AirPods Deliveries Arrive Across Europe as Retail Store Stock Dwindles

Early orders of AirPods arrived across Europe this morning as people were seen waiting outside Apple retail stores eager to get hold of a pair of the new wireless earphones before initial stock ran out.

Queues were reported outside Apple's Regent Street store in London and some other brick-and-mortar stores scattered around the U.K., but stock is reportedly limited and going fast. Regent Street was said to have only 150 units, while the Apple Store in Bath reportedly had only 10 in stock upon opening. Reddit user googang619 said that Newcastle's Eldon Square store initially had 25 pairs in at 9 a.m. but "they had sold twenty of them in the first 10 minutes".

Regent Street Apple queue

People queue for AirPods outside Regent Street Apple Store (Image: Derek Baker)

For those lucky enough to have got in on the first wave of online orders last week and received the earphones on Monday via courier, the first impressions of Apple's audio accessory have so far been overwhelmingly positive, with wearability and ease of pairing coming in for particular praise.

Bringing a new case of AirPods within two inches of an unlocked iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and flipping the lid brings up a dialog on the screen offering to pair the device. Once the option is tapped, the AirPods are identified as the owner's and subsequently pair automatically.

MacRumors reader The Game 161 said of the Bluetooth connection: "Incredible, left phone in house, walked up the drive and it was still there".

airpods
Twitter user Long Zheng called the Bluetooth connection range "spectacular" and said he was able to walk around his whole house listening to podcasts. He also said they were "much more comfortable than traditional EarPods, much lighter on the ear and no pulling from the cord". MacRumors reader Boardiesboi agreed, claiming they "almost feel like they're not there" because they're so light.

As for audio performance, MacRumors reader ssrij called the AirPods "louder than EarPods", with better sound quality and stronger bass than Apple's wired earphones. Bazooka-joe called the audio quality "much better than expected. Lots of bass. Very clear."

Apple has included a Lightning to USB-A charging cable with the AirPods, rather than one with a USB-C connection for connecting to newer MacBook Pros. We'll post a more in depth look at how the AirPods function and perform later in the day.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Tag: Europe
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

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Top Rated Comments

The Game 161 Avatar
108 months ago
I'm honored :)

Also I left my phone in the kitchen and went to the furthest room upstairs and connection was perfect
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarHeadz Avatar
108 months ago
People are waiting in lines outside of stores for wireless headphones? Yeah, Apple sure looks doomed to me! Fire Tim! :D
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wormald Avatar
108 months ago
was first in the queue at regent street - got there at 6am.

met some lovely people and the time flew chatting about this and that.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
108 months ago
Probably the best product they've released this year by a mile, in a year where they needed something awesome that wasn't $3000.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xinam Avatar
108 months ago
Happy AirPods day everyone. I'm really impressed with mine, they have quite impressive low-end. Easily my best Apple purchase for some time!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
108 months ago
AirPods will be a huge hit for Apple, much to the chagrin of the naysayers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)