After much speculation and rumours, they’re finally here. But perhaps not in the form you expected them to come in. We’ll talk about what they don’t have first. There are no new looks or colour options and the rumoured biometric features aren’t here either. But these do finally get wireless charging in the case—which existing AirPods users can covet at a price. What is also missing is AirPower wireless charging dock. At this point, it looks like we aren’t getting the accessory. So now, AirPods 2 owners will have to get Qi-compatible charging mats to use this feature. The base model starts at $219 for the regular charging case. You have to shell out $50 more for the one with the wireless charging case. And if you own the existing AirPods, you can get the case on its own for a price, which is $99. If you want, you can get laser-etched engraving on your AirPods case for free.
The other new thing coming to the AirPods 2 is its new H1 chip. This promises connection times that are twice as fast than any Apple device you own with 50 percent more talk time or an extra hour than the first-gen AirPods. For music listening, you’re promised the same five hours as before. But a 15-minute recharge promises to give you three hours of listening time and two hours of talk time. The H1 chip also brings always-on voice recognition to the AirPods, meaning you no longer need to tap on the AirPods to activate Siri. Just say, “Hey, Siri” and you’re good to go. Apple didn’t mention any audio boost, though so we can’t speak for audio quality improvements at the moment.
Source: CNET