AirPods Impressions: ‘Better Than Expected’ Bluetooth, Sound, and Battery Impress Early Users

[Silver78]

these are going to save me so much hassle. not buying for sound quality but to replace bluetooth headset and light media use.
Like you would use a portable speaker or radio at home in the kitchen or garage etc. I actually use airplay speakers more than I fire up my amp and dac.
I use iphone camera more than my 5d
when at home and having to listen to radio or what ever while doing calls I find myself using the original iphone 7 headset often or the airplay speakers and bluetooth headset.
And its not that I dont have nice headphones but I can not walk around with a pair of momentum wireless all day.

Im pretty sure these airpods are going to end up being the headphones I use the most and are allways at hand.
If sound quality is better than the standard i7 pods then they are okay.

 

[Puonti]

This is not for audiophiles, but for those who want to listen to music while doing chores around the house.

Also for people who live in parts of the world where warm headwear is a necessity in wintertime, blocking headphone use, and routing wires through thick layers of clothing is troublesome.

The AirPods aren't the only option there, of course, nor for light, hassle-free listening around the house. It'll be interresting to see how well they'll work for my intended usecases.

 

[Zirel]

How is there no space for them? Are you an engineer?

Yes.

 

[ani4ani]

Have you tried AirPods? Those (not named Nilay Patel) that have say sound quality is better than EarPods.

Virtually everything on the planet has better sound quality than EarPods! A really low bar if you ask me.

 

[dampfnudel]

With Apple these days, "better than expected" is definitely a good thing.

 

[Picapau21]

Virtually everything on the planet has better sound quality than EarPods! A really low bar if you ask me.

Have you tried them out yet?

I listened to lot a music through my on ear H8's, EarPods and AirPods yesterday and honestly I'm not convinced that the difference is that great. I suspect it will depend on your musical tastes but I listen to a range of music from House, Drum and Bass, Hip-Hop and Commercial all streamed using apple music/sound cloud and I think due to compression I couldn't hear that big a difference. Possibly using a high end audio set-up with a good DAC would allow the H8's to sound better but in normal use I couldn't really differentiate between then 3.

When i get a chance I will test them out against my IEM Shure 535's and Seinnheiser i8's.

As a disclaimer - When listening though my iPhone I CAN'T hear a difference between Tidal lossless and AAC 256 either. Maybe I have rubbish ears!

btw. as many have said already these AirPods are really good for phone calls and no-one could tell I was using a hands free kit.

 

[The Game 161]

I really don't know why people need super loud sound as it is. For the average usage the sound on the air pods are good. Connection is great and calls are great as well. It's truly wireless with no wires at all and syncs perfectly from all devices.

If people want amazing sound then you have to buy an extra £100 for that at least. Headphones like the solo3 are £250 and for good reason.

 

[JohnnyGo]

I really don't know why people need super loud sound as it is. For the average usage the sound on the air pods are good. Connection is great and calls are great as well. It's truly wireless with no wires at all and syncs perfectly from all devices.

If people want amazing sound then you have to buy an extra £100 for that at least. Headphones like the solo3 are £250 and for good reason.

BTW Beats solo3 have really great, balanced and detailed sound. I was really impressed after years of hearing that Beats were just hype and no substance.

 

[The Game 161]

BTW Beats solo3 have really great, balanced and detailed sound. I was really impressed after years of hearing that Beats were just hype and no substance.

That's great to know as I'm getting them as well for Christmas. Wanted them for when I want more sound. W1 chip is a big reason why I wanted them.

 

[kissmo]

I don't know... battery life is weird. I listened to 5 songs and went down to 89%
I will keep testing and see how it adds up after a full cycle.

 

[MacBH928]

If they don't fall out of your ears I'll bite...

One guy said they would have been much better in black, which I agree with. You might kill me, but beige/brownish might seem perfect, considering you want them to be as subtle looking on the face/head as possible

 

[The Game 161]

I don't know... battery life is weird. I listened to 5 songs and went down to 89%
I will keep testing and see how it adds up after a full cycle.

for what it's worth mine dropped 19% in an hour of music in the gym

 

[JohnnyGo]

for what it's worth mine dropped 19% in an hour of music in the gym

5h battery life. Ok for me.

 

[ericwn]

If they don't fall out of your ears I'll bite...

One guy said they would have been much better in black, which I agree with. You might kill me, but beige/brownish might seem perfect, considering you want them to be as subtle looking on the face/head as possible

Well the shape is the same that comes with the iPhone so if you have a standard earbud from Apple and it fits, this one will be the same but without the chance that a chord might pull the earbud.

 

[conifer]

They fell out of my ears a bunch. I used the small tipped ear gels for my plantronics backbeats, so if you have small ears, these might be a problem.

Tested saying Siri raise volume to 80 percent while I was in Apple Store and walking outside. I had to raise my voice quite a bit and she got it half the time. Also play command while I was in third party app. Lower volume command was harder for her.

