2nd generation AirPods: Underused tricks

Key Takeaways

The 2nd-gen AirPods are an older model, but they’re a great gateway with high value to the AirPods ownership club.
You can customize the name of your AirPods for easy identification and personalization.
Activate Siri or control your audio with double-tap gestures on the 2nd generation AirPods — no need to take your iPhone out of your pocket.

Apple’s 2nd generation AirPods were released in 2019, and despite being five years old, Apple still sells them for $129, making them the most economical pair of AirPods you can purchase. Even though this classic AirPods design was replaced by a 3rd generation, these AirPods provide a more affordable entry point if you’re looking for a pair of AirPods. With five hours of battery life, 24 additional hours with the included charging case, Hey Siri support, and double-tap gestures, 2nd generation AirPods still provide pretty good value.

Here are four underused tips and tricks for Apple’s most affordable AirPods.

Apple AirPods (2nd Generation)

$69 $129 Save $60

Initially released in 2019, Apple sells the 2nd generation AirPods as their most affordable model offering double-tap gestures, Hey Siri support, and 5 hours of listening time.

Battery Life: 5 hours, 30 hours with case
Charging Case Included?: Yes
Brand: Apple
Colors: White
Charging Port: Lightning
Noise Cancellation: No

1 Rename your AirPods

Customize what your AirPods are called

Renaming your device is an easy way to personalize it while making it easily identifiable. Most people leave their AirPods with whatever the default name is, but changing it is easy.

To change your AirPods name: Open Settings > select your AirPods > tap Name > type whatever you want your AirPods to be called.

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2 Double-tap

Control your audio with a simple tap

Did you know your AirPods have hidden buttons to activate Siri or control your audio? Well, now you do. You can invoke a preset action by double-tapping the stems of 2nd generation AirPods. Each pod can be set to invoke one of the five available actions: Siri, Play/Pause, Next Track, Previous Track, or Off.

To set your double-tap gesture: Open Settings > select your AirPods > choose Left or Right > select which action you’d like to pair to this pod.

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3 Hey Siri

Get Siri to do your tedious work

Save yourself some energy next time you want to pull out your phone and get Siri to do it for you. As long as ‘Hey Siri‘ is enabled on your iPhone, your AirPods can recognize the voice command and relay the requested action to your iPhone. For example, I frequently use ‘Hey Siri’ to create reminders and skip specific durations of Podcasts without using my hands.

To enable Hey Siri: open Settings > tap Siri & Search > Listen for > “Siri” or “Hey Siri.”

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Have you ever been in a situation where you’re listening to something good and want to share it with the person beside you? Instead of giving one of your own AirPods to them or taking out your AirPods and bothering those around you with the speaker, try using Audio Sharing. This under-discussed feature allows you to share audio between two AirPods pairs.

To share audio with another person: Navigate to the Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner of your iPhone > tap the blue AirPods icon in the top right corner > Share Audio… > bring a pair of AirPods or connected iPhone nearby > tap Share Audio when prompted.