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Airpods vs Beats x - still undecided

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darthbane2k

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 22, 2009
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I've been thinking long and hard about whether I want airpods or beats x, and the main criticism about airpods seems to be the lack of inline volume / track control.
Many suggest using the Apple Watch music app (which doesn't launch automatically) to control music, however what when you are using your airpods with your iPad or mac? Can't use the Apple Watch then can you?!
 
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What I want to know is if your using them while driving and on a call how do you tell Siri to raise volume? Trying to pull up the music app on my watch and adjust volume sounds like a lot of taking my eyes off the road. For that reason I'm leaning towards Beats X.
 
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Easy Peasy, try both and keep the ones that are best for your needs. That is what I'm going to do but I rather go with the Airpods.

Scary but I am really just buying them for sound quality so I have no limitations as to what I need them to do besides that. If one knows they flat out do not have the capability/features one needs then choose the other.
 
Thing is I love the idea of being completely wireless (no neck cable) and how intelligent the airpods seem to be (e.g. Automatically pausing when you remove from your ears etc..)

Today I tried using my first go Apple Watch to control the music playback on my iPhone exclusively, and fiddling with the watch and launching the app is fiddly and time consuming. If the controls,just automatically appeared on the screen when earphones are in use, that would be much better. But again, you cannot use the watch at all when playing music from your iPad or mac.

However a good mix / noise cancellation is also important for fielding calls. The airpods have noise cancelling mics right? Yet we know nothing about the beats x mic at all and how well it gets on with Siri commands
 
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clunkmess said:
The BeatsX are a no brainer. It has the remote that we all know and love from our EarBuds, and it has 3+ hours of battery over the AirPods.
Click to expand...
Sure it has the remote, but the battery life numbers change dramatically if you include the case for the airpods that charge them for those missing three hours of usage in 15 minutes. It really depends on if someone will literally listen to them for over 5 hours straight; then Beats X are a no brainer.
 
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I actually prefer the fact that the Beats X keep the neck strap. I can totally see myself taking out one Airpods to talk to someone at a checkout counter or wherever and then never seeing it again. With the Beats it'll just hang on my shoulder. I'm not generally the type to be bothered by wires as long as they're not physically tethered to my device. I also really like the idea that when they're both out of your ears, the two earbuds stick together magnetically to keep them from sliding off your neck. Pretty cool.

Plus, I've always strongly preferred earbuds like Apple's in-ear headphones rather than the EarPods. The EarPods always hurt my ears after a few minutes whereas the softer in-ear kinds usually don't.

Finally the remote is a nice touch. It is unfortunate that they don't get the killer battery life that the Airpods supposedly will, but oh well. I'm thinking about getting an external battery pack anyway (as soon as I stop being irrationally scared of lithium batteries, thanks Samsung...:eek:)

But that's just me though! Everyone is very different when it comes to this type of thing, and I'm glad that they offer several different options in this area. Hopefully everyone will find what works best for them.
 
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Both are almost the best in the ears but I planned to buy beats x because they won't fall off while you workout. My ears are bad fit to earpods.
 
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Do the current Apple EarPods fit your ears well - comfortably & secure? That's the first thing to try as that may rule them out entirely.
 
boston04and07 said:
I actually prefer the fact that the Beats X keep the neck strap. I can totally see myself taking out one Airpods to talk to someone at a checkout counter or wherever and then never seeing it again. With the Beats it'll just hang on my shoulder. I'm not generally the type to be bothered by wires as long as they're not physically tethered to my device. I also really like the idea that when they're both out of your ears, the two earbuds stick together magnetically to keep them from sliding off your neck. Pretty cool.

Plus, I've always strongly preferred earbuds like Apple's in-ear headphones rather than the EarPods. The EarPods always hurt my ears after a few minutes whereas the softer in-ear kinds usually don't.

Finally the remote is a nice touch. It is unfortunate that they don't get the killer battery life that the Airpods supposedly will, but oh well. I'm thinking about getting an external battery pack anyway (as soon as I stop being irrationally scared of lithium batteries, thanks Samsung...:eek:)

But that's just me though! Everyone is very different when it comes to this type of thing, and I'm glad that they offer several different options in this area. Hopefully everyone will find what works best for them.
Click to expand...

I'm confused by your statement. According to the information on Apple's web site the Beats X get 8 hours of battery life whilst the AirPods only get 5 hours.
 
Mr.C said:
I'm confused by your statement. According to the information on Apple's web site the Beats X get 8 hours of battery life whilst the AirPods only get 5 hours.
Click to expand...
That is true. The poster must have been talking about the case for the airpods charging them while stored; enough for 24 hours of usage.
 
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Based on the EarPods I wouldn't be surprised if the BeatsX do offer better audio quality for music, but I guess that's not the main selling point(s) of the AirPods.
 
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bhayes444 said:
That is true. The poster must have been talking about the case for the airpods charging them while stored; enough for 24 hours of usage.
Click to expand...

I don't quite get why people say that about the airpods, because I can just as easily charge my Bluetooth headphones when not in use to extend their usage. It's not like you can magically use the airpods while they are in the charging case. So 24 hours of "usage" is a fallacy.
 
sactownbwoy said:
I don't quite get why people say that about the airpods, because I can just as easily charge my Bluetooth headphones when not in use to extend their usage. It's not like you can magically use the airpods while they are in the charging case. So 24 hours of "usage" is a fallacy.
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Actually, you can magically use an Airpod while the other is charging.

For 24 hours.

➰
 
sactownbwoy said:
I don't quite get why people say that about the airpods, because I can just as easily charge my Bluetooth headphones when not in use to extend their usage. It's not like you can magically use the airpods while they are in the charging case. So 24 hours of "usage" is a fallacy.
Click to expand...
True. It is also based on the assumption you will always store the airpods in the case while not in use. At the very least the airpods are much more convenient to charge while on the go.
 
clunkmess said:
The BeatsX are a no brainer. It has the remote that we all know and love from our EarBuds, and it has 3+ hours of battery over the AirPods.
Click to expand...

I agree. I will be looking at the Beats X for sure.

What I would really want though is the Bose QC20i in the form-factor of the Beats X... I would pay for that no question.
 
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As of now, the BeatsX will be replacing my Jaybirds X2s. Definitely want to try the AirPods but will probably wait until I can get them from a secondary source for cheaper.
 
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