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AirPods are now available

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Re: AirPods are now available

#551

Post by rplst8 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #431
rplst8 wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This should be the top answer. The product is simply not ready - as evidenced by a two month delay.

Is the two month delay evidence that the product is not ready now, or is it evidence that it was not ready two months ago? (This is a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer, because the answer is self-evident.)

Having watched the industry for 25 odd years, it just feels like the tech is not there yet. The short battery life, the less than stellar looks (cigarette butt ears) and whatnot.

Two extra months isn't going to fix that IMHO. If you are struggling to get a minimum viable product, it's worrisome.

Who knows though, maybe the problems they had were in the actual manufacturing of them.

Re: AirPods are now available

#552

Post by throwanem »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #183
throwanem wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How the hell do you turn that off? I'd love to know, because I'm not going to upgrade to iOS 10 until I'm sure it won't hose my phone, and I'm sick and tired of being bothered about it twice a day.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/iphone/how-stop-ios-nagging... Ridiculous, right?

Update: Looks like I owe you a beer, or your preferred alternative beverage! The email address in my profile is a good place to send details of how I may remit the requisite funds; or, if you're in the Baltimore area and want to pick a bar, a day, and a time, I'm good with that too. (Preferably not Fells, though; crowds of drunk twentysomethings and the occasional mugger aren't really my idea of a good time.)

Thanks again! That was really getting on my nerves.

Re: AirPods are now available

#553

Post by stuaxo »

Avshalom wrote: post #118
1_2__3 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's marketing copy, and then there's throw-up-a-little-in-your-mouth marketing copy. This is the latter.

Right, this isn't a world class entry into a nascent market. This is a pair of fucking headphones. A pair of headphones a month later than they should be that look exactly like their old headphones

Sort of like earrings you might see worn in star trek.

Re: AirPods are now available

#554

Post by makomk »

iddqd wrote: post #515
rconti wrote: post #473

Not airpods, but I've gotta plug my amazing Bose QC35. I've never owned (or seen the need for) noise-cancelling headphones, never thought I'd use wireless headphones. But the QC35 caught my eye with the built-in mic (probably on a day I had a phone conference). I bought them despite the steep $330 price, and haven't looked back. They're amazingly comfortable, the noise cancelling is best-of-breed, the battery lasts A…

I'm returning my pair of Bose QC35 today. The built in mic is terrible to the point I couldn't use it for video conferencing. Had to switch to the mic on my MBP to be intelligible. I haven't figured out if I like the noise cancellation or not. It leaks voices a lot, and when it's quiet there's a very faint constant background noise. Feels like I just replaced one noise with another. It also gives an illusion of a cha…

Some people like them because they leak voices a lot, so they cut out annoying background noises without getting in the way of conversations. Depends on your application, I guess.

Re: AirPods are now available

#555

Post by morgante »

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.

> most people who clip expensive accessories to their ears don't usually go jogging or commuting through very crowded trains/buses

Get on any rush hour subway in NYC and see how very wrong you are.

Re: AirPods are now available

#556

Post by krrrh »

theshrike79 wrote: post #530
krrrh wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your analysis is basically correct, but it should also include a time dimension. Apple likely has a version of the iPhone in development 1-3 generations out that absolutely will not have space for a wired headphone jack. They probably have also reasoned that future AR capability will require wireless to be usable. Apple has in the past reasoned that kickstarting an ecosystem of accessories and consumer behaviors earl…

Actually the iphone 7 is such a device. The space previously taken up by the jack is now used for the taptic engine under the capacitive home button. Also water proofing.

The iPhone 7 does take advantage of the saved space. I was envisioning very thin, by today's standards, devices, or eventually full AR, where maintaining a wired connection to the main device would be impossible or extremely cumbersome.

Re: AirPods are now available

#557

Post by ascagnel_ »

dawnerd wrote: post #409
refulgentis wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does that imply my USB C battery won't work with my new MacBook Pro? :(

It should charge. I have an Anker usb-c battery pack that I use to power my 2016 macbook.

Any battery with USB-A and USB-C ports (or just USB-C ports if you go out and get the USB-C to Lightning cable) that also supports USB-PD should be able to charge both your USB-C laptop and phone.

I ended up getting this battery [0] from Anker, and it's done a great job with my 2016 skinny Macbook and iPhone.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015FMV3JE/ref=oh_aui_deta...

Re: AirPods are now available

#558

Post by ascagnel_ »

rospaya wrote: post #511
tormeh wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the iPod took what was a technically good-enough product category and slapped on a UI that didn't suck. UI is often the most important part of a product, and basically only Apple really got it when it came to MP3-players.

Except Apple nicked the UI from Creative Labs. https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-settles-with-creative-for-10...

> The patent covers an interface that lets users navigate through a tree of expanding options, such as selecting an artist, then a particular album by that artist, then a specific song from that album, said Phil O'Shaughnessy, a Creative spokesman.

The software UI (especially as described by that spokesman) is somewhat obvious. That said, the hardware UI of the iPod (click-wheel) was miles ahead of what Creative and others were offering (D-pads).

Re: AirPods are now available

#559

Post by ashark »

nicky0 wrote: post #500
ashark wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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? :)

All the ones I've had have a timer mode that doesn't run the microwave itself. Handy when you need to time something in the oven and something on the stovetop.

Re: AirPods are now available

#560

Post by andrewaylett »

ishields wrote: post #144
andrewaylett wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My headphones (Plantronics) will connect to two devices at the same time. The controls interact with whichever was playing more recently, and an existing stream takes priority over a new one. So I can quite happily stop my music from my phone and start up a call from my laptop, then switch back, without re-pairing at all. If I did need to re-pair, it's as simple as picking the phone from the phone or laptop's recentl…

It's less about the process of pairing being painful and more about the amount of time it takes to pair. I also use a plantronics headset sometimes and it usually takes somewhere from like 15-60 seconds to actually pair up and have audio coming through. Vs the 2 seconds it takes for me to plug in a wired pair

The Backbeat Pros have a "nice" start-up chime. If you push the play button while it's playing that, it'll start playing music once the chime ends. Less effort and delay than untangling the cable and plugging it in (which is an option: I still keep the cable in my bag).

I'm also enjoying auto-pause when I take the headphones off -- no more fiddling for the pause button when someone wants to talk to me.

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