We are living in an era of “hearables” — earphones embedded with special sensors that talk to our phones. And Apple’s AirPods, those tiny white earbuds that live in a case the size of a Tic Tac box, are leading the trend.

For several years, I have found AirPods to be as convenient as they are useful. When Apple introduced them in 2016, it popularized wireless earphones with a special chip that connected them to an iPhone. When I popped them in my ears, they seamlessly connected with my device. And when I put them back in their case, their batteries replenished.

Now the AirPods are getting smarter — and costlier. The earlier-generation AirPods cost around $150. The latest model, AirPods Pro, is more expensive at $249.

But the new earphones, released about a month ago, offer noise-canceling technology. They use microphones to listen for ambient sound and to generate the opposite sound in your ears to reduce noise, like the roaring engines of an airplane and background chatter in an office.