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Which are you considering: Airpods or Beats X or PowerBeats 3?


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    592

Howyalikdemapls

macrumors 6502a
Sep 2, 2013
822
873
That's an assumption. I'm not convinced the BeatsX will have better sound. That being said, the AirPods obsession is something I don't understand. They're neat, but they're still just EarPods without wires.
I actually don't understand all the hate for AirPods I've been reading on MR. Other than the price, the AirPods seem phenomenal. All the other "wireless" earbuds still have a wire that drapes across your neck to connect the two. If I'm going to have a wire draping across my neck, I might as well have one draping across my chest too and just go with a pair of wired earbuds. I hope some other competitors pick up the style of the AirPods and release some more truly wireless earbuds to start driving the price down.

My favorite thing about them is I can use just one earbud at a time. Some of my coworkers use a single earbud when working in the more isolated areas. This still gives the flexibility to hear someone if they start talking to you. It's awkward having the other wired earbud hanging down, but a single AirPod sounds like the perfect solution.
 
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Nimoy

macrumors 6502
Apr 18, 2010
317
972
I actually don't understand all the hate for AirPods I've been reading on MR. Other than the price, the AirPods seem phenomenal. All the other "wireless" earbuds still have a wire that drapes across your neck to connect the two. If I'm going to have a wire draping across my neck, I might as well have one draping across my chest too and just go with a pair of wired earbuds. I hope some other competitors pick up the style of the AirPods and release some more truly wireless earbuds to start driving the price down.

My favorite thing about them is I can use just one earbud at a time. Some of my coworkers use a single earbud when working in the more isolated areas. This still gives the flexibility to hear someone if they start talking to you. It's awkward having the other wired earbud hanging down, but a single AirPod sounds like the perfect solution.

I agree. I think that lack of a connecting cord is a major selling point for the Airpods. I love the tiny footprint of the carrying case; you can slip it in your jacket pocket or bag and have them with you at virtually all times. I only see three major drawbacks compared to Beats X: 1) the higher price 2) the lack of volume and track-skipping controls and 3) the (potential) inferior sound quality. I hope to see some reviews about the sound quality of Bests X soon!
 
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vikingjunior

Cancelled
Aug 17, 2011
1,319
590
I actually don't understand all the hate for AirPods I've been reading on MR. Other than the price, the AirPods seem phenomenal. All the other "wireless" earbuds still have a wire that drapes across your neck to connect the two. If I'm going to have a wire draping across my neck, I might as well have one draping across my chest too and just go with a pair of wired earbuds. I hope some other competitors pick up the style of the AirPods and release some more truly wireless earbuds to start driving the price down.

My favorite thing about them is I can use just one earbud at a time. Some of my coworkers use a single earbud when working in the more isolated areas. This still gives the flexibility to hear someone if they start talking to you. It's awkward having the other wired earbud hanging down, but a single AirPod sounds like the perfect solution.
Good point about the wires. Look how thick the wires on the Beats X are. At least with the LG Tone they used very thin wire and made it retractable. Although I'm just over here like can I bench press with the AirPods?
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
Good point about the wires. Look how thick the wires on the Beats X are. At least with the LG Tone they used very thin wire and made it retractable. Although I'm just over here like can I bench press with the AirPods?

I would not bring the AirPods to the gym, hope that works out for you. I doubt they would stay in one's ears during a workout and while on a treadmill or the like. I go at it pretty hard, no pain no gain!
 
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MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
Is there any evidence that the BeatsX will have better sound quality than the Airpods? Or is it just an assumption at this point?
Assumption based on what's been previously released. The obvious assumption ear bud for the Beats X are the Ur Beats. Which depending on some, sound better than the EarPods. I personally like the sound of the Airpods but they do fit a little loose in my ear. Hoping the Airpods will be a bit bigger. Ear skins work great I just hope they fit in the Airpods case.
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,025
2,898
There's loads to like about the AirPods, but the fit is a massive problem for many people - I'm surprised they didn't release a proper in-ear version like the style of the BeatsX, but I guess they wouldn't want to admit they were wrong as the redesign of their headphones a few years back was supposed to make them fit more people's ears. No wire dangling is a great move and as each pod has a receiver in it, it also gets around the problem with sound dropping from Bluetooth headsets when you maybe move your head too much leading to it cutting out due to the interference from your body.

To be honest, the sound quality of the stock headphones isn't that bad, but I had to buy those third party ear hook things to make them fit and even then, they're only really good for voice calls - I'd have to physically hold them in to my ears to get a good sound for listening to music. But they're not bad sound quality at all, they're certainly not rubbish headphones.

