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New AirPods Launch With H1 Chip, Hey Siri, Up to 50% More Talk Time, and Optional Wireless Charging Case

archer75 said:
considering the service will be available to all apple customers it instantly gives them a huge market right off the bat. Airplay 2 is now coming to many manufacturers and even roku is adding it to their devices increasing more ways to watch it.

Services are becoming a much bigger part of the their revenue while hardware sales are slowing. The hardware market is saturated and there isn't the need to upgrade like there once was. Services are where it's at now.
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I doubt it will be available "to all apple customers". "To all apple customers in the US" maybe, but here in Canada, we're constantly shafted on access to the services that get released in the US. Based on the lead times for things like Apple Music (and let's not even mention the lack of Apple News still) and given the CRTC's requirement for a certain percentage of Canadian content, even if it does come here (in 3 or 4 years), it's going to be severely crippled.
 
Dharma-P said:
I still don't understand why people pay so much for what is exactly the same sound-wise as the standard included earphones. I got the BeatsX and they are cheaper and have way better sound, combined with the W1 Chip!
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As an owner of BeatsX, which I'm assuming the batteries are now shot on because I can't even reset to charge them, lasted less than 2 years using them an averaging about 3 hours a day. Most days about 2 hours. So I'm hoping airpods batteries will last longer.

I feel like you have to consider more than just sound when comparing the X's with airpods. Assuming you are an iphone owner, airpods should be more convenient. From what I've heard, just ordered my first pair, you literally take them out of your case put them in your ear and music starts playing. Beats X have one of the worst on off switches I've ever used, also easy to forget to turn them off, draining the battery and missing notifications on your phone because they are still going to the headset.

Not having a wire at all should lessen them tugging out of your ears which I found annoying when running. The fins offset that but also a bit less comfortable. Airpods, from reviews I've read are one of the lightest and most comfortable wireless earbuds to wear. I'm personally really looking forward to not dealing with that wire around my neck.

Sound wise I've recently started using the current earpods, hadn't used them really since the old circular ones way back in the day. They actually don't sound that bad. I was especially surprised at sound stage/sound separation, and how they seem to push vocals. I do find they seem a little under powered maybe? The highs can distort a bit at really high volume and both the low end/bass and highs could be more detailed.

I wouldn't say the X's sound significantly better though there is an advantage having sealed earpiece, though the open design on pods tends to be better for sound stage IMO. I'm also having a hard time remembering the X's sound now. For the price, especially when on sale, the X's are definitely a solid deal. Probably overall sound a bit better than airpods, will fit most peoples ears better especially when exercising though they do not like sweat and water as the adhesive on the driver screens was coming off on mine.

Personally, I'd probably buy jaybirds vs beats X since they should sound better than the X's and have better water resistance for working out. But for I want to see how airpods can handle going for a run. If they stay in I'll stick with those as my commute/exercise earbuds. Maybe buy a set sony wh-1000xm3's if they go on sale for commutes and at work.
 
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igetit said:
No black or matte finish makes it a no buy for me. I like my current AirPods but the lack of grip on the skin makes me have to adjust them every 5 seconds unless I use something like EarSkinz which in turn makes returning the AirPods to their case a pain in $%^$^
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Curious about the matte finish for tighter fit. Source for what you write above?
 
It is good that at least there are 3 different options to choose from and the price is not near the rumors that's been floated around. It's too bad the 1st Gen is taken off the website but maybe they will put it in the clearance section in the near future.
 
Jay42 said:
As much as I love AirPods, $200 is a lot to fork over for a set of earbuds with no sound isolation and internal batteries that go flat after a year or two. Creeping up on TOTL over-the-ear ANC Bluetooth headphones and high-end IEMs.
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You really don't need the wireless case. When does one really need more than 24 hours of on hand power? Very different animal than over ear ANC's and good pair of those usually $100 more $140 vs the non wireless charging version. Even more if you aren't in the U.S.
 
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Ordered! Wireless charging case and Bryan engraved on the front. Should be here the first week of April. Can’t wait!
 
Despite me saying I would never in a million years buy these when the gen1 AirPods were released, I now have a gen2 pair on their way to me.

I don't plan on doing any music listening at all with these however. Since the first AirPods were released, I now own 2 additional Macs and an AppleWatch 4 which has changed my opinion on owning AirPods.

The sole purpose of these will be easy connection to my iMac, 2018 15" MacBook Pro, 12" MacBook, AppleWatch and iPhone for the many GotoMeetings, Slack calls and phone calls that I do across all these devices.

For music my $1000 Shure SE846 (that don't speak AirPods poor) with my iFi iDSD DAC are still my goto setup. Also have a pair of bluetooth 5 ZOLO somethingorothers that have ok water resistance for working out or yard work that are actually sound isolating and have ok sound for disgusting bluetooth quality music.

For pure convenience of audio calls I am now an AirPods owner. I am disappointed not to have black matte coating... Regular earpods from apple don't fit great in my ears, so we will see how AirPods do.
 
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coolbreeze said:
People actually use Siri enough to drop new cash on a Hey Siri version? Yikes.

One has to wonder how sustainable these rising prices are in AOC's brave new world...the line between wealth and poverty is sharply defined and Silicon Valley is a key offender, no? Shouldn't Apple's profits be distributed amongst all of us for free?
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Hey Siri isn’t the main draw. That would be better performance and battery life. Also, the price didn’t rise. If you want to pay more for wireless charging, you have that option. The price stayed the same even with updated internals. Go complain somewhere else.
 
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H1 for a chip series? Why not a V-series, for "Voice"? No, they had to get weird and name if after "hands-free", ... or "Hey Siri"?

EDIT: "Apple H1 headphone chip" --- so headphone. Makes sense, I guess.
 
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Dharma-P said:
I still don't understand why people pay so much for what is exactly the same sound-wise as the standard included earphones. I got the BeatsX and they are cheaper and have way better sound, combined with the W1 Chip!
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Because they’re awesome. I have several better sounding headphones but I use these 90% of the time. They’re more convenient than the Beats, and allow sound to be heard around you more easily, so they’re safer to use in urban areas. Hard to explain until you buy a pair and use them for a week, but they are brilliantly designed and if they fit your ears they’re great.
 
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Lead time for delivery in the UK hasn’t slipped at all since this morning from what I can see. Still estimated for delivery from 26-28 March. I have ordered with the wireless charging case and, interestingly, the date when adding engraving is a fixed date of 26 March. I have a Gen 1 pair from launch and the batteries have degraded severely with daily use, and I have been patiently waiting for these to be released.
 
I ordered engraved with wired case. Delivery March 27-29 to Texas.
 
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