Apple extends the battery life of the Airpods 3 and makes the Homepod Mini more colorful

Apple presented the third generation of its Airpods at its “Unleashed” event. The Airpods 3 can do more and last longer than their predecessors. The Homepod Minis are more colorful.

After around two and a half years, Apple has reissued its Airpods wireless entry-level in-ear headphones, while Airpods Pro fans will probably have to wait a year for the second generation. In return, the Airpods 3 have received a number of features from the Pro version. In particular, they should improve the sound quality. The third generation of Airpods includes Adaptive EQ and Spatial Audio.

Adaptive EQ, for example, is an integrated equalizer that adjusts the sound of the Airpods to the sound source in real time. An inward-facing microphone monitors the sound and tunes the lower and middle frequencies. With Spatial Audio, a kind of 3D sound should move into the Airpods. According to Apple, the built-in Dolby Atmos and Dynamic Head Tracking ensure even better sound. This should not only sound better music and films, but also group calls with Facetime.

Apple has also screwed up the battery life of the Airpods. The third generation of earplugs should be able to listen to music for up to six hours at a time. Conversations should be able to last four hours. A five-minute charge should allow an additional hour of operation at a time. With the help of the charging case, the battery life increases to up to 30 hours. In addition, the charging case is now Magsafe-compatible and can be charged wirelessly.

Apple has also changed the Airpods design a bit. Corresponding photos had already appeared in February. Here, too, the Airpods 3 are based on their Pro colleagues. The handle is shorter and now contains the force sensor controls. The new headphones are now sweat- and splash-proof. However, they do not have the silicone cushions known from the Airpods Pro.

The Airpods 3 can be ordered now and will be shipped from next week. Cost: 199 euros. The predecessors (Airpods 2) will cost 149 euros in the future. The Airpods Pro now come with a Magsafe charging case – still at a price of 279 euros.

The Airpods require Apple devices with iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, watchOS 8.1, tvOS 15.1 or macOS Monterey. All updates to these versions should be delivered in the coming week, according to Apple.

Probably because all Apple efforts were focused on the new M1 chips and the Macbook Pro, the Homepod Mini was only given a new coat of paint. The small round Siri speakers come in the three new colors yellow, orange and blue. However, they are still available in white and gray.

In addition, the updated Homepod Mini understand more commands. The idea of ​​keeping different voices apart in the budget is to be extended to other regions. In the future, there will also be an automatic volume control that is based on the conditions in the respective room. And Homepod Minis can be connected to Apple TVs.

It is also interesting to bring an iPhone close to a Homepod Mini in order to play the music on it seamlessly. The new Homepod Mini cost 99 euros and should be available from November.

Incidentally, Apple started its presentation, in which the company wanted to concentrate on music and Macs, with a new subscription variant for its music app. It is now available – to match the Homepod Minis – as a voice-only version that costs EUR 4.99 per month. For comparison: the version for single users costs 9.99 euros, the version for families 14.99 euros. Apple has announced the launch of the Voice subscription “later in the fall”.