What Are These Airpods?

The AirPods are wireless earphones, and I don’t mean the wireless, with the wire connecting the two earbuds together, I mean true wireless. They’re two toothbrush heads stuck into your ears. They look a bit dorky now, but as they catch on, they’ll improve. The AirPods have Apple’s fancy new W1 chip, which makes first-time pairing a breeze with iOS. They have five hours of battery life, with an additional 20 hours with the included charging case. They’re exactly like normal EarPods, but have a thicker base for the battery and chip.

Design

The AirPods are relatively new now, and rather expensive, so they definitely turn heads. The design is all around good, but not adventurous. They’re just EarPods with the wires chopped off. There are a few extra holes for the new built-in sensors, but that’s about it. At the bottom of the AirPods are dual beam-forming microphones, and a metal cap covers them, which allows the AirPods to be charged. Many people have noted they look like two toothbrush heads on your ears, but after a while, people will get used to it.

Build Quality

The AirPods are perfect in this department. Apple products are usually unparalleled in build quality, and these AirPods hold up. They’re rock solid, and almost everything is glued tightly together. Terrible for repairability, but good for durability. Even the case is built meticulously well. The hinge has a satisfying opening feel, much like a zippo lighter, and the hinge itself is sturdy, complete with a chrome metal finish.

The Magic

These AirPods, when you first try them, they’re absolute magic. Apple has perfected the art of making you want something, and with these AirPods, it’s the ease and simplicity that draws you into them. When you first pair them, simply holding them near your iPhone or other iOS product will trigger a control panel-like pane, where there’s a simple one-button press to connect them. The AirPods know if they’re in your ears or not. When listening to music, pulling out one of the earphones will cause the music to pause, and placing it back in will make the music play again. It’s such a simple thing, but these little features make the using the AirPods seamless and magical. At its $159 price point, they’re not bad value, especially when compared with a lot of other true wireless earphones.

Features: Siri and Play/Pause

The AirPods also have touch sensors on both sides. When you double tap either side, you can either activate Siri or Play/Pause. You can configure it in settings, but it’s either Siri or Play/Pause. You can’t have one or the other, and even if you have no internet connection, Siri will pop up, excitedly announcing you don’t have a connection. Although it doesn’t work without an internet connection, Siri is still much more useful than play/pause. Siri can change songs, play/pause, pick specific songs, playlists, etc., whereas play/pause can only play and pause. With the help of the dual beam-forming microphones, Siri can hear you well, and works most of the time, even in louder areas.

Sound

With roughly the same shape, you’d expect the AirPods to sound exactly the same as EarPods, and for the most part they do. However, there are small tweaks on both sides of the frequency spectrum. On the low end, it’s clearer and less boomy, and at the top end, there’s more sparkle. Putting on the AirPods felt after listening to the EarPods felt like a wall was removed between the music and my ears. Compared to the EarPods, the AirPods are more natural sounding, and overall more detailed. This is a great thing, as EarPods weren’t known for their clarity. They’re a noticeable upgrade from the EarPods, but for $159, it’s uninspiring. At this price range, you can find earphones which sound leagues better than these, but sound quality isn’t the focus of the AirPods.

These AirPods were designed for ease-of-use and convenience, not for Hi-Fi listening. However, since the AirPods are open-backed, they also output roomy sound, something you don’t often find on in-ear monitors. Overall, they’re a good set of earphones, but don’t expect to be able to throw away your Hi-Fi headphones.

Comfort and Fit

The AirPods have the same shape as the EarPods, so if the EarPods fit you, chances are the AirPods will too. They’re a one size fits most, so there aren’t any first-party customisation options if they don’t fit you. Since they don’t provide a seal, they sit in your ears without exerting any pressure. This means that the AirPods are extremely comfortable, and there was no fatiguing on my ears, even after hours and hours of listening. For me, they fit perfectly, and the optimum sound was easy to achieve, but for others, it may be a different story.

