Thry were already pretty shy about admitting it uses Bluetooth to begin with from what I understand. Mentioning AAC over Bluetooth instead of AptX probably would have been too in the weeds.
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AirPods Impressions: Potential 'Game-Changer' With Good Design, but Will They Stay in the Ear?
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Agree completely. I quite literally DO have a pair of headphones from the 80s, and I have several other pairs including two upmarket pairs of Sennheisers, there is NO WAY I will consider using Apple's crap headphones, use an adapter to plug in my current ones, or both with ANY pair of wireless headphones in place of plugging the high quality headphones I already have directly into the headphone port. As any audiophile will tell you, the less wires you pass a signal though the better, and wireless is a joke in terms of audio quality. It used to be that Apple actually placed a priority on high quality DACs and internal amplifiers for the iPhone to give them great quality sound. This was an extension of them producing the iPod, which also used to aim for quality audio. Apparently, quality audio is no longer a priority at Apple. Thinness, however, is. Personally, I would love the iPhone to be TWICE the thickness it is now. Imagine, a battery that lasts for days, no camera hump, and a phone that won't bend under normal use. The AirPods and the removal of the headphone jack is nothing more than Apple applying their principles of planned obsolescence to something as simple as headphones.
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For me, Apple's ability to make headphones is as laughable as their ability to make a decent keyboard or mouse. I don't even bother unpacking them when unboxing the device. One of the first things I do is replace them with something decent, usually something I already have from another manufacturer.
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Actually the SoundSport Wireless stay in your ear...... no concern of losing themInterested to see what Bose comes out with as a competing product. People love to hate on Bose but their SoundSport earphones ($100) are a great upgrade. And most likely Bose will have black or grey.
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Have to say these are pretty ugly and dorky looking. How come tables seem to be turning?
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This not a fair comparison.
Ask her to put the Airpods on.
Big difference.
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Alright.
I'll never wear them around people.
Ever.
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The AirPods are just what this old man needs since I never listen more than a couple hours at a time to anything and the recharge in the case it ideal. After some experience using I may tether the Left and Right together with a strand of colored monofilament line secured around the microphone stem if either side falls out regularly.
Apple could have absolutely nailed the removal of the headphone jack, if their messaging around it wasn't so incoherent.
'We think the 3.5mm jack is dead. Wireless is the future and to prove it, we're including AirPods in the box with every iPhone 7'; maybe they could have increased the pricing tiers by ~$100 to compensate for the lost revenue, but otherwise it would have been straightforward and to the point.
Instead, Cook, Schiller and co are muddying their message by continuing to include wired lightning headphones in the box, while plugging clunky docks and adapters to the masses to convince them that wireless is the future?
'We think the 3.5mm jack is dead. Wireless is the future and to prove it, we're including AirPods in the box with every iPhone 7'; maybe they could have increased the pricing tiers by ~$100 to compensate for the lost revenue, but otherwise it would have been straightforward and to the point.
Instead, Cook, Schiller and co are muddying their message by continuing to include wired lightning headphones in the box, while plugging clunky docks and adapters to the masses to convince them that wireless is the future?
It's ironic that you reference fight club, because the number one lesson I learnt from that movie is that there is no way to break the rules without creating new rules.
Which is precisely what Apple is doing here. Rewriting the rules of the game, which will in turn become part of the new normal in time.
I do hope Apple licenses the W1 chip to other OEMs. I like the utility that that airpods promise to bring, but still have a hard time accepting the look of it. Won't mind the technology being ported to another set of Bluetooth headphones with a more conventional look.
Well they are putting the tech in their Beats brand. I would be surprised if they allow others to use their secret sauce.
What better way to sell more Apple hardware than to have OEMs release headphones that work best with Apple devices?
And don't forget, their Lightning alternative can't be used on anything besides recent iOS devices, including Macs. AirPods won't be available until October. So the only thing that allows broad compatibility with all of your Apple products is the 3.5mm adapter and your old EarPods.
I hope OEMs are given access to the W1 chip, since those AirPods are hideous. I can see my 85 year old mom wearing them, and thinking they're cool, but that's about it.
Mine fall out all the time, I wonder if they are the same size?
In any case, I'm due for an upgrade but don't think I'll be buying the iPhone 7
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The irony...
Well, "late October" has come and gone with no AirPods on the market. So has all of November and early December. While I am happy that Apple had the "courage" to eliminate the head phone jack, I just wish they had the competence to launch wireless headphones within 3 months of launching the iPhone 7.
It's a debacle, and it can't be said enough. Most of the top brass need to be fired. In particular, Tim Cook. He needs to be the first to go. Someone with real vision and forward thinking needs to be hired, and then that person can either lead, replace, or fire the rest of the top level managers.
There's just too much group think and stagnation at Apple right now. Not only will they not move forward if they continue under the current leadership situation, but they're going to go the way of the dodo and companies like Palm.
