by Jason Snell
Federico Viticci’s first AirPods 2 impressions
As I sit here waiting for my AirPods to show up, here’s Federico at MacStories with some detailed first impressions:
The new H1 chip in the second-generation AirPods vastly improves connection times with faster speeds when switching AirPods between different Apple devices. Where the old AirPods used to take well over 5 seconds (and usually around 10, especially on the Mac) to switch as the active headphones between the iPhone, iPad Pro, or Mac mini, the second-generation AirPods can switch between devices/platforms in 2-3 seconds thanks to their improved wireless architecture. It’s downright remarkable how fast the new connection is. Whatever Apple has done with their new H1 chip in the AirPods, I hope to see adoption of it in more audio products from the company in the near future – starting, perhaps, with proper over-ear headphones.
The rumors are that Apple-branded over-ear headphones are on the way, and presumably the H1 will end up in Beats headphones as well. I actually gave up switching my AirPods between devices, due to a combination of slow connection times and decreasing battery life. I’m looking forward to giving this new pair a spin, and attaching a new sticker to their wireless-charging case.