Review on Apple AirPods + Charging Case by Pahal Bhatta ᠌

Name: Apple AirPods + Charging Case
Item: Apple AirPods + Charging Case
Rating: 5

August 09, 2022

The purchase brought only positive emotions.

I bought this miracle of electronics by pre-order at the start of sales with a good discount of about 2 Bought for use with iPhone 8 Plus.
I am very pleased with the purchase, although I was initially biased towards the AirPods. Many everyday things have been greatly simplified: in particular, the convenience of communication at work, when answering a call is to get one earpiece and insert it into your ear, and then use it as a mono headset, while performing tasks in parallel.
There are a number of points I would like to mention:
Siri. In principle, I don’t use voice assistants, so I immediately turned off this functionality in my headphones. But I would like to adjust the volume directly from the headphones without pulling out the phone every time. Of course, there is a way out - Apple Watch, but spending 30k just for the sake of this kind of functionality is stupid.
I would be very happy if the materials of the case and headphones were made of soft-touch or matte rubberized plastic, and additional colors would not hurt either.

Pros

1. First of all, the so-called "Magic of Apple". The ease of connecting and interacting with devices within the ecosystem is chic, integration is top-notch, in addition, it is accompanied by clear indicators of the charge of the case and the headphones themselves. This includes quick switching between different company devices with which the headphones are paired, as well as the ability to connect 2 pairs of AirPods to one device (with iOS 13). 2. Sound. There was initially a skeptical opinion about AirPods, as a music lover who has tried several dozen headphones of various types, including along with Hi-Fi players. However, it was enough to walk around with them for a couple of days and that's it - I practically never part with AirPods. They don’t sound like Audio-Technica monitors, of course, but for everyday use with Apple Music, they are more than enough. Initially, I had a much worse opinion of them than it turned out in the end. I like that the sound itself is juicy, with pronounced low frequencies and without strong blockages in the frequency response. High frequencies are pronounced, but there is no cutting sound, unlike Honor AM61. The soundstage is well defined. 3. Convenience when talking. I will also include here their quick connection and instant answer to a call when you take the AirPods out of the case and insert them into your ears. The microphones are not the most perfect, but overall, better than many indoor wireless headphones in this price category. 4. Compactness. The fifth pocket of jeans (the smallest) is easily visited. 5. Autonomy and fast charging. I deliberately refused the wireless case, because. you always have a power bank with you, and the headphones themselves, with an average use of 3-4 hours a day, require recharging no more than 1-2 times a week. 6. Comfortable to wear. Subjectively for me, because some headphones do not stay in their ears and fall out. Personally, I do not fall out with sudden movements of the head, as well as in the prone position. 7. Management. I'm so used to tapping that I find this method of control almost intuitive.

Cons

I don’t understand the reviews of other owners who attribute the lack of sound insulation to the disadvantages, for example. For the characteristics initially indicated that these are earbuds, without any ear cushions - naturally, the form factor determines how audible the environment will be, and I consider the cons, like “music is not heard in the subway,” to be incompetent. I will try to describe the minuses on the merits and as objectively as possible. 1. I encountered a backlash in the lid, it doesn’t bother me much, but it’s unpleasant at this price. 2. Markost and resistance of the case to scratches. I immediately purchased a silicone case, which, by the way, does not really save me. The soiling of the case from the inside and the headphones themselves - a lot of dirt and dust accumulates at the place of contact between the cover and the case, and traces also remain. I will also include here the complexity of cleaning due to hard-to-reach places, such as the inside of a metal mount, where dust constantly accumulates, but even cotton swabs can hardly crawl through there. 3. Joints and gaps are too big, where dirt is stuffed.