
AirPods - tosh
https://www.apple.com/airpods/
======
bluetidepro
> Put them in your ears and they connect immediately, immersing you in rich,
> high-quality sound. Just like magic.

I completely disagree with this. It isn’t magic at all. Mine hardly ever work
this smooth. Especially transitioning from my iPhone to MacBook Pro. I
constantly have to go into bluetooth, manually select them, and even that
usually takes a few tries. I like my Earpods from a sound quality perspective
but they are anything but magic in the context of “connecting immediately.”
The UX NEVER goes as smooth as they describe. I’ve even taken them to the
store twice to see if they were defective, which they were not. They always
claim it’s so much easier to connect than it really is.

~~~
samdixon
I wouldn't say it never goes as smoothly as they describe, at least in my
experience. My experience with the iphone xs + airpods is about: 50% as they
describe 49% have to go through bluetooth menu for instant pair 1% they never
connect, extreme frustration, have to completely re-pair (no different than
any other bluetooth product here, just don't experience it as often with
airpods).

With Macbook I almost always have to go into bluetooth. There is no switching
experience as they originally showed in the airpods keynote. They actually
ended up rescinding the statement that they would do this after the keynote,
which is super disappointing.

~~~
zachr
You can option-click on the volume icon in your toolbar to select AirPods
without having to go into bluetooth settings.

------
malshe
AirPods are my best purchase in the last two years. I talk to my research
collaborators and clients on Skype almost every morning. The calls can go on
for hours. I love the freedom I have to walk around the office while on call,
airpods connected to mac. I also use them in the gym connecting them to the
ipad while doing eliptical and switching to iphone while doing weights.

~~~
falcolas
A counter anecdote: My AirPod purchase was a complete waste of money. The
quality is OK at best, handoff between my X and iPad pro is crap, they don't
always pair, and they fall out of my ears if I tilt my head at all.

I end up just using my Bose headphones (which are still a PITA for multiple
devices), the airpods sit around unused.

~~~
jeron
Counter counter anecdote: handoff has never been a hassle for me between
iPhone and iPad pro, and I've worn them for working out for a year and they've
never fallen out

~~~
crispyambulance
I'm sure that's the case in your experience and perhaps the experience of all
people whose ears fall within the range of ear size/shape that Apple designed
for.

But these things don't fit everybody. The wired version flies right out of my
ear very easily. No way am I going to buy these things if tilting my head
means losing one or both.

------
dkersten
Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for my ear/headphone needs is a
large reason why I'm giving up on Apple products. I love my 2016 iPad Pro and
would love to replace it with the 11" 2018 model, but I also love my Sony MDR
7506 headphones and I'm unwilling to trash them for wireless earpods that cost
a good bit more than I paid for my Sony headphones. No thanks. Similar deal
for iPhone (and the shit keyboards + useless touchbar has already made me
switch from MBP to Linux). I ignored Apple for so long and they finally won me
over around 2015, only to lose me again because their products seem to be
getting worse while getting more expensive.

~~~
metafunctor
Apple's insistence that I should use wireless for audio is a large reason I'm
doubling down on Apple products. I don't need the tangled messes of headphone
wires or the extra opportunities for water ingress. Please please let's get
rid of wired audio!

~~~
ChrisRR
Difference being that you used to have the choice between wired or wireless.
Now it's wireless or nothing at all.

Not good for people who enjoy the higher audio quality or just don't want to
mess about with charging yet more batteries

~~~
metafunctor
Not to put a too fine point on it, that’s bullshit. I can plug in wired audio
on all of my Apple products, except the Apple TV. I did like the optical audio
the older models had. By default, I much, much prefer wireless.

------
azhenley
The big additions: 50% more talk time, hands free Siri, and a new optional
wireless charging case.

~~~
weehobbes
Just curious, anyone using Siri regularly these days? If so, how/for what? I
keep trying Siri every once in a while but it doesn’t seem to stick. Only use
I find is setting an alarm now and then, but I still often just open the app
to do it manually.

~~~
ksec
Not regularly. But one interesting function I had with it was when I cant
locate my phone in my home. I just shout out "Hey Siri" and I can tell by its
answer where about it is. It may sound silly but there are countless times
when I am about to leave home in a hurry and I cant find my phone. Normally I
could have been extremely frustrated and spend minutes looking for it. Now it
is just there within a voice command.

------
elagost
These are not good headphones. The battery life is kind of bad, the charging
system is finicky, the sound is poor, and there's not even passive noise
isolation. I have a $50 pair of over-ear bluetooth headphones that have week-
long battery life, sound pretty good, can be charged while being listened to,
and have a 3.5mm plug for passive wired listening when the battery runs out.

