AirPods have restored my faith in Apple

[JoEw]

I impulse bought the new AirPods on BB the other day and they shipped overnight. After a few days with them here's what I can say.
1. Battery life is terrific, 5 hours doesn't seem like a long time until you realize that when you drop them into the case in just 15 minutes they are juiced back up for you. This keeps the battery "topped off" at almost all times. Very clever approach to this.
2. They're light, and that's a good thing if they fall out they don't take as hard of a hit on the ground. Also because of how light they are and the lack of chord they stay in my ears much better than EarPods did.
3. The automatic pause when you pull out a headphone is more useful than you realize, it has eliminated a step of having to pause what's playing when I talk to people, my favorite feature. Very intuitive.
4. The mics do a great job of picking up my voice, no one has noticed I'm talking on AirPods over phone calls. I've also found Siri has no problem hearing my requests, so accurate I had to leave my phone in another room to ensure my iPhone mic wasn't being used somehow.
6. Range is incredible, by far the best range I've gotten with a Bluetooth set, I truly do feel free walking around my house with these on. But it's not magic walk around a sharp corner you will loose connection, but it reconnects instantly with no trouble when you walk back in range.
5. They sound good, much better than EarPods. I'm not an audiophile but I can tell when lows and highs just don't hit like they should, these have impressive range. Obviously not pair of can's headphone quality but noticeable enough I don't like listening on my old EarPods anymore.

The drawbacks
My only gripe is using Siri to control playback, I'd love the option to assign the left to volume up on tap and right volume down or skip track. I don't know a good solution otherwise but if you have an Apple Watch like I do, the controls have shifted to that screen anyhow so my phone can continue to stay in pocket on commute.

Back to the title, this product is the first in awhile I've seen come out of Apple and truly has exceeded my expectations. You can say they're just headphones but they play to all of Apples strengths and products like this remind me what makes me come back to Apple it's all the little thoughts. I own many other headphones and speakers that are Bluetooth and all of them now feel like a hassle to deal with. I find myself preferring to just use AirPods for everything. That's the feeling I love getting from Apple.

I'd love to see the AirPods iCloud pairing expand to my Apple TV as well in the future, no wires means I can comfortably lay in bed with these on.

My two cents, go give them a try.

 

[44267547]

Nice review. Mine will be here next week.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Good review!

Not sure I'd lost my faith in Apple overall, but the AirPods experience is indeed restorative.

It's comforting to learn that our realm's supply of magic unicorn breath has not been completely exhausted (pardon the pun).

 

[dotnet]

5. They sound good, much better than EarPods. I'm not an audiophile but I can tell when lows and highs just don't hit like they should, these have impressive range. Obviously not pair of can's headphone quality but noticeable enough I don't like listening on my old EarPods anymore.

I agree, they sound better than the EarPods. The AirPods are still not excellent in that regard but they don't have the telephone sound of the EarPods. They lack the lower-mid bump that makes violas and cellos drone and hard to bear, and they give acoustic instruments somewhat better definition and authenticity. The AirPods also have the beginnings of a sound stage, the music doesn't cling to the pods as much as with the EarPods. The AirPods seem to be one click of the volume buttons quieter than the EarPods (Lightning).

I'd love to see the AirPods iCloud pairing expand to my Apple TV as well in the future

I wonder why this wasn't included. I could pair them with the Apple TV like any Bluetooth audio device (had to push the button on the charge case), but this should have been automatic. Perhaps a future Apple TV update will fix this.

Taking an AirPod out of the ear pauses video playback, as expected.

 

[Channan]

I impulse bought the new AirPods on BB the other day and they shipped overnight. After a few days with them here's what I can say.
1. Battery life is terrific, 5 hours doesn't seem like a long time until you realize that when you drop them into the case in just 15 minutes they are juiced back up for you. This keeps the battery "topped off" at almost all times. Very clever approach to this.
2. They're light, and that's a good thing if they fall out they don't take as hard of a hit on the ground. Also because of how light they are and the lack of chord they stay in my ears much better than EarPods did.
3. The automatic pause when you pull out a headphone is more useful than you realize, it has eliminated a step of having to pause what's playing when I talk to people, my favorite feature. Very intuitive.
4. The mics do a great job of picking up my voice, no one has noticed I'm talking on AirPods over phone calls. I've also found Siri has no problem hearing my requests, so accurate I had to leave my phone in another room to ensure my iPhone mic wasn't being used somehow.
6. Range is incredible, by far the best range I've gotten with a Bluetooth set, I truly do feel free walking around my house with these on. But it's not magic walk around a sharp corner you will loose connection, but it reconnects instantly with no trouble when you walk back in range.
5. They sound good, much better than EarPods. I'm not an audiophile but I can tell when lows and highs just don't hit like they should, these have impressive range. Obviously not pair of can's headphone quality but noticeable enough I don't like listening on my old EarPods anymore.

