The carbon totals we could not find in September are in Apple’s environmental reports. The watches show zero for electricity, and AirPods 5 does not.
AirPods 5
Apple Celebrates Diwali With Special Edition AirPods 5 In India
Apple has launched a special edition AirPods 5 for Diwali in India. It features a unique rangoli engraving and costs the same as the standard version.
Omdia: Apple grew earbud shipments to 16.8 million in Q2 as the market shrank
Apple shipped 16.8 million true wireless earbuds in the second quarter of 2026, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, while the market as a whole shrank, according to research firm Omdia. That gave Apple a 20.5 percent share of the 82.1 million units shipped worldwide, almost double second-place Xiaomi. AirPods 5, which Apple markets…
AirPods 5 press speed and hold time live in Accessibility settings
If the stem on a new pair of AirPods 5 skips a track when you meant to pause, or ignores a press entirely, the fix is not in the AirPods settings page. Apple keeps the timing controls at Settings > Accessibility > AirPods, where almost nobody thinks to look. The AirPods 5 Wireless Charging Case…
How to pair AirPods 5 with a non-Apple device without a setup button
Every AirPods pairing guide written before this year tells you to press and hold the setup button on the back of the case. AirPods 5 does not have one, so on an Android phone, a Windows laptop or a games console the old instruction simply fails. AirPods 5, which drop the setup button found on…
AirPods 5 can fire the iPhone 18 Pro shutter and record your voice
AirPods 5 can start and stop a recording on an iPhone 18 Pro, and they can capture your voice while they do it. Apple sets the first up in Settings > your AirPods name > Camera Remote, and the second in Control Center, with one important catch: Apple says using AirPods as a camera microphone…
How to reset AirPods 5 without a setup button, using three double-taps
AirPods 5 have no setup button on the back of the case, so you reset them by tapping the front of the case instead. Open the lid, double-tap the front three times as the status light changes, and wait for the light to flash amber, then white. AirPods 5 and their charging case. Image: Apple…
AppleCare One's Claim Limits: Three Theft and Loss Claims a Year on Individual, Six on Family, Unlimited Accidents
Apple’s own AppleCare page states that AppleCare One Individual allows up to three theft and loss claims a year, while AppleCare One Family allows up to six, and that both plans cover accidental damage, like drops and spills, without any claim limit at all. That single distinction, confirmed directly on apple.com/applecare/, corrects any reading that…
AirPods 5 Ship Friday Needing iOS 27 and Firmware Together: What Apple's Fine Print Says
AirPods 5 reach stores Friday, September 18, 2026, at $129 or $149 with the Wireless Charging Case, and Apple’s own specifications page attaches a condition to several of the features on the box: the earbuds need current firmware, the paired device needs current software, and for some features Apple Intelligence needs to be switched on.…
AirPods 5's Real Upgrade Is Hardware: What iOS 27 Already Gives the AirPods You Own
AirPods 5 costs $129, or $149 with the Wireless Charging Case, and reaches stores Friday, September 18, 2026. But several of the features Apple highlighted for it, Custom EQ, Siri hands-free activation and Live Translation, also arrive free on AirPods you already own once iOS 27 installs Monday, September 14. AirPods 5 starts at $129,…
AirPods Firmware Updates: The 30-Minute Wait Apple Documents, and How to Check Your Version
AirPods firmware updates install automatically in the background, and Apple documents exactly what has to be true for that to happen: your AirPods need to be charging, in Bluetooth range of an iPhone, iPad or Mac that is signed in and connected to Wi-Fi, and Apple says to allow at least 30 minutes. There is…
Insuring $129 AirPods 5: Apple Prices Coverage for Three Devices at Once, and None for AirPods Alone
AirPods 5 cost $129, or $149 with the Wireless Charging Case. Apple has not published a per-device AppleCare+ price for either model, and the only coverage figure that exists for this launch, AppleCare One at $19.99 a month, was built to cover up to three products for that price, not one pair of earbuds. A…
Renewable Electricity in Manufacturing: 50, 60 and 35 Percent, and Two Products With No Figure
