AirPods Delay Attributed to Apple Ensuring Both Earpieces Receive Audio at Same Time [Updated]

[jarman92]

I think the bigger issue with AirPods is that they're part of a troubling pattern. They announce these in Sept for Oct release and in mid-Dec we don't even have a release date. There are still people waiting to get their iPhone 7 and it's been months since release. However you feel about the new MBP, it clearly has software and hardware issues that should have been caught before release, and the supply is also severely constrained. The desktop Mac line is ancient and didn't see any updates this year. Throw in the fact that Apple hasn't done anything particularly "innovative" this year, and I'm really starting to worry about the future of Apple. What exactly can they do well at this point?

 

[Zorn]

Look in a mirror. Now, that is the greedy one.

You want stuff for free? Make it yourself. This generation has gotten so spoiled that even 99¢ is too much to pay for an app.

You're making a ton of assumptions and putting a lot of words in my mouth. I'd be happy to pay a reasonable amount for a WSJ app that includes their content. Your 99 cents suggestion is nowhere near the reality. Let's take a look at what it would cost to pay for the access to that article. Even assuming we take advantage of the "generous" 50% off offer for 6 months, a subscription to the WSJ website still costs $16.50 a month. After the 6 months, you're talking an incredulous $33 a month. For online articles.

The problem isn't paying for content, it's an incredibly outdated business model that tries to put an unrealistic value on pixels.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Exactly. Removing the floppy was a much bigger deal. You need to get a grip. There are hundreds of Bluetooth headphones out there. AirPods will be one of many options. You act like it's all or nothing. AirPods or bust. Seriously???

Removing the floppy disk was a necessity.
Bluetooth headphones is just a ploy to sell more dongles and stuff.

 

[tremlock]

wasn't one of the points of buying Beats for the technology?

 

[Karma*Police]

how was this not among the first things addressed in its development?

I'm sure they thought they could address it in time for launch. These things happen ALL THE TIME. My company misses deadlines quite frequently and so do our competitors. In fact, we've announced products that never shipped!

The people who are complaining don't understand how complex a product launch is, and are definitely spoiled because Apple is such a well-oiled machine compared to other companies. And for anyone who says this never happened under Steve Jobs, you either have very short memories or you haven't been following Apple for very long.

 

[ireadblitz]

omg!! apple ruined christmas!!!!

 

[yaxomoxay]

OK so Tell Tim how to do it better. Put your experience to work. Bitching on a forum isn't helping these things get produced.

I am not paid what he's paid. His chair doesn't make him infallible and free from comment by customers and vendors.
It's business, not a religion.

 

[sbailey4]

I wouldn't touch these things with a ten foot pole. Given there are already BT issues they are apparently having with current BT technology adding these tampon earphones BOTH trying to separately maintain a separate connection and stay in sync.......... No thanks. Too many other reliable headphone options available. Plus BT ver5 is out now so they should be working on that technology.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Maybe they'll be ready by the time the next iPhone launches...
[doublepost=1481310259][/doublepost]Somehow Gruber will spin this as "amazing" and/or "Apple at its best"

 

[sleepydinosaur]

He's a customer. He was promised a release date of 10/30/2016. As of 12/9/2016 the release date was not respected. He's right: "These things should never happen." (Esp. During christmas season)

But neither you nor he knows what exactly the issue is. The chip (yields)? Drivers? So suck it up and wait until they are released or go buy something else. Its not a rock in a box, there's complicated manufacturing and assembly happening here.

 

[wigby]

They're certainly not doing it for charity, and there's no other reason to remove something functional for something that... doesn't work yet. The alternative solutions (lighting headphones) are just to sugarcoat the medicine; they're bulky solutions (can't even use the headphones on the new MBP!).

What doesn't work? A product that hasn't been released yet? I've been using bluetooth headphones for years and would never consider going back to wired. Glad someone had the balls (i.e., courage) to remove them.

Try using the included adapter. It actually works.

 

[PowerGala]

How did you survive the removal of the floppy drive?!?!?!?

There's plenty of reasons to remove the headphone jack, starting with the obvious trend towards wireless headphones. Just because they don't have an Apple logo doesn't makes any of the numerous offerings any less functional.

Second and more to the point, why waste the space for an outdated jack? Whether they removed it this time around or in a few years, it's going away.

You're making a mountain out of a mole hill. They provide an adapter. It's anything but bulky. Same goes for the lightning headphones.

At least my brand new $250 wired headphones work.

To each their own.

 

[robbyx]

I think the bigger issue with AirPods is that they're part of a troubling pattern. They announce these in Sept for Oct release and in mid-Dec we don't even have a release date. There are still people waiting to get their iPhone 7 and it's been months since release. However you feel about the new MBP, it clearly has software and hardware issues that should have been caught before release, and the supply is also severely constrained. The desktop Mac line is ancient and didn't see any updates this year. Throw in the fact that Apple hasn't done anything particularly "innovative" this year, and I'm really starting to worry about the future of Apple. What exactly can they do well at this point?

