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AirPods Tidbits: Hidden Apple Watch Features, Durability Test, and High Resale Prices

WilliamG said:
Yes. Reboot the Watch.
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I didn't have to reboot my Series 0 Watch to get this working.

To get it to work, first the 'pods need to be active, so out of the case. Next, swipe up on the Watch face to get the airline mode / silent etc. controls, including the top left icon that shows the Watch battery level. Tap the battery level icon and the detail page will show you the battery levels on your 'pods.
 
danmart said:
I didn't have to reboot my Series 0 Watch to get this working.

To get it to work, first the 'pods need to be active, so out of the case. Next, swipe up on the Watch face to get the airline mode / silent etc. controls, including the top left icon that shows the Watch battery level. Tap the battery level icon and the detail page will show you the battery levels on your 'pods.
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Great. I had to reboot to make this happen but your mileage may vary here.
 
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I just ordered a pair from BestBuy, and they'll be in on Friday. Since I had some bestbuy reward zone points, the shipping and taxes were 'free', and I even saved a few more dollars off the top.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
Wow. I know from the past that you are not one of the "Apple is always right" (and thus Apple products are perfect in every way) guys, so how about commenting on sound quality? Is is great, good, so so, etc? You imply that they are good for general audio but you favor your Shures for listening to music, which I'm reading as these definitely do not compete with your Shures. How close? What's the biggest difference to your ears?

How does the same stuff sound through these vs. the stock (included) wired buds? Any major differences you can hear?

And how about latency when watching video? In other words, a typical gripe about bluetooth in general is how latency will tend to delay the audio when watching some video: lips move then voice is heard a little later. Are you seeing that with these or has Apple perhaps addressed that better than competing bluetooth products?

Are they clinging well or have you already had them fall out (or maybe a close call) in normal activities?

I've seen plenty of gushing reviews around here- no surprise- but I'd love to see a fellow consumer review from someone known to be more objective.
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Video is spot on (tested YouTube and Plex). Gaming is not (audio comes after video).
 
triton100 said:
...
Also switching from iPhone to watch has not been smooth. I have to keep restarting the iPhone to get it to re recognise the pods. Hoping I'm doing something wrong or it will be fixed in an update.
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Which iPhone to you have?

I had some trouble getting the AirPods to pair with my iPhone 5 at first. They paired immediately and automatically when I first opened the charging case near the phone. The battery display appeared on the phone, and then the AirPods disconnected and I could not get them to connect again.

Finally I noticed that the iPhone battery was low (about 30%) and falling fast. The battery is getting long in the tooth, and this battery behavior has been a precursor of several strange symptoms. So I charged the phone up to about 90%, restarted it, and since then the AirPods have connected and performed very well.
 
djcerla said:
How in the world they can be "ugly" when they're the same old design, with "invisible cables"?

Judging from my girlftriend's reaction (she's completely delighted) and all the people that literally have stopped me to inquiry about them today, I believe they will become as iconic as the original iPod earbuds.
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That's just it. They took the wired EarPod design and ripped out the cables (metaphorically speaking). I would have liked to have seen the white stem removed or shortened. Competitors have already done it.

Alas, I think they're really cool. I just think the design could have been better. Maybe gen 2!
 
v0lume4 said:
That's just it. They took the wired EarPod design and ripped out the cables (metaphorically speaking). I would have liked to have seen the white stem removed or shortened. Competitors have already done it.

Alas, I think they're really cool. I just think the design could have been better. Maybe gen 2!
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I don't understand why the stems bother people. I vastly prefer this (understanding the stem is both the BT radio AND battery) over the weird squished black blob that Bragi has out there.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
Thanks. Did you try any long-running video? The latency thing is a creeper, meaning it usually takes a while before it falls behind. I would think shorter videos may not tell the (full) tale. Did you watch any long videos? Any movies?
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Just 15 minute YouTube videos. I was falling asleep though. I've never seen BT video go gradually out of sync (even with my Sony BT headphones). It usually just starts and stays that way - out of sync.
 
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NT1440 said:
I don't understand why the stems bother people. I vastly prefer this (understanding the stem is both the BT radio AND battery) over the weird squished black blob that Bragi has out there.
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I love the blob!
 
v0lume4 said:
I love the blob!
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That's fine, it's all personal preference. I've always loved the earPods (which is why I've never bought any other headphones since they were introduced) so the AirPods are a natural progression for me.
 
