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AirPods are now available

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Re: AirPods are now available

#491

Post by tboughen »

chrischen wrote: post #481
apsdsm wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You really think that Apple removed the headphone jack to make a bit more cash? Seriously? Hand-on-heart honestly, you think that's why? Come on. Yes. And honestly, if you think a big company like Apple does anything without the motivation of making money, then frankly you're being starry-eyed and naive. Maybe if they were a little start-up or something, sure, I could buy that argument. But yes, I entirely, whole-h…

Of course apple is motivated by making money, but their profits come mostly from selling new devices, not pissing off existing customers by building features to squeeze cash out of existing customers. So do you really think they will jeopardize sales of their most profitable iphone devices to squeeze some extra cash from a niche earpod device?

Apple's justification for removing the headphone jack is that it helps make the iPhone 7 water resistant and thinner (so increases the premium feel). Both of these features add value so potentially raise the selling price. The lack of headphone jack makes a wireless audio solution necessary. Apple have attempted to turn this weakness into a strength with their new class of headphones (earbuds). Apple may seek to make these distinctive earbuds fashionable like the original white earphones of the iPod. Apply must surely have calculated that the additional profit from customers that gain value from the iPhone 7 plus earbuds outweighs lost profit from irate former customers otherwise their behaviour is irrational.

Re: AirPods are now available

#492

Post by wapz »

jws wrote: post #486
amlib wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what about the possibility of losing the earpieces? They don't have a cable and don't secure into your ear like a hearing aid or even a normal bluetooth device. If they are so comfortable to the point of the user "forgetting they are there" the rate at which people will lose these things might be huge. They don't dangle from a cable when falling like normal headphones or Bluetooth headphones that have a cable bet…

Western women are comfortable clipping far more expensive diamonds, pearls, and gold to their ears. Sometimes they fall off and you look for them. Sometimes you lose one. This is sad. Life goes on. (Apple has already said there will be a way to replace a lost single unit.)

This analogy is pretty bad because most people who clip expensive accessories to their ears don't usually go jogging or commuting through very crowded trains/buses. I don't think losing them is going to be the main problem of the airpods though. I think they're too early for their time but have potential in the future.

Re: AirPods are now available

#493

Post by [deleted] »

macintux wrote: post #303
rhizome wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be sure, if that's the definition of "magical" we're working with here, I'm not sure it reaches.

There are several more interesting features. The point is these are clearly not the same as the $20 headphones people keep comparing them against.

[deleted]

Re: AirPods are now available

#494

Post by MrQuincle »

SimpleMinds wrote: post #457
hobarrera wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Key synchronization via iCloud (makes pairing process simpler - and could make sharing process simpler as well - but is Apple-only) So you can't actually use these on your [non macOS] laptop? Wow, requiring two pairs of headphones certainly is a huge dis-qualifier.

I think that's the W1 chip reference - when you have multiple devices signed to one iCloud (mac, iphone, ipad?) you pair with one of them once, then for other devices they are "just there", in list of available devices. You don't need to separately pair with each one. Tiny but useful. Other than that they are normal BT headphones (I believe)

Yes, for Apple Homekit for example the long term keys for bonding are stored online, so this means you can access from a different device without the authentication process.

For headphones it doesn't make much of a difference. However, if you're manufacturing more devices that all needs to be setup and shared with multiple people it's a pity that the key deployment is Apple-only. That is, I don't know of an official way to get to the keys to get a seamless experience across vendors.

Re: AirPods are now available

#495

Post by Eric_WVGG »

wapz wrote: post #492
jws wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Western women are comfortable clipping far more expensive diamonds, pearls, and gold to their ears. Sometimes they fall off and you look for them. Sometimes you lose one. This is sad. Life goes on. (Apple has already said there will be a way to replace a lost single unit.)

This analogy is pretty bad because most people who clip expensive accessories to their ears don't usually go jogging or commuting through very crowded trains/buses. I don't think losing them is going to be the main problem of the airpods though. I think they're too early for their time but have potential in the future.

