7 signs it’s time to upgrade your AirPods

Main points

• Battery life reduced? Upgrade to extend the time between charges.
• Want better sound quality? Upgrade to get newer components and improved sounds.
• Need active noise cancellation? AirPods Pro or Max offer active noise cancellation.

It’s hard to believe that the first AirPods were released alongside the iPhone 7 back in 2016. It’s fair to say that they were successful, selling millions of units. If you own an Apple product, AirPods are a no-brainer. They work perfectly with your Apple device, deliver great sound quality, and maintain the white look that’s been a symbol of identity since the first iPod.

However, AirPods have come a long way since their original generation nearly a decade ago, and at some point you might consider investing in a new pair. However, can you really justify the expense when you already own a pair? Well, the answer is probably yes. Here are seven telltale signs it’s time to upgrade your AirPods.

1 Your battery life is declining

Batteries won’t last forever

Nothing lasts forever, especially when it comes to rechargeable batteries. If you own an iPhone, you know the pain of an aging iPhone draining its battery like Pac-Man eating ghosts. If you find that your AirPods’ battery life is declining, it’s only going to get worse.

If you have AppleCare+ and your battery capacity is less than 80% of original capacity, you’re eligible for a free battery replacement for your AirPods and charging case. If you don’t have AppleCare+, you can get battery service from Apple, but that will cost you $49 per AirPod, and $49 for the charging case.

If you’re going to spend $148 to repair all the batteries, you’re better off paying the difference and upgrading to a brand new battery.

2 You want better sound quality

Upgrade for upgraded sounds

Technology continues to advance at an astonishing pace. Generative AI can already do things that were thought impossible just a few years ago, as long as it doesn’t involve drawing real hands. The same goes for tech hardware. Newer models of AirPods include upgraded components that make them better than older versions.

Take AirPods Pro as an example. The original AirPods Pro offered great sound quality, but the second-generation AirPods Pro offer even better sound. In our hands-on review of the AirPods Pro (2nd generation), we found that they have a wider soundstage than the original AirPods Pro, with richer bass and better mid-range clarity.

Older AirPods can also develop issues like popping sounds and other sound defects as they age, and more dust and dirt get into their working condition. If you want better sound quality from your AirPods, it might be time to upgrade.

3 You want active noise cancellation (or you want it to be better)

ANC is a game changer

Sound quality is great, but even the best sound quality in the world can be ruined by external noise. Trying to listen to your favorite tracks when there’s a screaming baby in the airplane seat behind you isn’t going to be a great audio experience.

It works by listening to the external noise around you and playing sound waves that are 180 degrees out of phase with that noise, effectively canceling it.

Active noise cancellation can help drown out outside noise. It works by listening to the external noise around you and playing sound waves that are 180 degrees out of phase with that noise, effectively canceling it. ANC isn’t perfect, but it can significantly reduce external noise, making your listening experience that much better.

Not all models of AirPods support ANC, though, so if you don’t have the feature on your current AirPods, you’ll need to upgrade to a set of AirPods Pro or over-ear AirPods Max. Both offer ANC and transparency modes to let outside sounds in again.

If you already own a pair of first-generation AirPods Pro, you already have access to ANC. However, we found a significant improvement in ANC on the AirPods Pro (2nd generation), so you may still want to consider upgrading. AirPods Pro 2 also offer adaptive audio, which can adjust the volume of your AirPods based on your surroundings or enhance the sound in front of you when you’re trying to have a conversation.

4 You’ve thrown away all your lightning cables

This is what the EU wants

Thanks to the EU, Apple is finally switching from its proprietary Lightning charging port to industry-standard USB-C. However, if you’re not using the latest USB-C model of AirPods Pro 2, your AirPods will still have a Lightning port for charging.

While you can charge your AirPods wirelessly using a wireless charging case, you’ll most likely want to use wired charging at some point. This means you’ll still need to keep the Lightning cable for a while.

Another option is to upgrade to USB-C AirPods Pro (2nd Gen), and then you can really ditch those Lightning cables for good. Unless you have a magic mouse.

5 Your AirPods are playing

Nothing lasts forever

It’s a sad fact of life that as you get older, more and more things start to go wrong. Our hair turns gray or falls out, everything starts to hurt more, and we’re not as sharp as we used to be. The same goes for your AirPods.

Over time, you may notice a decrease in the performance of your AirPods. After losing the headphone jack on many smartphone models, my colleague Sam Smart addressed this in our take on the downsides of wireless headphones.

Sound quality that was once great may not sound that great. Your microphone may sound quieter. You may find that your AirPods pause randomly.

While there are many ways to try to solve these problems, eventually a situation arises where fighting fires becomes too strenuous.

While there are many ways to try to solve these problems, eventually a situation arises where fighting fires becomes too strenuous. At this point, you might decide that it’s worth upgrading to a new set of AirPods in order to have a pair that works perfectly again.

6 You want to pinpoint your search using Find My

Make finding AirPods easier

AirPods are small by design (except for the AirPods Max), but to paraphrase Uncle Ben (the Spider-Man one, not the rice one), the smaller they are, the easier they are to lose. It’s easy to lose your AirPods on the side of the couch.

In the words of Uncle Ben (Spider-Man, not Rice), the smaller you are, the easier it is to lose.

You can use Find My to easily locate your AirPods, but annoyingly, if they’re not in the charging case, you can only have the AirPods play a sound to help you find them. Most of the time, you’ll most likely keep them in the charging case. This makes other useful features almost completely redundant.

Unless that’s the case, you own a pair of AirPods Pro (2nd generation). That’s because the latest models of AirPods let you play sounds from both the charging case and the AirPods, meaning you can quickly find them whether they’re in the charging case or not.

Not only that, the second-generation AirPods Pro also has a U1 ultra-wideband chip built into the charging box, allowing you to use PrecisionFinding for tracking. If you keep losing your AirPods, upgrading to AirPods Pro (2nd generation) might save your sanity.

7 You want some over-ear headphones

Upgrade AirPods to Max

Apple’s headphones have always been iconic, but they’ve always been in-ears, starting with the first white earbuds that came with the first iPod. That is, until the AirPods Max launch.

Apple’s first in-house over-ear headphones are excellent, with ANC that even surpasses the AirPods Pro (second generation) and comparable sound quality. They’re significantly more expensive than in-ear AirPods, but if you don’t like the way the headphones feel in your ears, or just want longer battery life, it might be time to upgrade to a pair of AirPods Max.