December 13, 2016: After months of anticipation and delay, Apple lastly launches the first-generation AirPods. The tiny wi-fi earbuds arrive in Apple’s on-line retailer simply in time for vacation buyers in search of stocking stuffers.
Like so many Apple merchandise, they aren’t the primary wi-fi earbuds to reach on the scene. Nevertheless, AirPods’ fast success will gas a wi-fi listening revolution.
Unique AirPods launch in 2016
Apple unveiled AirPods — little white earbuds that regarded like EarPods with the cords reduce off — through the iPhone 7 occasion in September 2016. Throughout the presentation, the corporate revealed its seemingly mad plan to “courageously” kill off the headphone jack. The choice drew rapid fireplace from pragmatic Apple followers. And AirPods — the brand new wi-fi earbuds that may profit from the choice — confronted rapid mockery for wanting like electrical toothbrush heads.
Nevertheless, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vp of worldwide advertising and marketing on the time, crystallized the options that finally would make AirPods so profitable.
“AirPods are the primary headphones to ship a breakthrough wi-fi audio expertise, and with the brand new Apple W1 chip they ship revolutionary options together with prime quality sound, nice battery life and computerized setup,” mentioned Schiller in a press launch. “AirPods are easy and magical to make use of, with no switches or buttons, robotically connecting to all of your Apple gadgets merely and seamlessly, and letting you entry Siri with only a double faucet. We will’t anticipate customers to attempt them with iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Collection 2.”
Initially scheduled to launch in October 2016, unexplained audio glitches delayed AirPods‘ ship date. Nevertheless, as soon as Apple’s wi-fi earbuds grew to become out there, it didn’t take lengthy for them to beat the world.
By Might 2017, AirPods had racked up the highest customer-satisfaction score but for a first-year Apple product. An astonishing 98% of homeowners reported they have been both “very happy” or “happy” with their AirPods.
AirPods did look bizarre out of the gate
Picture: Tarun Savvy/Unsplash License
In actuality, the tiny white earbuds did look bizarre at first. (Cult of Mac jokingly referred to AirPods as “ear fangs.”) Their lengthy, white stems — with out the trailing white wires we’d grown accustomed to — regarded unnatural and undoubtedly took some getting used to.
Whereas they appeared fairly acceptable in Apple’s glamour photographs, they regarded far much less aesthetically pleasing within the ears of regular of us who weren’t super-fit athletes. And a few folks, like former New York Metropolis Mayor Rudy Giuliani, by no means discovered how one can put on them correctly.
Nonetheless, AirPods’ ease of use and broad compatibility with Apple’s sprawling ecosystem set them up for achievement. Apple’s proprietary W1 chip gave the earbuds superpowers, basically banishing the flakiness of Bluetooth. And whereas AirPods labored with non-Apple gadgets, they honestly shined with iPhones, iPads and Macs.
The magic of AirPods and Apple’s W1 chip
The magic began with the AirPods pairing course of. iPhone house owners merely flipped open the dental-floss-size AirPods case, and a beautiful pairing sheet appeared. However the enchantment didn’t cease there. Cupertino correctly synced the pairing data by way of iCloud, making AirPods immediately out there on customers’ different Apple gadgets.
Constructed-in sensors that detected when AirPods have been inserted into ear canals, and after they have been eliminated, added to the seamless expertise. Out of the blue, you may begin or cease your music or podcast just by slipping an AirPod in or out of your ear.
Customization choices, and the power to make use of both AirPod by itself, added to the earbuds’ versatility. And the unique AirPods’ intelligent faucet controls made them even simpler to make use of.
Regardless of some audiophiles’ objections, AirPods sounded simply effective to most folk.
Apple builds on AirPods’ success
By no means content material to relaxation on its laurels, Apple launched second-gen AirPods on March 20, 2019, slightly greater than two years after the unique AirPods launch. With a brand new (and likewise proprietary) H1 chip, they paired much more shortly. In addition they added “Hey Siri” help and got here with an (non-obligatory) wi-fi charging case. By this level, AirPods completely dominated the wi-fi earbuds market.
