AirPods

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<div style="font: bold 2em/1.2 -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'SF Pro Display', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: var(--wiki-color); margin-bottom: 0.8em;">AirPods</div>
<span style="color: #555; font-weight: bold;" darkstyle="color: var(--wiki-muted);">Designed by Apple in California.</span>
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| style="background-color: #333; padding: 8px;" | [https://www.apple.com/airpods/ <span style="color: #fff;">Official AirPods site — Apple</span>]
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{{Apple Navbox}}

AirPods are [[Apple]]'s wireless headphones, launched in December 2016 alongside the [[iPhone 7]]'s deleted headphone jack — mocked for a week, then ubiquitous within a year. The white stem became the decade's most recognizable audio silhouette, and the line grew into a business that would rank among large companies on its own.

The family spans the earbud AirPods and AirPods Pro and the over-ear AirPods Max, all built on Apple's own audio silicon — the [[Apple W1|W1]], then the [[Apple H1|H1]] and [[Apple H2|H2]] — which handle the instant pairing, device switching, and noise cancellation that define the product.

= History =

The original AirPods (2016, [[Apple W1|W1]]) made truly-wireless earbuds mainstream on the strength of flip-open pairing alone. The second generation and AirPods Pro (2019, [[Apple H1|H1]]) added "Hey Siri" and — the Pro's breakthrough — active noise cancellation with transparency mode. AirPods Max (2020) took the formula over-ear at $549.

AirPods Pro 2 (2022, [[Apple H2|H2]]) doubled the noise cancellation and later gained an FDA-cleared hearing-aid capability — Apple's boldest health move in audio. AirPods 4 (2024) split into standard and ANC variants, and AirPods Pro 3 (2025) added heart-rate sensing and Live Translation, folding the earbuds into the health platform the [[Apple Watch]] built.

= Current lineup =

{| style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid #555; text-align: left;" darkstyle="border-color: #48484a;"
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! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Model
! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Chip
! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Role
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| '''AirPods Pro 3''' || [[Apple H2|H2]] (2025) || Flagship: best ANC, heart rate, hearing health
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| '''AirPods 4''' || [[Apple H2|H2]] (2024) || Open-ear standard, ANC optional
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| '''AirPods Max''' || [[Apple H1|H1]] (2020; USB-C 2024) || Over-ear
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= Position =

AirPods proved Apple could mint a category from an accessory: they normalized wireless audio, seeded the H-series silicon that now runs hearing-health features, and made the case (with the [[Apple Watch]]) that Apple's wearables business alone rivals major companies. The [[Apple H2|H2]]'s multi-year run shows the strategy — ship the chip, then grow it through software.

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{| style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid #333; text-align: center;" darkstyle="border-color: #48484a;" |- | style="padding: 28px 20px 42px;" | <div style="font: bold 2em/1.2 -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'SF Pro Display', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: var(--wiki-color); margin-bottom: 0.8em;">AirPods</div> <span style="color: #555; font-weight: bold;" darkstyle="color: var(--wiki-muted);">Designed by Apple in California.</span> |- | style="padding: 0;" | ![[hw_airpods.png]] |- | style="background-color: #333; padding: 8px;" | [https://www.apple.com/airpods/ <span style="color: #fff;">Official AirPods site — Apple</span>] |} {{Apple Navbox}} AirPods are [[Apple]]'s wireless headphones, launched in December 2016 alongside the [[iPhone 7]]'s deleted headphone jack — mocked for a week, then ubiquitous within a year. The white stem became the decade's most recognizable audio silhouette, and the line grew into a business that would rank among large companies on its own. The family spans the earbud AirPods and AirPods Pro and the over-ear AirPods Max, all built on Apple's own audio silicon — the [[Apple W1|W1]], then the [[Apple H1|H1]] and [[Apple H2|H2]] — which handle the instant pairing, device switching, and noise cancellation that define the product. = History = The original AirPods (2016, [[Apple W1|W1]]) made truly-wireless earbuds mainstream on the strength of flip-open pairing alone. The second generation and AirPods Pro (2019, [[Apple H1|H1]]) added "Hey Siri" and — the Pro's breakthrough — active noise cancellation with transparency mode. AirPods Max (2020) took the formula over-ear at $549. AirPods Pro 2 (2022, [[Apple H2|H2]]) doubled the noise cancellation and later gained an FDA-cleared hearing-aid capability — Apple's boldest health move in audio. AirPods 4 (2024) split into standard and ANC variants, and AirPods Pro 3 (2025) added heart-rate sensing and Live Translation, folding the earbuds into the health platform the [[Apple Watch]] built. = Current lineup = {| style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid #555; text-align: left;" darkstyle="border-color: #48484a;" |- ! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Model ! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Chip ! style="background-color: #555; color: #fff; padding: 6px;" | Role |- | '''AirPods Pro 3''' || [[Apple H2|H2]] (2025) || Flagship: best ANC, heart rate, hearing health |- | '''AirPods 4''' || [[Apple H2|H2]] (2024) || Open-ear standard, ANC optional |- | '''AirPods Max''' || [[Apple H1|H1]] (2020; USB-C 2024) || Over-ear |} = Position = AirPods proved Apple could mint a category from an accessory: they normalized wireless audio, seeded the H-series silicon that now runs hearing-health features, and made the case (with the [[Apple Watch]]) that Apple's wearables business alone rivals major companies. The [[Apple H2|H2]]'s multi-year run shows the strategy — ship the chip, then grow it through software.