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It’s been weeks after the AirPods 2 hit the market and reviews are coming in for the second-generation wireless earphones. So far, the general impression is overwhelmingly underwhelming.
Sure, the AirPods 2 has increased battery life, wireless charging, faster connectivity, and includes Siri. But other than that, it doesn’t necessarily have defining features that would drastically separate it from its predecessor. In fact, its exterior design is literally the same so people can’t truly determine if someone is using the first or second-gen earphones by Apple.
The sound quality is also reportedly similar, which is a baffling move for Cupertino-based company. Those who already own the first generation AirPods have little incentive to upgrade to AirPods 2 due to these unremarkable changes. Of course, they can always opt to purchase the wireless charging case itself, but it’s $79.
There were multiple rumors surrounding AirPods 2, which provided a lot of hype for the wireless earphones. Among them is that the AirPods 2 was supposedly going to act as a hearing aid. Apple Insider first sparked the rumor after it found hints about the feature through Apple’s patent filing.
Unfortunately, the prediction was off the mark. Even the rumors surrounding color variations was a miss as well. It was initially assumed that the AirPods 2 will come in two shades: white and black. Now, in order to have your AirPods 2 come in different color, you’ll have to pay a $140 premium to a gadget customization company called ColorWare, PCMag reported.
Noise cancelation and water resistance are two features that also remained a rumor. The former proved to be the most popular among the two as it would’ve opened up a host of possibilities for AirPods 2 users. As for the price of this new-generation wireless earphones, it’s been divided in two.
The AirPods 2 with a wireless charging case is priced at $199, while the wired variant costs $159. Due to its underwhelming features, it’s expected other companies will be picking up Apple’s slack. It’s now being reported that Amazon is developing its own wireless earphones that are supposedly being readied for the second half of 2019, Forbes reported.
