The tech in the headphones are pretty cool, but im not impressed with the sound quality. My Philips 50 USD in-ear headphones have way better sound quality than the AirPods.
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Hands-On With Apple's New AirPods
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I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Reduced my use of on in-ears after years of using high end IEM because they do become a bit uncomfortable after a while and also I think they prevent wax naturally leaving the ear.
Been using on-hear BT headphones which sound fantastic but are a bit too cumbersome for day-to-day use.
I have a pair of BT plantronic's in-ear for the gym which are not too bad. They do fall out of my ear a lot and I think thats a problem that many have with BT headphones as they can be a bit bulkier than wired versions.
Have bought the AirPods yesterday and find that they fit really well and don't feel like they would fall out at all. Lets see if these become a keeper considering I seem to buy a new pair of ear/headphones almost yearly!!
Mine arrived today and testing them now for the first time so treat this as a first impression.
To frame my opinion better I should say that I've never been a fan of in-ear isolating headphones and have never had an issue with the original wired earbuds for general life. They always fit me fine and sounded good enough for what I need in general life. I do have some higher quality B&W over ear cans but use them only occasionally.
So back to the AirPods and I have to say that my first impression is extremely positive. They definitely sound better than the wired version. Whether it is for technical reasons, DAC or improved internals, my imagination or simply due to the wire not weighing/pulling I can't say. Good enough for general use for me? Definitely.
Pairing was immediate and seamless. It just works.
Connection so far has been flawless. Incredible really when you think about it and how small these are.
Looks are subjective. I'd rather have these than a pair of beats over ear monsters any day.
It sounds stupid but not having the wires is a massive win. My daily battle to untangle my old pair was a PITA. First world problem I know.
Downsides. Well the cost. In the U.K. these are £159. Pretty expensive but again this is subjective.
My only real criticism is the lack of controls and I do hope Apple does something about this. I wonder whether this is what held up the release. The lack of a way to change the volume and/or skip tracks is a backwards step and Siri is not an alternative. I have my double tap set to play/pause and I hope that apple releases a software or firmware update that introduces more gestures. Single tap right bud for volume up, tap left for volume down? Triple tap for skip?
That's about it.
To frame my opinion better I should say that I've never been a fan of in-ear isolating headphones and have never had an issue with the original wired earbuds for general life. They always fit me fine and sounded good enough for what I need in general life. I do have some higher quality B&W over ear cans but use them only occasionally.
So back to the AirPods and I have to say that my first impression is extremely positive. They definitely sound better than the wired version. Whether it is for technical reasons, DAC or improved internals, my imagination or simply due to the wire not weighing/pulling I can't say. Good enough for general use for me? Definitely.
Pairing was immediate and seamless. It just works.
Connection so far has been flawless. Incredible really when you think about it and how small these are.
Looks are subjective. I'd rather have these than a pair of beats over ear monsters any day.
It sounds stupid but not having the wires is a massive win. My daily battle to untangle my old pair was a PITA. First world problem I know.
Downsides. Well the cost. In the U.K. these are £159. Pretty expensive but again this is subjective.
My only real criticism is the lack of controls and I do hope Apple does something about this. I wonder whether this is what held up the release. The lack of a way to change the volume and/or skip tracks is a backwards step and Siri is not an alternative. I have my double tap set to play/pause and I hope that apple releases a software or firmware update that introduces more gestures. Single tap right bud for volume up, tap left for volume down? Triple tap for skip?
That's about it.
I think this is the main issue with these. I normally sleep with my earphones in and like to skip tracks. Was annoying having to activate Siri to do this last night. On a day-today basis getting my phone or AW out every time I want to change tracks or adjust the volume may become a bit irritating. Need the novelty value of a new piece of kit to wear off first to see how they really perform.
I haven't seen a tear-down post yet to see what exactly is in the AirPods and if additional gestures via a firmware update would even be possible.
EDIT - SO I found a tear down - http://mindtribe.com/2016/12/apple-airpods-teardown/
Not sure if its that helpful.
