AirPods change volume with Siri only?!

[primolabo]

I venture to bet that even you don't get what people say to you 100% correct all of the time. And you are a live human. Asking a piece of silicon to do it is rather remarkable.

Every time I ask "hey Siri, set timer" it understands me. No internet connection required.

Let's wait and see how they work before crapping on everything. If it doesn't work we will have plenty of time to be negative. Why start before even trying it.

for me I wouldn't be satisfied even if siri worked 100%. many times I listen to music or an audiobook and need to stay silent. so I am very disappointed that there won't be a choice.

 

[coiled sring]

So, oddly after Apple said wireless is the future (but then included wired lightning headphones), I looked at these AirPods for my iPhone.

there are no actual controls on the headphones? If I want to change the song or even turn up the volume, I have to say "turn up the volume"??? Using Siri in public is awkward already, let alone saying "Turn it up" at the gym. Of course, I can reach into my pocket and use my iPhone too control but then there is no convenience.

Thoughts?

Have so say was going to buy but the lack of control is a major deal breaker. Don't have a watch as I work in ship yard and watch would smash in seconds. Still we can always do the usual and wait for version 2 next year.

 

[noobinator]

Definitely a deal breaker for me. I'm not talking to my airpods.

 

[coiled sring]

According to the reviews when you pull one of the AirPods out of your ear it pauses the music automatically.

pulling out an ear piece all the time isn't going to work for me, also how about turning down the volume..
Think you hear the boss approaching.. I'm going nowhere near my ears.. Stay cool.. SIRI VOLUME DOWN..
Shoot just got caught.
Exercising.. SIRI.. PANT.. WHINE..PANT.. NEXT.. PANT..PANT.. TRACK..
Siri replies "sorry there are no restaurants in your area"

Suppose there will be a new saying "If you air pods can understand you, Your not trying hard enough at the gym"

 

[swarlos]

From Apple's own website.

He's saying that there are NO controls on the Airpods themselves... you *MUST* either use Siri or physically use the iPhone/Watch. (Or iPod/Mac or whatever else they connect to)

My iPhone is out of reach 99% of the time, and my Watch takes too long to swipe/switch to the correct app and then pause/skip/change volume/whatever.

Two things turn me off with the Airpods.
1. zero physical buttons, or even taps (outside getting Siri to wake up) for Volume, tracks, pause etc.
2. they are Apple's crap ear buds, wireless.

Every time i'm forced to use them, i keep them as a spare if my bluetooth dies or I forget it, they WILL NOT STAY IN MY EARS. they fit so loose and the slightest movement makes them fall out. Why apple didn't add at least a little rubber of some sort to help them grab the skin better is beyond me, they wanted them to be super smooth and look cool! which makes them slippery.

Currently if someone wants to talk to me i just reach up and hit pause.

With the Airpods, someone walks up to talk to me:
I double tap one side, wait a second for Siri to wake up.
Speak the command.
Wait for Siri to respond and pause the music/audiobook etc.
THEN I can talk to the person without the distraction.

Now the charging case, I like. But my bluetooth lasts 8-10 hours of music now.. so that would also a downgrade.
And besides i paid $50 for my bluetooth, 3x more for less charge time and higher chance of losing them?... not worth it.

Just curious what Bluetooth headphones these would be.

 

[coiled sring]

Agree. Much nerd rage on display.

I'm intrigued by them. I'm planning on buying a pair, but I do want to see some legitimate hands on reviews first.

I agree but missing features are missing features.. They wont just appear. I was planning on buying a pair but no controls is a deal breaker for me now. Hopefully Version 2 will gain the missing features.

 

[mizzourah]

I have the Dash from Bragi and you can turn the volume up with swipes, pause it with a tap, and change tracks with double taps. You can even answer or reject calls by nodding or shaking your head.

have the same - love the dash except the battery life. Ugh..I don't think mine ever go into powersave mode because if I don't put them back in the case after using them for even 30 minutes, they are dead next time I go to get them. But they are truly wireless and convenient, if you remember to always re-charge them.

 

[frifra]

Why don't people wait till they are actually out to test the quality before calling them crap?

