Hands-On With Apple's New Second-Generation AirPods

[Kabeyun]

Anyone know if with the new airpods you can now link two sets of airpods to say a phone or new Ipad to stream and watch something? I thought bluetooth 5.0 allowed this.

I have the same question. Since an Apple TV 4K and the new AirPods appear to have Bluetooth 5.0, shouldn’t we be able to stream from the Apple TV to two separate pairs of new AirPods?

Needs software to allow the BT 5.0 to take advantage of dual audio - stream output to two devices.

I don’t understand this statement. It’s a question of hardware support, right? To stream to multiple devices, both ends need to have Bluetooth 5.0 for it to work.

 

[jhill-evans]

I lost an Airpod for 4 weeks so I waited and ordered the new ones - 10 minuets before the DPD guy arrived today I found my missing one!

I could justify the new set before but now I think I’ll need to send them back! least it’s money left in the bank!

 

[minivini]

And anyone who thinks that these things have good sound quality need to put an actual quality headphone in their ears.
All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

I lost my AirPods at work last week, and I’m only upset because of the cost. I think the sound quality is actually a little worse than the freebie wired ones. My wireless Beats are worlds better (and not very good, at that) and I’m fortunate enough to have a few very high quality iems and a pair of nice Sennheisers I use with an amp. The Beats are my lawn mowing, sweaty buds. I guess they’ll stay in that role.

 

[jimthing]

They sound the same and connect to mac same slowly no improvement

You have to update to the very latest OS released today (both iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) to see improvements.

 

[warp9]

Apple could release a automatic wiping toilet and people would complain

That's because it would come with a wiping subscription.

 

[Boatboy24]

Damn, thats rough. Its crazy to see these things are so popular they push back after just a few hours of release. Crazy.

I ordered my wireless charging AirPods the day after ordering opened. Originally was told Apr 2-5 delivery, but mine are arriving tomorrow.

 

[gdeusthewhizkid]

Well, my Airpods Gen 2 arrived today and I took them out tonight on a typical dog walk and they did not disappoint!

As I was leaving the house I thought about whether to bring my iPhone X or not since I usually just stream podcasts from my Apple Watch S3. But I took the phone anyway since that is what I had “paired” the new Airpods with earlier and I didn’t want to find that my watch wasn’t on the same page during the walk.

So, I started my podcast from my iPhone and started walking. After a minute or two I thought, “oh, I’ve not started my outdoor walk workout” at which point I was faced with a dilemma. Do I use the touch interface on my Watch to start the workout given that my Airpods are connected to my phone? Or do I use “Hey Siri” on the Airpods but then start the workout on my phone and miss out on heart rate data?

Well, I just did the obvious thing and said, “Hey Siri, start outdoor walk” and to my delight, she replied, “Starting workout on your Apple Watch” or words to that effect!

Now, I’m a software engineer with 25 years experience and currently I’m contracting for a client developing a voice assistant product for the hospitality sector and I have to say this blew me away! The level of sophistication required to have two independent Airpod devices plus an iPhone and Apple Watch all work together with the iPhone delivering podcast audio to the Airpods while they listen for “Hey Siri” and then somehow my Watch being told to start a workout and then seamlessly carrying on my podcast from my iPhone is just mind blowing!

Anyone who has worked with Bluetooth on a technical level will appreciate the Airpods far more than is rational. I am one of those people and I can tell you this is not far short of witchcraft!

One of the bests posts I seen in a while on here lol

 

[Greenmeenie]

Question. If you have your airpods synced to your ipad and are listening to music...can you then have a mic hooked up to your ipad at the same time recording external audio?

 

[jealousguy86]

Got the airpods but they didn't connect to Siri. How do I do this.

 

[1050792]

And anyone who thinks that these things have good sound quality need to put an actual quality headphone in their ears.
All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

I'm an audio producer for years, I use Beyer Dynamics DT 880's which are high quality studio monitoring headphones for ages connected to extremely high quality converters. I'm also owner of the RHA T20i that I used to use, I also own AirPods since they came out (first generation ) and they sound good. I use them everyday. Your point?

