AirPods | Why You Need a Pair

Look around the office, the gym, or the subway, and you’re likely to see the same thing: white stems of Apple AirPods wirelessly streaming audio. Just as their wired predecessors adorned the earlobes of iPod owners in the early 2000s, AirPods have become commonplace. They are now one of the most popular and useful accessories for iPhone users everywhere.

If you haven’t used them yet, AirPods are more than just a standard set of wireless Bluetooth buds: They’re carefully-engineered miniature computers. Proprietary Apple technology squeezes every last drop of performance, sound quality, and battery life out of each inch-long AirPod, delivering on the long-awaited promise of reliable wireless listening.

AirPods, now in their second version, following an April 2019 refresh, feature the new Apple H1 chip. Built for reliability and performance, the H1 chip delivers low latency audio and lightning-fast connection speeds. After pairing with an Apple device, AirPods automatically connect after being removed from the charging case and placed in the user’s ears.

Once equipped, AirPods present users with a unique audio interface for music playback, placing calls, and interacting with Siri. For fully hands-free operation, speaking the “Hey, Siri” audio command enables the control of any of Siri’s intelligent assistant functions, like dictating text messages or playing podcasts. With the upcoming fall release of iOS 13, these features are set to expand even more with additional capabilities like Siri reading back incoming text messages.

Apple’s H1 chip also makes it easy to quickly switch between different devices, moving from an iPhone to MacBook at up to 2x faster than the previous version. While AirPods use a Bluetooth connection, proprietary technology within the H1 chip makes the pairing process effortless and nearly immediate, eliminating the need to navigate cumbersome Bluetooth settings menus. Seamlessly transferring the connection from your iPhone to a work computer, whether Mac or PC, make AirPods the only wireless audio device most users will need to own.

Featuring an industry-leading five hours of listening time, AirPods are charged through their case, which can store enough charge for over 24 hours of listening time. Apple sells two different options for the AirPods case: wireless and non-wireless. Both cases have a Lightning port that can be used to charge up, but the wireless case can be charged with any wireless charger built out to Qi specifications, like Nomad's Base Station Apple Watch.

Like many Apple products, AirPods and their charging cases are built from white, highly-durable plastic. However, the plastic is prone to scratching and can be pretty slippery. That, plus our penchant for Horween Leather, led us to create our own Nomad Rugged Case for AirPods. We offer this case in three different tannages from Horween, all of which will patina and turn into a case unique to you over time.