Short answer: On a genuine Unboxed pair, the practical difference from new is almost nothing — the seal was broken and that is it. But we have to be straight with you: we have no AirPods in stock today, of any model. The closest thing on our shelf is Apple-owned Beats: the Beats Studio Buds at ₹5,899, 60% below their ₹14,900 MRP. If you want AirPods-class noise cancellation, the Sony WF-1000XM5 at ₹16,490 is the better product anyway.

Prices are live as of 29 September 2026 and move with stock — check the linked product page for today’s exact price.

What “Excellent” battery health means here: above 80% of original design capacity on a laptop, and above 85% on a smartphone. The thresholds differ because the two age differently — a laptop spends most of its life on mains power, a phone is cycled every day. Anything below that is not listed; there is no lower battery tier. The measured figure for your exact unit is printed on its product page.

Do you have AirPods in stock?

No. Not one model. The only AirPods SKU on our catalogue is the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) with the MagSafe USB-C case, and it is out of stock right now.

I would rather say that in the second paragraph than bury it. Plenty of sites keep an AirPods page live, fill it with generic advice and hope you enquire. We do not list what we cannot ship. If you specifically want AirPods, message us on WhatsApp and we will tell you when a pair actually lands — or tell you honestly to buy them from Apple.

The rest of this page is still worth your time, because the verification advice applies wherever you buy, and because there is a real reason to be more careful with used AirPods than with almost any other audio product.

The real problem with used AirPods that nobody mentions

iOS does not show you a battery health percentage for AirPods. There is no equivalent of Settings → Battery → Battery Health with a Maximum Capacity figure. You can see the current charge level, and that is all.

This matters. On a refurbished iPhone you read the degradation off the screen in ten seconds, which is why our phone verification guide leans on it so heavily. On AirPods you cannot. And AirPods batteries are physically tiny, so they degrade proportionally faster than a phone’s and cannot be replaced without effectively replacing the bud.

So the only honest ways to judge a used pair are indirect: the purchase date on the serial, whether the unit was genuinely unused, and a listening test for how long a full charge actually lasts. Anyone quoting you a battery health percentage on AirPods is making it up.

Why do Unboxed AirPods exist at all?

  • Gifted to someone who already owned a pair — the big one around Diwali and birthdays.
  • Wrong model ordered: standard AirPods instead of Pro, or the wrong case type.
  • Changed mind on colour or fit and returned inside the window.
  • An impulse buy during a sale, returned days later.

What we can verify on a unit is the condition in front of us: whether the buds show wear, whether accessories are complete, whether the serial traces to a recent purchase, and how the batteries behave in a real test. What we cannot verify — and will not claim — is that a pair was never used for music.

New vs Unboxed: what actually differs

Factor New Unboxed (Certified)
Physical condition Sealed Indistinguishable from new
Battery health figure Not shown by iOS Not shown by iOS — verify by listening test
Previous pairing None Cleared before listing; confirm at setup
Accessories All included All included, checked item by item
Apple cover Full from purchase Whatever the serial still shows — check it yourself
Our cover — 6-month NewAsNew Assured Warranty

On a pair that is genuinely Unboxed, the differences reduce to warranty runway. That is why the grade distinction matters — see Unboxed vs Grade A and what each grade means.

What we can actually ship instead

Unboxed Beats Studio Buds by Apple true wireless noise cancelling earbuds at ₹5,899, 60% off their ₹14,900 MRP, in stock at NewAsNew
Beats Studio Buds, by Apple — ₹5,899, the closest Apple-family pick in stock.
  • Beats Studio Buds, by Apple (Unboxed) — ₹5,899 (MRP ₹14,900, 60% off). Apple owns Beats, so these are the closest thing to AirPods on our shelf: one-tap pairing on an iPhone, Find My support, proper ANC. The honest caveat: no Apple H-series chip, so you do not get automatic switching between your Apple devices or always-on Siri. If those two features are why you wanted AirPods, these will not replace them. Roughly ₹492 a month on EMI.
  • Sony WF-1000XM5 (Unboxed) — ₹16,490 (MRP ₹29,900, 45% off). Straightforwardly better noise cancellation and sound than any AirPods model, and it works equally well on Android. Roughly ₹1,374 a month.
  • Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 (Unboxed) — ₹12,790 (MRP ₹29,990, 57% off). The audiophile choice of this group, with lossless codec support. Roughly ₹1,066 a month.
  • Bose New QuietComfort Earbuds (Unboxed) — ₹11,490 (MRP ₹16,900, 32% off). The most comfortable of the four for long wear, and Bose’s ANC is still a benchmark.
  • Sony WF-C710N (Unboxed) — ₹5,490 (MRP ₹12,990, 58% off). The budget ANC pick, and the one I would put against the Beats for value.

For the bands below this, unboxed ANC earbuds under ₹3,000 covers what is worth buying cheap and what is not.

What to check before buying Unboxed AirPods anywhere

In-stock unboxed ANC earbuds at NewAsNew — Sony WF-1000XM5 at ₹16,490 (45% off), Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 at ₹12,790 (57% off) and Sony WF-C710N at ₹5,490 (58% off)
In-stock ANC earbuds across every band below the AirPods price.

