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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#261

Post by rattray »

toyg wrote: post #177
yoz-y wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Aftershokz Aeropex, silly name aside, is a decent product that gets you a Bluetooth device you can wear all day without losing

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#262

Post by toxik »

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...

Cars these days are the same -- you know what didn't need fancy pants computer tools to diagnose? Horses. Let's bring back horses.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#263

Post by matthewdgreen »

shaunpersad wrote: post #239

Airpods are by far the worst Apple product I've ever owned, for all the same reasons the author listed. I genuinely don't understand how they can still say they Airpods are "fantastic" and "wonderful". I would say on average I encounter these issues 50% of the time. Most of my day is doing Zoom calls and either myself or the other party (using Airpods as well) will spend the first 30-60 seconds either switching out f…

Airpods work wonderfully compared to previous headsets! Apple vastly improved the pairing process and reliability over previous products.

What Apple needs to polish is the multi-device support. If you're going out for a walk with your phone they will work (nearly) 100% of the time. If you have a Mac and a phone and are switching back and forth for Zoom calls, they will reliably annoy the crap out of you. Before WFH I assume Apple thought this was an edge case, not something we'd be doing for hours each day.

PS Google Meet deserves some blame here, too. I often end up with "Airpods for output, Mac speaker for input" and this is entirely due to Meet's burying these weird defaults in a Settings menu.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#264

Post by Wowfunhappy »

criddell wrote: post #250
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...

> Their battery life was infinite. That's true, but only because they used your device's battery. It takes more power for your phone to drive headphones than it does to transmit a bluetooth signal. This is not such a big issue any more since recent phones have crazy long battery life as do recent bluetooth headphones. In 2017 it was a bigger issue.

> It takes more power for your phone to drive headphones than it does to transmit a bluetooth signal.

...are you sure? And, is that still true even once you consider the extra encoding the phone’s CPU has to do?

I was under the impression that conventional 3.55mm jacks output exceedingly little power...

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#265

Post by openknot »

chii wrote: post #156
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 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.

>The mobility, flexibility and convenience of no tangles and accidental wire pulling and causing phone to drop - all worth it.

You can thread the wired headphone/IEM cord under your shirt, or even over your ear and down your back [0] to prevent tangles and wire pulling that causes a phone to drop.

It's less convenient than wireless earphones, but it solves the problem, and comes with advantages (better noise isolation and sound quality with certain models, plus you don't need to worry about the batteries degrading and having to buy a new pair after possibly 2-3 years, so you save money). I'm considering switching back to wired after my current AirPods pair dies for these advantages.

>Wired is dead

Not at all. You can get high-quality, professional earphones (in-ear monitors or IEMs) that fit in a pouch in your pocket, which are great for people in loud environments (better than noise cancelling due to their noise isolation); who appreciate music (sound quality is noticeably better for any genre); or who do professional audio work.

[0] https://imgur.com/QOSNA9T

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#266

Post by criddell »

dspillett wrote: post #203
nisegami wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Use the right tool for the job. Sometimes that's wired headphones. Sometimes that's bluetooth headphones.

Though being able to use the right tool, in circumstances where that is a wired set, can be a problem on some platforms.

The "right tool" might be an adapter or hub.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#267

Post by philistine »

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…

Hopefully all those problems will go away one day. Apple is rumoured to be working on a new wireless connection to achieve lossless quality, which would mean a more modern interaction. The Airpods don't solve any Bluetooth problems, they hide them.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#268

Post by CalChris »

yoz-y wrote: post #113
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...

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.

Yes. Mobility is why I got the Air Pods Pro to begin with. I don't use them with my Air and I don't even want them to pair with my Air; wired ear buds are fine (and cheap!) for that. But they're great for walking and working out. The Air Pods Pro even stay in my ears while erging.

Still, the OP's complaints are valid. But when they work, which is most of the time, they're great. Surprisingly (but not insanely) great.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#269

Post by visarga »

My AirPods2 switch to low quality audio - they sound like a 5$ pair of phones, presumably on account of the microphone being activated.

I am very disappointed, already looking for my AirPods1 to replace it. It's just not as easy to use as the old ones. They fall off my ears, they die suddenly with no warning (old ones were better in this regard).

I mean, Apple makes the AirPods, Apple makes my laptop, so why don't they ... you know ... make sound? They fail at performing the main functionality.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#270

Post by thebean11 »

toastal wrote: post #109
Graffur wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Android and bought the cheapest wireless/bluetooth earphones I could find. They "just work". When I open the charging case, they connect to my phone. The bad points are the sound quality and the lack of noise cancellation

Additional anecdote, I have Sony XM3s and they are constantly having issues on both Android and Linux while being expensive and having excellent noise cancelation. They just worked for like the first 2-3 months but after a year, they've seemed to have gotten worse in basically all aspects (although interestingly switching from Sony's app to GadgetBridge for pairing and config, I seem to get better battery life). The…

All Apple laptops have a 3.5mm headphone jack though..not sure you can blame Apple.
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