Apple AirPods 2 - Unboxing & Review

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIt’s been over two years since the originalAirPods were released, and they’ve quicklybecome the most popular pair of wireless headphonesin the world. So many people, my self included,have been waiting patiently for a refresh.And that’s exactly what Apple gave us onMarch 20th, although the product didn’treceive as dramatic a change as some expected.That’s why many reviewers are calling thesethe AirPods 1.5, because supposedly next yearApple will release new AirPods again. Exceptwith major changes like a design overhaul,a black option, a matte finish, and maybeeven touch controls. But for now, let’sunbox these new AirPods, see what they cando, and compare them to the original. Thisis Greg with Apple Explained and if you wantto help decide which video topics I cover,make sure you’re subscribed and these votingpolls will show up in your mobile activityfeed. And don’t forget to check out ournew iGenius plush doll at appleexplained.com.Now these new generation of AirPods are thefirst to offer buying options. You can getthem with a wireless charging case for $200,a standard charging case for $160, or youcan buy the wireless charging case by itselffor $80 and use it with your previous generationAirPods. But one thing you cannot do is puta first and second generation AirPod in thesame case. I bought the $200 model with awireless charging case from my local AppleStore the day they went on sale, and I didn’trun into any issues with limited stock likeI did back in 2016 with the original AirPods.So let’s start with the packaging. You’llprobably notice not much has changed withthe AirPods 2, except that if you purchasedthe model with a wireless charging case, it’llhave that listed right on the top. Also, thelightning cable that was featured on the backof the original AirPods box has been removed,likely to suggest to customers that you don’tneed a cable to charge this model. Althoughit does still feature a lightning connectorand cable in case there isn’t a wirelesscharging pad nearby.Now after we lift the lid we’re greetedby the familiar sleeve of Apple literaturewhich by the way features text in a darkershade of gray than the previous generationand even has a touch of color inside the manual.But unfortunately these AirPods still don’tcome with any Apple stickers.Underneath that is where you’ll find themain event. The AirPods themselves tuckedaway inside of their charging case, whichis beautifully cradled in a cardboard insert.And lastly we have the lightning cable which,like I said before, is still included despitethis model featuring wireless charging. AlthoughI should mention none of the AirPods beingsold today include a wall adapter.Now let’s move on and explore these newAirPods in more detail. It’s design is virtuallyunchanged except for a few small tweaks. First,the LED indicator has been moved from theinside of the case to the outside. That wayyou can quickly peak at the AirPods charginglevel without having to open the case. Itstill uses the same color indicators: If theAirPods are inside, orange means the earbudsare charging, while green means they’refully charged. Once the AirPods are removed,the LED indicates the battery level of thecharging case. Green means it has enough batteryfor at least one full charge of your AirPods,while orange means it doesn’t have enoughpower for even one charge of your AirPods.And when the charging case battery is at 100%,it will deliver four full recharges to yourAirPods, which means you can use the earbudson and off for about 24 hours without havingto connect the charging case to power. Andit takes just 15 minutes of charging to providethree hours of audio playback to the AirPods.Now there are a few other minor design changesthat you might find interesting. If you ownedthe original AirPods you might remember thelid making a clicking noise when moving itside to side, as you can see here Andthis wasn’t a flaw effecting just a smallpercentage of users, it was normal behaviorfor every unit. Not obviously this isn’ta big issue since it didn’t effect the productsfunctionality in any way, but it sure wasannoying for many people. Well I’m gladto announce that the new AirPods 2 chargingcase no longer clicks.Another small design change has to do withthe magnets. You see, pulling the originalAirPods out of their case was a point of frustrationfor many users, especially those with largerfingers. Mainly because the earbuds were slipperyand hard to grip, and also because the magnetsthat held them in were pretty strong and requireda good yank to remove. But these new AirPodshave magnets that are a bit weaker so removingthem is much easier than before. Lastly, thethumb scoop on the charging case has beenmade steeper, so it’s easier to catch yourthumb on the lid, rather than missing andsliding off.So those are all the external changes madeto these new AirPods, now let’s talk aboutthe internal changes. Apple has equip theseearbuds with a new H1 chip which replacesthe W1 chip featured in the original AirPods.Now what do these chips even do? Well actuallyquite