Isolation

Much like the EarPods, the AirPods provide no isolation whatsoever, which makes them less than ideal for use on the metro, or in a crowded area. You can buy 3rd party accessories to make them fit more snugly, but they hardly help with isolation. This is partly due to the lack of a seal, but also because the entire unit is open-backed. Being open-backed allows for better bass response, but it also means that isolation is completely lost. There’s also leaking from the inside out, so people around you can hear what you’re listening to. This usually only happens when you pump up the volume, but because of the lack of isolation, you may find yourself doing this more often than normal.

Charging Case

The AirPods have a 5-hour battery life, with an additional 20 hours provided by the charging case. When not using the AirPods, it’s easy to put into the charging case, since they fit perfectly, and because the case is so small. Whereas the AirPods look like toothbrush heads, the charging case looks like a floss package, only smaller. Since it’s so small, you’d expect the amount of battery in it to be meagre, but because the AirPods are so efficient, they provide an extra 20 hours of battery life, for a total of 25 hours of battery life. That’s seriously impressive, compared to 4 hours with an extra 4 hours with the charging clip for the Jaybird Freedoms. The case itself is clean looking, and the AirPods slide right in. There’s a small LED light which changes color depending on it’s charging status. Of course, the case charges via lightning, so you only need one cable for all of your iOS devices. The entire package is clean and simple, and the charging case really feels like it’s a part of the AirPods, as opposed to just being a bag to hold them in.

Where are my AirPods?

Since the AirPods are wireless, they’re far easier to lose than the normal EarPods. As such, I’d recommend keeping them in the charging case at all times. Even so, both the AirPods and the case are made of a super-slippery white plastic, so they can still fall out of your pocket. If you do end up losing your AirPods, you can use Apple’s “Find my AirPods” app, hidden in the “Find My iPhone” app to locate your AirPods. Keep in mind that this only works if the AirPods are currently connected to your phone. If you lose your AirPods, Apple will sell you replacements. At $69 each, they’re not cheap, but at least it’s better than having to buy another whole set.

Wrap Up

The AirPods are a good set of truly wireless earphones. They provide decent sound, and they’re effortless to use with iOS devices. If you don’t have iOS devices, they’re just like any other Bluetooth earphones. Dare I say it, $159 is actually good value for money if you want truly wireless Bluetooth earphones that don’t have hiccups. As long as you don’t mind the sub-par sound quality and isolation, the AirPods are a good buy, and they’re the most polished and easy to use Bluetooth earphones on the market.

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Design

The Jaybird Freedoms are a marvel of design. They come in many colours; blue, red, black, space grey (apple exclusive), and rose gold (also apple exclusive). The best thing about these ‘buds is that instead of trying to cram everything including batteries into the earpieces, the Jaybird Freedoms house everything in the inline remote control. This means that the in ear pieces are tiny, and fit easily and snugly into my ears. The trade off of housing everything in the remote control is that the battery life is a mere 4 hours, more on that later. In addition, the remote control is a tad bit bulkier than the Jaybird X2 and X3. Working out and doing the dishes are a breeze with the new Freedoms, the included wingtips ensure they stay in your ears no matter what you are doing. I’ve even played badminton with them on, and they haven’t fallen out once. Jaybird also touts that these earphones are sweatproof, though many forums say otherwise, stating that the battery can short when exposed to sweat. Luckily, Jaybird offers a lifetime sweat warranty on the Freedoms, so at anytime if it breaks due to sweat, Jaybird will replace it for free. Jaybird even says you can swim with these on, though they say not to submerse the earphones for too long. I’d say not to try it, as electronics and water don’t mix well, especially when the Freedoms rely on a moving-coil dynamic driver which could clog with water.

