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Third-Gen AirPods With AirPods Pro Design to Cost $200 and Launch in First Half of 2021

nutmac said:
Redesigned to resemble AirPods Pro for improved acoustics, but without the Ear Tips
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I'd be ok with this if it's just them finding a way to more directly funnel audio into the ear canal, but while still having the semi-open, non-tip, design and experience of Airpods 1/2 (to your point).

That is the key. The super quick, flip them in and out, ease of use and incredible "can't even tell I have them on" feeling of normal AirPods is just awesome.

With the Pros and anything with tips...it just becomes a different animal that isn't nearly as enjoyable (for me)...and also once I'm going down the road of sticking a tip in my ear, I honestly start considering other higher end products with better sound quality than APPs anyway.

(That said, I have no "tip" products in my life. I like normal AirPods and full over-ear headphones as my combo)
 
I have the original AirPods but they fall out of my ears very easily, even when just sitting ... so I’m basically using them for phone calls only and for that purpose they are great, just overpriced.
These might fit better for my ears but I’m concerned with comfort, maybe I will try them when they come out.
I don’t need noise cancellation as I still have and love my Bose qc35s that I use when on airplane etc, just not much use in the past year though...
 
turbineseaplane said:
Very very very bad

Please Apple - don't do this.

The EarPod and AirPod 1/2 design (close to the same) is simply phenomenal for so so so many of us.
If we wanted a tip jammed in our ear canal, many of us would have gone to Pro's already.

There are many use cases where the semi-open nature of AirPod 1/2 are VASTLY superior.
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Yea like the fact that I can wear them around without anything playing and still hear ambient sound without an issue. Good lucky doing that with any in-ear style buds, including AirPods Pro in Transparency Mode.
 
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I can't imagine spending $200 for these and not paying the extra $50 for the noise cancelling, that's insane. Now that the design is the same and they're more expensive, I don't see the point of these anymore, they should just get rid of them and have 1 model, with noise canceling (it can still be turned off if you don't want to use it).

One thing I would like to see on these is click-in replaceable batteries, but I don't know if the size restraints allow for it. The Airpords Pro (and regular AirPods) are great, but the short battery lifetime, requiring you to just throw them out after a couple years, is problematic.
 
HiRez said:
One thing I would like to see on these is click-in replaceable batteries, but I don't know if the size restraints allow for it. The Airpords Pro (and regular AirPods) are great, but the short battery lifetime, requiring you to just throw them out after a couple years, is problematic.
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Not happening because of ingress protection.
But Apple do offer a battery service.
Problem is, by the time you need it, new Airpods are out for like only 30-40% more. (e.g. 55€x2=110€ for battery replacement for Airpods1 and 179€ for a new pair of Airpods2)
For Airpods Pro and Airpods Max the battery replacement would be worth it tho.
 
mattopotamus said:
I’m in that boat. AirPod pros with the tips do not fit my ears :(
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When I had to replace my 1st gen AirPods, I looked into the AirPods Pro for walks/runs, and people had the same complaints: they kept having to fiddle with them cus they didn't quite stay in the ears ... and/or the tips got stuck in their ears when trying to remove them.

That was enough for me to go with the regular ones again. I found some silicone sleeves that slip over the heads & hook into the top part of my ears for extra stability - and they work just fine.
 
Ultralight_backpacker said:
I tested the AirPod Pro & it’s a crap device that is limited to 250kbps sound latency. Terrible for humanity for Apple to impose these devices and take away the 3.5mm jack.

I used the Shure SE535 with the BT2 Bluetooth 5.0 connector and even though it is capped at 250kbps the sound spectrum is wider and has much more engaging highs & mids along with better bass as well. I can slip the SE846 on there, but I keep those on pure silver custom cables playing 6,000kbps Vinyl tracks only.

All people who use AirPods, AirPod Pros & the new Pro Max have been brainwashed by Apple’s marketing department to believe 250 is a bigger number than 320.