Apple states that 50 percent of the electricity used to manufacture iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max comes from renewable sources. iPhone Duo’s figure is higher, at 60 percent. AirPods 5’s is lower, at 35 percent. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 carry no matching percentage in the material published…
Which Apple Accessories to Buy Now: Six Published Prices, and Four Apple Has Not Printed
Buy two accessories with this launch and wait on the rest: a $49 Clear or Silicone Case with MagSafe, and the $29 wrist strap if you want one. Those sit inside the six accessory prices Apple actually published on September 9, and everything people most want to spend money on next, the charger above all,…
What Not to Buy From Apple Right Now: Five Purchases With a Published Date Against Them
Five things in Apple’s current lineup are the wrong purchase this week, and in each case the argument is a published date or a published price rather than an opinion: AirPods 4 in either version, iPhone Air at $1,099, iPhone 16 at $799, any coverage decision made before Monday, and an Apple Watch pre-order placed…
Buying Apple Gear to Last Five Years: Take the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro and the $399 Watch
If you want one purchase to still be current in 2031, buy iPhone 18 Pro at 256GB for $1,199 and Apple Watch Series 12 at $399, and do not treat AirPods as a five-year item at any price. That is the whole verdict, and every part of it rests on a figure Apple publishes rather…
Apple Buying Guide for Video Creators in 2026: 4K120, Apple Log 2 and a $129 Audio Add-On
For video, buy the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299 rather than the 6.3-inch model at $1,199. Apple lists the same capture formats on both, so the extra $100 buys the only thing a shoot actually runs out of: Apple rates the Pro Max at 30 hours typical use and 45 hours of video playback…
Apple on a Fixed Budget in 2026: The Best Buy at $149, $399, $749 and $899
If the budget is fixed and the category is not, the best value in Apple’s lineup right now is the Mac mini with M6 at $899, or $799 education, because it is the one product where Apple put its newest-generation chip in the cheapest machine of its family. Below $200 the pick is AirPods 5…
Which AirPods to Buy for Calls: The $149 Pick, and the One Number Apple Never Publishes
If calls are the reason you are buying AirPods, buy AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149. It has the same microphone array and the same Voice Isolation as the $129 model, plus an extra hour of playback, a case speaker so you can find it, and a volume swipe you can reach mid-call…
Open-Ear, Sealed or Over-Ear: Which AirPods Shape to Buy, and Who Should Skip the Seal
Apple now sells earbuds in three shapes, and the shape decides the purchase before the price does. If a silicone tip sealing your ear canal bothers you, AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case at $149 is the best open-ear set Apple makes. If it does not bother you, AirPods Pro 3 at $249 is the…
A Child's First Apple Watch: SE 3 at $249, and the Cellular Price Apple Has Not Published
For a child’s first Apple Watch, buy Apple Watch SE 3 at From $249 in the 40mm size. It is the cheapest and lightest watch Apple sells, at 26.3 g for the 40mm GPS model, it runs watchOS 27, and the features a family actually uses are in the software rather than in the $150…
Which Apple Watch for a Swimmer: What $249, $399 and $799 Each Cover in the Water
If you swim, buy Apple Watch Series 12 from $399. It is the cheapest Apple Watch with a depth gauge and a water temperature sensor, and Apple rates it at 50 meters under ISO 22810:2010. Apple Watch SE 3 from $249 is swimproof to the same 50 meters but has neither of those sensors, and…
Which Apple Watch for a Runner: SE 3 at $249, Series 12 at $399 or Ultra 4 at $799
For most runners the answer is Apple Watch Series 12 from $399, because it is the cheapest watch Apple sells with both a published outdoor-workout battery figure and a named GPS system. Apple Watch SE 3 from $249 is the right call only for short sessions, and Apple Watch Ultra 4 from $799 earns its…
AirPods 5's Bluetooth Chip Is the Same Version Apple Shipped in 2024
AirPods 5 connects over Bluetooth 5.3. That is the exact version Apple published for AirPods 4 two years ago, and it is the same version on AirPods Pro 3’s spec sheet from last year. Apple’s own tech specs pages show the H2 chip and Bluetooth 5.3 pairing has now shipped in three straight AirPods generations,…