In 2016, Apple retired the famous ‘headphone jack’ and
replaced its memory with AirPods- a device that instantly connects with your
iPhone with the help of Bluetooth. The idea behind it was to step in the era of
wireless earbuds, which can kick away the pain of tangled earphones. For a
while, Apple faced the heat of the standard earphone lovers who were just not
ready for the change. But soon as the dust settled, AirPods became the fashion
statement. Even though they were pricy and had a sluggish design, almost every
pocket was a home for it. After witnessing such a response, Apple decided to
make some tweaks and launched AirPods 2 in 2019.
If AirPods and AirPods 2 were in the same room, 90%
of the people won’t be able to recognize the elder brother. Why so? Well, there are no significant changes to the design of AirPods 2, but we do seem to witness a
few interior changes. Let’s take a look at it.
AirPods
Design
Coming in at 0.7 x 0.7 x 1.6 inch and 0.14 ounce,
there are no visible changes to the design of AirPods 2. It is the same plastic
long stem in glossy white colour. Here, Apple has followed a simple ideology-
what isn’t broken shouldn’t be fixed. But yes, Apple did bring a new wireless
charging case, which is a little heavy than the standard AirPods 2. To
differentiate the two, you can find a small led light in the front of the
wireless charging case.
AirPods
Pairing
With Apple’s new H1 chip, AirPods 2 can connect with
your iPhone in 3.2 seconds, surpassing its younger brother’s pairing connection
(5.1 seconds). And that’s not its only superpower. Now, AirPods 2 have longer
talk time, greater battery life and faster switching between Apple devices (2.8
seconds vs 4.3 seconds).
AirPods
Love for Siri
In winters, it is pain for your hands to leave the
shelter of your pockets and reach your iPhone to launch Siri. That’s about to
change with AirPods 2. With the help of hands-free Siri, you can launch Apple’s
digital assistant without touching your iPhone. That’s neat and comfortable.
AirPods
Sound
Let’s just accept a simple fact- sound quality is
not AirPods strong suit. Don’t get me wrong. AirPods 2 delivers a decent sound, but
there are way better options out there that deliver a great mixture of bass and
lows which AirPods 2 can’t seem to master. In short, music junkies will be
disappointed with this product.
AirPods
Bluetooth 5.0
AirPods 2 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 technology which
increases the range to 50 feet. In layman terms, you can leave your phone in
one room and roam around the house (within 50 feet of distance) with a solid
connection of AirPods 2.
AirPods
Battery
Thanks to H1 chip, the AirPods roughly provide 4
hours 50 minutes of playback on a single charge. That means four episodes of
Grey’s Anatomy (40 minutes each) and a 45 minutes call with your friend will
still leave some charge in the Airpods. And to top it up, the case itself
offers 24 hours of additional charge. That’s too much generosity from Apple.
AirPods
Call Quality
Apple has done wonders with the call quality of
AirPods 2. With dual mics and H1 chip, the receiver can clearly hear your voice
in a busy environment. For example, the call from the metro ride was so clear
that my friend was able to detect a baby crying who was sitting 5 seats away
from him. That’s weird but brilliant.
To sum it up...
Apple products are not known to offer great battery
life and value for money. Sadly, AirPods 2 are not so different. But people buy
Apple products for their superior performance and high level of comfort.
AirPods 2 come at a starting price of $159 and can go up to $199 for the
wireless charging case. They are not cheap from any angle but with the twin
package of comfort and brilliant features, AirPods 2 is here to stay in the
market for a long time.
Very informative
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