But where would be the fun then and the discussion?
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When I wrote that i had not seen the keynote. Curious though if you can use just 1 of them though..
but apple really should have made it easier to change track/volume though. Maybe in an update with taps etc.

Still not going to buy one with how badly they fit in my ears though, they would fall out with pretty much any movement. The EarPods refuse to stay in my ears, and these look to be the same size just wireless.

I will probably grab me a set of those skins someone posted above though, that could make the EarPods usable for me.

I am assuming they are still working on them and did not want to announce features which they are not sure about yet.

It could work the following way:

***right ear plug:

one tap: play/pause
two taps: next title
three taps: previous title
tap and hold: Siri

***left ear plug:

each tap: volume down
tap and hold: volume up

 

[noekozz]

Why don't people wait till they are actually out to test the quality before calling them crap?

Because the DAC is now built into the Airpods themselves. Chances are, unless you have an external dedicated DAC to fully juice the drivers, the sound coming out of the Airpods won't be much different than the wired earpods included with the phone.

If I had money to throw away I would probably get them for the cool factor, of course people are bound to lose these left and right as soon as they step out of their homes. Quick $159 down the drain, unless they come out with an adapter of some sort to secure them.

 

[HEK]

for me I wouldn't be satisfied even if siri worked 100%. many times I listen to music or an audiobook and need to stay silent. so I am very disappointed that there won't be a choice.

Looks like you will need to find other type. Perhaps what comes with iPhone 7. That has the controls on the cable.

 

[pika2000]

It's an interesting reaction. People start comparing this to cheap bluetooth earbuds.

At the same time, I am seeing lay people (not people reading tech blogs), couldn't wait to get this. Remember, many iPhone users are lay users. The Air Pods resolves one big pain on bluetooth earbuds, the pairing. Sure, you may not feel it's a big deal, but for lay people, pairing bluetooth devices are confusing. Heck, I know a smart person (but not a geek), complaining about having to press and hold a button when pairing his bluetooth mouse. He also doesn't like how his bluetooth devices need to be re-paired when switching host devices. The Air Pods fix this, at least within the Apple ecosystem. Another person I know, also a smart but non techie, can't wait to get his hands on these.

So we might think a $30 bluetooth headphones is fine. But hey, the lay people don't want to deal with that. People just want to do 1 step, and play. The Air Pods gives them the solution, and for some, the $160 is worth the convenience.

 

[Technarchy]

Which is truly sad when you can buy Bluetooth earphones for $20-$30 on Amazon and they sound better. Apple is out of their minds charging $140 for crap earbuds that happen to be wireless.

5hrs of use. 24hr rechargeable case. Touch Sensors. Noise reduction. Ear detection. Higher fidelity audio. More stable connection than Bluetooth. Automatic device detection.


What can you find for $30 that offers anything even close to the above?

 

[Beenblacklisted]

so wait i cant use them for a tv or computer ?, trashpods more like it

 

[Delolia]

BeatsX are for you Volum control, 8h battery, siri , Apple W1 and cheapest than Airpod

 

[urkel]

I am seeing lay people (not people reading tech blogs), couldn't wait to get this. Remember, many iPhone users are lay users.

Thats an interesting conclusion to come to. But I think a stronger argument could be made that these headphones aren't targeted at "lay people" at all, and are instead aimed more at the super Apple Enthusiasts.

- Quick pair is best for people with several Apple devices
- Heavy reliance on the fairly unpopular Siri system
- Fairly high pricetag
- Yet another accessory to carry around
- Yet another accessory to charge
- Premium pricing for a non-specific demographic

In the end then it doesn't seem to be the right fit for any category of people except Apple fans. Runners? No, it wouldn't last a run. Audiophiles? No, audio quality is too low. Kids? No, too expensive. Apple Fan that carries around accessories and has multiple Apple devices that they switch back and forth from several times a day? Yeah, everything about it kinda feels aimed right at us.



Personally, there is so much in the Air Pods that just looks awesome. But unfortunately it is in a design that once again seems to be designed by someone who spends most of their day in a large prestige animal-free white room, and not someone who actually would be running to catch a bus.

 

[lewisd25]

They should allow one tap on left AirPod for volume down, and one tap on right AirPod for volume up. Problem solved.

