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profmjh

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
1,730
1,797
UK
I've just pulled the trigger on a pair of Beats Solo3.

Clearly no-one's getting AirPods any time soon and I highly doubt they'll be shipping before Christmas. I'll try the Beats and maybe that'll work for me.
 

480951

Cancelled
Aug 14, 2010
639
914
I finally gave up on waiting during Black Friday and got a pair of Jaybird Freedom's from the Source for $100 (with a coupon). For about half the price of the AirPods I can live with the shorter battery life sans charger case, and the sound is amazing considering how small they are. The sound is also customizable though an app.

Overall I'm very pleased with my decision and don't mind that there's a short wire connecting the two earbuds. They're thin, light and easy to take with me everywhere which is what I intended to do with the AirPods. Count this as another lost sale for Apple.
 

MyAppleWorld

macrumors 6502a
Nov 1, 2005
623
94
Birmingham, UK
My hunch is next week or only in January. Let’s see.

I have asked 3 employees at a store and 2 online chat reps. All of them say "they dont know" but that Apple would be mad not to get them out before Christmas.

I believe if there was zero chance of these being available before Christmas, Apple would make it much more clear and would say "Early 2017" for instance
 

domhoenig

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2012
179
111
well...just got this from apple support...odd they reference rumours in support lol.
 

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bigjnyc

macrumors G3
Apr 10, 2008
8,180
7,316
I've just pulled the trigger on a pair of Beats Solo3.

Clearly no-one's getting AirPods any time soon and I highly doubt they'll be shipping before Christmas. I'll try the Beats and maybe that'll work for me.

That's an odd choice lol, someone who is in the market for airpods is usually in the market for in ear buds not over the head headphones.
 

profmjh

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
1,730
1,797
UK
That's an odd choice lol, someone who is in the market for airpods is usually in the market for in ear buds not over the head headphones.

I hate in-ear devices, which basically only leaves EarPods or AirPods and the latter don't actually exist.

I have misgivings about on-ear, but there's no harm in giving them a go. They have received some very strong reviews. What I'll lose in smallness and lightness, I'll gain in wireless convenience. We'll see.
 

Ma2k5

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2012
2,563
2,538
London
I hate in-ear devices, which basically only leaves EarPods or AirPods and the latter don't actually exist.

I have misgivings about on-ear, but there's no harm in giving them a go. They have received some very strong reviews. What I'll lose in smallness and lightness, I'll gain in wireless convenience. We'll see.

I actually felt there was too many negative reviews about the Solo 3's sound quality/clarity and being too tight-fitted/uncomfortable.

It only really got positive notes on things like connectivity/battery life, which although important, sound quality and comfort trumps everything else when it comes to using ear/head phones. More so with head phones as, they can easily cause discomfort. Most came to an average of around 3 stars I reckon, which isn't great as, even not so good products manage to get 4.

If you want over ear, there are just too many better alternatives, some which even come at a much lower price.
 
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bigjnyc

macrumors G3
Apr 10, 2008
8,180
7,316
well...just got this from apple support...odd they reference rumours in support lol.

I asked an Apple retail employee in the store this weekend and they said the same thing. She told me we dont know but I saw on a rumor site that it would be early 2017..... I thought it was odd but I guess retail employees sometimes know about as much as we do when it comes to release dates.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
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profmjh

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 7, 2015
1,730
1,797
UK
I actually felt there was too many negative reviews about the Solo 3's sound quality/clarity and being too tight-fitted/uncomfortable.

It only really got positive notes on things like connectivity/battery life, which although important, sound quality and comfort trumps everything else when it comes to using ear/head phones. More so with head phones as, they can easily cause discomfort. Most came to an average of around 3 stars I reckon, which isn't great as, even not so good products manage to get 4.

On Amazon UK, they currently have a five star rating with all seven reviewers giving five stars. So who knows?

Sound quality is not that important to me -- surely they're better than EarPods, which I've been using for years. I mostly only listen to spoken word.

Comfort, on the other hand, is a deal-breaker. They need to last an hour and a half without irritation.
 

imaginex20

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2009
1,512
718
For some reason, I think the AirPods' release date is related to 10.2 public release.
 

Korican100

macrumors 65816
Oct 9, 2012
1,213
617
if apple is not interested in a christmas release, then there is no rush, probably pushing it out to at least valentines day.
 

egeek84

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2010
448
160
Northern California
I can understand why so many are impatient and upset tho. I really do. If these were just any regular earbuds it wouldn't be a big deal but so many people upgraded to the iPhone 7 and were sold on the wireless vision, many reluctantly upgraded knowing there would be no headphone jack and for alot of them, they counted on the Airpods being available to use with their new iPhone 7 so I can understand how this is a big fail on Apple's part and why consumers are upset. I'm one of them too.
 
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