a bit. The original W1 chip allowedfor easy pairing with Apple devices, maintainedthe connection between both earbuds to ensureaudio stayed in sync, established a strongbluetooth connection with its paired device,and worked with built-in sensors like theaccelerometer and optical sensor to know whenthey were inserted or removed from your ears.And the new H1 chip does all of those thingsand more, and does them faster. For examplethe new AirPods will switch between your devicestwice as fast as you can see here they’llalso pair with your Apple devices twice asfast and they’ll have 30% lower latencywhile playing games. The H1 chip is also morepower efficient, so you’ll enjoy three hoursof talk time instead of the previous two.But these AirPods deliver the same 5 hoursof audio playback since Apple decided to includea new feature called “hey Siri” whicheats up that extra power efficiency. You canactivate the voice assistant hands-free, whichused to require a couple taps on an earbud,but there is one catch with this feature thatI should mention. And that is, if you tendto use “Hey Siri” with an iPhone, iPad,Apple Watch, or HomePod, then you may findthe feature quite a bit slower on the newAirPods. As you can see here, there is a delaythat doesn’t exist when using the featurewith other Apple products.Now that doesn’t mean Hey Siri is uselesson the AirPods, I love being able to makevoice commands when my hands are full. Butthe delay is something I had to get used to.And if you’re someone who just doesn’tuse Hey Siri on any of your devices and youstill don’t use it after buying these newAirPods, then I’d recommend disabling thefeature altogether in the settings of yourdevice, that way your AirPods will get a couplehours of extra battery life. Just like theprevious generation, you can still activatefunctions like Siri, play/pause, next track,or previous track by double tapping on thedesignated earbud.Now when it comes to audio quality there hasbeen some confusion since Apple put this ontheir website: “So whether you’re playinggames, listening to music, or enjoying podcasts,you’ll experience higher-quality sound.”Now many people took that to mean the newAirPods had better sound quality than theprevious generation. But Marques Brownleeactually reached out to Apple and receivedclarification that there was no changes tothe AirPods sound quality.Now let’s discuss one of features I’mmost excited about and that is wireless charging.All it takes is a wireless charging pad toset the case on, and the orange LED lightsup indicating that it’s charging. And whileI was disappointed that Apple cancelled theirAirPower wireless charging mat which would’vegone so well with these AirPods, there arestill nice alternatives like the Nomad BaseStation which allows you to charge your AirPods,iPhone, and Apple Watch simultaneously.Setting up these new AirPods can be done evenfaster than before. If you have an Apple device,simply turn it on and open the charging case.A window will appear, then all you have todo is tap connect and you’re done. And thanksto iCloud, your AirPods will automaticallyappear on every Apple product you own. Butif you want to use them with a non-Apple product,you’ll have to hold down the pairing buttonon the back of the charging case and locatethe AirPods in your device’s bluetooth settings.`Now there’s one last point I want to makethat applies to all wireless earbuds. Thebatteries they run on are very small. EachAirPod contains a 93 milliwatt hour batteryin its stem, and the benefit of this is aquick charging time, but the drawback is thattheir capacity begins to degrade noticeablyafter a year or two of heavy use. Today, myold AirPods that I purchased in December 2016only deliver about two hours of audio playbackbefore losing battery. Which is a significantamount of lost capacity in just two years.But the nice thing about these new AirPodsare that they are more power efficient, soI plan on turning off Hey Siri after a yearor so once the batteries start to degradein order to try and offset the lost capacity.So considering everything we’ve coveredin this video, what are my final thoughtsabout Apple’s second generation AirPods?Well if you’ve never owned them before nowwould be a great time to buy. And if you alreadyhave a wireless charging setup for your smartphone,I think it’s worth purchasing the wirelesscharging AirPods just for the extra convenience.If not, the $160 model would probably suityou best.And what if you already own the previous generationAirPods? Well, if you recently purchased themI would recommend waiting to upgrade untilnext year, since that’s when Apple’s rumoredto be delivering an update with some prettydramatic improvements. But if you were anearly adopter of AirPods and you’re experiencingmajor battery degradation, it might be worthupgrading to this new generation in orderto enjoy a full five hours of battery lifeagain.Now if you want early access to my next video,be sure to join our Patreon community. Anddon’t forget about our affordable new iGeniusplush doll available at appleexplained.com.Thanks for watching and I’ll see you nexttime.\n"