Even the 3.5mm Apple Headphones have a greater sound spectrum that the AirPod Pro does. Other than Pornography, these devices are the biggest scourge in all of humanity. They are the catalyst for communism, and forced indoctrination on the masses of low quality audio packaged as being superior. The original iPod that Steve Jobs created has better sound than the iPhone 12 Pro...& I’ve tested it.

We will not be genocided out of existence. Humanity deserves to have good audio, and Apple has become the machine from the 1984 commercial. I am here to throw a sledgehammer into their screen and wake people up!!

However I believe it is too late, and too many have given into deviancy and have turned their back on the creator. So I’ll climb the tallest mountains in the world and when I’m at the top I’ll look up and think about the satellites which imprison all of you peasants on the ground below into never being able to achieve your goals in life and being enslaved to 250kbps audio and living in audio hell for all of eternity with Bluetooth audio.
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I like what you are saying. But wow, "communism", "genocide", and "imprison", that's quite the rhetoric!

I'm also furious about the removal of the jack, as it's obviously about a money grab in the form of expensive, disposable, AirPods.

But I also see the benefit of bluetooth headphones, and I did buy some basic AirPods for the following purposes: listening to stuff on YouTube while I cook and wash the dishes without a cable being in my way with headphones, or without the noise bothering other people in the house without headphones, and without the volume changing as I move about the kitchen closer or further from the speakers - it's actually really brilliant for this; they are also really good for making phone calls hands free, and sure cabled headphones work for this too, but I find these work better as the mic stays in the same place.

I would love if we still had the jack, and could have both forms. Wired for high quality music. Bluetooth for convenience where high quality is of less importance.
 
alpi123 said:
It's almost as if the point of AirPods is to be completely wireless...
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AirPods will still work fine if the jack still exists, we can have both you know. AirPods for wireless convenience. And the jack for connectivity to industry standard, high quality, audio. I like my AirPods, but I also wish we could have the damn jack back.

Same for charging. We currently have both wired and wireless, and there are pros and cons of each, and we currently are blessed with the best of both worlds. There is not need at all to remove wired charging. I hope the rumours of going full wireless are wrong, but I suspect they are right, simply going by the price of the MagSafe charger, and thus the profits Apple stand to gain.
 
Ultralight_backpacker said:
I tested the AirPod Pro & it’s a crap device that is limited to 250kbps sound latency. Terrible for humanity for Apple to impose these devices and take away the 3.5mm jack.

I used the Shure SE535 with the BT2 Bluetooth 5.0 connector and even though it is capped at 250kbps the sound spectrum is wider and has much more engaging highs & mids along with better bass as well. I can slip the SE846 on there, but I keep those on pure silver custom cables playing 6,000kbps Vinyl tracks only.

All people who use AirPods, AirPod Pros & the new Pro Max have been brainwashed by Apple’s marketing department to believe 250 is a bigger number than 320.

Even the 3.5mm Apple Headphones have a greater sound spectrum that the AirPod Pro does. Other than Pornography, these devices are the biggest scourge in all of humanity. They are the catalyst for communism, and forced indoctrination on the masses of low quality audio packaged as being superior. The original iPod that Steve Jobs created has better sound than the iPhone 12 Pro...& I’ve tested it.

We will not be genocided out of existence. Humanity deserves to have good audio, and Apple has become the machine from the 1984 commercial. I am here to throw a sledgehammer into their screen and wake people up!!

However I believe it is too late, and too many have given into deviancy and have turned their back on the creator. So I’ll climb the tallest mountains in the world and when I’m at the top I’ll look up and think about the satellites which imprison all of you peasants on the ground below into never being able to achieve your goals in life and being enslaved to 250kbps audio and living in audio hell for all of eternity with Bluetooth audio.
Click to expand...

