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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#811

Post by deltarholamda »

toxik wrote: post #275
deltarholamda wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as people hate wires, I have to say that I much appreciate the "just works" aspect of it. Even wifi, while it has improved an awful lot over the years, is not nearly as reliable as the (albeit annoying) ethernet cable. I have the same issue with wireless keyboards and mice. The idea that I have to charge or put batteries into my mouse is infuriating.

Don't mind me over here with a Ethernet dongle that randomly disconnects intermittently.

Heh, yeah, I had a Thinkpad with one of those PCMCIA cards that had the pop-out RJ-45 jack. It was great, but it was persnickety and would go "pfffbbblt" on the regular.

The best Ethernet dongle ever was the AAUI ones you used to have to use on old Macs.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#812

Post by asdff »

lqr wrote: post #777
asdff wrote: post #718

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

If by "unprotected" you mean "no green arrow", in what part of the LA area is it feasible to avoid unprotected lefts? They are all over the place in my neighborhood. If by "unprotected" you mean a left from a stop sign onto a street that does not stop, then I agree. They can be almost impossible. Waze was especially notorious for them a few years ago.

The latter I mean. "Take a left on pico from this stop sign, hold your breath and good luck, no one will let you in." Somehow google maps ignores these and prefers me to make a right out of a parking lot or a stop signed street and take my lefts at lights (or off the major arterial) seems like its just a simple set of rules you can apply to your navigation algorithm to avoid these entirely, but the fact that they are still there years later tells me the Apple maps designers really don't care too much.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#813

Post by asdff »

JoeJonathan wrote: post #773
asdff wrote: post #718

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

I hear you, though Google Maps still seems terrible with unprotected lefts in LA. Just yesterday, it directed me to make one one onto a six-lane road.

They seem rarer for me with Google maps. Imo I think rerouting is better with google maps as well. If I get an instruction like that I'll ignore it and turn right and Google will pick up a new routing before I get to the next intersection. If I do it with Apple it might ask me to do a u turn after a right turn and still try and make that left. To be fair I don't use apple maps at all anymore but I see it fail horribly whenever my partner uses their phone for navigation. Its missing a bunch of local businesses and restaurants and sometimes looses the GPS lock on the phone too (like assuming you are on the parallel road to the freeway and trying to route you back on rather than correctly assuming you are still on the 5 and didn't teleport onto surface streets)

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#814

Post by [deleted] »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #465

It's weird to me how many people are like "yeah but every other bluetooth is worse". I have Airpod Pros and experienced every one of these issues and many more on the regular with them, but my several years old now Bose QC 35II never have any of these problems, still last like 5 times as long on battery after years of recharge cycles, interact better with two simultaneously connected devices, have better signal range…

[deleted]

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#815

Post by wanderer_ »

Hokusai wrote: post #749
nsxwolf wrote: post #733

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like "workarounds become a reflex". This is a very succinct way of describing one of the causes of why people often claim to have no issues using something that universally has issues. A great example is the gaming PC vs gaming console war. PC gamers often seem to refuse to admit there's untold little quirks you have to deal with when using a general-purpose operating system and modular hardware to play games. They…

> there's untold little quirks you have to deal with when using a general-purpose operating system "Though initial iterations of the software for the original Xbox and Xbox 360 were based on heavily modified versions of Windows, the newer consoles feature operating systems that are highly compatible with Microsoft's desktop operating systems, allowing for shared applications and ease-of-development between personal c…

Yeah, there's something to be said for playing an online game in which everyone has the same exact hardware (mostly). This is coming from a person who occasionally plays competitive games on a 2012 Thinkpad and comforts himself when he loses by saying, "it's ok, their computer cost as much as a used car. Don't feel bad about losing".

Happy 10th birthday T-530, 1 decade and still trucking!

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#816

Post by deergomoo »

asdff wrote: post #718
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

The maps themselves are fantastic if you live somewhere covered by the latest round of updates. I think the business data will always be trailing Google Maps though. Google has their entire search engine to grab data, they crowdsource data via app notifications, and in cases where businesses are updating their own info it wouldn’t surprise me if they do it on Google Maps and just don’t bother anywhere else.

Siri does continue to be lame though. Driving is the one place I would want to use it for anything beyond timers and reminders, but I don’t dare because I can’t check to see if it’s doing anything dumb. Last time I tried to text someone while driving using Siri, it got picked up by my Apple Watch, which worked great, but also my phone, which picked the same message up and promptly sent it to a totally different contact.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#817

Post by hsbauauvhabzb »

fphhotchips wrote: post #762
withinboredom wrote: post #676

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait is there a device that can do stereo AND mic? I’m not aware of any and I’ve searched long and hard. AFAIK, there is no way it is possible with the current BT spec. Are you saying your Apple headphones can do that?

A quick look through Reddit shows that no, they can't. https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/kg3w4n/airpods_max...

21h2 and more recent versions of Linux allegedly add these codecs, but I don’t know how that played out in the real world

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#818

Post by hsbauauvhabzb »

asdff wrote: post #718
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #47

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

>The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. Like most of what apple releases lately. People claim apple maps is better now, but its still missing a lot of data around the LA area especially with local business that Google maps has no issue crawling, and generally shoddy navigational asks (like unprotected lefts). Siri has also gotten no better since its release 10 years ago now (wo…

I don’t care, I want google maps and I want the default to be google maps, but there’s no way of setting that, I even tried uninstalling apple maps and now when I click on addresses it prompts me to reinstall it.

Didn’t Microsoft get done for antitrust for similar dark patterns in the late 90s?

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#819

Post by NumberCruncher »

symlinkk wrote: post #660
COGlory wrote: post #635

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask why you purchased them in the first place? They seemed very obviously to not be a $600 product from their announcement.

Are there any other over the ear headphones that provide great sound quality, noise cancellation, pair with computers and smartphones, and have a solid mic? I’ve looked at the Sony XM1000’s and from what I understand there is some issue with Windows where if you enable the mic, it goes into some different Bluetooth mode that degrades the audio quality coming out of the headphones. Many wireless headphones are adverti…

Bose quite comfort 35 ii and the 700. We use them 4-6 hours a day due to covid homeoffice and couldn't be happier. IMHO if you want to have something better you have to switch to the studio section and give up the BT.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#820

Post by withinboredom »

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #817
fphhotchips wrote: post #762

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick look through Reddit shows that no, they can't. https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/kg3w4n/airpods_max...

21h2 and more recent versions of Linux allegedly add these codecs, but I don’t know how that played out in the real world

I think it’s mostly on the device side. Both sender and receiver have to have the codecs available. TBH, I just recently learned you can go into iOS Bluetooth settings and change the device type to “speakers” and use your computer (at least if your computer is running Linux) as a speaker. It’s freakin magic.
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