Apple releases wireless and wirefree AirPods after killing the headphone jack

Apple says it took a lot of courage to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 but at the same time it is offering a stunning new way to listen wirelessly with its new AirPods.

The AirPods are wireless and wirefree so the earbuds not only connect to the iPhone via Bluetooth there isn’t even a cable between the buds.

Apart from listening to music, the AirPods can be used to make calls, watch your video content, play games and interact with Siri.

There are dual optical sensors and an accelerometer onboard the AirPods so they know when they are sitting in your ear and when they have been removed and pause and play your music in response.

Users can also double tap the outside of the AirPods to access Siri.

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And when you start talking AirPods automatically detects this and directs the beam-forming microphones to lock on to your voice and filter out background noise at the same time.

They are powered by Apple’s new W1 chip which operate at one-third the power of a regular wireless chip so it can deliver superior audio quality, a longer battery life and a one-step pairing process.

The batteries onboard the AirPods will run for about five hours before they need a recharge using the included charging case which itself can hold enough charge for 24 hours of listening.

Pairing the AirPods is simply a matter of opening the charging case near the iPhone for a one-tap connection.

The AirPods are then also set up with the devices signed in to your iCloud account including the iPad and your Mac.

Apple’s AirPods can also pair with the Apple Watch and switch seamlessly between the iPhone and Apple Watch when you’re listening to your music.

The new AirPods and charging case will be available in late October and will be priced at $229.

At that price, it makes the AirPods cheaper than most of the decent wireless Bluetooth headphones already on the market.