Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

301–310 of 428 posts

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#301

Post by jaifraic »

sixothree wrote: post #186
paultopia wrote: post #127

I actually bought these. Yes, it's a pile of money, wireless charging for AirPods probably isn't all that useful (though I may grab a new wireless charger for the desk where my AirPods usually sit anyway), etc. But, reality is: AirPods are by far the most convenient way to casually do anything with apple products and headphones. Stick 'em in a pocket, and if you want to listen to music or be on a conference call, pul…

I spend a lot of time on conference calls and AirPods really change everything. Sometimes I will be on a call and only get pulled in once or twice. It's kind of a waste to not be doing other stuff during that time and they definitely make that easier.

But isn't this a benefit of all bluetooth/wireless headsets? I don't see how it is a specific AirPod advantage.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#302

Post by sosborn »

brucemoose wrote: post #227
pwthornton wrote: post #200

If Apple does in fact release AirPower, and it works well, I'll probably upgrade to these. A better charging situation is one of the things that could improve the AirPods. Just today my AirPods case wasn't charging because lint got into my lightning port. I didn't realize the case wasn't charging until I realized my AirPods were low on power despite me charging the case a lot the last few days. Inductive charging is…

I honestly can't say I understand the draw to drop significant money on a new set of headphones that need to be charged at least as often as a my phone, and can't be charged while being used. I've had the same set of high quality in-ear wired headphones for the last 5 years or longer and have zero issues with them (I just replace the foam every so often for about $5). What is the improvement I am missing here?

> What is the improvement I am missing here?

I think what you are missing is that different people value things differently. These don't make sense for you? That's fine, don't buy them. They don't make sense for me either, so I don't buy them.

However, I can understand how it would make sense for someone else. Arguing the money aspect doesn't make sense because we never know a person's income, expenses and savings. $200 for one person is nothing, while it can be the difference between making rent for another.

Arguing sound quality doesn't make sense either, because despite all of the numbers that people throw around, people perceive and enjoy sound differently. It isn't objective, its subjective.

Same thing with the presence of wires. I would have liked these (or, more likely, a larger set of wireless cans) when I lived in Japan and commuted by train daily. Now that I commute by car, my headphone use is limited to netflix in bed and when I'm playing guitar. Wireless doesn't do anything for me in those situations.

Long story short, different strokes for different folks.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#303

Post by EpicEng »

stouset wrote: post #276
brucemoose wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly can't say I understand the draw to drop significant money on a new set of headphones that need to be charged at least as often as a my phone, and can't be charged while being used. I've had the same set of high quality in-ear wired headphones for the last 5 years or longer and have zero issues with them (I just replace the foam every so often for about $5). What is the improvement I am missing here?

> and can't be charged while being used I'll just address this point, because it is categorically incorrect and something many people misunderstood when they were first released. There are two of them. You can use them independently from one another. When you hear the "low battery" tone, it's trivial to remove one and continue to use the other. By the time the tone plays again in the one you continued to use (signali…

That's all well and good if using one were the same as using two. Of course, it isn't...

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#304

Post by geoelectric »

pwthornton wrote: post #282
brucemoose wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly can't say I understand the draw to drop significant money on a new set of headphones that need to be charged at least as often as a my phone, and can't be charged while being used. I've had the same set of high quality in-ear wired headphones for the last 5 years or longer and have zero issues with them (I just replace the foam every so often for about $5). What is the improvement I am missing here?

These get charged way less than your phone. The case has about 24-hours worth of charge in it. I’m much more likely to have my phone low on charge than my AirPods. Wireless case charging will make it so that my case is almost always well charged.

Plus (and this isn't unique to AirPods) the lower charge the AirPods are the faster they recharge. As long as you keep the case charged you can drop the pods in for a couple-few minutes while you give your ears a break and you'll get a decent playback duration when you come back.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#305

Post by lylo »

Bahamut wrote: post #115
theonemind wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had my AirPods for a while. The battery life has indeed degraded, but they’re pretty good for an hour of listening, and I never really do more. I’d be more disappointed as a heavy user. They’re also the only earphones I can stand while exercising. Before the AirPods, the annoyance of the wire flopping around or on my skin, etc. made me mostly just not listen to anything. So, I don’t really compare them to anythi…

Interestingly, I seem to be one of the few people the AirPods don't work for when it comes to exercising - they don't fit well in my ears, so they'd fall out if I tried to exercise in them :( . Love them in general though, they are good enough for the price & what they do.

