Hands-On With Apple's New AirPods

[Rigby]

Simple Bluetooth pairing for a single device, while easy, is a worse experience compared to pairing W1 equipped headphones.

Geez, every trivial little thing becomes an "experience" these days. You put the earphones into pairing mode, tap once in the BT settings, done. And usually you never have to do it again on that device. Doesn't even rise to the level of a first world problem.

And as soon as you start using AirPods (or other W1 based headphones) with multiple devices it really just makes clear how terrible connecting/disconnecting/re-pairing Bluetooth headphones are.

But you still have to manually switch with the airpods. They should have integrated an API in the OS that apps could use to reconnect the airpods automatically based on certain events.

 

[sinsin07]

I'm a longtime Jaybirds user (X2/Freedom), and I bought the AirPods. I loathe L O A T H E the jaybirds cord (it gets caught on my neck no matter what -- constant readjustments) -- I am very much the target demographic for these truly wireless earbuds.

I just want earbuds that are 1. wireless, and that 2. sound about as good as the Jaybirds. I've never touched an EarPod, so I can only compare to the Jaybirds... but the AirPods have OKAY/decent sound quality. Definitely not at Jaybirds level, which is frustrating. The AirPods have acceptable -- even good -- bass, but they just lack a certain brightness that I find hard to explain. I like my EQ "W" style, but the AirPods are giving me a deep V. I don't wear deep V's and I don't want to listen to a deep V.

That said, I hated the Freedom's sound out of the box too. But they have an app where you can customize the EQ. The AirPods don't -- and the iOS EQ is woefully inadequate. I bet if I could customize the EQ, I'd come out happy enough to keep the AirPods.

As it stands, I'm keeping the box and waiting to see how the Bragi Headphones fair. If they ever ship.

I had to give up on the built in music app years ago for lack of equalizer.
I use the following:
Equalizer Pro - FLAC, OGG, MP3 Player with Best EQ
Equalizer PRO - volume booster and sound effect
There will be some sacrifices to be made like skipping to beginning of track, it will will skip to the previous track (you just then have to skip forward).
For me it just better to have more control of equalization.

 

[profets]

The one thing that strikes me about these, and I think it's a moronic gesture if folk will do this, but due to the lack of wire on these that prevents tumbles to the ground... anyone who introduces whatever lays on the ground into their ear canal after these inevitably fall out is certainly some kind of moron.

It's kind of weird that your other headphones lose signal like that. I've got 2 pairs of bluetooth headphones, PowerBeats 2 and some cheap £15 ones from eBay/China. Neither have the problem you described. I did have some £120 Sony ones that had some bizarre 1 second lag on them so I returned them. But yeah... that's a strange problem you have because the range of bluetooth is quite far. For example I can still operate my bluetooth remote control for my TV and also my Apple Watch remains connected to my iPhone from 3 rooms away. In a way I don't believe your claim. I've never encountered something with such poor bluetooth range. It shouldn't be possible.

(Personally I'm sticking to some fully wired Audio Technica headphones because they cover my ear and the sound quality - for the price and also in general - is phenomenal. That's what matters to me.)

Another quality post, making another quality assumption.

From all the reviews, falling out was not an issue at all.

 

[44267547]

I know this is a really lame question, so sorry: my AirPods don't have markings for Right and Left. Do I assume the pod on the right side of the case is for the right ear?

Actually, this is a great question. It should be indicated near the speaker. If they fit uncomfortably, this would also be an indicator.

 

[profets]

Geez, every trivial little thing becomes an "experience" these days. You put the earphones into pairing mode, tap once in the BT settings, done. And usually you never have to do it again. Doesn't even rise to the level of a first world problem.
But you still have to manually switch with the airpods. They should have integrated an API in the OS that apps could use to reconnect the airpods automatically based on certain events.

I use 2 Bluetooth headsets across a Watch, iPhone, iPad and Mac. I have to reconnect my Jaybirds to my watch and phone every morning during my workout when I switch from strength training to the treadmill.

It's a pain, and a terrible experience. If all you use is a single headset with a single device, then fine. But that doesn't mean that Bluetooth pairing is a relatively terrible process that hasn't improved to match use cases of today.

 

[Rigby]

I use 2 Bluetooth headsets across a Watch, iPhone, iPad and Mac. I have to reconnect my Jaybirds to my watch and phone every morning during my workout when I switch from strength training to the treadmill.