Since we cannot sell you AirPods today, use this on whoever can:

  • Serial on Apple’s coverage page. Enter it at checkcoverage.apple.com. This confirms a genuine Apple product and shows what warranty remains. A serial that will not validate ends the conversation.
  • Serial consistency. The serial inside the case lid should match what the iPhone reports under Settings → Bluetooth → the ⓘ next to the AirPods.
  • Counterfeit check. Fake AirPods are common in India. Genuine ones trigger the on-screen pairing card the moment the case opens near an unlocked iPhone, and show a battery widget for each bud and the case. Clones usually do not.
  • All accessories, item by item. Both buds, the charging case, the correct cable, and every ear-tip size on Pro models.
  • No stuck pairing. Opening the case near an iPhone should offer your setup, not show somebody else’s named AirPods.
  • A real battery test. Charge both buds to full, play music continuously and time it. Since iOS gives no health percentage, this is your only real measurement.
  • Both buds independently. Wear one at a time. A single weak bud is the most common fault on used earbuds and the easiest to miss.

Everything we list goes through the equivalent checks as part of our 50-point quality check. Only 2 to 3 out of every 10 devices that reach our bench pass; the other 7 to 8 go back to the supplier. The exact figure moves month to month with the stock we are offered, so we publish the range rather than one flattering number. Our seven mistakes people make buying refurbished gadgets covers the rest.

Who should NOT buy Unboxed AirPods

  • Anyone who needs a verifiable battery figure. You cannot get one on AirPods. If buying without that number will worry you, buy new — or buy over-ear headphones where battery cells are large and replaceable.
  • Anyone on Android. AirPods work on Android but you lose most of what you are paying Apple for. The Sony WF-1000XM5 at ₹16,490 is the better buy and it is in stock.
  • Anyone buying from a seller who quotes an AirPods battery health percentage. iOS does not provide that figure. If they are quoting it, walk away — it tells you what else they are willing to invent.
  • Anyone buying for the gym without checking the fit. Ear shape decides this, not reviews. Standard AirPods have no ear tips and fall out of some ears; there is no fixing that afterwards.
  • Anyone chasing the cheapest possible “AirPods”. Below about ₹3,000 you are almost certainly looking at a clone. A genuine Sony WF-C710N at ₹5,490 beats any fake at any price.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have AirPods in stock at NewAsNew?

No. Our only AirPods listing is the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) with MagSafe USB-C case, and it is out of stock today. We do not keep products live that we cannot ship. The closest Apple-family option in stock is the Beats Studio Buds at ₹5,899, and the best noise-cancelling earbuds we have are the Sony WF-1000XM5 at ₹16,490.

Is there any real difference between new and Unboxed AirPods?

On a genuinely Unboxed pair, very little physically — the seal was broken and the unit returned essentially unused. The real difference is warranty runway: new gives you full cover from your purchase date, while Unboxed gives you whatever the serial still shows plus our own 6-month warranty. Check the serial at checkcoverage.apple.com before you pay.

How do I check AirPods battery health?

You cannot, not as a percentage. iOS shows current charge level for each bud and the case, but there is no Maximum Capacity figure like the one on an iPhone. The only real test is to charge both buds fully and time how long continuous playback lasts. Treat any seller quoting an AirPods battery health percentage as making it up.

How do I know AirPods are genuine and not a clone?

Validate the serial at checkcoverage.apple.com, confirm the serial inside the case lid matches what the iPhone reports under Settings → Bluetooth, and open the case next to an unlocked iPhone — genuine units trigger the pairing card and show a per-bud battery widget. Fakes are widespread in India and usually fail at least one of those three.

What is the best alternative to AirPods in India right now?

For noise cancellation and sound, the Sony WF-1000XM5 at ₹16,490, 45% below its ₹29,900 MRP. For Apple-family integration on a budget, the Beats Studio Buds at ₹5,899. For value ANC, the Sony WF-C710N at ₹5,490. All three are in stock with a written warranty, GST invoice and 7-day returns.

Do Unboxed earbuds come with a warranty?

At NewAsNew, yes — a written 6-month NewAsNew Assured Warranty, a GST invoice in your name and 7-day returns on every pair. On an Apple or Beats product you can also check the serial on Apple’s coverage page to see what brand cover remains.

Are open-box earbuds hygienic?

A fair question and one worth asking any seller. Every pair we list is cleaned and inspected before it goes out, and fresh ear tips are fitted where the model uses them. If a unit shows wear we cannot fully clean, it fails and goes back to the supplier.

Will you tell me when AirPods come back in stock?

Yes. Message us on WhatsApp and we will let you know when a pair actually lands. We will not suggest a substitute and call it equivalent — and if buying new from Apple is the better answer for you, we will say that too.

Browse and ask

All Unboxed earbuds in stock · The honest guide to unboxed audio · How ANC actually works · Bluetooth codecs explained

Tell us what phone you use and what you listen on. Message us on WhatsApp and we will point you at the right pair — including telling you to wait for AirPods, or to buy them new, when that is genuinely the better call.

Written by Atul Pandey, founder of NewAsNew (NextG Serve Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi). We test every pair on our own bench and only list what genuinely performs — because not every product deserves to be sold. Our story and why we grade honestly.