The AirPods have to be Apple’s worst new product.

[scaramoosh]

Siri is useless, but what sucks most about the AirPods is how I’m afraid they’ll decided not to work today. Like 80 percent of the time they will be fine, but that 20 percent makes them a nightmare. Considering I try to use them for a few hours a day.... it’s one or two days of the week they won’t work.

I dunno why but they’ll connect, I go to play something and they’ll just disappear from Airplay and the sound will play from my phone. I go to Bluetooth and they’re there, I go to Airplay and they reappear, they I play something and they go again.

This is a constant problem, I’m on my third pair now, I’m on my second iPhone X and my third phone since owning them. They all do it and only the AirPods act this way.

It’s to the point where I had to buy something that works.... a 20 quid Anker pair and they’ve been great.

My problem is Apple refuse to believe there is an issue any more as it’s hard to replicate unless you live with them. Frigging I can google the issue and loads of threads pop up, but no one seems concerned.... they’re not faulty, Apples software is just increasingly becoming worse.

Then again I find Airplay to have this weird latency on Macs, but apparently that’s fine. My Apple TV 4K is laggy as hell, but that’s apparently fine too. How about Face ID failing half the time and not working at all in portrait.... oversight much?

If Android wasn’t so crap I’d have switched by now.

 

[44267547]

You’re thread title doesn’t reflect based on the popularity AND demand for the Airpods since their release.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/02/apple-says-airpods-incredibly-popular/

Also, I would respectfully disagree and say the Airpods are easily one of my top purchases since their release. The battery life, convenient features, audio is adequate and the portability factor makes them easy to transport.

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

You’re thread title doesn’t reflect based on the popularity AND demand for the Airpods since their release.

https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/02/apple-says-airpods-incredibly-popular/

Also, I would respectfully disagree and say the Airpods are easily one of my top purchases since their release. The battery life, convenient features, audio is adequate and the portability factor makes them easy to transport.

I have to agree with you here.
I'm the first to be critical of a new product if it's half-baked or riddled with issues, but compared to the multitude of other bluetooth headphones/earbuds etc that I have owned/used, these are by far the best.

As has already been said - they work, the sound is more than adequate for my needs and the portability and battery life is a total winner.

 

[ericwn]

A look at this forum would have told you that by no means the AirPods are seen as a bad product. Sorry that you have such a tough time with them. As you swapped hardware a few times, the issue might be related to some data on your device or caused by some sort of external influence.

 

[TiggrToo]

Gotta love those threads with such clickbaitish titles. Often think MacRumours needs to have a Clickbait tag for threads such as these!

 

[millerj123]

If Android wasn’t so crap I’d have switched by now.

If I had this many problems with my Apple products, I'd switch too. Unfortunately, I also use alternate products, and you are correct, they just aren't as good. Apple for the win.

 

[bigjnyc]

I think most people would disagree. AirPods are seen as the best new product Apple has introduced in a long time. I see so many around NYC that they are like the new iconic white EarPods. I would love to own a pair myself but they don’t stay in my ear unfortunately.

 

[Krayzkat]

My AirPods work well most of the time for me. The few times they've disconnected have normally been after I had used them with my AW. So i just assumed the iPhone and AW are fighting over who gets to connect to them....

 

[Wxchaser]

I disagree with OP - have had 2 pairs of AirPod's since release date and both of them have worked fine 100 percent.

I do a lot of working out and running with mine and no issues there either.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

I too, disagree. One of the things I like best is that they always work instantly, switching from whatever audio source I'm using. Both of our adult children, early 30's, also feel that these were one of the best gifts they have ever received and use them daily.

Is it possible that they are not fitting tightly enough in your ear? Since there are people on this forum who say that they cannot use them b/c they won't stay in their ears, I am guessing that there must also be folks for whom the AirPods are ill fitting which keeps them from connecting properly. Just a thought.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

I did have a really wonky left AirPod on my first pair (it would constantly connect while it was supposed to be charging in the case— it also really, really liked my iPad and didn’t want to connect to my iPhone), but luckily I had no problem at the Genius Bar. They replaced it back in January, and I’ve had no complaints since.

 

[sparksd]

I really like my Airpods but besides my 10.5 iPP I also like my Android devices ...

 

[democracyrules]

Siri is useless, but what sucks most about the AirPods is how I’m afraid they’ll decided not to work today. Like 80 percent of the time they will be fine, but that 20 percent makes them a nightmare. Considering I try to use them for a few hours a day.... it’s one or two days of the week they won’t work.

I dunno why but they’ll connect, I go to play something and they’ll just disappear from Airplay and the sound will play from my phone. I go to Bluetooth and they’re there, I go to Airplay and they reappear, they I play something and they go again.

This is a constant problem, I’m on my third pair now, I’m on my second iPhone X and my third phone since owning them. They all do it and only the AirPods act this way.

It’s to the point where I had to buy something that works.... a 20 quid Anker pair and they’ve been great.

My problem is Apple refuse to believe there is an issue any more as it’s hard to replicate unless you live with them. Frigging I can google the issue and loads of threads pop up, but no one seems concerned.... they’re not faulty, Apples software is just increasingly becoming worse.

Then again I find Airplay to have this weird latency on Macs, but apparently that’s fine. My Apple TV 4K is laggy as hell, but that’s apparently fine too. How about Face ID failing half the time and not working at all in portrait.... oversight much?

If Android wasn’t so crap I’d have switched by now.

