Both Airpods and bone conduction headphones offer great performance in a variety of areas, but they do not perform equally well in every area. So we will take a look at the most important features you may look for in a headphone and compare them to how they perform within those categories.
Your body type and use case can affect this. Some people find wearing the AirPods uncomfortable, and some people find that wearing the bone conduction headphones is not comfortable to wear for an extended period.
Bone Conduction Headphones Vs Airpods
When comparing bone conduction headphones vs Airpods, you should consider these factors when looking for any headphones. This will help you find the most suitable headphones for your needs.
Environmental Awareness
One of the major selling points of bone headphones is that they do not block the ear canals, which is what makes them so popular. Additionally, it means that you do not need to leave things inside your ears for long periods, which might harm your ear health. Therefore, at this point, bone headphones are a much better option than Airpods.
Sound Quality
The AirPods come out on top in this contest handily. There is no guarantee that they will satisfy an audiophile, but then again, that is not what they are designed to do in the first place. As far as sound quality goes, it’s perfect. Bass is present, but not so much that it seems irritating. Overall, I think the stereo spread of the track is good, and the overall detail of the track, at least to my ear, is just fine.
The sound is a little less immersive and rich compared to the bone headphones. Generally, it does not bother me too much, and if you listen to a lot of spoken content, you will not have any problems. The only downside of the bone headphones is that music and movies sound a lot less clear on them. Even though the headset is not so bad that you shouldn’t use it, if you are looking for good sound quality, you may be disappointed with the product.
Comfort Level
I believe that this is a very personalized matter since it depends on many factors. According to my preferences and overall design, bone headphones are more relaxing for prolonged playing or using. The problem is that neither of these devices can last too long before I want to take them off. On the other hand, the AirPods reach this limit a lot more quickly, but when I remove them, I experience an odd muffled sensation from them that lasts for quite some time afterwards.
The AirPods are pretty uncomfortable within a few minutes of laying down in bed. Apparently, this happens to me only when I’m lying on my back, but I’m not sure why this happens when I’m lying on my back. It should be noted that although bone headphones come with a neckband that allows you to wear them while lying down, it is a significant plus that AirPods can lay flat while being worn. Physical activities
I choose AirPods over any other headphones for workouts since there are no cables, bands, clips, or anything that might get in the way. Besides what’s in my ears, there is almost no contact between what’s in my ears and me, so I don’t get the sensation that sweat gets trapped against my skin or hair. Moreover, it is also much easier to towel off since there is no need to remove the headsets or work around them.
Contrary to the bone-conduction headphones, which include more controls (for example, you can adjust them while on the stair stepper), the bone-conduction headphones are easier to adjust between sets. The good thing about AirPods is they don’t have a headband to worry about, but they do provide some sound isolation, so you won’t hear the annoying station at the gym while using them.
Battery Backup
This is not an easy one to compare. In general, bone conduction headphones are designed to last throughout the day unless you are actively using them for the majority of that time. In my opinion, the AirPods don’t last as long as that on a single charge, but that’s the thing: there is no single charge for the AirPods. When you put them back in their little case after you are done with them, they will start charging up the battery in the case.
Microphone
The best feature of the AirPods is their improved microphone, but more importantly, they also have better Bluetooth capability. AirPods have a significantly better sound quality and snappier response time than bone conduction headphones when using Siri or dictation.
Compared with the bone conduction headphones, a Siri session is a lot faster to start up, and I understand the supplied speech better, even if it is not in full quality. Still, it does not sound like it’s coming over the telephone as it does when I wear the over-the-head headphones.
I also find that the mics are generally better, as I can speak more clearly to Siri and to people I speak with when I use bone conduction headphones.
Additionally, the improved sound quality extends to VOIP calls such as Skype and FaceTime. When used with bone conduction headphones, the calls sound exactly like regular phone calls, but they sound so much better when used with AirPods.
Lag
Bluetooth audio is one of the biggest complaints of VoiceOver users about the device’s responsiveness. We can all agree that when listening to a speech at the speed at which many of us do, having the first half of the audio trimmed or having each command taking a quarter second longer to respond can cause a substantial loss in productivity.
You will be able to hear audio over Bluetooth quite clearly if you use the bone conduction headphones. There is some delay, but the wait is not very long.
AirPods on iOS and macOS have about the same delay as the AirPods on iOS, and it is surprisingly large for AirPods on MacOS.
Why Should You Buy Airpods?
The Apple AirPods are the best earphones I have ever used. In my experience, nearly all corded Bluetooth headphones have a control unit and a wire to reduce unwanted noise. The problem can be exceptionally bothersome when you are using the earbuds actively or even when you are storing them.
The AirPods do not have these problems since they are magnetically attached to their charging case. Furthermore, I believe that they play well without blocking too much of the background sounds at the same time, at least to my ears.
The AirPods are an excellent option for people who dislike bands around their neck if they can’t hear their headset through loud sounds and if they want to be able to carry their earphones easily. They are also a good choice if they use multiple Apple devices with their current headphones.
Why Should You Buy Bone Conduction Headphones?
The benefits of bone conduction headphones cannot be ignored since they have several advantages. To my mind, the most significant advantage of these headphones is the physical controls. Indeed, it is more irritating to deal with this while wearing gloves, but I can deal with it, and for the most part, this problem does not occur all that much during the year. It’s possible that you will not have any difficulty with the matter.
The ease of storing bone headphones is up for debate, but I can easily take them off and rest them around my neck in seconds.
Conclusions
Bone Conduction headphones and the AirPods both are truly wireless. The bone conduction headphones differ from Apple’s traditional true wireless in-ear headphones in that sound is produced, and they do not go inside your ears.
If you want to be able to listen to your music while being aware of what’s going on around you, bone conduction headphones are a great option. On the other hand, AirPods have a fantastic feature called Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), which helps block out annoying background noise while listening to music.