Like everyone else, I bought and used a set of AirPods for a while, but I
ended up going back to the wired headphones when I wanted tiny little earbuds
while walking or biking. My wired headphones work everywhere (including my
iPod, which I use every day) and the AirPods are finicky, frequently lost
connection between themselves, and required charging all the time. Much easier
just to tuck a wired set down my sweatshirt and use the in-line remote to
control volume (which the airpods can't do).

~~~
coldtea
There's a case to be made for their shortcomings, but this is more of a "No
wireless, less space than a Nomad. Lame" style critique, not seeing anything
about their unique proposition, and criticizing them for what they are not
even supposed to be (e.g. high-end or noise cancelling). Some of those things
are not faults with the Airpods, but personal taste which can be satisfied
with another headphone/brand.

> _These are not good headphones._

Yes, they're not good. Just the best in their category.

> _The battery life is kind of bad_

For two tiny isolated, on-each-ear earbud style headphones? Compared to what,
your "over-ear" set?

> _the charging system is finicky_

Put them in the case, they're charging. The case stays charged for days of
casual use. What exactly is "finicky"?

> _the sound is poor_

Good enough for music, movies, and calls. I also have (from past purchases)
the Parrot Zik 2, the ATH-50x (for simple DAW monitoring), and Sony WH1000XM3,
and I could not care less for the differences in sound compared to the
convenience of the Airpods.

> _and there 's not even passive noise isolation._

A fact which probably saves lives of people crossing the street constantly.

~~~
elagost
First off, I just want to be clear - not trying to sound confrontational, but
I want to respond because I'm having fun reading and thinking about your
comments.

>Compared to what, your "over-ear" set?

Yeah, that's the comparison I was making. The airpods didn't provide any
functional upgrade over earpods (or any set of cheap wired headphones with a
remote/mic in them) for me. The airpods made things harder. The double-tap to
skip tracks was far from ideal given that it just resulted in slamming this
little headphone into my ear, and that kind of hurt. The inline remote/mic was
better for that, and it also allowed me to change volume - the airpods not
having volume adjustment on them meant I had to keep my device in my pocket,
so now the advantage of bluetooth (device set further away, not in the pocket)
is gone. The over-ear set has volume controls and a play/pause button.

>Put them in the case, they're charging. The case stays charged for days of
casual use. What exactly is "finicky"?

Charging my over ear set is uncomplicated - everything I have charges off of
microUSB so I always have that connector around, and to charge the headphones
I just plug in the charger. I can use them while they're charging. Airpods
require me to stop using them to charge. Nothing else I have is like this -
phones, iPods, laptops, or other bluetooth headphones.

I don't worry about the over-ear set coming off. They're comfortable and sit
nicely while walking. I always wear a hat when using airpods because I worry
about them falling out. When an earpod falls out, it dangles off the other
one, and I put it back in. Especially useful while biking (helmet makes
wearing ear-covering hats harder).

I get that airpods are probably the best in the category of tiny little 'true
wireless' earbuds. I get that 'put them in the charging case' is really the
only way to do charging for this type of headphones. I understand they did the
best they could, and that with this style of headphones there's severe
limitations. But after having owned a pair, I don't understand why anyone
would want to use them over something 1/3 the cost that offers much more
convenience.

~~~
coldtea
> _Airpods require me to stop using them to charge. Nothing else I have is
> like this - phones, iPods, laptops, or other bluetooth headphones._

That goes with the form factor (which is the main selling point for its other
benefits, mainly freedom from cables when using them), not some special
problem of the airpods themselves.

------
s3r3nity
I bought my AirPods the month they came out, and they're still going strong -
and are the only reason I haven't switched my iPhone to an Android.

I hate to be "that person," but, man, they just work. Even though I use
bluetooth headphones when working in the office, I get a sense of pleasure
when I put my AirPods in and hear that "ding" to indicate they connected
instantaneously to my phone. I don't need to turn them on / off, or fuddle
with bluetooth settings and shit. Customizing the taps on each ear to have
different functions has been a cool feature too that might be nice to have
additional customization options in the future (maybe tie in with the
Shortcuts app in some way?)

Granted, I feel lucky that they fit my ear perfectly - I definitely feel
empathy for some others that have had to buy the extra rubber pieces to help
them fit.

I've tried the Pixel buds and a few other competitors, but the gap in quality
is pretty wide IMHO.

