JANUARY 2022 MACWORLD 69appreciate. But as with the second-gen
model, the shape of your ears will
determine just how secure and
comfortable the fit is.
BATTERY LIFE AND
CHARGING CASE
Apple promises that the battery will last
up to six hours, and that seems to be a
pretty accurate claim. I managed to get
just a bit more than that on a full charge,
but volume plays a factor, and you can
expect less when using spatial audio, too.
These are the longest-lasting AirPods you
can buy, though you can buy wireless
earbuds with longer battery life (they are
usually larger, though).
The charging case, which looks very
much like that for the AirPods Pro but is
just slightly less wide, holds another four
full charges, so you can juice up the
earbuds several times before you have
to find a plug.
Speaking of finding a plug, the
charging case supports charging via
Lightning or Qi wireless charging and has
magnets to attach to MagSafe chargers
(fave.co/3iynBXC).
Apple claims that about five minutes in
the case will give you enough charge to
last for an hour, just as with the AirPods
Pro. In my testing, the buds went from zero
to over 30 percent in that short time and
lasted almost 90 minutes before dying.BOTTOM LINE
Apple sells three AirPods now. The
second generation are still on sale for
$129 with a wired case. The new third
generation will set you back $179. This isThe third-gen AirPods case (center) is just a touch less wide than the AirPods Pro case (right).