Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#61

Post by loxias » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:20 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #10

AsyncAwait wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am too, but most people probably listen to these class of headphones for ages, so they're not even aware/in need of something better. The fact is, the AirPods are like a $25 headphone packed into a $150 wireless case.

I lose my headphones often enough that I balk at anything about $15. I'd probably be quite happy with the Airpods' quality... ... right until I dropped one onto the subway tracks.

> balk at anything about $15.

Check out the Sennheiser HD 202! they're around 30 bucks last time I checked and great fidelity and durability for the price.

edit: ok ok sorry you're right, $15 > $30 "heck, it's even twice as much!" i guess my point is that there are things that won't break the bank that sound way better than you'd expect, that's all. :)

edit2: Oh, and i _ALSO_ frequently break or lose mine, that's why I don't like spending more than the 30 bucks. ;)

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#62

Post by bsagdiyev » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:21 PM UTC

MBCook wrote: post #34

bsagdiyev wrote: post #20

Do the comments on this seem a bit weird? See: http://i.imgur.com/AZe6fCF.png

It's hard to say. I have a pair and I really do love them. I've heard a number of people on podcasts I listen to call them their favorite product Apple has released in years. It could be real.

Yeah I definitely won't discount that, it just seemed interesting that they said basically the same thing a minute apart.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#63

Post by aphextron » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:21 PM UTC

To any of they naysayers, I'd say survey the competition for AirPods. They are far beyond anything else available in terms of ergonomics and battery life for wireless earbuds. Audio quality is less of an issue in the first place if you're talking about Bluetooth anyways. Audiophiles should stick with wired.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#64

Post by Nullabillity » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:21 PM UTC

And suddenly Apple's usual marketing strategy makes a whole lot more sense.

Price it high enough that nobody who has to care about money would buy it, and make it crappy enough that nobody who cares about quality would buy it.

And, apparently, it seems the people who aren't filtered by that will say anything is the second coming of christ as long as it comes in a shiny enough box.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#65

Post by meursault334 » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:21 PM UTC

post_break wrote: post #45

meursault334 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a case where these might actually make sense for me. I hadn't thought about the lack of cord making them more usable underneath hearing protection. Any experience with my number one reason not for buying them which is the fear of losing them?

Why not get the Bose QC35s then? Much longer battery life, tune the world out.

I haven't liked active noise cancellation in the past. For office work I tried an old Bose quiet comfort (10 years ago) and decided I much preferred Sennheiser HD 280s for isolation.

Also I've heard bad things about the microphone.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#66

Post by baronvonsp » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:22 PM UTC

pwthornton wrote: post #12

smnscu wrote: post #3

I don't doubt the ergonomics are amazing, but it's somewhat surprising to me that people are happy with such mediocre audio performance.

Audio quality on them is average, not bad, but their strengths balance out those weaknesses. In particular, I find myself using headphones more often now because I always keep these in my pocket. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts with them. Apple AirPods are the real deal. Best new Apple product in years.

Totally agree. There's a lot wrong with them[1], but the audio is good enough and overall I find myself using them way more often than the EarPods so there's some proof in the pudding.

[1] - BT just isn't great tech and there's odd interference/cutout, often around cars; open-case-near-phone-for-battery-level is clunky and inefficient; double-tap to play/pause (voice control for audio control is just non-sensical to me) often doesn't work if it's been more than a few minutes, and seems to prefer opening the Apple Music app which I never use

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#67

Post by MBCook » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:22 PM UTC

tedmiston wrote: post #51

minimaxir wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have an Apple Watch, you can control audio/volume from there. (having the Now Playing complication helps too)

I don't have a watch myself... I've been pulling out my iPhone and doing all of the controls there. Not sure if my AirPods are defective, but I'm getting a successful detection from a tap on the AirPod sensor maybe 1/3 of the time.

Mine are about 100%, but it does seem to require a decent little thunk. You can't just touch it. I've heard people say they don't like it because it feels uncomfortable in your ear when you hit it hard enough. It doesn't bother me but I'm not going to say it feels good.

I don't think it's capacitive, I think it's based on the little chip's gyro sensor.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#68

Post by ForrestN » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:22 PM UTC

smnscu wrote: post #3

I don't doubt the ergonomics are amazing, but it's somewhat surprising to me that people are happy with such mediocre audio performance.

For almost all consumers who have never owned super fancy headphones the sound quality is great.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#69

Post by glhaynes » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:22 PM UTC

minimaxir wrote: post #35

tedmiston wrote: post #17

> New Experian survey explores consumer satisfaction with AirPods and other voice-first hardware > Conversational user interfaces are now mainstream. I really like my AirPods, but... this is a strange comment to make about them. The Siri integration / audio controls is the most awkward part of using AirPods. Honestly really hoping they revisit in v2.

If you have an Apple Watch, you can control audio/volume from there. (having the Now Playing complication helps too)

There's not a Now Playing complication, is there? I hope I'm just missing it somehow because it'd be my most used complication by a long shot.

Re: Apple AirPods satisfaction at a remarkable 98% for customers

#70

Post by stcredzero » Mon, May 01, 2017, 9:23 PM UTC

Nullabillity wrote: post #64

And suddenly Apple's usual marketing strategy makes a whole lot more sense. Price it high enough that nobody who has to care about money would buy it, and make it crappy enough that nobody who cares about quality would buy it. And, apparently, it seems the people who aren't filtered by that will say anything is the second coming of christ as long as it comes in a shiny enough box.

And suddenly Apple's usual marketing strategy makes a whole lot more sense.

Price it high enough that nobody who has to care about money would buy it, and make it crappy enough that nobody who cares about quality would buy it.

Turns out that the Beats acquisition was the right move!