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AirPods Launch Date

profmjh

profmjh

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
1,734
1,800
UK
I'm trying to make better use of my time and I think I waste far too much of it on the MacRumors forums!

Now that Apple/Brexit has priced me out of any major new purchases (and I have all the major Apple products I need now anyway), there's really no reason to be here.

Except that I really do want a pair of AirPods. Apple being Apple, no doubt they'll deliberately undersupply so that if you don't order within eight seconds of the announcement, you'll have to wait till March next year.

So I'd be super-grateful if someone would let me know -- by posting to this thread -- when the announcement is finally made.

Or if someone can suggest another sure-fire way of finding out sooner rather than later.
 
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profmatt said:
I'm trying to make better use of my time and I think I waste far too much of it on the MacRumors forums!

Now that Apple/Brexit has priced me out of any major new purchases (and I have all the major Apple products I need now anyway), there's really no reason to be here.

Except that I really do want a pair of AirPods. Apple being Apple, no doubt they'll deliberately undersupply so that if you don't order within eight seconds of the announcement, you'll have to wait till March next year.

So I'd be super-grateful if someone would let me know -- by posting to this thread -- when the announcement is finally made.

Or if someone can suggest another sure-fire way of finding out sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Totally. They're all about undersupplying. That time when they only made 34,000 iPhones 6 per hour, every hour, 24/7, for 3 months solid in 2014 and I had to wait 4 weeks from launch to get one. Why don't they just make 200 million in a day to meet demand?!

You could hire a PA to tell you??
 
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3pp said:
Yeah. Totally. They're all about undersupplying. That time when they only made 34,000 iPhones 6 per hour, every hour, 24/7, for 3 months solid in 2014.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you don't remember the fine job Apple did when it released the Apple Pencil.
 
I am very disappointed about AirPods delay. In theory they promise a lot and to be honest I think they have a potential to be the next big Apple product line. For me it ticks almost all the boxes (in theory);

  1. Multiple device connection and dead easy switching
  2. Clever sensors. Love the fact that it answers calls when put on the ear or/and stops playing music when you take it off
  3. Battery: I think it offers enough for daily usage
  4. Cable free
I understand the negative points regarding the shapes but to me they are OK since especially the current earpods are perfect fit for me. Will they look odd on my ears? Probably yes but I don't care how they look as long as they work as they should. I have seen people wear these huge headphones and to me they look odd and inconvenient but I am sure the wearers don't care about how they look or even perhaps they like how they look. Everyone is different.

Changing tracks and volume with Siri is not something I would use. It seems silly to me. I think Apple is trying to limit the physical interaction with the airpods as much as possible but the Siri control won't do the job here. I don't think I want to pick up my phone every time, either whenever I want to change the volume. Perhaps they will add some touch controls on the airpods but I don't see how they can do this without introducing too often interaction with the airpods. I think my main control will be through my apple watch. I especially love the fact that the watch digital crown can be set to control the volume. I think this will end up being most convenient way. In any case, I am expecting airpods dedicated app or control set up on the watch to help with the airpod controls.

Phew, I didn't mean to give this much details :) but the point is; When are these bloody AirPods coming out? And I find it very irritating that Apple is not sharing any information! This makes me think there is a big problem with them!

What do you guys think?
 
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tembelreis said:
I am very disappointed about AirPods delay. In theory they promise a lot and to be honest I think they have a potential to be the next big Apple product line. For me it ticks almost all the boxes (in theory);

  1. Multiple device connection and dead easy switching
  2. Clever sensors. Love the fact that it answers calls when put on the ear or/and stops playing music when you take it off
  3. Battery: I think it offers enough for daily usage
  4. Cable free
I understand the negative points regarding the shapes but to me they are OK since especially the current earpods are perfect fit for me. Will they look odd on my ears? Probably yes but I don't care how they look as long as they work as they should. I have seen people wear these huge headphones and to me they look odd and inconvenient but I am sure the wearers don't care about how they look or even perhaps they like how they look. Everyone is different.

Changing tracks and volume with Siri is not something I would use. It seems silly to me. I think Apple is trying to limit the physical interaction with the airpods as much as possible but the Siri control won't do the job here. I don't think I want to pick up my phone every time, either whenever I want to change the volume. Perhaps they will add some touch controls on the airpods but I don't see how they can do this without introducing too often interaction with the airpods. I think my main control will be through my apple watch. I especially love the fact that the watch digital crown can be set to control the volume. I think this will end up being most convenient way. In any case, I am expecting airpods dedicated app or control set up on the watch to help with the airpod controls.

Phew, I didn't mean to give this much details :) but the point is; When are these bloody AirPods coming out? And I find it very irritating that Apple is not sharing any information! This makes me think there is a big problem with them!

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

In the past Apple have never been forthcoming to admit when there is a hardware or software issue. They just quietly fix the problem in the background and then announce a release or upgrade.

I think they are going to miss the Xmas market completely because even if they have solved whatever the problem is, ramping up for production of millions of units isn't going to happen over night so I would say that if you take the Xmas holiday period out of the loop which is approx. 2 weeks then we wont see anything released until January/February.next year.
 
