AirPods with Wireless Charging Case • Hacker News Board

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#341

Post by exergy » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:19 PM UTC

maxmunzel wrote: post #336

exergy wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about arguing for the environmental cost of our throwaway culture? Airpods have a MUCH higher environmental impact than ordinary earphones. A lot of tech is crammed into these things, all of which uses energy, resources, distilled water and so on to produce. I have a pair of Shure earphones that have "just worked" for going onto three years now. I had to change NOTHING on them, and they've never complained. I've…

The environmental Argument is interesting as I am thinking about getting AirPods precisely because Im sick of throwing away my regular in Ears because the headphone jacks keep breaking when I carry them crumbled in my jeans. (I hate having them tangle around while not in use). As an earlier poster pointed out: It all depends on your use case and preferences.

Shure, and many other good companies, make earphones with removable cables. These MMCX cables can be bought relatively cheaply (decent ones on Amazon france seem to be about EUR 15 onwards). Even better, the ones that come with the earphones are burly as fuck, and as I said, mine have lasted three years with no damage or loose soldering to report.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#342

Post by Phlarp » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:26 PM UTC

city41 wrote: post #270

Phlarp wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are a fan of this earbud design they package a pair with a lightning connector in every iphone. Apple has successfully turned the airpods into a fashion/status symbol, which was their goal. "only smelly android users have headphones with a CORD"

Apple has been doing that with headphones ever since the iPod came out. iPod commercials featured black silhouetted people with the bright white headphone and cord contrasted on top[0]. Like AirPods today, it used to be a status symbol to have white headphones as that basically meant they came from Apple. [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHUz99l-eo

Yes. These commercials are what I was thinking about in this thread. Apple was marketing the CORD as a status symbol a decade ago.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#343

Post by sinatra » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:30 PM UTC

Looking at all these comments here, it appears that most people don't have the problem that I have with AirPods. They just don't stay in my ear. A slight wrong movement, and they slip out. I tried one of those gel covers that help AirPods stay in ear. But, then, they don't fit in the case.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#344

Post by Phlarp » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:30 PM UTC

alias_neo wrote: post #116

Phlarp wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I absolutely agree with everything in this post, but the newest model of QC35s has like 15 hours of battery life. Even if it degrades 50% over 3 years they will be perfectly usable. Airpods don't have enough physical size to overprovision battery that much. Unserviceable laptop and cellphone batteries are terrible and apple is by far the biggest offender. disclaimer: typed from a macbook :(

I have a pair of Sony over-ear Bluetooth headphones, with NFC, about 7 years old now, MDR-1RBT. I have used them 5 days a week, for ~2 hours a day for almost the entirety of those 7 years, I charge them approximately once per month. They cost £400 at the time and have been by far the best consumer electronic investment I have ever made. When the battery becomes unusable I'll find a replacement and fit it my self, but…

I'd love to see a premium pair of over the ear headphones driven by a licensed Apple Bluetooth stack, which by all accounts is vastly superior. It's still a win for Apple since the added bluetooth features only activate when paired to another compatible apple device; otherwise it's just standard bluetooth.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#345

Post by stouset » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:34 PM UTC

exergy wrote: post #334

stouset wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish I could put myself into the shoes of people who think that fifteen minutes of using only one earbud is a big deal, but I honestly just can't.

To me, that blows big holes in the argument that Airpods are better than wired earphones. It's compromises up and down the chart with the sole benefit being wirelessness? Are people nowadays really that rich that they can dump 150 USD EVERY two to three years just to get rid of a wire?! Also, I just can't fathom people's willingness to let so much tech into their lives. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, ai…

> It's compromises up and down the chart

What compromises?

They're literally always on my person. At all times. Without even having to think about it, because they just come along with my phone and keys whenever they change pockets.

I can wear them all day and basically forget they're there, even when pausing audio to have conversations with people physically in front of me.

For phone calls, they're measurably more convenient since I can just leave my phone on my desk and continue whatever it was I was previously doing.

