AirPods available now

Sad Professor

AirPods don't interest me, but I'm seriously considering the Beats X. Reviews are very positive.

Doodah7

Sad Professor wrote: »

AirPods don't interest me, but I'm seriously considering the Beats X. Reviews are very positive.

I'm also wavering but I cannot find out the actual total length of the cord on the Beats X i.e from bud to bud. It looks quite long and would like to test with a piece of string!!!

Sad Professor

tallpaul wrote: »

I'm also wavering but I cannot find out the actual total length of the cord on the Beats X i.e from bud to bud. It looks quite long and would like to test with a piece of string!!!

Several of the reviews I've read suggest it's too long.

Blazer

Sad Professor wrote: »

Several of the reviews I've read suggest it's too long.

better too long than too short...its easy to tie them up anyway..jaybirds had a good system for shortening the cord with 2 clips so no doubt they'll be a market for them

Creamy Goodness

Looks like iOS 11 will add per AirPod control. Should have been there from the start but now you can have play pause on the left, siri on the right or even the new next/previous track.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/ios-11-brings-nextprevious-track-controls-to-individual-airpods/

ibFoxer

Sad Professor wrote: »

AirPods don't interest me, but I'm seriously considering the Beats X. Reviews are very positive.

I was considering the AirPods, ended up going for Beats X, haven't had much chance too use them yet but the limited time leads me to believe i made the right choice.

Setup was pish, took all of ten seconds- press, button, hold near phone, winner winner. Came 90% charged, and i gave a good effort to run them down, got to 30% and stuck them on charge for about ten minutes, back up to 83%. Haven't had a chance to test with Siri or podcasts yet but i'm expecting them to do a solid job.

If i was an audiophile i might be slightly critical of the sound, it might be a little flat, but overall it's pretty solid.

Doodah7

ibFoxer wrote: »

I was considering the AirPods, ended up going for Beats X, haven't had much chance too use them yet but the limited time leads me to believe i made the right choice.

Setup was pish, took all of ten seconds- press, button, hold near phone, winner winner. Came 90% charged, and i gave a good effort to run them down, got to 30% and stuck them on charge for about ten minutes, back up to 83%. Haven't had a chance to test with Siri or podcasts yet but i'm expecting them to do a solid job.

If i was an audiophile i might be slightly critical of the sound, it might be a little flat, but overall it's pretty solid.

Would you mind please measuring them ear bud to ear bud for total length?? I would love a definitive and accurate measurement of the length of the cord of Beats X!! Also, did they come with a three month Apple Music voucher enclosed?

ibFoxer

tallpaul wrote: »

Would you mind please measuring them ear bud to ear bud for total length?? I would love a definitive and accurate measurement of the length of the cord of Beats X!! Also, did they come with a three month Apple Music voucher enclosed?

Certainly- I call it 850mm bud to bud. It came with a voucher but it's possibly only 1 month, I'd need to look again.

Sad Professor

ibFoxer wrote: »

I was considering the AirPods, ended up going for Beats X, haven't had much chance too use them yet but the limited time leads me to believe i made the right choice.

Setup was pish, took all of ten seconds- press, button, hold near phone, winner winner. Came 90% charged, and i gave a good effort to run them down, got to 30% and stuck them on charge for about ten minutes, back up to 83%. Haven't had a chance to test with Siri or podcasts yet but i'm expecting them to do a solid job.

If i was an audiophile i might be slightly critical of the sound, it might be a little flat, but overall it's pretty solid.

How does the sound quality compare to the wired EarPods?

Also have you noticed a significant drain on your iPhone battery?

ibFoxer

Sad Professor wrote: »

How does the sound quality compare to the wired EarPods?

Also have you noticed a significant drain on your iPhone battery?

I think the sound is a lot better, definitely clearer and louder. I haven't noticed a major increase in battery drain, but i haven't used them for more than a couple of hours at a time. I'm assuming that it does drain the battery somewhat but perhaps it's not terribly severe.

shanec1928

priced them at dixons in the airport and are €180 so no savings to be had there.

TinCool

I got a pair of these today. I must say I'm really impressed. They're so easy to use and super convenient. No turning on, just take them out of the case, stick them in your ears and off you go. They are seamless (at least with my iPhone 7). I really love how the music stops when you take one out and starts again when you put it back in your ear. I'll be using these mostly in work and that feature alone is a major selling point.

arch_stanton

TinCool wrote: »

I got a pair of these today. I must say I'm really impressed. They're so easy to use and super convenient. No turning on, just take them out of the case, stick them in your ears and off you go. They are seamless (at least with my iPhone 7). I really love how the music stops when you take one out and starts again when you put it back in your ear. I'll be using these mostly in work and that feature alone is a major selling point.

For me these are really the most under-rated new product Apple have had in years. You can take my iPad, watch and tv but they'll have to pry my AirPods out of my cold dead ears. I have them since launch and use them every single day, commuting to work, on conference calls for hours, out running, FaceTime calls etc. Even with the new tvOS you can easily switch to them if watching something loud late at night. They're so light you forget you have them in. I've nearly worn them into the shower several times by mistake.

