In a week chock full of subdued hardware announcements, Apple’s latest is one updating the AirPods.
The literal biggest component of this update is the new Wireless Charging Case for the updated that allows users to place their current-generation or new-generation AirPods inside and place the case on a Qi-compatible mat.
Apple claims it takes just 15 minutes in the case to charge its new AirPods up for up to 3 hours of listening and 2 hours of talk. A full charge lasts for 5 hours listening time and, with the charging case providing “more than 24 hours.” These are pretty similar specifications to the first set of AirPods, but we have no clues about how fast wireless charging the case will go.
However, what makes the second-gen AirPods unique is the Apple H1 chip —nothing like the W1 chip in the first-gen units — which can switch device assignments up to twice as fast, a 50 percent speed boost for connecting to phone calls and a 30 percent latency decrease when it comes to gaming.
The new case is $79. Adding a pair of new AirPods to that, the total comes to $199. Apple is also pairing the new AirPods with the old Qi-less charging case and pricing it at the old $159 price mark. It’s available to buy today with deliveries from next week.