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All valid annoyances, but I really think OP should try using another brand of Bluetooth headphones for a week just to get some perspective of how well AirPods "just work" compared to the competition. Manually having to re-pair once in every blue moon, one earbud playing while the other isn't, no automatic device switching without having to go through the Settings app everytime, A/V desync, dodgy mic quality, earbuds…
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Honestly, the fact that I no longer snag my earphones on random protrusions, like doorknobs and bus ticket validating machines is a bliss. Cables inside at a desk: sure, why not. Cables outside: hard pass.
I agree, but the awkward "omg an airpod fell off after bumping into something/someone" is also a real thing. They should have an optional cord between the pair.
Something like this: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphones-bluetooth-momentum-f...
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I used to be like you. Then i tried, for real, a pair of bluetooth headphones. The disadvantages of the bluetooth is by far outweighed by the wireless advantage. The mobility, flexibility and convenience of no tangles and accidental wire pulling and causing phone to drop - all worth it. And wireless UX is only going to get better. Wired is dead.
It's also pretty much confirmed at this point that the next pair of AirPods won't be using bluetooth - which they will get a lot of shit for but is probably necessary to address a lot of these issues.
Moving to multiple Apple devices, the AirPods are amazing, but still suffer the annoyances OP mentioned. I can pair AirPods to phone and then move them to Mac for zoom, watch for exercise, tv for listening to content in kitchen not appropriate for younger kids. Being available across all those devices was automatic.
That said, the annoyances are real.
The weirdest situation I have had recently was some how getting the left AirPod connected to one device and right connected to a different device with audio and mics simultaneously working. Luckily, mute worked on both devices and didn’t have to speak to both at the same time.
There is a known correct way to do this in UIs: no large delays for UI state change, even if the underlying function takes a humanly perceptible duration.
Apple used to be good at this stuff, it's just attention to detail in UX... it's not like this is an area of opinion.
I really think that Apple is going to just drop Bluetooth audio at some point and make their own protocol, with Bluetooth perhaps being the "green bubble" fallback option.
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Airpods are insanely small and the outside casing is pretty much a single piece of plastic. I am all for right to repair, but it does not seem feasible or reasonable for AirPods - they’d have to be bulkier.
> they’d have to be bulkier Then make them bulkier. What's worse, filling the planet with garbage, or a few industrial designers having slightly less impressive portfolios?
All valid annoyances, but I really think OP should try using another brand of Bluetooth headphones for a week just to get some perspective of how well AirPods "just work" compared to the competition. Manually having to re-pair once in every blue moon, one earbud playing while the other isn't, no automatic device switching without having to go through the Settings app everytime, A/V desync, dodgy mic quality, earbuds…
Maybe that audio jack wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Admitting past decisions were bad is hard.
All valid annoyances, but I really think OP should try using another brand of Bluetooth headphones for a week just to get some perspective of how well AirPods "just work" compared to the competition. Manually having to re-pair once in every blue moon, one earbud playing while the other isn't, no automatic device switching without having to go through the Settings app everytime, A/V desync, dodgy mic quality, earbuds…
Y’know what headphones really did “just work” though? Wired headphones, circa 2017. Their battery life was infinite. You could “pair” them in seconds to any device with a headphone jack, aka any device, because we’re in 2017. Oh, and they were cheaper and better for the environment. Courage, indeed. And this is why I’m currently typing my comment on an iPhone 6S...