Sound

The Jaybird Freedoms out of the box are extremely loud on iOS. Turning up the volume from three notches to four increases the volume considerably, and without tweaking the EQ settings to lower the gain, its downright dangerous. Aside from that, they have almost flawless sound, with hardly any bluetooth artefacts getting in the way. One incredible feature of the Freedoms is the MySound app. It’s iOS only, but it allows you to change the internal EQ of the earphones. This means that no matter what it’s connected to, it’ll sound the same. I have mine boosting the treble, and reducing the bass, as I found them to be too bassy at first. However with the app, the sound is perfect for me. This is a real leap forward for bluetooth earphones, as I haven’t seen any other bluetooth earphone manufacturers do this. If you’re a basshead, you might not like the Jaybird Freedoms, as the tiny 6mm drivers can’t deliver much sub-bass. However, for a 6mm driver, they sound incredible, and I’d recommend these to any casual listener. However, the odd placement of the mic means that the sound in a call is horrible, as it’s too far away from your mouth for the other person on the call to hear you. I’ve found I’ve had to remove the earphone from the ear without the mic, and bring it all the way to the front, to speak while holding the mic. I might as well just use my phone’s speaker, so this is one area in which the Freedoms don’t hold up.

Battery life

The Jaybird Freedoms are rated at an abysmal 4 hours of battery life. I’ve found that it lasts between 4 and 5 hours in real usage. This is barely enough for me to get through the day. Luckily, the Freedoms come with a charging clip, which also adds another 4 hours of much needed battery life. The charging clip is quite big and hefty, and it makes it impossible to use the Freedom’s without the wingtips. Jaybird advertises “unlimited playback time”, through charging the clip, attaching it on to the earphone, running, out and repeating, though this frankly isn’t practical. An interesting side note to this, when you attach the charging clip to the Freedoms, they automatically turn off. This means that even in ideal circumstances, you can’t actually have “unlimited playback time”. The only way to achieve that would be to use an android device, connect it to a micro-usb to USB OTG adapter, then through a standard micro usb cable, then to the charging clip, and then to the earphones. A real mouthful, and not very practical at all. If you’re using it this way, you might as well just buy wired earphones. Keep in mind that although 8-10 hours combined battery life is good now, the battery life will slowly diminish as the battery wears, and even 20% wear will mean that you get just 3 hours of usage. Jaybird says that they expect the battery to wear out in just 2 years, so if you can, be sure to buy an extended warranty for it that covers battery wear and tear. The battery problem is even worse when you realise that the battery isn’t user replaceable. This is done in the name of sleekness, but severely reduces the earphones’ lifespan.

Isolation

The isolation on the Freedoms is absolutely insane. With the metal earphones, and included Comply Foam Tips, I can barely hear anything when music is playing, even at a relatively low volume. These are so well isolated that I’d say it could be a risk if you’re playing music and some fire alarm goes off. When I have both earphones on playing music at a moderate-low volume, I can barely make out what the person next to me is saying, which is an absolute life-saver in dense spaces like an office or classroom. With the normal rubber tips, isolation is still superb, but nothing can beat the comply foam tips. As I write this review, there are 4 lively kids behind me on the bus. Without even having music on, there’s a notable reduction in noise, and they are now all but a minor annoyance.

Comfort

The Jaybird Freedoms are incredibly comfortable, owing to the tiny design of the individual earphones. I’ve worn them for the full 4.5 hours that they can last on battery, and it’s as comfortable as it was when I first put them on. The only thing is that the wingtips can leave a bit of blunt pain when taking them off, due to the sustained pressure they put against your ears. If you’re moving about, I’d recommend putting the included wingtips on, as without them, the bulky remote control can pull them out of your ears. The included cable shortness are absolutely useless. In theory, it means that the earphones fit snug against the back of your head, so there’s less swinging of the cables. However in reality, they fit snug against the back of your head, but the super grippy cable snags when you move your head. If you look left or right you’ll end up pulling out one of the earphones, and with the wingtips on, you’ll end up hurting your ears.

Conclusion

The Jaybird Freedoms are the third generation of Jaybird’s earphones. While they’re not perfect, they certainly pack a punch, and introduce some design features that no other earphones currently offer. If you’re looking for some small bluetooth earphones with far better sound quality than the AirPods and a lower price, look no further. At $149, they’re a good buy, and they pair perfectly with your fancy new fruit phone without a headphone jack.

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