AirPods
Why Should You Buy AirPods in 2025?
Apple AirPods are quite ubiquitous, and there are multiple reasons for their popularity. The foremost of them is their compatibility with Apple devices, including iPhones, MacBooks, and Apple watches, among others. They come with exceptional audio quality, allowing you to enjoy your favorite songs on Apple Music and productive meetings on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms.
Furthermore, they are compatible with Android devices as well, helping you enjoy cutting-edge features while using various cost-effective Android-based devices. On top of that, they come with sweat and water resistance and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), making sure that AirPods are worth your money.
In this article, we have discussed everything you need to know about various AirPods models so that you can make a well-informed decision regarding which of these devices best serves your needs.
Reasons AirPods Do Better Than Any Other Wireless Earbuds:
AirPods are known for game-changing features and capabilities that rivals have yet to duplicate. Here are some of the many features that have made these wireless earbuds the most sought-after digital personal gadget.
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Flawless & Seamless Integration:
All AirPods models are designed and built in a way to works seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem. All models, including AirPods Pro 4, AirPods Pro 2, and others, support excellent connectivity thanks to Apple’s proprietary H1 and H2 processors. These chips enable these earbuds to communicate seamlessly with iOS/macOS, and you can perform common tasks on Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, iMacs, MacBooks, and Apple TVs.
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Feature-Packed Wireless Earbuds:
It has been Apple’s brilliant move to keep updating AirPods Pro and other models, which leads to newer and improved features with every update, enhancing the capabilities of the H1 or H2 processor. These regular updates ensure the extension in the lives of these gadgets. The feature list of these products is growing. For instance, they come with these capabilities:
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Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
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Transparency Mode
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Automatic Switching
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Adaptive EQ
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Studio-Quality Audio Recording
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Sleep Detection
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Camera Remote Control
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Health Monitoring
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Improved Battery Life & Efficiency
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Conversation Awareness
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Personalized Volume & Hearing Health Tools
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Force Sensor / Touch Control
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True wireless Spatial Audio:
Undoubtedly, Apple’s AirPods Pro comes with the truest wireless spatial audio capabilities, featuring er 360-degree and personalized Spatial Audio. You can thus enjoy an immersive soundscape on compatible Apple Music tracks and Dolby Atmos content.
You can experience the natural feel of instruments on orchestral recordings and vocal sharpness from live performances. On top of that, Apple’s AirPods Pro models support motion-detecting technology, enabling these wireless earbuds to place sounds accurately where your head moves.
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Innovative Charging Case:
Apple has introduced the latest MagSafe charging case that is provided with the U1 Chip. This chip works perfectly with the Precision Finding function, helping you locate them on your iDevice or Mac. You can thus easily find charging cases, providing relief to millions of users who often end up losing track of their charging cases.
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Impressive Usability:
Apple AirPods Pro models come with multiple input methods, including motion, touch, voice, and pressure detection, allowing users to perform various tasks with ease and without any hiccups. Apple has introduced force sensors on the stems of AirPods Pro models, requiring only a light press for activation of these gadgets. You can hear a satisfying click sound for the confirmation of your intended command.
Motion sensors are equally impressive; for instance, Auto-pause/play is activated instantly whenever you remove or place them on your ears. Touch gestures are also there, allowing you to reduce or raise volumes with mere slide gestures.
However, the feature that has always steals the show when it comes to the best wireless earbuds in the UK is “Hey Siri” voice activation. The speech recognition in Apple’s earbuds is phenomenal thanks to intuitive software and powerful beamforming mics. All you need is to say a two-word phrase, and the AI bot in AirPods fires up, allowing you to perform multiple functions with ease and confidence.
Now that you have understood the salient features that have made these devices quite popular. Let’s move towards discussing the prominent capabilities of each model so that you can make a well-considered decision.
AirPods by Model:
Apple has launched several AirPods models. For instance:
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AirPods (2ND Generation):
Launched in 2019, this AirPods model provides an entry-level experience for users. However, the feature list is quite impressive, offering multiple advanced and smart functionalities. For instance:
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Sensors:
It is equipped with dual beamforming microphones, dual optical sensors, a motion-detecting accelerometer, and a speech-detecting accelerometer. You can thus enjoy wide-ranging input methods for multiple tasks.
The controls include double-tap to play, skip forward, or answer a phone call, providing ease of use.
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Battery:
AirPods support up to 5 hours of listening time with a single charge and up to 3 hours of talk time with a single charge. However, with the Lightning Charging Case, you can enjoy More than 24 hours of listening time and up to 18 hours of talk time.
On top of that, putting this AirPods model in the Lightning Charging case for 15 minutes can allow you to experience up to 3 hours of listening time as well as up to 2 hours of talk time.
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Support for Siri:
It also supports Siri. All you need is to say “Hey Siri” to do various functions such as play a song, make a call, or get directions.
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H1 Chipset:
AirPods 2nd Gen are provided with the H1 chip, enabling these wireless earbuds to support advanced features such as automatic switching, personalized engraving, and more.
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System Requirements:
Here are some requirements that you need to have to enjoy seamless performance.
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iPhone models with the latest version of iOS
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iPad models with the latest version of iPadOS
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Apple Watch models with the latest version of watchOS
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Mac models with the latest version of macOS
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Apple TV models with the latest version of tvOS
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Apple Vision Pro with the latest version of visionOS
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AirPods (3rd Gen):
Featuring shorter stems and redesigned fit, Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, Adaptive EQ for optimized sound, MagSafe charging case, and IPX4 sweat, dust, and water resistance, AirPods 3rd Gen show a significant improvement over their previous generation.
Here are the salient features of these mid-range AirPods.
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Audio Technology:
In addition to Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, it also supports a custom high-excursion Apple driver and a custom high-dynamic range amplifier, providing users immersive sound experience.