~~~
flokie
you can use them with an Android? I have a pixel 3 and it's pretty seamless
when I borrow my wife's to go for a run.

~~~
s3r3nity
Oh I didn't know that! I'll have to try them out with my buddy's Pixel to see
how the experience is.

------
atlasunshrugged
I'm just glad that they let you buy the Wireless Charging case by itself. From
the press release it wasn't obvious but when you hit 'buy' it gives you the
option for $79

[https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR8U2/wireless-
charging-c...](https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR8U2/wireless-charging-
case-for-airpods)

~~~
davio
It works with original AirPods too which is a good surprise.

------
lbacaj
I really believe the AirPods are an amazing New platform.. I think people are
far more on the go lately and so the AirPods are a perfect way to consume
content, that isn’t just music. It started as a silly joke that everyone made
fun of but now, at least where I live in NYC, seemingly everyone on every
train has them on.

I am a little disappointed in Apple for not adding storage to these though, it
wouldn’t be very hard to add a few gigabytes to them and then they would work
even without your phone and it would be the iPod all over again. Missed
opportunity by Apple for sure.

As a shameless plug I am working on what I think is the perfect companion App
for iPods. My app let’s you listen to any article by using some amazing
sounding Machine Learning models to grab the articles and convert them to
audio. You can check it out here if you like:

[https://articulu.com](https://articulu.com)

~~~
Svoka
You can pair them with Apple Watch for similar effect. But yeah, not having to
have a second device would be nice;

~~~
notimetorelax
I think Watch+Wireless headset is potential replacement for phones. Watch
needs a camera and unfoldable screen, and it’s a done deal!

~~~
lugg
Does it?

When was the last time you took a selfie on your commute?

The screen thing is likely still an issue for mainstream but for me I mostly
listen to my content. Screentime only happens at lunch or at home.

Maybe some people can't live without a big screen their commute, but some of
us can.

Also, I think given the option I would prefer to carry a tablet in my bag for
the situations I want and have time for a screen, and make do with the
watch+pods for the majority of scenarios.

In other words, give up a cellphone altogether and replace it with a watch/pod
pair and an optional tablet.

------
mcculley
I love my AirPods but I am close to taking mine to the store again to be
replaced for a second time. I wear them every day to listen to podcasts as I
run for 30 minutes. The accumulated sweat has corroded the charging contacts
in the case. I am currently working around this by charging them in my
girlfriend's case.

Amusingly, the instructions for AirPods say to not get them wet. I don't know
how one could exercise rigorously and not get sweat on them.

~~~
tartuffe78
Should probably wipe them off before putting them in the charger...

~~~
kevcampb
"Just avoid holding it in that way"

~~~
wycy
An expectation that you wipe your sweat off something before putting it away
doesn't seem that unreasonable.

~~~
fernandotakai
honestly, i would expect them to be at _least_ sweat proof -- i find that most
people use wireless headsets while working out.

~~~
mcculley
Yeah, I really did think they were. The phone and the watch are waterproof. I
don't know why the AirPods are not.

~~~
asdff
I can see the ad campaign two years from now: Swimmer taps watch to play then
dives into a backstroke with airpods visible.

Then you try it at your local pool and the airpods immediately fall out the
minute you hit the water, and are kicked by a 6 year old into the pool filter.

------
smurfysmurf
The comments seem pretty back and forth on wether AirPods are good or not. I
just got some anyhow, for my wife. She uses her iphone, her apple watch, and
an iPad. She isn't very techy, doesn't care about the sound quality or
anything, but she does use a lot of apple devices. She also likes to talk to
her family in the mornings on the phone while getting ready for the day
(curling her hair etc.). To me it seems like headphones that allow her to be
ultra mobile and also swap between the devices that she uses make sense. It
fits her use cases well

~~~
degenerate
This is the use case of most people, just let me hear the sound and get out of
my way.

The HN crowd, especially the more focused and tech-savvy people, find issues
with the sound quality, ambient noise pickup, and sync issues. All valid
issues and the reason I don't care for wireless earbuds in general.

I will stick to my over-ear headset, but I definitely see how airpods are
revolutionary and convenient for non-tech users that just want something
cordless and simple that works most of the time.

------
lgvln
I purchased mine when they were first released (end of 2016), and as much as I
love my AirPods, they are now down to ~2.5 hours of listening time per charge
from my iPhone and <2hours when listening from my MBP for unknown reasons.

The battery replacement is prohibitively expensive and I would rather purchase
a brand new set but this update is rather underwhelming: same sound quality,
same listening time with improved talktime, better latency and wireless
charging - nothing that I really care about.

