Apple unveils new AirPods with Wireless Charging Case, 50% more talk time & 'Hey Siri' [u]...

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited December 2019
Adding to a full week of Apple releases, the company has refreshed the AirPods with a new wireless sync chip that allows for "Hey Siri," and longer battery life -- and the arrival of the Wireless Charging Case.




The new Apple-designed H1 chip, developed specifically for headphones like the AirPods, delivers performance efficiencies, faster connect times, more talk time and the convenience of hands-free "Hey Siri." Apple says that the new Apple-designed H1 chip features "custom audio architecture to create a revolutionary audio experience and improved synchronization."

In the latest version, the wireless connection is said to be up to twice as fast when switching between devices, a third quicker at connecting for phone calls, and offers up to 30 percent lower latency when used in games.

A combination of optical sensors and motion accelerometers are used to control how the AirPods work, including which microphones to engage for calls and Siri, and to play sound as soon as they are in proximity to the user's ears. This also enables a user to wear one AirPod for a call, with the other kept silent when not in use and not worn.

Apple's second iteration of AirPods has up to 50 percent more talk time compared to first generation AirPods, according to Apple.

The new AirPods come with either the standard charging case or the new Wireless Charging Case. Each case holds additional charges for more than 24 hours of total listening time.

AirPods with standard charging case will be available for $159. AirPods with Wireless Charging Case will be available for $199. The Wireless Charging Case can be purchased by itself for for $79. Orders start on Wednesday, with delivery sometime the week of March 26.

The arrival of the second-generation AirPods continues a hardware-heavy week of releases for Apple. On Monday it introduced the 10.5-inch iPad Air and the fifth-generation iPad mini, while Tuesday saw a refresh of the iMac range with new GPU options, at the same time as cutting prices for high-end SSD upgrades for the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

More new hardware could still be on the way, such as the long-awaited AirPower charging mat which recently surfaced in code references in the latest iOS 12.2 developer beta.

Update: Shipment times for Apple's new AirPods slipped to April mere hours after the device was put up for sale. Shoppers can pre-order the new AirPods from Apple authorized reseller Adorama, however, with no sales tax collected on orders shipped outside New York and New Jersey.
uniscapeArthurDardalis
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 88
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    Only in white- still.
    Pass
    williamlondonpscooter63
  • Reply 2 of 88
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    No biometric sensors?
    (I feel a little bit better about my recent AirPod purchase :) )
    edited March 2019 GeorgeBMaccurtis hannaharthurbawatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 88
    Finally! Time to upgrade. 
    jbdragonStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 88
    What happened to the new surface to keep them from slipping out?
    williamlondondavgregcoolfactor
  • Reply 5 of 88
    Ordered!
    StrangeDaysn2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 88
    Finally! My first Gen AirPods can be retired with honor. Uncounted running miles on them, hours at work, their microphones are shot and their batteries barely last 2 hours: they’ve been workhorses!
    red oakGeorgeBMacStrangeDaysn2itivguypatchythepiratebrucemcwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 88
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    Outstanding!...  My first generation were really getting tired, down to about an hour battery life, less if on the phone.  Black would have been nice, but I'll take 'em!  Ordered
    edited March 2019 GeorgeBMacn2itivguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 88
    $79 for the wireless charging case. Apple is effing crazy. I picked up a case at the local Apple reseller for $30. I could see paying more if it offered more and still the sound quality of the AirPods is fair to partly cloudy. But to each his or her own. 
  • Reply 9 of 88
    mbenz1962mbenz1962 Posts: 171member
    Order placed (with wireless charger case)!  I hope my jogger wife likes them.
    red oakGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 88
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    The leakers predicting every release this week have been right so far, so I think these are more of a minor Airpods 1 update and Airpods 2 proper are coming later? 
    arthurbawatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 88
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    Ordered, figured what the hell and got the wireless case even tho I don’t have a charger for it. Just anticipating AirPower coming tomorrow and suddenly wanting it now that I’d have three wireless things I could toss on it. 

    Was hoping for matte Space Grey to go with everything else I own but these’ll have to do. I guess they’ll match my Pencil 2?
    GeorgeBMacStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 88
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    $79 for the wireless charging case. Apple is effing crazy. I picked up a case at the local Apple reseller for $30. I could see paying more if it offered more and still the sound quality of the AirPods is fair to partly cloudy. But to each his or her own. 
    I'm curious what you bought. Do you have an Amazon link or something?
    chiaracerhomie3pscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 88
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member

    I’m also re-reading the product page over and over because I’m not sure if it means they have any improved sound quality over the original, or just the latency is lower.

