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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#351

Post by kitsunesoba »

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.

This is my approach. At my desk? Sure, wired is fine. Even have a full DAC/amp setup (JDS Labs Element II) that I plug my trusty old Sennheiser HD6XX’s into.

While I’m up and moving around, or relaxing on my bed watching something on my iPad with a cat that has an inclination to chew on cables? AirPods/Bluetooth.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#352

Post by pessimizer »

swah wrote: post #132
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.

Ditto. And since we now wear masks at the office, one notices how wireless earbuds are "mask compatible" when you try using cabled ones.

Wired earbuds are amazing with masks. If you put them on before you put on the mask, when you need to take one off to hear something, the mask straps hold it conveniently hanging near your ear. A fumbled airpod rolling across the floor is not an improvement.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#353

Post by numpad0 »

StevePerkins wrote: post #55

I have a $200-250 pair of AirPod Pros, and a $40 pair of Tozo NC7's that I bought for a backup. The Tozo's get way more use, to the point where I regret buying the AirPods. Your ears may vary, but "dot" style earbuds are WAY more comfortable (and likely to stay put in my ears) than the "stem" style buds. The spatial audio thing turned out to be a pointless novelty that wore off quickly, and isn't even supported on ha…

AirPods are held on ears similar to how a wine glass should be held in hand. There is a opposing pair of protrusions in human ears, between which the stem goes through, and the flexion of that protrusions works against the force exerted by the bulb and hold earphones in place.

I don't understand why Apple went with that as a default; that part of my ears seems to have evolved so as not to catch debris, and EarPods-style earphones just comes off as they should. And it is not that likely I have a million in one ear leaf genetic subtypes.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#354

Post by Wowfunhappy »

hnburnsy wrote: post #303
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...

Agreed, but I wonder why all the complaints about wired headphones using a lightning\USBC 3.5 mm adapter. I don't find it obtrusive, and the iPhone (and many phones now) can be charged wirelessly when the adapter is in place.

It's a problem when I need to plug my headphones into anything that isn't an iPhone. Based on past experience, I expect I would loose the adapter.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#355

Post by hbn »

victorbstan wrote: post #342

I hope someone at Apple listens to these things. There are a lot of little things that can be improved in general regarding Bluetooth devices. Currently, if my MacBook restarts, I can’t use my Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to input my password, I have to use the built in keyboard. Using Logitech devices.

I don't know if it's the same for third party peripherals, but I know I thought this was the case for a long time with my first party Apple wireless keyboard + mouse, but it turned out it just didn't automatically connect on the login screen, and if I just hit any button on the keyboard it would connect in a second or 2 (I'm guessing that hitting keys while it's disconnected sends out a signal to pair)

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#356

Post by pwenzel »

jmacd wrote: post #254

There is something weird about the AirPods Pro product line. I think a lot of us who are very technology focused can appreciate the marvel of engineering that they are. Long battery life, excellent noise cancellation, the right weight, water resistant, etc. By many of my friends and my wife, all of who work in non tech fields but otherwise are 100% apple device people, all seem pretty much not impressed by them. For…

Thank you, I've had my eye on those and was searching this thread for just such a review!

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#357

Post by worldsayshi »

rodelrod wrote: post #87
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…

Maybe that audio jack wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Or maybe some people just need to fix their shit. Connecting audio devices to any OS, except maybe Android (dunno about iOS), is chaos. There is no inherently good reason to this.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#358

Post by pmelendez »

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...

> Y’know what headphones really did “just work” though? Wired headphones, circa 2017.

And you know what's a major annoyance right? Untangling wired headphones.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#359

Post by SXX »

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…

I used XM3 for 2 years on Linux, Windows, macOS and Android. I guess I used them for 4-12 hours a day most for most of these two years. I guess I spent at least 1/4 of this period with them on my head. And I dropped them many times, weared them during my runs on seaside in hot weather as well as walked in them inrain / snow.

They still work as good as new except for battery life, but this expected for device that had 500-1000 recharge cycles. I guess battery lost like 30-50% of original capacity.

PS: I only used Sony app a few times to update firmware and change settings though.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#360

Post by 323 »

InitialLastName wrote: post #329
323 wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You can't add it with a software update, but you could provide a modular phy (or continue support for older standards).

Not talking about you since I don't know, but a funny thing I noticed, is that people who are very loud about saving the environment are always the ones with the latest iPhone 13 Max/Macbook Pro M1 in their hands one week after it's released.
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