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Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 1 and AirPods Max

63W said:
Max volume on AirPods Gen 3 has been reduced by at least 20% with new firmware. Bass levels have been significantly lowered.

I’m disappointed!😞
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It hasn't had any effect with regard to max volume on the 3rd Gen Airpods we have here. They are still way too loud for me to even touch anywhere close to max volume. Same applies to bass levels.

It's really baffling to read stuff like that on here, really. As if Apple were to reduce the max volume on these by 20% with the latest firmware update...cmon people, seriously. Make sure that Spatial audio hasn't been enabled by accident or the auto adjust volume setting or anything like that. Make sure that they're clean and not clogged with dirt, dust, ear wax or anything like that.

The update has nothing to do with your individual problem here.
 
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I got the update but didn't notice a difference. I will say though that noise cancelling is a little overrated. I tried them with the Galaxy Pros and the Lives and they were ok, but the most important thing an earbud should be is actually fit in the ears. I got the Airpods 3 and they do just that. There's no such thing as noise cancelling if the earbud keeps falling out and you hear noise anyway.
 
tenlow said:
It hasn't had any effect with regard to max volume on the 3rd Gen Airpods we have here. They are still way too loud for me to even touch anywhere close to max volume. Same applies to bass levels.

It's really baffling to read stuff like that on here, really. As if Apple were to reduce the max volume on these by 20% with the latest firmware update...cmon people, seriously. Make sure that Spatial audio hasn't been enabled by accident or the auto adjust volume setting or anything like that. Make sure that they're clean and not clogged with dirt, dust, ear wax or anything like that.

The update has nothing to do with your individual problem here.
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For whatever reason I have been using my Airpods gen 1 for the last few weeks. When I read this article and noticed my APP1 firmware was updated I went to try them out and the sound was really bad and spatial audio wasn’t enabled. I thought the firmware tanked the airpods. But then went to search for a solution. On YT video suggested checking the mono setting. Sure enough I turned it off at some point in time. After I turned it back on my APP1 was back in glorious sound quality. And while it was so long since I used my APP1 I couldn’t tell if the sound quality changed…however they sounded good to my ears.

PBEKAC as the saying goes.
 
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I7guy said:
For whatever reason I have been using my Airpods gen 1 for the last few weeks. When I read this article and noticed my APP1 firmware was updated I went to try them out and the sound was really bad and spatial audio wasn’t enabled. I thought the firmware tanked the airpods. But then went to search for a solution. On YT video suggested checking the mono setting. Sure enough I turned it off at some point in time. After I turned it back on my APP1 was back in glorious sound quality. And while it was so long since I used my APP1 I couldn’t tell if the sound quality changed…however they sounded good to my ears.

PBEKAC as the saying goes.
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That’s pretty much what I mean yes :D Not all the time, mind you, but most certainly more often than not.
 
I regret upgrading my APM. In standby mode battery drain is around 10% within 30hrs. With old FW it consumed hardly 10% in 2 weeks!
 
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I’ve been flying with my APM’s on the same flights and models of planes numerous times over the past year of ownership … the ANC has definitely gotten nuked on these. I even tried brand new official Apple ear pads.

Call it unscientific if you want, but I sit in the same spot on the same plane models for work (Alaska/horizon)…and things have changed for the worse here.

Not sure if that patent fight is in play, or just other things they’ve been tweaking.

Really sucks
 
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I7guy said:
For whatever reason I have been using my Airpods gen 1 for the last few weeks. When I read this article and noticed my APP1 firmware was updated I went to try them out and the sound was really bad and spatial audio wasn’t enabled. I thought the firmware tanked the airpods. But then went to search for a solution. On YT video suggested checking the mono setting. Sure enough I turned it off at some point in time. After I turned it back on my APP1 was back in glorious sound quality. And while it was so long since I used my APP1 I couldn’t tell if the sound quality changed…however they sounded good to my ears.

PBEKAC as the saying goes.
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That's interesting because I like the sound of my APP 1 with mono turned off.. What is it that you prefer about mono sound over stereo?
 
tenlow said:
But only those ears hearing the same as you, right? The other ears don’t count as we have learned. And I’m going to write rtings a message asking them to replace their standardized testing system with an Apple Watch from now on. Guess that will help with quicker test results from now on, too. Great.
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"ears"?
THIS IS THE DIRECT REPORTING FROM OUR PHONES (can't post the screenshot here - it actually SHOWS you the dB as I reported - I didn't arbitrarily pull it "from my ears")
 
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tenlow said:
Btw. in case people are more interested in the topic, here is an interesting thing to read from reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/yn09lm
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reddit is a cesspool. This is an unsubstantiated post. Full stop.
They likely work for Apple.

