AirPods Were Released Six Years Ago Today With 'Revolutionary' User Experience

Today marks the sixth anniversary of Apple releasing the original AirPods. The wireless headphones were first introduced alongside the iPhone 7 in September 2016, and they became available to customers on December 19, 2016 after being delayed.

Original AirPods iPhone 7
While there were already some wireless headphones on the market, AirPods helped to popularize the category thanks to deep integration with Apple devices.

"AirPods are simple and magical to use, with no switches or buttons, automatically connecting to all your Apple devices simply and seamlessly, and letting you access Siri with just a double tap," touted Apple's former marketing chief Phil Schiller. "We can't wait for users to try them with iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2."

Priced at $159, the first-generation AirPods introduced many core features, including one-tap pairing with Apple devices and in-ear detection for automatic playing and pausing of music. The headphones were powered by Apple's custom W1 chip, offering improved audio quality compared to Apple's wired EarPods headphones.

"This revolutionary experience is enabled by the new ultra-low power Apple W1 chip, which enables AirPods to deliver high-quality audio and industry-leading battery life in a completely wireless design," said Apple's press release for AirPods.

Apple went on to release second-generation and third-generation AirPods in March 2019 and October 2021 respectively, with better audio quality, longer battery life, hands-free "Hey Siri" support, an optional wireless charging case, and other improvements added over those years. Apple also launched the higher-end AirPods Pro in October 2019 with active noise cancellation, followed by the over-ear AirPods Max in December 2020. The latest AirPods are the second-generation AirPods Pro, released in September.

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

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases Firmware Updates for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday November 11, 2024 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released firmware updates for both AirPods 4 models (version number 7B20) and the AirPods Pro 2 with both Lightning and USB-C charging cases (version number 7B21). All of these AirPods models were previously on firmware version 7B19. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in firmware versions 7B20 and 7B21, but we will update this story if we find...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Camera Modules to Enter Mass Production Next Month

Tuesday November 12, 2024 2:56 am PST by
Apple's camera module supplier for the upcoming iPhone SE 4 is set to begin mass production of the components in December, according to a new report coming out of Korea. Economic newspaper Ajunews reports that LG Innotek will supply the front camera module for the budget-friendly fourth-generation device. Final tests are now said to be underway, with mass production of the module following...
iphone 6 thickness

iPhone 17 'Air' May Not Be Much Thinner Than iPhone 6

Monday November 11, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 "Air" model may not be as thin as Apple planned, according to a rumor originating in Korea. According to the news aggregator account "yeux1122" on Naver, citing industry sources, Apple has run into problems making the new iPhone 17 model sufficiently thin. The device's reduced thickness is apparently dependent on manufacturing a battery with a thinner substrate, but...
new mac holiday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Monday November 11, 2024 7:45 am PST by
Black Friday is getting closer, and prices on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and Mac mini computers have started to drop as the shopping holiday nears. These deals include the latest models of the M4 MacBook Pro and iMac. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site...
iOS 18

Here's Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 3

Monday November 11, 2024 4:53 pm PST by
Apple seeded the third betas of iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 to developers for testing today. While the third betas of each update are minor relative to the first two betas, there are still a handful of changes across the Photos app, TV app, and more. A corresponding iOS 18.2 public beta with these changes will likely be released later this week, and Apple previously confirmed that the software...
General Final Cut Pro Feature

Apple Likely to Announce Final Cut Pro Update This Week With These New Features

Sunday November 10, 2024 12:13 pm PST by
In its announcement video for the new Mac mini last month, Apple teased an "upcoming" version of Final Cut Pro for the Mac. Apple will likely announce the update during the annual Final Cut Pro Creative Summit, which begins this Wednesday. The conference is held in association with Apple, and attendees will be visiting Apple Park on the first day. Apple already teased four new features...
iPad iOS 16 WP Display Feature eric edit

Apple to Launch AI-Powered Home 'Command Center' as Soon as March 2025

Tuesday November 12, 2024 1:09 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch an AI-powered smart home display as soon as March 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The display will measure in at approximately six inches, and while it is similar to an iPad, it is square rather than rectangular and it has thick bezels around the edges. There is a camera at the top front so that it can be used for FaceTime, plus there are internal speakers...

Top Rated Comments

willyx Avatar
25 months ago
Still today they seem out of science fiction. I find incredible that they could fit so much technology (battery, speaker, microphones, chips, sensors) in such a tiny package.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dantracht Avatar
25 months ago
Got them on day one and have loved them ever since.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
25 months ago
Whenever people say that Apple no longer innovates, these are the first products that I point to.
Truly the essence of Steve Jobs’s vision for products, literally “just works”.
And yes, before I get tons of Snark replies, I know they have issues. They are absolutely not perfect, no product is.
I’ve had to have them replaced just like a lot of other people.
And of course, bugs pop up from time to time, as they do with literally every other product.
But the absolute simplicity of literally opening them and popping them right in your ears, and having them “just work” never gets old.
My first pair of wireless headphones literally had to have a pairing code every single time you wanted to use them.
And if you had to use them on a different device, you had to completely reset them, enter the code on the new device, make sure it’s totally and completely forgotten and disconnected from the old device, and then, maybe, just maybe it would work.
AirPods literally couldn’t be more simple, and besides the Apple Watch I think they are the most innovative product Apple has made in years.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roar08 Avatar
25 months ago

Too bad, for all they offer in terms of convenience and user experience they still can’t match the quality/standards of consumer grade digital audio from over 40 years ago. Let alone surpass them
Few of us are old enough to remember how amazing wireless earbuds were 40+ years ago. Great point.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tobefirst ⚽️ Avatar
25 months ago
This was the first time in a looooooong time (and the last time since) that Apple released a product where there weren't (m)any rumors spoiling every feature beforehand.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thejoshuabradshaw Avatar
25 months ago
One of the best products made. I love the long-stem AP2s. I have every version, and I love the simplicity of the AP2/3s. The APpro are trash.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)