Could tap through my coat hat she had no problem.

Voice recordings sounded clear. Tested also over FaceTime with friend with sensitive hearing. She could hear me loud and clear even though jacket hat was covering the pods. Lost signal once when rounding aisle in store. Also lost signal when pods moved in my ear. Did not lose FaceTime or Bluetooth signal in elevator. All in all, better than my three year old backbeats 903 + which lost signal when I tilted head and phone was in right or left pocket of coat.

Also one pair of the backbeats had the buttons broken, I wonder if the airpods will be more sturdy as they don't have buttons.

Tested with movie on direct tv now app and sounded like crap, tinny compared to my audio technica $100 wired over the ears. So this is a trade off as the headphones take up space which sometimes I need for other things.

I was originally skeptical but now I think I might keep as I listen to a lot of voice recordings, if I can solve the ear issue. Bought plastic ear ring hooks on Amazon as well as the dreaded string, should come by early next week.

Charging solution convenience should not be underestimated. The case charge is helpful vs plugging into tiny backbeats hole and worrying my cat would chew on them while charging. I also like the ten hours charge; frankly I'm sick of charging things and quit using the Apple Watch as it was just one more thing on top of earbuds, batteries, phones, iPads to charge.

Tried them with iOS 9 and they worked like Bluetooth , meaning no pause when I took out of ear.


Tried with one bud and it was fine. Liked the fact that sound stopped when had both buds in but one dropped out of ear.

I can imagine getting sick of these and going back to wired headphones with better sound that don't need a charge. On the other hand I could see using these for work travel when I need to take calls and need more room in bag. I could also see using these as preferred method while outside especially to voice recordings and if I could get Siri to recognize my voice commands easier.

 

[The Game 161]

air pods water resistant?

 

[carletonguy]

They DO fall out, if you bend over to pick something up, for example, which is a little bit of a bummer, but other than that, for their size, they are INSANELY GREAT! The sound oooOOOhhhhh so good... smooth...

I've tried so hard to get mine to fall out and they don't. I'd be so pissed if I was one of the few folks that had the "wrong" ear shape... ugh.
[doublepost=1482273524][/doublepost]Okay, for what these are intended to do, they are great. Of the wireless earbuds out there, you can find better sound quality if you're willing to put up with the wire that connects them. For me, that wasn't the end of the world (but still annoying). What they all lack, however, is the easy of switching between devices.

I switch between my iPhone, MacBook, Apple Watch, and iPad on a VERY regular basis, usually using at least 3 different devices at different times of the day, and after a while I gave up with the annoying disconnect / reconnect mess. It was the worst trying to disconnect from an Apple Watch and reconnect to another device. Bose took a step toward making this easier with their new app that lets you manage Bluetooth connections, but Apple blows them all out of the water with the W1 chip. The ease of switching means I actually listen to music more. I grab these for my 15 minute walk during breaks at work and connect them to my Apple Watch (I didn't do that previously), then I take them to Starbucks to use with my iPad or MacBook, then right back to my phone.

I'll sacrifice a bit in audio quality (compared to my Bose headphones) for a significant increase in ease and functionality. And the little trick of pausing and playing music by removing a headphone and then putting it back in my ear is actually super useful.

I love these. Sure, I'll be excited when the audio quality gets a bump, but even today, these are a great solution and the (smaller) compromise in quality is worth the (larger) gains in ease of use and functionality.

 

[rezwits]

I've tried so hard to get mine to fall out and they don't. I'd be so pissed if I was one of the few folks that had the "wrong" ear shape... ugh.

Ok, well just remember if only one of your AirPods falls out, you're deformed like the elephant man or something STUPID... I don't want to hear it, just one time, have fun living the rest of your life, mister perfectly shaped ears...

Mine have fallen out twice, while getting massage therapy, one fell on the ground while I was getting up from the table bed, and then when I went to pick it up the other one fell out. And that's that for me, guess I am retarded or deformed huh. What an asinine statement, like Apple has the ability to make earplugs PERFECTLY for every human being on the planet.

I wonder why they have hearing aid shops that make "custom fitting earpieces", I guess Apple is just going to put them out of business some day...

Laters...

just once... yeah that'll be your nickname...

 

[thirteen1031]

They never sold the EarPods in different colours so why would they with this?

You're comparing Apples and Oranges. (1) From a distance, there's no telling what corded earbuds anyone is using EXCEPT by color. So white serves them by advertising someone is using Apple earbuds. AND Apple has Beats, which DO come in colors. So, what would it profit Apple to make earbuds in colors? THESE AirPods, however, have a distinct look. This will tell everyone who sees them that they're Apple. Thus, they only need to be white for the initial launch, to show themselves off to the world. So, Apple CAN make them in other colors and still have everyone know which wireless pods someone is using.

