Airpods.... meh?

[puma1552]

So what makes these unacceptable when I could literally cut the cord off the current EarPods and it would look exactly the same? Is something about having a cord run down your front (or into your shirt) more socially acceptable than without?

Honestly though, I couldn't give less of a **** about what people think about what I wear.

Agreed. I don't get it, they are earbuds without the wire and they look great, far better than all the other ones out there that look like hearing aids. Everyone will have these and they will look perfectly normal soon enough.

Anyway I'm really interested in these. I wouldn't wear $160 headphones at the gym where they will get ruined with sweat, which is the only place a lack of remote controls would be inconvenient. For me I'd use these at my desk at work with my phone out on the desk, so I can just change volume/tracks with the phone controls and that will be fine.

All I ask is that they sound as clear as the wired earbuds (which isn't a high standard, just don't want the sound to be poor/fuzzy/static-y) and I'll be sold. Even better would be if they sound like Apple's $80 in ear headphones, which sound fantastic.

I do think I'll be buying these.

 

[matrix07]

That last part...id be on my motorcycle and asking Siri to call someone and she would say I have to unlock the phone first....hated it. Bluetooth in my helmet (sena 10)...

Yep. So annoying. That's because SIRI has no way to know who's holding the phone, unlike the Watch. One clear benefit of being "personal" device.

 

[AppleRobert]

Agreed. I don't get it, they are earbuds without the wire and they look great, far better than all the other ones out there that look like hearing aids. Everyone will have these and they will look perfectly normal soon enough.

Anyway I'm really interested in these. I wouldn't wear $160 headphones at the gym where they will get ruined with sweat, which is the only place a lack of remote controls would be inconvenient. For me I'd use these at my desk at work with my phone out on the desk, so I can just change volume/tracks with the phone controls and that will be fine.

All I ask is that they sound as clear as the wired earbuds (which isn't a high standard, just don't want the sound to be poor/fuzzy/static-y) and I'll be sold. Even better would be if they sound like Apple's $80 in ear headphones, which sound fantastic.

I do think I'll be buying these.

The $80 in ear headphones sound great? The last time I read reviews from folks purchasing through Apple did not give me that impression, most were meh.

 

[puma1552]

The $80 in ear headphones sound great? The last time I read reviews from folks purchasing through Apple did not give me that impression, most were meh.

Yes, they do sound great.

I've noticed that most people that say they suck are the same ones that thing Bose is the best thing on the planet...

"No highs, all lows, must be Bose..."

 

[AppleRobert]

Yes, they do sound great.

I've noticed that most people that say they suck are the same ones that thing Bose is the best thing on the planet...

"No highs, all lows, must be Bose..."

Well I always steered clear because of rather negative reviews even though they are obviously returnable if I did not like them.

I may give them a go since I have some android smartphones I can use them with.

 

[chabig]

Why would anyone want the audio to spill out of their phone when they take the buds out?

Because it's hard to hear the music from the little speakers if you take them out of your ears.

 

[gsusser]

Anyone know the quality of the airpods? Any advantage of airpods over bluetooth?

 

[rockyromero]

Any advantage of airpods over bluetooth?

Airpods are computers in your ears.

Commanding Siri and all Apple devices.

Have a thought, speak it and a response comes back to you.

Music is a side feature.

So is people communications.

➰[/QUOTE]

 

[xAnthony]

I was hoping the product would have been completely re-designed. I have problems with the Apple earbuds staying in my ears... Especially while running. Once I start sweating, I might as well just take them out. They don't stay at all. I have a pair of UrBeats ($100) and they're amazing. Sound quality is way better than the Apple earbuds and I don't have any issues with them falling out of my ears.

I would be expecting a pretty amazing sound experience for $160. I don't believe these Airpods are going to meet those expectations.

 

[bhayes444]

I was hoping the product would have been completely re-designed. I have problems with the Apple earbuds staying in my ears... Especially while running. Once I start sweating, I might as well just take them out. They don't stay at all. I have a pair of UrBeats ($100) and they're amazing. Sound quality is way better than the Apple earbuds and I don't have any issues with them falling out of my ears.

I would be expecting a pretty amazing sound experience for $160. I don't believe these Airpods are going to meet those expectations.

They probably won't meet the expectations you have for them. For $160 you aren't paying for the sound experience, but the wireless experience they offer. Most of the price is going towards their wireless capabilities, and the rest towards their sound. They most likely won't sound better than $100 earphones, but maybe they will sound similar to $50-60 earphones.

 

[matrix07]

All I ask is that they sound as clear as the wired earbuds (which isn't a high standard, just don't want the sound to be poor/fuzzy/static-y) and I'll be sold. Even better would be if they sound like Apple's $80 in ear headphones, which sound fantastic.

If that's your only criteria, don't think you have any risk there. Also, when you have Apple Watch you can put iPhone anywhere you want.
[doublepost=1473652382][/doublepost]

I was hoping the product would have been completely re-designed. I have problems with the Apple earbuds staying in my ears... Especially while running. Once I start sweating, I might as well just take them out. They don't stay at all. I have a pair of UrBeats ($100) and they're amazing. Sound quality is way better than the Apple earbuds and I don't have any issues with them falling out of my ears.

I would be expecting a pretty amazing sound experience for $160. I don't believe these Airpods are going to meet those expectations.

It was not designed for running. You should consider the new Beat for that.

