I solved this choppy audio issue with just one simple trick.
(This might not work for everyone, but I solved it this way)
Short answer
If your hardware uses Bluetooth 4.0 instead of 4.2 or above, this solution is highly likely to work for you.
Open System Preferences > Sound > Input
Change sound input from Airpods to Internal Microphone
Long answer (+ Possible explanation)
(This is just my hypothesis based on my observation)
First of all, to clarify my symptoms,
I am using a MacBook Pro 15 inch (Late 2013) which has Bluetooth 4.0 hardware.
The choppy audio issue only happened in my MacBook Pro, and it did not happen in my other Apple devices such as my iPhone 7 Plus (which btw, has Bluetooth 4.2), nor my iPad Pro (also Bluetooth 4.2).
Based on these observations, my hypothesis is that Bluetooth 4.0 devices have too low bandwidth to handle both input/output (microphone & speaker) at a high quality. However, if I just change the audio input to the internal microphone, the Bluetooth connection only delivers sound output, so I think it can handle higher quality audio. On the other hand, if I use both microphone & speaker on a Bluetooth 4.0 device, I think the connection degrades and sacrifices audio output bandwidth in order to make room for delivering audio input.
Indeed, according to some sources, Bluetooth 4.2 is 250% faster and has 10x more capacity
Reference:
- https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-main-differences-between-Bluetooth-4-0-4-1-and-4-2-in-the-Layers-Baseband-LMP-L2CAP-app-Layer
- https://www.semiconductorstore.com/blog/2015/BLE-4-2-vs-BLE-4-1/1548/
OP here – I'd just like to add to the answer below, that I've been in contact with Apple Support.
Explanation
Apple claims that the poor Mono 8kHz quality which affects recording and indeed simultaneously playback on Mac when the AirPod microphones are activated, is because the SCO codec then gets employed over the entire Mac audio system. This is supposedly "expected behaviour" when trying to use the AirPods and other Bluetooth headsets together with a computer, according to Apple.
The AAC codec is normally used when just listening to playback on the AirPods. It's just very unfortunate that SCO – low-quality as it may be – upon AirPod microphone activation is not only limited to doing recording, but also displaces AAC and audio playback.
Apple Support claims that Apple is looking at this issue, and that improvements might be coming in future firmware updates, but I did not interpret that as a promise to be honest. But for the time being, I'd say that the benefits of making calls and so forth with AirPods on Macs are quite limited.
Current best practice
Current best practice is to use the Internal Microphone for Recording, and the AirPods for playback when conducting calls. Input and Output devices can be selected in System Settings > Sound or by ⌥-clicking the Volume icon in the macOS Menu Bar, and selecting devices there.
See the screenshots below:
Best Answer
If you did a hard reset and they don't work with either your iPhone or your laptop (multiple devices) it's safe to say that they died.
They're under a month old so I would return them for refund/replacement immediately. Products fail - it happens. You're just lucky enough that it happened during the "return to retailer" period (usually 30 days) and not when the warranty runs out 48 weeks from now.