• About Us
    • — About Digitized House
    • — Advertise
    • — Editorial Guidelines
  • Policies
    • — Ad Policy
    • — Privacy Policy
    • — Cookie Policy (US)
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
    • Connected Home and Gadget Resources
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
No Result
View All Result
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
    • Connected Home and Gadget Resources
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
No Result
View All Result
Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home
No Result
View All Result
Home Connected Home

Apple AirPods wireless earbuds

Tom Kolnowski by Tom Kolnowski
23 December 2017
in Connected Home, Entertainment
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Day 11 of 12 Smart Gifts: Apple AirPods wireless earbuds. Image: Digitized House.

Day 11 of 12 Smart Gifts: Apple AirPods wireless earbuds. Image: Digitized House.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It has been a year since Apple began shipping their AirPods—the Cupertino company’s first wireless earbuds—yet the product is still on a back-order delivery schedule. As we write this just a few days before Christmas 2017, Apple is showing a January 10, 2018 delivery date if ordered from their website. What is it about these audio accessories that causes them to be in such apparent high demand?

Well, they work, and work well, and Apple makes it quite easy to get them connected to your device. In fact, you do not need an Apple-branded device to enjoy them, as they should easily pair with any device that supports Bluetooth 4.0, including many Android devices. But consumers with Apple iPhones, iPads, iMacs, MacBooks, and Apple Watches will find them particularly appealing, and get the added benefit of using the Siri voice assistant for controlling them.

Apple AirPods are molded in the shape of an inverted letter J, and includes an earbud-like speaker and microphone pod at the top and an extension lobe below. They pair easily with AppleWatch to make fully-mobile music a reality. Image: Apple.
Wireless Apple AirPods are molded in the shape of an inverted letter J, and include an earbud-like speaker and microphone pod at the top plus an extension tube containing the battery and antenna below. They pair easily with AppleWatch to make untethered music on the go a reality. Image: Apple.

Apple does not describe the $159 AirPods as earbuds, instead referring to them as headphones on their website. That may be a bit of a stretch. While the overall audio quality is quite good, you should not expect them to rival the listening experience you might get from full-bore, over-ear wireless headphones, such as the Beats Studio3 Wireless Over‑Ear Headphones ($350) or Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones II ($350).

More Original Content FromDigitized House

Kohler H2Wise+ Marks Rise of the Water Network

How Smart Tech Drives Sustainable Home Decisions

Smart Housing’s Promise for Rural Development

Healthier Smart Home Air Filtration: Aura Air Review

Smart Tech Helping Build Sustainable Homes

AirPods are available in any color you would like, as long as that is white. That goes for the diminutive left and right AirPods themselves—which are designed to unobtrusively rest on your ears, not plug into your ears—as well as the included mobile charging case, which can connect to any available USB port for recharging.

The unconventional design of AirPods—molded in the shape of an inverted letter J—includes an earbud-like speaker and microphone pod at the top and a roughly-one-inch-long extension tube hanging below. Among the hi-tech components inside are the custom, ultra-low-power Apple W1 chip; optical sensors and a motion accelerometer designed to detect when they are placed on the ear; beamforming microphones and another accelerometer that help cancel out background noise when used for phone calls; and tiny batteries and antennas located in those extension tubes.

All of that tech weighs in at just 0.14 ounces (4 grams, or about the same weight as 4 small paper clips) per AirPod, making the pods comfortable to wear for hours at a time, while the extended tube acts as ballast to keep them snugged against your ears and ear lobes during exercise, walks, or even runs. We have used our AirPods extensively since they were released, and have never had one fall out during the course of brisk walking.

As another benefit of the onboard tech, AirPods start playing as soon as they detect placement on the ear, and pause the moment they are taken out. And whether you’re using both AirPods or just one, the W1 chip automatically routes the audio and microphone from one ear to the other.

AirPods are designed to unobtrusively rest on your ears, not plug into them. The extended tube acts as ballast to keep them snugged against your body during exercise, walks, or runs. Image: Apple.

Apple says you can expect up to 5 hours of AirPods listening time per charge, and simply dropping the AirPods back into their charging case for 15 minutes will provide another 3 hours of listening. And the case has its own onboard battery that offers up to 24 hours of total listening time before it needs to be plugged into a USB port for recharging. AirPods also individually emit a tone a few minutes before their charge fully depletes, making it easy to not miss a beat by dropping the depleted one into the charging case and continuing to listen with the other.

