Apple Airpods 2 Review UK

Apple Airpods 2 Review: Overview & Price

So you’re interested in the Apple Airpods 2019? Perfect, because in this Apple Airpods 2 review we go over everything you need to know about the pods, and even showcase the best deals.

The Apple Airpods 2nd generation are currently priced at £159 here in the UK, making them slightly more expensive than their predecessor.

That being said now in June we did manage to find some impressive Apple Airpods 2 deals.

However, you do get some slight upgrades too, the new H1 chip making them faster and smarter. This chip improves connectivity, battery life and allows activation of Siri simply by saying ‘Hey-Siri’.

The Airpods Gen 2 was released back in March 20^th of 2019, and to be honest they are a bit of an anti-climax.

As a whole, these Airpods are not a whole lot different from the previous generation, with the same design, fit and sound quality.

Let’s take a look at what these new Airpods have to offer..

Apple Airpods 2 Review: Design

So first is the Apple Airpods 2nd generation design, and this is where we really found it hard to tell whether or not apple had made any significant changes or not.

They have the same stem with built-in microphones, same fit and same everything else.

One difference we did find was with the charging case, it now has a small LED on the front of the case that will either be amber, meaning it isn’t fully charged.

Then it turns to green, letting you know that the Airpods 2 are fully charged and good to go.

We would have liked to see different colours on these new Airpods, to stay in competition with the Samsung Galaxy Buds, however, Apple has stuck to their guns and decided that that White is the only colour they need.

Don’t get me wrong they look incredibly stylish and slick, and we found we could rock them in any outfit, whether it is gym attire or business attire.

However, a couple of different colour options would have been since, especially since they offer a Space Grey, Silver and White version of their Apple iPhone XS.

You may be wondering if the Apple Airpods 2 is waterproof?

No, unfortunately not. This is disappointing as the rumours suggested that we might have seen an IP67 or IP68 rating, so be sure not to drop these in the water at all as they will break.

Image: Tech Advisor

The Airpods 2 will survive sweating at the gym, however, we highly recommend investing into a waterproof case for the charging case, this will help save them if you do happen to drop them in the tub.

The 0.14-ounce buds fit extremely snug in your ear, we found that even when running, moshing around and jumping we still couldn’t get them to fall out of our ears.

This was one of the main concerns for us when deciding whether to buy a pair of the Airpods 2 or not, however, after reviewing the headphones we soon found that it is extremely hard to get them to fall out without noticing.

Therefore the likelihood of you losing them due to not realising they have fallen out is extremely small.

As a whole the Airpods 2 design is almost identical to the previous generation, with the same build quality, stem and style.

Apple Airpods 2 Review: Performance

The Airpods 2 performance aspect is where we see the main improvements from the previous generation.

One of the first things we noticed in this Apple Airpods 2 review is the connectivity speed increase.

Connecting them to your iPhone is incredibly fast, the original Airpods were swift too, however these take it to a whole new level.

This may not sound like a big deal, but the convenience of them connecting to your phone so fast means you do not have to fumble around in your Bluetooth settings trying to hook them up.

It really is a simple as pulling the buds out of the case, then putting them in your ear.

See Related:

*Samsung Galaxy Buds Review*
*Huawei FreeBuds Review*
*Google Pixel Buds Review*
*Apple Airpods Review*

By the time they are in your ear, they will be connected to your phone.

This means that even the smallest of walks becomes a joy, we found ourselves whipping them out at almost every opportunity even if we were only going to be walking for a minute or two.

Seeing as they connect so fast it makes sense to walk with your favourite track in your ear.

We just wished that the Airpods 2 could be connected to more than one device at a time, like most other Bluetooth headphones.

So the reason why the Airpods 2 are so much smarter and faster, is down to there new and improved H1 chip, rather than their previous W1 chip.

Image: 9To5Mac

One of the best upgrades, when compared to the previous generation, is the hand-free ‘Hey-Siri’ feature. This allows you to summon Siri with your voice, rather than having to reach for your phone.

This is great when you have your Airpods in and need to make a phone call or ask what the weather or footy score is.

