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

Soldato
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I was going to post the link to the Conan youtube video "Apple's New AirPods Ad" as well as the "plug" to the subwoofer but it had swear in it :o

:D
 
Associate
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Can't wait to get mine. All jokes aside. I was in the Apple Store getting my 6S battery replaced under the scheme and the assistant told me that him and a mate walked from one end of a tube station to the other with an AirPod in each... no drops.

The haters are haters because they can't see the vision. I trust in apples long term game plan.
 
Associate
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Ive had a set since just before Christmas and overall really enjoying using them - both my commute to work and wondering round the house when speaking on the phone.

I do wish apple had added a choice in the menu settings that a double tap would skip track - you can change double tap to stop the music rather than launch siri so would seem like a simple software change.
 
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Ahhh just got an email notification, there is some stock this morning at regents street and Covent Garden in London. Placed another reservation and on my way there now...

Go go go!

Edit: white city as well now.
 
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Soldato
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Which is?

I'm still struggling to see what makes these a game changer compared to normal BT headphones.

I wouldn't say they're a game changer, but I do find them to be more convenient in use than other bluetooth headphones.

For example the case is small enough that I can fit it in my pocket without noticing it (same as I would do for wired headphones or standard wireless buds). This means that when I'm done listening I can pop the earpods back in the case and have them fully charged for when I want to listen next. With the Jaybirds I had, I would have needed to go back to my desk and put them on charge, then go and get them when I wanted to use them next. For me, this means that their actual normal battery life is far longer than what I was getting with the jaybirds. In the same usage pattern, I've not had the airpods run out, whereas my Jaybirds would routinely go flat, leaving them unusable.

There's also the benefit when wearing just one (which I often do when running, or at work, etc) that you don't have the other side dangling around. Again, small convenience, but something nonetheless.

The only downside I've seen so far is the lack of isolation, as they're not tipped earbuds. But that's personal preference, and isn't going to ruin them for me. I'd absolutely prefer them to be tipped style buds, but it's not essential.
 
Soldato
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The lack of noise isolation/cancellation kills them for me. Hopefully Beats will use the same technology in a product that's more Tube-friendly.
 
Soldato
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Bose QC35? Or the new Sony MX1000?

If you prefer in-ear, what about the Bose Quiet Control 30?

I see the AirPods as a good all day / active earbud and the lack of isolation is a plus for me - being able to hear some of the world around you is good if you're walking/running/cycling.

For times I need noise cancellation my Bose QC15 are perfect but I'm considering replacing them with one of the above for wireless goodness.
 
Associate
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Which is?

I'm still struggling to see what makes these a game changer compared to normal BT headphones.

Apple want to make your life better. That's the game plan.

Every gets caught up on the products. I want a better 'thing'. But the point is, we only want things so that we can do stuff. Do it faster, easier etc. That's the real value of great products do. They are a means to the end, the 'doing stuff' is far more important than the product.

Take the AirPods. No, you don't want better headphones. You want to be able to listen to music. Whenever, wherever you want. Ideally, we would be able to directly stimulate our earbones/auditory centre in our brain and be able to hear music whenever we wanted.. maybe even just by thinking "oh I want to hear this now". But technology obviously isn't there yet. But the AirPods are. I have had these for two days, and it barely feels like I am wearing anything. Its great.

Apple, like many other great companies, look at the tasks we need to accomplish in life and think, how can we make it better? You can definitely see that with devices all working together and their development of wearable tech that they have a long term vision for what they think will be a great way to interact with the world and go about our day to day lives.

I predict things like AR, AI and home automation are what they really are pushing for. We see the small steps along this journey each year. Everyone kicking up a fuss every product release when it doesn't change the world is insane and frankly short sighted. Mature product categories are not the sign of the end of Apple. The big stuff is coming.
 
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Must admit, walking around town on a break from work, doing normal things with the AirPods on is great, grabbing a coffee and having the music pause whilst you take a pod out then start again seamlessly when you put them back in etc is so good.
 
Soldato
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The W1 chip differentiates them from regular BT earphones, the range is much better and being able to swap inputs from my Macbook to my iPhone easily is great.

Could you (or anyone else with an iPhone and mac) do a test for me?

I'm interested to see how dependant the range is on the device it's streaming from. So if you were to connect them to your iPhone, leave it somewhere specific and see how far you can walk before they cut out. Then connect them to the mac and put it in the same place, and see if you can walk further/shorter distance?
 
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