Has your AirPods usage changed since the pandemic?

[subjonas]

[I wanted to ask this question in regard to all our Apple devices, but I didn’t know where in the forum I could post such a question, so I just made individual threads for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Though it applies to Macs, Apple TVs, and Homepods too, that’s just too many threads. So feel free to include those in your reply to any of these threads. I guess services could be included as well.]

I’m working from home now and it has affected my device usage a bit.

Actually, I don’t have AirPods, I have BeatsX, but they have the same chip and a lot of functional overlap. I always had these headphones hanging behind my neck whenever I was at home and used them all the time with almost all my Apple devices. They would stay at home charging when I went to work (for general bluetooth headphone use when out of the house I prefer my Motorola Boom), and waiting for me fully charged when I got home. But soon after the pandemic started, my BeatsX died. Not sure if I’m going to replace them or wait for the next gen, but that’s beside the point. I think if my BeatsX were still alive, now that I’m always at home and would be using them all day with no real chance to charge (I even fell asleep with them on), I’m positive the battery would be dying on me at least once per day. So I’m wondering if I should just buy two and always have one charging. I guess I’ll get a new pair first and cross that bridge when I get there.

How has your AirPods/BeatsX usage changed, if at all?

 

[one more]

Since you are at home and seem to use your earphones a lot, why not just use a wired set or a large wireless pair with better battery life? The way I see it, the only advantage of AirPods, etc. is their convenience (light and easy to carry around). At home, however, you could try the wired stuff or some Bluetooth speakers that you could keep plugged in while listening.

 

[subjonas]

Since you are at home and seem to use your earphones a lot, why not just use a wired set or a large wireless pair with better battery life? The way I see it, the only advantage of AirPods, etc. is their convenience (light and easy to carry around). At home, however, you could try the wired stuff or some Bluetooth speakers that you could keep plugged in while listening.

I can’t use wired because I’m constantly moving around. I mainly use the headphones with my iPads which I have propped up on a stand or just lying somewhere.
And I think a big set of headphones will be too bulky to have on me almost 24/7. I appreciate the lightness of the BeatsX even while being mobile at home. I always forget they’re on my neck. And still not sure I won’t run into the same problem with bigger headphones because I’ll still need to charge them at some point. The real problem is I just don’t have a good opportunity to charge my headphones because I use them all the time. So I don’t think I can get around having two sets with one always charging.
I have Bluetooth and airplay speakers but I can’t use them usually because I live with someone who doesn’t always want to hear what I’m listening to haha.

 

[Alaxlmartin]

Since you are at home and seem to use your earphones a lot, why not just use a wired set or a large wireless pair with better battery life? The way I see it, the only advantage of AirPods, etc. is their convenience (light and easy to carry around). At home, however, you could try the wired stuff or some Bluetooth speakers that you could keep plugged in while listening.

At home, APP are a bust compared to:
Sony1000XM4
Google Home Max

 

[hirsthirst]

I bought APP mainly for noise-cancelling on long train journeys just before lockdown, so only got to use them once or twice before my last day out on business 9th March.

Hardly used earphones or headphones at all whilst I've been kicking around the house for the last 5-months, only occasional APP paired with MacBook for the infrequent Zoom / MS Teams call where we're not using video & I can walk about the ground floor of house to keep my steps up ... When using audio + video too I use MacBook speakers & mic which feels slightly more like a normal face-to-face meeting.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

As my world now moved to video conferencing, often from home, I use my AirPods Pro differently.
Before Corona: During commuting per train
Now: telephone and video calls

I found out (for me) that it is not so convenient to use only the APP and switch them between iPhone and Mac. This kind of confuses them. (Switching between iPhone and iPad is less confusion.) But as the Mac still has a headphone jack , I do most of the video calls now with wired headphones.

 

[subjonas]

I found out (for me) that it is not so convenient to use only the APP and switch them between iPhone and Mac. This kind of confuses them.

Just curious, what do you mean by confuses them? Are you trying to use the new iOS 14 auto switch feature (beta)?

Yeah wired headphones are just as convenient as wireless for video calls since one normally stays sitting in front of the camera. But I do a lot of long video meetings these days, so it’s nice to be able to occasionally black out my camera and eg. go get a drink while continuing to be part of the conversation.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

Just curious, what do you mean by confuses them? Are you trying to use the new iOS 14 auto switch feature (beta)?

My APP seem to prefer the iPhone over the Mac. When I had them connected to the iPhone, and wanted to switch to the Mac for a conference call, I could assign them to the Mac via the Bluetooth button. But when I then began doing things on the iPhone (nothing related to headphones!), the APP automatically reconnected with the iPhone. The Mac didn't realize that and showed them still as connected.

That was... not ideal. Therefore I decided to use two different pairs of headphones.

Thank you for the information about the new auto switch feature! I hadn't noticed that because I do not use betas , and for the Mac, it seems that Big Sur is needed but I intend to stick with Mojave for a while.

 

[secretk]

I don't own AirPods Pro but I do own Sony 1000-XM3 (overhead). When I was travelling for work I would use them while travelling for the NC and also in the office when I need to concentrate on something.

Now that I am working from home I thought that I might stop using them but this is not exactly the case. I found another use case for them - calls when I do laundry. My washing machine is very loud. People do not hear it that much during calls as I use the laptop microphone and it is not that good. I on the other hand have trouble hearing because of the washing machine. Being able to use turn on the NC of the Sony and focus only on the meeting has been quite helpful. Another use case is when neighbours do repairs around me. Similar need to block out the noise during calls/meetings.

It also allows me to move around the space (just like in the office). I can walk around and still listen to music. I do have Bluetooth in-ear earbuds (Shure) but man I cannot use them for more than 2 hours. They make my ears hurt. Everything in-ear has this sort of effect. This is why I love the Sony. 1000XM3. They provide the portability (given that it is Bluetooth), they are lightweight so no headache and they do not hurt my ears. I listen to music at least 4/5 hours every day (basically if I am not in a call I listen to music during work) so the long battery life really comes handy.

 

[ChanceSmith]

With less face-face social interactions, I listen to more audio (books, podcasts) while walking around.

 

[JamesMike]

I'm listening to more music and my Pros are an integral part of that.

 

[kesennnnn]

Yess. I started mediating with Balance, and the noise cancellation is really helpful in tuning everything else out and focusing.

 

[Fusionskies]

No, not really.
Although for a while I’ve been wanting to upgrade to AirPods Pro, but since I’ve been using them a lot at home and not on the go as much, I’ve held off because I don’t really need ANC at the minute.
Plus I’m waiting to see if I can get sweet deal on the pros this Black Friday, more so if they announce a 2nd gen version.

 

[Frankfurt]

My primary use was always for phone calls. Since I work remotely I use them even more for phone and video calls.