There's just too much group think and stagnation at Apple right now. Not only will they not move forward if they continue under the current leadership situation, but they're going to go the way of the dodo and companies like Palm.
Maybe they can come up with a really cool new band for the Apple Watch. That would be SOoooo innovative.
Seriously though, I want Apple to succeed. I and my immediate family are all heavily invested in the Apple eco-system from my television, router, my watch, my desktop, and including my family - 4 laptops, 4 tablets and 4 iPhones.
I plan on buying a pair of Air Pods whenever Apple figures out how to manufacture them. However, based on all the problems Apple has had with the late 2016 15" MBP, I will not be replacing my late 2013 rMBP anytime soon. I agree with you completely, time for some new leadership at Apple.
I think there are more disadvantages to these than advantages. Personally I'm fine with plugging in wired EarPods if it means not having to keep them charged. Actually, I'm struggling to think of any advantage these have over traditional EarPods. Yes, pausing the music when you take one out is handy, as well as some of the touch gestures, but these features could just as easily be added to traditional EarPods, which would be welcomed. Oh and bring back the headphone jack. Why does my new MBP and iPP have one but not the new iPhone? Only thing keeping me from buying one. Well that and the lack of a Space Gray option. And the redesigned home button. Maybe the iPhone 7s/ 8 will tempt me.
If you don't consider the elimination of wires an advantage, then these are definitely not for you.
Nevertheless, charging them is the only disadvantage you list, after stating your initial premise that there are more disadvantages than advantages. So is that it?
Agreed there's nothing here that can't be incorporated into the EarPods, if you powered the EarPods. So well assume you're discussing the Lightning EarPods since the 3.5mm EarPods can't provide power for anything useful like sensors to pause the playback when removed -- a major advantage Lightning has over 3.5mm headphone jack. So take your pick, accelerometer and proximity sensors, or 3.5mm headphone jack.
Personally, I would trade charging my AirPods after every 5 hours of use for the elimination of wires. When you add to that, a 15 minute charge will provide an additional 3 hours of use, I really can't complain about the need to charge them at all.
Respectfully, I suspect customers like you will find themselves in the minority in the next few years as quality and performance improve, and people realize keeping headphones charged is not as much of a burden as it seems.
DISADVANTAGES:
1. Losing one/ both AirPods
2. Losing the charging case
3. Charging AirPods (already mentioned)
4. They look ridiculous to most
5. No significant improvement in sound over traditional EarPods
6. More difficult for people to notice you're wearing them
7. Expensive
Granted, many of these disadvantages will be remedied with time and future iterations.
I own a pair of Bose QC35s so charging is nothing new to me. But those go for 20+ hours. I think for most people 5 hours per charge is a disadvantage. It's challenging enough just trying to keep an iPhone charged all day. I'm sure this will improve with time though.
You make a good point about the lightning jack also providing power. I still hate the inconsistency though.
1. I've lost plenty of earbuds. At least with the AirPods there's the potential of tracking them using the built-in BT, with some developers already offering apps to do this. Not only that, but this isn't an AirPod problem, it's a product class problem. Any independently wireless earbuds will have this inherent issue. Certain individuals should take that into account when considering them.
2. Again, people can just as easily lose the earbuds. Many people carry cases for their earbuds as well to keep them from getting tangled in their pocket or bag. So that's always a risk with any product. Add to that the possibility of damaging cords. I can't tell you how many earbuds I've replaced over the years because the cable stopped working for one reason or another.
3. Again charging is an individual issue. I'd trade charging, especially with these specs, for tangle free wireless freedom.
4. I'd love to see a legitimate survey that proves most people think they look ridiculous.
5. Sound improvement is subjective. In any event, that's not the major selling point here. If they sounded worse, I might conceded this point, but they don't, and so much more is gained.
6. That's an interesting observation when your previous negative is that they look ridiculous. But, I'm not sure why people noticing you're wearing them is an issue. Headsets in general create problems in that you never know if someone is on the phone, or otherwise engaged Listening to something, or not. By that token, people who have long hair covering their ears create this problem as well. Seems like you're really reaching here.
7. Expense I'll give you. They aren't for everybody. But to me they are worth every penny, as is the requirement to charge them, for never having to deal with wires again for my daily casual listening.
We ageee on 7. They're not for everyone. Not yet anyhow.
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Sorry I thought this was a discussion forum. My bad.
Strange occurrence today. Noticed when putting AirPods in ear after being in their case, they would not auto connect to my IP7+ so I had to forget/delete from my BT settings. I did get a warning about being deleted from all my devices, and I confirmed. So when I tried a new pairing it said "Not xxx's AirPods" and told me to use the pairing button on the rear of the case. It worked and they are working as before. But I found that odd they somehow it knew I connected AirPods before.