The drawbacks
My only gripe is using Siri to control playback, I'd love the option to assign the left to volume up on tap and right volume down or skip track. I don't know a good solution otherwise but if you have an Apple Watch like I do, the controls have shifted to that screen anyhow so my phone can continue to stay in pocket on commute.

Back to the title, this product is the first in awhile I've seen come out of Apple and truly has exceeded my expectations. You can say they're just headphones but they play to all of Apples strengths and products like this remind me what makes me come back to Apple it's all the little thoughts. I own many other headphones and speakers that are Bluetooth and all of them now feel like a hassle to deal with. I find myself preferring to just use AirPods for everything. That's the feeling I love getting from Apple.

I'd love to see the AirPods iCloud pairing expand to my Apple TV as well in the future, no wires means I can comfortably lay in bed with these on.

My two cents, go give them a try.

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5?

ô_ō

 

[2298754]

I like the concept of AirPods, but I would rather see Bose/B&O/etc use their licensed technology. The AirPods look awful

 

[AdonisSMU]

I like the concept of AirPods, but I would rather see Bose/B&O/etc use their licensed technology. The AirPods look awful

They all look awful tbqh. Bose/B&O/etc are no different. I hate to burst your bubble..but they all look terrible.

 

[JoEw]

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5?

ô_ō

Haha it was a bit late last night when I wrote this
[doublepost=1482720825][/doublepost]

I like the concept of AirPods, but I would rather see Bose/B&O/etc use their licensed technology. The AirPods look awful

That was my initial worry too, but walking through downtown most didn't even notice I had them on. The strength AirPods have is that there are literally millions of EarPods in the wild for a decade or so now. So in a way they blend into the background.

 

[urkel]

.
Back to the title, this product is the first in awhile I've seen come out of Apple and truly has exceeded my expectations. You can say they're just headphones but they play to all of Apples strengths and products like this remind me what makes me come back to Apple it's all the little thoughts. I own many other headphones and speakers that are Bluetooth and all of them now feel like a hassle to deal with. I find myself preferring to just use AirPods for everything. That's the feeling I love getting from Apple.

While I agree that the AirPods are on of those products that make you think of the innovative and inspiring Jobs-era Apple. It does also have the crushing Jony Ive stamp of over-simplification.

When talking about the tech involved then I really love these things. But the moment you want to change the volume or skip a podcast commercial then you start missing those physical buttons. Now, I'm not saying we needed big switches glued on here. But it would've been nice to have some physical touch gestures implemented as options. Because, while relying on Siri does address some issues, Siri just isn't reliable enough to implement into a task as simple as... "volume up".

I'm happy that these exist, but I'm hoping the AirPods 2 come out with more thought put into actual function. Also, these should come in black.

 

[mikemj23]

They all look awful tbqh. Bose/B&O/etc are no different. I hate to burst your bubble..but they all look terrible.

Agree on this. I have Bose Wireless Soundsport and while they sound good they are huge sticking out of my ear. Plus you have to use the clip on them so they don't pull while using them.

It's funny to consider what is "wireless" now that I have Airpods. The Bose haven't seen the light of day since getting the Airpods.

 

[dannyyankou]

I went in with low expectations but I'm really impressed with them. Sound quality was better than I thought. Battery life isn't an issue because you're charging them when you're not using them, and they last the whole day. I really love the auto-start auto-pause feature too.

I just wish there was a way to set it up so that one tap pauses the music and two taps activate Siri, I wonder if that could be added in an iOS update.

 

[AppleRobert]

Well the gear icon x don't like awful imho but I rather have the connection and battery life of the Airpods.

