Finally, Apple has decided to launch the second generation AirPods, however, contrary to the rumors, the AirPods 2 are not packed with massive upgrades and come with small changes. If someone has the first generation AirPods, upgrading to 2nd generation does not make and you should stick to your AirPods for now.
The most prominent upgrade that we see in AirPods 2 is the wireless charging which is optional. The basic variant of AirPods 2 comes with a wired charging case. These basic second generation AirPods cost the same as the first gen AirPods, around $159. If you want your AirPods with Qi charging case, the price will go up to $200. Both versions are available at the Apple Store.
However, if wireless charging is compelling you to upgrade your AirPods, you don’t need to. The Qi charging case is compatible with first generation AirPods as well. All you have to do is buy a $79 Qi charging case.
Other upgrades seen in AirPods 2 are:
- H1 headphones chip which not only has an improved audio architecture but also supports Bluetooth 5.0. This has increased the multi-device connection speed by 1.5 times.
- Improved battery life: thanks to the new headphones chip, which has better energy efficiency. The overall talk time has been increased by one hour.
- Hands-free Siri activation: unlike the first generation AirPods, you don’t have to double tap to activate Siri, only saying ‘Hey Siri’ will do the task for you.
Where all these upgrades do matter, we were hoping for something like water resistance or a better fit and noise cancellation. Nevertheless, we have our fingers crossed for the next generation AirPods.
Images via Apple
Mahnoor ❤️