and the ears of my wife (who was equally impressed with the audio quality). If you do pull one out of your ear, the sound pauses, then resumes when you put it back in. By double-tapping, you can summon and talk to Siri.
I do think AirPods are somewhat dorky looking. But sound and comfort matter most. And assuming no repeat of the issues I encountered with the prior pair, they’re worth the wait.