How long have you been a customer? I've been buying their stuff for 34 years. I promise you, the majority of those years did not see anything innovative released. I agree the Mac is being neglected and that worries me the most of anything as it's the backbone of the company. Every company has problematic releases. That doesn't worry me. Mac neglect does.

 

[yaxomoxay]

But neither you nor he knows what exactly the issue is. The chip (yields)? Drivers? So suck it up and wait until they are released or go buy something else. Its not a rock in a box, there's complicated manufacturing and assembly happening here.

It's business.
Promise a date.
Keep the promise.
That's how it works.

Unless it's something of a global scale, the reasons are not my concern. He's paid by customers and government to deliver a final product with a given quality, all while keeping a certain level of trust between his company and the external world.
If he fails, I don't care about his excuses, the same way he doesn't care about other people's excuses when something goes wrong.
And everyone knows that missing Holiday season is a cardinal sin; the board will eat him alive.
[doublepost=1481310495][/doublepost]

How long have you been a customer? I've been buying their stuff for 34 years. I promise you, the majority of those years did not see anything innovative released. I agree the Mac is being neglected and that worries me the most of anything as it's the backbone of the company. Every company has problematic releases. That doesn't worry me. Mac neglect does.

Well, you can't count Amelio's years

 

[bigjnyc]

Perhaps. So why ship the PowerBeats 3 then? Same W1 chip. Same cord between the two buds. Take away the ear hooks and replace the micro-USB charging port with a Lightning port and you've got the same thing.

So I don't think that's the reason.

The earhooks make all the difference, usually someone who is in the market for the powerbeats is not looking for pure in ear headphones.

 

[honglong1976]

Delay tactics mixed with a hint of good old fashioned BS

 

[robbyx]

Removing the floppy disk was a necessity.
Bluetooth headphones is just a ploy to sell more dongles and stuff.

Good grief. You're either very young and didn't experience removing the floppy first-hand or you're just a complainer. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that removing the headphone jack is no big deal.
[doublepost=1481310596][/doublepost]

At least my brand new $250 wired headphones work.

To each their own.

What's your point?

 

[yaxomoxay]

Good grief. You're either very young and didn't experience removing the floppy first-hand or you're just a complainer. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that removing the headphone jack is no big deal.
[doublepost=1481310596][/doublepost]

What's your point?

Not young (36), and I witnessed the removal of the floppy, which I welcomed very much.
And where did I say that it's a big deal? I am saying that it sucks, and as a customer that makes me unhappy especially looking at the trend. Should I smile and draw unicorns and rainbows?

 

[wigby]

Not as I recall and I've been following Apple since the late 80s. But if you have a list to bolster your claim feel free to post it -- again talking about frequent product not shipping on time.

But beside that, like I said, TC hasn't released ONE product that has set the industry on fire. So whatever product ship dates that were missed -- I can only recall two off the top of my head that were not due to Moto's lying about PPC availability - the original MacBook Pro and the white iPhone 4 -- he still moved the company forward. And none were multiple misses inside of two years like TC (talking about the original AW and EarPods).

Did Cook ship the next iPhone? No, but no one else ever will. You could argue that Apple Music set the "industry on fire" and even Apple Watch. Depends who you ask. Hell, I know people who wouldn't include iPhone as setting the "industry on fire" either so it's all relative.

 

[xraydoc]

The earhooks make all the difference, usually someone who is in the market for the powerbeats is not looking for pure in ear headphones.

I get that. But what doesn't make sense is that if the Powerbeats 3 are shipping, why aren't the Beats X shipping. Unless there's significant differences internally for reasons not yet clear, they seem like they should be virtually identical to the Powerbeats 3 (minus the ear hooks and swap the microUSB charger port for a lightning charger port).

 

[belvdr]

Either way, it doesn't change the fact that removing the headphone jack is no big deal.

Consider that others don't have the same usage pattern as you. Very often, I plug my phone into a set of computer speakers in the shop to listen to while I'm working. If I'm forced to buy a dongle or a new set of speakers, then removal of the jack doesn't benefit me. In fact, it simply benefits Apple.

I realize others don't have this, so it's not a one-size fits all situation.

 

[calzon65]

OMG the headline for this article is hilarious ... delayed because Apple wants to ensure both ear pieces receive audio at the same time ... seems like a "no duh" issue to me LOL

 

[diipii]

None of the reviews ever mentioned this problem. Wonder why they think it is now?

Maybe they weren't actually reviews but just being "economical with the truth" through their teeth the economical bar stewards.

 

[bladerunner2000]

Maybe they should have had these completely ready to go before removing the headphone jack on their phone?

Or... just letting the headphone jack stay and let people use bluetooth if they chose to? Why the hell are people under the impression that in order to have wireless headphones, you need to get rid of the headphone jack? Apple sure is deceiving it's consumers.... THAT actually takes courage.

 

[wigby]

Removing the floppy disk was a necessity.
Bluetooth headphones is just a ploy to sell more dongles and stuff.

And removing the floppy was a way for Apple to include CD-ROM drives and charge more for original iMacs. It also helped them secure a deal with Sony to supply all of the CD-ROM drives. Everything is about business but you don't understand Apple or business if you think they care about selling dongles.