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AirPods are now available

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Re: AirPods are now available

#561

Post by NEDM64 »

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…

Omg, Apple is writing good things about their products in their website!

Idiots, if it were Microsoft writing things on The Verge, it would be ok.

Re: AirPods are now available

#562

Post by rconti »

iddqd wrote: post #515
rconti wrote: post #473

Not airpods, but I've gotta plug my amazing Bose QC35. I've never owned (or seen the need for) noise-cancelling headphones, never thought I'd use wireless headphones. But the QC35 caught my eye with the built-in mic (probably on a day I had a phone conference). I bought them despite the steep $330 price, and haven't looked back. They're amazingly comfortable, the noise cancelling is best-of-breed, the battery lasts A…

I'm returning my pair of Bose QC35 today. The built in mic is terrible to the point I couldn't use it for video conferencing. Had to switch to the mic on my MBP to be intelligible. I haven't figured out if I like the noise cancellation or not. It leaks voices a lot, and when it's quiet there's a very faint constant background noise. Feels like I just replaced one noise with another. It also gives an illusion of a cha…

I haven't heard what my own voice sounds like on the built-in mic, so I can't disagree with you there-- however, I've been able to use them without (apparent) problem in loud datacenters, which frankly surprised me.

My 'main' headphones are Audiotechnica M50s which are, of course, cheaper, but damn well should be without noise cancelling or BT. I use them with an external DAC+headphone amp, but I prefer the QC35 at all volumes (short of ear-splitt, which the Bose won't do-- but at least they don't clip, ever!)

I sorta agree on noise cancelling tech. Of course voices leak, that's normal. But I, too, sometimes wonder if I'm just replacing one set of sounds with another. Where I really like them is in addition to music. Just by itself, meh.

Re: AirPods are now available

#564

Post by dkonofalski »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #401
dkonofalski wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you don't have to do that. If you need the full-screen camera, just swipe right from the smaller camera view. You'll get access to your full-screen camera and any previously taken photos/videos in your library.

Thanks for the tip. I guess this will make it slightly easier. But my point is exactly this. How many taps did it used to take to quickly take a pic and send? One. Now with iOS10, you tap the camera button, swipe to the right, and then tap the "real" camera button one more time. That's 3 times the number of gestures it used to take pre-iOS10. p.s. How did you even discover that swipe feature? I'm pretty sure most peo…

It wasn't that difficult. There's an arrow on the left of the screen. The first time I tapped the arrow and nothing happened so I swiped and got the camera. People complain about discoverability but that's exactly the way discoverability works, I think.

Re: AirPods are now available

#565

Post by btreecat »

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…

>• Smart switching between multiple devices logged into iCloud. You need only pair with one of your iCloud devices and the rest will auto pair.

Genuine feature, and a neat one at that. Previously I had to rely on stuff like NFC or saved pairs, which is still more than 1 pair.

>• Auto-pause when removed from ears.

Also a genuine feature. Takes some real thinking to make that a priority in the UX.

>• Auto-mono when only one is in your ear.

Is that really a feature? I mean I guess that's cool, but it seems like a play on the previous feature sensing if in use or not.

>• Carrying case that charges them rapidly and keeps them safe in your pocket.

This is a necessity rather than a feature per say.

Wired headphones don't need to be charged. Wireless headphones with a headphone port for backup also don't require a charge.

Most modern headphones are a single unit, so they don't need a case to be kept from getting lost.

That said, many have cases to keep them from getting tangled or damaged in transport, the latter which is true for the airpods, however if your case were damaged, so is your charger.

> If these turn out to have the same issues, I'll gladly report how inaccurate Apple's marketing was and how disappointed I am.

If they have the same issues as other Bluetooth devices, hopefully you find out about it before you spend your money on some expensive tech.

Re: AirPods are now available

#566

Post by Humdeee »

HelloYComb wrote: post #23
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.

Makes perfect sense to me. I run about 4 days a week with my phone strapped to my arm. The current headphones cable wraps around my arm once or twice, and sometimes gets tangled mid-run. It's a pet peeve of mine. Wireless is a good thing. I don't need more than 2 hours tops when running, so the 5+ hour battery life is great. I never had any problems with the current earphones slipping out of my ears while running - r…

I did 4 marathons last year along with 2,000km of running mileage, and if music is a must while you run, then at x4 a week, it's worth looking into for a better setup. Even a basic GPS watch with a separate cheap music player (look for a clipping one) and you'll be much more comfortable. Granted, this won't allow to send/receive texts or calls, but hopefully you can manage to disconnect from the world for 1-2 hours.

I don't come across too many even semi-consistent runners who take their phone with them. Most can't stand a big iPhone 6/7 or Samsung strapped to their arm like a piece of armor. I don't think these AirPods will improve the running-music duo at all. The technology doesn't quite cater to us yet. Lightweight, sturdier earbuds (check out yurbuds) with a cord under the shirt down to the waist isn't noticeable and is hard to beat.