 

[frifra]

Imagine 4 people in the subway all wearing earpods:

Siri higher the volume, Siri next track, no Siri... stop it, Siri lower the volume, Siri noooo

Stop talking to my Siri, no you stop, stop talking so loud...

 

[primolabo]

however, if it's written "touch sensors" in the actual specification maybe it will work, all this tapping you suggest as a solution. I still have some hope.

for me, the huge advantage of airpods is their size. I have very small ears. they hurt after 4 hours with my bluetooth plantronics. these bragi ones are impossible to fit in my ears. so I would love to have airpods and operate them with touch.

one last suggestion - they should also be offered in black and silver! silver would look like some nice minimal earrings

 

[HEK]

Imagine 4 people in the subway all wearing earpods:

Siri higher the volume, Siri next track, no Siri... stop it, Siri lower the volume, Siri noooo

Stop talking to my Siri, no you stop, stop talking so loud...

My Siri is trained to respond to me only. On rare occasions it might answer my son. As his voice is close to mine, but that happens rarely. So far no one else has been able to activate my Hey Siri.

 

[QuarterSwede]

5hrs of use. 24hr rechargeable case. Touch Sensors. Noise reduction. Ear detection. Higher fidelity audio. More stable connection than Bluetooth. Automatic device detection.


What can you find for $30 that offers anything even close to the above?

How does any of that improve the user experience?
• Automatic device detection is better but it's hardly hard or takes long now.
• Ear detection: I've got that on my Plantronics Legend headset and while it's a neat feature I've never had an issue with any other headset that didn't have it.
• Higher Fidelity audio ... out of earphones that people have thus far said sound the same as the wired EarPods. Basically, adequate. This is the one I put most of he weight on. If it doesn't sound great it's simply not worth owning at that price point.
• More stable BT connection: does anyone really have a problem with that with current BT 4.1?
• Touch sensors: has anyone used any that worked as well or better than physical buttons? Skeptical.
• Rechargeable case: not exactly elegant. Decent solution at best and frankly I'm disappointed in Apple on this one as others have done it and it's something else to have to carry around.

The cool factor is definitely up there as they do look futuristic but they are simply overpriced for what's offered.

 

[7thson]

• More stable BT connection: does anyone really have a problem with that with current BT 4.1?

I've yet to uses Bluetooth earbuds that that work reliably when they don't have direct line of sight to my iPhone. I've tried Jaybird X2's down to $25 budget ones. They all have the same issue, even when it's on a belt designed to hold a phone while running. I've had better results leaving my iPhone on a table 4-8 feet away than in a front pocket while working out. If Apple can improve on this then that would be great. Even at 4.1 Bluetooth connectivity leaves much to be desired.

 

[gemnilocs]

Use your Apple Watch or pull out your phone to change song/volume.

Why is this even a question...

i was going to suggest using the apple watch to turn up volume order other things like skip to next song....but not everyone has the watch. but thats what i do

 

[mox358]

I'm torn between the Airpods or BeatsX at the moment. They both use the W1 chip so sound quality should be roughly the same right?

 

[QuarterSwede]

I've yet to uses Bluetooth earbuds that that work reliably when they don't have direct line of sight to my iPhone. I've tried Jaybird X2's down to $25 budget ones. They all have the same issue, even when it's on a belt designed to hold a phone while running. I've had better results leaving my iPhone on a table 4-8 feet away than in a front pocket while working out. If Apple can improve on this then that would be great. Even at 4.1 Bluetooth connectivity leaves much to be desired.

Weird. None of mine have issues. I've even got a POS Soundbot stereo BT headphones and they don't have issues. I mow my lawn with them on, do chores around the house and the iPhone in my front pocket. Zero connectivity issues.

 

[TheBacklash]

Just an FYI, but according to people who have used AirPods you can tap once to pause, twice for Siri.

this would be good. Still not buying them though.
My $50 BT headset works perfect, and have physical buttons for all I need. And they don't fall out... or run the risk of falling out of my ears and getting stepped on.
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If you took the time to watch the one minute movie you would note that tapping the ear pod twice answers calls.

And if you took the time to actually read the complaint..... ANSWERING CALLS was not the issue. PLAYING MUSIC/ADJUSTING VOLUME is.