Essentially anything that you can use Siri for can now be used directly from the Airpods, making life that little bit easier.

Apple says that the H1 chip allows the Airpods to switch between devices 50% faster, so switching from your phone, to your tablet.

In use we did notice that it was slightly faster, however when switching device you still need to go into the Bluetooth settings anyway, so you won’t save tons of time with this.

The built-in microphones do a fantastic job at picking up your voice even in the loudest environments, we tested this out in a busy shopping centre, a café and a bus station and each time Siri heard us loud and clear.

Of course, this is a feature that is only compatible with iPhones, so those who are using the buds with an Android device won’t have access to Siri.

One thing we should note with the Airpods 2 is that the pairing speed is not the same when paired with an Android device.

We linked the Airpods 2 up with a Samsung Note 9 and it did not pair nowhere near as quickly as it did with the iPhone XS.

Another amazing benefit of the new H1 chip is that the Airpods 2 now supports Qi and wireless charging, this means that if you are using a device that is capable of reverse charging, for example, a Samsung Galaxy S10.

Then simply activating the feature on your phone, then placing the case on top of the phone will result in the device charging the Airpods.

This is great if you are out and about and find that you need to grab some more charge in your Airpods.

We found this feature to be our favourite when reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Buds, as it ensures that no matter where you are if your phone has charge then you will not be without your buds.

Apple claims that their new Airpods 2 are better for making and receiving calls too, this is thanks to their H1 chip that ensures your voice is crystal clear, perfect for conference calls.

Talk-time with the new Airpods has also been increased to 3 hours, whereas previously it was 2.

The battery aspect of these Airpods is impressive, we had to complaints when it came to this, and we actually loved how fast they charge from a regular USB-C.

Apple also says that there is up to 30% less latency between the Airpods when gaming, however when testing this we didn’t really notice any difference from the first generation Airpods.

They still sound great, but they are very similar to the original pods.

As a whole the Apple Airpods 2nd generation performance is great, it offers plenty of new features that the previous generation does not, we love how Siri is not built into the pods and you won’t need to reach for your phone any more to activate the assistant.

Apple Airpods 2 Review: Sound Quality

So how good is the Apple Airpods 2 sound quality?

Excellent! When making calls with the Airpods 2 we found that voices were crystal clear, we could even hear the cold-like symptoms that our friends had in their voice.

This is perfect for those that tend to be on voice calls a lot, and make the pods ideal for business use.

Listening to music through the Airpods 2 is also fantastic; the music is loud, clear and has plenty of bass.

However, we wished the Airpods 2 had an equalizer like it seen in the Samsung Galaxy Buds.

The Apple Airpods 2 sound is not too much different from the original Airpods, however, we think that this is down to the first generation Airpods being great too.

Image: 9To5Mac

The real difference comes when listening to voice calls, thanks to the H1 chip. One thing we should note here is that the Airpods 2 do not have noise cancellation, so you will find you can still hear external noise.

This isn’t much of a big deal as you can simply bump up the volume, but it would have been a nice touch seeing as though the Samsung Galaxy Buds offer this.

Overall the Apple Airpods 2 sound quality is exceptionally strong, voices are clear whilst music sounds superb, nothing to complain about in this department.

Apple Airpods 2 Review: Summary

So are the Apple Airpods 2nd generation worth the cash?

Well that depends, if you currently own the Apple Airpods first generation then we wouldn’t bother.

However, if you are looking into purchasing Apple Airpods for the first time, then the 2^nd generation are definitely the ones to go for.

The built-in Siri is great and allows you to easily check weather, ask for directions and much more.

As well as this the battery life is stronger than the previous generation, ensuring that you get the most time listening to music and on voice calls.

Sound quality is crisp and clear, especially when listening to voices, whereas when listening to music it isn’t much of an upgrade to the first generation.

Apple Airpods with Charging Case (2nd Generation) 

As a whole the Apple Airpods 2nd generation is a great buy for anyone with an iPhone device, the wireless charging feature is a great addition too, however this is for Android phones only up to now.

We hope you have enjoyed our Apple Airpods 2 review and feel free to check out the best deals at the top of this post.

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