A week full of news for Apple. After having launched in recent days the new iPad and the new iMac and iMac Pro, the Cupertino company has also made official the second generation AirPods. The new Apple wireless headphones were highly anticipated by users and were now several months that was rumored of the release of AirPods 2. It was speculated to be unveiled alongside the iPhone Xs, but Apple wanted to wait until spring 2019.
Esthetically, nothing changes. The AirPods 2 are identical to the first model. What changes are the internal components (starting with the new proprietary H1 processor) and features (support for Siri and wireless charging). On the audio front, there's an improvement in bass and treble reproduction. The merit is the new processor and audio system used by Apple. Improvements also on the battery front, with the autonomy that is slightly increased and guarantees up to 5 hours of charge if you listen to music.
AirPods 2, the features
The second generation of AirPods integrates the feature most requested by users: support for "Hey Siri". You will be able to interact with Apple's voice assistant to start a call, to increase the volume of the wireless headphones, or to change playlists or songs. But also to ask for directions and send a voice message. The credit for the functionality is the new proprietary H1 chipset that Apple has mounted inside the AirPods 2 and that provides much higher performance. Thanks to optical and accelerometer sensors, the wireless headphones are able to tell when a user is wearing them and automatically trigger audio.
The AirPods 2 have been made in two versions: the first use a standard case, while the second uses the Wireless Charging Case, the new case that can be used to charge the wireless headphones. The battery is one of the components that has benefited from the presence of the new H1 processor. The autonomy has increased: 5 hours if you are only listening to music, 3 hours if you are making a call. The case ensures a fairly fast charging: just 15 minutes of charging to have an autonomy of about 3 hours.
AirPods 2, price and release date in Italy
The AirPods 2 are available from today on the Apple Store. The price of AirPods 2 starts at €179 for the version with the regular case and goes up to €229 for the model with the Wireless Charging Case. You can buy only the Wireless Charging Case at a price of €89.