Apple AirPods Review: Paired with Android

With Google Now voice activation turned on, I can say “Ok Google” and the assistant will start listening.

I don’t consider myself an audiophile, but the AirPods sound perfectly fine for day-to-day use. When I’m out and about listening to music or podcasts, the sound quality is great, and I haven’t had any issues with ear fitment.

Walking around the city for hours, the AirPods never felt like they were about to fall out. Should you actually lose one, you can buy individual replacements from Apple.

Just one of the various silicone tips you can buy for the AirPods

If you’re worried about it, there are a bunch of sellers on eBay (and elsewhere I’m sure) selling a variety of silicone plugs to offer a more secure fit for only a few dollars.

At no point in the past month have I had issues with sync between the two headphones, either. When you put both AirPods in your ears, you’ll hear a tone play in both to let you know they are ready to go.

Battery life has been excellent too. Apple rates each AirPod at 5 hours listening time, with a 15-minute charge in the case adding 5 hours additional listening. Overall the case can charge the AirPods for over a day of listening.

I use the AirPods for about an hour on average each day, and in the month I’ve had the AirPods, I’ve charged the case once. Heavier users will need to charge it more often, but even the most frequent users should only need to charge the case every three days.

The main downsides to using the AirPods with Android is a lack of customisation of the double-tap gesture, no battery indicator, and no way to update the firmware (though not that fussed about that last one).