“This analogy is pretty bad because most people who clip expensive accessories to their ears don't usually go jogging or commuting through very crowded trains/buses”

Have you never seen anyone jogging or on a train or a bus?

Re: AirPods are now available

#496

Post by josteink »

> AirPods to deliver high-quality audio and industry-leading battery life in a completely wireless design. AirPods deliver up to five hours of listening time on one charge

5 hours and then I have charge them? That won't even last me a work-day.

Count me out.

Re: AirPods are now available

#497

Post by nicky0 »

FireBeyond wrote: post #62
arenaninja wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You missed "interact with Siri"

I'm genuinely curious to see how often Siri is used, and in what contexts. Not to be cynical, but to re-calibrate my barometer. The only person I know who uses it is my partner's nine year old daughter, and even then not often.

My most used:

"Set an timer for 5 minutes" is very handy.

"Open auto lock settings" etc gets you to nested prefs screens quickly.

"Remind me to..." for adding things to my OmniFocus inbox.

Re: AirPods are now available

#498

Post by Eric_WVGG »

amlib wrote: post #331
erikpukinskis wrote: post #304

I find this headphone war discussion a bit boring. The AirPods are much more interesting as Apple's first foray into augmented reality. If they add positioning, this product becomes Magic Leap without the visuals. I don't think they see this as a music device, they see it as a new platform for audio. Interesting things start happening when people start leaving one or both in their ears all day. Arrival times in your…

But what about the possibility of losing the earpieces? They don't have a cable and don't secure into your ear like a hearing aid or even a normal bluetooth device. If they are so comfortable to the point of the user "forgetting they are there" the rate at which people will lose these things might be huge. They don't dangle from a cable when falling like normal headphones or Bluetooth headphones that have a cable bet…

That’s the genius of the tic-tac case they come in.

My particular form of obsessive-compulsive behavior revolves around finding and losing things. One of my big life lessons is that things don't get lost when you have a place for them — the keys go here, the wallet goes here, the phone goes here, they never get lost.

If the Airpods never needed to be charged, or could charge wirelessly by being dropped on a magnetic pad or something, I fully expect that they would get lost all the time. But the tic-tac case is an integral accessory — when you're wearing Airpods, the case is in your pocket, and when you're not wearing Airpods, the the Airpods are in the case.

(I was sad when Apple stopped including docks with iPhones, those solved a problem that most people don't realize they have)

I think the number of people who lose these things will be surprisingly low.

Re: AirPods are now available

#499

Post by godzillabrennus »

beedogs wrote: post #468
amlib wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what about the possibility of losing the earpieces? They don't have a cable and don't secure into your ear like a hearing aid or even a normal bluetooth device. If they are so comfortable to the point of the user "forgetting they are there" the rate at which people will lose these things might be huge. They don't dangle from a cable when falling like normal headphones or Bluetooth headphones that have a cable bet…

They also have, as far as I'm aware, a pretty lousy battery life. They simply cannot be left in the ear all day; they'll need to be charged a couple times during the day.

That's what's going to hold up adoption. If we can't get a days usage out of it then many will hack together a wired solution, even if it's a battery on the other end.

Re: AirPods are now available

#500

Post by nicky0 »

ashark wrote: post #80
FireBeyond wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm genuinely curious to see how often Siri is used, and in what contexts. Not to be cynical, but to re-calibrate my barometer. The only person I know who uses it is my partner's nine year old daughter, and even then not often.

Sometimes I accidentally use it to search for directions, then switch to Google's voice interface when it (inevitably) fails and I realize what I've done. I don't like the errors voice messaging causes (you can tell when someone's sending texts with it), so I never use that. It's OK for setting alarms or timers but I've only done that a couple times because I always forget about it and do it manually instead, or (for…

You use a microwave as a timer? :)
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