Re: AirPods are now available

#567

Post by stonogo »

Terretta wrote: post #549
stonogo wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Holy shit, friend. Motorola VerveOnes - $150 SmartOmi Boots Mini - $75 Rowkin Bit Stereo - $110 Rowkin Mini Plus - $60 Sol Republic Amps Air - $150 Your lack of awareness of the market does not mean that it does not exist. It is not helpful to pretend that your unwillingness to do simple research on the matter makes you an expert. I will now predict your next objections: "I don't like these companies" "These are not…

I wasn't proposing an exhaustive sampling, but you also haven't satisfied the $20 claim above. Even Reddit finds more plausible comps: - Samsung Gear IconX ($200) 4GB of on-board storage+, fitness tracking+ -- 1.6 Hours - Motorola VerveOnes ($200) Can look up last connected location if lost+ -- 2-3 Hours - Bragi Dash ($300) Fitness tracking+, gesture control+, 4GB storage+, Audio passthrough+ -- 4 Hours - Bragi Headp…

yeah this falls under "that isn't exactly the same product," above. I'm not sure, for instance, why you left 'can use either headphone independently' off the Gear IconX entry, because you can. I'm not sure why about half of these entries leave out the charge-case entry, because a lot of them have it.

But it's irrelevant. You can say "apple's product is better." You can say "these other products are terrible." You can even say "I hate everything that is not from Cupertino." But the claim here is that these things are some kind of revolution. The claim we are trying to rebut is not "apple airpods suck and are not worth buying." I, and many others, are merely explaining that there is nothing magical or even particularly new about airpods. They are an iteration on an existing product segment.

You, so far, have done nothing to demonstrate otherwise.

Re: AirPods are now available

#568

Post by dntrkv »

sooheon wrote: post #461
seanwilson wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you can get bluetooth headphones that last 40 hours I don't see battery life as an issue. Quality sounds fine to me as well. Are there any blind tests that show people can notice differences with Bluetooth? Even if the difference is slightly noticeable I doubt you would notice wearing headphones on the move, at the gym, in the office etc. > How many times have you really found yourself genuinely bothered by wire…

> Quality sounds fine to me as well I would happily bet any amount of money that I can tell the difference between my nice pair of IEMs and the stock apple ones every time. It's not the bluetooth transmission that's the problem, it's the actual sound producing hardware. Customers like you dwarf customers like me, so Apple and Beats don't bother to produce great sounding phones beyond a certain point--it even appears…

A deaf person can tell the difference between nice IEMs and the stock apple ear phones. I don't think anyone is disputing that. Now take some nice bluetooth IEMs and compare them to similarly priced wired IEMs, then it gets a little more difficult. Bluetooth transmission is very much a problem when it comes to sound quality, since the audio needs to be compressed to send wirelessly.

Re: AirPods are now available

#569

Post by acedinlowball »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #24
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…

Maybe because... it IS a marketing page? As much as I've also become an apple hater recently because of what they've done to iOS10 and the new macbook pro, I think criticizing a marketing copy for being a marketing copy is not fair.

I'm not an Apple hater. I've always loved Apple and I will always stick with Apple. They have always come through for me and they are still the same wonderful company they have always been.

In fact, it is MORE of a fad these days to be an Apple hater than an Apple fanboy. Why do you have to be a follower and hate on Apple? Try thinking for yourself.

Re: AirPods are now available

#570

Post by scarecrowbob »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #546
scarecrowbob wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a musician who uses in-ear-monitors weekly, I very much wish I had custom molded ones. It's not a hipster 'artisinal' thing as much as they ostensibly work better, and they aren't "hand carved"... there are refined process for this. But they are supposed to be much more comfortable and sound better. I can't comment becasue I don't play enough (or make enough playing) to justify spending $500-800 on them.

Seems like the pinna+upper ear-canal could be moulded very easily with dental alginate? The issue would probably be that you'd need to insert some form of tethered plug to stop the alginate going in too far, perhaps a bead on nylon thread. Then it's just a hack job to pair it with the earphone. (Or you could produce a mould, etc.)

As far as I know, there is an existing process that can do this fine.

And I believe (but am not sure) that there are existing bluetooth solutions, though I couldn't imagine using those in a professional music monitoring context.

So I can easily imagine that there will be custom refitting of these devices. However, custom molds often cost $200-300 (or more) by themselves, plus the drivers, so not in my proce range.

I do use my "cheap" (Shure se215 ~$100) wired IEMs with my iphone now when I want more isolation than open-backed earbuds like ones that came with my phone. They are great for mowing the lawn.

But maybe the airpods are more reliant on the ambient sound, so I dunno if there is much to gain from custom molds.

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