 

[abrantes09]

I ordered my wireless charging AirPods the day after ordering opened. Originally was told Apr 2-5 delivery, but mine are arriving tomorrow.

Thats actually pretty good for an Apple product. If I need anything Apple, in-store is the way to go.

 

[RevTEG]

I walked into my local Apple store in San JOse,Ca. They had plenty AirPods available both with and without the charging case. I made a spur of the moment purchase even though my gen 1 AirPods are working great. I was surprised at the availability. I had to wait for months to see the gen 1 available in stores.

 

[eagleglen]

And anyone who thinks that these things have good sound quality need to put an actual quality headphone in their ears.
All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

I believe what you are saying about sound quality, but they are supposed to be faster. Do you have any proof to indicate otherwise or else you sound just as irrational.

 

[AngryChim]

So now be aware of buying a used 2nd AirPods, people might swap out a 2nd and sell a 1st as a 2nd and none of us can tell the differences.

 

[MacClueless]

And anyone who thinks that these things have good sound quality need to put an actual quality headphone in their ears.
All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

The sound quality is fine for what they’re for... they’re not meant for critical listening.
[doublepost=1553654866][/doublepost]Got mine today! I stupidly gave my last AirPods to a friend last year when I thought the release of the new model was imminent. I had to wait six months!

I don’t really notice any difference yet. I got the wireless charging case because why not. Kind of regret not going the Colorware route.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

I believe what you are saying about sound quality, but they are supposed to be faster. Do you have any proof to indicate otherwise or else you sound just as irrational.

I agree with you, but don’t you agree that at $200 Apple should be willing to pay at least a little more attention to sound quality? They’re very convenient, but so was the 1st generation. I think they could’ve done a lot better than that in 2.5 years than coming up with a $200 version that solves a problem that didn’t exist (connection times) and did not improve the no. 1 issue (sound).

I really want AirPods but I’ve tried them and the sound is heinous. And believe it or not but sound is a priority for me regarding audio products. Here’s hoping Beats will release an in-ear version soon.

 

[AmpSkillz]

Well, my Airpods Gen 2 arrived today and I took them out tonight on a typical dog walk and they did not disappoint!

As I was leaving the house I thought about whether to bring my iPhone X or not since I usually just stream podcasts from my Apple Watch S3. But I took the phone anyway since that is what I had “paired” the new Airpods with earlier and I didn’t want to find that my watch wasn’t on the same page during the walk.

So, I started my podcast from my iPhone and started walking. After a minute or two I thought, “oh, I’ve not started my outdoor walk workout” at which point I was faced with a dilemma. Do I use the touch interface on my Watch to start the workout given that my Airpods are connected to my phone? Or do I use “Hey Siri” on the Airpods but then start the workout on my phone and miss out on heart rate data?

Well, I just did the obvious thing and said, “Hey Siri, start outdoor walk” and to my delight, she replied, “Starting workout on your Apple Watch” or words to that effect!

Now, I’m a software engineer with 25 years experience and currently I’m contracting for a client developing a voice assistant product for the hospitality sector and I have to say this blew me away! The level of sophistication required to have two independent Airpod devices plus an iPhone and Apple Watch all work together with the iPhone delivering podcast audio to the Airpods while they listen for “Hey Siri” and then somehow my Watch being told to start a workout and then seamlessly carrying on my podcast from my iPhone is just mind blowing!

Anyone who has worked with Bluetooth on a technical level will appreciate the Airpods far more than is rational. I am one of those people and I can tell you this is not far short of witchcraft!

careful... some of the geniuses who bought Bose or whatever instead will start to realize why they should have bought Airpods

 

[Stefanojo]

I see in some other threads that the new AirPods can´t connect to Apple Watch until the watch is on WatchOs 5.2. Is this correct?

