AIRPODS $159
Wireless earbuds sound good, but don't lose them

Apple is trying to push consumers to a wireless future by eliminating the headphone jack. And the tip of this particular spear for Apple are the AirPods, its new set of wireless Bluetooth earbuds.

The AirPods look like Apple's normal earbuds, without the wires. They pair to Apple devices particularly well, and the music quality was nice. You can also pair them as normal Bluetooth headphones with non-Apple devices.

The AirPods have about five hours of battery life but come with a carrying case that doubles as a portable battery, which gives you more juice if you drop the EarPods into it when you are not using them. With the carrying case, you can get up to 24 hours of listening time.

The automatic pausing feature was perhaps the most impressive part of these earbuds. When paired with an iPhone, the AirPods can sense when they are in your ears. Apple has designed them to pause when you take out one side to have a conversation or listen to an announcement.

In terms of comfort, they were about the same as Apple's normal earbuds, but they lose most of the controls.

The design and performance of the AirPods make them a tempting buy. But, at $159, on a practical level, you worry about losing them.

WASHINGTON POST

SWIFT PLAYGROUNDS FREE
New game teaches children how to code

Apple has released a free coding education app that it developed with middle-school students in mind, in the latest salvo among technology companies to gain share in the education market.

Apple's app, called Swift Playgrounds, introduces basic computer programming concepts, like sequencing logic, by asking students to use word commands to move cartoon avatars through a fanciful, animated world.

Unlike some children's apps, which employ drag-and-drop blocks to teach coding, the Apple program uses Swift, a professional programming language that the company introduced in 2014.

"When you learn to code with Swift Playgrounds, you are learning the same language used by professional developers," Brian Croll, Apple's vice president of product marketing, said. "It's easy to take the next step and learn to write a real app."

NEW YORK TIMES