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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#221

Post by eddieh »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #100
dt2m wrote: post #63

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...

Some people hate to be physically tethered to their desk from their head. Maybe wireless headphones have to be paired and charged, but that beats standing up an pulling your laptop to the floor while your headphones are jerked off your head. And nothing is better than being able to pace around while on a call.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#222

Post by the_snooze »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #100
dt2m wrote: post #63

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...

Wired headphones have an amazingly simple, reliable, and consistent pairing method with devices. Little kids and senior citizens can operate wired headphones with ease.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#223

Post by Wowfunhappy »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #190
xg15 wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The mobility, flexibility snd convenience of me still sitting on front of the same PC for eight hours?

I've got some Sony bluetooth / noise cancelling headphones, I don't like the lag but that's only an issue for videos and it switches to low latency (low quality) for voice calls. But I really appreciate not managing a cable, it's always in the way, or touching my arm or something (some sensory things really annoy me while sitting at a computer). Plus, great battery life. And it Just Works. Although my Mac has a tende…

> And it Just Works. Although my Mac has a tendency to switch back to my speakers (also bluetooth) after ~15 minutes without my input, that's really annoying.

So, what you're saying is, it doesn't just work!

I promise I’m not trying to be sassy! This is exactly the type of issue I always run into with wireless audio, and basically never experience with wired headphones. I hate these types of little, persistent annoyances.

I don't like wires either, to be clear, but I think they're a small price to pay for their reliability.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#224

Post by cochne »

dt2m wrote: post #63

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…

Almost all of the issues you described I have also experienced with AirPods.

Sometimes going into the Bluetooth menu and selecting them is not even enough to convince them to play audio from my phone. I had to get out of bed and turn off the Bluetooth on my laptop.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#225

Post by slingnow »

dt2m wrote: post #63

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…

So your argument for why Airpods suck is that "hey, everything else sucks too"? I thought Apple was supposed to be a shining beacon of simplicity, hence they should absolutely "just work".

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#226

Post by cainxinth »

dt2m wrote: post #63

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…

I bought my first pair of Airpod Pros recently. The previous two years I was using Bluedio T Elf 2 that I paid $17 for on Amazon. The sound quality and feature set is obviously much better with the Airpods, but not 10X better despite costing 10X the price.

The Bluedios were better for podcasts than music due to their middling sound quality, but they paired properly most of the time and worked without issue.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#227

Post by mojuba »

deltarholamda wrote: post #88
dt2m wrote: post #63

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…

As much as people hate wires, I have to say that I much appreciate the "just works" aspect of it. Even wifi, while it has improved an awful lot over the years, is not nearly as reliable as the (albeit annoying) ethernet cable. I have the same issue with wireless keyboards and mice. The idea that I have to charge or put batteries into my mouse is infuriating.

I usually keep my Magic Trackpad connected to USB because I know it switches to wired operation with no latency and 100% reliability. Also an option.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#228

Post by openknot »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #213
dimmke wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That also further increases the interoperability problem though, if I can't use my headphones with non-Apple devices even after going through the pairing dance. (Unless Apple uses some other open protocol, which I doubt!)

Yes, AirPods are currently surprisingly easy to switch from an iPhone to a Windows laptop (click open the Bluetooth menu and connect to AirPods), which is quite similar to the behavior I use to switch between AirPods and a Mac (I rarely use the "Switch to AirPods" notification on Macs that pops up seemingly-inconsistently).

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#229

Post by falcolas »

duxup wrote: post #210
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

I think it goes to show how much “just works enough “ consumers are happy to tolerate for wireless over other advantages of wired. I remember early consumer wi- fi was just garbage compared to wired and… we still used it happily. Granted sometimes we go back… my cars Bluetooth is so maddening I use a cable instead.

FWIW, the proliferation of video calls over my laptop has pushed me back to wired internet at my desk. Combined with wired headphones - I have so much less latency than any of my co-workers. It's nice to not have to play the "can you hear me" song and dance.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#230

Post by somehnguy »

I absolutely love my AirPods, so much so that when my original AirPods battery started dying early during meetings I bought a new set of AirPod Pro without even thinking.

That said, I experience all of these issues too. Another one to add to the list that I really don't understand. If I'm listening to a podcast on my phone and remove an airpod for a moment (to speak to someone or whatever) the podcast pauses as expected. But then putting it back in my ear there seems to be only about a 25% chance the podcast starts playing again. Most of the time I have to open the Spotify app back up and manually resume.

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