Yeah exactly. I hope they hold fine in my Dumbo Ears.
Do they have the exactly same form and size as the Earpods, or are they minimal different/bigger maybe? Thx!
that is a huge stretch. the day you say the airpods are at par with B&W i will be running to grab them too
After using them agree with what people are saying about the controls. I used to use my iPhone rather than the in line controls on my other headsets anyway. if I am using it on my Mac the volume is there as well. However I can see why people would like this for when they are away from their phone or device.
I am guessing with next years phone will come BT5 sets with additional controls. Hopefully they can update these. Not sure what they were thinking with Siri instead of volume or skip track. Whoever decided that should find a new job. The solution with out using serious was as obvious as day.
Seems the higher ups at Apple really think Siri is the future and I don't share their enthusiasm so far. Siri seems to be completely inappropriate for typical usage on places like the subway, cafes, or just about anywhere outside of one's home.
Even if Siri wasn't such a brainless bimbo there isn't a good case for doing it this way.
They should have a couple of options to use Siri or replace that with other control functions. When they do that this product will be unbeatable.
How can a wireless super-compact pair of head phone (AirPods) can compare to a 4-5 year old desing string attached pair of EarPod? I know they almost have the same name so it can get confusing for some people, but still, this is two completely different technologies.
Got my AirPods today and I allready know that these badass are going to make me very happy. Let's be honest, those headphones are made to be portable, easy to use and to make you feel free to move while listening to music. They aren't built to enjoy a deep and complex mélodie. If you want to do that, well buy a over-ear pricy headphones and sit back in a quite rooms, that's how you listen to music properly. I think AirPods furfill their purpose pretty well.
On an other note, I've been looking for true wireless headphones for quite a while now. Got the first version of bragi, about $400 later I was listening my music with something that played worst than $9 drugs store crap. I'm not even talking about the music cutout I would have if I put my phone in my jeans pockets nor the play/pause/switch/wtv that never worked. Finally I had to spend an other 70$ to ship them back to bragi and get a refund. Luckily for me, few months later Apple was announcing AirPods.
That is partially why, unlikely all the negative comments before me about the price tag, I don't think they're that expesive. Considering where we are at with that kind of tech and the quality of the finition of the software and the hardware this is a normal price for Apple. I know they did a great job with thoses, because it's only been a day and I allready don't know how I would go back to stings headphones. They needed it, because I'm a Apple fan, but lately they're getting a little behind when it comes to innovations. Think about, macbook pro with an audio jack and no lighting connector, iPhone 7 not much innovation at all, no more apple display, iMacs that aren't that wow anymore if you compare to Microsoft surface studio... I miss the good old Steve Jobs days. Do me a favor Apple, more exiting stuff like AirPods please!
Btw: Shout out at all the people that didn't even seen the thing in real life, but are still judging as they would know. That reminds me so much of when the first iPad came out, a lot of folks here was bashing against Apple saying that it was only a big expensive and useless iPodTouch. They were so sure about what they said and how this wasn't gonna work... They're now writing the same type of comments about the AirPods only now they do it with their tird iPad. I can't wait to see in 5 years when everybody will have AirPods and how those today's comments will look... well... simply stupid.
Got my AirPods today and I allready know that these badass are going to make me very happy. Let's be honest, those headphones are made to be portable, easy to use and to make you feel free to move while listening to music. They aren't built to enjoy a deep and complex mélodie. If you want to do that, well buy a over-ear pricy headphones and sit back in a quite rooms, that's how you listen to music properly. I think AirPods furfill their purpose pretty well.
On an other note, I've been looking for true wireless headphones for quite a while now. Got the first version of bragi, about $400 later I was listening my music with something that played worst than $9 drugs store crap. I'm not even talking about the music cutout I would have if I put my phone in my jeans pockets nor the play/pause/switch/wtv that never worked. Finally I had to spend an other 70$ to ship them back to bragi and get a refund. Luckily for me, few months later Apple was announcing AirPods.