(2) Color isn't worth it in earbuds under $35. The buyer doesn't care so much about color at that price--and can certainly get the color of their choice and with similar sound quality from a variety of companies. But at four times that price, a buyer is likely going to get only one pair of wireless earbuds. Anything that can lure them into paying that for Apple wireless pods rather than someone else's is worth doing. Color is certainly one of those things.

Look at how the jet black iPhone flew out the door. Color can tip the scales between a buyer saying "Not sure which one of these pricey phones I want..." and saying, "Gotta have that one." So, I think in this case, Apple WILL bring out other colors.
[doublepost=1482430046][/doublepost]

This is correct. However, I would say that the design of the AirPods is certainly different and may become iconic, thus the shape with the stem hanging down will also become a form of advertising in the years to come. Then, like you say, they can add different colors similar to Beats.

Absolutely agree! They're white for the initial launch to advertise that they're "Apple" but given how distinctive they look (the mic part out and down from the ear), Apple won't have to keep them white. Unlike with wired earbuds where that white color may be the only thing indicating that someone is using Apple earbuds, these have a unique shape to advertise it.

 

[macduke]

Absolutely agree! They're white for the initial launch to advertise that they're "Apple" but given how distinctive they look (the mic part out and down from the ear), Apple won't have to keep them white. Unlike with wired earbuds where that white color may be the only thing indicating that someone is using Apple earbuds, these have a unique shape to advertise it.

Until Samsung copies it.

--

I'm super stoked that my ship date moved up to the middle of next week from Jan. 12th! Pretty big swing in dates by about two weeks.

 

[rockyromero]

Until Samsung copies it.

There's already a few Airpods look alikes, without the W1 chip.

A market exists for pretending to have Apple products with an almost Like functionality.

➰

 

[Arran]

Like you would use a portable speaker or radio at home in the kitchen or garage etc.

The very same thought occurred to me this evening. I was listening to music at my desk, got up and wandered to the far end of the house with the music still playing, uninterrrupted, throughout. And then I realized my phone was back on my desk!

I travel a lot and often pack a bulky bluetooth speaker just for music in hotel rooms. (Anything to cheer up my boring weekday abode!!) Anyway, these microscopic little AirPods cold easily replace that big bluetooth speaker simply because of the total freedom they afford?

Looking forward to my next trip.
[doublepost=1482476361][/doublepost]

air pods water resistant?

Just FYI, one of mine fell in the sink last night while I was washing my face. I sort-of forgot I was wearing them. The faucet was running and it got a good soaking. Totally immersed for several seconds.

It was fine all day today.

Not a very scientific test, but quite encouraging.

 

[kissmo]

After a few days of usage I want to share some notes for those interested:

Sync between the airpods may be clumsy - it makes a weird sound sometimes - but happens rarely

Unbelievably useful they are! - Driving or walking or shopping - popping them in your ear is quick and the cordless is heavenly

While driving - Bluetooth may interfere with other signals while in the city - happened a couple of times when I heard pops and clicks

The Airpods discharge about 30-40 % over night if they are not in the case

They switch immediately off when you don't use them and you will hear the click of connecting and disconnecting - however on a side note - the connect/disconnect happens very fast

They ARE louder than the cabled version

What I find annoying is that when I am in a hurry - I always mess up the place in the case (I put the wrong pod in the right or left charging socket) - I had to train to keep the case opened and put each pod one by one rather than taking them both out.

Day to day usage - very comfortable - but it would be nice to have the skip song or previous song specific tapping

Worth the price? - well kinda yes.

 

[rezwits]

After a few days of usage I want to share some notes for those interested:
…
Day to day usage - very comfortable - but it would be nice to have the skip song or previous song specific tapping

Worth the price? - well kinda yes.

Confort level beyond! If for instance you work from home and even have an Watch, and you just chill. Say you want to leave your iPhone on the couch, table, or desk. If you have your AirPods on you can SERIOUSLY walk around and not worry about a missed phone call and listen to music, with 100% comfort, they feel so good in your ears with no pain or itchiness and really don't fall out if you are just chilling at home.

I found out something interesting too. If I have my music on, and walk too far away, like say in the garage, the music will cut out due to the range, just stops playing, as I walk back closer the music kicks back on. This is because the music is coming from/connected to the iPhone.

If I walk out of range in the garage, but I get a phone call, and on my Watch, I tap the AirPod answer button, (out of music range), I can answer the phone call and USE the AirPods! I think this is because the phone call goes thru WiFi to the Watch, and then the rest of the call goes from the Watch directly to AirPods. This is SWEET!

The music won't go over WiFi to the Watch and then to the AirPods
But the phone calls will

I'll take it!

 

[rockyromero]

If I walk out of range in the garage, but I get a phone call, and on my Watch, I tap the AirPod answer button, (out of music range), I can answer the phone call and USE the AirPods! I think this is because the phone call goes thru WiFi to the Watch, and then the rest of the call goes from the Watch directly to AirPods. This is SWEET!

This is great to know.

No longer having to scramble for the phone if it's left out of reach.

Just have the AW and the Airpods for constant access.

➰