The latest iFixit teardown reveals that the new Apple wireless earbuds are slightly easier to repair, giving buyers hope for future battery replacements.
AirPods
AirPods are Apple’s Bluetooth earbuds. Initially released December 13, 2016, they used the special W1 chip to make pairing easier with other Apple devices, handling a common pain point for users of third-party Bluetooth headphones.
In 2019, Apple released AirPods pro, adding a fully-sealed earpiece allowing for noise isolation, cancelation, and more.
Apple Rolls Out a New Beta Firmware Update for AirPods Pro 3
Apple just rolled out a new beta firmware update for the AirPods Pro 3 and other models. Learn how to install the latest test software using your iPhone.
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…
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…
AirPods and Siri AI: What EU Owners and AirPods 5 Buyers Do Not Get on September 14 or 18
Siri AI, Apple’s conversational assistant, reaches iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch worldwide when iOS 27 installs Monday, September 14, 2026, with one stated exception. Apple’s own newsroom release says Siri AI “will not be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS,” so AirPods paired to a phone in the European Union will…
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…
iOS 27 adds Custom EQ to AirPods you own, but heart rate stays Pro 3 only
iOS 27 arrives free on Monday, September 14, 2026, and it changes what AirPods you already own can do without a new purchase. The clearest addition is Custom EQ inside AirPods settings, while heart rate sensing during workouts stays limited to AirPods Pro 3 because it depends on a sensor older buds do not have.…
How Many mAh Are in AirPods 5? Apple Publishes Hours, Not Milliamp-Hours
Apple states that AirPods 5 run up to 4 hours with Active Noise Cancellation on, or up to 5 hours on the model with the Wireless Charging Case, and up to 20 or 22 hours total with the case topping them up. It has never published a milliamp-hour figure for either battery, in the earbuds…
AirPods 5 and the H2 Chip: What Runs on the Earbuds and What Needs Your iPhone
Both AirPods 5 models run the H2 chip, the same chip Apple lists in AirPods 4, AirPods 4 with ANC, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2. So the useful question is not what the chip is called, it is which features the earbuds handle on their own and which ones stop working unless a…
AirPods 5 Are Rated IP57, and Apple Publishes No Depth, Duration or Standard
AirPods 5 are rated IP57, up from IP54 on AirPods 4, and that is the entire published statement. Apple’s tech specs page gives the rating one line in a row labelled water and sweat, with no depth, no duration, no test standard named and no separate line for the charging case. AirPods 5 move from…
AirPods 5 Head Gestures Need Three Settings On First, Not One
Nodding to take a call on AirPods 5 is not a single switch. Apple’s own guide says head gestures have to be turned on in the AirPods settings, and that using them to respond to Siri requires Announce Calls and Announce Notifications to be on as well, which means three separate settings before a nod…
AirPods 5 Studio-Quality Recording: Three Microphones, One Spec Line and No Numbers
Apple credits AirPods 5 with studio-quality audio recording and with Voice Isolation, and each claim appears exactly once, as an item in a specification row. There is no sample rate, no bit depth, no file format, no list of apps that can use either feature and no comparison with any other set of AirPods. AirPods…
AirPods 5 Live Translation Needs an iPhone 15 Pro, and Apple Rules Out China Mainland
Live Translation sits on Apple’s AirPods 5 feature list, but the earbuds are not what decides whether you can use it. Apple’s support documentation sets the terms: an iPhone 15 Pro or later on iOS 26 or later, the latest AirPods firmware, Apple Intelligence turned on, the Translate app installed, and it states that the…
AirPods 5 Case Premium by Country: $20 in the US, C$30 in Canada, ₹3,000 in India
The step from AirPods 5 to AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case costs $20 in the United States, which is about 16 percent on top of the $129 base. Apple’s regional newsrooms show the same step priced very differently: about 20 percent in India, about 14 percent in Australia and about 10 percent in Singapore.…
AirPods 5 Case Battery: 16 Hours in Reserve at $129, 17 Hours at $149
Apple publishes two battery numbers for each AirPods 5 model, one for the earbuds and one for the total with the case. Subtract the first from the second and the case reserve appears: 16 hours on the $129 AirPods 5, 17 hours on the $149 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case. AirPods 5 buds are…
AirPods 5 Battery Life Differs by Model on Apple's Own Pages: 4 Hours or 5
Apple lists two different listening figures for AirPods 5 depending on which box you pick: up to four hours with Active Noise Cancellation on the $129 AirPods 5, and up to five hours on the $149 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case. The total with the case splits the same way, 20 hours against 22.…
AirPods 5 Ship Without a Cable or Adapter: What Each Model Needs to Charge
Apple’s AirPods 5 buy page states it plainly: “AirPods 5 do not include a USB-C Charge Cable or power adapter.” Both boxes hold the earbuds, the charging case and documentation, and nothing else, so each model needs something you already own before it will take power. Both AirPods 5 models ship with the buds, a…
AirPods 5 at $129 or $149: No One Has Published a Discount, So the $20 Is the Only Lever
Neither version of AirPods 5 has a published launch discount anywhere. Apple’s prices are $129 and $149, Amazon, Walmart, Costco and Target have published no AirPods 5 offer, and the one confirmed retailer promotion of this launch is Best Buy’s Apple Watch Series 12 trade-in deal, which expires 9/18/2026 and has nothing to do with…
AirPods 5 vs AirPods 2: Upgrading From the Classic Lightning AirPods
AirPods 5 costs $129, or $149 with the Wireless Charging Case, and against the second-generation AirPods from 2019 it adds Active Noise Cancellation, an IP57 water and dust rating, the H2 chip and a USB-C case. The 2019 model launched at $159 with the Charging Case and $199 with the Wireless Charging Case, was cut…
AirPods 5 Listen Together and Custom EQ: Sharing Audio With a Second Set and Tuning Lows, Mids and Highs in iOS 27
Two AirPods 5 features never made it to the stage on September 9. Apple’s tech specs list “Listen together”, which shares audio between two sets of AirPods, and Apple’s iOS 27 page lists Custom EQ, described as “adjusting the lows, mids, and highs in AirPods settings”. Apple lists Listen together in the AirPods 5 software…