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AirPods are now available

apple.com

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Re: AirPods are now available

#42

Post by seanwilson »

jjuhl wrote: post #5

To me these seem pretty stupid. Major features (to me) of ear-buds with wires and 3.5" jack are: 1) being attached with wires means I don't easily lose them when they slip out of my ear/hand/pocket. 2) the 3.5" jack actually keeps them pretty solidly attached to my phone (again, less risk of losing them). Walking around with two loose tiny objects seems less than ideal - at least to me; I'd lose them within days.

Bluetooth headphones are great. You don't have to worry about the wire snagging on things and getting in the way. Wires have been progressively eliminated everywhere else e.g. wireless networking, wireless mice, wireless keyboards, wireless phones...I'm not understanding why people are clinging to wireless headphones so hard.

Your risk of losing your headphones is really that high?

Re: AirPods are now available

#44

Post by mgo »

I will not buy a phone without a 3.5" jack period. I'm not buying ridiculously expensive wireless headphones that are objectively worse (worse quality than wired alternatives, added hassle of charging them plus much more expensive).

Re: AirPods are now available

#45

Post by mikestew »

jjuhl wrote: post #5

To me these seem pretty stupid. Major features (to me) of ear-buds with wires and 3.5" jack are: 1) being attached with wires means I don't easily lose them when they slip out of my ear/hand/pocket. 2) the 3.5" jack actually keeps them pretty solidly attached to my phone (again, less risk of losing them). Walking around with two loose tiny objects seems less than ideal - at least to me; I'd lose them within days.

To me these seem pretty stupid.

So IOW, you just don't like wireless headphones, whether Apple makes them or not. Thanks for sharing.

Re: AirPods are now available

#47

Post by skyyler »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #26

> "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame." -- Slashdot creator CmdrTaco/Rob Malda about the iPod in 2001. I'm not saying these will have the impact of an iPod, but I am entertained by the amount of naysaying here. For one thing, how often have you fiddled with the knots in your headphone cord? It's frustrating enough to prevent me from using them in situations where I otherwise would.

I find it interesting that you use that quote as an example of naysaying. Within a few months of the iPod's introduction, they introduced higher storage options. Though the Classic line never got wireless, the HUGELY popular iPod touch had wireless. Both of his complaints were eventually rectified by Apple in the iPod line.

Re: AirPods are now available

#49

Post by seanwilson »

matwood wrote: post #17
jjuhl wrote: post #5

To me these seem pretty stupid. Major features (to me) of ear-buds with wires and 3.5" jack are: 1) being attached with wires means I don't easily lose them when they slip out of my ear/hand/pocket. 2) the 3.5" jack actually keeps them pretty solidly attached to my phone (again, less risk of losing them). Walking around with two loose tiny objects seems less than ideal - at least to me; I'd lose them within days.

I used to think this way until I bought a pair of JLabs bluetooth ear buds. Now, I hate using wired headphones because the wire is literally always in the way. I hate being forced to keep my phone right next to me, and snake a wire around. Now, in the gym, I can throw my phone in my gym bag and not worry about it while working out. I'll never go back to wired.

> Now, in the gym, I can throw my phone in my gym bag and not worry about it while working out. I'll never go back to wired.

Exactly, doing anything active with wired headphones on isn't fun. They keep getting snagged in things and get pulled off your ears.

Re: AirPods are now available

#50

Post by semi-extrinsic »

rrdharan wrote: post #12
FireBeyond wrote: post #7

There's like a next-level Apple marketing babble on that page: "AirPods introduce an effortless wireless listening experience packed with high-quality audio and long battery life. These magical wireless headphones use advanced technology to reinvent how we listen to music, make phone calls, enjoy TV shows and movies, play games and interact with Siri, providing a wireless audio experience not possible before." Magica…

Both the magical and reinvent I'll happily concede, but in defense of the "not possible before" I think there's an argument to be made that their pairing UX is so much better as to constitute a whole new experience versus standard bluetooth? [Of course, I say this as someone who has been happily using wireless Jaybird earbuds with a variety of iOS and macOS devices for the past three years without many complaints. I…

I dunno. I bought a Sony Walkman NWZ-A829 (OK, Apple kicks their ass at naming stuff) way back in 2008, which had built-in Bluetooth, and about a year later bought some no-name $25 Bluetooth headphones for use in the gym. Never had any issue with pairing or connection dropping, used that combination for a couple of years before going back to wired.
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