Apple's AirPods Achieve 98% Satisfaction Rate in User Study

[sinsin07]

You're dumb! I didn't say Apple Store employees should be wearing one and listening to music. I'm old enough and have 2 kids to understand that retail employee should not have a headphone on while working. What I said I haven't seen any person (customer or employee on break) at the store coming in and out with the airpods on. Even the entire mall that day I didn't notice one person walking a with their airpods on. I see people with their beats headphone around, but not airpods. I repeat didn't notice anybody using airpods that day!

Anecdotal, therefore it only has meaning to you.
Rest of world, ehh.
MMV
Incidentally the post sounds juvenile.
You start of with "Your're dumb" then try and justify your maturity by referencing having children.
Not mature sounding at all.

What catches my attention that day is Apple Store employees still using radio.

What should they be using?

 

[a.gomez]

If you're so unsarisfied with Apple products maybe you could find a different forum and leave us in peace.

I didn't know apple products were only one pair of headphones.
[doublepost=1493772064][/doublepost]

She doesn't reflect well on you. You should get rid of her unless you want people to laugh about you.

Err, seeing how I agree... Not really.
[doublepost=1493772838][/doublepost]

Or maybe some of us realize that no headphones look "cool" and just want the best features. Solid sound quality, great battery life, easy charging, and very comfortable due to no wires pulling down on the earbud. 10/10, would purchase again.

Nobody said it needed to look cool. It is like when you see bad type design, it attracts attention for the wrong reasons. Sure, I think for some they rather just find a pair that do all those things and are, lets say Less unique.

 

[ErikGrim]

Has anyone actually got an opinion on these for sound quality?

Did you even bother reading the thread before hitting reply?

 

[sinsin07]

It is like when you see bad type design, it attracts attention for the wrong reasons.

Problem is, whose to say they are a bad design.
You?
Your girlfriend?
Your neighbor?
The Pizza Hut Delivery guy?
Your subjective opinion and your girlfriends subjective opinion is pointless in a forum.

 

[Pilgrim1099]

It's early in the game, maybe AirPods will eventually support molds third-party wise. My hope is that one day AirPods can function to help you hear better too, my friend is hard of hearing and i think hearing aids are overpriced for the tech.

Actually, the analog hearing aids are cheaper and the one I had was about $600. They're not cheap because of the quality and Phonak, at the time, is swiss made and one of the better manufacturers for that industry. Currently, I'm using a digital HA from the same firm due to the fact that analog is being phased out, sadly. Analog hearing aids had better bass and fuller sound than the digital, but on the other hand, the digital HA has to be programmed by the audiologist to acclimatize to the environment based on the person's level of hearing loss.

So, digital hearing aids are actually a LOT more expensive which is unfortunate and some had to pay out of pocket for that. But those who have insurance, don't have to worry about it. I got lucky because the state insurance helped out on that.

Air Pods are just basically amplifers, just like speakers. That's what they do. Hearing aids are designed for a bit more specific purpose to bring the surrounding sound to be translated/contained closer to the inner ear with a custom earmold so nothing leaks out.

Digital hearing aids are a lot more advanced that you might think and I've seen a pair of HAs made for the iPhone in bluetooth mode. But it is flawed because if the phone controls the hearing aid, what happens if the person loses the device? That's a nightmare to think about.
[doublepost=1493775108][/doublepost]

I hear ya. I have a hearing loss that I was born with. So an audiofile I'm not. And because of that it's very difficult to justify 160 bucks for AirPods that don't even fit well. I just buy a 30 dollar set of wired earbuds and I'm happy.

I use a HATIS headset for the hearing aid in t-coil mode. Gets the job done well. However, I think HATIS went out of business some time ago and Harris Communications took over the product line. It angers me how Apple or anyone hasn't come up with wireless t-coil headsets for the hearing aid.

 

[sinsin07]

Did you even bother reading the thread before hitting reply?

Knee jerk is faster.

 

[a.gomez]

Problem is, whose to say they are a bad design.
You?
Your girlfriend?
Your neighbor?
The Pizza Hut Delivery guy?
Your subjective opinion and your girlfriends subjective opinion is pointless in a forum.