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Creepitor said:
Maybe it does look the most ultimate, but water pressure is the key in waterresistance: when the AirPods were in the washing machine in their case there was no real pressure on them, even if the water got inside, there's no real pressure building up, trying to enter the AirPods trough the little seams and holes. When they are submersed, their is in 360 degrees constant waterpressure. 1 foot isn't a lot, but I guess a raindrop wonnt destroy them.
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I'm sorry but that's not how science works. Not at all. All of your assumptions are incorrect. A true indication of water resistance occurs when an object is exposed to varying pressure, temperature, and water composition. All of those things occurred in that washer/dryer sequence. Not only that, the AirPods were exposed to the chemical surfactants in the laundry detergent for 15-20 minutes of that 30 minute laundry cycle. Comparing that to a static 5 min water tank test is like comparing hitting slow pitch softball with facing Aroldis Chapman's 100mph+ fastball. The water tank test was impressive considering Apple made no mention of the products water resistance, no doubt. But it shouldn't be confused as being more rigorous than that laundry test. Even though a lot of phones are IP rated, I doubt many of them could survive that laundry test and come out unscathed. You should recognize it for what it was.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
Of course, what we don't know is what happens 5 or 10+ days later. I definitely wouldn't take the "water test" reports as some kind of concept of waterproof or even water resistant. In other words, that part should have had the disclaimer of "don't try this at home."
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The guy who made the video said exactly that. He said it very clearly so I don't know what your point is?
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
OK. Thanks again for the consumer-to-consumer input. That's helpful.
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Just watched another 15 minute video. No issues at all. And bear in mind I can notice 50ms audio/video sync issues easily. I'm super anal about it (I set up home theaters).
[doublepost=1482348128][/doublepost]Also, I think Apple is being a little disingenuous about battery life by not mentioning talk time, which is around 2 hours. I'm a more conscious purchaser of electronics, and even I didn't realize talk time would be so much less.
 
djcerla said:
How in the world they can be "ugly" when they're the same old design, with "invisible cables"?
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's subjective. I think they are extremely well crafted from a manufacturing standpoint. But to me they are just butt ugly. Separately, they quite feminine looking, like earrings. Am I right? Yup. Are others right when they say they like the look? Yup.
 
djcerla said:
How in the world they can be "ugly" when they're the same old design, with "invisible cables"?

Judging from my girlftriend's reaction (she's completely delighted) and all the people that literally have stopped me to inquiry about them today, I believe they will become as iconic as the original iPod earbuds.
Click to expand...
same way that someone missing an eye might be otherwise gorgeous. AirPods don't look great, but they are amazingly good at what they do.

also, store here at the ala moana mall in Honolulu hasn't received shipments of AirPods the last two days. so only those who lined up Monday morning were able to get a pair. try again tomorrow I guess.
 
Dumb question: why is the circle white with a green AirPod? Shouldn't it be a green circle with a white AirPod?

apple-watch-airpods.jpg
 
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BootsWalking said:
Here's another AirPod easter egg that I just discovered last night - if you tripple-tap one and then double-tap the other within 2 seconds they'll auto-tune the iPhone into the SETA site and listen in on the raw space-chatter feed. It's so cool and I'm surprised Apple hasn't documented this yet. One alien even talked to me this morning but I was busy eating cereal so it sounded kinda muffled.
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Whatever you put in your cereal...I want some!
 
MeFromHere said:
Which iPhone to you have?

I had some trouble getting the AirPods to pair with my iPhone 5 at first. They paired immediately and automatically when I first opened the charging case near the phone. The battery display appeared on the phone, and then the AirPods disconnected and I could not get them to connect again.

Finally I noticed that the iPhone battery was low (about 30%) and falling fast. The battery is getting long in the tooth, and this battery behavior has been a precursor of several strange symptoms. So I charged the phone up to about 90%, restarted it, and since then the AirPods have connected and performed very well.
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I'm running iPhone 7 with watch 2. Swapping between the two hasn't been consistent. But haven't had the chance to really flesh it out and see if it's me or the pods that's buggy.
 
ryanwarsaw said:
The guy who made the video said exactly that. He said it very clearly so I don't know what your point is?
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The point is that a guy like you comes in and posts just the positives as you did in post #76- leaving that key bit of info out- and someone reads what you posted and assumes "so dropping them in a puddle or the toilet they will survive" and "I might wear them in my bath tub for example. If they do fall out (which would be unusual) it isn't a big deal."

Is it not a big deal? Again, what happens 5 or 10+ days later? Are those submerged in water for 5 minutes still functional? Lots of electronics can recover and work fine soon after a dip under water. Then, they stop working a few days later because of that same dip. We don't really help our fellow consumers out by gushing about a positive that even Apple themselves doesn't endorse or encourage.

Personally, I think positive surprises like this are great (too), but I know better than to assume such great results over the longer run... especially when Apple is not touting such an impressive benefit if it had actual legs to it.

And that was the point.
 
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