Since their release in 2016, Apple’s AirPods have quickly become the most popular wireless
headphones in the world.
And their success has prompted third party manufacturers to create similar products at
a more affordable price.
I’ve actually reviewed several of these AirPod knockoffs in the past, including the
TWS-i7s, i9s, and i10s.
As you can see, the improvements made to each generation brought them closer to the incredible
performance and design of Apple’s own AirPods.
And today, we’re going to take a look at the latest pair of wireless headphones with
a design so similar to the AirPods that I actually kept mixing up the two during my
few weeks of testing.
Now this video is sponsored by Knockies who provided these Aire 2 headphones to me for
review.
And if you want to buy your own pair, you can get 10% off using promo code APEX10 on
Knockies website.
So we’re going to start off the video by unboxing the Aire 2’s, reviewing their features,
and then comparing them to the previous generation i10s and Apple’s AirPods.
Now when it comes to the Aire 2’s outer packaging, it may look familiar.
You can see the headphones on the front and its charging case on the back, with the product
name on either side.
After lifting the lid we’re greeted by a manual that describes the setup process and
functionality of the headphones.
And under that we find the charging case with the Aire 2 headphones inside, along with a
small box which contains a lightning cable.
Yes, these knockoff AirPods actually use Apple’s lightning connecter which is quite unusual
since previous generations used USB-C or micro-USB.
Now let’s take a look at the charging case.
It has a very familiar glossy white design with a nice steep thumb scoop to pop open
the lid with ease.
And the hinge action is actually quite smooth and satisfying.
On the front there’s a single LED indicator used to display the charge level of the headphones
inside, in addition to displaying the charge level of the battery case itself.
And if you’re wondering, “how can you differentiate the charge level of the headphones
versus the case?”
Your answer is on the back.
There’s a button right here you can press that’ll tell you the charging case’s battery
level by flashing this white LED.
One flash means it’s at 25% or lower, two flashes for 50%, three flashes for 75, and
four flashes for 100%.
I actually really liked this feature since I didn't have to remove the headphones from
their case, which is something you have to do with Apple’s AirPods.
Unless of course, you check the battery level from your iPhone in Today View.
And while we’re on the subject, I want to point out an interesting difference between
the Aire 2 headphones and Apple’s AirPods.
In Today View you can see the battery level of your AirPods and their charging case separately,
although with the Aire 2’s you can only see the battery level of the headphones.
But what’s strange is that you can see the Aire 2’s charging case status by lifting
the lid and triggering the pop-up window.
I’m not sure why this information couldn’t be displayed in Today View, but I didn’t
find it to be an inconvenience since I just used the charging case button to get an idea
of its remaining battery.
And on the bottom is its lightning connector, the same port as my iPhone, which means I
don’t have to carry around an extra cable just for my headphones.
But what’s even better is that the Aire 2’s have wireless charging, a huge benefit
that Apple actually charges a $40 premium to include.
Now let’s take a closer look at the headphones themselves.
Like the case, their design is virtually indistinguishable from Apple’s AirPods, although they don’t
function exactly the same.
The Aire 2’s listing says they have touch controls, and that’s exactly what they have.
In order to control music or answer calls, all you have to do is touch this small opening
on either earbuds stem.
If you miss, the action won’t register.
The gesture can take some getting used to in order to hit the right spot every time,
but I was able to control my music reliably after just a few days of use.
Tapping once will play or pause music and answer or end a phone call, a double tap will
skip to the next song, and a triple tap will skip to the previous song.
I’m also pleased to report that you can trigger Siri with these headphones by holding
your finger over the opening for a few seconds.
Now how do we actually pair these things to our device?
Well, you might be surprised to discover that the Aire 2’s actually have the same H1 chip
as Apple’s latest generation AirPods.
That means you can pair them with your iPhone by simply lifting the lid, which’ll trigger
this pop-up window to connect quickly and easily.
Now this feature is exclusive to iOS devices so in order to pair with other smartphones
or computers, simply open the lid to enter discoverable mode and locate the headphones
in your device’s bluetooth settings.
So we’ve covered the simple setup and straightforward controls, but how do these Aire 2’s actually
sound?
That is the whole point of headphones after all.
Well, of all the knockoff AirPods I’ve ever used, these definitely sound the best.
It seemed to me that the AirPods did have slightly fuller bass, but I had to switch
between the Aire 2’s and AirPods quite a few times to catch that difference.
