AirPods (and AirPods Pro [and AirPods Pro 2nd generation]) now available

Combat squirrel · 9 Oct 2018 at 17:39

Feek said:
I think they’re very good for calls. The only time anyone has commented on the quality is if I’m out walking and it’s very windy.

Iv been told this with just 1 earphone in - with both apparently its much much clearer

Even then with just one earphone its by far and away the BEST bluetooth headset for audio and phone calls I ever used by a million miles - its just so good to use with my iphone, just WORKS, and can't wait for version 2

Somnambulist · 10 Oct 2018 at 09:42

When they came out I saw the odd person with them commuting into London, and like most people thought they looked a little odd. Now it seems everyone has a pair!

I can't bring myself to stop using my custom IEMs yet even if I keep having to buy new 3.5mm dongles because they break rather easily - going to be a luddite until there's something that's both slightly better sounding and slightly better isolating... hoping v2 gets closer to that, or maybe I'll just get the rumoured headphone.

Biz.Kid09 · 13 Oct 2018 at 13:27

Quick one, my dad is looking at getting a pair of these, can they read text/WhatsApp messages without having to interact with the phone?

His job means it can be really fiddly to keep getting out his phone for reading messages etc so if he could just have the AirPods in and get a notification and then get the message read out loud to him that would be really handy.

Tinders · 15 Oct 2018 at 22:03

Biz.Kid09 said:
Quick one, my dad is looking at getting a pair of these, can they read text/WhatsApp messages without having to interact with the phone?

His job means it can be really fiddly to keep getting out his phone for reading messages etc so if he could just have the AirPods in and get a notification and then get the message read out loud to him that would be really handy.

Wouldnt the watch be a better option in this scenario.

Biz.Kid09 · 16 Oct 2018 at 00:18

Tinders said:
Wouldnt the watch be a better option in this scenario.

He was considering the watch but he wears Bluetooth earphones anyway so I thought this could kill two birds with one stone.

Irish_Tom · 16 Oct 2018 at 07:32

Biz.Kid09 said:
Quick one, my dad is looking at getting a pair of these, can they read text/WhatsApp messages without having to interact with the phone?

His job means it can be really fiddly to keep getting out his phone for reading messages etc so if he could just have the AirPods in and get a notification and then get the message read out loud to him that would be really handy.

Based on this guide, you can enable Siri to read WhatsApp messages, so it should be possible.

Junglist · 16 Oct 2018 at 10:22

Siri can read out messages from whatsapp when in Carplay so it must be possible. but you'd still need to touch the phone to do it i would've guessed,

Irish_Tom · 16 Oct 2018 at 14:00

JunglistE said:
Siri can read out messages from whatsapp when in Carplay so it must be possible. but you'd still need to touch the phone to do it i would've guessed,

Can you not double-tap the Airpods or say "Hey Siri" to get it to work?

Junglist · 16 Oct 2018 at 15:20

Irish_Tom said:
Can you not double-tap the Airpods or say "Hey Siri" to get it to work?

I'll try that now

Edit: Yes, yes you can. Though the whole siri-whatsapp thing is a bit buggy and frequently complains about a problem with the app

Junglist · 18 Oct 2018 at 12:53

Any idea when the second generation of these will be released? I've had mine since shortly after the launch but my case is useless now. Battery level is not very accurate (checked this morning and it was 8%, charged it for a bit and when I left the house it was 53%, it's now showing it as 9% and that is after no use at all) but I don't fancy spending the ~£60 for just the case if the new ones are around the corner

Feek · 18 Oct 2018 at 15:03

Even if it’s out of warranty, they’ll replace them if the battery is poor. See my posts further up. Both of my AirPods and the case have been swapped outside warranty at no cost.

iMacMart · 18 Oct 2018 at 15:19

Feek said:
Even if it’s out of warranty, they’ll replace them if the battery is poor. See my posts further up. Both of my AirPods and the case have been swapped outside warranty at no cost.

My right ear AirPod seems to pop/crack when I look down & up, not sure if its the casing or the sound itself, will pop into the Apple Store when I'm back from the US and see if they can give me a new one

Junglist · 18 Oct 2018 at 18:44

Feek said:
Even if it’s out of warranty, they’ll replace them if the battery is poor. See my posts further up. Both of my AirPods and the case have been swapped outside warranty at no cost.

They tried making me pay £60 odd when I went in. Said they had no diagnostics to run on the case so they just recommended buying a new one. I'll try again

Feek · 18 Oct 2018 at 18:56

JunglistE said:
They tried making me pay £60 odd when I went in. Said they had no diagnostics to run on the case so they just recommended buying a new one. I'll try again

Just tell them the battery drains very quickly and you'd like it replaced under consumer law. My Apple Work Authorisation & Service Confirmation lists that as the resolution.

/edit - I should add that I didn't ask for this, I simply went in, explained the problem and was told they'd swap it. It wasn't until after it was actually done that they told me it had been swapped under consumer law. This was in the Apple store at Lakeside.

This didn't resolve the problem though and a few weeks later I went back and they swapped both the actual AirPods without quibble.

Junglist · 19 Oct 2018 at 10:10

How long did you have yours for? I’ve had mine over a year

Feek · 19 Oct 2018 at 23:32

Bought on the 7th February 2017, the case was swapped on the 11th May 2018 and the AirPods themselves were swapped on the 12th July.

Marky · 24 Oct 2018 at 18:11

I bought some AirPods last month to replace my BeatsX pair as one of the earbuds stopped working - But I was using the BeatsX’s for a little while in one ear before I jumped at the AirPods, so I put it in “Mono only” mode.

I completely forgot I still had it set to mono - after turning it back to Stereo the AirPods sound even better!

Anyone got any suggestions with what to do with my BeatsX pair, with only one earbud working? Apple offered to replace them for about £89 (I think that was the price). Was wondering about getting them replaced and selling them on for a little more for the hassle...

b0rn2sk8 · 24 Oct 2018 at 19:05

They have been out less then 2 years so I would be looking to get them replaced free of charge from where you got them.

Marky · 24 Oct 2018 at 19:49

b0rn2sk8 said:
They have been out less then 2 years so I would be looking to get them replaced free of charge from where you got them.

I spoke with Apple Chat on the net and they only gave me the option of replacing them for the reduced amount. They said they were outside of any warranty period and they wouldn’t be able to do anything else other than replace them.

I would say, at first they said they would repair them - however, after pushing them for an answer, they told me they would be replacing them rather than repairing them.

I bought them online from the Apple store

b0rn2sk8 · 24 Oct 2018 at 19:55

What apple told you is tosh they are still within the statutory 2 year period (mandated by the EU) and UK consumer law covers you for up to 6 years.

Call them and speak to a human, don't use the chat. I thought mine stopped working recently and they were going to replace them FoC (as they should). Turns out it was my phone and a restore fixed the problem but they started the replacement process without question and I had to cancel it the following day.