1668302685810.png
 
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Kottu said:
I regret upgrading my APM. In standby mode battery drain is around 10% within 30hrs. With old FW it consumed hardly 10% in 2 weeks!
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on iPhone, iPad, MacBook - it's impossible to pin parasitic battery loss on any one thing. So we suffer.
On headphones, it does one (or two) things. So when subjective - and now, validated via noise levels - degrades, there is less for Apple to explain.
Yet they don't.

I am bought into the Apple ecosystem lock, stock, and barrel.
But I just bought two Android phones (Samsung) because I am angry and tired of this nonsense.
 
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Getting the series 2 this christmas regardless, however I'm glad to see the functionality restored as I'll be giving these to my brother
 
lindros2 said:
"ears"?
THIS IS THE DIRECT REPORTING FROM OUR PHONES (can't post the screenshot here - it actually SHOWS you the dB as I reported - I didn't arbitrarily pull it "from my ears")
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Where are you getting those dB readings? Which software? Why can’t you post those screenshots?
 
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lindros2 said:
reddit is a cesspool. This is an unsubstantiated post. Full stop.
They likely work for Apple.
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lindros2 said:
"ears"?
THIS IS THE DIRECT REPORTING FROM OUR PHONES (can't post the screenshot here - it actually SHOWS you the dB as I reported - I didn't arbitrarily pull it "from my ears")
Click to expand...
Of course they do man, of course they do. Btw, I have similar statistics on reddit for Sennheiser, Apple and Sony subreddits - I’m working for neither of these :)
Talking about unsubstantiated :)

And screaming always makes you look better in a discussion, keep it going. He said „these numbers and our own ears“… Thats why I replied to „ears“ as mine are definitely different than his, it seems.

Besides, and again, I said several times already that these numbers are not scientific/reliable enough for some people and for good reason. Great if they are for you, though.
 
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tenlow said:
Btw. in case people are more interested in the topic, here is an interesting thing to read from reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/yn09lm
Click to expand...

But, but, @doublemycoresplz mentioned they have empirical evidence?

Anyway, the lawsuit has nothing to do with it and despite what many think Apple will not degrade the quality of a product to sell newer products (the quality might be degraded for other reasons, but that’s a different topic). Also, why would they somehow degrade AirPods Max, when they are not even selling a replacement? They earn more on each APM sold than on AirPods Pro. So it really wouldn’t make sense to do that, even if you ignored how devastating such an action would be to their brand.

The only reasonable explanation would be that it’s a bug or things degrading from wear and tear over time somehow. And if it was a bug, they would’ve fixed it by now.

Humans are really bad at objective measurements and drawing conclusions from anecdotal experience. Why else would we have this whole “scientific method” thing? 🙂

Anyway, enjoy your AirPods and relax, people. It’s fine.
 
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lindros2 said:
"ears"?
THIS IS THE DIRECT REPORTING FROM OUR PHONES (can't post the screenshot here - it actually SHOWS you the dB as I reported - I didn't arbitrarily pull it "from my ears")
Click to expand...

DID YOU DO…. um, sorry - did you do that direct reporting under exactly the same conditions before and after the fw update in an environment suitable for testing? Or did you test across several locations over the period of few days, then calculated the median value - and repeated the same process for the new fw?

Because if you just went out to the same noisy street and saw the measurements on your phone, that doesn’t count, really. Conditions will vary quite a bit, even if they feel the same to you, as our ears and brains are adaptive.

In other words, the direct reporting from your phones is only sliiiightly better than relying on your ears, but still not enough for any conclusive evidence.
 
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doublemycoresplz said:
Agreed. Why are Apple's white knights fighting so hard to tell us we aren't hearing what we're hearing. Apple reduced the active noise cancellation with this latest Airpods Pro 2 firmware update, for at least some units.
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Now, how is that supposed to work? Some units got worse, while some stayed the same and some got better? Magical firmware update, isn't it?

Besides, I'm not telling anybody to hear what I hear. We all hear differently anyway and that's the reason we need standardized test methods and actual empirical stats/data/facts :) Everything else doesn't lead us anywhere.
 
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