You'll still have to do that with the airpods. The only step you save is having to disconnect from the previous device. So the airpods only solve half of the problem. The (semi-)automatic pairing/reconnecting probably works by having the device signal commands to the earphones via BT LE. With better software integration, they could have done better. Hopefully they'll improve with future OS updates.

 

[gijoeinla]

The one thing that strikes me about these, and I think it's a moronic gesture if folk will do this, but due to the lack of wire on these that prevents tumbles to the ground... anyone who introduces whatever lays on the ground into their ear canal after these inevitably fall out is certainly some kind of moron.

It's kind of weird that your other headphones lose signal like that. I've got 2 pairs of bluetooth headphones, PowerBeats 2 and some cheap £15 ones from eBay/China. Neither have the problem you described. I did have some £120 Sony ones that had some bizarre 1 second lag on them so I returned them. But yeah... that's a strange problem you have because the range of bluetooth is quite far. For example I can still operate my bluetooth remote control for my TV and also my Apple Watch remains connected to my iPhone from 3 rooms away. In a way I don't believe your claim. I've never encountered something with such poor bluetooth range. It shouldn't be possible.

(Personally I'm sticking to some fully wired Audio Technica headphones because they cover my ear and the sound quality - for the price and also in general - is phenomenal. That's what matters to me.)

Hasn't these opines been beaten to death already? Is this ON TOPIC? Are you contributing to the review of these? Did you buy them yourself and your sharing your experience with them?

Of course not. Right?

 

[x-evil-x]

I'm a longtime Jaybirds user (X2/Freedom), and I bought the AirPods. I loathe L O A T H E the jaybirds cord (it gets caught on my neck no matter what -- constant readjustments) -- I am very much the target demographic for these truly wireless earbuds.

I just want earbuds that are 1. wireless, and that 2. sound about as good as the Jaybirds. I've never touched an EarPod, so I can only compare to the Jaybirds... but the AirPods have OKAY/decent sound quality. Definitely not at Jaybirds level, which is frustrating. The AirPods have acceptable -- even good -- bass, but they just lack a certain brightness that I find hard to explain. I like my EQ "W" style, but the AirPods are giving me a deep V. I don't wear deep V's and I don't want to listen to a deep V.

That said, I hated the Freedom's sound out of the box too. But they have an app where you can customize the EQ. The AirPods don't -- and the iOS EQ is woefully inadequate. I bet if I could customize the EQ, I'd come out happy enough to keep the AirPods.

As it stands, I'm keeping the box and waiting to see how the Bragi Headphones fair. If they ever ship.

did you never try them over the ear and alongside your hair behind your head? Only way i can wear them and they don't pull that way. If they are on skin then they pull. i used the clips and make it tight behind your head so it doesnt go past your hair. i tried them rubbing on my neck for a while but didn't like it either.
[doublepost=1482194271][/doublepost]

Ok -- so here's my first review. So me and my roommate each bought a pair at Apple The Grove as a walk in In our testing --- roommate is talking as he's walking along Melrose Avenue - street traffic etc, barely ANY background noise - yes loud truck or bus and minimal car noise. I'm talking to him thru his iPhone -- noise on my end -- barely negligible! We both agree -- people are going to LOVE these. Took 10 seconds to unbox and be up and running -- hahaha -- Sorry haters!

Btw -- another point - roommate has a beard -- you can't even see that he's wearing them - sorry but the negative remarks about their looks is SO OVERBLOWN -- they don't look lame at all.

And what would be someone's biggest motive to *justify* price? Just getting rid of those incredibly annoying wires and the ***** noise that comes from wearing wired earbuds with the mic. I actually felt perfectly fine paying $159 for that convenience.

Can't innovate my a**!

so you're saying they are worth it because of call quality? is that the only reason you bought them?

 

[satchmo]

I sometimes wonder if half the people spouting criticism have actually used the new product rather than just criticising it.

Perhaps you can inform us on how one skips tracks or increases the volume without Siri.

Why do have to reach for that untethered iPhone that's tucked away in your backpack? That's the whole idea behind wireless, no?

People who use subways (without wifi or LTE) again have to manually reach for their iPhones.

And it's not always appropriate to be speak out loud to Siri.

A wireless vision is not wrong, but it doesn't mean you can't have a manual solution/option.

