AirPods (1st generation) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support (2024)

Overview

Wireless. Effortless. Magical.

AirPods will forever change the way you use headphones. Whenever you pull your AirPods out of the charging case, they instantly turn on and connect to your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac.¹ Audio automatically plays as soon as you put them in your ears and pauses when you take them out. To adjust the volume, change the song, make a call, or even get directions, just double-tap to activate Siri.

Driven by the custom Apple W1 chip, AirPods use optical sensors and a motion accelerometer to detect when they’re in your ears. Whether you’re using both AirPods or just one, the W1 chip automatically routes the audio and engages the microphone. And when you’re on a call or talking to Siri, an additional accelerometer works with beamforming microphones to filter out background noise and focus on the sound of your voice. Because the ultralow-power W1 chip manages battery life so well, AirPods deliver an incredible 5 hours of listening time on one charge.² And they’re made to keep up with you, thanks to a charging case that holds multiple additional charges for more than 24 hours of listening time.³ Need a quick charge? Just 15 minutes in the case gives you 3 hours of listening time.⁴

Highlights

• Designed by Apple

• Automatically on, automatically connected

• One-tap setup for all your Apple devices¹

• Quick access to Siri with a double-tap

• More than 24-hour battery life with Charging Case²

• Charges quickly in the case

• Rich, high-quality audio and voice

• Seamless switching between devices

What’s in the Box

• AirPods

• Charging Case

• Lightning to USB Cable

Accessibility

• Live Listen audio⁸

• Assistive Switch Control

Weight

• AirPods (each): 0.14 ounce (4 g)

• Charging Case: 1.34 ounces (38 g)

Dimensions

• AirPods (each): 0.65 by 0.71 by 1.59 inches (16.5 by 18.0 by 40.5 mm)

• Charging Case: 1.74 by 0.84 by 2.11 inches (44.3 by 21.3 by 53.5 mm)

Connections

• AirPods: Bluetooth

• Charging Case: Lightning connector

AirPods Sensors (each):

• Dual beamforming microphones

• Dual optical sensors

• Motion-detecting accelerometer

• Speech-detecting accelerometer

Power and Battery

• AirPods with Charging Case: More than 24 hours listening time,³ up to 11 hours talk time⁶

• AirPods (single charge): Up to 5 hours listening time,² up to 2 hours talk time⁵

• 15 minutes in the case equals 3 hours listening time⁴ or over an hour of talk time⁷

  See Also

  Which AirPods Should You Buy?Apple AirPods (3rd generation) with Lightning Charging Case White MPNY3AM/A - $139.99Apple AirPods Pro w/ MagSafe Case (2nd Generation, USB-C) $180 + Free ShippingThe 8 best AirPods Pro 2 cases

System Requirements

• iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models with iOS 10 or later

• Apple Watch models with watchOS 3 or later

• Mac models with macOS Sierra or later

Compatibility

iPhone Models

• iPhone 14

• iPhone 14 Plus

• iPhone 14 Pro

• iPhone 14 Pro Max

• iPhone 13 mini

• iPhone 13

• iPhone 13 Pro

• iPhone 13 Pro Max

• iPhone 12 mini

• iPhone 12

• iPhone 12 Pro

• iPhone 12 Pro Max

• iPhone 11

• iPhone 11 Pro

• iPhone 11 Pro Max

• iPhone XS

• iPhone XS Max

• iPhone XR

• iPhone X

• iPhone 8

• iPhone 8 Plus

• iPhone 7

• iPhone 7 Plus

• iPhone SE (3rd generation)

• iPhone SE (2nd generation)

• iPhone SE (1st generation)

• iPhone 6s

• iPhone 6s Plus

• iPhone 6

• iPhone 6 Plus

• iPhone 5s

iPod Models

• iPod touch (7th generation)

• iPod touch (6th generation)

Mac Models

• MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015–2017)

• MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012–Early 2015)

• MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012–2017)

• MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018–2020)

• MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

• MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

• MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012–Early 2015)

• MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012–Mid 2015)

• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012–2020)

• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012–2019)

• MacBook Pro 13-inch (2020, two ports)

• MacBook Pro 13-inch (2020, four ports)

• MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)

• MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022)

• MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)

• MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021)

• MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

• iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012–2017)

• iMac (27-inch, Late 2012–Late 2013)

• iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015–2019)

• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014–2020)

• iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)

• iMac Pro (2017)

• Mac mini (Late 2012–Late 2018)

• Mac mini (M1, 2020)

• Mac Studio (2022)

• Mac Pro (Late 2013–2019)

iPad Models

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation)

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)

• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)

• iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation)

• iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)

• iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)

• iPad Pro 10.5-inch

• iPad Pro 9.7-inch

• iPad (9th generation)

• iPad (8th generation)

• iPad (7th generation)

• iPad (6th generation)

• iPad (5th generation)

• iPad Air (5th generation)

• iPad Air (4th generation)

• iPad Air (3rd generation)

• iPad Air 2

• iPad Air (1st generation)

• iPad mini (6th generation)

• iPad mini (5th generation)

• iPad mini 4

• iPad mini 3

• iPad mini 2

Apple Watch Models

• Apple Watch Ultra

• Apple Watch Series 8

• Apple Watch Series 7

• Apple Watch Series 6

• Apple Watch SE (1st generation)

• Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)

• Apple Watch Series 5

• Apple Watch Series 4

• Apple Watch Series 3

• Apple Watch Series 2

• Apple Watch Series 1

Apple TV Models

• Apple TV 4K

• Apple TV HD

1. Requires an iCloud account and macOS Sierra, iOS 10, or watchOS 3.

2. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. The playlist consisted of 358 unique audio tracks purchased from the iTunes Store (256-Kbps AAC encoding). Volume was set to 50%. Testing consisted of full AirPods battery discharge while playing audio until the first AirPod stopped playback. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

3. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. The playlist consisted of 358 unique audio tracks purchased from the iTunes Store (256-Kbps AAC encoding). Volume was set to 50%. Testing consisted of full AirPods battery discharge while playing audio until the first AirPod stopped playback. The drained AirPods were charged for 30 minutes, then audio playback was continued until the first AirPod stopped playback. This cycle was repeated until both the AirPods and the Charging Case were fully discharged. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

4. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. The playlist consisted of 358 unique audio tracks purchased from the iTunes Store (256-Kbps AAC encoding). Volume was set to 50%. 15-Minute charge testing was conducted with drained AirPods that were charged for 15 minutes, then audio was played until the first AirPod stopped playback. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

5. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. Volume was set to 50%. Testing consisted of full AirPods battery discharge with a cellular phone call until the first AirPod stopped playing call audio. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

6. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. Volume was set to 50%. Testing consisted of full AirPods battery discharge with a cellular phone call until the first AirPod stopped playing call audio. The drained AirPods were charged for 30 minutes, then the cellular phone call was continued until the first AirPod stopped playing call audio. This cycle was repeated until both the AirPods and the Charging Case were fully discharged. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

7. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2016 using preproduction AirPods units and software paired with preproduction iPhone 7 units and software. Volume was set to 50%. 15-Minute charge testing was conducted with drained AirPods that were charged for 15 minutes, then a cellular phone call was conducted until the first AirPod stopped playing call audio. Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and many other factors.

8. Requires iOS 12 or later.