“Apple was once lauded for the design, durability, and simplicity of its products. But in recent years, the company has lost its way,” Mike Murphy writes for Quartz. “But amid at all this lackluster gadgetry, Apple did release—in a tiny container shaped like a Tic-Tac box—one of the simplest and best products it’s put out in years: the AirPods. These wireless headphones do something that few Apple products have in the Tim Cook era—they just work.”
“Really, they just work,” Murphy writes. “Apple loves to describe its products as “magical.” Few have felt that way recently, but the AirPods sort of do. If you’re pairing them with an iPhone, the second you take them out of their packaging and open their container, you get a pop-up on your phone asking you to connect ‘[your name]’s AirPods.’ There’s no messing with Bluetooth settings, no connecting to local wi-fi networks, and none of the setup typical of internet-of-things devices. Open the box; start playing music. No other wireless headphones I’ve tried out, or really many other products at all, have been so easy to start using.”
“If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you have a personal digital assistant, the AirPods are perfect. Double-tap the side of one of the earbuds and you’ll activate Siri, allowing you to look and feel just a little bit like Joaquin Phoenix in the movie Her (minus, hopefully, the giant mustache),” Murphy writes. “Should you get them? Yes. If you have an iPhone and listen to music on your commute, or take a lot of phone calls on the go, AirPods work perfectly.”
Read more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: Another thing that’s Apple-like about them is that they’re a giant hit thats roiling the headphone industry. That they have the Tim Cook-era stamp upon them of shipping way late with too few units available at launch will quickly be forgotten.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s AirPods grab 26% of wireless headphone market share – January 11, 2017
The success of Airpods could add $10 billion to Apple’s market cap – January 10, 2017
Apple AirPods are imperfect, but surprisingly awesome – January 4, 2017
Canadian Reviewer reviews Apple AirPods: ‘Very cool’ – December 28, 2016
I really hate how much I love Apple’s AirPods – December 28, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook tours New York Stock Exchange, calls AirPods ‘a runaway success’ – December 28, 2016
How to find out when Apple Stores have AirPods in stock – December 28, 2016
AirPods kick off Apple’s battle for our ears – December 23, 2016
Yahoo’s Pogue reviews Apple AirPods: Far more elegant and slick than others – December 23, 2016
Wall Street Journal’s Best Wireless Earbuds: AirPods, ‘Apple’s best new product in years’ – December 22, 2016
Apple AirPods are very cool, but I am returning them – here’s why – December 22, 2016
Marathoner tests Apple AirPods on 10K run – December 19, 2016
Rolling Stone reviews Apple AirPods: ‘Surprisingly awesome’ – December 14, 2016
Apple AirPods could arrive in stores as early as November 17th – November 10, 2016
Apple’s AirPods remain on track to launch this year, sources say – November 2, 2016
Apple AirPods may be delayed into 2017 – November 1, 2016
Apple delays AirPod rollout – October 26, 2016
Survey: 12% of U.S. consumers say they’ll buy Apple AirPods; extra $3 billion in revenue – September 29, 2016
Bill Atkinson: Why Apple’s AirPods are the best place for Siri – September 28, 2016
Apple’s response to Amazon Echo: AirPods – September 20, 2016
Apple’s AirPods make Google Glass look even more ridiculous (if that’s even possible) – September 19, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook: AirPods won’t fall out of your ears (with video) – September 14, 2016
Why Silicon Valley is all wrong about Apple’s AirPods – September 17, 2016
What AirPods can tell us about Apple’s future – September 12, 2016
Hands-on with Apple’s new AirPods: Stayed in my ears, sounded awesome – September 10, 2016
Apple and a truly wireless future: AirPods are just the start – September 10, 2016
Whoever makes the first AirPods strap is going to get rich – September 8, 2016
Apple patents biometric sensor-packed health monitoring earphones with ‘head gesture’ control – February 18, 2014
Love mine!
But don’t like there is no song skip button and awkward to change volume. Wearing armband in gym, PITA to change volume and skip a song.
What you say is totally true. If you buy further into the ecosystem (say, get a Nike Apple Watch for example) you’ll have convenient controls at your wrist.
THANKS GOD THEY TOOK THE TIME TO MAKE THEM RIGHT THIS TIME…
MDN – stick to your mantra
I Love my Airpods too BUT they are not perfect. Look forward to a 1.1 version of the software. Sometimes when I have them paired to my phone, then pair them to my Macbook Pro I can’t get them to move back to the phone without completly resetting the Airpods. They move better between Phone and iPad. Mic works well on them and they are very comfortable but their are a few bugs. The integration with the Apple Watch is one of the most surprising and pleasing features. I give them an A-
Yeah I have to agree with
I’d have to agree with some of the comments here that they don’t “just work”. Mine are regularly disconnecting from phone. When they work they are great but I’m hard-pressed to say that they just work
Terrible source article. The point-form stupidity at the top destroyed its credibility at the outset.
Went to Apple Store today to purchase AirPods. They don’t have any. Went online at Apple Store. It tells me there is a 6 week shipping delay. Maybe I will buy something from Plantronics.
I just got mine yesterday and I love them. I ordered them online for pickup in the evening. The girl that helped me said they get some in the morning and they sell out everyday. If I hadn’t ordered them online I would have been out of luck. It was the only store in NYC that had them when I looked. I suggest you check first thing every morning so you can pick them up later. Good luck!
I would have no idea if these are good as advertised. They are 6 weeks behind to ship them out (that is after being delayed 6 months). “They just work, assuming we can ever get them into your hands.”
Does anyone know of any technical reason they couldn’t be paired to Apple TVs? Seems to be a great idea for watching TV with a sleeping baby in the room or a partner asleep in the same bed without having to resort to a smaller screen laptop or iPad..