After two months of delays, you can now put your order in for Apple’s tiny AirPods. If you’ve been waiting for the promise of properly wireless headphones that sit in your ear-holes, your dream has finally come true.
Apple originally planned for the AirPods to launch not long after the iPhone 7, in October, but that date slipped by a while ago. Regardless, you can order them now in Apple’s Australian store, with a shipping time of two weeks — which means you might just receive your delivery before New Year’s Eve.
The big selling point of the AirPods — apart from their literally-just-an-earbud design — is that they’re built around Apple’s new W1 wireless chip, which massively improves the range and quality of a Bluetooth connection all the while using less energy. That’s what allows the miniscule AirPods to run for five hours, while the battery case itself can charge the headphones themselves four times over again for a total listening time of over 24 hours.
Beyond that, they’re smart enough to realise when you have one or both AirPods in your ears to deliver you mono or stereo sound, and support voice calls and Siri voice recognition, which is activated with a double tap on the earbud itself. Apple’s wireless chip means that if you have an iPhone, you can connect the AirPods just by opening the case and holding the headphones close to the phone itself.
In Australia, you’ll pay $229 for the AirPods. “Limited quantities” are expected at launch, although Apple says regular shipments will be sent to stores. [Apple]
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