Of course it is a subjective opinion... Just like when people say in this forum that the macbook is a beautiful computer, the iphone UI is elegant, the new iphone looks great. Or are subjective opinion only valid when you find them beneficial in validating your own opinion.

By the way, a poll on "satisfaction" is mostly based on subjective opinions.

 

[MH01]

No the guy who is proud he made a lousy couple of grand scalping Airpods. Thanks for playing though.

It's called capitalism . Be it a bloke scalping or Tim Cook, it's about the same thing , profit. Tim is not going to give you anything unless you pay a very high mark up.

 

[symphara]

Items in red added for clarification.

If you want to make a point, reply and explain, instead of adding words to my post that I didn't write.

And you didn't understand anything I wrote. My opinion is that the AirPods are perceived as a great product by a self-selected group that was bound to perceive them as a great product, since they brushed away their serious incoveniences (impracticality, looks, sound quality) or don't perceive them as inconveniences to begin with.

Yes, I don't believe the sound quality is there - and nobody else seems to either. I read quite a lot of tech reviews, and so far I've seen none that praised the AirPods for their sound quality. In fact the general appraisal seems to be "on par with the wired supplied headphones", and those I tried myself, thus I can safely say this is at best mediocre fare.

They're also impractical, on two major accounts. Since the two pods are not tied by anything to you, using them when doing heavy exercise (and in particular cycling) is a non-starter for anyone except those lucky enough to have a perfect in-ear fit. I used many in-ear headphones over the years and I've never seen ones with perfect in-ear fit. And since they don't have a wired option, if you're flying or run out of battery, they're perfectly useless.

As far as looks go, they are surely polarizing. To me and many others, they do look dorky/goofy/like wearing earings. As a man, I just wouldn't wear such a product. It's a reasonable expectation to believe that people who did buy them and use them don't have such a concern, thus they've self-selected.

To me, these headphones are expensive rubbish. I would't buy them and if someone would give me a pair for free, I'd give or throw them away.

Understandable, akin to a Hyundai guy reasoning why the extra cost for the Mercedes isn't worth it.

It's more akin with the guy with regular shoes reasoning that the extra cost for gold-plated, diamond-studded shoes probably isn't worth it.

Please, don't stop here, do list those other wireless solutions that you consider are not a "joke".

I was given as a gift a pair of Sony 950BTs, and the sound over Bluetooth - they can be used in wired mode too - while not perfect, is definitely not a joke. The 1000s are even better and have active sound cancelation, but for that (i.e. when flying) I personally use my Boses. I also tried the Bluetooth Ziks and they were quite good.

 

[SparkOnShore]

If you want to make a point, reply and explain, instead of adding words to my post that I didn't write.

And you didn't understand anything I wrote. My opinion is that the AirPods are perceived as a great product by a self-selected group that was bound to perceive them as a great product, since they brushed away their serious incoveniences (impracticality, looks, sound quality) or don't perceive them as inconveniences to begin with.

Yes, I don't believe the sound quality is there - and nobody else seems to either. I read quite a lot of tech reviews, and so far I've seen none that praised the AirPods for their sound quality. In fact the general appraisal seems to be "on par with the wired supplied headphones", and those I tried myself, thus I can safely say this is at best mediocre fare.

They're also impractical, on two major accounts. Since the two pods are not tied by anything to you, using them when doing heavy exercise (and in particular cycling) is a non-starter for anyone except those lucky enough to have a perfect in-ear fit. I used many in-ear headphones over the years and I've never seen ones with perfect in-ear fit. And since they don't have a wired option, if you're flying or run out of battery, they're perfectly useless.

As far as looks go, they are surely polarizing. To me and many others, they do look dorky/goofy/like wearing earings. As a man, I just wouldn't wear such a product. It's a reasonable expectation to believe that people who did buy them and use them don't have such a concern, thus they've self-selected.

To me, these headphones are expensive rubbish. I would't buy them and if someone would give me a pair for free, I'd give or throw them away.


It's more akin with the guy with regular shoes reasoning that the extra cost for gold-plated, diamond-studded shoes probably isn't worth it.


I was given as a gift a pair of Sony 950BTs, and the sound over Bluetooth - they can be used in wired mode too - while not perfect, is definitely not a joke. The 1000s are even better and have active sound cancelation, but for that (i.e. when flying) I personally use my Boses. I also tried the Bluetooth Ziks and they were quite good.

