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  1. Home
  2. Headphones
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless vs Apple EarPods

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Apple AirPods (1st generation)
Apple EarPods

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:46 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:00 PM

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Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Picture
Apple EarPods Picture
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Earbuds For Phone Calls

Variants

  • AirPods (1st generation) (White)
  • EarPods (White)

Review

See Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Review
See Apple EarPods Review
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Our Verdict

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless

Apple EarPods

The Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless are better headphones than the Apple EarPods if you want a wireless design. The EarPods are wired, so they do not have the range and convenience of the wireless AirPods. On the upside, this also means they have no latency when watching movies. You also do not have a battery life to worry about since the EarPods are completely passive, unlike the AirPods. The AirPods, on the other hand, are a bit more stable for most listeners thanks to the absence of an audio cable. The AirPods are also a bit more practical for everyday casual use since they are truly wireless headphones with good battery life and a stable wireless connection.

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White
AirPods (1st generation)
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White
EarPods
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AirPods (1st generation)
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EarPods
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AirPods (1st generation)
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EarPods
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AirPods (1st generation)
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EarPods
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AirPods (1st generation)
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Main Differences for
-

Threshold 

0.10
No major differences between these headphones for this usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Design Picture 2
Apple EarPods Design Picture 2

Type  

Earbuds
Earbuds

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

Truly Wireless
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
8.0

Comfort Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Comfort Picture
Apple EarPods Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.02 lbs
0.03 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs
Show text

Controls 
 

4.7
6.5

Controls Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Controls Picture
Apple EarPods Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

N/A
iOS

Ease Of Use  

Subpar
Decent

Feedback  

Subpar
Decent

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

No
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

N/A
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

N/A
No

Talk-Through 
 

N/A
No

Additional Controls  

Voice enabled controls
Voice Assistant
Show text

Breathability 
 

9.6
9.6

Breathability After Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Breathability After Picture
Apple EarPods Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

0.4 °C
0.4 °C
Show text

Portability 
 

9.6
9.3

Portability Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Portability Picture
Apple EarPods Portability Picture

L  

1.72"
1.9" (4.8 cm)

W  

1"
1.8" (4.4 cm)

H  

0.6"
0.8" (1.9 cm)

Volume  

1.03 in³
2.47 in³ (40.48 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

N/A
No
Show text

Case 
 

8.5
7.0

Case Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Case Picture
Apple EarPods Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

L  

2.06"
2.4" (6.2 cm)

W  

1.69"
2.4" (6.2 cm)

H  

0.74"
0.8" (1.9 cm)

Volume  

2.58 in³
4.47 in³ (73.25 cm³)
Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
6.5

Build Quality Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Build Quality Picture
Apple EarPods Build Quality Picture
Show text

Stability 
 

6.5
5.5

Stability Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Stability Picture
Apple EarPods Stability Picture
Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Angled Picture
Apple EarPods Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Side Picture
Apple EarPods Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Front Picture
Apple EarPods Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Rear Picture
Apple EarPods Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Top Picture
Apple EarPods Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless In The Box Picture
Apple EarPods In The Box Picture
Show text
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-7.73 dB
-8.63 dB

Treble Amount 
 

0.61 dB
-1.09 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

6.4
5.9

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.8 dB
0.97 dB
Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

6.0
5.0

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

5.27 dB
7.8 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

64.42 Hz
87.24 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-10.94 dB
-16 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-0.79 dB
-2.99 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.62 dB
1.47 dB
Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

7.9
9.0

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.78 dB
1.4 dB

Low-Mid 
 

1.7 dB
0.3 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

0.55 dB
-1.46 dB

High-Mid 
 

3.62 dB
1.03 dB
Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.2
8.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.18 dB
2.14 dB

Low-Treble 
 

4.46 dB
-0.41 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

4.26 dB
1.8 dB

High-Treble 
 

0.57 dB
-8.59 dB
Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.3
6.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.83 dB
2.29 dB

Dips 
 

1.13 dB
1.05 dB

Imaging 
 

8.4
7.9

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.31
0.28

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

5.76
3.51

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.04
1.58

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.5
2.83
Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

2.6
2.8

PRTF  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless PRTF
Apple EarPods PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

9.7
9.5

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.4
3.1
Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Apple EarPods Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.9
8.9

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.177
0.102

WHD @ 100 
 

0.128
0.054

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive

Connection 
 

Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

In-line
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

1.3
1.2

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-2.64 dB
-2.94 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.01 dB
0 dB

Mid 
 

1.1 dB
1 dB

Treble 
 

-8.72 dB
-9.53 dB
Show text

Leakage 
 

7.3
7.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.73 dB
37.72 dB
Show text
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
No

In-Line 
 

No
Yes

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

N/A
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show text

Recording Quality 
 

6.2
8.1

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

354.04 Hz
285.09 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.83 dB
2.54 dB

HFE 
 

3,368.2 Hz
12,716.62 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

31.268
0.401

Gain 
 

28.6 dB
16 dB
Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.2
6.9

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

14.85 dB
14.42 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text
Active Features

Battery 
 

7.1
0.0

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

4.8 hrs
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

5
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

27 hrs
N/A

Charge Time 
 

0.5 hrs
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Yes
No

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
No

Passive Playback 
 

No
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

Lightning
None
Show text

App Support 
 

5.5
0.0

App Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless App Picture
Apple EarPods App Picture

App Name  

N/A
No App

iOS  

Yes
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

N/A
No

Windows  

N/A
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

N/A
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

Yes
No

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

No
Show text
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

6.9
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2 + W1 chip
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

91 ft
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

168 ms
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

0.0
9.0

Cable Picture  

Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless Cable Picture
Apple EarPods Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

N/A
Yes

USB Audio 
 

N/A
No

Detachable  

N/A
No

Length  

N/A
3.73 ft (1.14 m)

Connection 
 

N/A
1/8" TRRS

Wired Latency 
 

N/A

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

No
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

No
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

2.2
0.0

Type 
 

Charging Case
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

Yes
No

Power Supply 
 

Lightning
No Base/Dock
Show text

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Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless

Apple EarPods

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Apple AirPods (1st generation) vs Apple EarPods: Main Discussion

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