Combined with the charge case and the option to use one at a time I've never run out of charge. I've yet to see another pair in the wild but two others in my office have them and also use them for calls. You do get the odd stare, especially if you have just one in while talking and someone approaches from the other side

DubDJ

They really do seem to be highly praised, when I first watched the keynote I thought they looked too ridiculous. I still think they might be a bit strange to wear out and about. And I doubt they'd stay in my ears, especially for running.

The price compared to competitors is actually very reasonable for once, a bargain in some cases as alternatives aren't usually without fault.

Fancy Bear

Saw a lad on the DART with them. I think they look really stupid to be honest. They look unfinished or something. Weird.

Got a pair of Beats X. Quality is very good (obviously notably better than the standard wired EarPods). Good for training and I like the safety of the wire.

TinCool

Fancy Bear wrote: »

Saw a lad on the DART with them. I think they look really stupid to be honest. They look unfinished or something. Weird.

Got a pair of Beats X. Quality is very good (obviously notably better than the standard wired EarPods). Good for training and I like the safety of the wire.

Agreed. I do think they look a little silly but I don't care. I do have a pair of beats for the gym. I doubt the airpods would stay in my ears as I sweat like a pig when I work out. Loving the airpods though. Need to see if I can pair them to the TV for late night watching.

gizmo81

TinCool wrote: »

Agreed. I do think they look a little silly but I don't care. I do have a pair of beats for the gym. I doubt the airpods would stay in my ears as I sweat like a pig when I work out. Loving the airpods though. Need to see if I can pair them to the TV for late night watching.

This has put me off getting them, I was wondering would they be slipping out.

Also, the two places I tried a couple of weeks ago had none in stock was wondering were they going to refresh them for the new iPhone launch.

Zimmerframe

Got a pair recently, and yes they look silly BUT, they just work flawlessly. I have had loads of headphones, bluetooth adapters etc etc and they were just more hassle than they were worth for a quick listen to a podcast or a youtube clip.
It's the integration of the apple ones that makes the cost worth while.
I have headphones with better sound, but nothing that's as handy to use.
Also re. the above comment, they look like they won't stay in your ears, but somehow, they do.Mine hasn't fallen out. CombuB had them in stock last week, thats where I got mine.

gizmo81

Zimmerframe wrote: »

Got a pair recently, and yes they look silly BUT, they just work flawlessly. I have had loads of headphones, bluetooth adapters etc etc and they were just more hassle than they were worth for a quick listen to a podcast or a youtube clip.
It's the integration of the apple ones that makes the cost worth while.
I have headphones with better sound, but nothing that's as handy to use.
Also re. the above comment, they look like they won't stay in your ears, but somehow, they do.Mine hasn't fallen out. CombuB had them in stock last week, thats where I got mine.

Cheers

smurfjed

I got them, put the case in a plastic case and then slid a Track-R inside that case, paranoid that i will lose them.

Bob24

Just got them recently.

On the looks: I also found them to look silly at the initial release but I now think it's just a social thing because people are use to seeing that Apple iconic design with wires, and in a few years time people will get used to them without wires to a point that wired ones will start to look silly.

Convenience and comfort: works flawlessly and best wireless earphones in terms of easily switching between devices (caveat: this only applies for people who only or mostly use Apple hardware as their audio sources). Also very confortable and amazingly feel much more secure in my ears than my previous wireless earphones when I go for a run.

Sound quality: ok but not great. You can definitely get significantly better sounding wireless earphones from the same money. But of course not as convenient to use.

And it is not a surprise but the complete lack of sound isolation has been an issue for me on a few occasions. For a lot of urban usage it reaches a point whereby I think I can't enjoy the music properly anymore (which is why my pair of Bose QC30 are still my favourite choice by far for all situations whereby I don't mind a bit more bulk and the AirPod are more the easy and lazy option for all other situations including some quick casual listening at home).

Lastly battery life is great for their size and the charging case fairly convenient.

Overall it is a nice lifestyle product and technical demo of what wireless audio should be like. But personally I think it would be a much better product if they had sold them for a bit more money in exchange for improved sound quality and some type of (active or passive) isolation.

Dades

smurfjed wrote: »

I got them, put the case in a plastic case and then slid a Track-R inside that case, paranoid that i will lose them.

Does that really work? I used a Tile for a while but found to the "crowd tracking" to be a nonsense. If hardly anyone has the app running you'll never find your stuff.

Bob24 wrote: »

Overall it is a nice lifestyle product and technical demo. But personally I think it would be a much better product if they sold them for a bit more money and in exchange improved sound quality and introduced some type of (active or passive) isolation.

Not everyone wants isolation methinks. For urban pedestrians and cyclists you're safer to not have it. That said, if it was something you could turn on or off via an app - that would be cool.