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tembelreis said:
I am very disappointed about AirPods delay. In theory they promise a lot and to be honest I think they have a potential to be the next big Apple product line. For me it ticks almost all the boxes (in theory);

  1. Multiple device connection and dead easy switching
  2. Clever sensors. Love the fact that it answers calls when put on the ear or/and stops playing music when you take it off
  3. Battery: I think it offers enough for daily usage
  4. Cable free
I understand the negative points regarding the shapes but to me they are OK since especially the current earpods are perfect fit for me. Will they look odd on my ears? Probably yes but I don't care how they look as long as they work as they should. I have seen people wear these huge headphones and to me they look odd and inconvenient but I am sure the wearers don't care about how they look or even perhaps they like how they look. Everyone is different.

Changing tracks and volume with Siri is not something I would use. It seems silly to me. I think Apple is trying to limit the physical interaction with the airpods as much as possible but the Siri control won't do the job here. I don't think I want to pick up my phone every time, either whenever I want to change the volume. Perhaps they will add some touch controls on the airpods but I don't see how they can do this without introducing too often interaction with the airpods. I think my main control will be through my apple watch. I especially love the fact that the watch digital crown can be set to control the volume. I think this will end up being most convenient way. In any case, I am expecting airpods dedicated app or control set up on the watch to help with the airpod controls.

Phew, I didn't mean to give this much details :) but the point is; When are these bloody AirPods coming out? And I find it very irritating that Apple is not sharing any information! This makes me think there is a big problem with them!

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Controlling the volume via the crown still requires you to pull up now playing on the Watch. I don't think it's convenient.
 
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blairh said:
Controlling the volume via the crown still requires you to pull up now playing on the Watch. I don't think it's convenient.
Click to expand...

My understanding is it doesn't. If you are listening to something through the airpods the crown will be automatically mapped to doing that job. I think this is the reason why Apple added options to change crown functionality. By default it is no longer doing the time travel thing (which seemed nice on theory but not something I ever used in practice). It needs to be turned on.
[doublepost=1479410352][/doublepost]
Bazooka-joe said:
In the past Apple have never been forthcoming to admit when there is a hardware or software issue. They just quietly fix the problem in the background and then announce a release or upgrade.

I think they are going to miss the Xmas market completely because even if they have solved whatever the problem is, ramping up for production of millions of units isn't going to happen over night so I would say that if you take the Xmas holiday period out of the loop which is approx. 2 weeks then we wont see anything released until January/February.next year.
Click to expand...

This unfortunately seems like a very accurate thinking.
 
tembelreis said:
My understanding is it doesn't. If you are listening to something through the airpods the crown will be automatically mapped to doing that job. I think this is the reason why Apple added options to change crown functionality. By default it is no longer doing the time travel thing (which seemed nice on theory but not something I ever used in practice). It needs to be turned on.
Click to expand...

What is your source on this? I have not heard or read anything stating this.
 
Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon that is a) is going to miss Christmas and b) will be seriously constrained.

My perspective is different, taking into account that:
  • It's been two and a half months since announcement
  • The reviewers haven't noted any serious issues with their preproduction units
  • Apple clearly once thought that they would be able to release in late October
  • The W1 chip is already for sale in Beats products
I don't think there is a functional issue with the AirPods. Instead I assume it's a manufacturing issue.

I bet Apple could have done an Apple Pencil style launch (which is another example of the product being ready but the manufacturing not) where there are immediately extremely long lead times, but they learned their lesson and instead decided to ramp up production and release with better availability.

There is still time for a Christmas launch. I'm not suggesting you'll be able to just walk into Best Buy and grab a pair, but I expect they will go on sale late November and most people who order on the first day will have them by Christmas.
 
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Brookzy said:
Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon that is a) is going to miss Christmas and b) will be seriously constrained.

My perspective is different, taking into account that:
  • It's been two and a half months since announcement
  • The reviewers haven't noted any serious issues with their preproduction units
  • Apple clearly once thought that they would be able to release in late October
  • The W1 chip is already for sale in Beats products
I don't think there is a functional issue with the AirPods. Instead I assume it's a manufacturing issue.

I bet Apple could have done an Apple Pencil style launch (which is another example of the product being ready but the manufacturing not) where there are immediately extremely long lead times, but they learned their lesson and instead decided to ramp up production and release with better availability.

There is still time for a Christmas launch. I'm not suggesting you'll be able to just walk into Best Buy and grab a pair, but I expect they will go on sale late November and most people who order on the first day will have them by Christmas.
Click to expand...


it's good to be optimistic, but there are some other considerations.

1. apple has never delayed a announced product sale (note that, it's sale, not release/announce) in recent history. so it has to be something series.

2. it takes time to fix, and most likely hardware/manufacturing issue. if it were software issue, they can just release future firmware updates.
and if the had it fixed, even if just a day or two before the end of oct, they could do a 'super-apple-pencil' style release, and let manufacturing take time to keep up.
so it gotta be a tricky issue.

