New generation AirPods offer much better sound but miss one important thing

Better sound, a super lightweight design, a longer battery life and improved water resistance are just some of the reasons Apple’s new generation AirPods will be a hot gift item this holiday season. But they are missing one thing.

Mark Furler

@furlernator

4 min read

October 16, 2021 - 1:19PM

Business

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Better sound, a super lightweight design, longer battery life and improved water resistance are just some of the reasons Apple’s new generation AirPods will be a hot gift item this holiday season

Five years after the first AirPods were launched with their unusually long stems, Apple has come up with a much better look with the stems shortened by a third.

The new third generation AirPods feature much of the what’s on offer in AirPods Pro but minus key features such as noise cancellation and transparency mode.

The sound, however, is much better than the original, and much closer to the Pro offering though the absence of silicone tips means they won’t fit all ears as well.

We found the fit to be super comfortable and even without the tips you felt like you could easily go for a run with them without fear of them falling out.

But when you’re doing something like mowing the lawn, the lack of noise cancellation is super obvious, so much so that I gave up with them and reverted to my other other earbuds to drown out the noise.

Inside the house, or just going for a walk in the neighbourhood, it’s actually nice to be able to hear faint conversations around you or the chirping of the birds in the neighbourhood park.

Two of the coolest features of the new AirPods are spatial audio and head tracking, where you feel the sound moving with you as you turn your head.

I listened to the Ed Sheeran interview on Apple Music and his new album, which sounded superb through the AirPods.

With a brand new driver, they definitely offers more bass while highs are crisper. Adaptive EQ means the sound is tuned to your ear.

The fact they are so lightweight means you can wear them in your ears for hours.

What I love is how quickly you can switch from devices and take your sound with you.

You can be watching a music video on an iPad and then decide to take the dog for a walk and the sound can just switch to your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Apple has been ramping up its audio offerings including a new Apple Music Voice streaming service for just $5.99 a month.

Instead of having music or playlists on your computer or phone you just ask Siri to play your favourites of the 90 million tracks on offer.

It has also launched three new HomePod speakers in blue, orange and yellow complete with matching power cables.

At $149, they offer superb sound as well as lots of cool voice activated features.The AirPods comes in a more water resistance case which can also be charged wirelessly, though not with on your phone, as you can with other phones like Samsung.

They are also feature a new skin-detect sensor which means if you take them out they will not keep trying to connect to your iPhone.

The design also features a new acoustic vent at the top to allow better airflow to achieve the deeper base.

There’s also an acoustic mesh across both the ambient microphone and vocal microphone to ensure your phone conversations are super clear.

The new AirPods offer six hours of battery life with 30 hours including from the case.

At $279, they are on the more expensive end of the earbuds but if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, probably make the most sense.

Personally, I think I would probably still pay a little extra to get the sound cancellation with the AirPods Pro.

Spatial Audio featuring Dolby Atmos from Apple Music: Is it really that good?

As a kid growing up with a brother who loved music, and drumming in particular, I think I must have heard Rush’s Tom Sawyer about 300 times.

My brother, Peter, who went onto lead one of Australia’s biggest music exports, Christian pop band Newsboys, was a huge fan of Rush.

The music was so intricate, with so many layers.

The songs just kept building and the drumming, of course, was incredible.

But what I heard back then was nothing compared to hearing it in Spatial Audio through Apple’s AirPod Max headphones.

Spatial Audio, for those who are yet to discover it, is to sound what 4K is to television

Newsboys United in action.

The sound is no longer just in stereo. It is above and behind and all around your head.

There are thousands of songs which have been re-engineered for Dolby Atmos to provide the sort of surround surround you experience in a movie cinema.

You don’t need an expensive set of headphones to hear it. Even non Apple earbuds can do a good job in filling your head with music.

It’s probably one of the least known features of Apple Music, the streaming service which has come a long way in the past year thanks to local music curators and improvement to search, playlist recommendations, local city charts and record label pages.

Spatial audio adds a whole new dimension to Apple Music and the best part is that it doesn't come at any extra cost.

There are now even playlists for Spatial Audio including the latest hits, pop, hip-hop, country, rock and classical and jazz to name a few.

Spatial audio, the 3D of audio, is far more noticeable than something like lossless music, which many of us would barely notice.

But not every song works with it.

There’s an art form to creative songs that sound great in Spatial, rather than chaotic.

When it is done right, it really turns your music into a far more immersive, emotional and beautiful experience.

The Beatles, Abbey Road, London, 1969 photography by Linda McCartney. The song sounds even better with Dolby Atmos.

What I like about great music is when you heard extra elements added as the song progresses.

I’m pretty biased, but my brother’s music has done that for more than 30 years, and been one of the reasons Newsboys have sold more than 10 million units.

Put in the right hands, Spatial Audio is a tool which can take songs to another level.

Jimmy Barnes sounds even better with Spatial Audio.

Just like a good set of headphones can separate the different instruments in a song, Spatial Audio means that a drum solo, like that in Tom Sawyer, rolls around your head.

Some have described it as like ‘stepping into the sound’.

Classics like the Beatles' Abbey Road sound like you are right in the studio with Ringo drumming right next to you.

The biggest downside with Spatial Audio is when you get into your car after listening to it and hear songs again through normal audio.

It’s like reverting back to mono.

Singer-songwriter Billie Eilish performs during the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music festival at Zilker Park on October 9, 2021 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP)