AirPods - page 11

We want to help you master Control Center, one of the most powerful and underutilized features on Apple devices. Cult of Mac’s Control Center Pro Tips series will show you how to make the most of this useful toolbox on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.

Activate Live Listen for AirPods and Powerbeats headphones inside Control Center to make it easier to hear other people in a noisy environment. The feature is built into iPhone and iPad and easy to use.

We’ll show you how.

AirPods have been on a crazy upward trajectory since Apple introduced them in 2016. However, that unassailable rise may have finally stalled, according to a report from Nikkei Asia published Wednesday.

The publication claims that Apple has cut orders for AirPods by 25-30% after being stuck with excess inventory sitting around in warehouses. This is due to the ever-expanding competition Apple faces from other companies making their own rival wireless earbuds — many at a lower price point than Apple.

Apple’s newest Powerbeats headphones can now be yours at their lowest price to date. Order them in black on Amazon today for just $79.99 — a generous $69.96 off the usual price.

A pair of swallowed AirPods, still inside their charging case, were successfully extracted from a puppy — without damage to either dog or hearables.

UK-based owner Rachel Hick, from Hull, rushed her golden retriever Jimmy to the vets after it swallowed the wireless earbuds and charging case on Easter Sunday.

Redditor skylar_schutz makes music on keyboard and guitar, but their Mac mini M1’s sound quality doesn’t do it for them. That’s not a huge shock. Many mini owners, past and present — if they’re even close to identifying as audiophiles — use AirPlay 2, Bluetooth or USB-wired speakers with their setups.

“The sound coming out from the M1 mac mini is just so-so … wouldn’t recommend it if you aim to enjoy listening to music from it, more so if you intend to do music production,” skylar_schutz wrote in reply to a question.

Apple may be on the verge of showing off new AirPods and a third-gen Apple Pencil, claims a tipster on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

An image, posted by user UnclePan, shows what they claim are the next-gen AirPods, along with text claiming that Apple is currently gearing up to show off the Apple Pencil.

AirPods are convenient for a number of reasons: They’re small, sleek and easy to move around with, making them perfect for everything from morning runs to important conference calls. But there is one problem with these nifty wireless earbuds. Because there’s no wired connection, they’ll need to be sufficiently charged at all times.

That’s what makes this 10,000mAh ChargeWorx power bank even more convenient than wireless earbuds. It can charge your smartphone and AirPods at the same time. Available in sizes for regular AirPods and AirPods Pro, this multitasking power bank can power you through outdoor adventures all summer long for the incredibly low price of $41.99.

Redditor franklinrockz makes no bones about the minimalist setup he bought with lockdown savings for online classes, calling it “pretty basic” and “nothing fancy.” But it gets the job done and looks good doing it.

A testament to that are the three dozen comments his post had by day two online. Lots of folks liked what franklinrockz did with the workstation and wanted to know about its components.

Cleaning AirPods is kind of a disgusting job, but Cardlax has a solution. It’s an itty-bitty washing machine to clean the crud off your earbuds in a couple of minutes.

Before you ask, April Fools’ Day was last week. This is a real thing.

AirPods might be one of the best accessories Apple has ever made. But there’s a quick and easy way to make them even better: Pair yours with the AirFly Pro from Twelve South.

This second-generation dongle lets you connect your AirPods or AirPods Pro to almost anything. It has better battery life than its predecessor, and supports two pairs of headphones simultaneously.

You can order yours today.

There’s a growing consensus among tipsters that, despite what what said earlier, AirPods 3 will not debut at the Apple April event. It seems the company’s next generation of truly wireless earbuds aren’t going to reach customers until later in 2021.

A new report claims that Apple’s next-gen AirPods won’t arrive until the third quarter of 2021. This backs up a recent report from renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who recently said that the AirPods 3 are unlikely to launch until Q3 2021.

Prior to this, AirPods 3 had been heavily rumored as being part of Apple’s next product event — originally rumored for March, but then pushed back to April.

UPDATE: You’ve missed Best Buy’s deal on AirPods Pro now, but Woot is today offering the same deal on “grade A” AirPods Pro refurbs for one day only. Don’t miss it!