 

[The Game 161]

I think apple will have great success with the air pods. Most reviews are very good and i can see alot more buying them as the year goes on next year. They will become more common and wires will be more a thing of the past very soon.

 

[ipedro]

While I agree that the AirPods are on of those products that make you think of the innovative and inspiring Jobs-era Apple. It does also have the crushing Jony Ive stamp of over-simplification.

When talking about the tech involved then I really love these things. But the moment you want to change the volume or skip a podcast commercial then you start missing those physical buttons. Now, I'm not saying we needed big switches glued on here. But it would've been nice to have some physical touch gestures implemented as options. Because, while relying on Siri does address some issues, Siri just isn't reliable enough to implement into a task as simple as... "volume up".

I'm happy that these exist, but I'm hoping the AirPods 2 come out with more thought put into actual function. Also, these should come in black.

The lack of controls on AirPods was a problem for me for about 2 days. Then I realized that they were really built with Apple Watch in mind. If you don't own an AppleWatch, then you're definitely missing a part of the experience.

When I'm listening to music on my AirPods, the Music app stays on by default on my AppleWatch. The Digital Crown changes the volume even with the screen off. I can just reach to my wrist and glide my finger across the Digital Crown for precise volume control. While listening to a podcast, I can jump forward or back 15 seconds or skip to the next episode entirely. Or if I'm listening to an album, I can scroll through the track list and pick my next song.

There's your inline controls. They're far more feature and information rich than the 3 buttons on EarPods.

Having to own a range of Apple devices to get the full experience out of a product is totally a Jobsian characteristic. Apple clearly thought in-line controls through. They decided that the experience would rely on their future product focus with their vision of the future being that their ideal Apple user would own an AppleWatch. If you don't, then too bad. That's Steve Jobs right there.

 

[darthbane2k]

The lack of controls on AirPods was a problem for me for about 2 days. Then I realized that they were really built with Apple Watch in mind. If you don't own an AppleWatch, then you're definitely missing a part of the experience.

When I'm listening to music on my AirPods, the Music app stays on by default on my AppleWatch. The Digital Crown changes the volume even with the screen off. I can just reach to my wrist and glide my finger across the Digital Crown for precise volume control. While listening to a podcast, I can jump forward or back 15 seconds or skip to the next episode entirely. Or if I'm listening to an album, I can scroll through the track list and pick my next song.

There's your inline controls. They're far more feature and information rich than the 3 buttons on EarPods.

Having to own a range of Apple devices to get the full experience out of a product is totally a Jobsian characteristic. Apple clearly thought in-line controls through. They decided that the experience would rely on their future product focus with their vision of the future being that their ideal Apple user would own an AppleWatch. If you don't, then too bad. That's Steve Jobs right there.

Really?! Sure. Not the case with mine

 

[Will22]

Really?! Sure. Not the case with mine

Apple Watch 2! Do you have a first edition?

 

[JoEw]

Apple Watch 2! Do you have a first edition?

Apple Watch 2! Do you have a first edition?

Unfornate, Series 0 doesn't appear to have those inline controls.

 

[Lennyvalentin]

The strength AirPods have is that there are literally millions of EarPods in the wild for a decade or so now.

Earpods basically look like Sony Fontopias when they sit in your ear, and those Sony designs have been around since like, the mid-1980s at least. The airpods are just a little bulkier, having the battery, microphone and charging connectors down its stems, but the difference isn't very big.

I'm surprised people bring up the looks, ear/airpods really are quite inobtrusive, and as mentioned, really don't look very different compared to decades-older earbuds.

 

[rockyromero]

When I'm listening to music on my AirPods, the Music app stays on by default on my AppleWatch. The Digital Crown changes the volume even with the screen off. I can just reach to my wrist and glide my finger across the Digital Crown for precise volume control. While listening to a podcast, I can jump forward or back 15 seconds or skip to the next episode entirely. Or if I'm listening to an album, I can scroll through the track list and pick my next song.

Brilliant.

Thanks for this discovery.

It works perfectly for me also.

➰

 

[darthbane2k]

Unfornate, Series 0 doesn't appear to have those inline controls.

Unfornate, Series 0 doesn't appear to have those inline controls.

