Find Out How to Buy Apple's AirPods — They're Finally Here!

At Apple's highly anticipated event unveiling the upcoming iPhone 7, one product update in particular sparked a lot of conversation and near controversy. On Sept. 7, Apple CEO Tim Cook proclaimed the death of the iPhone headphone jack and traditional headphones as we know them.

In lieu of its usual headphones, Apple will introduce wireless ones referred to as AirPods. Below, we've listed what they are and how exactly they'll work.

  • Advanced sensors: The AirPods use advanced technology to detect when they're in your ear. If you'd like to pause whatever you're listening to, simply remove one or both of them. The sound will automatically resume once you put them back in.
  • Easier access to Siri: To access Siri, simply double-tap the AirPods. From there, Siri will also be able to control the volume of your music, check your battery life, or do anything else that would otherwise involve you touching your phone.
  • You'll be heard more clearly: AirPods use accelerometers to know when you're speaking on the phone and will filter out external noises to improve the sound and clarity of your voice.
  • Charging them is a nonnegotiable: Though they are meant to deliver five hours of listening time, the headphones do need to be charged by placing them back in the corresponding charging case. The charging case can emit 24 hours of charging time until it, too, needs to be charged.
  • They aren't cheap: The AirPods will retail for $159.
  • There is a way to hold onto your old headphones: If you're not interested in getting the AirPods, you can still use your old headphones with the adapter that will ship with the new iPhones. One end will connect to the lightning port and the other will have a headphone jack opening.

After several setbacks, you can finally order AirPods online or buy them in stores next week.