AirPods are now available

Post by FireBeyond » Wed, Dec 14, 2016, 11:13 PM UTC

eric_h wrote: post #344

npunt wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 blu…

Post by j2bax » Wed, Dec 14, 2016, 11:39 PM UTC

btreecat wrote: post #565

j2bax wrote: post #163

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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 onl…

Post by Terretta » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:48 AM UTC

stonogo wrote: post #567

Terretta wrote: post #549

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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…

Post by neotek » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 3:00 AM UTC

tribby wrote: post #443

neotek wrote: post #397

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I hear people saying this a lot, but I'd be willing to bet that at least 90% of consumers would be incapable of telling the difference between Bluetooth and wired audio in a blind test. Also, given that the vast majority of earbuds people use are sub-$20, I bet the audio quality isn't that great to begin with.

if 90% of consumers are incapable of telling the difference then why would apple use such an expensive DAC in their phone? I can't speak for everyone, but it's a pretty noticeable difference to me especially considering my hearing isn't very good to begin with.

Post by neotek » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 3:02 AM UTC

arcticbull wrote: post #412

neotek wrote: post #390

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A large part of the reason they fall out is that the weight of the cable pulls them out. It's not 100% of the cause but it's definitely a major factor.

Citation needed -- the original Apple bluetooth headset for the iPhone fell out of my ears all the time.