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Apple
- Apple has finally taken the wraps off the highly anticipated second-generation AirPods.
- The new AirPods feature a H1 wireless chip, better battery life, and wireless charging.
- You can preorder the new AirPods on Apple's site for $159 without the charging case or for $199 with the charging case.
Another day, another Apple release. After launching new iPad models and new iMac models, Apple has finally taken the wraps off of a second generation of AirPods headphones, which now boast a number of highly anticipated features.
There are plenty of things that make the second-generation AirPods better than the originals. For starters, the headphones now use the new Apple H1 wireless chip, doing away with the W1 chip that was featured on the first-gen AirPods and is used in the Apple Watch. The result? The headphones should now offer an hour of extra battery life, bringing you up to five hours on a charge, which is a big deal for truly wireless earbuds. The H1 is Apple's first chip in a line of processors built specifically for headphones, so it's likely that we'll see other "H" chips in the future.
Apple is also adding support for Siri to the AirPods, so now, when you're wearing them, you'll be able to summon Siri by saying, "Hey Siri,"and she'll respond - all without having to press any buttons.
Perhaps even cooler than the new wireless chip and Siri support is the fact that AirPods now feature the ability to charge wirelessly. In other words, you can charge your AirPods with any wireless charger you have - just like you can charge your Apple Watch and newer iPhones. About 15 minutes of charging in the case gives you three hours of battery life.
In case you're not keen on wireless charging, Apple is selling two versions of the new AirPods: one with the wireless charging case and one without.
You can get the AirPods 2 with wireless charging from Apple for $199
You can get the AirPods 2 without wireless charging from Apple for $159
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