Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have one major design change, which has annoyed many people. Namely, the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack.
This doesn’t mean that you’re not able to listen to music on your brand new iPhone. You can listen using the included lightning headphones, or you could buy a pair of the company’s new wireless earphones known as AirPods.
Setting Up AirPods
According to Apple, AirPods are “innovative new wireless headphones that use advanced technology to reinvent how we listen to music, make phone calls, enjoy TV shows and movies, play games, and interact with Siri. Providing a wireless audio experience not possible before.”
AirPods are easier to connect to your iPhone than other wireless or Bluetooth earphones. All you need to do is flip open the lid of the charging case and, with one tap, they’re set up and ready to work with your iPhone and Apple Watch.
Apple Airpod Features
There are sensors in the AirPods, which detect when you’re listening and automatically play and pause your music. Simply remove them to automatically pause the music. Or, just remove one to have a conversation and automatically resume music playback when you put it back in your ear.
Thanks to Apple’s new W1 chip, you can now also access Siri on your AirPods. This is done with a double tap to your AirPods to select and control your music, change the volume, check your battery life or perform any other Siri task. An additional accelerometer, in each AirPod, detects when you’re speaking. Enabling a pair of beam-forming microphones to focus on the sound of your voice, filtering out external noise, to make your voice sound clearer than ever before.
“AirPods are the first headphones to deliver a breakthrough wireless audio experience. With the new Apple W1 chip, they deliver innovative features. These include high quality sound, great battery life, and automatic setup,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “AirPods are simple and magical to use. With no switches or buttons, automatically connecting to all your Apple devices simply and seamlessly, and letting you access Siri with just a double tap. We can’t wait for users to try them with iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2.”
Airpod Cost
According to Apple, AirPods can deliver up to five hours of listening time on one charge. The custom-designed charging case holds additional charges, for an industry-leading more than 24 hours of total listening time.*
Core Group has confirmed that limited stock of the AirPods has been available in South Africa with more stock expected soon in the iStore and online.
The cost? R2 599.
NB: AirPods require Apple devices running iOS 10, watchOS 3 or macOS Sierra.
*Compared to completely wireless stereo headphones.
