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AirPods are now available

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Re: AirPods are now available

#171

Post by debaserab2 »

j2bax wrote: post #163
Avshalom wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, this isn't a world class entry into a nascent market. This is a pair of fucking headphones. A pair of headphones a month later than they should be that look exactly like their old headphones

Actually it is a bit more than "a pair of fucking headphones". As someone who spends a lot of time throughout the day listening to music, and finds Apple's Earpods to be some of the most comfortable nice sounding headphones I have owned, I'm rather excited about some innovation being done around this space. A few features that make them new/innovative: • Smart switching between multiple devices logged into iCloud. Yo…

Random question: is the earbud size and shape the same as old wired Apple earbuds?

I've never been able to use the traditional wired Apple earbuds because my ear is too small and they start hurting after 5-10 mins of use.

Re: AirPods are now available

#172

Post by lunaru »

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…

There's enough skepticism in this thread and comments (and I concur a lot with what's been written), so I'll try to take a positive "here's what could be possible" spin with it:

I recently purchased a Bose QuietComfort 35 and I've noticed that the lack of chords + noise cancellation have made it so that I wear the headphones for the entirety of the day. The lack of fatigue while wearing the head phones is a big deal. Additionally, the lack of wires has changed my behavior in ways I did not expect pre-purchase. For example, I no longer need to take off my headphones to go to the bathroom. Or when I leave the desk to grab something, etc.

These AirPods seem like they could make this behavior even more extreme. I can imagine just keeping them on all day without taking them off. That would be enough of a behavioral change personally to warrant the superfluous marketing copy of "Magical" and "Not Possible Before".

Beyond that, if people really start walking around with AirPods in their ear all day, it could more of a fashion symbol success (new age earrings basically) than what Apple envisioned with the Watch.

But, at the price they're going for, I doubt this will happen, but you can see where the marketing enthusiasm is coming from.

Re: AirPods are now available

#173

Post by gambiting »

Skunkleton wrote: post #157
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you missed something but I guess this is why you guys are so angry about this. Because it IS an entry into a nascent market. Apple sees this as a new IO device, not a "pair of fucking headphones". Take a look at the specs

How is it anything more than a wireless version of the headphones they have been bundling for years?

It's like calling a Tesla "an electric version of the same cars that were on the road for decades". Each headphone has a new chip that could probably run a whole smartphone few years ago - but I mean, if the fact that they are wireless is not impressive, then I don't think we can convince you.

Re: AirPods are now available

#174

Post by antiffan »

A feature I'd love to see: sync to AirPods.

I imagine it won't happen because in some ways it's kind of backwards, but I hate running with my phone, especially because I have a huge 6+.

It seems like a simple thing to just want to be able to take some of my music/podcasts with me running, but it's not realistic unless I own a separate iPod shuffle that I then have to deal with. Adding a small amount of memory to AirPods would make this possible and relatively seamless.

Re: AirPods are now available

#175

Post by [deleted] »

j2bax wrote: post #163
Avshalom wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, this isn't a world class entry into a nascent market. This is a pair of fucking headphones. A pair of headphones a month later than they should be that look exactly like their old headphones

Actually it is a bit more than "a pair of fucking headphones". As someone who spends a lot of time throughout the day listening to music, and finds Apple's Earpods to be some of the most comfortable nice sounding headphones I have owned, I'm rather excited about some innovation being done around this space. A few features that make them new/innovative: • Smart switching between multiple devices logged into iCloud. Yo…

[deleted]

Re: AirPods are now available

#176

Post by redial »

brentm wrote: post #165

I thought the public more or less rejected hang from the ear style Bluetooth earphones because they look awkward. I don't think making them white and giving you two is going to fix the perception. Although these may work much better than the old style I am not sure it offsets the reason a lot of people do not like this type of earphone.

Judging by the outcry for the delay, and the available units immediately selling out, that seem to be a non issue.

Re: AirPods are now available

#177

Post by bhauer »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #130
Avshalom wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, this isn't a world class entry into a nascent market. This is a pair of fucking headphones. A pair of headphones a month later than they should be that look exactly like their old headphones

Maybe you missed something but I guess this is why you guys are so angry about this. Because it IS an entry into a nascent market. Apple sees this as a new IO device, not a "pair of fucking headphones". Take a look at the specs

I can't speak for the other guys above, but I must have missed something. I am baffled why this particular set of wireless headphones has received as much press as it has. It seems so overblown that I have to wonder if people with iPhone 7s have actually been refusing to use existing wireless headphones because they are actually waiting for these.

I've had a set of $25 Motorola wireless (Bluetooth) headphones that I use on my daily walking commute to and from work for many years. They work and sound great. They double as a wireless microphone and playback controls. I charge them every day via a USB cable. Woohoo.

I can't see anything specs-wise with the Apple headphones that is interesting. Auto-pause? Okay, cool, but I can press the pause button on my Bluetooth headphones from 2010. Switching between devices? I can enable or disable Bluetooth on my devices, I guess, if I had wanted to use the headphones with more than my phone (though I do not want that).

These new features seem incremental at best. The clamor for these—and the fact that their availability is a high-ranking news item on HN—seems to suggest I am missing something very fundamental. And yet, it feels that I am not. These are wireless headphones with a couple incremental features and an Apple logo.

Re: AirPods are now available

#178

Post by throwanem »

DannyBee wrote: post #164
throwanem wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a Bluetooth world that frankly, hasn't existed in several years... "poor audio quality that skips and cuts out" That's every day for me! What earbuds, stereo or mono, are you using that never have this problem?

I've used a bunch of little bluetooth 4.0/4.1 receivers that my nice 3.5mm earbuds plug into. Pretty much never had a problem with skipping or quality for any of those supporting apt-x. This is true even when i'm also wearing a bluetooth watch, etc.

That's great, but also not the same as Bluetooth earbuds. I don't have trouble either with any kind of receiver that doesn't sit within my actual ear - presumably it's something to do with either additional signal attenuation, or lack of space for a sizable antenna, or both, but whatever the reason, getting rock-solid reception in a truly wireless earbud seems to be a very difficult problem to solve.

(If you're not sure what kind of device I'm talking about here, the Rowkin Mini is a good example - note the complete lack of protrusion beyond the pinna. I suppose the AirPods themselves don't really qualify by this standard, since they seem to have their antennae in the microphone boom which protrudes below the ear; on the other hand, I'm willing to tolerate such a protrusion if it's the only reasonable way to get good signal, and improved microphone pickup is a pretty good bonus besides.)

Re: AirPods are now available

#179

Post by lostPixels »

MrQuincle wrote: post #154

They should have used the cigarette butt picture: https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-airpods/preview/ Regarding specs: + Bluetooth + No cables + 5 hours battery life + Charging case with total 24 hours battery life + Automatically turn off when removing from your ears + Key synchronization via iCloud (makes pairing process simpler - and could make sharing process simpler as well - but is Apple-only) + Peripheral to…

Now I cant unsee two cigarettes stuffed in to this guys ears.

Re: AirPods are now available

#180

Post by abtinf »

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…

There is remedial level Apple marketing babble on that page.

The biggest public facing change at Apple since the death of Steve Jobs is their move to terrible marketing copy and ads.

Under Jobs, that quote would be reduced to just a few words, whereas now it is a slog to get through. I've tried re-reading it a few times and still haven't made it to the end.

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