After nearly a year of using the all-wireless AirPods daily, we can’t imagine going back to wired earbuds. In particular, we are enamored with using them during exercise, where we pair them with an Apple Watch and no longer need to carry a smartphone to tune into our favorite music.

More info about this topic:
  • ICYMI: 12 Days of Smart Gifts 2017
  • Apple AirPods on Apple website
  • Sonos and Amazon Alexa make beautiful music together
  • Smart speaker alternatives resonate at IFA 2017 Berlin
  • Nest app embraces Apple Watch
  • Digitized House Magazine
Tags: AndroidApple AirPodsApple iOSApple iPadApple iPhone 8 PlusApple Watchconnected homeconnected livingconsumer electronicsdesigndomestic technologygear & gadgetsgift guideInternet of Thingsnon-affiliate
Previous Post

Samsung Connect Home mesh Wi-Fi system

Next Post

Connected garages just got smarter: ChargePoint brings Amazon Alexa to EV charging

Tom Kolnowski

Tom Kolnowski

Tom Kolnowski is the Chief Content Officer & Founder of Digitized House Media, LLC, the publisher of Digitized House | Guide to the Connected Home. When he isn’t writing about smart home technology, sustainability, and high-performance architecture, you’ll find him exploring faraway destinations with his family.

Related Posts

Kohler H2Wise+ Smart Home Water Monitor. Image: Digitized House Media.
Review

Kohler H2Wise+ Marks Rise of the Water Network

9 June 2022

Kohler Company recently expanded its smart home portfolio with the Kohler H2Wise+ water monitor, a system designed to surveil a...

The Google Nest Hub displaying home energy data for a Reliant Energy customer. Image: Digitized House.
Sustainable Home

How Smart Tech Drives Sustainable Home Decisions

18 April 2022

Most people try to do their part to cut down on carbon and help save the planet. From recycling to...

A sunset in rural America, specifically in Driftwood, Texas. Image: Digitized House Media.
Connected Home

Smart Housing’s Promise for Rural Development

7 March 2022

Although we are living in the great age of technology, the so-called digital divide is very real, and it continues...

Next Post
ChargePoint Home EV chargers work with Amazon Alexa. Images: ChargePoint and Amazon

Connected garages just got smarter: ChargePoint brings Amazon Alexa to EV charging

Belkin fires Apple HomeKit volley with Wemo Bridge. Images: Belkin.

At CES 2018, Belkin fires first Apple HomeKit volley with Wemo Bridge

U by Moen Digital Shower, controlled by Amazon Alexa or Apple HomeKit and Siri. Image: Moen.

Smart water futures gain steam at CES 2018

As an Amazon Associate, Digitized House may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links, ads, or buttons on this page. See our full Affiliate Link, Sponsorship, and Ad Policy.

About Us

Digitized House is the Guide to the Connected Home.

We help global consumers make their 
Connected Homes smarter, healthier, safer, and 
more sustainable through streams of original content. You can see our story here.

Like what you see on this website? You can also read us on our Apple News App Channel.

More Info

  • About Us
    • — About Digitized House
    • — Advertise
    • — Editorial Guidelines
  • Policies
    • — Ad Policy
    • — Privacy Policy
    • — Cookie Policy (US)

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, Digitized House may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links, ads, or buttons on this page. See our full Affiliate Link, Sponsorship, and Ad Policy.

Recent Content

Kohler H2Wise+ Marks Rise of the Water Network

How Smart Tech Drives Sustainable Home Decisions

6 Steps to Furnishing Your Space Sustainably Without Compromising Aesthetics 

Smart Housing’s Promise for Rural Development

Healthier Smart Home Air Filtration: Aura Air Review

Smart Tech Helping Build Sustainable Homes

© 2015-2022 Digitized House Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Connect Your Home
    • Deals
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Security Cameras
    • Security Systems
    • Smart Displays
    • Smart Door Locks
    • Smart Lighting
    • Smart Plugs
    • Smart Product Round-ups
    • Smart Speakers
    • Smart Thermostats
    • Smart Water
    • Smoke + CO Detectors
    • Solar Photovoltaics
    • Window Coverings
    • Connected Home and Gadget Resources
  • Ecosystems
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Apple HomeKit
    • Google Assistant
    • SmartThings
    • Open Systems
  • Design Your Home
    • Architecture
    • Healthy Home
    • Home Design
    • How-To
    • Green Building
    • Real Estate
    • Sustainable Home
  • About Us + Policies
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Ad Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy (US)

© 2015-2022 Digitized House Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional cookies Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}