What is strange though is that none of these options are available from the Apple store yet. I really thought late October and Autumn would mean stock was starting to shop by now...
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
There is no date specific listings for the upcoming products because no formal announcement has not been made.

I guess some of us thought there would be pre-order availability but doubtful now. The products may possibly be on sale at the time of the announcement, we'll see.
 
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AustinIllini

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,700
10,567
Austin, TX
There is no date specific listings for the upcoming products because no formal announcement has not been made.

I guess some of us thought there would be pre-order availability but doubtful now. The products may possibly be on sale at the time of the announcement, we'll see.
Well, it was weird the Solo3, Powerbeats3, and Beatsx got announced at the same time and the only the Solo3 is available now.
 

iObama

macrumors 65816
Nov 16, 2008
1,099
2,618
I'm not super stoked with any of the options.

I would love a pair of AirPods, but the idea of carrying an extra accessory and charging them every 5 hours doesn't entice me in the slightest.

I would love a pair of Solo3's, but I don't want to always have to use over-ear headphones.

I would love the Lightning-charged BeatsX, but I don't like in-ear style headphones.

Basically, I miss the headphone jack.
 

edlex

macrumors 68020
Apr 14, 2010
2,295
1,474
Miami
Well Powerbeats3 went live for Nov1-3 delivery so I guess we're close to a airpod and BeatsX release as well.
 

AlphaHumanus

macrumors 6502a
Feb 12, 2012
514
85
I can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be to wear /any/ headphones for 5 hours.

To my understanding, airpods have an accelerometer but no touch. That's why we can't have volume controls.
 

Prabas

macrumors 65816
Sep 14, 2010
1,149
1,282
Europe
Right now I have Sennheiser MM200 earphones with Bluetooth 2.1, would I notice a difference between MM200 and BeatsX with Bluetooth 4.2? I only listen to Apple Music.
 

rpearlberg

macrumors 6502a
May 22, 2010
669
30
what's the difference between the Beats X and the Powerbeats 3? Also, what about the Bose Soundsport wireless?
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
what's the difference between the Beats X and the Powerbeats 3? Also, what about the Bose Soundsport wireless?

Are you talking about sound quality or features? Impossible to give any feedback about the SQ since the X and airpods and pb3 are not out yet.
 

HalfPintOfInnes

macrumors 6502
Sep 11, 2016
259
525
Scotland, United Kingdom
So I've ruled out the AirPods completely, just not the right product for me and my lifestyle at all. So I'm either going to go with the BeatsX or the PowerBeats3. I had a pair of urBeats for years, so wanted something similar.

BeatsX
Pros: Nice design, similar look to the urBeats, which I'm used to, the simple earbud and cable design, and they don't look like they take up a huge amount of space in a pocket. And I'm sure they will sound just as good as the urBeats, if not better. Fell in love with them the moment I saw them, and was going to pre-order them as soon as they went live.

Cons: They look cheap, seen a few preview videos on Youtube of them, and they look pretty bad in person, the black version especially, they look good quality on the Apple Store/Beats Store promotional images but I'm just not as excited for them now after seeing those videos than I was when they were announced. And the cable looks way too long, not like the PowerBeats cable, not sure I want a load of extra cable hanging round the front of my face, even when the cord is round the back of my neck

PowerBeats
Pros: Beautiful design, sweat/splash proof, and would be something a bit different for me after using the urBeats for so long, was drawn to the 2nd Gen ones but never really considered buying a PowerBeats product until now. I run, I have a very active lifestyle and am often travelling so something like these would be ideal. The cord is a lot shorter, and they look a lot more discreet and out of the way.

Cons: The size, they are a lot bigger than the urBeats/BeatsX, which is something I'm not sure about, especially when needing to carry them around in a pocket. But I do love the idea of the ear hook for extra grip but I'm not sure how I would feel while needing to wear these for long journeys, looks like something that may cause irritation or slight pain if worn for long periods of time.

So there's my dilemma, still not entirely sure what to go for. Any tips, suggestions, or anything else I might need to know about each of the products before I make my decision?
 

Mr.C

macrumors 603
Apr 3, 2011
5,539
1,549
London, UK.
what's the difference between the Beats X and the Powerbeats 3? Also, what about the Bose Soundsport wireless?

One thing I noticed which does seem strange and doesn't make sense is the type of charge cable they come with. The Beats X come with a lightning to USB cable and the Power Beats 3 come with a micro USB to regular USB cable. I think the lightning to USB is better as it allows you to use the same cable you would for your iPhone or iPad. I'm not a big fan of Beats as a brand or ear bud type headphones but I'm tempted to get the Power Beats 3 just for the W1 chip. I just wish they came with a lightning to USB charge cable.
 
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