AirPods • Hacker News Board

Re: AirPods

#171

Post by pushpop » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 2:31 PM UTC

josteink wrote: post #145

tobyhinloopen wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Every single one I’ve used. AirPods have been worst by an order of magnitude to the point you would think it is a budget-offering. Some of the brands I’ve used over the years include Sennheiser, Beats, Shure and Beyerdynamic.

The Sennheiser and Shure earphones I’ve owned have had amazing sound quality even at lower price points. But those were wired. I don’t recall them having any wireless when I last looked (last year).

Re: AirPods

#172

Post by ponyous » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

lbacaj wrote: post #125

acjohnson55 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I just can't take your opinion seriously. I believe you will be strongly biased towards Apple. Why?

1. Headphones have CPU and you call it a platform. Almost every digital watch (not smart watch) has a CPU and nobody I know calls it a platform. Can you build on top of AirPods?

2.

> seemingly everyone on every train has them on

Seemingly everyone? Not sure about NY but in London Apple is succeeding because of the fanboys not because it's legitimately good and this infuriates me. It's been getting a lot worse lately, but somehow we don't see this enough so I am just trying to balance things, excuse me.

Re: AirPods

#173

Post by falcolas » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 2:33 PM UTC

ec109685 wrote: post #166

falcolas wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an iPhone X, and a new iPad. Each has a separate port type, and the iPad didn't come with an adapter. My wife's newest gen iPhone didn't come with an adapter, it had to be purchased separately.

Your wife’s phone came with headphones that didn’t work with her phone?

I don't recall if they came with the standard apple headphones, but she doesn't use those. She has a good pair of Sennheiser earbuds, and so had to buy an adapter separately.

Re: AirPods

#174

Post by calgoo » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 2:37 PM UTC

jasonlotito wrote: post #140

coldtea wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple knows it's me and knows which device I'm actively using. I could be using the MBP and want to hear music from the iPhone though.

Yes, I addressed that in my comment. The common case is that if I'm playing music on my laptop and not playing music on my iPhone (or vice-versa), then I probably want to listen to that music from my laptop, not my iPhone. For example, let's address your concern with my comment. "Start by listening to something on my iPhone. Sit down and continue to listen to my music on my iPhone. Open up my laptop. It unlocks with…

I wish they just added a simple "handoff" option in the control panel. I use spotify on all my devices, and use their device handoff a lot and it works really good. Would be perfect if i could open control panel, click audio handoff, and select the detected device from a list.

Re: AirPods

#175

Post by gsu » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 2:52 PM UTC

azhenley wrote: post #12

The big additions: 50% more talk time, hands free Siri, and a new optional wireless charging case.

The new wireless charging case looks like the older one, but you can now charge it on a Qi-compatible charging mat.

Re: AirPods

#176

Post by ioulian » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 3:17 PM UTC

nwhatt wrote: post #27

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?

I embraced airpods early because I had the opposite problem: my corded headphones would get caught by a dog leash and pull my $1000 phone out of my pocket.

Hah, I saw another situation in London.

One person dropped his phone in the tube, due a large amount of people wanting to get out, he could save his $1000 smartphone because he cought the cords of the earphones.

Everything has it's own advantages and disadvantages

Re: AirPods

#177

Post by basch » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 3:25 PM UTC

TheRealDunkirk wrote: post #152

I think the easiest way to make a lot of money in the actual market for personal tech products is to double down on whatever HN and Reddit claims to hate. I suppose it's just sampling bias, but the more hate I see here, the more money Apple makes, and it's been consistent for many years. The inverse seems to hold true, too. When Microsoft hardware gets discussed, there's usually a lot of effusive praise, but their ma…

the expert crowd doesnt like admitting that commoditization means a shift towards non-pro parts, and where less features and less complexity is a feature.

and with everybody, youll always have crowds of people with "the old way worked fine" who are more vocal than the "ill give it a try, it looks cool i guess. i didnt even know people where complaining about thing thingers deficiencies."

Re: AirPods

#178

Post by pushpop » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 3:26 PM UTC

rhinoceraptor wrote: post #143

pushpop wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they be an inconvenience if you need them all the time? Wouldn't you just keep them attached to the airpod (just like you would with any other earphone)? In any case, at that price I'd expect those silicone types to come with the airpods - just like they would with any other earphone.

They're inconvenient because of the way the airpods are designed, they don't fit inside the case with the tips on.

This is exactly why it's better to get earphones that are designed to and come with the attachments. They have no problems charging and are more likely to fit your ear from day one.

Re: AirPods

#179

Post by elagost » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 3:27 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #121

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 a…

First off, I just want to be clear - not trying to sound confrontational, but I want to respond because I'm having fun reading and thinking about your comments.

>Compared to what, your "over-ear" set?

Yeah, that's the comparison I was making. The airpods didn't provide any functional upgrade over earpods (or any set of cheap wired headphones with a remote/mic in them) for me. The airpods made things harder. The double-tap to skip tracks was far from ideal given that it just resulted in slamming this little headphone into my ear, and that kind of hurt. The inline remote/mic was better for that, and it also allowed me to change volume - the airpods not having volume adjustment on them meant I had to keep my device in my pocket, so now the advantage of bluetooth (device set further away, not in the pocket) is gone. The over-ear set has volume controls and a play/pause button.

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

Charging my over ear set is uncomplicated - everything I have charges off of microUSB so I always have that connector around, and to charge the headphones I just plug in the charger. I can use them while they're charging. Airpods require me to stop using them to charge. Nothing else I have is like this - phones, iPods, laptops, or other bluetooth headphones.

I don't worry about the over-ear set coming off. They're comfortable and sit nicely while walking. I always wear a hat when using airpods because I worry about them falling out. When an earpod falls out, it dangles off the other one, and I put it back in. Especially useful while biking (helmet makes wearing ear-covering hats harder).

I get that airpods are probably the best in the category of tiny little 'true wireless' earbuds. I get that 'put them in the charging case' is really the only way to do charging for this type of headphones. I understand they did the best they could, and that with this style of headphones there's severe limitations. But after having owned a pair, I don't understand why anyone would want to use them over something 1/3 the cost that offers much more convenience.

Re: AirPods

#180

Post by kkapelon » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 3:28 PM UTC

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!

Wireless audio still has latency.

It is very noticeable in games and movies. Until they solve that problem first, wired solutions will always be needed.