2016 was not a banner yr for Apple, a minimum of so far as the iPhone goes. The iPhone 7 felt a bit flat, missing in any actual revolutionary options, and as an alternative took one away – the headphone jack.
Whereas Apple maintained it helped enhance waterproofing, the jury remains to be out on simply how a lot of that was true, and the way a lot of it was to shift customers to a newly introduced lineup of Bluetooth earbuds – the AirPods.
Now of their sixth yr, it’s laborious to see them as something lower than successful, although. AirPods in all their varieties and technology sorts are a way more frequent sight when commuting, touring, or simply visiting a neighborhood retailer than any of the superb alternate options from Bose, Sony, and even Google.
With the wired EarPods (be they 3.5mm, Lightning or USB-C), on the verge of extinction, let’s check out the historical past of AirPods, Apple’s world-conquering audio product, from humble beginnings to the current day.
AirPods 1st Gen – Introduced September 2016
Apple’s first stab on the AirPods, the unique variations rolled out in December 2016… and had been broadly mocked once they debuted. Individuals mentioned they regarded like toothbrush heads, and lots of decried the self-aggrandizing stance of Apple when it got here to the three.5mm jack elimination from the iPhone as the corporate pushed individuals to its new earbuds.
They marked the debut of Apple’s W1 SoC, although, which helped steadiness battery life and connectivity, whereas additionally giving AirPods the instant-pairing characteristic with Apple units that’s made them a mainstay of the ecosystem ever since.
Apple later added the choice to purchase a case with a wi-fi charging characteristic – the primary time AirPods had moved to a non-Lightning charging methodology (though it was nonetheless an possibility).
The concept was that the corporate’s AirPower charging mat would cost an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods on the identical time – but it surely wasn’t to be, with the failed AirPower matt ending up as a scrapped mission in 2018.
AirPods 2nd Gen – Introduced March 2019
AirPods had been already rising in reputation because of their immediately recognizable design, and Apple correctly selected to maintain the identical look with the second technology mannequin.
The corporate added the H1 chip, which added Siri by way of a hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ command, and meant that the AirPods may learn customers’ messages as they arrived.
Connection energy and pace had been additionally improved, as was battery life, making the second technology a marked step up.
AirPods Professional 1st Gen – Introduced October 2019
Apple’s AirPods Professional was revealed and launched inside two days, and marked an enormous step up on the fundamental AirPods because of the arrival of noise cancellation.
By squeezing the stems (or utilizing the iOS interface), AirPods Professional may swap between noise cancellation and transparency mode, with the previous utilizing anti-noise to counter exterior audio, whereas the latter permits for customers to listen to the world round them, amplified by means of the onboard microphones.
Alongside that includes the ‘Hey Siri’ enhancements because of an H1 chip, the AirPods Professional additionally matched the battery lifetime of the bottom AirPods, though utilizing noise canceling introduced it down decrease than many rivals.
AirPods Max – Introduced December 2020
In a yr the place all of us needed to keep inside our houses throughout a pandemic, Apple dropped the AirPods Max reveal by way of a retailer refresh, and reception was, initially a minimum of, blended.
The design has an industrial look that’s straightforward to identify amongst a crowd of rivals, and the primary over-ear AirPods didn’t disappoint when it comes to glorious audio high quality and Spatial Audio assist.
The $549 worth level actually stung many, although, though it’s nonetheless lower than you’d pay for very, very high-end headphones. The $70 alternative cups didn’t assist issues, and nor did the weird ‘Good Case’ which put the AirPods Max right into a low energy mode as an alternative of merely turning them off.
They’re usually discounted now, and the long-awaited 2024 refresh is that this author’s most anticipated Apple product of subsequent yr.
AirPods third Gen – Introduced October 2021
Whereas the AirPods Professional noticed a design change from the bottom AirPods to suit extra of that ‘Professional’ goodness, the third-generation AirPods borrowed a lot from the Professional.
With shorter stems, the AirPods (Third Gen) added the identical stem-based controls from the AirPods Professional, albeit with out noise cancellation. They gained higher battery life, too, whereas additionally including Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos assist to make them supreme for watching Apple TV Plus reveals.
AirPods Professional 2nd Gen – Introduced September 2022
The AirPods Professional noticed a second-generation refresh in September 2022, with improved noise cancellation given loads of focus, particularly when factoring in iOS 16’s Customized Spatial Audio.
A lot of this comes from the arrival of the H2 chip, permitting for Adaptive Transparency to regulate incoming loud audio. Apple additionally added a contact management for quantity adjustment on the go, letting you swipe up and down on the stems to dial quantity ranges accordingly.
Battery life was additionally improved, fixing the largest grievance in regards to the AirPods Professional first technology. The charging case additionally added a speaker for Discover My performance, so it may well ring a loud noise in the event you’ve misplaced them someplace.
AirPods Professional ‘2.5’ – Introduced September 2023
The newest AirPods replace, the AirPods Professional acquired a pseudo-generational refresh in September 2023.
Sure, the case has a USB-C port as an alternative of Lightning on this replace, however the primary change on the within is the up to date H2 chip to supply 5GHz lossless audio for diminished latency when used with the Imaginative and prescient Professional headset. There’s additionally Adaptive Audio to mix Transparency and Noise Cancelation modes, whereas Dialog Consciousness will decrease quantity, cut back background noise, and lift close by voices in the event you strike up a dialog — although it is a backwards-compatible characteristic with early AirPods Professional fashions.
In December 2023 Apple additionally started separate gross sales of the USB-C charging case.
What’s subsequent for AirPods?
Apple reportedly made $14.5 billion in income from AirPods gross sales alone final yr — that is greater than the income of Spotify and X, from one small arm of Apple’s enterprise. So count on to proceed to see extra AirPods innovation in 2024.
All eyes shall be on Apple’s plans for AirPods Max 2 — the suspected sequel to the one AirPods product but to get a refresh. Whereas USB-C charging is a dead-cert for inclusion in any future AirPods Max headphones, worth, battery and spatial audio enhancements may all be on the playing cards. It will likely be fascinating to see if Apple can conjure a approach to make the AirPods Max work seamlessly with Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional, bringing the corporate’s high-end audio to its most premium machine, it might be a complete new stage of immersion.
