AirPods and Why They’re a Beautiful Disgrace

Yeah, they look kind of weird.

Honestly, though, that’s about the only problem I have with them.

I absolutely adore these strange-looking, bright white, tiny wireless earbuds. They are definitely, without a doubt, Apple’s best-made and well-thought through product in years. They’ve flown underneath the radar for many of Apple’s mainstream users, but this summer when they were released in Canada, I scoured the web in search of them — using websites like NowInStock to send me an email when a pair became in stock at an Apple Store or online.

Now, I started this article by saying AirPods look pretty strange. But really, this article is a love letter. I love my AirPods, potentially more than any other piece of technology that I own. This is the exact product I’ve been looking for, dreaming about.

When the email telling me that there were 4 pairs in stock at my local Apple Store came through, I had two hours until the end of my shift at work. Perfect timing. I impulse-reserved a pair online, and picked them up that evening. From then on, I’ve used them every single day since. That includes traveling, commuting, on flights, walking to class, and all day at work.

They’re so good that I’ve completely stopped carrying my wired Audio-Technica M40x over-ears in my bag, and switched completely to these bad boys.

I use them with my iPhone and my MacBook Pro. They’re completely seamless, and it’s honestly frustrating to think about using any other options, considering both my iPhone and MacBook now lack a 3.5mm headphone jack.

During my purchasing research process, one of the major considerations was battery life. The pods themselves only have around four hours of life per ear — but the case that carries them has over 24 hours of battery life in its tiny frame. I haven’t charged my AirPods case since Wednesday, and as I sit here in this coffeeshop on a Saturday afternoon, the case still has 25% charge — enough for many, many more hours of audio.

Best of all, the case takes only 15–20 minutes to charge one of the AirPods to full — meaning you can do the “AirPod dance” (remove one pod, let it charge to full while you listen to audio with only one ear, then swap the two, then go back to both ear sound) and, using this method, listen to audio all day long with no problems.

Pairing with Apple’s new W1 chip couldn’t be easier. Hold the case up to your phone, press connect, done. It perfects the age-old struggle of pairing a Bluetooth device.

Granted, there are a few small nitpicks.

I’d love a volume control on the AirPods themselves. Thankfully, the Apple Watch integration is excellent, and controlling volume on my watch is an alright fix.

I’d love if they came in black.

I’d love a little less bass. Audio quality is overall pretty meh. Obviously, I can tell the difference between these and my ATH-M40x through my Schiit Audio Modi/Magni audio device stack. It’s pretty noticeable.

However: my desktop audio setup is obviously nowhere near this portable. With my AirPods, they’re out of their case, into my ears, and connected before I can even open the Spotify app. Simple.

I listen to music more now that I own them.

Overall, these are one of the best products Apple’s ever made. They really are the future. You should considering picking up a pair yourself.