Impractical the AirPods? I think you have a different view of practicality so there cannot be any discussion. You just take them out of the case, put each one in each ear and go. I used them a lot when cycling and they are perfect. Never fell out of my ears... I think the problem here is the ears' shapes. Your ears are just not good for AirPods, other people's ears can keep them in without problems. As simple as that...

The headphones that you mention are expensive and they are full size, meaning completely impractical, as you put it. Heavy, dorky, making you extremely hot during summer and funny to use when walking or doing any sports since you will make them all sweat and distroy them after a while. Full size Bluetooth can only be compared with the Solo3 which are very good sounding Bluetooth headphones. AirPods are different product, light, airy and without any wires getting in the way...

 

[simon lefisch]

Tried them, didn't like them. $159 for something that doesn't seal in the ear canal is too much. Sound quality is mediocre at best. I'll wait for something better.

 

[symphara]

Impractical the AirPods? I think you have a different view of practicality so there cannot be any discussion. You just take them out of the case, put each one in each ear and go. I used them a lot when cycling and they are perfect.

And then one of them falls off and you have to go look for it, yes, very practical indeed. I had all sorts of in-ear headphones that I use for cycling and I very much doubt there's something that special about the AirPods that keeps them in place all the time. Considering how poorly shaped the normal headphones Apple supplies are, the probability of that is just about zero.

The headphones that you mention are expensive and they are full size, meaning completely impractical, as you put it. Heavy, dorky, making you extremely hot during summer and funny to use when walking or doing any sports since you will make them all sweat and distroy them after a while.

You have reading comprehension problems. I replied to someone asking about Bluetooth headphones whose sound quality is not a joke, not to the topic of Bluetooth headphones that are practical for exercise. I would never recommend cans for that. I have a pair of MW-600s and a pair of SBH-80, and they're practical (wire on the back of the neck, so I don't lose them), and the sound quality is pretty good. The SBH-80 are also very good for calls due to a fancy microphone setup. I'm sure there are many others, except for the AirPods, which sound-wise, by all accounts, is rubbish.

Full size Bluetooth can only be compared with the Solo3 which are very good sounding Bluetooth headphones. AirPods are different product, light, airy and without any wires getting in the way...

Beats headphones, huh? I'm not into fashion tech at all. As far as I can tell that's all that Beats products are. Pretentious crap made not for the obvious purpose, but to tell the world something about the user.

 

[A MacBook lover]

And then one of them falls off and you have to go look for it, yes, very practical indeed. I had all sorts of in-ear headphones that I use for cycling and I very much doubt there's something that special about the AirPods that keeps them in place all the time. Considering how poorly shaped the normal headphones Apple supplies are, the probability of that is just about zero.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comm...ord_off_my_lightning/?st=J2913JUL&sh=4ecc7c67

To answer your question, they do magically stay in your ear. I hated EarPods with a passion and honestly thought they were so poorly designed if they constantly fell out of your ear.

Then I simply cut the cord right off, since I was debating on getting AirPods and didn't want literally the same thing happening with my EarPods.

Sure enough, after cutting my EarPods cord, they magically just stayed in my ears, and now I'm a happy AirPods owner. Haven't lost them either.

I've owned many types of Bluetooth earbuds, and by far the AirPods stay in the best. Yes, it was surprising to even me.

So maybe you should, try the product, before knocking it .

 

[jcmeyer5]

They didn't poll me... I would tell them I am not satisfied because they STILL have a 6 week lead time. Not satisfied at all!

 

[rojo99]

Study shows people who were sold the dream still believe the dream is awesome.

If I were to spend that much $$$ on weak quality sounding earpods that look like something Spock would wear, I'd be embarrassed too.

 

[rojo99]

For $159 I'd like them too.

Yeah, "Over here! Over here! There's a goof who spent tons of money for earpod quality sound!"

 

[rojo99]

I agree with everything here, except the right ear fits fine, and the pod slips out of my left ear. Lasts about five minutes if I don't move, and three seconds if I move my head. A case where one size does not fit all. Doesn't even fit the left ear.

So what does one do when they've paid so much money on the poor quality sound and they don't stay in your ear? You can't sell them now, can you? That's lost money.

