Still the best wireless earbuds you can buy

People love Apple’s AirPods. I know this because I can’t walk down the street or ride the subway or go anywhere without spotting the striking white “stems” poking out of peoples’ ears. They are everywhere the same way EarPods were everywhere during the height of the iPod.

I’ve had AirPods since early 2017 and I, too, love them — so much that I paid $69 (plus tax) for a single replacement earbud when I lost it during a flight and have on several occasions returned home to grab them even when it meant being late to work, or a dinner, or a meeting (shhh, don’t tell anyone). Not to mention, they are a game-changer for museum tours.

But two years in, the battery life on my AirPods isn’t as good as it used to be — I can listen to music continuously for about 2-3 hours instead of the original five — and the wireless connection with my iPhone is flakier than I would like.

So naturally, I should replace them with the new second-gen AirPods (let’s just call them AirPods 2 for simplicity), right?

Not quite. As much as I like AirPods 2 — I’ve been testing the version with wireless charging case — the new features aren’t significant enough upgrades for me to shell out at least another $159 for…yet In my case, my OG AirPods can probably still last another year before the battery life becomes unbearable. When that happens, then, I think I will probably get AirPods 2 unless AirPods 3 are out.

If you’re new to wireless earbuds, AirPods 2 are a no-brainer and 100 percent worth it.

However, if you’re new to wireless earbuds, AirPods 2 ($159 with the regular charging case and $199 with the wireless charging case) are a no-brainer and 100 percent worth it. Hands-down, they are the best wireless earbuds to get if you use an Apple device. There are some good wireless earbuds that come close to matching AirPods — Samsung’s Galaxy Buds come to mind — but they’re still a few checkbox ticks short.

And if you’ve got the first-generation AirPods (or AirPods 1 as I’m calling them) like I do and the battery life is as good (or better) than mine and all you want is wireless charging, there’s no need to pay the full $199 for the AirPods 2 with wireless charging case. Just get the wireless charging case for $79 for your old buds.

Same look and fit

What’s there to really say? In your ears, the AirPods 2 are indistinguishable from the first-gen wireless earbuds.

Apple still only sells them in one color: white. There’s no black as was rumored. And they’re still made of the same glossy plastic as before (no new coating for better grip as previously rumored as well).

For me, this is totally fine since I didn’t expect Apple to tweak the design or cut off the “stems” (face it: they’re here to stay just like the camera bump and notch on iPhones). Still, I would have liked a grippier texture on the top of the buds, though. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve dropped my AirPods 1 on the dirty subway and filthy streets when pulling them out of the case; they can be really slippery.

With all this sameness, you probably already know what I’m going to say next: AirPods 2 fit exactly the same. 

Everything from the lack of any sound sealing to the way the stems jut out of your ears is the same as AirPods 1. So if those (or wired EarPods) don’t fit well in your ears, these new ones aren’t going to be any different.

It also means AirPods 2 looks the same in your ears. While AirPods were once derided for resembling toothbrush heads, nobody’s really cracking jokes about them anymore. 

In two years, AirPods have gone from dorky to must-have status symbol. Wearing AirPods sends a statement to everyone around you; you’re telling everyone you’re trendy and living on the cutting-edge of tech much like how it was cool to rock the iPod’s white earbuds back in the day.

The earbuds aren’t the only things that AirPods 2 have in common with AirPods 1. The regular charging case for AirPods 2 is also identical to the dental floss-shaped AirPods 1 case. Same materials, same LED on the inside, same pairing button on the backside, and same Lightning charging port on the bottom. 

The wireless charging case is similar, but has a few subtle differences: the LED indicator is on the front instead of the inside, the metal hinge is matte instead of polished, and the button is positioned in the center instead of near the bottom. 

Putting the LED indicator on the front is a much better design than inside of the case since it makes it easy to see if the AirPods are charging (amber light) or fully charged (light is off) at a glance.

