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AirPods 2 impressions

Ralfi

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Original poster
Dec 22, 2016
4,382
3,104
Australia
A thread to distinguish posts by actual owners as oppose to the order status/rumours in other threads.

Curious to know how they sound compared to v1.

& any other pros/cons you've discovered.

Thanks.
 
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The HomePod seems to always handoff to the Airpods instantly if I’m using them at home which is great.

‘Hey Siri’ seems to work really well, even in noisy environments - although I’ve only tested this with loud music playing in the background.

Sounds pretty much the same as the first generation to me.
A bit faster switching between devices too.

Overall, love them even more than the first gen! Hey Siri support is awesome
 
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First impression.... Hey Siri works well .... to me they sound better but that maybe just my imagination :) .....

My main reason for upgrade was battery life .... we’ll see how that goes
 
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ukms said:
First impression.... Hey Siri works well .... to me they sound better but that maybe just my imagination :) .....

My main reason for upgrade was battery life .... we’ll see how that goes
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Is Siri still slow? The thing that annoys me with Siri on the AirPods is that when you activate it, you can’t speak immediately. It had a delay of 3 seconds or so until you can.

Is that better now? Can you test by activating from the iPhone and speaking immediately and also with a fluid “hey Siri what time is it” sentence (instead of “hey Siri... ding ding... what time is it”
 
Kimcha said:
Awesome, thanks for sharing. Is Siri still slow? The thing that annoys me with Siri on the AirPods is that when you activate it, you can’t speak immediately. It had a delay of 3 seconds or so until you can.

Is that better now? Can you test by activating from the iPhone and speaking immediately and also with a fluid “hey Siri what time is it” sentence (instead of “hey Siri... ding ding... what time is it”
Click to expand...

Siri was always fast for me on AirPods Gen 1. I would double tap the AirPod and it would make the sound instantly. If you had a delay of three seconds, something else is up.
 
I found they are nearly instant when on a phone call and putting one in the ear, no delay like v1. Also switching between iPhone, iPad and Apple TV is much quicker as well. Also they feel like a different coating but that is probably just because my v1 are over 2 years old!

Wireless charging case works well on my blitzwolf wireless charger.. hoping AirPower is out later this week though!
 
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Keep the impressions coming. Connectivity slowness/inconsistency and talk-time battery life were my two biggest issues!
 
Hey Siri works pretty well and fast. Changing between devices is noticeably faster. Lag is noticeably reduced as well, before playing and pause in YouTube for example had a little delay, now it’s like the wired version, zero or almost zero lag. Sound, I don’t know, the same or maybe the bass is a little bit improved but could be a placebo.
 
My pair have arrived. Initial impression is that they do swap between devices quicker and Siri use is very quick. However, the external LED seems totally pointless as it turns off after 5-6 seconds of being on charge whether it be wireless or wired charging.
 
shiftywxm said:
My pair have arrived. Initial impression is that they do swap between devices quicker and Siri use is very quick. However, the external LED seems totally pointless as it turns off after 5-6 seconds of being on charge whether it be wireless or wired charging.
Click to expand...

That’s fine with me. I prefer not to constantly have an LED on at night. As long as it lights up initially I’m fine. That’s akin to when you plug in your phone, you know it’s charging due to the buzz or beep initially.
 
firewire9000 said:
playing and pause in YouTube for example had a little delay, now it’s like the wired version
Click to expand...

Oh you’ve reminded me of an issue with YouTube that I’ve had since day dot (v1) - With Play/Pause tap commands, YouTube can be paused, but I always need to wait ~1 minute before I can tap again to unpause the video.

Is this still the case with v2?
 
Ralfi said:
Oh you’ve reminded me of an issue with YouTube that I’ve had since day dot (v1) - With Play/Pause tap commands, YouTube can be paused, but I always need to wait ~1 minute before I can tap again to unpause the video.

Is this still the case with v2?
Click to expand...

I never had this issue with the first generation.
 
I haven't spent much time with my new AirPods but they (unfortunately) seem more neutral in terms of EQ/frequency response than my v1s did. Specifically, low frequency bass seems less powerful than it used to be.
 
Mine were delayed today due to a mechanical failure of my ups truck :(

Can anyone confirm that AirPower is mentioned on the packaging??
 
If anyone can post some pics that would be great! Gen 1 vs Gen 2 pics would be great to see as well!
 
I just got my AirPods 2 with the wireless charging case today. These are my first pair of AirPods although my wife has the original AirPods.

From my quick comparison test (watching the same Unbox Therapy YouTube video), I would say the video/audio sync (latency) is noticeably better on the AirPods 2. It is practically in perfect sync which I found very impressive. Much better than the Jabra Elite 65t's which I also own. Pausing/unpausing on YouTube is instant with no delays.

The connection on the AirPods 2 is rock solid and never once cut out which I guess is already the case with the original AirPods. Switching between my iPhone, iPad and iMac was also super fast. I tried to compare this with my wife's AirPods but they didn't seem to want to connect with my iMac for some reason. Sorry about that.

When listening to music, I could not make out any discernible difference between my AirPods 2 and my wife's original AirPods. I bought the AirPods 2 mainly for the gym and casual wireless listening. They will replace my Jabra's which have lousy latency issues and fatigue my ears after 30 mins or so.

For wired listening, I use my Shure SE846's which are in another league entirely. Very happy now with the SE846 and AirPods 2 combo.
 
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Thanks guys I really appreciate this one. I was mainly concerned about the sound quality as compared to the original, sounds to me like there isn't a difference so will wait for mine to die or the next gen. I really only use them for music.
 
They sound really good and are louder than my previous pair, however I have had the previous ones since the release, so they have degraded. Unfortunately, I am having connection issues with beta 6, will see if it will be better when I update.
 
Can anyone try putting one 1st gen AirPod in the case with a second gen and see if it pairs them together??
 
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