With some previous generations of AirPod knockoffs I only recommended them for podcasts or phone
calls, since the audio quality was so poor.
But things have come along way in just a couple years and I can confidently say these new
Aire 2 headphones have fantastic sound quality that’s perfect for enjoying your favorite
music.
Although I should mention that these headphones don’t get as loud.
I’d say they reach about 80-85% of the AirPods max volume.
Now I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing since listening to loud music is
harmful to your ears.
But that is another notable difference between the two headphones.
Now when it came to sustaining a reliable bluetooth connection the Aire 2’s performed
better than their predecessor, although not perfect.
They do feature the same Bluetooth 5.0 technology as Apple’s AirPods, but software also plays
a large role in wireless headphone performance.
The good news is I didn’t have any problems with the Aire 2s staying connected or synchronized.
They always played audio at the same time.
But when I watched YouTube videos, sometimes the right headphone would start playing audio
a second or two before the left.
This delay happened about 25% of the time but it never became annoying because once
the left headphone kicked in, the audio was perfect.
Again, this only happened with YouTube videos, music playback in Spotify and Apple Music
was always flawless.
I also want to mention that the Aire 2’s wireless range is about 10 meters or 30 ft
without obstacles, and I found that to be consistent with my testing.
And when it comes to battery life, you can expect about three and a half hours of music
playback, with the charging case providing three to four recharges.
So how do these Aire 2 headphones compare to the previous TWS i10s that I reviewed just
six months ago?
Well, there’ve been a lot of notable improvements.
The wireless performance of the Aire 2s is vastly superior.
You won’t experience any dropped connections, lagging, or out-of-sync playback between the
two headphones.
You’ll also get better sound quality and a much easier way to pair with iOS devices.
Not to mention the charging case having the same lightning connector as your iPhone, which
just makes things easier when traveling.
And as I said before, the Aire 2’s have QI wireless charging.
Which in my opinion is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade.
Ever since I started wirelessly charging my iPhone and AirPods, I could never go back
to fumbling with lighting cables that litter my desk and nightstand.
But one of the coolest things about the Aire 2’s is their signature AirPod design.
I’ve never seen a company successfully replicate the AirPods design this perfectly.
I mean, even the color of the LED light is the exact same shade of green as the AirPods.
And if I switch the Aire 2’s and AirPods right headphones, they actually fit perfectly
in the other’s charging case.
So I found the attention to detail with the Aire 2’s design really incredible, and something
that sets it apart from other AirPod knockoffs.
But how exactly do they measure up to Apple’s AirPods?
Well, let’s compare them side-by-side.
With the Aire 2’s, you get the same wireless charging, touch controls, easy pairing process,
and great design as the AirPods.
Although there are differences between the two.
AirPods can be paired to multiple devices, they have slightly better bass, they deliver
five hours of music playback instead of three and a half, they auto-pause after you remove
a headphone, and they have 30 meters or 100 feet of range as opposed to 10 meters.
But if you’ve been paying attention, you may’ve noticed I left out a crucial piece
of information about the Aire 2’s and AirPods, which is their price.
The AirPods with a wireless charging case comes in at $200.
While the Aire 2’s, with so many comparable features, is just $73.
That is quite a significant price difference.
In fact, you could buy two pairs of Aire 2 headphones and still save over $50 compared
to buying one pair of AirPods.
And remember, Knockies is offering you guys 10% off with the promo code APEX10, which
would bring the price down to $65.70, one third the cost of the AirPods.
So if you consider everything we’ve discussed in this video, you’ll realize it’s becoming
harder to justify purchasing Apple’s AirPods.
The differences in features between the Aire 2 headphones and AirPods is nominal.
And for many people, definitely aren’t worth the $130 premium.
If you love the AirPods design, you can get that for a third of the price.
If you love the AirPods easy pairing pop-up window, you can get that for a third of the
price.
If you love the AirPods wireless charging and touch controls, those features are all
available with the Aire 2 headphones for a third of the price.
They deliver an incredible bang for your buck and feature all the core capabilities that
you'd expect from wireless headphones.
But if you want some of those extra bells and whistles that the AirPods provide and
money is no object, Apple’s $200 AirPods are still some of the best wireless headphones
money can buy.
If you want to check out the Aire 2 headphones you can find a link to those in the description.
And don’t forget to use promo code APEX10 at the checkout for an extra 10% off.
Alright guys thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.