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Sensors:
It is equipped with a skin-detect sensor, a motion-detecting accelerometer, a speech-detecting accelerometer, and a force sensor, providing you multiple input methods to do things like increase/decrease volume, play a song, or the like.
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Multiple Control Options:
It is provided with multiple controls. For instance, you can press once to play/pause media or answer a call, or mute, or unmute. For pressing twice, you can end a call or skip forward. Finally, pressing and holding lets you access Siri, and pressing thrice allows you to skip back.
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Support for Siri:
It also supports Siri. All you need is to say “Hey Siri” to do various functions such as play a song, make a call, or get directions.
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Battery Life:
AirPods Third Gen come with up to 6 hours of listening time on a single charge (up to 5 hours with Spatial Audio enabled). It also supports up to 4 hours of talk time on a single charge.
However, AirPods (3rd generation) with Lightning Charging Case can help you enjoy up to 30 hours of listening time and up to 20 hours of talk time. On top of that, putting for 5 minutes in the lightning case can help you ensure around 1 hour of listening time or around 1 hour of talk time.
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System Requirements:
Here are some requirements that you need to have to enjoy seamless performance.
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iPhone models ( iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and more) with the latest version of iOS
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iPad models with the latest version of iPadOS
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Apple Watch models with the latest version of watchOS
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Mac models with the latest version of macOS
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Apple TV models with the latest version of tvOS
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Apple Vision Pro with the latest version of visionOS
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AirPods Pro (1st Gen):
Launched in 2019, this advanced version of AirPods supports Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency mode, H1 chip, Interchangeable ear tips (three sizes), Adaptive EQ, and up to 4.5 hours of listening time with ANC enabled.
Here are some salient capabilities of these advanced Apple AirPods.
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Audio Technology:
It comes with Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, Adaptive EQ, Vent system for pressure equalization, Custom high-excursion Apple driver, Custom high dynamic range amplifier, and Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. You can thus enjoy matchless audio performance.
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Controls Options:
It is provided with multiple controls. For instance, you can press once to play/pause media or answer a call, or mute, or unmute. For pressing twice, you can skip forward. Finally, pressing and holding lets you switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode.
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Support for Siri:
It also supports Siri. All you need is to say “Hey Siri” to do various functions such as play a song, make a call, or get directions.
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Battery Life:
The first generation of Apple’s AirPods Pro comes with up to 4.5 hours of listening time with a single charge (up to 5 hours with Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency off). It also supports up to 3.5 hours of talk time with a single charge.
In addition, AirPods Pro with Wireless Charging Case come with more than 24 hours of listening time and more than 18 hours of talk time. On top of that, 5 minutes in the charging case can allow you around 1 hour of listening time or around 1 hour of talk time.
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System Requirements:
AirPods 1st Gen need the following system requirements:
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iPhone and iPod touch models with the latest version of iOS
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iPad models with the latest version of iPadOS
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Apple Watch models with the latest version of watchOS
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Mac models with the latest version of macOS
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Apple TV models with the latest version of tvOS
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AirPods Pro (2nd Gen with USB-C):
Featuring improved ANC with H2 chip, Adaptive Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio, Touch control for volume adjustment, improved battery life, four sizes of ear tips (XS, S, M, L), and U1 chip in the case for Find My support, AirPods Pro 2 is certainly one of the best AirPods for daily use.
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Controls:
It is equipped with multiple controls. For instance, you can press once to play/pause media or answer a call, or mute, or unmute. For pressing twice, you can end the call or skip forward. Finally, pressing and holding lets you switch between listening modes.
You can wipe up or down to adjust the volume. Siri support is also there. You need to say “Hey Siri” or just “Siri” for multiple things, such as playing songs, making calls, or getting directions.
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Hearing Health:
It supports several hearing health features, including Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection, allowing you to safeguard your ears from damage.
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Battery Life:
AirPods Pro 2 supports up to 6 hours of listening time on a single charge (up to 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio and Head Tracking enabled).
Furthermore, AirPods Pro 2 with MagSafe Charging Case (USB‑C) supports up to 30 hours of listening time, and putting these AirPods in the lightning case for 5 minutes provides around 1 hour of listening time or around 1 hour of talk time.
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IP54 Rating:
It comes with an IP54 rating, making it Dust, sweat, and water resistant. You can use it no matter whether it is raining outside or there is dust in the air.
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AirPods Max:
AirPods Max the Apple’s premium over-ear headphones, allowing users, particularly travelers and audiophiles immersive listening experience customized for Apple devices. Supporting high-fidelity audio with Apple-designed dynamic driver, industry-leading Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, digital Crown for volume control and play, up to 20 hours of listening time with ANC enabled, and smart case for ultra-low power state, AirPods Max can deliver over-ear luxury for users.
We have so far discussed the salient features of each AirPod model. Here are some recommendations regarding which model best serves your needs.
Use Case-Based Segments:
Here are our top picks when it comes to the suitability of AirPods for a specific user group.
User Group |
Recommendations |
AirPods for Commuters & Travelers |
Apple AirPods Max |
Best AirPods for techies on a budget |
Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation |
Best AirPods for beginners |
Apple AirPods 4 without Active Noise Cancellation |
AirPods for Students and Study Sessions |
AirPods Pro 2 |
AirPods for Office & Remote Work |
AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods 4 |
Best AirPods for Gym/Workout Use |
AirPods Pro 2 |
Conclusion:
Apple’s AirPods are immensely popular for multiple reasons, making them suitable for various user groups, including travelers, students, gym goers, and office workers, to name a few. However, Apple has launched several models of AirPods, making it hard for ordinary users to choose the best one. We have made a detailed comparison of these models so that you can make a better choice tailored to your specific needs. Thanks for reading.