    I think these are a 'speed bump' version of the Airpods 1, except speed = better wireless and hey siri, where the Airpods 2 with the new texture and other new features are coming later in the year? 


    caladanianarthurba
  • Reply 14 of 88
    gutengelgutengel Posts: 363member
    No space gray option and $40 extra for wireless charging. Very disappointed at Apple...
    agilealtitudedavgregbrucemc
  • Reply 15 of 88
    $79 for the wireless charging case. Apple is effing crazy. I picked up a case at the local Apple reseller for $30. I could see paying more if it offered more and still the sound quality of the AirPods is fair to partly cloudy. But to each his or her own. 
    I'm curious what you bought. Do you have an Amazon link or something?
    They are basically sleeves for the current AirPods case, ranging from $20-40.  
    $20
    $36
    $40
    $79 for Apple's case may be worth it for those who want OEM peace of mind.  For others, not so much.  YMMV
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 88
    gutengelgutengel Posts: 363member
    Ordered, figured what the hell and got the wireless case even tho I don’t have a charger for it. Just anticipating AirPower coming tomorrow and suddenly wanting it now that I’d have three wireless things I could toss on it. 

    Was hoping for matte Space Grey to go with everything else I own but these’ll have to do. I guess they’ll match my Pencil 2?
    Match your apple pencil how? The plastic is not matte like the pencil and on the pencil you get new design, gestures and wireless charging for $30. With the new AidPods you get same design, same gestures and wireless charging for just $40! What a bargain...
  • Reply 17 of 88
    $79 for the wireless charging case. Apple is effing crazy. I picked up a case at the local Apple reseller for $30. I could see paying more if it offered more and still the sound quality of the AirPods is fair to partly cloudy. But to each his or her own. 
    I'm curious what you bought. Do you have an Amazon link or something?
    They are basically sleeves for the current AirPods case, ranging from $20-40.  
    $20
    $36
    $40
    $79 for Apple's case may be worth it for those who want OEM peace of mind.  For others, not so much.  YMMV
    Most likely I’ll be selling my old airpods for around $100, and paying $100 to get longer battery life plus wireless charging plus hey Siri which will be great for the car. A much better deal than my first airpods purchase.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 88
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Brilliant strategy leading up to WWDC. New releases every day is like Christmas, New Year and a Birthday party every day!
    pscooter63coolfactorcaladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 88
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    $79 for the wireless charging case. Apple is effing crazy. I picked up a case at the local Apple reseller for $30. I could see paying more if it offered more and still the sound quality of the AirPods is fair to partly cloudy. But to each his or her own. 
    I'm curious what you bought. Do you have an Amazon link or something?
    They are basically sleeves for the current AirPods case, ranging from $20-40.  
    $20
    $36
    $40
    $79 for Apple's case may be worth it for those who want OEM peace of mind.  For others, not so much.  YMMV
    Ah, okay, I've seen those. I was wondering if OP got an entire third-party charging case for that $30, because that would be new.

    $59 for the charging case + one of these doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but you're right, YMMV.
  • Reply 20 of 88
    gutengel said:
    Ordered, figured what the hell and got the wireless case even tho I don’t have a charger for it. Just anticipating AirPower coming tomorrow and suddenly wanting it now that I’d have three wireless things I could toss on it. 

    Was hoping for matte Space Grey to go with everything else I own but these’ll have to do. I guess they’ll match my Pencil 2?
    Match your apple pencil how? The plastic is not matte like the pencil and on the pencil you get new design, gestures and wireless charging for $30. With the new AidPods you get same design, same gestures and wireless charging for just $40! What a bargain...
    Also, the new H1 chip, improved sync, faster switching and connecting of calls, "Hey, Siri", 50% longer talk time on calls (which seems like a huge improvement), etc, not sure why you're choosing to ignore a bunch of the new features. The extra $40 is pretty much only for the wireless charging case as you can get the new AirPods for the same price as the originals with the regular charging case, and $40 doesn't seem like that much to me. Much better than paying $79 for just the case.

    Speaking of that, any word on if the wireless charging case works with the original AirPods?
    StrangeDaysfastasleepwatto_cobra
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