How To Use Your Apple EarPods To Fast Forward A Song

If you are an iPhone user and have diligently upgraded your device to newer versions over the past couple of years, chances are high that you still have a pair or two of Apple's EarPods to use along with your phone. Not to be confused with AirPods — Apple's line of Bluetooth listening devices — EarPods are Apple's own wired earphones that used to come with every iPhone until the company stopped including them in the box, beginning with the iPhone XR. Although it's likely that a lot of Apple fans have gravitated toward the newer-generation AirPods — perhaps due to the rising popularity of wireless headphones and cool features like noise cancellation — there are still some people who prefer using the old-school EarPods.

Apart from their ergonimically shaped earbuds that supposedly follow the geometry of the human ear, EarPods have built-in speakers that can produce high-quality audio. In addition, traditional listeners may find more security — at least in terms of connectivity and battery life — in using a corded listening device. If they happen to own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, kepping accessories within the Apple ecosystem seems like the best choice. Moreover, wired headphones are harder to lose.

If you don't already have a pair, another reason to purchase Apple EarPods from the Apple Store is the easy-to-use built-in remote that lets you quickly control music and video playback, tweak volume levels, and answer or end phone calls. In addition, it has a useful feature that lets you forward or rewind to a certain portion of an audio track.

Unlike the AirPods which apparently only allow you to move to the previous or next track in your listening queue, EarPods have more precise controls that let you get to your favorite part of the audio without actually skipping the track itself. Here's what you can do:

1. Make sure your Apple EarPods are properly connected to your mobile device.
2. To forward while an audio track is playing, press the center button (it's the space that dips between the "-" and "+" buttons) of the remote twice in quick succession and keep your finger pressed on the second press to continue fast-forwarding. Let go of the button when you get to the part you want to listen to.
3. To rewind within the track, do a triple-press of the middle button instead and hold the last one to keep going. Let go of the button once you're back to the section you want to hear again.

In addition to the EarPods' precision skipping within an audio track, you can also utilize the usual playback controls:

• Press the center button once to pause, then press again to resume.
• Press the center button twice in quick succession (and let go) to skip to the next track.
• Press the center button thrice in quick succession (and let go) to go back to the previous track.

If you're using EarPods on an Apple device that has Siri enabled, you can long-press the center button to activate the virtual assistant. When you hear a beep, let the button go and speak out a Siri command.