Show Me The Music

LIET's face it — wires, particularly on earphones, are downright bothersome. They get inexplicably tangled into knots just sitting in your pocket, snag themselves on clothes and body parts, and generally get in the way. For long, we’ve tolerated them because Bluetooth alternatives weren’t nearly as reliable, and were a pain to connect and recharge. Now, with Apple and its peers going hammer and tongs after the headphone jack, the wireless future we’ve been promised is taking shape.

Apple, for its part, has finally thrown its hat into the wireless headphone ring with the truly wireless, arguably idiosyncratic and somewhat polarizing AirPods.

Open the box, and you get a pair of independent earphones encased magnetically within a carrying case which does double duty to charge them as well. Like other wireless earphones, AirPods connect to your iPhone via Bluetooth, but some neat iOS smarts and a special chip inside the AirPods make the typically fiddly Bluetooth pairing process a thing of the past. Just open the case, and a screen pops up on your iPhone to confirm the connection! Works even better if you are heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem — this one-time setup process will pair the AirPods to any other iPad, Mac or Apple Watch sharing the same iCloud account. You can use these as Bluetooth headphones for Android phones as well, sans the seamless pairing experience…though I suspect if you’re ponying up this much cash for a pair of Apple earphones, you’re probably not surrounded by Android and Windows devices!

In your ear, the AirPods fit rather like the standard EarPods that come with your iPhone. I had no issues taking them out for a run, but since all ears arent designed the same, your mileage may vary. Rule of thumb: if EarPods don't fit your ears, be wary of picking these up. They’re weightless to the point of one not noticing their presence, but be prepared for some funny stares. I mean, come on – they do make you look a little silly wearing them, what with “EarPods minus the cable” design and the long white arm that very conspicuously sticks out of your ear. Like the original white iPod earphones, these are meant to draw attention to the wearer… except this time, I’m not so sure it will be as positive. A subtler black version maybe, Apple?

Controlling the AirPods, which themselves are devoid of any buttons, is via Apple’s Siri voice assistant which you activate by double tapping either AirPod. What sounds great in theory isn’t so — each volume change, skip track or voice dial command takes time, as Siri pushes it to the cloud, processes it and then does your bidding. It feels unnecessarily complicated to do simple things, not to mention you’re that person who’s frequently talking to themselves just to lower your earphone volume. It’s often much easier and quicker to just pull out your phone. That said, I’m a big fan of how AirPods smartly pause your music when you take a bud out of the ear, resuming instantly once you pop it back in! And while they aren’t audiophile quality earbuds, they’re eminently listenable for most genres of music. Coupled with a decent 50-meter range and a 5-hour battery life (24 with the charging case), the AirPods make a strong case for themselves, if you can live with (and mostly without) Siri. In many ways beyond the obvious fit and finish and user experience, AirPods represent a big step forward in the world of wireless headphones.