Friday, June 2, 2023
  • Login
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result

This small Bluetooth dongle is now my essential travel and road trip companion

by Rita El Khoury
September 24, 2022
in Technology
Reading Time: 14 mins read
A A
0
Home Technology
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

Flights are boring, longer ones even more so. Since I have picky ears that despise nearly every earbud shape or size, I’ve often struggled with the default in-plane entertainment options. For the past few years, I’ve resorted to downloading some podcasts and playlists and listening to them with my own tried-and-tested comfortable Bluetooth buds. It’s a minimalistic setup, but it works for me and allows me to skip cramming a tablet or laptop in the small space in front of me.

Glancing at my husband next to me, though, I still envied how he could simply grab any plane-provided earbud or headset and use it with the in-flight entertainment system. On our four-hour trips back home to Lebanon, he can catch two movies, while I struggle to pass the time after the second or third hour.

Audio can only go so far to distract me on a multi-hour flight. Movies are better time-wasters.

Then, as I was preparing for my transatlantic flight to Toronto last month, I realized I needed a solution to help those seven-plus hours pass. In my search for solutions, I came across the AirFly Pro, and now that I’ve used it on a few flights, I have to say it’s easily the neatest and most versatile little travel gadget.

Airfly Pro plugged into the passenger console of an Air France plane with Google Pixel Buds Pro and Air France headphones

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

Most airplanes nowadays have a 3.5mm headset output and airlines provide you with a pair of cheap, single-use earbuds to plug in. Some older planes might have the two-prong output (though it’s been a few years since I personally came across those), while newer ones might offer pre-plugged headphones.

The AirFly Pro only works when there’s a 3.5mm jack. It plugs directly into the in-flight entertainment system and lets you transmit audio to your own Bluetooth headphones or buds. One button turns it on and puts it in pairing mode, and all you have to do is make sure your headset is in pairing mode too for them to find each other and connect.

I plugged it into the audio output of the plane and enjoyed a movie on my own Bluetooth buds.

I tested it with both my Google Pixel Buds Pro and Nothing Ear 1, and it worked like a charm. In a few seconds, I was watching a movie on the headrest display in front of me without sacrificing my ears’ comfort. And without wearing Air France’s terrible-sounding on-ear headphones, which have been on countless heads before mine. (I later took another flight where they provided those single-use buds and avoided those too — less e-waste, more comfortable ears, a win-win for all.)

AirFly Pro dongle, focus on the USB-C Port

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

The best part is that the Pixel Buds Pro can connect to two devices at the same time, so I could easily switch from watching a movie on the plane’s display (with the AirFly Pro) to listening to some music or catching a video on my phone, without taking my buds out, pressing any button, or plugging/unplugging anything. This isn’t a Buds Pro-only feature, though — look for headphones or buds that offer “Multipoint” functionality and you can have a similarly seamless experience.

Beyond planes, this can add Bluetooth output to older TVs and game consoles, iPods, and gym equipment.

Back to the dongle, now. It can do so much more. I’m focusing on the travel experience, but you can basically use this to turn anything with a 3.5mm headset output into a wireless device. Gym equipment, an iPod Nano or Classic, an older TV or game console; the list goes on.

There’s also a splitter functionality that lets you route the audio to two Bluetooth headsets at the same time, so you could watch the same thing with a friend, sibling, or partner in a public place and still enjoy the isolation of your own individual headphones/buds.

AirFly Pro dongle, focus on the Bluetooth transmit TX and receive RX toggle

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

But there’s another side to the equation too. See that small TX-RX toggle on the side of the AirFly Pro? Move it to the RX position to completely change how the dongle works.

Now it’s a Bluetooth receiver. Plug it into the auxiliary input jack of any car or speaker and it will catch and play any audio from an emitting device like your phone, tablet, or computer. So versatile.

One flick and it transforms into a Bluetooth receiver for any car or speaker. Perfect for road trips.

During my Canadian trip, I used the dongle in receiver mode in our rental cars to play my favorite tunes. Again, one button press let me pair it to my Pixel 6 Pro. I didn’t have to figure out the Bluetooth pairing process of each car, I just paired once with the dongle and plugged it into the cars. I kind of regret not having tried a solution like this with my old Subaru XV. That car had the most fickle Bluetooth connection and failed to see my phone four times out of five; a Bluetooth receiver like this would have let me bypass that entirely.

