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AirPods

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Re: AirPods

#121

Post by coldtea »

elagost wrote: post #100

These are not good headphones. The battery life is kind of bad, the charging system is finicky, the sound is poor, and there's not even passive noise isolation. I have a $50 pair of over-ear bluetooth headphones that have week-long battery life, sound pretty good, can be charged while being listened to, and have a 3.5mm plug for passive wired listening when the battery runs out. Like everyone else, I bought and used…

There's a case to be made for their shortcomings, but this is more of a "No wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame" style critique, not seeing anything about their unique proposition, and criticizing them for what they are not even supposed to be (e.g. high-end or noise cancelling). Some of those things are not faults with the Airpods, but personal taste which can be satisfied with another headphone/brand.

>These are not good headphones.

Yes, they're not good. Just the best in their category.

>The battery life is kind of bad

For two tiny isolated, on-each-ear earbud style headphones? Compared to what, your "over-ear" set?

>the charging system is finicky

Put them in the case, they're charging. The case stays charged for days of casual use. What exactly is "finicky"?

>the sound is poor

Good enough for music, movies, and calls. I also have (from past purchases) the Parrot Zik 2, the ATH-50x (for simple DAW monitoring), and Sony WH1000XM3, and I could not care less for the differences in sound compared to the convenience of the Airpods.

>and there's not even passive noise isolation.

A fact which probably saves lives of people crossing the street constantly.

Re: AirPods

#122

Post by criddell »

DJBunnies wrote: post #6

All it takes is one odd jostle on your morning commute, and suddenly your $150 headphones fly down a storm drain. Why can't we have high quality wired headsets?

> Why can't we have high quality wired headsets?

Use the adapter and you can use any wired headset you want.

Re: AirPods

#123

Post by tobyhinloopen »

josteink wrote: post #47
pushpop wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know how much that equates to in UK money but it's pretty common for people to spend around £150 on earphones or headphones.

But other brands usually offer good sound quality at that price point. The AirPods sounds terrible . Worst in class.

"Worst in class"? Could you list some better wireless in-ear headphones for similar price & features that have better sound?

Re: AirPods

#125

Post by lbacaj »

acjohnson55 wrote: post #116
lbacaj wrote: post #66

I really believe the AirPods are an amazing New platform.. I think people are far more on the go lately and so the AirPods are a perfect way to consume content, that isn’t just music. It started as a silly joke that everyone made fun of but now, at least where I live in NYC, seemingly everyone on every train has them on. I am a little disappointed in Apple for not adding storage to these though, it wouldn’t be very h…

New platform? Why is this the case compared to other wireless headphones, let alone headphones, generally speaking?

Other headphones don’t necessarily have a CPU in them.

Re: AirPods

#126

Post by falcolas »

malshe wrote: post #95

AirPods are my best purchase in the last two years. I talk to my research collaborators and clients on Skype almost every morning. The calls can go on for hours. I love the freedom I have to walk around the office while on call, airpods connected to mac. I also use them in the gym connecting them to the ipad while doing eliptical and switching to iphone while doing weights.

A counter anecdote: My AirPod purchase was a complete waste of money. The quality is OK at best, handoff between my X and iPad pro is crap, they don't always pair, and they fall out of my ears if I tilt my head at all.

I end up just using my Bose headphones (which are still a PITA for multiple devices), the airpods sit around unused.

Re: AirPods

#127

Post by xutopia »

simongr3dal wrote: post #110
buf wrote: post #10

I love my airpods. Using them right now actually. But I see no reason to upgrade at this time.

I've had mine for just under two years now, and I love them, but the battery life is just about halved from the original 8 hours on a charge and the charging case still only seems to provide 3-4 full charges. But given the price I'm pretty sure I'll keep them around until they only last 1-2 hours on a charge.

Wait... yours lasted a full 8 hours? Mine lasted 4 hours when new!

Re: AirPods

#128

Post by monetus »

metafunctor wrote: post #98
dkersten wrote: post #29

Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for my ear/headphone needs is a large reason why I'm giving up on Apple products. I love my 2016 iPad Pro and would love to replace it with the 11" 2018 model, but I also love my Sony MDR 7506 headphones and I'm unwilling to trash them for wireless earpods that cost a good bit more than I paid for my Sony headphones. No thanks. Similar deal for iPhone (and the shit keyboa…

Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for audio is a large reason I'm doubling down on Apple products. I don't need the tangled messes of headphone wires or the extra opportunities for water ingress. Please please let's get rid of wired audio!

Think about how wired audio is used in recording, production, and live audio. Removing the wire adds latency.

Re: AirPods

#129

Post by AlexandrB »

coldtea wrote: post #101
dkersten wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just what I need, another adapter that I have to remember to bring with me, not lose etc. Plus the one on Apples website doesn't allow you to charge while the adapter is plugged in, so its either headphone jack or charging cable. No, I do not want this. Besides, for all of Apples space/thin-saving attempts, requiring me to use an adapter negates all of these completely.

> Just what I need, another adapter that I have to remember to bring with me, not lose etc. Yeah, your smartphone has only replaced a camera, a portable movie player, a portable music player, a PDA, a phone, a GPS receiver and/or maps, a watch, a gameboy, and 5-6 other devices we had to carry (or couldn't afford to even have) before. Now it's adding a dongle for headphones we have to remember to carry? Oh, the humani…

> Now it's adding a dongle for headphones we have to remember to carry? Oh, the humanity!

It's like 3 dongles if you want to be able to charge and listen at the same time. Like, for example, on a long-distance flight. And it's a completely self-imposed limitation on Apple's part!

Re: AirPods

#130

Post by lugg »

notimetorelax wrote: post #104
Svoka wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can pair them with Apple Watch for similar effect. But yeah, not having to have a second device would be nice;

I think Watch+Wireless headset is potential replacement for phones. Watch needs a camera and unfoldable screen, and it’s a done deal!

Does it?

When was the last time you took a selfie on your commute?

The screen thing is likely still an issue for mainstream but for me I mostly listen to my content. Screentime only happens at lunch or at home.

Maybe some people can't live without a big screen their commute, but some of us can.

Also, I think given the option I would prefer to carry a tablet in my bag for the situations I want and have time for a screen, and make do with the watch+pods for the majority of scenarios.

In other words, give up a cellphone altogether and replace it with a watch/pod pair and an optional tablet.

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