Like many early AirPods buyers, my 1st-gen AirPods’ battery life is on the wane. I have been using them on a near-daily basis for the last two-point-something years — and today, a full charge lasts (at best) 2.5 hours, down from 5 when they were new. That said, knowing that there are still true wireless earbuds from other brands out there that only offer 2 to 3 hours of battery life fresh out of the box, I’d say the performance of my well-loved OG AirPods really isn’t too shabby.

Anyway, here’s my take on the 2019 AirPods with Wireless Charging Case (price: S$299) — again, in point form:

• The new AirPods look just like the old AirPods; each earphone also weighs the same at 4 grams. The same shape means that the thin rubber covers that I’ve been using on my old AirPods (so that they stay in my ears, damn it!) still fit on the new AirPods.
• The new wireless charging case has the same dimensions as last-gen’s non-wireless case, but it’s 2 g heavier. That increase probably comes from the embedded wireless charging receiver.
• With my AirPods covers, the lid still closes fine, but I can feel that it’s a hair tighter.
• If you’ve any of those 3rd-party sleeves/cases for the charging case, they should still work with few to no modifications. The only thing to note is the LED indicator on the front of the case, which is most likely going to be covered if you’re re-using an old case. This indicator serves a few purposes: it lights up when you flip open the charging case’s lid to let you know if the case has enough charge; it lights up when you put the AirPods back into the case to tell you they’re now being charged; and it lights up when you plug in a Lightning cable or set the case down on a Qi charging mat to tell you the AirPods are being charged. My old sleeve is made of thin translucent rubber so the light just shines through.
• The new wireless charging case supports Qi wireless charging. I don’t really care about that because I already have a lot of Lightning charging points around the house. Still, since AirPower is dead, if you want a charging mat that can accommodate multiple devices at the same time, there are several good options.
• Anyway, regarding battery life, I’m getting roughly 5 hours — that is, back to the OG AirPods’ level when they were new.
• The new AirPods connect way faster than the old ones: by the time I put them in my ears, they’re already connected to my iPhone. The AirPods 1 usually take a couple more seconds. With the old AirPods, there were times when they refused to connect until I manually selected them in Control Center — I’ve yet to experience this with the “AirPods 2”. The new H1 wireless chip really works.
• The new AirPods also sound louder, which I guess is the effect of the new batteries.
• I like the new AirPods: it’s small and thus easy to carry around, it has good battery life, and it works well with my Apple devices. If you’re getting your first AirPods, I recommend saving S$60 and get the model that comes with the non-wireless charging case.