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AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

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Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#321

Post by dougmwne »

sbf501 wrote: post #275

Long live the first generation ipod shuffle. It just worked. Now every gadget has so many "why is it doing this?" and "how do I make it stop doing ___?" that I've checked out entirely. Cords are hip again in my house.

I get what you mean, but I think the AirPods pretty well live up to the “it just works” magic of cords. The UI is deeply intuitive. We’re talking the easiest to use product of the most UX obsessed company on earth. I can understand being put off the cost for something that you will use for a few years then toss in the bin, but then again almost everything eventually become trash.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#322

Post by jbc1 »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #317

Honest question: how can folks justify spending $250+tax on a device that in just a year or two of significant usage will not be usable anymore due to degraded battery? I was gifted a pair and after two years the battery lasts less than one hour in playback mode, and just a few minutes in call mode. What a disappointment. Am I expected to spend another $280?! I also do not want to spend $50+ for a third party battery…

The more you use something the more it makes sense to spend on it, assuming your extra spending is getting you something. If you used them significantly for two years, it sounds like you got a lot of value out of them.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#323

Post by itake »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #317

Honest question: how can folks justify spending $250+tax on a device that in just a year or two of significant usage will not be usable anymore due to degraded battery? I was gifted a pair and after two years the battery lasts less than one hour in playback mode, and just a few minutes in call mode. What a disappointment. Am I expected to spend another $280?! I also do not want to spend $50+ for a third party battery…

I have used mine 2 hours per day for about 2 years and the battery still lasts about 2.5 hours of talk time.

I pretty much only use them to listen to audio books or meetings, since music leaves them dead for meetings.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#324

Post by celestialcheese »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #317

Honest question: how can folks justify spending $250+tax on a device that in just a year or two of significant usage will not be usable anymore due to degraded battery? I was gifted a pair and after two years the battery lasts less than one hour in playback mode, and just a few minutes in call mode. What a disappointment. Am I expected to spend another $280?! I also do not want to spend $50+ for a third party battery…

I use them everyday while working, for multiple hours per day and can expense them. They work better than other bluetooth headsets I've tried, and the noise cancelling is excellent in loud environments.

I'm willing to pay a premium for the convenience and seamless pairing to other Apple products I already have (Apple TV, macbook, iphone).

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#325

Post by X-Istence »

alistairSH wrote: post #221
X-Istence wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won some Beats X from a contest at a conference in 2017, and used them on and off for the first two years. After that they were my daily drivers for any and all workouts. They would get used at minimum 3 times a week for at least 2 hours, and then the last two years they would get used 7 times a week for at least 1.5 hours. The last year or so I had to charge them every three workouts, so the battery was lasting 4.…

I haven’t used an around-the-ear bud in many years. Do you think the Powerbeats Pro would work well under a bicycle helmet (where the straps typically pass just in front and just behind the ear)? I wonder if they have them open at the Apple shop - I could always swing by with a helmet and try. Have you tested how well the Flex pairs with multiple devices? That’s one nice feature of the AirPods, at least within the Ap…

The Beats Flex uses the Apple W1 chip, just like the Beats X that came before them. They connect/pair to all of my iCloud enabled devices and switch easily between them as well.

I have mine mostly switching between my Apple Watch and my iPhone, but occasionally my MacBook Pro as well.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#326

Post by askafriend »

killerdhmo wrote: post #297
askafriend wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not nuts - this has been a huge issue for a long time. It's what makes taking calls outside on a street so frustrating (or even turning on the faucet to wash a mug while on a call). It's weird because this wasn't an issue with the initial versions of AirPods firmware. But somewhere along the line, they tuned the firmware to introduce the issue you're describing.

Check your settings on your call that it is on Voice Isolation; there are three settings IIRC that tell the microphone what to focus on.

Oh wow, this is really helpful. I did a quick test and this seems to make a big difference!

For anyone reading: if you're on a call, pull down on control center and there's a Mic Mode setting that appears that you can change to "Voice Isolation". This setting won't be there if you're not in a call.

Here's an article that explains it: https://www.lifewire.com/use-voice-isolation-on-ios-15-52064...

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#327

Post by msbarnett »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #303
tomphoolery wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I’ve got the extremely well regarded Sony WH-1000XM4s. Getting them to switch between devices is an absolute pain in the ass compared to Apple’s fairly seamless handoff.

The custom Bluetooth processor seems to be letting Apple solve a lot of pain points that every other Bluetooth headphone just makes you live with.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#328

Post by askafriend »

pwpw wrote: post #286
happyopossum wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah I had a similar issue and the process was super painless. It didn't require going into a store.

They shipped you a box with a prepaid label where you put in your problematic AirPods.

Then they shipped you a new pair for free. Turnaround time was fast.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#329

Post by deanmoriarty »

celestialcheese wrote: post #324
deanmoriarty wrote: post #317

Honest question: how can folks justify spending $250+tax on a device that in just a year or two of significant usage will not be usable anymore due to degraded battery? I was gifted a pair and after two years the battery lasts less than one hour in playback mode, and just a few minutes in call mode. What a disappointment. Am I expected to spend another $280?! I also do not want to spend $50+ for a third party battery…

I use them everyday while working, for multiple hours per day and can expense them. They work better than other bluetooth headsets I've tried, and the noise cancelling is excellent in loud environments. I'm willing to pay a premium for the convenience and seamless pairing to other Apple products I already have (Apple TV, macbook, iphone).

To be clear, I would pay even $350 for them, if only I could remove the $5 battery and replace it cleanly. Or even bring it to an Apple Store and get a new battery for $30. It just feels such a robbery otherwise.

Re: AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

#330

Post by deanmoriarty »

jbc1 wrote: post #322
deanmoriarty wrote: post #317

Honest question: how can folks justify spending $250+tax on a device that in just a year or two of significant usage will not be usable anymore due to degraded battery? I was gifted a pair and after two years the battery lasts less than one hour in playback mode, and just a few minutes in call mode. What a disappointment. Am I expected to spend another $280?! I also do not want to spend $50+ for a third party battery…

The more you use something the more it makes sense to spend on it, assuming your extra spending is getting you something. If you used them significantly for two years, it sounds like you got a lot of value out of them.

To be clear, I would pay even $350 for them, if only I could remove the $5 battery and replace it cleanly. Or even bring it to an Apple Store and get a new battery for $30, in a similar iPhone workflow. It just feels such a robbery otherwise.
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