I have the same problem, clearly I have weird ears. They're a little cumbersome but I bought some EarSkinz and the problem is 100% solved. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0741CXH71/ref=oh_aui_se...

The audio quality is also massively improved because of the better fit. The downside is you have to take the skins off before putting the AirPods back in the case. I also bought one of these pouches to keep the AirPod case and EarSkinz in. Works well, all in all

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#306

Post by baddox »

brucemoose wrote: post #227
pwthornton wrote: post #200

If Apple does in fact release AirPower, and it works well, I'll probably upgrade to these. A better charging situation is one of the things that could improve the AirPods. Just today my AirPods case wasn't charging because lint got into my lightning port. I didn't realize the case wasn't charging until I realized my AirPods were low on power despite me charging the case a lot the last few days. Inductive charging is…

I honestly can't say I understand the draw to drop significant money on a new set of headphones that need to be charged at least as often as a my phone, and can't be charged while being used. I've had the same set of high quality in-ear wired headphones for the last 5 years or longer and have zero issues with them (I just replace the foam every so often for about $5). What is the improvement I am missing here?

Why is charging while using a feature even worth mentioning? AirPods gain 3 hours of battery life (listening time) with 15 minutes of charging in the case, vs. 5 hours of total battery life between charges. That's very little difference, and if you're doing something important where interruptions are unacceptable (like a phone/video call), you can always charge one AirPod at a time in the case (they both have microphones). In practice I just don't find it hard to believe that very many people would ever need or even use the "charge while using" feature.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#307

Post by baddox »

jonawesomegreen wrote: post #176
paultopia wrote: post #127

I actually bought these. Yes, it's a pile of money, wireless charging for AirPods probably isn't all that useful (though I may grab a new wireless charger for the desk where my AirPods usually sit anyway), etc. But, reality is: AirPods are by far the most convenient way to casually do anything with apple products and headphones. Stick 'em in a pocket, and if you want to listen to music or be on a conference call, pul…

I own a pair and as well as everything you mentioned, the killer feature for me is not dropping out. Every other pair of bluetooth earbuds I've had were constantly dropping out on me when running through an airport or if I decided to pace around a room on a conference call unless I held my phone just so. I've found the range on AirPods to be fantastic. I work from home and if I want to pace around the house while I'm…

I've definitely had great connectivity and range with my AirPods too (although I admittedly haven't tried many other Bluetooth headphones in several years, during which time I suspect they've all improved somewhat). The only time mine cut out is very briefly but consistently when I'm on pedestrian crossings. My theory is that it's induction loop vehicle detectors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_loop

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#308

Post by LynxInLA »

muraiki wrote: post #266
LynxInLA wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is still $160 for the airpods, and $200 if you want wireless charging. Tapping the Airpod, uou still have 2 controls vs. the 5 with an inline mic. You can almost say 3 controls since pulling one out of your ear acts as play/pause. Mine were a gift, but I'll likely drop $160 on a set in the future if these crap out in a year or two. About once a week, I used to get my wire snagged and it would sometimes yank my pho…

Note that even at relatively low volumes, sleeping while listening to something can cause hearing damage. There's an interaction between both the volume and the duration of sound exposure. If you're using your device to drown out other sounds, that might be too loud.

Thanks, I just use it on a timer to listen to something for 15 min as I fall asleep.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#309

Post by baddox »

eloisant wrote: post #192
paultopia wrote: post #127

I actually bought these. Yes, it's a pile of money, wireless charging for AirPods probably isn't all that useful (though I may grab a new wireless charger for the desk where my AirPods usually sit anyway), etc. But, reality is: AirPods are by far the most convenient way to casually do anything with apple products and headphones. Stick 'em in a pocket, and if you want to listen to music or be on a conference call, pul…

I have Jabra 65T earphones, they just work like you described with my MBP and Android phone. And no battery wear-out issue. They're not much cheaper than the airpods however.

What would be the reason that one model of wireless earphones would have worse battery wear-out than another? Wouldn't it depend almost entirely on how many recharge cycles the battery gets? If so, then I suppose it would only depend on the battery life of the earphones (if we hold the usage rate constant).

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#310

Post by konschubert »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #300
cycrutchfield wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about the part where your skull is physically tethered to your computer?

I'm on a conference call, what am I going to be doing? Laps? No, I'll be taking notes and looking stuff up on my computer.

Yes, some people like to walk.
Post reply on HN