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Is a Screen Useful on AirPods? Check Out This Knockoff With a Display

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terminator-jq

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2012
684
1,365
The only good reason I can think of for adding a screen that would make sense (and possibly be worth a purchase) is if it also had some built in memory. Give it 8gb to let us throw a few hours of music on it. It would basically be like an iPod… No need for an iPhone once the music is synced. Give us music, books and podcasts.

They can charge a little more for a WiFi / cellular model that can stream Apple Music.
 
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G

GrayFlannel

macrumors 6502
Feb 2, 2024
289
501
MacRumors said:


If you've ever wondered what it might be like to use AirPods with a display, well, a Chinese manufacturer made a fake version of the AirPods complete with a screen that we decided to test out. Would a touchscreen actually be worthwhile on AirPods?


The display on the fake AirPods activates when the case is opened up. It shows connectivity status, the time, the battery level of each earbud, noise control options, "Find My" settings, and equalizer presets. Other additions include customizable wallpaper, a flashlight, and a feature for controlling the iPhone's camera.

You're basically only able to control settings with the display, which is mildly useful. Actual AirPods need to be controlled through an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, with some options available through the Control Center/Status Bar and others buried in the settings app.

The touchscreen on the fake AirPods is, to put it politely, garbage. It doesn't register touches some of the time, the sound is mediocre, there are non-functional buttons, and the equalizer settings just make everything sound worse.

So why did we buy these earbuds? Apple patented a similar concept back in 2021, describing a set of AirPods with a built-in touchscreen display that can be used to manage settings and also control playback. In Apple's patent description, there are options for adjusting volume, favoriting songs, playing and pausing, skipping songs, and more.

Apple suggested that the touchscreen could offer tactile feedback and provide a more convenient way to control wireless earbuds.

We don't recommend counterfeit products, of course, so you should not go out and buy these. The fake AirPods do give us some idea of the utility of a touchscreen and how it could be used, which is interesting to imagine. Would you want an AirPods case with a touchscreen? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Is a Screen Useful on AirPods? Check Out This Knockoff With a Display
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Is this different than this?

forums.macrumors.com

AirPods Case With Touchscreen Knock-Off Copies Apple Patent

Apple registers many patents most of which never see the light of day as consumer products – officially, that is. One burgeoning knock-off merchant in China has apparently taken cues from an idea Apple had in 2021 for AirPods featuring a case with a built-in touchscreen display. Pictures and...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
agami

agami

macrumors newbie
Nov 21, 2016
4
1
Melbourne, Australia
A screen? Not really. But a click wheel? Yes.
It would be as useful as when those portable CD players and mini-disc players in the '90s came with a remote one could have in their pocket, for easy volume adjustment and playback controls.
Reaching up and feeling around the stub of an Airpod, or barking orders at Siri, are not the most convenient ways.
 
V

victorvictoria

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2023
457
527
terminator-jq said:
The only good reason I can think of for adding a screen that would make sense (and possibly be worth a purchase) is if it also had some built in memory. Give it 8gb to let us throw a few hours of music on it. It would basically be like an iPod… No need for an iPhone once the music is synced. Give us music, books and podcasts.

They can charge a little more for a WiFi / cellular model that can stream Apple Music.
Click to expand...
That's actually one of the only things I've read that's not insane! However, everyone with AirPods has an iPhone already, since they're useless without one. And without at iPhone (or other some smart device), there would be no way to GET those tunes on it. Also, adding a display would drain the cases' battery faster, probably much faster.

I don't see this one becoming the Next Big Thing.
 
S

svish

macrumors G3
Nov 25, 2017
9,699
25,563
Will be interesting to have a genuine model from Apple. Maybe in the future Apple will release one
 
D

droidgod

macrumors member
May 19, 2015
49
53
I think I'd prefer tactile buttons on the case. Its small enough to fit in the pocket.
 
S

SoldOnApple

macrumors 65816
Jul 20, 2011
1,038
1,712
Would be nice if the AirPods case with screen could be used for other things, like a remote shutter button and viewfinder for the iPhone camera. Especially as you'll always have the AirPods case with you.
 
J

Johnstrass2

macrumors member
Mar 30, 2023
40
48
RVijay007 said:
This is just a new form of an iPod - iPods with headphones, which would have always been a good product idea since it is all encompassing. But this look and feel needs more iterations.
Click to expand...
I must admit I think the Chinese companies are getting to be more creative than the American and European ones. This looks like a brilliant idea. I would love to buy one. I don’t see why an ipod funcion cannot be integrated within the case. There’s a lot of music I simply want to listen to off-line and I just wanna have it available all the time. I don’t need to read text surf the web, etc.

Another great example of Chinese car design are the new electric cars where all the seats fall down flat and they have an integrated bed so you can do car camping. Pretty creative.
 
