AirPods 2 electric boogaloo

[Shreyas1]

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/airpods-the-worlds-most-popular-wireless-headphones-are-getting-even-better/

 

 

Quote

Cupertino, California — Apple today announced new AirPods, the second generation of the world’s most popular wireless headphones. AirPods revolutionized the wireless audio experience with a breakthrough design and the new AirPods build on the magical experience customers love. The new Apple-designed H1 chip, developed specifically for headphones, delivers performance efficiencies, faster connect times, more talk time and the convenience of hands-free "Hey Siri.” AirPods come with either a standard charging case or a new Wireless Charging Case for convenient charging at home and on the go. The new AirPods and AirPods with Wireless Charging Case are available to order on apple.com and the Apple Store app starting today, and in Apple Stores beginning next week.

“AirPods delivered a magical wireless experience and have become one of the most beloved products we’ve ever made. They connect easily with all of your devices, and provide crystal clear sound and intuitive, innovative control of your music and audio,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The world’s best wireless headphones just got even better with the new AirPods. They are powered by the new Apple-designed H1 chip which brings an extra hour of talk time, faster connections, hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ and the convenience of a new wireless battery case.”

So they added wireless charging and hey siri support. I don't think they're going to be that useful for me at least, seeing as they'll probably be more expensive than the original AirPods where the price will go down.

The wireless charging case is $79 which is a bit expensive and the AirPods themselves will be $159. You can buy them both for $199. 

 

Edit: You can purchase the wireless charging case for your existing AirPods

 

Edit 2: Picture ( it looks very similar to the original AirPods )

 

Spoiler

 

 

[ne0tic]

I'm not going to upgrade to them since they are basically the same as my original AirPods but at a much higher price

[SeraphicWings]

My AirPod case is dead from water exposure, maybe buying a new case or buying a whole new one?

[bcredeur97]

more life is nice. but that's the only notable feature I see here.

I thought they came with the charging case. surprised to see that's additional. That stinks..

 

in my book it's some $200 basic wireless headphones, though while very convenient, are def overpriced.

[Suika]

Oh, so can you purchase the wireless charging case for first generation AirPods or not?

[Shreyas1]

7 minutes ago, Suika said:

Oh, so can you purchase the wireless charging case for first generation AirPods or not?

Yes you can

[Morgan MLGman]

A tip from someone subscribed to the Tech News subforum for quite a while now, when you make a news post about a brand-new product like in this case, it really looks a lot better if you put at least one picture in your post, so people don't have to go to external sites to actually see what they were reading about in the thread

[79wjd]

9 minutes ago, Shreyas1 said:

Yes you can

That's really the news story here.

[rcmaehl]

Title Pun Theft! Help! Police! /s

[Commodus]

50 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

more life is nice. but that's the only notable feature I see here.

I thought they came with the charging case. surprised to see that's additional. That stinks..

 

in my book it's some $200 basic wireless headphones, though while very convenient, are def overpriced.

You can get the AirPods with either the wireless case or the regular case.  The stand-alone case is just there for people who'd rather not spend $200 just so that they don't have to plug in.

 

I'd say they're worth the price in that they're loaded with conveniences that are hard to find together in one place: completely wireless down to the case, built-in voice assistant support, super-easy pairing, ear detection...

 

The beef, and it's a valid one, is that the money isn't going into audio quality.  There has been talk of Apple making in-canal buds using the same tech, though, so there's hope.  Apple's wired in-canal buds are surprisingly well-done -- their weakness was the cord, which clearly wouldn't be an issue here.

[bcredeur97]

Just now, Commodus said:

I'd say they're worth the price in that they're loaded with conveniences that are hard to find together in one place: completely wireless down to the case, built-in voice assistant support, super-easy pairing, ear detection...

 

The beef, and it's a valid one, is that the money isn't going into audio quality.  There has been talk of Apple making in-canal buds using the same tech, though, so there's hope.  Apple's wired in-canal buds are surprisingly well-done -- their weakness was the cord, which clearly wouldn't be an issue here.

Ah I see. ok so $159 is /ok/ still a lot though.

Idk if it's worth it to me though... maybe other people. wireless down to the case I get.. is nice. Voice assistant? I haven't used siri at all really since launch in like iOS 6(or was it 5?). Couple times. easy pairing? nice.. but I'm fine with holding down a button and going to a bluetooth menu and never having to do that again once paired.. wasn't really that hard.

ear detection prob nice though.

And like you said... audio quality. I can't imagine they'd be worse than typical wired earpods which is fine.. but that only further justifies a lower price point in my book.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SeraphicWings said:

My AirPod case is dead from water exposure, maybe buying a new case or buying a whole new one?

I got mine fixed for water damage under warranty, they gave me a new case and all was fine

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, bcredeur97 said:

Ah I see. ok so $159 is /ok/ still a lot though.

Idk if it's worth it to me though... maybe other people. wireless down to the case I get.. is nice. Voice assistant? I haven't used siri at all really since launch in like iOS 6(or was it 5?). Couple times. easy pairing? nice.. but I'm fine with holding down a button and going to a bluetooth menu and never having to do that again once paired.. wasn't really that hard.

ear detection prob nice though.

And like you said... audio quality. I can't imagine they'd be worse than typical wired earpods which is fine.. but that only further justifies a lower price point in my book.

Dunno, I've tried Lightning EarPods and they sounded phenomenal. Ordered 3.5mm jack EarPods and they sound nothing like Lightning version despite seemingly same deisign (I did notice they lack one meshed hole on the case). Especially bass is just entirely missing. If AirPods sound like the lightning EarPods, they are awesome. Also, plus to Apple for not going with those silicone nonsense earbuds. I hate that shit. I've tried them once and they sounded like shit, used larger silicone buds that gave awesome bass, but were so tight it felt like someone is fingering my ears with thumbs... EarPods on the other hand feel great.

[DrMacintosh]

2 hours ago, bcredeur97 said:

 

more life is nice. but that's the only notable feature I see here.

I thought they came with the charging case. surprised to see that's additional. That stinks..

 

They do come with a charging case. The wireless case is being sold seperatly for anyone with existing AirPods that want to upgrade to wireless charging. 

 

You can buy the new upgraded AirPods with the new wireless case or with the standard wired charging case or you can buy just the wireless charging case, but not just the AirPods. 

[Soppro]

8 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

why is apple trickle-releasing hardware before their march event?! O-O

Getting everyone to talk about Apple right before the event :) 

[D13H4RD]

So......where's the AirPower? 

[DrMacintosh]

1 hour ago, D13H4RD said:

So......where's the AirPower? 

Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. 

[williamcll]

Nope, still on my wired headphones.

[Froody129]

If they had in-ears with sound that isn't crap it would be worth the money. I think Airpods are great, but the sound is a real killer for me 

[ne0tic]

30 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

If they had in-ears with sound that isn't crap it would be worth the money. I think Airpods are great, but the sound is a real killer for me 

I mean, the sound isn’t that bad. And if you manually turn on Bass Boost on the AirPods then they sound much better, actually kinda good