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Apple Quietly Updates AirPods Firmware to Version 3.5.1

dfs said:
No amount of updates can address the fundamental, fatal flaw in AirPods. Try this: with the pods in your ears and a tune playing, take your hands and press the pods into your ears as firmly as you can. At least if the anatomy of your ears is anything like mine, you will be startled at how vastly the bass improves and you'll appreciate what your missing with them loosely perched on the outside of your ears. This is the incurable penalty you pay for the loose sealing.. There may be a lot of amazing technology packed into these little guys, but what's the point if they sound so crummy? In-ear is the only way to go, so if you want to take advantage of all the tech goodies you will be much better off if you hang onto your money and wait for the release of BeatsX latter this month.
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Some of us like non-sealed earbuds.
 
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CarlosQG said:
Oh man, no new options for more gestures? Where's double-tap to skip a song? ):
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Have been wanting this since I got them. Would love to keep 2bl tapnfor Siri, but add 3x tap, tap & hold, slide, whatever extra gestures they can jam in there. If I had to guess I'd say they will, I just hope it's soon.
 
MacRumors said:



Apple today quietly put out a firmware update for the AirPods, bumping the Bluetooth headphones from version 3.3.1 to 3.5.1, as spotted by a user on Reddit. The update to AirPods is automatic for any AirPods in their Charging Case and connected to a nearby iOS device. After making sure the AirPods are connected, users can check their current firmware version by going to the Settings app on iPhone > General > About > AirPods.

airpods_firmware_3_5_1.jpg

It's not clear what the 3.5.1 update covers due to its silent release and a lack of specific patch notes, but the AirPods have faced a number of complaints over the past few weeks that the new firmware version could potentially be addressing. Mainly, there have been a number of user complaints regarding battery drain issues with the AirPods and the Charging Case, as well as dropped Bluetooth connections when on phone calls on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices.

AirPods launched in December to largely positive reviews from users praising their ease of connectivity with iOS devices, thanks to the W1 chip, as well as their sound quality. Since the launch, the AirPods have been hard to come by both online and in Apple retail stores, with current shipping estimates on Apple.com sitting at the six week mark, arriving mid-March if users order today.

Article Link: Apple Quietly Updates AirPods Firmware to Version 3.5.1
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I was having the inablility/drop call issue with the AirPods. Apple even replaced the, but to no avail. After a quick check that the new firmware did actually install it apprears that I no longer have this issue. Thanks!
 
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When i go into Setting, general, about, it doesn't even list the iPODs even though they are connected.
 
sidewinder3000 said:
Have been wanting this since I got them. Would love to keep 2bl tapnfor Siri, but add 3x tap, tap & hold, slide, whatever extra gestures they can jam in there. If I had to guess I'd say they will, I just hope it's soon.
Click to expand...

AirPods have no touch interface so there will not be any "gestures". Apple came up with a clever way to use motion sensors to detect taps and convert those into a simple command. But this will not support an expanding range of touch inputs in the future.
 
dfs said:
No amount of updates can address the fundamental, fatal flaw in AirPods. Try this: with the pods in your ears and a tune playing, take your hands and press the pods into your ears as firmly as you can. At least if the anatomy of your ears is anything like mine, you will be startled at how vastly the bass improves and you'll appreciate what your missing with them loosely perched on the outside of your ears. This is the incurable penalty you pay for the loose sealing.
Click to expand...
Ridiculous
There is nothing new here.
Loose seal earphones/earpods have been around a lot longer than Airpods.
Didn't stop people from using Apple Earpods or some other third party loose seal earphones/earpods.
Some people don't want something jammed into their ear canal.
Incurable penalty? Subjective.
If people are happy with the sound they have with Earpods/Airpods, there is no "incurable penalty".

The only incurable thing here is posters constant need to tell others why Airpods are no good.
 
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dfs said:
No amount of updates can address the fundamental, fatal flaw in AirPods. Try this: with the pods in your ears and a tune playing, take your hands and press the pods into your ears as firmly as you can. At least if the anatomy of your ears is anything like mine, you will be startled at how vastly the bass improves and you'll appreciate what your missing with them loosely perched on the outside of your ears. This is the incurable penalty you pay for the loose sealing.. There may be a lot of amazing technology packed into these little guys, but what's the point if they sound so crummy? In-ear is the only way to go, so if you want to take advantage of all the tech goodies you will be much better off if you hang onto your money and wait for the release of BeatsX latter this month.
Click to expand...

I think everyone knows from years of experience how the pods sound. They are just fine for commuting, talking, walking, whatever. They are one of the best sounding non-in-ear buds you can buy these days. Also if you REALLY want to you can buy that custom mold stuff and make your airpods into in ears.
 
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imran5720 said:
So now there is an OS in ear-pods, amazing
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It's not a full-on OS, there's not enough different tasks a set of earphones need to do to warrant something like that, but there is resident software to handle the various hardware devices found in each earpod, yes.

It's difficult and costly to build dedicated hardware that can do many diverse, complicated things (maybe impossible in some cases), so therefore each earpod contains an extremely tiny microprocessor, typically classified as microcontroller, since it is tiny and cost-reduced, with on-chip RAM, flash and I/O and intended to drive a specific piece of hardware - a wireless headset in this instance.

The microcontroller is probably roughly comparable in performance to mid-1990s era CPUs (at around 1/100th the silicon die size, and using on the order of 1/1000th the power), which runs the bluetooth networking stack and handles data flow across the bluetooth radio hardware, samples the accelerometers and interprets the input, as well as the IR proximity detectors, and handles the CODEC and amplifier hardware (for playing and recording audio via mic and speaker driver.)

The microcontroller also monitors battery level (and likely the process of charging, when inserted in the case), so that the device your pods are connected to can display remaining battery level...

Without the microcontroller, getting a compound device like the airpods working would have been a horrendous task, and it would of course also be impossible to fix any errors/bugs in the gadget if everything is hardwired... :)
 
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