 

[PTVMan]

Actually, this is a great question. It should be indicated near the speaker. If they fit uncomfortably, this would also be an indicator.

After looking in better light I found the R and L marking. Interestingly, I find them more comfortable and stay in MUCh better if I use them in the opposite ear.

 

[profets]

You'll still have to do that with the airpods. The only step you save is having to disconnect from the previous device. So the airpods only solve half of the problem. The (semi-)automatic pairing/reconnecting probably works by having the device signal commands to the earphones via BT LE. With better software integration, they could have done better. Hopefully they'll improve with future OS updates.

Have you been using the AirPods? What exactly are the steps if say I'm listening to music from my watch but then want to start listening from my phone?

 

[nycSAN]

did you never try them over the ear and alongside your hair behind your head? Only way i can wear them and they don't pull that way. If they are on skin then they pull. i used the clips and make it tight behind your head so it doesnt go past your hair. i tried them rubbing on my neck for a while but didn't like it either.
[doublepost=1482194271][/doublepost]
so you're saying they are worth it because of call quality? is that the only reason you bought them?

Yea I tried all the ways. They'd be fine if I didn't move, but if I just turned my neck, it would catch on my skin or clothes. I'm just over the wires. I imagine Jaybird is working on something wireless, I bet that'll be good. Maybe the new Bragi ones will work. Also might try Skybuds and Sol Republic. I'll just keep trying!

But the AirPods sound quality isn't totally horrible. It should be better, but it could be worse!
[doublepost=1482194629][/doublepost]

I had to give up on the built in music app years ago for lack of equalizer.
I use the following:
Equalizer Pro - FLAC, OGG, MP3 Player with Best EQ
Equalizer PRO - volume booster and sound effect
There will be some sacrifices to be made like skipping to beginning of track, it will will skip to the previous track (you just then have to skip forward).
For me it just better to have more control of equalization.

I don't think those apps will work with Apple Music (right?). I'm all-in on Apple Music now, so that's a problem.

 

[profets]

Perhaps you can inform us on how one skips tracks or increases the volume without Siri.

Why do have to reach for that untethered iPhone that's tucked away in your backpack? That's the whole idea behind wireless, no?

People who use subways (without wifi or LTE) again have to manually reach for their iPhones.

And it's not always appropriate to be speak out loud to Siri.

A wireless vision is not wrong, but it doesn't mean you can't have a manual solution/option.

Having used a Moto Hint for well over a year, I quickly got used to using my watch to control playback.

But if playback control is important to you, and you don't want to be fishing for your phone (if you don't have a watch), then the AirPods likely aren't for you.

 

[Rigby]

Have you been using the AirPods? What exactly are the steps if say I'm listening to music from my watch but then want to start listening from my phone?

Yes. You need to go into control center or the music app on the new device and select the airpods as output. Then it takes a few seconds to switch over. If the previous device was still playing music, it may continue playing through its speakers, so you may have to stop playback there (this happened when I tried switching from a phone to a Mac).

 

[profets]

I'm a longtime Jaybirds user (X2/Freedom), and I bought the AirPods. I loathe L O A T H E the jaybirds cord (it gets caught on my neck no matter what -- constant readjustments) -- I am very much the target demographic for these truly wireless earbuds.

I just want earbuds that are 1. wireless, and that 2. sound about as good as the Jaybirds. I've never touched an EarPod, so I can only compare to the Jaybirds... but the AirPods have OKAY/decent sound quality. Definitely not at Jaybirds level, which is frustrating. The AirPods have acceptable -- even good -- bass, but they just lack a certain brightness that I find hard to explain. I like my EQ "W" style, but the AirPods are giving me a deep V. I don't wear deep V's and I don't want to listen to a deep V.

That said, I hated the Freedom's sound out of the box too. But they have an app where you can customize the EQ. The AirPods don't -- and the iOS EQ is woefully inadequate. I bet if I could customize the EQ, I'd come out happy enough to keep the AirPods.

As it stands, I'm keeping the box and waiting to see how the Bragi Headphones fair. If they ever ship.

did you never try them over the ear and alongside your hair behind your head? Only way i can wear them and they don't pull that way. If they are on skin then they pull. i used the clips and make it tight behind your head so it doesnt go past your hair. i tried them rubbing on my neck for a while but didn't like it either.
[doublepost=1482194271][/doublepost]
so you're saying they are worth it because of call quality? is that the only reason you bought them?