That is partially why, unlikely all the negative comments before me about the price tag, I don't think they're that expesive. Considering where we are at with that kind of tech and the quality of the finition of the software and the hardware this is a normal price for Apple. I know they did a great job with thoses, because it's only been a day and I allready don't know how I would go back to stings headphones. They needed it, because I'm a Apple fan, but lately they're getting a little behind when it comes to innovations. Think about, macbook pro with an audio jack and no lighting connector, iPhone 7 not much innovation at all, no more apple display, iMacs that aren't that wow anymore if you compare to Microsoft surface studio... I miss the good old Steve Jobs days. Do me a favor Apple, more exiting stuff like AirPods please!
Btw: Shout out at all the people that didn't even seen the thing in real life, but are still judging as they would know. That reminds me so much of when the first iPad came out, a lot of folks here was bashing against Apple saying that it was only a big expensive and useless iPodTouch. They were so sure about what they said and how this wasn't gonna work... They're now writing the same type of comments about the AirPods only now they do it with their tird iPad. I can't wait to see in 5 years when everybody will have AirPods and how those today's comments will look... well... simply stupid.
Bluetooth wireless devices will never drop. This is the going rate.
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Trolls like him aren't even worth giving the effort. He's clearly here just to cause problems.
Hehehe
but just shows that they *can* fall out.Well, looks like I have to try out.
Such a shame. You would have thought Apple would have concentrated on the audio quality.
These AirPods are not 'free-in-the-box' but pretty expensive.
I'd be gutted to step back to the quality of original ear buds.
Peoples general appreciation of rubbish audio really should change. You are missing out!
It's like the old days of rubbish crt computer screens with dodgy graphics drivers resulting in blurry text. The net result of people using those was a lifetime of glasses and poor vision.
But like in those days, people were happy enough.
Honestly people must have huge ears for these to fall out...I've found it impossible for these to fall out.
I would have thought for £160, audio quality should be the only metric this audio product should be measured on.
I would listen to more people on here who have them than reviewers. To mean the difference is not much but the air pods are certainly better sound wise compared to earbuds.
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For amazing sound you would be paying £250-300 not £160
The sound quality is fine on the air pods. These are more about than just sound. It's being wireless number 1, easy syncing, better access for calls. Sound is just one of the important factors.
Why don't you simply buy one of the competitive products with the same feature set at that price?
To be honest, I think I would prefer to test them out in person myself before purchasing.
Not sure how Apple would do this hygienically in store?
You're talking about fashion sense with THAT profile picture?
These will be as iconic as the original white headphones.
Honestly don't think you can, how could they do it without somebody pitching them? Also would you want to put something In your ear than other have?
I believe he was purely questioning your actions to delete your spurious post.
Well, looks like she doesn't have big ears, but I do.
The ear shape is probably more relevant.
Hmmm...
What if you wear a scarf, and the scarf touches the bottom of AirPods?
Like pulling up a bit.
Nope. My Klipsch earbuds cost about £80 years ago and the sound quality is amazing compared with Apple earbuds. The sound quality is indistinguishable from a £500 pair of proper cans.
The noise cancelling is also amazing for an earbud too. As someone that suffers from travel sickness this is a godsend minimising the engine drone when traveling by plane.
I would have hoped for Klipsch sound quality or better along with the wireless features for £160.
You're right everybody's ears are different so it's hard to judge others when it comes to this. Sadly it's not as cold as it should be for December here in England. Otherwise would try it out with my wooly hat haWell, looks like she doesn't have big ears, but I do.
The ear shape is probably more relevant.
Hmmm...
What if you wear a scarf, and the scarf touches the bottom of AirPods?
Like pulling up a bit.
Is it much different than touching the keyboard or tapping the screen that some snotty nose child had just touched before you?
Regarding the pinching, I'm sure Apple is clever enough to come up with some proximity sensor to protect them. Plus they are a big enough company to afford the risk I'm sure.