J

Johnstrass2

macrumors member
Mar 30, 2023
40
48
SoldOnApple said:
Would be nice if the AirPods case with screen could be used for other things, like a remote shutter button and viewfinder for the iPhone camera. Especially as you'll always have the AirPods case with you.
Click to expand...
Or as a remote wheni give keynote talks drom my iphone
 
M

macjaffa

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2010
144
151
AppleTO said:
This could actually be quite compelling if it had 8GB of storage and you were able to download/save Apple Music tracks from your phone to it. Essentially like the Watch, but an alternative option. Music on the go like an iPad nano if you didn't need your phone.
Click to expand...
i've been saying for years that apple should make a 'pocket watch' Something square, about half the size of an iphone, bigger than i watch, that can be an antidote to the overly large phones and watch that too small to do anything on. If i need to hear or make a call i use headphones. Possibly build the airpod style case into the device. I don't need a huge phone, I use a laptop to do anything , but the watch is too small to check a web page, or send texts easily for example. Thy could really use a middle ground. Ironically something a little smaller/squarer than an OG iphone could probably be made with the latest tech
 
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CarAnalogy

macrumors 601
Jun 9, 2021
4,250
7,808
HobeSoundDarryl said:
I recently picked up a $20 cheapie as a bridge between dying APP2 and rumored APP4. It has a minimal LED display that shows percentage charge for case and each bud at a glance. IMO, this is farrrrrrrrrr superior to green:amber dot… or having to check more info on an iDevice.

While I expected “you get what you pay for” sound or microphone disappointment, neither has proved to be the case over about 45 days so far. Unless battery degrades fast, I’m no longer paying far more for APP4… completely unexpected.

Since sound & mics seem as good, I have to assume battery will conk much faster than the approx 2.5 years I got out of APP2. But if it lasts at least 1 year, $20/yr is a LOT less than $169 or so every 2.5 years.
Click to expand...

As the forum member I think of as "the sound guy" I'm a little surprised to hear this.

I'm not really an audiophile, but I am a data quality snob in general. I've always felt like the advantage with the AirPods line is the things you can't see, in typical Apple style.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you mostly, I'm just surprised to hear the sound is up to par. The APP2 are the best non-over ear headphones I've heard, and they work really really well.

I do think the single dot doing quadruple duty is not the best idea, and I also think there's got to be something in between $20 and $250 retail.

So I guess I'm not that surprised.
 
HobeSoundDarryl

HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Feb 8, 2004
12,290
15,794
Hobe Sound, FL (20 miles north of Palm Beach)
CarAnalogy said:
As the forum member I think of as "the sound guy" I'm a little surprised to hear this.

I'm not really an audiophile, but I am a data quality snob in general. I've always felt like the advantage with the AirPods line is the things you can't see, in typical Apple style.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you mostly, I'm just surprised to hear the sound is up to par. The APP2 are the best non-over ear headphones I've heard, and they work really really well.

I do think the single dot doing quadruple duty is not the best idea, and I also think there's got to be something in between $20 and $250 retail.

So I guess I'm not that surprised.
Click to expand...

I'm generally an Apple-everything guy myself and bought them with classic pessimism. I was basically hoping they could be "good enough" while waiting out the rumored APP4 arrival. So imagine my own shock at these discoveries:
  • They look, fit & feel about the same (classic Chinese cloning machine).
  • The case is same width & height but thicker by maybe 25% or so. However, it also promises more battery storage than APP2 case and has that handy screen in it. While thicker, it still fits in my pocket just as easily.
  • Subjectively, they sound at least as good as APP2 to my good ears.
  • Microphones pick up as good as APP2 in my testing.
  • Noise canceling seems as good to my ears.
  • Connection to my iDevice seems FASTER than APP2. However, they tend to "marry" themselves to last device vs. (usually) correct guessing if I want to use them on a different device (requiring only a selection in a bluetooth menu to switch them). That may be partially why they connect faster... faster than I can get both in ear.
  • Evolves the switch from Lightning to USB-C now.
The remaining test is simply time. Namely does the impressive battery (so far) last? A big change vs. APP2 is that the LED percentages make it much easier to know when it really needs a full charge, reducing the number of charge cycles. With Green:Amber APP2, I typically needed to best guess and would just charge it vs. finding out it was nearly drained (hello Amber) when I wanted to use them. Now I know at a glance and change them accordingly. Instead of charging APP2 when they might have been at 40%, 60%, 80% or more already, I can let these drain down towards about 15% before a full charge, knowing when they are in that vicinity at a glance. Conceptually, that means less charge cycles and thus longer battery life. But that's a real world TBD.

Do they just die at some point or stop connecting, etc? All TBD. But, as I offered in the previous thread, even if these only last 1 year instead of about 2.5 like the APP2 lasted me, $20/yr is a LOT less than about $169 every 2.5 years. If you are curious, buy them and hear for yourself. If we search hard and/or nitpick hard, I'm sure we will find something but if someone just wants great sound and good microphone use buds, these seem (as) great so far to me... so much so, APP4 is already scratched from my buy list unless these dramatically disappoint by that launch. IMO (right now anyway), sometimes "good enough" is in fact good enough.
 
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