Key Takeaways
- If you’re looking for a bargain, you can get the third-generation Airpods for $169 or $179.
- Like the AirPods Pro, they have six hours of battery life and are water resistant.
- Active noise cancellation (ANC) is the only major feature that’s unavailable to third-generation AirPods users.
Available for $169 or $179, the 3rd generation AirPods are a great deal, depending on whether you choose the Lightning or MagSafe charging case. With the AirPods Pro design, improved battery life, and water resistance, the 3rd generation AirPods are a great choice for most people who just want active noise cancellation (ANC). I’ve owned them since day one, as an upgrade to my 2nd generation AirPods, since their release in October three years ago.
Here are five underused tips and tricks that I rely on after almost three years of ownership.
AirPods (3rd generation)
$129 $169 Save $40
Mid-priced AirPods with 6 hours of playtime, a 30-hour charging case with Lightning or MagSafe, and water resistance.
- Battery life
- 6 hours, 30 hours with case
- wireless?
- yes
- brand
- apple
- Noise Cancellation
- yes
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.0
- IP Rating
- IPX4
- Charging Type
- Lightning, MagSafe
- Tips
- H1
1 Force Sensor Gestures
Don’t take out your phone
The third-generation AirPods have a “force sensor” hidden in the stem. Replacing the tap gestures on the second-generation AirPods, the third generation has several gestures to control audio by squeezing indentations on the pods’ stems. With these gestures, you no longer need to take out your phone to pause, play, or skip audio.
The available force sensor gestures are:
- press one time Play or pause media
- press 2 times Skip ahead
- press three Return count
- Press Ownership For Siri
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2 Call Controls
Answer calls easily
Personally, I think one of the best uses for AirPods is taking calls hands-free. I rarely answer a call without them so I can chat and keep my hands free. With AirPods in, I can answer, hang up, and mute calls right from my AirPods without having to take out my iPhone. Press the stem of the AirPods once to answer a call, press twice to hang up, and squeeze the stem to mute and unmute during a call.
To customize your call control gestures, open Settings, select AirPods, scroll down to Call Controls, tap Mute & Unmute or End Call, and choose Single Press or Double Press. The other gestures will automatically revert to the opposite setting.
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3 Personalized Spatial Audio
Enhance your listening experience
When you’re listening to audio, you might notice the direction that the sound is coming from: to the left, right, or even above or below you. This is a feature called spatial audio, which makes audio seem like it’s coming from different directions. Spatial audio aims to create a more immersive listening experience, and second-generation AirPods support it. Going a step further, personalized spatial audio can create a more tailored listening experience using your iPhone or iPad with Face ID.
To set up personalized spatial audio, open Settings on your Face ID device, select your AirPods, scroll down to Spatial Audio, tap “Personalized Spatial Audio,” select “Personalize Spatial Audio…,” select “Continue,” start capturing, move your head left and right as prompted, and tap “Done.”
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4 Optimized Battery Charging
Keeps your battery healthier for longer
Batteries naturally degrade over time; this is a limitation of modern battery technology. Indeed, a major environmental criticism of AirPods is that their small batteries degrade relatively quickly and become e-waste. One way to extend battery life is to avoid charging them above 80% for extended periods of time. Optimized battery charging helps reduce battery degradation in your AirPods by keeping them at 80% charge until you’re ready to start your day.
To enable Optimized Battery Charging, open Settings, select your AirPods, scroll down to Optimized Battery Charging, and toggle it green.
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5 Find a network
Never lose your AirPods again
Apple’s Find My network is the company’s way of securely tracking devices so owners can quickly find them if they are lost. With the Find My network enabled on your AirPods, you’ll get a notification if you misplace your AirPods, hear a sound when they’re nearby, and get directions to your AirPods from your iPhone.
To enable Network Search, open Settings, select your AirPods, scroll down to Network Search, and make sure Network Search is switched green.
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