 

[xAnthony]

They probably won't meet the expectations you have for them. For $160 you aren't paying for the sound experience, but the wireless experience they offer. Most of the price is going towards their wireless capabilities, and the rest towards their sound. They most likely won't sound better than $100 earphones, but maybe they will sound similar to $50-60 earphones.

I would just like to correct myself. I thought the price was $160. I just checked the Apple Store and they're selling at $219 CAD. I'm not going to lie, I laughed out loud... I'm curious to see if people would actually spend $247 CAD (after tax) on these...

 

[matrix07]

I would just like to correct myself. I thought the price was $160. I just checked the Apple Store and they're selling at $219 CAD. I'm not going to lie, I laughed out loud... I'm curious to see if people would actually spend $247 CAD (after tax) on these...

How many for Samsung Gear Icon X I'm curious? It's 199 in USD.

 

[Kevsta26]

How many for Samsung Gear Icon X I'm curious? It's 199 in USD.

Doing the math, the Icon X could cost up to exactly $299 CAD after tax depending on where you live in Canada. That translates to $229 USD after a sales tax of 15%

 

[xAnthony]

How many for Samsung Gear Icon X I'm curious? It's 199 in USD.

$279.99 retail. $316 after tax.

 

[matrix07]

$279.99 retail. $316 after tax.

What!?! Canada is super nice country but the price is such a rip off.
Thank God on mine the AirPods price is more or less = US price.

 

[objektør]

I really don't like all those 'in ear buds'. May be you don't loose them so easily but I find them very uncomfortable.
Apple earbuds and probably the airpods fit me well. With some cheap silicon tips they might fit even better but wonder if they still fit in the battery case with those tips.

 

[sactownbwoy]

If they were a different design I would get them. But since they are the same as the wired ones and those hurt my ears after about ten minutes of being in my ear, I'll pass. I like the technology behind them but the design is garbage for me. I've got a mix of Bluetooth and wired headphones and I listen to talk radio 99% of the time so or me audio quality is meaningless.
[doublepost=1473716712][/doublepost]

Here we go again...

Apple changes design, releases a new product. Everyone jumps on the hatewagon. People feel disappointed, pissed, and cheated. Time passes. Next thing you know, people begin to like it. Then they love it and can't live without it. It becomes the standard.

I get it. There are advantages to having wired EarPods. There are also many disadvantages. I, for one, hate the wires with a passion. Every time I have to take out the EarPods from my bag or pocket, I am ready to kill someone out of frustration. Untangling these things is a nightmare. Generally speaking, I find them irritating as f***. It is by far the most annoying accessory that I deal with on a daily basis.

Sure, the wireless AirPods may look "funny" and "ugly" to some at first glance, but that's because you're not used to them. It was no different from initially seeing people talk on an iPad (***cough cough*** I meant iPhone 6 Plus ***cough cough***). It looked idiotic, at best, because the size was "ridiculous".

Except they didn't change the design. The only difference between these and the wired ones, is the wire. They are white, and have that same odd shape that hurts my ears. Others may like them but for me the design is not comfortable.

 

[Fuchal]

I love everything about these AirPods except the design and lack of color choices. I'm curious about this W1 processor and if it decodes AAC on the AirPods or the iPhone. The AirPod website says they "provide rich, high-quality AAC audio." If they do decode AAC, that would be pretty cool for wireless headphones.

AAC is one of the available codecs for bluetooth audio, along with SBC and APTX.

 

[Perene]

I'll consider buying, because I only use the iPad and while I am home. The regular headphone doesn't fall from my ears.

However, the biggest drawback for me is that I always loved doing these with the EarPod's built-in remote: fluctuating the volume levels (sometimes the music is too loud, or you might want to increase the volume in a specific moment) and pausing/returning the playback, and we can't do both with a wireless headphone. Sure we can do these in the iPad itself, but it's not the same for me. If at least I could still do this wireless, too, it would be great. Sort of like a feeling you have a wireless joystick.

 

[flynz4]

I'm wondering how well they work if you have something like an airplane with 120 people all trying to use bluetooth headphones at the same time?

You cannot use them on an airplane... Airplane mode shuts off all the radios, including bluetooth.

/Jim

 

[sactownbwoy]

But you can manually go back and turn Bluetooth on. I do it all the time. Just hitting airplane mode will shut off all the radios but after you turn on airplane mode you can manually turn on Bluetooth or wireless if you so desire.

 

[bhayes444]

I'll consider buying, because I only use the iPad and while I am home. The regular headphone doesn't fall from my ears.

However, the biggest drawback for me is that I always loved doing these with the EarPod's built-in remote: fluctuating the volume levels (sometimes the music is too loud, or you might want to increase the volume in a specific moment) and pausing/returning the playback, and we can't do both with a wireless headphone. Sure we can do these in the iPad itself, but it's not the same for me. If at least I could still do this wireless, too, it would be great. Sort of like a feeling you have a wireless joystick.

From what I've seen there won't be a way to change the volume with the headphones aside from Siri. Unless Apple pushes out an update that lets you tap both simultaneously to change volume, I wouldn't count on it with this generation. Even tapping both simultaneously wouldn't fly though, as people using just one airpod wouldn't be able to use the functionality.

 

[gemnilocs]

You cannot use them on an airplane... Airplane mode shuts off all the radios, including bluetooth.

/Jim

Ummmmm is this something different cause I've used my wireless headphones on the airplane....lots of times

 

[zulkiflim]

Anyone know if the iPhone will alarm out if the AirPods are out of range ??

Would be cool if it did right ?