AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) • Hacker News Board

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#281

Post by tomphoolery » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:08 PM UTC

epolanski wrote: post #277

s3r3nity wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're 85-90% right - but I wouldn't undersell the impact of Apple's proprietary W1 / H1 / H2 chips in their headphones either.

Nobody cares about those, not to the point of paying such premiums.

I mean, if there was another "commodity" processor one could just insert into their earbuds and write some awesome software, why hasn't anyone done that yet? If you could offer the same features as AirPods (and other Apple headphones) at half the cost, you'd make serious money. People might not care too much about those technical features of them, but I know they care about consistently good performance, and the AirPods have so far delivered on that promise. Making something that works just as well, but doesn't require you to be locked in to the Apple ecosystem, would absolutely change the game for the headphone market.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#282

Post by mcculley » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:10 PM UTC

Humbly8967 wrote: post #200

mcculley wrote: post #4

How do “computational algorithms” differ from other kinds of algorithms employed in headphones?

Not to say that this would be a good idea, or that anyone does headphones this way, but you could implement PID control with analog circuits. Capacitors, resistors, and Op-amps.

That had occurred to me in that we have analog computers and devices. But aren’t all algorithms “computational”?

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#283

Post by mpalczewski » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:14 PM UTC

hardwaregeek wrote: post #26

It's wild how much money Apple has made from Bluetooth headphones that don't suck. That's literally it. They're portable, pair easily and (somewhat) work with multiple devices. I have top of the line Bose Bluetooth headphones that still, in 2022, have issues with multiple devices. I can't count how many times I've started playing music on my iPhone only to realize that the headphones think my laptop is playing, so th…

This was why I originally loved my airpods pro. Then it started going random and they no longer would connect to the device I expect. Much of the problem is that for some reason even if the laptop lid is closed apple's laptop still connect to your headphones. Right now my bose work better than the apple stuff, they connect to my laptop and headphones and music plays out of which ever one is going at the time.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#284

Post by tshaddox » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:15 PM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #251

ballenf wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd prefer a hardware switch over pure software anyway. A toggle on the headphones -- a slide switch for Device A or B. (Auto software switching would be better if it worked 99%+ of the time.)

My Airpods Max connect to 5 different devices daily. What kind of switch would you suggest they use?

A 3-bit DIP switch would do the job.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#285

Post by mpalczewski » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:17 PM UTC

cube2222 wrote: post #86

hardwaregeek wrote: post #26

It's wild how much money Apple has made from Bluetooth headphones that don't suck. That's literally it. They're portable, pair easily and (somewhat) work with multiple devices. I have top of the line Bose Bluetooth headphones that still, in 2022, have issues with multiple devices. I can't count how many times I've started playing music on my iPhone only to realize that the headphones think my laptop is playing, so th…

Yeah. I remember my reason for switching to AirPods Max. My Sony xm3 kept connecting to the laptop in my backpack - which was asleep - when I was getting on my bike. I had to unpair my phone and re-pair it to force it to "own" the headphones. It was such a pita. That really was the biggest value add of the Apple headphones, and it works absolutely great. It almost (a 99.5%+ kind of almost) always connects to the devi…

Apple creates the problem by leaving bluetooth on in the first place. When I close the lid on my laptop, no power, no external monitor, I would expect it to be sleeping. This is also a security issue. Thieves can detect that you left your laptop in the trunk of your car.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#286

Post by pwpw » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:19 PM UTC

happyopossum wrote: post #266

pwpw wrote: post #253

I want to get them but reliability is a big concern. Everyone in my family has had problems with our first gen pros. Mine started developing crackling issues. During the pandemic I remember hearing that it was a known problem and could be fixed at the Apple store, but all of the stores were closed. I put off bringing them in until later. I finally got around to it this past week as the issue has grown a lot worse rec…

Err, Apple was replacing those things left and right during the pandemic - you didn’t need to go to a store. Sorry you waited so long, but…

Ahh I didn't know that! The problem was nonexistent for me during that period, so it wasn't a priority to "fix" my working product. The issue has become much more pronounced in the period since the warranty expired. Lesson learned: bring in the working product if there's a known recall regardless of if it's fine at the moment. Won't let that happen again.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#287

Post by andreyk » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:23 PM UTC

hardwaregeek wrote: post #26

It's wild how much money Apple has made from Bluetooth headphones that don't suck. That's literally it. They're portable, pair easily and (somewhat) work with multiple devices. I have top of the line Bose Bluetooth headphones that still, in 2022, have issues with multiple devices. I can't count how many times I've started playing music on my iPhone only to realize that the headphones think my laptop is playing, so th…

IMO there's been Bluetooth headphones that don't suck (aside from multi devices, which I don't care about personally) way before Airpods. Perhaps this was many peoples' introductions to quality Bluetooth headphones though, as the ones I like tend to be in the 100-150 range.

I still much prefer U-shaped headphones worn over the neck, much less hassle, more battery, better sound. Samsung's entry in that category was very good, I hope they keep putting those out and not go all in on airpod type products.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#288

Post by xirdstl » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:23 PM UTC

lph wrote: post #85

hardwaregeek wrote: post #26

It's wild how much money Apple has made from Bluetooth headphones that don't suck. That's literally it. They're portable, pair easily and (somewhat) work with multiple devices. I have top of the line Bose Bluetooth headphones that still, in 2022, have issues with multiple devices. I can't count how many times I've started playing music on my iPhone only to realize that the headphones think my laptop is playing, so th…

I guess "don't suck" is relative, but my AirPods failed after about a year. It's a coin toss now whether their microphone will work or not, rendering them unreliable and worse than useless for the work Zoom meetings I bought them for. Maybe I'm old-fashioned for expecting any piece of technology to last longer than a year.

This is my complaint as well. On multiple pairs, the microphone becomes unreliable after some number of months. If I'm lucky, it's within the warranty period.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#289

Post by stemlord » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:26 PM UTC

jen729w wrote: post #217

stemlord wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that intuitive imo. I had to show my sister in law who is in her 50's that she needs to leave the case open with the airpods in it, then press the button on the back, in order to make them discoverable. Like all apple products they do sacrifice some discoverability in favor of a sexier minimalist look

When you bring an unpaired AirPods case close to a phone, all you need to do is open the lid. A photorealistic visual will appear on screen explaining what to do next. At this point, guided by the visual, you need to push the button on the back. If you can think of a simpler way, I’d give Apple a call.

With an iphone maybe so. But open the lid with the airpods inside. She couldnt figure it out.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#290

Post by operator-name » Wed, Sep 07, 2022, 10:27 PM UTC

hardwaregeek wrote: post #26

It's wild how much money Apple has made from Bluetooth headphones that don't suck. That's literally it. They're portable, pair easily and (somewhat) work with multiple devices. I have top of the line Bose Bluetooth headphones that still, in 2022, have issues with multiple devices. I can't count how many times I've started playing music on my iPhone only to realize that the headphones think my laptop is playing, so th…

If you have apple devices maybe. An acquaintance purchased a pair that was solely linked to his windows laptop and had a miriad of issues. This persisted with different device and was finally resolved when he switched to a different pair of Bluetooth headphones.

The issues you're describing sound more Bluetooth related, and given the above experience I suspect the experience would be just as bad on non apple devices.