Apple AirPods have risen in popularity in the past few years as an innovative audio listening device.
However, although these wireless earphones may be less hassle in terms of plugging into devices in order to listen to music, they do still require maintenance in other areas.
The lack of wire connection in AirPods means that you have to charge the device instead.
Just how do you check the battery life of yours – and how long do they take to charge fully?
Here’s what you need to know.
How to check your AirPods’ battery
You can check your AirPods’ battery on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Mac.
To find out the current battery percentage of your AirPods’, you need to do the following:
- Open the lid of your case whilst both your AirPods are still inside.
- Next, hold your case close to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
- Then, wait a few seconds to see the charge status of your AirPods
Checking the charge status of your AirPods via this method only appears when at least one AirPod is in the case.
If the light which appears is green then your AirPods are fully charged. However if the light is amber then you have les than one full charge left.
However, there’s also another way to check your AirPods’ battery status by the Batteries widget on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
To check the battery status of your AirPods on your Apple Mac:
- Open the lid of your AirPod case or take your AirPods out of the case completely.
- Then, click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar.
- Finally, hover the pointer over your AirPods in the menu.
Following these steps will allow you to see the battery percentage of your AirPods whether or not they are charging.
How long do AirPods take to fully charge?
AirPods themselves take on average 20 minutes to charge when placed in their case.
The AirPod case itself needs charging too – that will take a bit longer, about an hour or so to be charged fully.
However, once that’s done it should be able to hold three or four charges for your AirPods.
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Apple's AirPods are extremely popular for a few different reasons, one of which is how fast the earbuds can charge. The convenience of true wireless earbuds is that they can be quickly refueled by placing them in a charging case. Regarding AirPods & AirPods Pro, this is no different.
While countless wireless earbuds are available these days, AirPods have managed to remain some of the most popular. As it stands right now, Apple has three versions of AirPods to choose from. AirPods 2 cost just $129 and are the cheapest currently available. They instantly pair with the iPhone, seamlessly switch between Apple devices, and support 'Hey Siri' voice commands — all the core AirPods features users have come to expect. AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro (2nd-gen) are more expensive at $179 and $249, respectively, but they add additional features that make the listening experience that much better.
The experience of using AirPods is undeniably great, but none of that matters if it takes too long for the earbuds to charge in between use. Thankfully, the exact opposite is true. Apple says that AirPods 2 deliver up to 3 hours of listening time after being in the charging case for 15 minutes. Apple also confirms that AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro offer about 1 hour of listening time after just 5 minutes of charging. Fast charge times are a must for any pair of wireless earbuds, and this is an area where Apple has delivered with every AirPods model to date.
Full Charge Times For AirPods & AirPods Pro
Getting a lot of battery life in just a few minutes of charging is great, but how long does it take to completely charge AirPods from 0 - 100 percent? While Apple doesn't have official numbers on its website, various reporting from real users paints a good picture of what to expect. In the case of AirPods 2, Music Critic reports that a full charge takes between 20 and 30 minutes. For some context, 15 minutes of charge time gets AirPods to over 50 percent of their total battery capacity.
In the case of AirPods Pro, it seems that full charge time takes a bit longer. Some users on the MacRumors Forums report that a full recharge can take up to 60 minutes, with AirPods Pro taking a long time to reach 100 percent after hitting the 98 percent marker. While there's no need to wait for AirPods to reach 100 percent battery before using them again, full charging time is noticeably slower than AirPods 2. Apple hasn't made any official comment as to why this is, but it could be an attempt to preserve the battery inside AirPods Pro. Quickly recharging lithium-ion batteries over and over again isn't great for their long-term health, so by slowing charge speeds once AirPods Pro reach 90 percent and above, Apple is likely ensuring battery performance remains strong for as long as possible. There's not much data regarding AirPods 3 total charging time, though it's likely in line with AirPods Pro.
Regardless, the main takeaway from all of this is that AirPods 2, AirPods 3, and AirPods Pro all have speedy charge times for most situations. The full charge times may not be the most impressive, but getting 3 hours of use in 15 minutes or 1 hour in 5 minutes is nothing to scoff at.
What About The AirPods Max?
Apart from its wireless earbuds, Apple's AirPods lineup also includes a pair of over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max. Charging the AirPods Max is a bit different, since they don't come with a charging case and have a Lightning port that can be directly connected to a cable and power source for charging. According to Apple, a 5-minute charge allows the AirPods Max to deliver 1.5 hours of listening time. A full charge on the other hand will provide up to 20 hours of listening, with ANC and Spatial Audio enabled.
Unfortunately, several reports suggest that the AirPods Max don't feature fast charging. That means that whether you use Apple's outdated 5W iPhone adapter or the MacBook's powerful 96W charging brick, the time taken to charge the AirPods Max remains the same. According to a Medium post by Alexander Leiminer, the AirPods Max charge at about 3.2W per hour, with a full charge taking about 2 hours.
Source: Apple 1, 2, Music Critic, MacRumors Forums, Medium