Please do not spread fake news about AirPods and iPhone X. No problems with mine. AirPods are the best earphone in the earphone market and iPhone X is the best iPhone in the iPhone history.

 

[maflynn]

I'm not a fan of them personally, but I will say that your opinion of the air pods being the worse apple new product is not based on any metric used to measure a product's success. This is one of the few products that Apple has that does not trace its lineage back to Steve Jobs, and so the airpods are a great achievement for Tim Cook, as he fights to show Apple can innovate w/o Steve Jobs

 

[Future-Proof]

I'm not a fan of them personally, but I will say that your opinion of the air pods being the worse apple new product is not based on any metric used to measure a product's success. This is one of the few products that Apple has that does not trace its lineage back to Steve Jobs, and so the airpods are a great achievement for Tim Cook, as he fights to show Apple can innovate w/o Steve Jobs

You don't see them much where I live but I have one friend who absolutely loves them and has had no issues. At the same time we have to respect that the OP has had a bad experience with his (unless he's making it up which I doubt). What is it about technology that sometimes it just fails on us? Are the laws of physics not constant enough for exact replicatable results across every single device manufactured? Or are there little mistakes or inconsistencies in the manufacturing process?

 

[TiggrToo]

You don't see them much where I live but I have one friend who absolutely loves them and has had no issues. At the same time we have to respect that the OP has had a bad experience with his (unless he's making it up which I doubt). What is it about technology that sometimes it just fails on us? Are the laws of physics not constant enough for exact replicatable results across every single device manufactured? Or are there little mistakes or inconsistencies in the manufacturing process?

Don't think that anyone accused the OP off making anything up. However the evidence is already in and it's horribly conclusive - the Air Pods are a runaway success so the thread title is very ClickBaitish.

Also, remember, these are a 1.0 version. How often do we see the first iteration of a paradigm shift sell so monumentally well as these have?

 

[maflynn]

You don't see them much where I live

My experience has been the polar opposite, I see them all over the Boston area

 

[Future-Proof]

My experience has been the polar opposite, I see them all over the Boston area

I live in the countryside, that's why. My friend says they are by far the best invention from Apple since the iPhone. He got his 2 years ago and they're still working great. I so want a pair! But I'm saving up for an iPhone 8 Plus so it'll have to wait.

 

[maflynn]

I'm saving up for an iPhone 8 Plus so it'll have to wait.

Personally, I'm not a fan of them, for a number of reasons, but that doesn't detract from the fact that they are an out and out success for Apple.

 

[Future-Proof]

Personally, I'm not a fan of them, for a number of reasons, but that doesn't detract from the fact that they are an out and out success for Apple.

What don't you like about them?

 

[NoBoMac]

I dunno why but they’ll connect, I go to play something and they’ll just disappear from Airplay and the sound will play from my phone. I go to Bluetooth and they’re there, I go to Airplay and they reappear, they I play something and they go again.
[...]
It’s to the point where I had to buy something that works.... a 20 quid Anker pair and they’ve been great.

I'd lay the blame on the phone. I've had something similar with my 8 and cheap-o Anker earbuds. Plug the phone into the car's Lightning cable audio connection, does not recognize it, Ankers show, but only Phone for output source is working. Have to reboot the device. Doesn't happen often, but, seems like the switcher software is wonky.

What don't you like about them?

For me, it's Siri. Never been a fan and might use it once or twice a year (with limited success). I like the dedicated volume up/down buttons on traditional headsets, where I can discreetly adjust the volume vs. saying out loud "hey Siri" (eg. at the gym). Also concerned about sound quality and isolation for the price, and fit (sure, can always get aftermarket hooks to help, but was never fond of any previous generation of Apple's buds fit and or sound).

Have been tempted, but will wait it out for (maybe) Airpods v2 or v3.

 

[3rdiguy]

I've had my AirPods since the day they were released and I've noticed that they take longer to connect and have several instances where they fail to connect or connect and then drop connection. They just don't seem to switch nearly as smoothly as they did when first released.

 

[Rajani Isa]

I'd lay the blame on the phone. I've had something similar with my 8 and cheap-o Anker earbuds. Plug the phone into the car's Lightning cable audio connection, does not recognize it, Ankers show, but only Phone for output source is working. Have to reboot the device. Doesn't happen often, but, seems like the switcher software is wonky.



For me, it's Siri. Never been a fan and might use it once or twice a year (with limited success). I like the dedicated volume up/down buttons on traditional headsets, where I can discreetly adjust the volume vs. saying out loud "hey Siri" (eg. at the gym). Also concerned about sound quality and isolation for the price, and fit (sure, can always get aftermarket hooks to help, but was never fond of any previous generation of Apple's buds fit and or sound).

Have been tempted, but will wait it out for (maybe) Airpods v2 or v3.

Admittedly if you have your hands full you can't, but I leave one earbud for double-tap for siri so I would just have to go "volume up" or "volume down".

 

[HandsomeDanNZ]

For me, it's Siri. Never been a fan and might use it once or twice a year (with limited success). I like the dedicated volume up/down buttons on traditional headsets, where I can discreetly adjust the volume vs. saying out loud "hey Siri" (eg. at the gym). Also concerned about sound quality and isolation for the price, and fit (sure, can always get aftermarket hooks to help, but was never fond of any previous generation of Apple's buds fit and or sound).

Have been tempted, but will wait it out for (maybe) Airpods v2 or v3.

This is where having an Apple Watch comes in handy - it becomes your remote instead of relying on Siri - in fact in the (don't know how many) months that I have been using AirPods, I have not used Siri once through them...