UPDATE 2: Woot has sold out of AirPods Pro refurbs now, too. But it is still offering regular AirPods (second-generation) at an all-time low of $99.99.

Best Buy’s 24-hour Flash Sale offers certified-refurbished AirPods Pro units for just $159.99 today only. That’s a whopping $90 discount and the lowest price we’ve seen on AirPods Pro so far.

Bag yours now before they all sell out!

Sony’s terrific WF-1000XM3 earbuds are widely regarded as the best alternatives to AirPods Pro. Some say they’re even better, despite their silly name. Bag yours today for just $178 — down from $229.99 — for a limited time only.

The buds offer up to 24 hours of playback with their included charging case, plus active noise cancellation, built-in Amazon Alexa, and all-around terrific sound.

Podswap takes AirPods nearing the end of their useful life and replaces them with a fresh pair. And the recycling service costs considerably less than Apple charges to replace these wireless earbuds.

Plus, anyone using the service can take comfort knowing that their old AirPods will be recycled, not thrown away.

Apple’s next product launch will take place in April, not March, a soon-to-be-eyebrowless Jon Prosser claimed Wednesday. Prodigious leaker Prosser had been so sure of his predicted date of March 23 for Apple’s next event that he wagered the integrity of his own facial hair on it. Now he’s admitting defeat.

“The event is in April,” Prosser tweeted. In a follow-up, he suggested that Apple had not previous hosted an April event, so “I get it if you’re skeptical. But here we are.”

Woot’s crazy deal on AirPods Pro is back, offering $59.01 off brand-new AirPods Pro. Bag yours for just $189.99 — one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on new units — before the sale ends later today.

Apple shows off the untethered joyfulness and Active Noise Cancellation/Transparency features of its AirPods Pro in a new ad, titled “Jump,” which Apple debuted over the weekend.

The ad depicts an AirPods Pro user breaking social distancing rules as he moves through a vibrant city, playing jump-rope and otherwise pulling off some impressive acrobatic moves. It’s a fun two-minute ad set to the 2020 song “Fallin’ Apart” by Young Franco.

The massive growth days of the AirPods may already be over, according to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a new note to clients seen by Cult of Mac, Kuo said he anticipates a year-over-year decline in AirPods shipments in 2021. If true, this would be the first year in AirPods history that sales didn’t experience explosive growth.

If one thing catches your eye first about Redditor arnaki_gkioulmpasi’s setup, it’s probably the interesting light show on the wall behind it. That array is made up of Nanoleaf Shapes that can be arranged any which way.

Those cool-looking lights, along with a Yeelight Screen Light Bar Pro atop the Dell 32-inch curved 4K monitor and a standing lamp next to the desk, keep eyestrain to a minimum.

Real-world images of the third-generation AirPods allegedly leaked out Wednesday. These could give an early look at the in-ear headphones that might launch before the end of March.

The pics supposedly show that AirPods 3 won’t borrow a major feature of AirPods Pro.

Apple’s over-the-ears headphones got a firmware update on Tuesday. It’s not clear what’s in the new software for AirPods Max because Apple never discloses that detail, but many users are hoping it’s a fix for an irritating power drain.

Get your wallets ready, because Apple will supposedly launch an array of new products on March 23. On the docket for the event will supposedly be an updated iPad Pro, AirPods and Apple TV, as well as the debut of AirTags.

A leaked image posted online over the weekend shows off what may by the third iteration of Apple’s AirPods earbuds (fourth if you count the over-the-ear AirPods Max).

The pictures, which were shared by the Chinese-language website 52audio, depict next-gen regular AirPods with smaller stems and silicone tips, alongside a new LED charging indicator on the front of the charging case.

You can pick up new AirPods at pretty terrific prices right now, which means it’s a great time to upgrade if you’re still rocking Apple’s original wireless buds. And we can help make the upgrade even more affordable.

Sell your old AirPods to Cult of Mac today to turn them into quick cash that you can spend anywhere. We’ll tell you how.