Librepods: AirPods liberated • Hacker News Board

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#121

Post by ornornor » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 6:33 AM UTC

jitl wrote: post #58

phil21 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sony earbuds are about the best I’ve had for sound quality and noise cancellation. Much better than AirPods, but not nearly as nice integration with the Apple ecosystem. I find AirPods Pro 2 to be “good enough” where I gave away my set of XMs to someone who will actually use them. Call (mic) quality in AirPods is better as well, if that matters at all to you. At least that’s what folks on the remote end of calls…

I got the InZone gaming buds version which are supposedly very similar to Sony's WF-1000XM5 ( https://electronics.sony.com/audio/gaming-audio/all-inzone-h... ) I wanted to try out the higher-end wireless Bluetooth LE Audio and their USB-C transceiver, and I wanted something that would let me side-step the Bluetooth stack on my Steam Deck (AirPods are horrible and get lag on Deck after 30 mins; that one is Apple's fau…

I would not recommend wireless Sony earphones or headphones. I’ve owned three different models and in all of them the batteries failed after a few years. Check out the reviews there is an abnormal amount of failures. My conclusion is that while Sony is great at many things, they can’t do wireless headphones or earphones well and I steer clear.

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#122

Post by netsharc » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 6:38 AM UTC

bigiain wrote: post #98

firesteelrain wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t follow that either from the README and I read the README before coming to the comments. I have only used AirPods on iPhone and didn’t realize there were special features. Therefore like most I had zero context.

Did the subheading "AirPods liberated from Apple's ecosystem." and the first line of body text "LibrePods allows you to use AirPods features that are exclusive to Apple devices." not provide the required context? Or at least strongly hint that there is context that iPhone-only AirPods users might not know - and for whom this project is probably irrelevant?

Apparently too many people on this forum of "clever" people think "exclusive" means the whole functionality of Airpods, including audio, is restricted to Apple devices...

A limitation that would make a lot of economic sense for Apple to do!

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#123

Post by asimovDev » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 6:46 AM UTC

smokey5000 wrote: post #33

_kulang wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you either had a fake or more likely, couldn’t fit them properly

"you're holding it wrong"

in-ear monitors rely on you having a good seal in the ear to sound good. I wouldn't be surprised if ANC works worse if the tips didn't seal well

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#124

Post by asimovDev » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 6:47 AM UTC

qsxfthnkp2322 wrote: post #17

I miss good wired earbuds.

google IEM. Decent sound quality is very accessible, I have 20 dollar aliexpress Tangzu Wan'er and I prefer them to my airpods pro 3 for pure music listening

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#125

Post by bel8 » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:03 AM UTC

duped wrote: post #79

jamwise wrote: post #12

If I wasn't certain Apple will do their best to patch every avenue to this working in the future it might be motivation to buy AirPods.

Basically all the annoying shit I have to handle with my AirPods is made up by how good of a product they are. I have nice headphones, speakers, studio and other microphones, etc for a bunch of use cases. AirPods are my workhorse. I haven't found anything as comfortable with as good a battery life and as good fidelity and as good price. The active noise cancelling is also very good. And I'm an apple hater, in general…

Would you recommend those for someone with no Apple devices?

I'm thinking of gifting them to someone. But they are Android/Linux user.

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#126

Post by notsylver » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:11 AM UTC

OsrsNeedsf2P wrote: post #44

Dang, was hoping this would let me use Airpods as both speaker and headset at the same time on Linux

There is a PR for that https://github.com/librepods-org/librepods/pull/655

I tried it out, it seems to work well. Hopefully it's not blocked by patents

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#127

Post by jorisw » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC

jitl wrote: post #59

jamwise wrote: post #12

If I wasn't certain Apple will do their best to patch every avenue to this working in the future it might be motivation to buy AirPods.

Why would they try to make the AirPods a worse purchase? Apple is happy to let you run whatever operating system on your Mac -- they aren't actively hostile there, but they don't help the community either. Still, I would recommend the Sony WF-1000XM6 if you're not an Apple computer or phone user already. The UX is reportedly worse and a bit buggy, but the sound should be better.

> Why would they try to make the AirPods a worse purchase?

Why assume this is what they're doing?

Apple can only QA so much. To open up proprietary tacked-on features to a hardware ecosystem they can't control, opens up AirPods to be perceived as buggy on those devices, which isn't going to help the perception of quality of Apple products for non-iPhone/iPad users.

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#128

Post by jorisw » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:33 AM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #49

jamwise wrote: post #12

If I wasn't certain Apple will do their best to patch every avenue to this working in the future it might be motivation to buy AirPods.

Since the AirPods are an offline device, if you buy a pair now they should work indefinitely. But perhaps it would be better to reward manufacturers that don't make you jump through such hoops to use the hardware that you bought.

> an offline device

Until you or someone else pairs them with an iPhone and leave them sitting overnight. The iPhone will send them the latest firmware.

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#129

Post by jorisw » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:36 AM UTC

vlod wrote: post #38

I respect the work/hack involved. However why support a company (by buying airpods) that is this hostile. i.e. I wouldn't be surprised to see a patch to stop this.

What's so hostile about it?

They can't _add_ features on top of regular Bluetooth connectivity, that they choose to only offer on platforms they're able to fully control and QA ?

Is even just making a feature exclusive really that 'hostile'? A company can't offer benefits for going with several of their products?

Or you mean they _are_ hostile because you're _assuming_ they will try to patch this?

Re: Librepods: AirPods liberated

#130

Post by quinndexter » Mon, Jun 29, 2026, 7:37 AM UTC

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #93

emdash wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have yet to try a pair of earbuds with better active noise canceling than the airpod pro 2.

My Pro 2’s get so much use it’s ridiculous. Great cancellation and they’re always on my person thanks to the case perfectly fitting that tiny right pocket most mens’ jeans have (vestigial watch pocket?) and not taking up any primary pocket space.

Coin pocket.