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AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

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Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#301

Post by DubiousPusher »

cafed00d wrote: post #152
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…

All of this has a super simple explanation: the shitty products always have org structures that treat software dev as shitty cost centers. It took a long time to realize that the most compelling devices have good, well maintained software. I don’t mean to say that software devs are geniuses or that these orgs have to hire the best of the best. No, they just need to create an org that prioritizes software dev. Low att…

I'm sorry but it's the case.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#302

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

js2 wrote: post #184
erikpukinskis wrote: post #3

I would love to buy AirPods one day, but I have just had too many experiences telling someone on Zoom they sound like they’re under water, and they say, “hold on a sec that’s my AirPods.” If Apple could fix that issue, this would be a nice product! Unfortunately I don’t know how Apple could ever signal to me that they had fixed that issue.

It's a limitation of Bluetooth's available bandwidth, especially with bidirectional audio. Apple added support for an improved speech codec, AAC-ELD, to the 3rd gen AirPods last year: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/10/introducing-the-next-... AAC-ELD support was also apparently added to existing AirPods Pro and Max at the same time: https://medium.marco.zone/apple-implemented-the-biggest-impr... I'm not sure whe…

> It's a limitation of Bluetooth's available bandwidth, especially with bidirectional audio.

I've often read this is the problem, but I don't buy it.

BTLE is up to 1 megabit. A high-quality audio stream is typically up to 320 kbps compressed. Voice can be compressed as low as 64 kbps and still sound as if the person is standing right next to you.

That's still less than 400 kbps, well under the 1 mbps BTLE supports.

So tell me...how is there not enough bandwidth?

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#303

Post by DubiousPusher »

tomphoolery wrote: post #281
epolanski wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 AirP…

There are a lot of alternatives noted for their performance. Jabra, Bose, Sony all have earned high marks from reviewers.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#304

Post by mh- »

bradstewart wrote: post #163
inasmuch wrote: post #55

A little off-topic, but … Does anyone else have problems with the current AirPods Pro dramatically prioritizing ambient noise (cars passing on the street, washing of dishes, etc.) over your own voice when on phone calls? This is a major problem with two pairs I've owned and with those owned by my girlfriend, brother, and pretty much everyone else who would humor me and test it out. My girlfriend and I have taken our…

Pretty much everyone at my company who has Airpods suffers from this, it seems particularly bad on Zoom for some reason (still happens on Google Meet, but less often).

Zoom's automatic gain adjustments aren't responsive enough in my experience. You can disable it and pick a manual level for mic input. But that's hardly a fix for this issue, of course.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#305

Post by dkonofalski »

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.

Nobody cares about the processors themselves but they very much care what they do. One of the biggest things I constantly hear about from others with AirPods is that they connect seamlessly to all their Apple devices and switch automatically as they use them. That's only possible because of these chips.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#307

Post by mh- »

hwbehrens wrote: post #154
dereg wrote: post #15

Adaptive Transparency is such a promising feature. I would love if transparency mode could eliminate the sound of noises like air conditioners, road noise, and construction while still being "transparent". It seems that, as of now, it's limited to loud noises only. I hope it at least eliminates the hear-loss-causing pops that occur when you have loud, brief clicking noises like that of a bug zapper. For older models,…

I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I use for 3D printing, and they have a similar effect on my AirPods. I wonder what could cause this interaction?

I would guess that your ears, and the microphone that the AirPods use for noise cancellation, have different ideas of "ultra".

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#308

Post by mh- »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #302
js2 wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a limitation of Bluetooth's available bandwidth, especially with bidirectional audio. Apple added support for an improved speech codec, AAC-ELD, to the 3rd gen AirPods last year: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/10/introducing-the-next-... AAC-ELD support was also apparently added to existing AirPods Pro and Max at the same time: https://medium.marco.zone/apple-implemented-the-biggest-impr... I'm not sure whe…

> It's a limitation of Bluetooth's available bandwidth, especially with bidirectional audio. I've often read this is the problem, but I don't buy it. BTLE is up to 1 megabit. A high-quality audio stream is typically up to 320 kbps compressed. Voice can be compressed as low as 64 kbps and still sound as if the person is standing right next to you. That's still less than 400 kbps, well under the 1 mbps BTLE supports. S…

Not disagreeing with you necessarily, but you should know that BLE and Bluetooth are (more or less) unrelated. Confusingly.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#309

Post by [deleted] »

dkonofalski wrote: post #305
epolanski wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Nobody cares about the processors themselves but they very much care what they do. One of the biggest things I constantly hear about from others with AirPods is that they connect seamlessly to all their Apple devices and switch automatically as they use them. That's only possible because of these chips.

[deleted]

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#310

Post by brundolf »

aqme28 wrote: post #232
8ytecoder wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve seen people minimize the usability of the AirPods. My dad who’s quite technology-averse, figured it out in 2 minutes while I helped him over FaceTime. The only reason he agreed to even try it was because the wired EarPods broke. Since then he just loves his AirPods.

This is Apple’s strength in general. Much easier for older folks to use.

Much easier for everyone to use. When I first got my AirPods, they were the biggest single piece of life-friction-removal I've gotten from a piece of technology since my first smartphone
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