Ok, what is the pair that is an equivalent to these but looks better? I don't think they even look bad, but I looked at all of the competitors available when these came out, and they were by far the best bang for the buck.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's AirPods Achieve 98% Satisfaction Rate in User Study
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Ok, what is the pair that is an equivalent to these but looks better? I don't think they even look bad, but I looked at all of the competitors available when these came out, and they were by far the best bang for the buck.
[doublepost=1493756293][/doublepost]
Sound quality is subjective and different for each person. I've never been a fan of Beats as it seems to be all about bass, but personally, I think the AirPods sound great and one of the big advantages is being able to pair to your Applewatch, so if you're into running, you can carry on listening to music without taking the phone.[/QUOTE]
Not all bluetooth headphones can pair with an Apple watch? Pretty sure they can, would especially assume the Beats X can with its W1 chip, but if not that sounds rather ridiculous and another good reason to not waste money on an Apple watch. I don't own one anyway, and probably won't anytime soon, so not a concern for me.
Every comparison review I've seen/read says the Beats X sound better than the AirPods and aren't as bass heavy as previous beats headphones so I'll go with the reviews from people that have actually used both products as a better comparison. Paid 40% less than the airpods so that's always a bonus as well.
Sound quality is subjective and different for each person. I've never been a fan of Beats as it seems to be all about bass, but personally, I think the AirPods sound great and one of the big advantages is being able to pair to your Applewatch, so if you're into running, you can carry on listening to music without taking the phone.[/QUOTE]
Not all bluetooth headphones can pair with an Apple watch? Pretty sure they can, would especially assume the Beats X can with its W1 chip, but if not that sounds rather ridiculous and another good reason to not waste money on an Apple watch. I don't own one anyway, and probably won't anytime soon, so not a concern for me.
Every comparison review I've seen/read says the Beats X sound better than the AirPods and aren't as bass heavy as previous beats headphones so I'll go with the reviews from people that have actually used both products as a better comparison. Paid 40% less than the airpods so that's always a bonus as well.
The BeatsX pair with the Apple Watch.
As a side note, I got the 1st gen watch for my birthday. I did not pay for it because I thought it was a waste of money, too. Nope, it is an awesome time saver with the notifications, checking emails, sending texts, activity tracking, and I use it all the time for controlling Apple Music in the car. Once you get used to using it, it is hard to not wear it every day. I have an Omega watch that barely sees in wrist time these days.
"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?"
The shape of the apple's default earphones, hurt my ear. And I see the Airpods have the same shape.
Thus, my assumption.
The shape of the apple's default earphones, hurt my ear. And I see the Airpods have the same shape.
Thus, my assumption.
I'd be all over it receiving as a gift but if I'm shelling out for it I currently consider it a nice to have not a have to have.
I especially would like it for fitness purposes not having to have a phone in my pocket but just a watch on my wrist would be nice but then I'd need the Series two with gps tracking for tracking my runs and starting at (I'd want the larger face) $529 Canadian +12% tax almost $600 just too pricey for a nice to have for me. Plus my daily driver at the moment is an Android phone but maybe one day especially if the price gets more in the $250 - $350 price range (which will probably never happen but I can dream
).Will it pair with any BT headset or just ones with the W1 chip?
I'd be all over it receiving as a gift but if I'm shelling out for it I currently consider it a nice to have not a have to have.
I especially would like it for fitness purposes not having to have a phone in my pocket but just a watch on my wrist would be nice but then I'd need the Series two with gps tracking for tracking my runs and starting at (I'd want the larger face) $529 Canadian +12% tax almost $600 just too pricey for a nice to have for me. Plus my daily driver at the moment is an Android phone but maybe one day especially if the price gets more in the $250 - $350 price range (which will probably never happen but I can dream
Will it pair with any BT headset or just ones with the W1 chip?
They're much better value than the Watch in my opinion, it depends on how much you use them and what for I guess.
This does not surprise me. The design itself is really solid from the start - they did a great job here and AirPods are outright spectacular. Additionally, the higher price means someone has to be pretty committed to the technology even before making the purchase (otherwise, they might be put off and opt for a less expensive alternative, so there is a good chance most Buyers had a good idea what they were getting before purchasing [so, between a great design, and likely research on behalf of Owners, there were fewer unexpected surprises.])
It will pair with any Bluetooth headphones.I'd be all over it receiving as a gift but if I'm shelling out for it I currently consider it a nice to have not a have to have.
I especially would like it for fitness purposes not having to have a phone in my pocket but just a watch on my wrist would be nice but then I'd need the Series two with gps tracking for tracking my runs and starting at (I'd want the larger face) $529 Canadian +12% tax almost $600 just too pricey for a nice to have for me. Plus my daily driver at the moment is an Android phone but maybe one day especially if the price gets more in the $250 - $350 price range (which will probably never happen but I can dream
Will it pair with any BT headset or just ones with the W1 chip?
I don't think they are a better value than the watch, unless you listen to headphones from sun up until sundown....like most wear the watch. Heck, the watch charges so quickly that you can even use it for sleep monitoring if you take it off a few hours a day. My main issue with the Airpods vs the BeatsX is the lack of inline controls. Even for that purpose the watch would come in handy if you were using the iPhone as the source.
I should mention that if I did not have an iPhone, I would not be interested in the watch or the Airpods/BeatsX.
