Apple AirPods 2 review: even more wireless

- Here are the new AirPods. They look, well, exactly like the old AirPods. The design, fit, and sound quality are almost all the same as before, which means that if you were waiting for Apple to improve the fit or the way the AirPods sound on the subway, or

even

just looking for a new color, you will probably be disappointed. But you're not here to learn about the old AirPods, so let's dive into what's really new and different. (light music) The new features can be simplified into four points:

wireless

charging, faster switching between devices, better battery life for talk time, and the ability to call Siri without having to touch the side.

Wireless charging is probably the biggest improvement in terms of daily use. You can get the new AirPods with a

wireless

charging case for $199, or you can get the same wireless charging case for your existing AirPods for $79 and it will work exactly the same way. If you don't care about wireless charging, you can buy the new AirPods with the standard case for the same $159 price as before. Wireless charging now uses the Qi standard. It's the same as the iPhone and the countless Android phones on the market. Then you can use the same wireless charging pad as your phone to charge your AirPods.

Now just place it on the charger and the little charging light on the front of the case will turn orange and it will be charging. Now, one strange thing here is that the charging light will turn off after a few seconds, but the case will still be charging. Now loading like this is quite slow. Apple tells me that the case charges at five watts, which is slower than the iPhone and can take up to three and a half hours to fully charge the case wirelessly. Also, if you are using a stand style charger for your phone, it probably won't work because the coils simply won't line up.

You'll really want to use a flatbed charger for the AirPods. I tried them on the few pads we have here and had no problems carrying any of them. If you're the type of person who puts your AirPods case inside another case, wireless charging should still work, but you probably won't be able to see that little indicator light. Finally, if you have a Galaxy S10, you can use your Android phone to charge your AirPods wirelessly, which never stops being fun. (jazz music) Now Apple says the new AirPods can switch between your devices up to twice as fast as before.

So if you use an iPhone and an iPad or a Mac, you can quickly switch between them. Maybe it's technically faster, but it never feels faster to me because switching devices still requires going into the settings menu on the device you want to switch to and then selecting the AirPods and then waiting a few seconds for them to actually establish a connection. I have to say it. I love how easy Apple makes it to pair AirPods with your iCloud account and set them up on every device you use. But I also wish they could connect to

more

than one device at a time, like many other Bluetooth headphones, like the Bose QC35 or the Sennheiser noise-cancelling headphones I have.

But a pro tip for Mac users is that the Tooth Fairy app makes this a one-click process and worth the $3. The reason AirPods can connect faster now is thanks to Apple's new H1 chip inside, which also provides up to three hours of talk time on a charge, so you can use them throughout that endless conference call. Battery life for listening to music or just listening to audio is still five hours between charges, but it's still at the top of the range of what you get with wireless headphones and, frankly, I'm pretty happy with it. Now Apple claims that the new chip also improves voice quality on calls, which is good because I think the AirPods are already the best headphones for taking calls and this should make them

even

better.

But if I'm honest, I haven't really noticed much difference in my testing. That H1 chip is also what lets you say hello Siri when you want to call Siri, and just like you can do on a new iPhone or newer Macs, you no longer have to double-tap one of the AirPods to do it. . It's convenient and definitely works as advertised. And it also allows me to set the double tap action for something else, like skip track or play/pause. But I don't think I talk to Siri much

more

than I used to because, well, Siri is still Siri.

Even with the new chip and hands-free capability, there's still a significant delay between saying hello Siri and getting a response and no bell or chime to indicate that the AirPods have actually heard my command. And Siri is still the only way to adjust the volume on the AirPods, which, frankly, is a bit annoying. Now Apple also says that the H1 chip will reduce latency when you use the AirPods and play games, but since I never experienced any lag or lag issues with the first generation while watching videos or playing games on my phone, I didn't really notice much difference with the new ones. . (electronic music) Aside from those things, the new AirPods are still AirPods, which means they're really cool wireless earbuds, if they fit in your ears.

They now work for me and clearly many other people based on the number of people I see using them every day. But they don't suit everyone and the new version simply doesn't do anything to change that. They also aren't great in noisy environments like when you're on a plane, in a subway car, or just on a busy street because they don't seal and don't have noise cancellation. So should you buy them? Well, if you have the first-generation AirPods and they still work great, then no, you're not really gaining anything here. If you need wireless charging, you can purchase the case separately without having to spend $200 on a whole new set.

But if your first-generation AirPods no longer hold a charge because you've been using them for almost three years, then yes, it's probably time to upgrade them, since it's basically impossible to repair them or replace the batteries. You'll get the same basic experience with a couple of new amenities on top. And if you don't have any AirPods, well, if they fit in your ears, then they're still basically the best truly wireless earbuds on the market, with great battery life, solid connectivity, great ease of use, and pretty good sound quality if you're not. in a noisy environment. They even work great for Android users just like the first generation did.

The new wireless charging comes with a higher price tag, but for most people, the AirPods are still hard to beat. Hey, thanks for watching. If you want to know more about other wireless earbuds, be sure to check out my colleague Becca's video about the GalaxyBuds that was posted yesterday. She has a really great rundown of how they work and how they compare to AirPods. And for everything else, be sure to like and subscribe at youtube.com/theverge.