Before we dive down deep into the ins and outs of the New Apple Airpods and the differences between these airpods and the previous 2016 version, we have to clear up a misunderstanding first.
The new 2019 released airpods are NOT and I repeat NOT the Airpod 2, they are a refresh of the 2016 Airpods that we have all come to know and love. The official Airpod 2 (or whatever Apple will decide to call them) is rumored to be released early 2020.
So now you must be asking yourself, “Well if they are not the new version of the Airpods then why did Apple release these ones and not the version 2 as we were all expecting.” Well honestly, we have no idea but our best guess is that the upcoming Airpods are not ready yet but Apple seems to wish to address user concerns over some issues with the original Airpods.
Here is where things get interesting, so the new Airpod (2019) has a few improvements over the previous model. Spotting a new H1 chipset which Apples says is geared towards headphones rather than the previous W1 chipset, along with an additional 1hr of talk-time, which brings our total to 3hrs and a music playback duration of 5hrs (same as the 2016 edition). Then they threw in voice activation for Siri along with the previous double tap option and finally a wireless charging case. Best of all we get 30% improvement in latency so that’s great for all your mobile gamers out there (myself included). All these, when put together, make the new airpods a true-wireless pair of headphones.
What is disappointing though is the fact that there is zero design difference, so if you are trying to impress your friends that you got the newer Airpods, sorry they are not going to be able to tell the difference. Apple didn’t even release it in any new colors, we are all stuck with the plain white finish. Unless you have $399 to spend on Color ware’s Custom painted Airpodsthen you can get them in a host of other colors.
This now brings us around to the price, here you have three options, to buy the new airpods with the wireless casing for $199, the airpods alone with a standard casing for $159 or just the wireless casing alone for $79. If you own the original airpods then you can just get the casing alone but it’s not really practical to buy the new airpods without the wireless casing.
Finally, let’s talk about if you should buy the Airpod (2109)? The short answer would be “NO”. But before you bring out the pitchforks and call for my head, here are my reasons why.
- Unless you do not own a pair of airpods and you are looking for a good one to buy then, by all means, go get a pair.
- There is no discernable sound quality improvement so unless you want the newest of everything then you should stick with your old one
- If you already own a pair of airpods, there are cheaper wireless cases in the market that function just as good.
So, while Apple appeases the masses with the 2019 refresh of our favorite headphones, we still want to wait for the Airpod 2 that will be coming out next year. Who knows, maybe we will get a pleasant surprise.
