AirPods Headphones — Unboxed!

AirPods — the revolutionary new headset from Apple — combine trusty old Bluetooth with all-new "magic" to make wireless listening faster, more flexible, and more convenient then ever.

Flip open the iPod-white case and your iPhone — including the all-new iPhone 7 — automatically detects them. Control center comes up with a specialized interface and a single "Connect" button. Tap it and you're done. Then, put one AirPod in your ear and the infrared sensor knows to switch audio from your device to the headphone. Put the second one in, and it knows to send audio to both, and switch from mono to stereo.

Pull one AirPod out and your audio will pause. Hit play again, and it'll continue in mono — which is great for calls and for podcasts. Put the second one back, and it resumes in stereo.

You can also tap the side of the AirPod twice and the accelerometer will know you want to answer a call or invoke Siri. Then you can ask Siri to do anything you want, right from there.

If you start music on your Apple Watch, the AirPods will seamlessly switch to the Watch. And thanks to iCloud, they'll also be set up on your iPad or Mac, so they'll work with all your Apple gear.

Since AirPods are Bluetooth, they'll also pair in the standard way with any other BT-capable device, include Apple TV.

Each AirPod carries enough charge to last 5 hours, and the case can recharge them both up to 24 hours more. So, if you switch between them, you could fly from New York to Hong Kong while listening to every single episode of Apple Talk — twice! — without running out of juice.

They even stay in my grappling-mangled ears better than the original EarPods, which is terrific.

AirPods ship in October. You'll want a pair.

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.