My LTE watch is on 5.1.3 and the new AirPods played my music just fine on a bicycle ride without my iPhone. HOWEVER, the “hey Siri” function did not work while I was on LTE. It works ok when my phone is near by. Haven’t seen anyone else writing about this yet.

 

[Johnny907]

Yeah my experience with the set of Version 2's I just picked up was more like Version 1's. I tried resetting my iPhone, opening and closing the Airpod case, plugging it into the charger etc. Finally got them to connect within the Bluetooth menu.
I have yet to put them through their paces but as far I'm not impressed with the new H1 chip.

 

[yoheywut]

My LTE watch is on 5.1.3 and the new AirPods played my music just fine on a bicycle ride without my iPhone. HOWEVER, the “hey Siri” function did not work while I was on LTE. It works ok when my phone is near by. Haven’t seen anyone else writing about this yet.

Its because the watch needs the 5.2 update to enable Hey Siri when AirPods are paired to it.

 

[Stefanojo]

Its because the watch needs the 5.2 update to enable Hey Siri when AirPods are paired to it.

Thanks! I missed that. Seems odd they haven’t released 5.2, given all the other updates...or did I miss that too?

 

[smoking monkey]

All of this “they sound so much better” and “are faster” is nothing more than people trying to justify spending another $200 on a piece of crap product.

Perhaps for you, if you even use them, they are crap, but if you talk to most people who own them they'll tell you they are pretty great.

Yes, the sound quality could be better, but it's good enough. That doesn't mean the sound quality is good enough for people who really care about sound quality, but for most people I can't imagine it being a deal breaker.
The real benefits of the AirPods come in their incredible convenience.

Best headphones I've ever own for that very reason.

 

[eagleglen]

I agree with you, but don’t you agree that at $200 Apple should be willing to pay at least a little more attention to sound quality? They’re very convenient, but so was the 1st generation. I think they could’ve done a lot better than that in 2.5 years than coming up with a $200 version that solves a problem that didn’t exist (connection times) and did not improve the no. 1 issue (sound).

I really want AirPods but I’ve tried them and the sound is heinous. And believe it or not but sound is a priority for me regarding audio products. Here’s hoping Beats will release an in-ear version soon.

For me, when I’m out and about, these things are awesome. I actually prefer that they are not in-ear for sound isolation so I can still hear the world around me. And the fact that I can recharge them simply by reinserting them into their case for up to 24 hours of listening time, I’m confident the battery will not run out on me. They fit easily into my pocket when I’m not using them. I can make private phone calls when I need to, and I also find Hey Siri handy. So yes, the sound quality is not superior and could be made better, but for what these were designed to do, they are excellent. When i’m out jogging or crossing a downtown street, I don’t need any the sound to be any better. If i’m sitting at home, in my quiet livingroom, I put on a pair of quality over-the-ear headphones.

 

[alexhardaker]

I got mine on the morning they were scheduled to arrive, along with my watch strap. I first tried them as I was walking to the train station. My left ear fits one absolutely fine, but my right doesn’t. The right gets loose, and feels like it’s gonna fall out, so I have to keep pushing it back in. It’s a shame really. I tested them in bed to see if I could eventually get it to fall out, and it did

Apple solved the most annoying thing about Bluetooth headphones for me. The auto connect feature is great!

I guess I’ll have to either deal with that right AirPod, or buy an accessory off Amazon to keep it in my ear. I don’t know where to start though, I don’t wanna buy something crap. I also want it to stay on in the case too. Constantly adding and removing it will get tedious. Any one know of any decent grips or ear loops (etc) that stay on in the case? I’m from the UK btw.
[doublepost=1553665747][/doublepost]

You have to update to the very latest OS released today (both iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS) to see improvements.

watchOS 5.2 isn’t out for me?

 

[Shanghaichica]

Mine come tomorrow. However I already have the first gen pair so I’m not expecting much difference apart from being able to use them for my entire commute (2 hours) without them dying in the last few minutes.