If you're getting tangled up with headphones plugged into a laptop you're doing it wrong.
I agree. Never had that issue. For me, I like Bluetooth headphones for when I am doing something active and don't want to deal with the cord going from ears to phone.
There isn't, that entire form factor is a mess. The icons, SOL, fireflies, airbuds are all strange looking. Basically the technology is not there yet. But that does not make one better over the other - That is like for me defending a D score because the person behind me got an F.
The airpods are freakin horrible. I just scored a pair today, UPS truck came as I was in the Apple store and I figured I'd give them a try. I was hesitant before then because I thought they would be as bad as the POS wired one's Apple includes with the iPhone. I was right, with even a moderate shake of my head these fall right out. They are too large to really go far enough in to block outside sounds, so I'm stuck listening to the guy next to me at the gym telling his workout buddy about his toe fungus. They look ridiculous, like 2 tiny little dildos hanging out of my ears, and the bright white doesn't help.
I do like the charging system, and the girl at the Apple store said they get 8 hours battery life on their own, and 24 with the case which is pretty amazing. But still all the battery life in the world won't change how badly they function. It's back to my Jaybird F5's which have an annoying wire, poor battery life, but not even a nuclear blast could dislodge them from my ears.
So I guess chalk me up to the 2% haters.
I do like the charging system, and the girl at the Apple store said they get 8 hours battery life on their own, and 24 with the case which is pretty amazing. But still all the battery life in the world won't change how badly they function. It's back to my Jaybird F5's which have an annoying wire, poor battery life, but not even a nuclear blast could dislodge them from my ears.
So I guess chalk me up to the 2% haters.
Again, you resorted only "strange looking." What other flaws do the AirPods have? Mine have great battery life, solid sound quality, and are comfortable to wear. They blow all previous bluetooth headphones I've had out of the water, mostly because they are extremely lightweight and don't have a cord dangling between the two.
Airpods vs. apple watch? of for sure 1/3 the price and everyone pretty much needs headphones nobody needs a smart watch if they have a smartphone. Smartwatch seems more like a luxury item. Fun and makes things more efficient but not really necessary.
No one needs Airpods. Apple includes a pair of wired headphones in the iPhone box and you can buy Bluetooth headphones for $5. They are both luxury items. After that, it comes down to which is more useful. If you value your time, the watch is more useful.
The need for AirPods is equally artificial. A big driver being Apples silly decision to remove the headphone jack.
In fact regaining the headphone jack has been one of the things I've really enjoyed about switching to the S8+.
Not only do all my current Bluetooth headsets work, but I can charge and talk without silly dongles, or have to resort to $150 AirPods when I already have higher quality sounding headphones that are already paid for.
Your questions was what in the category "looks better" (I am assuming you only limiting it to the "in ear" BT segment) And my reply was None. The fact that they are a visual fiasco was the point of my comment.
I use my headset in the subway and to listen audio books on my flights. So anything not an IEM or with active noise canceling really never an option.
Yeah, like the Jaybird's have... Or even more annoying the hard back neck connection like the Bose Q30. I gave up on Bluetooth in-ear headphones, the technology is just not there yet.
They were great... Until I found them completely useless for anything but sitting and sloth walking- anything over a few mph's and they were easily jarred loose. Forget about lifting, activities, running, cycling, and sweating in general. I ended up giving them away. The best feature was connecting to your phone by removing them from their case. Lol.
I don't think there is a "need" for them...artificial or otherwise. It is something people want because it adds convenience.
I think the market was already moving toward wireless solutions, so they just pushed it along the way. I don't think they really created demand for much of the market with the removal of the port. Yeah, there are those that have to charge and listen to headphones at the same time, but there is an adapter or dock for that which would give you access to all of your old headphones vs buying something wireless that also needs to be charged. In other words, the Airpods will eventually need to be charged, while using the adapter with regular headphones means you can listen all day without a break if you want to.
Personally, I bought the Beatsx for the convenience of the W1 chip. Losing the port on the iPhone had nothing at all to do with my purchase.
You originally said "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."
What pair are they finding that do all those things and are "less unique?" That's what I responded with - tell me what that option is. You saying "none" contradicts your original statement - which was made to argue that no one should buy these things because they don't look cool.
AirPods may look a little more unusual than traditional headphones, but they are far and away the best individual ear bluetooth headphones available.
No it is not. You claimed that the features were what was most important to you (And so be it) I reminded you that for some It is not, and they rather just keep looking for the entire package. Just because you were ok with the compromise does not make it the norm.
And I said that for me, there is none. The form factor (including the airpods) Is a no go. What Joe or Jane end up with is up to them. Also, non of this changes my original post that they are funny looking.
Oh there is definitely no need for wireless headphones I had been fighting the urge to buy for a while till my old monster sports earbuds remote stopped working (I like to be able to skip songs with a remote especially when I run) then I figured Beats X on sale for $50 off let's try it out. It's definitely nice to not have a wire attached to your phone when you are out and about or exercising. A lot more freeing than I thought it would be. Still not a necessity but a nice feature to have.
At work I still used wired Audio Technica's since I'm not moving around and they sound better.
FYI, the wires make a difference. I get more ear pain with the wired buds because the weight of the wires puts pressure on different parts of the ear. The wireless ones do not and so I generally don't experience much ear discomfort at all.
The lack of wires vastly improves user experience even if is a luxury