Rumor to the contrary, AirPods 2.0 are still in the future -- probably spring -- and the promised AirPower, Apple's wireless charging system announced over a year ago, is as well. I've used my AirPods since the day they were released, and absolutely love their simplicity and functionality.
But it's time for an upgrade.
What do we want in AirPods 2.0? Well, a lot, apparently.
I recently asked friends, colleagues, and contacts what they want in a new version of AirPods, and compiled a number of my own thoughts with them.
Here they are:
- Noise cancellation
"We need better noise cancellation," says Marcus Weller, CMO at iTrustCapital. Some noise cancellation at all would be great, given that AirPods don't cancel any exterior noise. Even Apple's previous premium wired buds with the soft silicone wrapper passively canceled exterior noise; active noise cancelation would be a major win.
- Waterproofing
Now that all Apple's phones have some degree of waterproofing, it's time for the AirPods to follow, says Israeli tech evangelist Hillel Fuld. Wearing them in the rain is one use case; sweating heavily during a workout is another. I'm not sure if swimming with them would be within the realm of probability.
- In-ear design
While I like being a little different, there's no doubt that the AirPods design is polarizing. Some think they look like electric toothbrush heads; others just feel they look silly. In-ear might be too much to expect, but a smaller design would be good for everyone, I think. Frequently mentioned as an alternative: in-ear Bragi Dash earbuds.
- More gestures
Airbuds need more gestures, says author and entrepreneur Ben Way. He also wants customizable gestures, with the ability to set what one, two, or three taps actually does. Tech entrepreneur and influencer Albert Renshaw agrees: "As of now I can pause with one and ‘next’ a song with the other, but I can’t play the previous track due to current AirPods having just two controls (one on each). Adding triple tap to each would mean double the controls: Play/pause, previous, next, Siri ..."
- Better battery life
I actually can't complain about AirPods 1.0 battery life; I've never really had a problem. But I don't wear them for hours on end as some people do. Multiple people I asked requested better battery life, and I suppose it's one of those things you can never really have enough of.
- Sleepable AirPods
Journalist John Boitnott wants AirPods he can sleep with. There are now multiple earbuds you can sleep with, and people who have sleeping issues -- or live in noisy environments -- are particularly interested in this. On first glance, this seems like a niche request, but the number of people with insomnia is actually almost 33%.
- Trackable AirPods
Right now you can track your Airpod case, in case you've lost it. But the AirPod case is actually much harder to lose than each small, easily droppable, and easily missable AirPod. So entrepreneur Malachi Munroe wants each individual AirPod to be trackable. Influencer and startup founder Adryenn Ashley agrees: saying Apple needs "a 'find my iphone' like feature for when you misplace them ... again and again ..."
- Manual volume adjustment
Conference manager Joel Hansen: wants manual control: "Volume adjust on the side of the AirPods!"
- Lower pricing
AirPods aren't cheap, like many other Apple products. Digital marketer Carri Bugbee wants something very simple: "Lower prices."
- Wireless charging
An Apple wireless charging case is coming (for an extra charge), but futurist Will Mason wants it available by default.
- Better sound quality
AirPods must sound pretty good already: only one person, entrepreneur Russ Turner, mentioned better sound quality.
- Activity sensors
Journalist Tom Cheredar mentions the obvious that most have overlooked: every Apple device is getting smarter, and activity/health is a big deal. Why not add activity or health sensors to AirPods?
- Transparent case
PR and comms chief Mary Glazkova has an interesting suggestion: a transparent case. It's for "when you think you have ‘em and the next second ..."
- Sport mode ear hooks
It's not a problem I have, but investor and technologist Doug Bennett wants better retention for active people. "A sports mode might be nice," he says. "Some kind of ear hook or wire around the back of the neck to keep them locked into place when using them during athletics. Currently I have a pair of jaybirds for sports." Personally, I think that would destroy the look, but I understand the request.
- Adjustable sizing/fitting
SEO expert Andrew Shotland wants adjustable fitting. "They need some way to adjust to different ear sizes - perhaps with some kind of sleeve," he says. "One of my ear canals is too large and the only way the AirPods will stay in is if I reverse them so the long ends are sticking forward kind of like bull horns." This is an important suggestion: I've heard it from multiple people, and could potentially be solved by some kind of silicone sizer like the ones that Apple used to provide with its premium wired earbuds.
- Battery-eating bling
It's not very Apple, but technologist Nick Smoot wants a "ring of micro led lights that are animated on the base of each pod." And, he wants them to glow or pulse when you're on your phone.
- Color
Experience designer Consuelo Griego wants color: "I’d like to select my color," she says. "[Apple should have an] opt-in color of the month club - I might even change the color daily."
- Ambisonic 3D audio
Augmented reality isn't just about vision, says immersive tech evangelist Avi Horowitz. "Ambisonic audio will be very necessary once [Apple] unveils their Glasses (I like to think they’ll name them “iSight”), so this feature must be in the pipeline."
Clearly, Apple isn't going to address all of these in the next version of AirPods, which are likely to come out in spring 2019. But addressing even some of them would go a long way to making AirPods the standard way to listen and speak on an iPhone.
