Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ W1-powered AirPods Usher in a New Era of Wireless Audio Josh Centers Like it or not, Apple is moving away from the nigh-universal headphone jack, at least on the iPhone line. The just-announced iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, as expected, lack an analog 3.5 mm headphone plug. But the good news is that Apple understands that existing wireless audio solutions are lacking; Bluetooth sound quality is mediocre, and more importantly, it's difficult to use Bluetooth headphones with multiple devices. AirPlay easily switches between devices, but its dependency on Wi-Fi means that the power draw is too high for mobile devices. To counter those problems, Apple has introduced the new W1 chip, which will power Apple's upcoming flagship [1]AirPod wireless headphones, as well as new Beats headphones. The $159 AirPods are expected in late October. Apple is also incorporating the W1 chip into its new $299.95 [2]Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones, plus the forthcoming $199.95 [3]Powerbeats3 Wireless workout earphones, and the $149.95 [4]Beatsx earphones. The proprietary W1 chip confers several advantages on headphones that uses it: up to 5 hours of battery life, support for various sensors, purportedly superior audio quality, and most importantly, easy connections. You'll be able to connect a W1 device by placing it close to an iOS device. Once connected, settings are synced to an Apple Watch, if you have one, and over iCloud to any of your other Apple devices (although the Apple TV wasn't mentioned). You can simultaneously connect to your iOS devices, Macs, and Apple Watches and, according to Apple, switch seamlessly between them. Apple's AirPods will be the flagship W1 device. They have a futuristic look, reminiscent of the omnipresent headsets featured in the movie '[5]Her.' They look similar to the existing EarPods, with elongated stems that extend from your ears. [6][tn_EarPods-closeup.jpg] Like the EarPods, AirPods include a microphone ' two microphones, actually. To activate Siri, double-tap either AirPod. The AirPods have special sensors to detect where your voice is coming from and focus the microphones appropriately, as well as optical sensors to detect when the AirPods enter or exit your ears ' the AirPods pause audio when you remove them from your ears and can be set to play audio when they're inserted in your ears. You can even use just one AirPod at a time if you wish (a good idea at times for safety reasons). Though impressive for such a small device, a fully charged AirPod runs for only 5 hours, but Apple has a few special tricks to work around that. The AirPods will come with a special charging case that can provide a 3-hour charge in just 15 minutes. Apple provided few details about the case, but Apple claims it extends the battery life to up to 24 hours. You charge the case itself via a Lightning connector. [7][tn_AirPod.jpg] TidBITS Security Editor Rich Mogull was on site at today's Apple announcement and had a chance to try the new AirPods. He verified that they fit similarly to EarPods, so if you dislike that fit, don't waste your money on the AirPods. However, Rich said that they're overall more comfortable, because there's no cable drag. Even so, he wasn't sure that he would use them for running. [8][tn_Rich-Mogull-AirPods.jpg] The AirPods and the W1 chip offer legitimate advantages over existing wireless technologies, but be aware of the additional platform lock-in, since these devices will work only with Apple hardware for the foreseeable future. References 1. http://www.apple.com/airpods/ 2. http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNEN2LL/A/ 3. http://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/browse-earphones/wireless-earphones/ML8V2.html 4. http://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/browse-earphones/wireless-earphones/MLYE2.html 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film) 6. http://tidbits.com/resources/2016-09/EarPods-closeup.png 7. http://tidbits.com/resources/2016-09/AirPod.png 8. http://tidbits.com/resources/2016-09/Rich-Mogull-AirPods.jpg .