Hands-on practice with Apple's new second generation AirPods

The second-generation Apple AirPods, announced last week, have begun to make themselves known this morning and are now available for sale in Apple stores. We picked up a set of AirPods 2 to see how they compare to the original AirPods.

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Second generation AirPods Two configurations are possible: with a new wireless charging box and a charging box for Lightning only. We bought the version with the wireless charging box because the new box is one of the main changes.

When it comes to design, you will not be able to say the new AirPods from the original AirPods. They are always available only in white and they always have the same design: white plastic buttons with a stem at the bottom.

Any changes to the AirPods are really internal. A new H1 chip replaces the W1 chip and brings some improvements. In our experience, AirPods 2 connect to your devices much faster than the original AirPods, and switch between devices is faster.

The latency has been reduced, and because the AirPods 2 supports Bluetooth 5.0, you may see improvements in range and quality. We think that the AirPods 2 seem to sound a bit better, especially at higher volumes.

There is a new "Hey Siri" feature that allows you to activate Siri hands-free without having to press the button AirPodsand when you talk on the phone, the battery life is now three hours instead of two.

A major difference between AirPods 1 and AirPods 2 is the aforementioned wireless charging box, shipped with AirPods 2 and can be purchased independently for AirPods 1 for $ 79. The wireless charging case allows you to use a Qi-based wireless charger to recharge your phone. AirPodsand he will leave the AirPods work with AirPower if Apple ever publishes it.

AirPods 1 and AirPods 2 are not interchangeable – if you try to use an original AirPod with a second-generation AirPod in the AirPods Charge case, it will flash red to inform you of the incompatibility.

There is no way to visually differentiate between the two versions, but if you connect them to your iPhone, you can find out which version you have by opening the Settings app, choosing General, and scrolling to the list. AirPods section. You can distinguish the charging box from the standard case because the LED indicating charging is on the outside of the case rather than on the inside.

The second generation AirPods delivered without features that many hoped for, such as new color tracking capabilities and health, but nonetheless mark a solid upgrade over the original version. What do you think of the new Apple? AirPods? Let us know in the comments.