How long do Airpods last before breaking or replacing? Also, how long do Airpods battery last before needing a recharge? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, I suggest you keep reading to find out the answers!
AirPods were a controversial release by Apple just a few years ago, when the company announced that they were going to remove the headphone jack from their mobile phones and instead would require users to purchase these expensive wireless devices.
Of course, you also had the option of using the standard headphones that came with the dongle, but most people wanted something else. So, the company released a couple of variants: the AirPods and the AirPods Pro.
But, exactly how long are they likely to last? What is the average battery life for these devices, and more importantly, what is their useful life?
Make no mistake: the AirPods are expensive, and you will be paying a considerable amount of money for these devices. Therefore, it is important that you do your research before buying them.
How Long Do Airpods Last Before Breaking? (How Many Years Do AirPods Last?)
Depending on how often you use and take good care of your Airpods, you can expect the AirPods to last you for at least two years before you notice a major decline in the battery life of your earphones.
With the passage of time, these batteries will stop charging as effectively. Over time, you will notice that the AirPods will not last you a straight five hours.
The battery life for each charge is going to decrease with the passage of time, until each charge begins to last you just under an hour. Needless to say, this will render the AirPods useless, and you will have to consider a replacement.
The problem with the AirPods doesn’t lie with the components that are installed inside. It primarily depends on the capability of the battery to retain a charge. Like all batteries, the ones used in the AirPods also have a finite lifespan.
Keep in mind that the AirPods Pro aren’t expected to last any longer either, so it’s something that you should take into consideration before you decide to spend so much money on buying them.
How Long Do AirPods Battery Last?
First and foremost, let’s talk about the battery life on the AirPods. Officially, Apple claims that the first generation of the AirPods are able to give around five hours of constant playback.
The company claims that the talk time is around two hours and the listening time around 5 hours on a single charge, though it’s usually much less depending on your volume settings.
The same goes for the AirPods Pro, though if you activate the Noise Cancellation, the listening time is going to drop down to four hours.
The good thing, however, is that you also get a charging case that is capable of charging the AirPods to provide up to 24 hours of playback, so it’s not like you have to worry about connecting them to an outlet.
It is a bit difficult, however, when you think about the fact that after every few hours of use, you will have to take off your earphones and put them back in their charging case so that they are able to recharge.
Why Do They Have Such a Short Useful Span?
Many people have asked this question, and the answer, I believe, lies in the fact that Apple maintains a standard among all of its products.
While they are designed with great care and using the latest advancements in the world of technology, the company does not want you to hang on to them for long periods of time.
That is one of the main reasons why the batteries on the AirPods are not designed to last as long as you would like. The company just wants you to replace them and go for a better version over time.
Another thing that you should know is that their diminutive size often makes them quite susceptible to damage.
That is not something that most people think about, but if you get water on the AirPods or if they sustain any kind of damage, there is a pretty strong chance that the AirPods will stop working.
Now, a small bit of damage to the battery on your iPhone may not yield any serious results, but you have to consider the fact that if the same amount of damage was inflicted on the AirPods’ battery, it may render them useless.
Furthermore, the manner in which the battery in your AirPods is discharged also has an impact on their battery life. For instance, if you make and receive a lot of calls over the course of the day, your AirPods will discharge much faster.
Moreover, you are likely to notice an imbalance on the battery in your left or your right AirPod because, by default, only one of the AirPods is activated when you take calls.
How to Maximize AirPods’ Battery Life
There are a number of different ways by which you can maximize the battery on your AirPods. If you are interested in getting the best out of these tiny devices and want to make sure that you are able to get the best bang for your buck, there are several simple things that you can do.
Here are a few tips on how to maximize the battery life of your AirPods.
1. Keep Them in the Case
As mentioned, the charging case in your AirPods is designed to carry an additional 24 hours of battery. Therefore, it’s going to keep you going throughout your commute and make it easy for you to use them whenever you are out and about.
Just make sure to connect the charging case to the power socket at least once every couple of days, so that it can top up on the battery too.
This is going to increase the battery life dramatically and make sure that your AirPods do not run out of juice when you need them the most.
2. Avoid Fiddling with Them
When you are not going to use the AirPods, there is no point in fiddling around with the case. It might be quite satisfying to repeatedly open and shut the case, especially because of its magnetic closing mechanism.
However, each and every time you do that, the Bluetooth chip in your AirPods is activated and this consumes the battery ever so slightly.
3. Avoid Using Them in Extreme Conditions
The AirPods are designed to be used in nominal temperatures and the aim is to make sure that you use them this way. If you use the AirPods in conditions that are too hot or too cold, you are going to cause damage to the battery.
For instance, you might want to keep the AirPods out of direct sunlight when you are not using these devices. Make sure you keep them out of places with high amounts of moisture or heat and cold, and they are going to last you a long while.
4. Disable Smart Features
If you don’t use any of the smart features that are included in your AirPods, it might be a wise idea to turn them off.
You should definitely consider turning off features such as the Automatic Ear Detection, which automatically routes audio from the device it’s connected to and switch to the AirPods as soon as you put the AirPods on.
By default, the company has this feature enabled, but what if you are not using it anymore? You can easily disable it through your mobile device.
It’s important to note that when you disable the feature, you will have to manually enable or disable playback for routing audio to the AirPods.
5. Disable Noise Functions
It’s important to note that the noise functions included on the AirPods Pro, especially the Noise Cancellation mode as well as the Transparency modes, are both quite taxing on the battery.
They are going to consume a great deal of battery when they are activated around the clock, so you might want to consider turning them off.
These functions are controlled through your iOS device, and you have the option of turning them off when they are not in use.
6. Turn the Volume Down
Arguably the simplest and most effective way to maximize the battery life on your AirPods is to just bring the volume down. When you keep the volume on the max, the AirPods consume more battery.
It’s not much, but you will notice a small impact on the battery life over time. However, there’s also another reason why you should keep the volume low: it helps your hearing too.
Hearing damage is permanent, and there is widespread consensus that listening to music incessantly with your earphones at max volume could have an impact on your ears.
One of the things that you should know is that these steps might not help you save on battery life one by one, but if you follow them altogether, you might end up saving a considerable amount of battery life over the course of the day.
As stated above, the battery life is going to decrease with the passage of time, so no matter what you do, it is going to come down as well, and you will have to adjust accordingly.
