For the last month I've been testing Apple's not-yet-released AirPods – the $229 wireless headphones designed for the latest iPhone. Like many Apple products, they set a new bar in terms of ease of use, and new solutions to fiddly old problems. But despite the clever technology on display these are still a 1.0 product – in both hardware and software.
Let's start where most people do when they see me wearing them. "They look... different?" your polite friends might say.
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Hands on with new Apple products
Check out the new iPhone and Apple Watch products up close, straight from the event in San Francisco.
The AirPods are an odd-looking device. I'm not sure if it's the shock of the new, but they look somehow broken without the cable. Whatever the case, as the wearer, you quickly get over how goofy they appear because you can't see them, and that minimal design makes for the lightest and most convenient Bluetooth earbuds I've tried.
I was terrified I'd lose the buds at first, so much so I wouldn't wear them outside for the first week.
When I did wear them in public I was still terrified – because they're not in-ear, and therefore wedged in, they feel like they'll fall out at any moment. This is not actually the case – I ran, rode a bike, and danced around with these in my ears and they never hit the floor. But simply bending over to pick up your keys will make them spill out, so don't do that.
Pairing the headphones is easy. Just place the AirPods beside your iPhone, flip open the lid, and a second later an animation will confirm the successful pairing. AirPods will use your Apple ID to then pair with any other device you're signed in to, from Mac to iPad to Apple TV.
The seamless hand-off between devices seems limited to one iPhone, one Apple Watch – you need to manually connect to the AirPods on your Mac or iPad. It's no big deal, connecting takes just a few seconds, but I still find this frustrating, as if Apple is promoting the Watch above other devices.
Perhaps I'd use the AirPods with an Apple Watch more if getting music or podcasts on the Watch was easier – if Pocket Casts or Spotify could easily cache music and podcasts to the device. But right now they can't. You're limited to a short playlist created in Apple Music. I'm hoping a software update will allow me to elevate my work computer above the Apple Watch in the paired devices list.
But the smarts built into the buds are incredible. To pause the headphones, just remove one from your ear – remove both headphones and they'll disconnect. It's so simple and intuitive, they immediately make all the other Bluetooth earbuds feel clunky.
The next flagship feature is quick access to Siri. Double tap the headphones to chat with Apple's assistant. Yet as much as I look forward to our Her imagined future, right now, on a crowded Sydney bus, I'm not talking to my phone. There is a setting to change the behaviour of double tapping the headphones from Siri to pause. I've kept that setting ever since, but I'm hoping to see a few more tap commands come to the buds. I'd love something like tap the right side bud for volume up, the left bud for volume down.
But the killer feature is the most simple. The battery life on the AirPods is incredible. The buds themselves get around five hours playback, and popping them into the case will charge them up for another 24.
In the real world, this means I could use the AirPods as much as I want, and maybe once a week I'll remember to charge them. I've never been warned they're running low. on battery. Compare this to a drawer full of Bluetooth earphones that are always flat when I reach for them.
Battery life was the Achilles heel of Bluetooth devices, and Apple have managed to solve this with their W1 chip. They needed to, if we were to embrace their wireless future.
AirPods are slated for release later this month.
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