The "compromises" I have to make, on the other hand are completely insignificant. Sometimes I have to take one earbud out. Sometimes the case is low on battery so I plug it in at the nearest cable on my desk or nightstand. The audio quality is perfectly fine, I have never noticed a difference unless I was explicitly trying to look for one.

> Are people nowadays really that rich that they can dump 150 USD EVERY two to three years just to get rid of a wire?!

Why do you seem to believe that these will only last two or three years? Mine are 2.5 years in and I can't say I've noticed any kind of battery degradation. Surely they won't continue to last indefinitely, but every other wired headphone I've used has had the wire fray sooner or later anyway.

> Also, I just can't fathom people's willingness to let so much tech into their lives.

I can't reply to the other comment you made, but I find it telling that you've decided that you get to be the gatekeeper for what is "too much tech" and what's not. From that comment, "Every person deserves... a laptop... and a smartphone". And headphones too, apparently. But wireless headphones are where we as a society should draw the line?

Somehow I don't think I'd be surprised to find you having this same conversation ten years ago deriding how rich people must be to afford a $1,000 cell phone every few years, when flip phones are just as good and aren't full of compromises like software keyboards.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#346

Post by icanhackit » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:41 PM UTC

exergy wrote: post #334

stouset wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish I could put myself into the shoes of people who think that fifteen minutes of using only one earbud is a big deal, but I honestly just can't.

To me, that blows big holes in the argument that Airpods are better than wired earphones. It's compromises up and down the chart with the sole benefit being wirelessness? Are people nowadays really that rich that they can dump 150 USD EVERY two to three years just to get rid of a wire?! Also, I just can't fathom people's willingness to let so much tech into their lives. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, ai…

People collect cars, watches, shoes, expensive clothing. On the extreme end there's figurines, paintings, antiques -- at least the former items have utility, the latter are mere articles for signalling to others.

Does it really blow your mind that the ability to move freely without being tethered to a phone is a selling point? I can give an example where it really helps for me: I'm a nudist.

But even when clothed I like walking around able to take a call or listen to music without snagging a cable on one of the many protrusions in this world like door handles, kitchen cupboard handles etc which can also lead to an expensive phone launching from my pocket onto the floor.

If you're worried about pollution, Airpods should be on the low end of the concerns list.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#347

Post by cakoose » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:43 PM UTC

stouset wrote: post #329

EpicEng wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I really wish I could put myself into the shoes of people who think that fifteen minutes of using only one earbud is a big deal, but I honestly just can't.

Your point that you can use one while charging the other was valid and helpful.

But saying "I'll just address this point, because it is categorically incorrect" was unnecessarily aggressive. With that opening, I think people expected a solution with no caveats.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#348

Post by sib » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:47 PM UTC

objektif wrote: post #50

lskopwol wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why, what’s wrong with bluetooth?

There was a big thread on how the current bluetooth standard is a clusterfuck.

Sadly, all previous versions of the BT standard were also fusterclucks.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#349

Post by jxdxbx » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:50 PM UTC

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?

My first pair of Airpods, even after 2 years, still worked for hours on a charge. And of course “charging” just means putting them in your pocket. I just wish I had waited to run them through the laundry until today. I bought a new pair just recently.

Re: AirPods with Wireless Charging Case

#350

Post by heyoni » Wed, Mar 20, 2019, 9:54 PM UTC

exergy wrote: post #334

stouset wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish I could put myself into the shoes of people who think that fifteen minutes of using only one earbud is a big deal, but I honestly just can't.

To me, that blows big holes in the argument that Airpods are better than wired earphones. It's compromises up and down the chart with the sole benefit being wirelessness? Are people nowadays really that rich that they can dump 150 USD EVERY two to three years just to get rid of a wire?! Also, I just can't fathom people's willingness to let so much tech into their lives. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, ai…

Does Apple not recycle their devices anymore? You’re drawing the line in the wrong place. Phones and laptops really can’t get much better, so your other comment makes sense and we should hang onto those for as long as possible. But you know what? Headphones aren’t, and Bluetooth needed to be saved because pairing sucks.