The Cupertino-based giant Apple, which popularised the true wireless earbuds with the first-gen AirPods, has yet again refreshed its wireless earbuds with the announcement of third-generation AirPods. The new AirPods features a new contoured design along with spatial audio. Priced at Rs 18,500, the new AirPods will be available at the stores starting October 26.
"AirPods forever changed wireless headphones with their groundbreaking design, incredible sound, and magical experience," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We are excited to introduce the next generation of AirPods, featuring unrivalled sound through Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, along with seamless interaction between Apple devices - making the world's best-selling headphones even better."
The new AirPods are sweat and water-resistant, with an IPX4 rating for both the earbuds and the charging case. On the design front, the third-generation AirPods are lightweight and contoured for a comfortable fit while offering better audio into the ear. Apple has shortened the stem as compared to the previous generation, yet it features the same intuitive force sensor as AirPods Pro for media control.
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The third-generation AirPods houses a custom driver and a high dynamic range amplifier for producing powerful bass with crisp, clean high frequencies. Apple says the microphone is covered by an acoustic mesh to help reduce the sound of the wind, so the speaker's voice comes across distinctly on calls.
The AirPods also feature AAC-ELD, a superior speech codec that offers full HD voice quality, providing clear, natural communication for FaceTime calls. It also uses computational audio to bring Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. The Adaptive EQ feature tunes sound in real-time based on how AirPods fit in the user's ear. An inward-facing microphone monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.
On the other hand, spatial audio creates a three-dimensional theatre-like experience, placing sound virtually anywhere in space, and with Dolby Atmos.
On the hardware front, it is powered by the H1 chip with an Apple-designed acoustic system. There is a new skin-detect sensor to accurately discern if AirPods are in the ear -- versus in a pocket or on a table -- and pauses playback when removed. The new AirPods offers up to six hours of listening time and up to four hours of talk time. Just five minutes of charging provides about an hour of battery life, and has four additional charges in the case. In all, users will get 30 hours of total listening time.
With the launch of third-generation AirPods, the new price of the second-generation AirPods is Rs 12,900. AirPods Pro will now also come with a MagSafe Charging Case for the same price of Rs 24,900.
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