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AirPods were originally slated to launch in October, but the wireless earphones were later delayed. Apple said it needed "a little more time" before they are ready for customers, and it has yet to provide an official update since.

AirPods-duo.jpg

While the exact reason for the delay remains unclear, a person familiar with the development of AirPods told The Wall Street Journal that Apple's troubles appear to be related to its "efforts to chart a new path for wireless headphones," in addition to resolving what happens when users lose one of the earpieces or the battery dies.Last month, Barclays analysts said AirPods should enter production in December. Their research note said quantities would be limited to between 10 and 15 million AirPods to start. Meanwhile, an alleged email response from Apple CEO Tim Cook said AirPods should begin shipping over the "next few weeks."

With just two weeks remaining in the holiday shopping season, some believe Apple should now wait until the new year to launch AirPods, in line with an early rumor about a January 2017 launch. The wireless earphones remain listed as both "coming soon" and "currently unavailable" on different sections of Apple's website.

Article Link: AirPods Delay Attributed to Apple Ensuring Both Earpieces Receive Audio at Same Time

While the easy thing to do is lash out due to frustration, I will try to continue to be patient as difficult as that is. I hope they are great when they launch.
 
Here come the people complaining about Apple taking too long to test something before release...

I'd say the issue is more that they announced them, announced a release date (month) and removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 before fully testing them and getting them market-ready.

They can test them for a ten years if they want, just don't tell us all about them until they're ready.
 
This makes no physical sense what so ever. These buds are, what a foot apart and bluetooth happens at the speed of ***** light. Receiving the signal at the same time is nonsense. If it is two independent signals and the problem is that the earbuds aren't receiving the right signals at the right time, its because the right signals aren't being broadcast at the right time.

And honestly, how is such a simple problem such a huge obstacle for Apple? For how long have we been broadcasting simultaneous stereo radio signals?
 
It's disappointing that they've been delayed but it's for the right reasons. A bug like this is a very huge deal.

I am curious why they never sorted this out in development, it would seem to me this would be one of the first things to overcome in the design.
 
Uhhh…I sure hope this isn't the reason because wow Apple, wow.

I've also wondered what happens if you have several of them in your family and they get mixed up. Do they pair over proximity or will you just have to keep trying different ones until you find your match? Not likely to be a problem at first but over time I imagine they will sell lots of these and at some point many years down the road they will probably come in the box after they eliminate the Lightning port. It would also be nice to be able to buy a replacement piece if you lose one side, and if that is ever an option you need to be able to pair them back together.
 
I was also thinking that if each one is a separate signal, maybe the way it pairs is with whatever is in the charging enclosure at the same time? So then you could swap out different earbuds and sync them together.
 
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It's disappointing they're delayed but I can wait. People are freaking out over this. I'll keep saying it until it gets into people's thick heads. If they released them in October and had issues, people would get grumpy. Apple made a mistake announcing these when they did but admitted they needed more time. Guess what? They're PEOPLE. People make mistakes. Get over it.

Oh and, there's nothing out there like this. It's a brand new product and teething issues were bound to happen.
 
It's disappointing that they've been delayed but it's for the right reasons. A bug like this is a very huge deal.

I am curious why they never sorted this out in development, it would seem to me this would be one of the first things to overcome in the design.
This rumor sounds like it was originated from China and was translated wrong. Apple's entire approach involves independent pairing and operation of the Airpod if one should not be paired. It's either a supply issue or they're still tweaking software last minute.
 
This makes no physical sense what so ever. These buds are, what a foot apart and bluetooth happens at the speed of ***** light. Receiving the signal at the same time is nonsense. If it is two independent signals and the problem is that the earbuds aren't receiving the right signals at the right time, its because the right signals aren't being broadcast at the right time.

And honestly, how is such a simple problem such a huge obstacle for Apple? For how long have we been broadcasting simultaneous stereo radio signals?
RF Multipathing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multipath_propagation) causes the strongest signal to not travel in a straight line. Remember the shortest distance is though a couple feet of flesh which is which is 50% water. Water absorbs RF extremely well and will attenuate the signal.
 
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That is such a Keystone Cops headline...

I mean, solving the problem of having a time delay in one ear might be at the top of most wireless earphones design lists?
smileys-thinking-029488_zps8xfcsyvv.gif
 
It's disappointing they're delayed but I can wait. People are freaking out over this. I'll keep saying it until it gets into people's thick heads. If they released them in October and had issues, people would get grumpy. Apple made a mistake announcing these when they did but admitted they needed more time. Guess what? They're PEOPLE. People make mistakes. Get over it.

Maybe offer the product while not removing the headphone jack for the first generation for the early adopters?
 
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