I am sorry but 250 kbps is not a latency unit, you should use ms as latency unit. I guess you are trying to say the encoding for the audio stream, but I failed to understand how the sound spectrum is wider for Shure when its also running 250 kbps according to you, SE535 is a better sounding headphones, for sure, thats because it has great drivers and chamber design, it also has a $400 price tag, which does not help you with the case you are trying to make. Weird flex but okay.
 
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deevey said:
Anyone that has problems with wearing true in-ears is going to be mighty pissed.

Regular AirPods were just about last best sounding and most comfortable no-so-in-ear-in-ear wireless headphones out there.

My wife is not impressed at all. She simply can't do on-head, or in-ears.

If I was in the market for AirPods though, $50 doesn't sound like enough incentive to go with a "lite" version of the pro's
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I’m one of the pissed! I love AirPod form. I use them for my running, and love the way they allow your ears to “breathe” and allow you to listen to some background sound for safety reasons. Also think sound quality/price ratio, the best in that form factor. On the good side I might get another pair on attractive price now they’ll be discontinued.
 
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one more said:
As AirPods 2 user, I would much rather prefer the design without any silicone bits going into the ear canal, something similar to this previous rumour:

www.macrumors.com

Alleged Images of AirPods 3 With 'Pro' Design Shared Online [Updated]

Leaker known as "DuanRui" has today shared images from Chinese site 52audio of what appears to be redesigned third-generation AirPods. ...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

I have tried AirPods Pro and they do not work for me, sounding worse than AirPods 2.
Click to expand...
I'm the same, I'll happily buy AirPods 3 as my gen 1 AirPods are starting to struggle with battery but it will not be something I buy if they have those uncomfortable silicone cups. I do a lot of running and weight lifting and they feel horrible in your ears when you start sweating. Maybe it's just me but I think I'll probably get gen 3 AirPods and AirPods Max this year to serve my workout/traveling needs.
 
It's about time Apple finally place a mass order to Alibaba.com to order the 'fake' AirPod Pros that I bought 2 years ago for $50. The noise cancellation grill is simply a textured sticker, and there's no 'awareness mode'. Simply crappy headphones that lost their bluetooth signal every time I turned my head. They were so bad that it convinced me to buy actual AirPods Pro from Apple. Only marginally better than fakes.

Apple can do better than this. Leave it to Apple to white-label a product that's been on the Chinese market for 4 years, and tell me it's "new".

F T S.
 
Lemon Olive said:
The designs are just...strange.

The EarPods design was the result of a massive study of 1000's of ears to find a style that was one-size-fits-most. They succeeded at that.

Then AirPods come along and its basically the same design...except not. They're bigger, and thicker. Presumably because they had to be, because of the internals. So while they sort of kept their well-researched design, they really didn't. AirPods take a while to become comfortable as they slowly expand your ears to fit.

Then AirPods Pro show up...with the strangest design yet. They take the design of the EarPods/AirPods which are 100% designed to simply fit in ears as-is...and slap a silicon tip on the end of it. How does that make any sense? How is that "designing in-ear headphones"? That isn't a design at all, its just a franken-pod. You can even tell just by looking at them that they don't look like they "fit" anyone. Sure they stick well enough because of silicon tip and the light weight. But they certainly could be designed a lot better.

The idea of AirPods Pro of the same design but with fewer features to replace the original AirPods design is bad, bad bad.
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Exactly.
 
Gotdamnit if this is true i need to stock up on the old ones.
I got both the normal Airpods and the Airpods pro. The airpod pro is basiclly collecting dust.

Yes it has a bit better audio quality and lower end beeing more sealed in ear but my god the normal airpods are so much more comfortable. Not to mention alot better for activity, whenever i try to use the pro when working out i constantly find my self regulating it to have a good seal. If i do heavy push the seal usually breaks, and when i get sweaty it sits worse.

Long live the original airpods. And i also have other brands like Bose Soundsport both wireless and wired between buds. or whatever they were called, which i found to chunky. The Samsung beans, which sits well and sounds well as long as your standing straight up and not trying to bench etc.
 
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