 

[rojo99]

You are really going to stick a wireless transmitter as close as possible to your head (or IN your head actually...) and have it broadcasting a signal through the middle of your brain for hours? Think about it.

When tech companies push something new it is all a precursor to something like some subliminal programming to come such as "Buy Apple, Buy Apple, Buy Apple!"

 

[seclusion]

I'm curious if there is any buffer delay.
In recording with an audio interface, when you overdub parts you need to listen to previous recorded tracks.
When I tried other Bluetooth headphones, there was a significant delay in the sound.
Soundcards have settings you can change, but Bluetooth headphones have a significant delay.
Similar if u we're playing a video game, sound would be delayed making them unusable for games as well.
It's called a buffer delay, does anyone know if these have a delay?

 

[hendersonmc]

Good thing loads on here said they were ugly and looked ridiculous and they're not going to buy them.
Yet months later after release they are still almost as hard to find as the Dodo bird.

Uh, these are not mutually exclusive statements. It just shows that the vocal percentage responding to style did not dissuade iPhone consumers from trying Apple's solution for wireless earphones, and the Apple supply chain has yet to catch up.

But then, I can never own it because of its shape in-ear. It hurts my ear

Yep, one in-ear design can't meet everyones needs. However the shape of the ear isn't simple... the AirPod only needs to wedge into an ear with enough force to hold its 10g weight. Have you actually tried it?

I told her, it was the new airpods... Her only reply was "they stupid looking" I didnt even get to tell her the price. Why beat a dead horse

Yep, Apple did not copy someone else's aesthetics. I think they should offer future AirPods in colors that match your ears to make this wearable technology less visible.

I'm still waiting to see if Apple can do more with this wireless nano computer... or till the batteries in my LG HBS750 can't hold a charge... or until I can just buy them off the shelf at my local Apple Store, whichever comes first.

 

[The Game 161]

So what does one do when they've paid so much money on the poor quality sound and they don't stay in your ear? You can't sell them now, can you? That's lost money.

there's that thing called a refund.

sound quality on the air pods are fine for normal usage. Those kind of air pods aren't needed to have amazing sound. I would personally rather not go deaf early in life.

 

[SparkOnShore]

And then one of them falls off and you have to go look for it, yes, very practical indeed. I had all sorts of in-ear headphones that I use for cycling and I very much doubt there's something that special about the AirPods that keeps them in place all the time. Considering how poorly shaped the normal headphones Apple supplies are, the probability of that is just about zero.


You have reading comprehension problems. I replied to someone asking about Bluetooth headphones whose sound quality is not a joke, not to the topic of Bluetooth headphones that are practical for exercise. I would never recommend cans for that. I have a pair of MW-600s and a pair of SBH-80, and they're practical (wire on the back of the neck, so I don't lose them), and the sound quality is pretty good. The SBH-80 are also very good for calls due to a fancy microphone setup. I'm sure there are many others, except for the AirPods, which sound-wise, by all accounts, is rubbish.


Beats headphones, huh? I'm not into fashion tech at all. As far as I can tell that's all that Beats products are. Pretentious crap made not for the obvious purpose, but to tell the world something about the user.

First of all learn to address better to others. I am not American so English is not my native language. Us in Europe we are usually kinder towards others...

Now regarding Beats, your ignorance is for sure obvious. Tyll Hertsens, who is a really famous audiophile reviewer, has placed Beats Solo 2 and 3 on his wall of fame, among the best ever on ear headphones. You haven't heard them of course and yet you judge them. You have no clue pall!! Make some research online to see for your self the sound quality that we are talking about here. Of course if you got no cash to purchase something like that or if you are a jealous Apple hater, this not our problem.

Regarding AirPods, most people's ears are pretty well shaped to "hug" AirPods. Ears must be medium to small so that the outer part of the hole will hold the pod well, at the same time the back part of the ear holds the back part of the pod in place. Apple has done a huge research on many humans' ears and ended up with a design that is secure on 60-70% of ears. Most probably your ears are either monstrous big with a big hole, or lacking the outer hole part which holds the pods in place. Sorry about that...Most of us we have no problem at all. I can shake my head, move it side ways violently and still AirPods stay in place!!! An ear plastic surgery could help you with your problem, but please do not generalize it and don't run to unfounded conclusions without any real knowledge!

