Twelve South’s AirFly is one of those devices that you may not have heard of, unless you have got on a long-haul flight, tried to connect your Bluetooth headphones or AirPods to the in-flight entertainment system and realised (too late), that it’s not possible. Yes that’s right, you might be able to WhatsApp from 30,000 feet, but connect your Bluetooth headphones to the entertainment system? Absolutely not.
I made the mistake once, so the next time I was flying long-haul I was determined not to make it again. It was then that I did some research into how I would be able to connect my AirPods Max to the in-flight entertainment so I could watch what I wanted in blissful silence. One option was to invest in a 3.5mm to Lighting cable, the other option was to use AirFly. I chose the latter as that meant I could use AirPods Pro too, or any other Bluetooth headphones I had. And so here we are. Did it work? Is it worth the money? Should you buy it? Here’s my AirFly Pro review.
Tweleve South / Pocket-lint
Twelve South AirFly Pro
Editor’s Choice
For those that travel a lot and want a simple way to connect their favourite Bluetooth headphones to an in-flight entertainment system, Twelve South’s AirFly Pro is just the ticket.
Pros
- Super simple operation
- Travel bag is useful
- Great performance
Cons
- Cheaper Airfly SE may be sufficient
- No on-device volume control
Design
- 57 x 25.5 x 11mm, 15.6g
- White or black colour options
- Key ring storage, travel bag
The AirFly Pro is as simple in its design as it is in its operation, but that is by no means a bad thing. The Pro model comes in white and black colour options and at one end, you’ll find a short lead with the 3.5mm connector that has a cap for when not in use and a key ring on the end of the cap, while at the other end, you’ll find a USB-C charging port for simple and speedy charging.
It’s oval in shape and small – so small in fact that it’s quite easy to misplace. It does come with a drawstring travel bag though, which is a lot more useful than you would first imagine. It doesn’t matter how much of a seasoned traveller you are, it’s always a little bit of a panic when you get to your seat on a plane. Trying to get everything out of your bag that you might want before you pop it into the overhead locker, all while people are standing there waiting for you, is serious pressure. Having the AirFly in a neat little bag means it’s easier to grab so you have it ready to go.
I’ve used flying as the predominant example here, but the same applies if you are heading to the gym, or using the device as an aux-in adapter in a car. The travel bag – which is a soft suede and has a lovely premium finish – makes it much easier to find at the bottom of a larger bag, whether travelling, a gym bag or a glove compartment.
In the case of flying though, it’s worth mentioning that the AirFly Pro has one 3.5mm connector at the end, and some airlines use a two-port system. I bought a simple adapter from Amazon to combat this though and dropped that in the AirFly Pro’s bag too, so I always have it to hand and it doesn’t get lost. You can also fit your AirPods Pro, AirPods or other in-ear headphones in the AirFly bag to keep everything together.
There is a single button on the front of the AirFly Pro, which is used for power and to put it into Bluetooth pairing mode to connect your headphones to it, whether that be AirPods or another pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones, like Sony’s or Bose, for example. Above that singular button is a small LED light that indicates power status and pairing status, while below it is the simple branding.
There is no on-device volume control like there is on the AirFly SE, which is perhaps the only thing I would complain about. On the edge is a small switch for moving between TX (transmit) and RX (receive), along with another smaller button. The design has no thrills on the whole, but you get the thrills from its functionality, so I was totally fine with the overall simplicity on offer here.
Features
- Connect two pairs headphones
- Aux In adapter
There are three AirFly models in Twelve South’s line up: the AirFly SE, AirFly Duo and AirFly Pro. I’m looking at the AirFly Pro here, which like the other two models, essentially performs the task of a Bluetooth transmitter. In the case of the AirFly Pro though, it also acts as an aux-in adapter. It means that whether it’s connecting Bluetooth headphones to a plane’s in-flight entertainment, sending audio from your smartphone to a car’s entertainment system if it’s a rental perhaps, or streaming music to a speaker that doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity, AirFly Pro can do all three. It can also be used to connect to gym equipment for example, allowing you to hear what is happening on the TV while you get your run in.
The AirFly Duo and Pro models also handily allow you to connect two pairs of AirPods or wireless headphones so two people can listen to in-flight movies on a plane or a TV show on a MacBook or iPad Pro, for example. It’s worth noting that for the latter, if you are using AirPods, Apple allows you to share audio so you wouldn’t need an AirFly in that case. For those using different Bluetooth headphones though, or in cases where one person is using AirPods and another is using Sony or Bose for example, AirFly will have you covered.
Performance
- Simple setup and operation
- 25 hours battery
- USB-C charging, USB-A to USB-C cable included
Like the design, the feature set offered by the AirFly Pro is basic, but it absolutely has its place. I will not board a flight without it now, and it’s made it onto my very specific list of devices I bring on every work trip and every personal trip I go on that involves a plane. In terms of setup, the AirFly Pro is really simple. Power it on using the singular button, press and hold that button to put the AirFly Pro into Bluetooth pairing mode and then put your headphones into pairing mode and that’s it.
For when you’re flying, you turn the AirFly Pro on – a white LED indicates it is on and ready to go – plug it into an adapter if you need to, depending on the airline, and that into the port on the plane and you’re good to go. You can control volume using the in-flight entertainment menu, or if your headphones have volume control on them – like the Digital Crown on AirPods Max – you can use that too. If you’re using in a car, or the gym, the same process applies, once your headphones are connected, just plug AirFly Pro into the 3.5mm port on the car, gym equipment, Mac or iPad and you’re good to go.
Once you have set up your headphones with AirFly Pro, you won’t need to do it again either so the next time you board a flight, you simply turn AirFly Pro on, plug it in and you can get whatever film you want to watch coming through your noise-cancelling cans instantly.
When it comes to battery life, the AirFly Pro promises 25 hours, which is pretty substantial. I used it for an entire flight from London to California (11 hours) and an entire flight back without charging in between and the AirFly Pro didn’t run out of juice. Charging via USB-C does mean it is quick to charge though, and helpfully, there is a USB-A to USB-C charging cable in the box which means you could charge the AirFly Pro using the power in the seat of a plane if you did forget to charge it before a trip.
Verdict
Twelve South’s AirFly Pro is a fantastic device that I can’t recommend enough for those that travel a lot and want a simple, fuss-free way to connect their favourite Bluetooth headphones to an in-flight entertainment system. It of course comes with some other use cases too – like the ability to use it as an aux-in adapter – but it’s the travelling element that I think is the main reason for investing in this device.
Whether you need the ability to connect two headphones really depends on an individual use case, so it might be that the AirFly SE is more than sufficient for less money, but with the AirFly Pro’s superb battery life, incredibly simple operation and excellent performance overall, this is a product that is exceptionally easy to recommend.
If travelling is something you do regularly and you’re on the fence about whether to buy the AirFly Pro, I think it’s worth every single penny.