With time the cord on the Jaybirds has annoyed the heck out of me. I've tried the setup where it's wrapped to your head, but it never stayed on well.

I appreciate the suggestions for managing the cord, but I'm just so done with it. Half the time recently I've been using the Moto Hint for running just to avoid a cord (at the great expense of audio quality). You want to talk about poor quality audio, you should try the Moto Hint (though in fairness it's not really meant for music).

 

[sinsin07]

Yea I tried all the ways. They'd be fine if I didn't move, but if I just turned my neck, it would catch on my skin or clothes. I'm just over the wires. I imagine Jaybird is working on something wireless, I bet that'll be good. Maybe the new Bragi ones will work. Also might try Skybuds and Sol Republic. I'll just keep trying!

But the AirPods sound quality isn't totally horrible. It should be better, but it could be worse!
[doublepost=1482194629][/doublepost]

I don't think those apps will work with Apple Music (right?). I'm all-in on Apple Music now, so that's a problem.

Ahh. I didn't think about that, sorry.
I do no use Apple music.
No, I don't think that would work.

 

[44267547]

After looking in better light I found the R and L marking. Interestingly, I find them more comfortable and stay in MUCh better if I use them in the opposite ear.

That's weird they fit in your opposite ear. But as long as it works. That's all that matters.

 

[3rdiguy]

I got off work and went to  Union Square and waited in line for about 45 min and got my pair. The sound is nice and loud, connection real nice and now I'm just learning how to smoothly switch between devices. I use Pandora regularly and also have the  Watch so skipping songs and changing volume is done from there for me. I like them and they have replaced my Bluetooth earpiece that I previously used for calls and music streaming.

 

[profets]

Yes. You need to go into control center or the music app on the new device and select the airpods as output. Then it takes a few seconds to switch over. If the previous device was still playing music, it may continue playing through its speakers, so you may have to stop playback there (this happened when I tried switching from a phone to a Mac).

Thanks. Curious to try it out tomorrow when mine arrive.

So what are you thinking then - switching should be more seamless or could be improved on the software / OS side?

My problem with Bluetooth headphones right now, is that never mind just changing output from one device to the other (the way you describe with the AirPods), but I can't simply disconnect easily from one device (the Watch doesn't have the option to disconnect, only Forget) and then connect to another device. Some Bluetooth headsets I tried seem to be able to pair to multiple devices simultaneously, but then music playback / A2DP would never switch and would require forgetting and pairing to the next device.

 

[giopio]

That's three words.

"Fugly" is about as close to two words as you can get. Some call it a "portmanteau," i just call it "efficient."

 

[Phone Junky]

Perhaps you can inform us on how one skips tracks or increases the volume without Siri.

 

[foxconn]

"Freezing cold" followed by California..

That doesn't make any sense.

Sincerely the east coast.

 

[Scotty2Hotty]

Was your quoted delivery date today? I thought the first quoted delivery dates were the 21st...

For me, Apple said 12/21 delivery - but Fedex said 12/20 delivery from the start. But at 7:33A EST this morning, got an out for delivery alert. Last night, they were about 20 miles physically from me - never really thought they'd come today.

 

[RobinInOR]

I know this is a really lame question, so sorry: my AirPods don't have markings for Right and Left. Do I assume the pod on the right side of the case is for the right ear?

The markings are in light gray, at the bottom of the stem. Actually quite hard to see.

I love these things. Normal earpods wont stay in my left ear, they always pop out because my ear isnt deep enough to hold them fully. While I can tell the left one isn't in as deep as the right one, it doesnt fall out even with shaking my head.

I already have a set of Powerbeats 3 That I bought when these were delayed. At work I only wear the right and let the left dangle, the left one hurts. Now I can use these instead and actually wear both!

Siri is eh, she doesnt understand 'volume 25%', you have to say 'set volume 25%'. She was pretty quick about it. She does go outside to do it, I had hoped it was going to be a local function (turned off wireless and she couldn't do anything as usual). I have a watch so I'll use that for my controls

 

[whsbuss]

So tired reading these threads. Got 2 sets this morning and me and the wife like them for exactly what they are... convenient, easy to use, and portable. That's all that matters to me.

PS - great range as well.