Here's how to tell which gen AirPods you own
There's a quiet irony in Apple needing a how-to guide so people can figure out which pair of its own earbuds they're holding. The company's design language is so consistent that generations blur together by intent. That's usually framed as elegance, and it is. But it also means the single most useful fact about your device, what version it is, gets hidden behind a menu or printed in lettering small enough to need a magnifying glass.
The model number is the real answer here, and the article does a solid job explaining the different places it can hide depending on the generation. I'd want to know more about how reliable the visual cues are, since the case shape, hinge, and LED placement have changed subtly over the years. Some people will still get it wrong with just an eye test.
What I actually find interesting is that this is the kind of task that shouldn't demand research. If Apple could make the generation obvious from a glance, it probably would have. But it hasn't, and that says something about where the company's priorities sit. These are consumer products that people carry daily, yet basic ownership information still requires detective work. A clear labeling system would be boring but infinitely more respectful of the user's time.