MacVoices #26217: Take Control – Kirk McElhearn Takes Control of Airpods (1)

Jul 24, 2026 | Take Control

Kirk McElhearn discusses his new guide to getting the most from Apple’s AirPods, Take Control of AirPods for Take Control Books, explaining why the deceptively simple earbuds deserve a dedicated manual. The conversation explores hearing assistance, noise cancellation, audio quality, controls, battery management, charging options, Bluetooth limitations, and choosing the right model. Kirk offers tips that unlock features many owners never realize are available.

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Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and why AirPods deserve a dedicated guide
02:00 Why AirPods are more capable than most users realize
04:15 AirPods as hearing assistance and accessibility tools
07:10 Hearing protection, EQ, and listening modes explained
09:45 Noise cancellation, transparency, and adaptive audio
12:30 Selecting the right AirPods model for your needs
15:00 Comfort, fit, and silicone tips versus open designs
18:00 Everyday use, travel, and environmental awareness
20:45 Lossless audio, Bluetooth limits, and audio quality myths
24:00 Battery life, charging, and long-term maintenance
27:15 Future AirPods features and closing thoughts

Links:

Take Control of AirPods by Kirk McElhearn

Guests:

Kirk McElhearn writes about Apple hardware and software, books, music, and more. As a Senior Contributor to Macworld for more than 15 years, he wrote hundreds of articles, including the Ask the iTunes Guy column. He is a regular contributor to The Mac Security Blog, the Literature & Latte blog, where he writes about their writing app Scrivener, and TidBITS, as well as several other websites and magazines. He is co-host of several podcasts, including The Next Track, a podcast about how people listen to music today, and Write Now with Scrivener. Visit his website Kirkville.

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