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AirPods are now available

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Re: AirPods are now available

#341

Post by djrogers »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #11
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.

95% of cases when my headphones fall out is when I snag the cable.

That would be about 5% low for me. I've never had earbuds fall out without the 'help' of a cord...

Re: AirPods are now available

#342

Post by unfamiliar »

amlib wrote: post #331
erikpukinskis wrote: post #304

I find this headphone war discussion a bit boring. The AirPods are much more interesting as Apple's first foray into augmented reality. If they add positioning, this product becomes Magic Leap without the visuals. I don't think they see this as a music device, they see it as a new platform for audio. Interesting things start happening when people start leaving one or both in their ears all day. Arrival times in your…

But what about the possibility of losing the earpieces? They don't have a cable and don't secure into your ear like a hearing aid or even a normal bluetooth device. If they are so comfortable to the point of the user "forgetting they are there" the rate at which people will lose these things might be huge. They don't dangle from a cable when falling like normal headphones or Bluetooth headphones that have a cable bet…

The only reason my headphones ever "fall out" is because something catches the cable.

Re: AirPods are now available

#343

Post by empath75 »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #304

I find this headphone war discussion a bit boring. The AirPods are much more interesting as Apple's first foray into augmented reality. If they add positioning, this product becomes Magic Leap without the visuals. I don't think they see this as a music device, they see it as a new platform for audio. Interesting things start happening when people start leaving one or both in their ears all day. Arrival times in your…

Apple isn't going to be the first company that comes out with audio augmented reality or any new technology, really. Apple doesn't invent new product categories, and never really has. They wait for someone else to come out with an early, terrible version of something, see if there's a market for it, and then come out with a new take on it that doesn't suck.

Where is the augmented reality device they're going to be targeting with this?

If anything you'll see them take on something like google cardboard or oculus directly before they do something really left field with headphones. But even that is a couple years away.

Re: AirPods are now available

#344

Post by eric_h »

npunt wrote: post #306
FireBeyond wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carrying case - Plantronics and others would like to discuss "new/innovative": http://www.plantronics.com/us/product/voyager-legend-case (I know that this product is not specifically music-oriented, but the operation principle is there still).

Like with most things Apple, they don't necessarily create the first product in a space, but they define the category by refinement of user experience and inventing the necessary tech to support that. This Plantronics case isn't that great. You have to open it with two hands in front of you, and carefully place the awkwardly shaped headset in. You probably have to look at it while doing so. It's rather large, and the…

Indeed. The fact that the first use experience is (from what I've heard) the very best pairing experience for any bluetooth headset ever tells that story quite well (all thanks to Apple's proprietary W1 chip, of course).

I've got a pair of Bose QC 35s and though their pairing experience is standard annoying bluetooth pairing, their support of multiple devices/easily switching between them is the best I've seen in bluetooth headphones I've purchased. The AirPods are, apparently, comparable to the Bose in this regard, with a better onboarding experience.

Re: AirPods are now available

#345

Post by djrogers »

DoodleBuggy wrote: post #38

Very curious how long battery life actually is. Also, will Apple include these within iPhone box to replace the clunky new lightning things?

> Very curious how long battery life actually is

Most of the reviews of the preproduction units said Apple's 5 hour claim was about right. That's about 1-2 hours more than I get from my current earbuds, and they can't charge one-at-a-time or give me 3 hours of use in a 15 minute charge.

Re: AirPods are now available

#346

Post by djrogers »

remarkEon wrote: post #107

These look extraordinarily uncomfortable, especially if I'm supposed to have them in my ears more than usual headphones - or even as long as my current model. If Apple is trying to make an in-ear controller ala Her , I do not see these as something I'll pick up. Curious. Will there be third-party headphones that work here?

> Curious. Will there be third-party headphones that work here?

3rd party headphones have always worked with the iPhone - what exactly are you asking?

Re: AirPods are now available

#347

Post by refulgentis »

derefr wrote: post #308
Scriptal wrote: post #131

Why did they not make the charging port USB C? I feel like a lot of this mess with needing a different dongle and special wire for each product would have been less of a big deal if everything they did just moved to USB C all at the same time. Now if you want to charge your air pods with a macbook pro you need a cable to go from usb C to thunderbolt (not included) or an adapter to use the previous-gen-usb to lighteni…

Apple is standardizing on two cables. All of Apple's "accessories" (things that will request charge from a host over their cable: phones, tablets, keyboards and touchpads, and now headphones) have a Lightning port. All of Apple's "computers" (things that won't: computers that are wired for power, and devices that are wired for power like the Apple TV) have, or will have, USB-C ports. The vague middle case is laptops,…

Does that imply my USB C battery won't work with my new MacBook Pro? :(

Re: AirPods are now available

#348

Post by mynegation »

eric_h wrote: post #340
mynegation wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget that they are in?! For my particular shape of ears their hard shell design does not work at all. Every time I have to wear apple earbuds because I cannot find my day to day earbuds, I want to rip them out immediately, and my ears hurt after few minutes of using them. Unless the came up with better design there is no way I am forgetting I am wearing apple earbuds.

My problem with apple headphones is that my ear holes are apparently different sizes. The right ear is always fine and the left is always less comfortable (if only just). I switched to over the ear bluetooth headphones a while ago and haven't looked back. Edit: I should add that with in-ear headphones, I was always able to get a good fit by using the one-step smaller rubber ends for the left ear and the default one f…

I have this problem too, but I love the compactness of earbuds, especially with Bluetooth. Whatever are my earbuds of the day, I order complyfoam tips for them (not affiliated, just love their product).

Re: AirPods are now available

#350

Post by unfamiliar »

scarlac wrote: post #218
ojkelly wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the feeling we're going to see lighting on apples mobile devices for a very very long time yet.

Yes, the official statement during the presentation of the Lightning connector was "for at least the next decade" if I recall correctly.

Wasn't that long before we knew what USB-C would look like though?
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