Incremental upgrades

While I appreciate Apple keeping the AirPods 1’s compact design, I have to admit I’m a little underwhelmed by the improvements in AirPods 2. They feel very minor in my opinion.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that Apple replaced the AirPods 1’s W1 chip with a new and improved H1 chip (“H” stands for headphones), which enables things like faster switching between Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) while listening to music, lower audio latency for some games where the graphics and audio would be out of sync on AirPods 1, hands-free “Hey Siri” voice controls so you no longer have to double tap on the right AirPod, and an extra hour of talk time.

But I was hoping for more. Specifically better sound quality and longer battery life for listening to music.

Despite the new chip, sound quality on AirPods 2 is virtually unchanged from AirPods 1 and sound as good as EarPods, but not as good as other wireless earbuds that produce deeper bass and clearer mids and highs. 

Some people have said AirPods 2 sound better than AirPods 1, but I couldn’t tell any difference. Apple isn’t advertising any improvements in sound quality and honestly, I think it’s a placebo effect. Either that or ear wax build-up on the grilles or in peoples’ ears are affecting sound quality on AirPods 1. (I’m dead serious about this!).

Battery life for listening to music is also the same as on AirPods 1: up to five hours for listening to music on a single charge. Talk time has increased by 50 percent from two hours on AirPods 1 to three hours on AirPods 2. But there’s a catch: Apple says AirPods 2 can get an extra hour of talk time with the volume set at 50 percent. But In my tests, with the volume level set at my normal 75 percent, I only managed to get about another 35 minutes of talk time. My AirPods 2 probably could’ve lasted another 25 minutes if I lowered the volume, but then I wouldn’t have been able to hear the other person as clearly.

With no improvements to battery life for listening to music on a single charge, AirPods 2 lag behind Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, which are capable of 6 hours on a charge.

That said, AirPods 2 still kicks every other wireless earbuds’ ass when it comes to extra charges via its case. As with AirPods 1, the AirPods 2’s charging case (both wired and wireless) provide just under four full charges or 19 additional hours of music listening. For comparison, the Galaxy Buds case only provides a little over one extra charge (7 additional hours).

AirPods 2 makes up for its five hours of listening time with quick charging. A 15-minute charge in the case still gives you up to 3 hours of listening time, but talk time has jumped to 2 hours from the previous 1 hour.

AirPods 2 is also available with a wireless charging case for a $40 premium over the regular non-wireless charging case version.

I’m really happy Apple finally got around to releasing AirPods with wireless charging as both a bundle and a standalone case to (upgrade AirPods 1 or AirPods 2 later). The wireless charging case works with any Qi-based wireless charging pad. 

It’s way more convenient to use charge AirPods 2 with a Qi charger, but you also have to consider the additional gear required to do so. If you already charge your iPhone with a wireless charger, you’ll probably need to buy another if you also want to wirelessly charge up your AirPods at the same time. You could also upgrade to a multi-device wireless charging pad like Nomad’s Base Station, which can charge two iPhones or one iPhone and AirPods. Both would be extra costs, though.

For most people, the regular non-wireless charging version of AirPods 2 will suffice. But if you really want to live the cable-free life, the wireless charging case is convenient.

The elephant in the room is of course Apple’s own AirPower, which was announced back in 2017 alongside the iPhone 8 and X, but has mysteriously disappeared since. Where the heck is it? Your guess is as good as ours. The AirPods 2 with wireless charging case packaging mentions AirPower support and there’s even a diagram of it on the packaging for the non-wireless charging version, so it’s gotta be coming soon, right? We can only hope Apple will release it soon.

Still the best wireless earbuds for everyone

If you’ve made it this far, you probably think I’m disappointed by the AirPods 2. While it’s true that I feel the AirPod 2’s new features are modest, they’re all still improvements over AirPods 1. 

Apple set the bar really high with AirPods 1.

Part of the reason why AirPods 2 don’t seem like much of an upgrade is because Apple set the bar really high with AirPods 1, nailing size, battery life, and convenience. AirPods 1 were so ahead of the game no other wireless earbuds topped them.

In fact, AirPods 2 is to AirPods 1 what Apple Watch Series 2 was to the original Apple Watch: Better than before and still the best in its product category, but not a quantum leap forward. It probably won’t be for another generation or two until we get more ground-breaking features such as built-in sensors for monitoring your health.

For now, AirPods 2 is still the gold standard for wireless earbuds.