That's ridiculous - it's nothing but volume control which just works just fine when in the music app.
There is no specific hardware at all that allows for the crown to operate volume as opposed to time travel.
Just another reason for me to send these airpods back and keep the beats.

 

[TrueBlou]

Unfornate, Series 0 doesn't appear to have those inline controls.

It is a shame really and there's no good reason I can think of it not to be the same but thems then breaks I suppose.

As a fellow original Apple Watch owner, I realise this isn't ideal and not how I'd normally use my Watch. But if you set it to show the last used app on wrist raise and obviously make sure the last app you use is the music app. Then when you raise your wrist you can have access to all functions including adjusting volume and you can still see the time.

I generally set mine that way if I'm going to be listening to music for a while then switch back to normal afterwards, it's not the biggest hassle in the world really.

 

[JoEw]

It is a shame really and there's no good reason I can think of it not to be the same but thems then breaks I suppose.

As a fellow original Apple Watch owner, I realise this isn't ideal and not how I'd normally use my Watch. But if you set it to show the last used app on wrist raise and obviously make sure the last app you use is the music app. Then when you raise your wrist you can have access to all functions including adjusting volume and you can still see the time.

I generally set mine that way if I'm going to be listening to music for a while then switch back to normal afterwards, it's not the biggest hassle in the world really.

I just put the Now Playing app as first in my dock and all is okay now

 

[rockyromero]

As a fellow original Apple Watch owner, I realise this isn't ideal and not how I'd normally use my Watch. But if you set it to show the last used app on wrist raise and obviously make sure the last app you use is the music app. Then when you raise your wrist you can have access to all functions including adjusting volume and you can still see the time.

This works well for me. Thanks.

I would have liked to use this a long time ago & saves me an annoyance.

➰

 

[Fusion79]

I have had mine for 24 hrs now and I agree 100%. Airpods are the first product release of the Tim Cook era that makes me say "This is Apple!". They just work out of the box with no fuss, and they work well. So far no battery issues here but too soon to tell for sure. I think they sound fine for what they are and are an improvement over the earpods.

I will say that as an Apple Watch owner, the watch does enhance the Airpod experience. But that's classic Apple. Many of there great products were enhanced when used in conjunction with other Apple products. Using the digitial crown as a volume dial is quick and easy and much better then trying to do stuff through Siri. I also like being able to check my Airpod battery life with a quick glance in the command center.

Are they perfect? Just as any first generation product, there is room for improvement. But they are a great first effort and gives me hope that the innovative and creative juices are flowing again at Apple HQ. Only time will tell, but I think 2017 could very well be a make or break year for Apple. Even the most ardent fanboy must admit Apple has been stagnant for some time now and it's time to start turning heads again. Airpods are a good start.

 

[TrueBlou]

I have had mine for 24 hrs now and I agree 100%. Airpods are the first product release of the Tim Cook era that makes me say "This is Apple!". They just work out of the box with no fuss, and they work well. So far no battery issues here but too soon to tell for sure. I think they sound fine for what they are and are an improvement over the earpods.

I will say that as an Apple Watch owner, the watch does enhance the Airpod experience. But that's classic Apple. Many of there great products were enhanced when used in conjunction with other Apple products. Using the digitial crown as a volume dial is quick and easy and much better then trying to do stuff through Siri. I also like being able to check my Airpod battery life with a quick glance in the command center.

Are they perfect? Just as any first generation product, there is room for improvement. But they are a great first effort and gives me hope that the innovative and creative juices are flowing again at Apple HQ. Only time will tell, but I think 2017 could very well be a make or break year for Apple. Even the most ardent fanboy must admit Apple has been stagnant for some time now and it's time to start turning heads again. Airpods are a good start.

Oh dear oh dear, all these recent outpourings of customer satisfaction can't be good, no no no, the cynical wolves of MacRumors shall rain down upon thee

Joking aside I'm glad to see so many happy customers with the AirPods, makes me all the more certain I made the right choice buying them. Though I'll find that out for myself when they eventually arrive.

Neither here nor there and I never really lost my faith in Apple, even if I've missed the days of surprise and innovation. Though I think tech delays play a part there, but for me it was the Pencil that made me think yeah, old Apple is still alive in there somewhere