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AirPods Impressions: Potential 'Game-Changer' With Good Design, but Will They Stay in the Ear?

No playback controls/gestures on the AirPods themselves makes this a non-starter for me.

I'm not interested in looking like a crazy person trying to "ask Siri to go to the next track" in public and pulling my phone out and fumbling around was long ago "sucky" (thus the inline mic/controls on wired models being so great...)

These are too expensive and don't replicate the features of the super cheap wired models they are supposedly "better than" - At least not for my usages anyhow.
 
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Here's a thought for those of us who use mass transit as a means of transportation. It's 8am and you're running a tad late to work. You rush out the house doing a brisk walk to the metro with your pods in your ears. As the train pulls up, you board it but one of your pods pop out and fall in between the platform and train itself. What do you do? The old wired versions were connected making it almost impossible to loose. The new ones...?
 
You have to be "courageous" to walk around with those on. Looks like 2 cigarettes hanging out of your ears.
Jony Ives strikes again.
 
VulchR said:
OK - but do we know what the chip actually achieves that other BT chip sets don't?
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Yes, better power management, instant/smart pairing and reliability (i.e., no more audio drop outs).

As one Apple exec explained it, it's BT with Apple's secret sauce.
 
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Leonard1818 said:
These appear to be the same shape as the current earbuds.

I don't understand all of the "will these stay in my ears?" questions...

Did the earbuds in your recent iPhone(s) stay in? Yes? Then chances are these will too. No? Probably won't want to get these....

Why is this such a big question when we have a nearly identical product in our hands today?
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Complaining helps solidify our sense of Self by portraying our ability to criticize (read: ego display).

Realistically, you're pretty on-point.
 
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jimbobb24 said:
CNN says, "If they...[live up to marketing hype that essentially describes them behaving very similar to other high end bluetooth headphones].. they will be games changers." What game are they changing? Has gamechanger jumped the shark? The original iPhone was a gamechanger. New wireless headphones? C'mon.
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Yep. Pure hype. They aren't the first ones to this game by a long shot. I think the last 24 hours has brought about a lot of....exaggerated....terminology. It started yesterday with the word courage being used to justify the 3.5 jack removal. That was a hair arrogant and self admiring.
 
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As long as the audio quality is mid-range or higher (as far as earbuds go) and the things stay in my ears (my canals are a little big) then I might pick these up. The main thing that normally made EarPods come out of my ears were the cords pulling down on them. And honestly I haven't worn EarPods very much since around the time Apple switched to the better EarPod design, I got some Sony XBA-CP10IP earbuds that sound a lot better. I am annoyed daily by my corded earbuds at work because I have an iMac and the cord runs right over my keyboard and mouse area. I don't really worry about losing these because of where I'm at in life, but just a few years ago while in college there's no way I would risk getting these. I'd lose the hell out of these repeatedly. I lost enough earbuds as it is, but luckily every iPhone comes with a set and when you trade in your iPhone nobody wants them, so I have extras. I'd pop my earbuds in running between every class. Today I'd just wear them for a few hours at work and maybe an hour or two at home in the evening at most.

I hope Apple will sell them individually in case you lose one, and I also hope that they will sell extra cases so I can keep spares around for charging if one runs out of power. I wonder how long until a third party company makes a little charging adapter for each AirPod that you could just leave plugged in at your desk or whatever? Because if it only takes 15 minutes to get 3hrs of charge, that would be a convenient option.
 
I'll wait for the Best Buy open box pricing. :D

These look like they will fit exactly like the current EarPods, which, to me, are more comfortable than any on/over/in ear headphones I've ever used. But I know people who hate them too. One size definitely does not fit all.
 
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maflynn said:
I'm not sold that these will be a game changer. I think the cost is too high, the battery life to short, not having them stay in your ear and it will be easy for you to lose them
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Bragi launches theirs for $299, and no one is complaining.

Samsung launches theirs for $199, and no one bats an eye.

Apple launches theirs for $159, and everyone complains "it's too expensive"

It's "too expensive" because you desire them, if you didn't, they weren't.

One thing is for sure, nobody makes the complete thing as Apple does.

* AAC
* Dual beam-forming mics
* Charging case with 24h batt life
* No exposed contacts to care for
* No buttons
* No wire between
* 6 hours without any bulk
* Same connector as the iPhone
 
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RightMACatU said:
I'd love to try them on but at an expected C$200+ I'll pass.
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its like 218, considering the Earin's i have, which fit amazingly btw, are what over 350 (got them when there were on kickstarter so cheaper for me), and the bragi's are like 400+ they aren't that bad, you pay that much for others.
 
Damn are those earbug ugly.............and at $159.00. IF you are going to give us only 5 hours of battery life at least make them look better.
 
reyesmac said:
Can't wait till they come up with proprietary solutions for the rest of the wireless standards as well now that they have no more cables to replace with something Apple only. It will be very daring and courageous of them to do away with bluetooth and wifi antennas some day to make room for some magical Apple made replacement. Better start saving my money now for those sure to be expensive peripherals.
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I guess you didn't know that Bluetooth isn't proprietary to Apple? Or maybe you're just trying to stir up a big bowl of FUD...
 
Chris in DC said:
What I'd like to know is if they'll be capable of better sound quality than standard BT headphones, perhaps due to the chip, or other modifications to the wireless connection?
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That's what I want to know too!
Forgot about whether they stay in or not, (everyone's ears are diff) what about the quality of the sound please?!
 
I bought EarSkinz for my non-wireless EarPods and they've worked great for keeping them in the ear during workouts. They're also dirt cheap. You do have to clean them semi-regularly, but all that requires is some warm water and soap.
 
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apple makes the only earbuds that actually stay in my ear and fit comfortably so I'm excited for these and have been waiting for years
 
I think this are super futuristic. They look a bit weird but hopefully will get used to them and not look stupid. I would have loved a wire between them with a small battery pack and lighting connector that you could charge from you phone periodically when running low on power. Think it's nice to be able to wear headphones round you neck. That said I'm buying for sure
 
0029937 said:
Interested 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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Are these bluetooth?
 
I for one think they are hideous looking. But I will likely still buy a set for my iPhone 6s. I haven't tried wireless headphones but I need them now since Apple killed the headphone jack.
 
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