Despite its tiny size, the AirFly Pro’s battery lasts about 16 hours. It handled a seven-hour flight, a few hours of driving, then almost lasted through the same seven-hour flight back. And when it was empty, I just charged it over USB-C and it was ready to go.

If you don’t care about the receiver feature, you can save a few bucks by picking a more basic AirFly version. These are the options offered now:

  • The AirFly ($34.99) is just a Bluetooth transmitter and can only pair with one set of headphones at a time.
  • The AirFly Duo ($44.99) adds the option to pair and listen on two Bluetooth headsets simultaneously.
  • The AirFly Pro ($54.99) does all of the above and acts as a receiver too.
  • A discontinued AirFly USB-C (still sold by third-party vendors for $60 or above) was basically the same as the Duo but with a USB-C plug instead of the 3.5mm jack.

The Pro makes the most sense for my usage, but I wish it came with a USB-C converter in the box to let me use it on my Android phones and iPad too.

AirFly Pro top down next to earbuds in a case.

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

It’s incredibly convenient to have my setup ready to go on any flight and in any car.

Was the AirFly Pro essential in any of the situations where I tried it? No, of course not. But it was incredibly convenient to get on a flight or in a car and know I had my own setup ready to go. And it’s so tiny and portable too. That’s why it has rightfully earned a permanent spot in my travel bag.

AirFly Pro

AirFly Pro

Great on airplanes • Works in cars • USB-C charging

A versatile dongle that lets you use your own Bluetooth headset on planes and more

The AirFly Pro is a dual-mode Bluetooth dongle. In Transmit mode, it can share audio from any device (including planes) to a pair of Bluetooth buds or headphones. In Receive mode, it can be plugged into a car or speakers to receive audio from a phone or tablet. It charges over USB-C and lasts 16 hours on a charge.



Source link

Tags: BluetoothCompaniondongleessentialRoadSmallTraveltrip
Previous Post

Europe Ditched Russian Energy. Now People Are Sitting in Line For Days to Buy Coal. Is Biden to Blame?

Next Post

Giorgia Meloni could be Italy’s first far-right prime minister in decades

Related Posts

There’s a new Ubuntu Linux desktop on its way

by Euro Times
June 2, 2023
0

Getty Images/10'000 HoursCanonical has decided to try a new approach to the Linux desktop with next year's Long-Term Support (LTS)...

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ending explained

by [email protected] (Tom Power)
June 2, 2023
0

Full spoilers follow for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Proceed at your own risk.After a four-and-a-half-year wait, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse...

No Man’s Sky just landed on macOS with crossplay and cross-save support

by Euro Times
June 2, 2023
0

These guys never quit: One of the hardest-working developers out there, Hello Games, has continued plugging away at its flagship...

LG is having a big sale on one of its best cordless vacuums

by Aaron Mamiit
June 1, 2023
0

Households that need help in maintaining cleanliness should add the LG CordZero A9 cordless stick vacuum to their arsenal, especially...

Elon Musk Reclaims Position as World’s Richest Person After Bernard Arnault’s Louis Vuitton Shares Drop

by Euro Times
June 1, 2023
0

Elon Musk has yet again claimed his position as the world's richest person after beating the CEO of the French...

Best 5G Phones of 2023

by Andrew Lanxon
June 1, 2023
0

Most of Apple, Samsung and Google's latest flagship lineups -- including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, the Galaxy S23 range, the Pixel 7...

Next Post

Giorgia Meloni could be Italy’s first far-right prime minister in decades

Behind the new anxiety screening recommendation : NPR

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rocky Point Fishers Await Sanctuary To Ease Environmental Issues, Low Fish Catch — Global Issues

June 2, 2023

G.M. and Stellantis Paid $364 Million in Fuel Economy Fines

June 2, 2023

Bloomberg Analyst Predicts Major Crypto Market Crash Soon

June 2, 2023

PM Modi expresses distress over Odisha train accident

June 2, 2023

Karnataka Cabinet Decides To Implement All Five Poll Guarantees Of Congress, Fixes Timeline

June 2, 2023

Kakarot zkEVM secures backing from StarkWare, Vitalik Buterin in pre-seed round

June 2, 2023
Euro Times

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Business & Financial News, Stock Market Updates, Analysis, and more from the trusted sources.

CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Finance
  • Health
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Stock Market
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • World

LATEST UPDATES

Rocky Point Fishers Await Sanctuary To Ease Environmental Issues, Low Fish Catch — Global Issues

G.M. and Stellantis Paid $364 Million in Fuel Economy Fines

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In