 

[satinsilverem2]

I got mine a week before Christmas and love them. I use them almost everyday without issues. I haven't had them fall out of my ears. The only thing is ill sometimes forget them in my pockets and ill panic thinking that they have gone through the wash.

 

[The Game 161]

First of all learn to address better to others. I am not American so English is not my native language. Us in Europe we are usually kinder towards others...

Now regarding Beats, your ignorance is for sure obvious. Tyll Hertsens, who is a really famous audiophile reviewer, has placed Beats Solo 2 and 3 on his wall of fame, among the best ever on ear headphones. You haven't heard them of course and yet you judge them. You have no clue pall!! Make some research online to see for your self the sound quality that we are talking about here. Of course if you got no cash to purchase something like that or if you are a jealous Apple hater, this not our problem.

Regarding AirPods, most people's ears are pretty well shaped to "hug" AirPods. Ears must be medium to small so that the outer part of the hole will hold the pod well, at the same time the back part of the ear holds the back part of the pod in place. Apple has done a huge research on many humans' ears and ended up with a design that is secure on 60-70% of ears. Most probably your ears are either monstrous big with a big hole, or lacking the outer hole part which holds the pods in place. Sorry about that...Most of us we have no problem at all. I can shake my head, move it side ways violently and still AirPods stay in place!!! An ear plastic surgery could help you with your problem, but please do not generalize it and don't run to unfounded conclusions without any real knowledge!

personally i love mu beats solo3 and it's a great balance with my air pods and the beats

air pods for at gym and on the go and beats at home for if i ever need bit more sound

 

[sinsin07]

If you want to make a point, reply and explain, instead of adding words to my post that I didn't write.

Apparently the point was lost on you.
I will make it clear now: Not wise to make broad sweeping generalizations you can't back up with verifiable data. That's why the items in red were added, to personalize it to you.
Chances are you may get called on it.
Your own words:

You're right, we don't have access to data to prove such a point.

Example of broad sweeping statement:

But the point does make sense. This "study" seems to be confirmation bias at its finest. The people who bought AirPods, a niche product that would only appeal to diehard Apple fans, will by definition think that every Apple product is the bee's knees. Especially after sinking $160.

And you didn't understand anything I wrote.

There was no misunderstanding.

My opinion is that the AirPods are perceived as a great product by a self-selected group that was bound to perceive them as a great product, since they brushed away their serious incoveniences (impracticality, looks, sound quality) or don't perceive them as inconveniences to begin with.

Yes, I don't believe the sound quality is there - and nobody else seems to either. I read quite a lot of tech reviews, and so far I've seen none that praised the AirPods for their sound quality. In fact the general appraisal seems to be "on par with the wired supplied headphones", and those I tried myself, thus I can safely say this is at best mediocre fare.

They're also impractical, on two major accounts. Since the two pods are not tied by anything to you, using them when doing heavy exercise (and in particular cycling) is a non-starter for anyone except those lucky enough to have a perfect in-ear fit. I used many in-ear headphones over the years and I've never seen ones with perfect in-ear fit. And since they don't have a wired option, if you're flying or run out of battery, they're perfectly useless.

As far as looks go, they are surely polarizing. To me and many others, they do look dorky/goofy/like wearing earings. As a man, I just wouldn't wear such a product. It's a reasonable expectation to believe that people who did buy them and use them don't have such a concern, thus they've self-selected.

To me, these headphones are expensive rubbish. I would't buy them and if someone would give me a pair for free, I'd give or throw them away.

You certainly have an awful lot to say about a product you never intend to use or buy.
Strange.

It's more akin with the guy with regular shoes reasoning that the extra cost for gold-plated, diamond-studded shoes probably isn't worth it.

So would you be the guy with the regular shoes? Makes sense.
Terrible analogy by the way.
Gold plateted , diamond studded shoes does not equate to:

• W1 Chip
  
• Automatically on, automatically connected
• One-tap setup for all your Apple devices
• Quick access to Siri with a double-tap
• More than 24-hour battery life with Charging Case3
• Charges quickly in the case
• Rich, high-quality audio and voice
• Seamless switching between devices

There is no added functionality with gold-plated, diamond-studded shoes.