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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#311

Post by mckeed »

fsflover wrote: post #135
DoingIsLearning wrote: post #52

I would add to the list that it is environmentally negligent to allow for such a complex device to be near irreparable (specifically on battery replacement). Unless you are selling medical devices your electronics should never be thrown away because after-sales cannot swap a battery. Then again Google just dropped the Pixel 3 after just 3 years so this is clearly an issue with the consumer electronics business model.…

Related link: http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-airpods-repair-recycling-imposs... .

At least Apple pays to recycle them, which is more than most companies making devices like this would do https://onezero.medium.com/what-really-happens-to-airpods-wh...

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#312

Post by tjpnz »

>After several years of usage, my first two pairs of AirPods both developed a buzzing noise which became unbearable. The only solution I found was to buy a new pair.

Is that really acceptable for premium headphones? My Bose QC25s continue to work fine after almost eight years of daily use. I realise that there's more which can go wrong with the AirPods, but two (?) years isn't much at all. The author should've taken the issue further rather than just giving Apple more money.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#313

Post by 323 »

InitialLastName wrote: post #308
323 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many people do you see using 2010 smartphones with replaceable batteries? Or put another way: people throw away phones after 3-4 years regardless of if you can replace the battery or not. You can pretty cheaply replace the battery in any phone at a repair shop. But people don't want that, they want the new phone with new look and new features.

How many 2010 smartphones are still getting security updates, or updates that let them work with modern network standards? LTE was only barely available in 2010, and 3G is almost gone now.

LTE/5G is a hardware thing, you can't add it with a software update. Yet another point that it's not the sealed battery which is the problem.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#314

Post by namelosw »

I'm using AirPods Pro & Max and multiple Macs. They're frustrating sometimes, but still substantially better than most Bluetooth devices especially Bluetooth headphones.

Bluetooth is such a crappy technology that blocks for better wireless implementations we could have.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#315

Post by strogonoff »

openknot wrote: post #265
chii wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 isolatio…

Having cycled through WH1000XM3, XM4, AirPods Pro, I am back to my trusty Shure SE215 that I use wired.

— They never deafen me with connected/disconnected sounds (which can never be configured quiet enough) or music briefly playing at insane volume after switching or connecting.

— I know I get the source quality.

— I would never lose one randomly (always a chance with “true wireless” models).

— I don’t get weird phased low-frequency rumble from active noise compensation gone wonky.

— Most of all, their passive noise suppression with Shure’s black sleeves, depending on exact noise profile either beats or is on par with top-of-the-line active isolation (both according to rtings’ test benches and my subjective experience), and does not end when battery runs out inevitably at the most inconvenient time.

Addendum: 1) I connect them via a tiny Ikko Zerda DAC, which I started using way back when I still had a phone with a headphone jack (this is subjective, but with lossless sources I hear more detail—as in literally small instrument parts I didn’t hear before in complex arrangements—compared to built-in DAC). 2) I generally pass the wire under the top layer of clothing, and personally taking an earbud out and letting it dangle is about as difficult as switching on the transparent mode on AirPods (and without audio degradation inherent to such modes).

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#317

Post by ziml77 »

thebean11 wrote: post #234
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!)

I hope it's an open protocol that operates on WiFi spectrum. Every implementation of Bluetooth is horrible, and you start to wonder if the Bluetooth spec itself is the issue..

I hope you mean the 5 or 6GHz range. Bluetooth already runs at 2.4GHz, but that frequency band is cluttered as all heck.

An open protocol would be excellent though.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#318

Post by neutronicus »

jeffwass wrote: post #297
neutronicus wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and Bluetooth phones / buds are much better for running. I used to jerk my wired earbuds out of the jack all the time.

Do you wear a headband or something else to secure them? I haven’t tried running with my AirPods yet, as I feared they would eventually fall out.

I have Pixel Buds and I haven't tried running with them yet (it's been cold since I got them for Christmas).

I used to run with Bluetooth over-ear headphones, which was great in winter, and, uh, less great in summer (the foam would get completely soaked and foul-smelling).

The ear supports on the Pixel Buds are pretty secure, though, I expect it to be OK, especially at my pace.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#319

Post by ashtonkem »

falcolas wrote: post #229
duxup wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I did that until I updated the wifi in my house. There’s a combination wired/wireless wire plate under my desk, but I don’t bother wiring it into my work computer, because the wifi is faster than what the cheap USB C adapter can offer.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#320

Post by writeslowly »

thebean11 wrote: post #245
KptMarchewa wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WH-1000xm3 sound much worse when wired. They are made to use internal DAC.

Wouldn't wired use the DAC on the device rather than the headphones? I thought the 3.5mm jack carried an analog signal.

Those Sony headphones do processing to the signal regardless of whether you're using wireless or a 3.5mm. They can still make sound with no power but it feels more like a backup in case the battery is dead. It seems like a sensible design decision given that most users will want them turned on for noise canceling even if they're wired.
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