Oafley Jones

Bob24 wrote: »

Just got them recently.

On the looks: I also found it silly at the initial release but I now think it's just a social thing because people are use to seeing Apple iconic design with wires, and if a few years time people will get used to them to a point the wired ones will start to look silly.

Convenience and comfort: works flawlessly and best wireless earphones in terms of easily switching between devices. Also very confortable and feel much more secure than my previous wireless earphones when I go for a run.

Sound quality: ok but not great. You can definition get significantly better sounding wireless earphones from r the same money.

And it is not a surprise but the complete lack of sound isolation has been an issue for me in a few occasions. For a lot of urban usage it reaches a point whereby I think I can't enjoy the music properly anymore (which is why my pair of Bose QC30 are still my favourite choice for all situations whereby I don't mind a bit more bulk).

Lastly better life is great for their size and the charging case fairly convenient.

Overall it is a nice lifestyle product and technical demo. But personally I think it would be a much better product if they sold them for a bit more money and in exchange improved sound quality and introduced some type of (active or passive) isolation.

It's the lack of sound isolation that sold me. I bought them for running and hate being cut off from my surroundings as regards noise. I find it's just dangerous. They're fine for podcasts in the office as well. I'm not really convinced of the convenience of the W1 chip. The auto sync isn't flawless and can sometimes take 30 seconds to be found. If there's an improvement over the standard pack earbuds sound quality I'm not hearing it. So, for the price they're shocking.

I also think I prefer the neck bud design of the beats and my own B&O H5s. I find them more convenient, having said that the AirPods do allow you to be more discrete if you want. I do like them, just wish Apple would work on their SQ.

Bob24

Dades wrote: »

Not everyone wants isolation methinks. For urban pedestrians and cyclists you're safer to not have it. That said, if it was something you could turn on or off via an app - that would be cool.

Yeah I mean either half isolation (in-ear rubber buds which don't go deep in the ear do reduce outside noise to an extend but still let you hear strong noise in emergency situations) or customisable ANC (Bose now do that in their whole product line).

I definitely don't want full isolation in a urban environment but for me no isolation whatsoever doesn't really feel safer as it tends to force you to push up the volume which is bad for your eardrums and will cover outside noise anyway.

Dades

Bob24 wrote: »

I definitely don't want full isolation in a urban environment but for me no isolation whatsoever doesn't really feel safer as it tends to force you to push up the volume which is bad for your eardrums and will cover outside noise anyway.

That is true. I walked down Nassau St for years and I swear it's the noisiest spot in Dublin at the Grafton Street end. I used to turn off whatever I was listening to as it was impossible (or dangerous) to try and drown out the sound.

Sad Professor

Bob24 wrote: »

Yeah I mean either half isolation (in-ear rubber buds which don't go deep in the ear do reduce outside noise to an extend but still let you hear strong noise in emergency situations) or customisable ANC (Bose now do that in their whole product line).

I definitely don't want full isolation in a urban environment but for me no isolation whatsoever doesn't really feel safer as it tends to force you to push up the volume which is bad for your eardrums and will cover outside noise anyway.

Apple EU-sold devices are volume capped, though, so even at max volume it's not that loud. Often it's barely loud enough to hear the song.

I prefer non-isolated earphones as well but have to carry isolated ones for albums with lower dynamic range for when I am in noisy places. I wish Apple would address this.

Dades

Not knowing anything about the technology behind sound isolation, is this a feature that could be turned on/off? With the exception of plug-type earphones obviously.

Bob24

Dades wrote: »

Not knowing anything about the technology behind sound isolation, is this a feature that could be turned on/off? With the exception of plug-type earphones obviously.

The only practical way I know of is to use ANC technology and give a way for the user to control how much noise they want to electronics in the earphone to cancel.

I have a pair of Bose QC30 which does exactly that and it works fairly well.

I think it does require a bit of a seal to work properly (not very tight seal though), so possibly a bit of a design change to apply it to the AirPods.

And what Bose does if you really want full awareness is they pick up outside noise from the ANC mics and feed it back mixed with the audio output of the earphones (basically it is ANC in reverse: instead of producing opposite sound waves which cancel outside noise, they reproduce the same sound wave to amplify it). But I don't find it particularly usefull as even with ANC simply turn off the seal is not that tight and you do ear the noise around you (though a bit mufled).

smurfjed

Does that really work? I used a Tile for a while but found to the "crowd tracking" to be a nonsense. If hardly anyone has the app running you'll never find your stuff.

I had 2 versions of the TILE, but got fed up with having to renew the device rather than the battery. Just started with the TRACK-R, it at least give the last known position so i have an idea where to look. I also have one attached to my dog:)

Dades

Was quite close to finally getting myself a pair of these and now the rumours are out that AirPods might be getting an update.

Given how long it's taken for the original pods to become available within a reasonable time, I'm shuddering to think how long before AirPods 2.0 might be on the virtual shelves.

That said, it makes sense to wait now assuming something is announced tomorrow.