3. there are only few reviewers, so apple could hand-pick or even hand-make five/ten units and send them out for reviewing, and the total amount of time they spent on this unit is next to zero comparing to the mass public. so some reviewers doesnt mean anything.
or, apple could have told them the known issue, telling them "hey, we know this issue and we are working on it, so if you AirPods suddenly shut itself down while listening to the music, don't say anything. this issue wont appear in public release. well, if you really want to talk about this, just say good-bye to your future review units"

4. W1 chip is fine, but there may still be some issues. note that the only two released W1 products are 'larger models'. the real small ones -- beats X are not yet released. why it takes so much longer to release beats X? they gotta have encountered some issue when putting W1 into smaller bodies. same story may goes to AirPods as well.



0. of course, we don't have any inside information, all those are just pure guesses. they may as well release it an hour later after this post right?
 
As of today AirPods are one of the top items prominently featured on Apple's homepage. It would seem highly unlikely they would devote this valuable real estate at the start of the Christmas shopping season to a product not expected to ship anytime soon.
 
dmweinst said:
As of today AirPods are one of the top items prominently featured on Apple's homepage. It would seem highly unlikely they would devote this valuable real estate at the start of the Christmas shopping season to a product not expected to ship anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Macrumors has been Following the delay closely. Reference main page articles.
 
I now think jan/feb relase more realistic if not later. I don't think even Apple knows yet when it will be ready and this must be why there isn't even a realiable rumour. The problem for me is there is no real good alternative. I tried few different bt headset and spend up to £80 but returned all of them back due to various set backs.
 
tembelreis said:
I now think jan/feb relase more realistic if not later. I don't think even Apple knows yet when it will be ready and this must be why there isn't even a realiable rumour. The problem for me is there is no real good alternative. I tried few different bt headset and spend up to £80 but returned all of them back due to various set backs.
Click to expand...
Bragi has a new pair of headphones called simply "the headphone" you might wanna check out. They're even cheaper than airpods.

Jabra has the new elite sports too.

Still. Looking forward to airpods whenever they do come
 
garyleecn said:
it's good to be optimistic, but there are some other considerations.

1. apple has never delayed a announced product sale (note that, it's sale, not release/announce) in recent history. so it has to be something series.

2. it takes time to fix, and most likely hardware/manufacturing issue. if it were software issue, they can just release future firmware updates.
and if the had it fixed, even if just a day or two before the end of oct, they could do a 'super-apple-pencil' style release, and let manufacturing take time to keep up.
so it gotta be a tricky issue.

3. there are only few reviewers, so apple could hand-pick or even hand-make five/ten units and send them out for reviewing, and the total amount of time they spent on this unit is next to zero comparing to the mass public. so some reviewers doesnt mean anything.
or, apple could have told them the known issue, telling them "hey, we know this issue and we are working on it, so if you AirPods suddenly shut itself down while listening to the music, don't say anything. this issue wont appear in public release. well, if you really want to talk about this, just say good-bye to your future review units"

4. W1 chip is fine, but there may still be some issues. note that the only two released W1 products are 'larger models'. the real small ones -- beats X are not yet released. why it takes so much longer to release beats X? they gotta have encountered some issue when putting W1 into smaller bodies. same story may goes to AirPods as well.



0. of course, we don't have any inside information, all those are just pure guesses. they may as well release it an hour later after this post right?
Click to expand...

They will release an hour after everyone else buys an alternative. :)

Seriously though I cannot believe Apple will miss the holidays. The price is decent and there was total hysteria with the pencil at $100 with folks trying to get one. The Airpods hit so much more of a wider customer base, Apple will have them ready cause giving as a gift also factors in.
 
Last edited:
I say they will be released soon, Apple will not miss the holidays. If that happens, folks buying something else becomes a reality with gift giving being a factor as well.
 
You're forgetting that Apple wanted them out at the end if October and for whatever reason they aren't. It would appear they don't have much say in it.
 
I Spy - Apple special Event OCT-2016

Guys hasn't anyone noticed that after cancelling or delaying a product that was supposed to launch was shown off by a NON-Apple Executive during this more personal event?



http://www.apple.com/apple-events/october-2016/

Time: 5Mins:54Secs in you'll notice it ... AirPods. Funny how they teased us with this yet delay it.

Apple's W1 Chip which works in 2 Beats headphones yet Apple cannot get their product right, yet. That's a bit embarrasing.

Is Apple spreading their hardware and technology teams too thin?
 
I think it is safe to say that airpods won't be out for Black Friday sale. Maybe early December but every passing day is a sign of more uncertainty. I would love to know what the problem is but since review units seem to work fine I think it must be something to do with mass production. Grrrr :mad:
 
I seem to have been misunderstanding the way AirPods pair with the iPhone. I was under the impression that you must tap 'connect' on the iDevice screen each time you want to use them together. Apparently however that is a one time thing and you simply remove the AirPods from their case and they auto connect to your iDevice.
 
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