AirPods Professional — with lively noise cancellation and a shorter, curved stem design — got here later that yr. And in December 2020, Apple launched AirPods Max, premium over-the-ear headphones with that very same H1 chip (and an eye-watering $549 price ticket).
AirPods 3, with a design much like AirPods Professional and a MagSafe wi-fi charger, arrived on October 18, 2021. And the third-gen AirPods added much more audio tips to the combination.
“AirPods eternally modified wi-fi headphones with their groundbreaking design, unimaginable sound, and magical expertise,” mentioned Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vp of worldwide advertising and marketing, within the AirPods 3 press launch. “We’re excited to introduce the subsequent technology of AirPods, that includes unequalled sound by Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head monitoring, together with seamless interplay between Apple gadgets — making the world’s best-selling headphones even higher.”
Immediately, Apple is all the way in which as much as AirPods 4 (with non-obligatory ANC) and AirPods Professional 3.
Apple’s H2 chip brings much more magic to AirPods Professional 3
The third-gen AirPods Professional, launched in September 2025, earned the title “the final word audio expertise” from Apple.
“AirPods Professional 3 ship unbelievable sound high quality and the world’s finest in-ear Energetic Noise Cancellation (ANC) — eradicating as much as 2x extra noise than the previous-generation AirPods Professional, and 4x greater than the unique AirPods Professional,” Apple mentioned in its press launch. “The up to date design helps AirPods Professional 3 match even higher and gives better in-ear stability throughout actions like operating, HIIT, yoga, and extra. For the primary time, customers can make the most of AirPods Professional 3 to measure coronary heart charge and monitor over 50 exercise varieties with the brand new expertise within the Health app on iPhone. Dwell Translation additionally involves AirPods, making face-to-face conversations simpler by serving to customers join even when they don’t converse the identical language.
Other than the brand new coronary heart charge monitor, the standout characteristic is Dwell Translation. And, like earlier fashions, AirPods Professional 3 actually do work as inexpensive listening to aids.)
AirPods usher in an audio world with out wires
Clearly, the world finally acquired used to earbuds with out wires. Now everyone’s sporting them (apart from some Gen Z hipsters hell-bent on embracing the wired previous).
A wave of opponents drove down the value and supplied audio high quality no less than nearly as good as Apple’s choices. However the seamless means AirPods slide into the Apple ecosystem makes them nearly not possible to beat for anybody with an iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch or Imaginative and prescient Professional.
As of late, it’s nearly not possible to think about a world with out AirPods. And Apple’s contentious transfer to get rid of the headphone jack finally spurred a sideline that generates billions of {dollars} a yr in income for Cupertino.
That’s extra than simply brave. It’s genius, and that’s what Apple does.
Lewis Wallace is the managing editor of Cult of Mac and creator of our weekly publication, The Weekender.
He’s a San Francisco-based author and editor specializing in expertise and tradition. He loves his iPhone, hates Siri, and appreciates any {hardware} that mixes kind and performance.
Previous to Cult of Mac, he juggled phrases and concepts as tradition editor at Wired.com, homepage editor at TechTV, information product supervisor at NBCi, copy editor at PC World, reporter at The (Hayward) Every day Evaluate and editor in chief of EveryBody’s Information in Cincinnati.
He earned a bachelor of basic research diploma with a journalism certificates from the College of Cincinnati. Whereas in class, he labored because the leisure editor of The Information File and as editor in chief of Clifton Journal.
He’s additionally a bass participant, who’s recorded and carried out round the USA with These Darn Accordions, The Electrical Boogie Dawgz and The Mad Maggies. When not writing, enhancing or laying down bass traces, he performs darts and serves on the board of the San Francisco Darts League.
