5 Reasons AirPods Are (Still) the Best Wireless Earbuds for iPhone Users

In the market for wireless earbuds or headphones? Apple’s line of AirPods have some distinct advantages.

Published March 30, 2024

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If you have an iPhone and you’re wondering which wireless earbuds or wireless headphones you should buy, the answer is probably AirPods. Any AirPods. Because Apple makes all its AirPods from the ground up, just like its iPhones, it’s able to make them work better together. It’s an “ecosystem” thing.

There are still reasons to buy wireless earbuds and headphones from third-party makers such as Sony, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and Sennheiser, of course, be it sound quality, superior noise-cancellation or even just the look or fit, but generally they’re not going to work quite as seamlessly. You’ll have to use Bluetooth settings for pairing. You might have to download a separate app (and potentially create a separate account). It’s just a little more involved.

Now, Apple makes four different AirPods (three wireless earbuds and one pair of over-ear wireless earbuds) and they all have different abilities — most notably, the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max are the only ones with active noise-cancellation. But no matter which you buy, they’ll all offer the below conveniences to iPhone owners.

1. AirPods connect to your iPhone almost instantly

When setting up your AirPods for the first time, the initial connection is a bit magical. You simply unlock your iPhone, hold your AirPods next to it and open the charging case. (If you have AirPods Max, you simply take them out of the Smart Case.) Your iPhone automatically detects your AirPods and asks you to tap to connect. There’s no dealing with Bluetooth settings or holding down a pairing button like you would with third-party earbuds and headphones.

2. AirPods work better with your other Apple devices, too

Once connected to your iPhone, your AirPods then automatically get registered to your Apple ID. The beauty of this is that it makes using your AirPods with any of your Apple devices — be it a Mac, iPad or Apple TV — super easy as well.

If you’re wearing your AirPods and you’re using another Apple device, you’ll see a notification asking if you’d like to connect your AirPods. In this way, you can seamlessly switch audio between your Apple devices without having to take off your AirPods or deal with Bluetooth settings.

3. AirPods work with Apple’s Find My network

All AirPods work with Apple’s Find My network. This makes it super easy to find them if misplaced — you just open the Find My app. (In fact, the latest AirPods Pro’s charging case even has a built-in speaker that you can ping to help you locate it.)

When you connect your AirPods to your iPhone for the first time, they’ll automatically get registered to your Apple ID and then be findable in the Find My app. (Find My should be turned on by default, but you can make sure via the Settings app on your iPhone: open the Settings app > tap your name > select Find My and make sure it’s enabled.)

4. All AirPods’ settings are baked right into your iPhone — no separate app required

The best thing about AirPods — any model — is that all its settings and features are built right into your iPhone’s operating system. For example, if you have AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, you swipe down to your iPhone’s Control Center, long-press on the volume slider and then quickly toggle between various noise-cancellation or transparency modes, as well as spatial audio modes. For further customization, you can select your AirPods in the Settings app. It’s quick, intuitive and doesn’t require you to search for any app.

5. Siri is a more helpful voice assistant with AirPods

Finally, if you’re somebody who interacts with Siri a lot, you’ll have a much better experience wearing AirPods than pretty much any other wireless earbuds or headphones — most of which don’t support Siri as a voice assistant.

While wearing AirPods, Siri will announce incoming calls and allow you to answer or hang up without having to pick up your iPhone. Siri will also read you Messages (and other push notifications) and give you the option to hands-free reply if you want.

Note: if you find Siri annoying, you can disable Siri notifications in the Settings app.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd-Gen, USB-C)

Specs

Release date	September 2023
Charging port	USB-C
Noise-cancellation	Yes
Does Apple currently sell?	Yes

Pros

The best noise-cancelling and transparency of any AirPods
Excellent sound quality
Advanced features such as personalized Spatial Audio and Adaptive Transparency
Supports hearing aid feature

Cons

Expensive
You might prefer the old Lightning charging port

$189.00 at Amazon

$249.00 (24% off)

Apple AirPods 3

Specs

Release date	October 2021
Charging port	Lightning
Noise cancellation	No
Does Apple currently sell?	No

Pros

More affordable than the Pros
Excellent battery life
Support spatial audio and adaptive EQ
Wireless charging case

Cons

No noise-canceling or transparency modes
No swappable silicone eartips to adjust fit
Discontinued by Apple

$159.00 at Amazon

$169.00 (6% off)

AirPods Max

These are Apple’s first and only pair of over-ear headphones. They’re luxurious and one of the best noise-canceling headphones you can buy. Available in multiple colors.

(Read our review the AirPods Max, here.)