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Apple to Debut New AirPods This Year With Handsfree 'Hey, Siri' Voice Command Feature, 'Water-Resistant' Models Coming in 2019
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I wish they'd focus more on the software-side of Siri, instead of adding more hardware products to it. The idea of Siri and the hardware around it is awesome, it's just that Siri itself is a bit meh today.
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With that said, I absolutely love my AirPods. Bought my wife a pair for her birthday last year and she loves them just as much, maybe more. I hope they add Bluetooth 5.0 though to the new models.
Whaaaa? Now I've heard everything. Apple makes them in white because the original iPod was white to be distinctive (all the other players of the day were black) and so the original buds and then EarPods were made in white to match. AirPods styling mimics the EarPods. It has zero to do with AirPods being hard to find. That is why Apple gave the AirPods a sort of "Find my AirPods" pinging ability. They are easy to lose in any color.
And what the heck are they doing loose in a purse or in the couch? I mean when I stop listening to mine they go back into the case.
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One of mine got fully submerged in the sink. I left it out to dry for a couple days to make sure, and works like normal again. I wonder if they use the sweat proofing technique that the jaybirds did that coated all of the inside equipment for protection.
I was under the impression that is what they were supposed to do. I bought them and they don't seem to switch seamlessly between devices, or even a device sometimes. If all my electronics aren't in use and I use one of them and try to use the AirPods its about a 50% chance that they'll work automatically.
Tell them to stop listening for 'Hey, Siri' only... and instead optionally focus on, 'Hey, iPhone!' or 'Hey, HomePod!' as the wake up signal...depending upon device.
Apple will learn from Alexa. Alexa does a very good job of identifying the distance ones voice is from each speaker that receives the wake word. Then responds to the nearest voice. In a room with three speakers, say Alexa, all three wake and listen, and the one responding, the nearest the speaker. Not perfect, but not bad either. I am sure Apple has thought if this also. In your situation, wearing the AirPods, they should respond first. Now if your sweetie whispers in your ear, that could be an issue.
Actually solved by voice recognition, Alexa has that feature for security in ordering. Again Apple is sure to be working on all of these issues.
That is how it's supposed to work. Sometimes it's what you want, sometimes not.I had the reverse experience just yesterday. Standing in front of my HomePod, iPhone in hand, the phone responded.
And sometimes it doesn't work. Yesterday I said "Hey, Siri. Play some music". Both my iPhone and HomePod started playing. The same song, but not in sync. The phone was on the counter, but I think my Apple Watch on my wrist was what responded.
Triple tap volume up left side triple tap volume down right side can’t be that hard ! Can it ?
I disabled Siri after syncing my new airpods using taps instead. I know that this is the future but I feel weird talking to devices. Additionally it doesn't work very well. I can't raise or lower my volume in increments by voice. They do sound pretty good but I would appreciate improvements in that area.
No. All of Jaybird's current buds are officially rated as at least sweat proof. AirPods are not. Even without any "official" acknowledgement of water resistance, all electronics can potentially survive a dunk in the bath, so to speak. Even my original iPod survived a trip in the washing machine. Just let it dry out for days before plugging in or turning on again and all was good.
The water resistance comes into play when the exposure to water is over a prolonged period of time -- the constant build up of moisture or being submerged at depth for hours. Think of how wood slowly rots rather than immediately disintegrates at the first water droplet. Wood too can handle one or two storms. It can't handle multiple storms over a year or more unless it's treated.
Give me longer battery life first. I'm on hours of conference calls thru the day, plus music in between, and have to alternate charging each AirPod several times daily.
I'm not big on Siri. Being introverted, I don't like talking aloud when unnecessary (with everyone else wondering why I'm suddenly saying things out of context that they don't need to hear). Also the error rate is still too high.
Water resistance is nice, given (noted by numerous anecdotes above) water happens and losing a $159 device just for a few ill-placed drops is obnoxious.
Otherwise, they're great - just give me a good solid 8 hours play time.
I'm not big on Siri. Being introverted, I don't like talking aloud when unnecessary (with everyone else wondering why I'm suddenly saying things out of context that they don't need to hear). Also the error rate is still too high.
Water resistance is nice, given (noted by numerous anecdotes above) water happens and losing a $159 device just for a few ill-placed drops is obnoxious.
Otherwise, they're great - just give me a good solid 8 hours play time.
couldn't the "hey, siri" part be added via a software update?.. or is this going to be one of those live photo things again?..
I would like to see a little bit of improved comfort, as well as a mode that pauses your music and uses the external microphones to send more ambient sound into your ear for the times when someone tries to talk to you while you are using the airpods.
So excited. Looking forward to getting 4 of these to replace my old ones.
Apple is reportedly working on several upgrades to its wireless AirPods with a new version of the popular headphones set for release as soon as this year, according to Bloomberg.
The new 2018 AirPods are said to come with an upgraded wireless chip that will let users summon Siri using the "Hey, Siri" voice command without having to physically tap the headphones, similar to the way iPhone and HomePod users invoke the virtual assistant. Currently, summoning Siri through AirPods requires users to double-tap the sides of the earbuds, although responsiveness to touch can occasionally be flaky. The upcoming version of the headphones are known internally as B288, according to today's report.
The idea behind the third iteration of AirPods, said to be coming in 2019, is for the headphones to "survive splashes of water and rain", although they likely won't be designed to be submerged in water, according to Bloomberg's sources. That plan comes despite reports that current-generation AirPods survive being submerged in one foot of water for five minutes, and even come out the other side of a washing and drying cycle functioning as expected. That said, Apple doesn't advertise AirPods as waterproof, and a patent was in fact filed last April for a waterproof AirPods case that can double as an iPhone or Apple Watch charger.
Designed by the same department that produced Apple's HomePod speaker, AirPods were first introduced in 2016 alongside the iPhone 7 sans headphone jack, as a wireless solution for users wanting to listen to audio through a headset. Since their launch, AirPods have been considered one of Apple's top-performing products, as reflected in Apple's severely constrained supplies throughout 2017. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, production capacity of AirPods was bumped up in the second half of last year, but Apple has continued to struggle to reach supply/demand balance. According to online shopping data provided by Adobe, AirPods were the overall top selling electronic products during last November's Cyber Monday.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that Apple shipped 13 to 14 million AirPods last year, and he expects AirPods to remain one of Apple's most popular accessories through 2018, with shipments likely to double to an estimated 26-28 million units on a year-over-year basis. Separately, analyst Gene Munster has predicted Apple will eventually earn more from AirPods than Apple Watch.
Back in December, Kuo also predicted Apple would release an upgraded version of AirPods in the second half of 2018. Kuo said one internal change on the second-generation AirPods will include a "smaller quartz component," but he didn't provide any further details about new outward-facing features or improvements to expect.
During Apple's iPhone X event in September, Apple revealed that a rumored new version of its AirPods headphones were not in fact the "AirPods 2," but simply a new inductive wireless charging case that users will be able to purchase as a replacement for their current charging cases. The only design change made to the new charging case is the placement of the LED battery indicator light, which has migrated from the inside of the case to the outside on the front. No release date has been given for the wireless charging case, but there's a fair chance it could appear during a March event alongside Apple's AirPower wireless charging pad and new iPads. It's still unclear if Apple will offer a version that also includes the AirPods themselves at the typical $159 price tag.
Article Link: Apple to Debut New AirPods This Year With Handsfree 'Hey, Siri' Voice Command Feature, 'Water-Resistant' Models Coming in 2019
