First AirPods Orders Begin Arriving in Australia and New Zealand as Apple Stores Begin Sales

It's Monday morning in New Zealand and Australia, which means the first customers who placed orders for Apple's new AirPods have begun receiving them according to reports from MacRumors readers.

Deliveries are taking place across the two countries now, and Apple retail stores in Australia have also begun selling AirPods to customers.

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AirPods that belong to MacRumors reader Sacha in New Zealand

In Australia, people who were hoping to get AirPods in store lined up early ahead of store openings, and as expected, supplies have been somewhat limited. At some stores, only a handful of AirPods were available, while others appear to have gotten more stock.

Customers who have received their AirPods are so far pleased with them. MacRumors reader Jason was impressed with how easy they were to sync and the sound quality. We'll have more first impressions a bit later as more customers receive their orders.

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Impressed with the ease to sync and setup the AirPods with my iPhone. Nice.

The sound is a lot better than I had anticipated. It can go very loud. Overall, after testing for only 15 minutes or so, sound is a bit better than the EarPods I received with my iPhone 7 Plus, which I mostly pretty impressed with.

And they fit extremely well into my ear - really don't feel like they will fall out. Very snug!

Based on early information coming from Australia, customers in Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will likely want to get to Apple retail locations before they open for the best shot at getting a set on launch day.

Apple has said retail stores will receive regular stock going forward, and third-party retailers like Best Buy are also going to be receiving AirPods stock starting tomorrow.

AirPods orders in other countries will begin arriving as Monday morning arrives. For customers who were not able to pre-order, purchasing AirPods in the store will be the only way to get them before January, as orders placed today will not ship out for six weeks in many countries.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
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Top Rated Comments

carlos916 Avatar
106 months ago
Probably get better battery life than our new MacBook Pros...
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Boardiesboi Avatar
106 months ago
I managed to get a pair from the Apple Store in Broadway in Sydney and have been testing them out for the last 15 mins.

Fit: Fits perfectly and there are no issues of them falling out. It just sat in my ear as I wandered around the house. They almost feel like they're not there cos they're so light.

Charging case: Standard Apple white plastic. Magnetic closure and snaps close very satisfyingly. The AirPods themselves also magnetically snap into their slots.

Sound: They do sound a bit clearer and better than the standard EarPods. I'm no audiophile but I'm very happy with the sound quality.

Connection: Took less than 5 seconds on the iPhone 7 plus. Opened the case and they automatically appeared on the phone screen. Opened my MacBook Pro and they showed up in less than 5 seconds under the bluetooth tab.

Transition between iPhone and MacBook:
Had music playing on the iPhone. Turned on the music on the MacBook and the music in the AirPods automatically stops. MB music plays through the speakers and doesn't automatically play in the AirPods though. You have to physically select AirPods in the bluetooth tab.
Opened the music app on the iPhone and the message "Looks like you're listening music on another device. To resume listening here, just press play". I did and the music from the iPhone came back into the AirPods.

Overall very happy with the purchase. I'm most satisfied with the simple connection and transition, and the fact that they fit perfectly with no risk of falling out.

Happy to take any questions :)



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Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
peter2 Avatar
106 months ago
Do I see USB-A only? Com'on Apple, if you play your (very unwise, to put it diplomatically) games with connectors, at least be so polite to your customers that you provide cables compatible with all your bloody products!
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
106 months ago
C’mon earth!!! move faster round that damn sun!
Or you can do what I did. I had a friend in Australia buy them this morning. He shipped them 3 day air around the world counter clockwise so I received them last Friday. Been listening all weekend.:p:Do_O
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thekeyring Avatar
106 months ago
So the sound is a bit better than the free one's, I should hope so.
They're not free.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jgelin Avatar
106 months ago
C’mon earth!!! move faster round that damn sun!
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)