AirBuddy on your Mac — 3.0

Connecting AirPods with one click and switching modes from the menu bar

• Connecting AirPods with one click and switching listening modes from the menu bar or keyboard shortcuts.
• Controlling what is playing on your AirPods without opening other apps.
• Moving peripherals between Macs when you work on more than one computer.
• Viewing iPhone, iPad, and other Macs in the same status window, grouped by how they relate to each other.
• Tracking total listening and talk time.

AirBuddy 3 requires macOS 14 or later and works on Intel and Apple silicon

• AirBuddy 3 requires macOS 14 or later. It runs on both Intel and Apple silicon Macs.
• There are small and large status window designs, so you can pick what fits your screen.
• The interface is in English.

Does not replace built-in macOS tools—sits alongside them

When I recommend AirBuddy 3 to colleagues at school or in the game club, a few questions come up often. One is whether it replaces anything already built into macOS. It does not. AirBuddy 3 sits alongside the standard tools and fills in the gaps that Apple leaves open on the Mac.

Since the app communicates wirelessly with nearby devices, people wonder if it uses extra power. The developer has designed it to work efficiently within macOS, and the status window updates only when you open it or when a device connects. It does not poll constantly in the background. I have not measured anything, but in my own use it has been unobtrusive.

People also ask if AirBuddy 3 works with non-Apple headphones. The app focuses on AirPods and Beats devices, which use Apple's own wireless chip. Stick with Apple or Beats gear for the full experience.

Groups your Apple devices in the status window

AirBuddy 3 includes a few details that do not jump out from the feature list. One is the way it groups devices in the status window. If you have AirPods, an Apple Watch, and an iPhone, the app shows them as a group because they share the same iCloud account. This makes it clearer which device belongs to which person in a household or classroom setting.

That is a beta release note, but it is already present in version 3.0-890. If you prefer a clean menu bar, you can hide the icon entirely and still access AirBuddy 3 from the status window or keyboard shortcuts.

Another small touch is the ability to see which AirPod is draining faster. The headset usage history for the last 12 hours, 24 hours, or previous day includes this detail.

Total listening time and total talk time are also shown separately. That is useful if you use your AirPods for calls and music and want to track how much time goes to each.

Simpler than BackgroundMusic but has device grouping it lacks

There are a few other apps that try to improve the AirPods experience on Mac. It is simpler and covers basic connection needs, but it lacks the history and device grouping that AirBuddy 3 provides.

BackgroundMusic is an open-source tool for per-app audio control and recording. It solves a different problem: managing audio routing and volume per application.

Apple's own AirPlay and Continuity features let you hand off audio between devices, but they do not give you a unified status view or a connection history. AirBuddy 3 brings those scattered pieces together into one window. For someone who moves between a MacBook and an iMac or uses multiple pairs of AirPods, the grouping and history features make a real difference.

One click to connect AirPods after the last bell

I teach maths until early afternoon, and after school I run the game club. My AirPods Pro stay in my bag until the last bell. I click the connect button once, and they pair.

During club time, I switch between listening to game soundtracks and helping students with strategies. If a student talks to me, I use the trackpad gesture to switch to transparency mode without reaching for my phone. AirBuddy 3 handles that from the menu bar as well, and the connection stays solid.

Later, at home, I sit at my personal MacBook. AirBuddy 3 shows my iPad and iPhone in the same window, grouped together. I can see if my iPad is charged enough for a late-night game session. The headset usage history for the previous day tells me I spent about an hour on calls and two hours on music. The left AirPod drained a bit faster, so I make a mental note to clean its contacts.

If I want to move my Magic Mouse from the iMac to the MacBook, the Magic Handoff feature lets me do that without repairing. I select the mouse from the AirBuddy 3 status window and choose the target Mac. It takes a few seconds, and the mouse is ready on the other computer. That saves me the trouble of plugging in a cable or digging through Bluetooth settings.

This kind of session repeats most days. AirBuddy 3 stays in the background until I need it, and the information it provides is exactly what I want to see without extra clicks.

• Shows batteries, connects AirPods, controls playback, and moves peripherals between Macs.
• Menu bar icon option: app icon, battery indicator, or no icon.

• macOS 14 or later
• Intel or Apple silicon
• Interface language: English