------
retSava
Behold, the airpods internals. A marvel of incredibly small scale engineering
and manufacturing. It's simply stunning, and to think that this is a consumer
device that you can buy and pop into your ear.... And lose just as easily :)

[https://fccid.io/BCG-A1722/Internal-Photos/A1722-Internal-
Ph...](https://fccid.io/BCG-A1722/Internal-Photos/A1722-Internal-
Photos-3118427)

------
jscheel
I know this is a tired trope, but can we please stop with the “everything is
magical” rhetoric? There is literally nothing groundbreaking about this
release. Also, this page feels quite disingenuous when it claims 24 hour life.
Maybe I’m just salty, but having to recharge my headphones every 3 hours,
regardless of how short a recharge time, does not equal 24 hours of battery
life.

~~~
nickthegreek
*every 5 hours

~~~
jscheel
Oh sorry, I was going off this metric from Apple: "15 min. of charging
provides up to 3 hours of listening time". A full charge will get you 5 hours.

------
buf
I love my airpods. Using them right now actually. But I see no reason to
upgrade at this time.

~~~
adestefan
I wrote off the airpods when they first came out, but then received a pair as
a gift. They ended up being one of my must have items. I wish they wouldn't
automatically switch to the lower bit rate when they connect to a mac or that
I could tell the mac to never use them as a microphone.

However, I also see little reason to upgrade.

~~~
hb0ss
Strange that they switch to a lower bit-rate on the Mac for you. I use mine
all the time with my MacBook, only when an application starts using the mic
will it downgrade to a lower bit-rate. Do you have any software running that
continuously claims the microphone?

------
canuckintime
Why is this still only available in white?

~~~
ljoshua
Branding.

Remember the iconic dancing shadow iPod commercials? The person was not the
focus; not even the iPod was the focus. The white headphones, unique at the
time, were the focus.

------
rekshaw
I've been holding off buying the Airpods knowing an update was incoming. The
question is...will there be AirPods 2 announced in 5 days at the keynote? Much
like Murphy's Law, any time I buy an Apple device, it drastically accelerates
the space-time continuum and somehow causes the new version of the product I
just bought to launch right after.

~~~
oflannabhra
The king of Apple leaks, Mark Gurman (who originally leaked this products
features last year) tweeted about this [0]

> These AirPods were initially planned to go on sale last year. They’re also
> working on a future version with noise-cancellation and water resistance.
> Those were planned for later this year, but would now imagine that’s for
> 2020.

I'd take any dates with a healthy dose of salt, as his track record there is
less accurate (and obviously dates change pre-announcement).

[0] -
[https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1108360407020789760](https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/1108360407020789760)

------
mlrtime
Not one mention of the Samsung ear buds. Samsung is continuing to beat Apple
in technology innovations. Wireless charging, heartbeat monitor. You can even
charge them on your S10.

The other thing I don't like about the pods is how much sound the let out.
Ever been in an elevator with someone with airpods, you can hear everything
they are listening to.

~~~
shoo_pl
The problem with Samsung ear buds is the same as with other samsung premium
products: they are really nice, but at the end they are only slightly cheaper
than apple ($150 vs $180) whereas they are worse in a few categories - battery
life, multi-device support and microphone quality being just three of them.

Not to mention charing from S10, which for now seems to be as terrible idea as
the built-in fingerprint sensor - using S10 as charger generates significant
amounts of heat that will quickly kill your phone battery.

And that's a problem with every samsung products - cheaper, but still really
expensive considering all of the drawbacks.

------
snazz
Press release: [https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/airpods-the-worlds-
mo...](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/airpods-the-worlds-most-popular-
wireless-headphones-are-getting-even-better/)

------
dhruvrrp
Sad to see no improvement to audio quality. It is the only gripe i have with
the current AirPods.

Siri and wireless charging are small qol changes that i would rather see with
a major upgrade. Currently I see no reason for anyone to upgrade their
existing AirPods.

------
babaldman
The new case should have come with a USB Type-C connector, not a lightning
one.

------
petercooper
Almost insta-bought these, but all they've done is add voice activated Siri
(because tapping is too hard) and a wireless case. My two biggest issues
(color and the materials used) remain unaddressed.

------
dkonieczek
I love the concept and features of AirPods but unfortunately they aren't for
my ears. I'm still waiting for the day they make a true in ear with rubber
tips so that people like myself can finally buy into this experience. You'd
think they took some notes from acquiring beats. Pretty sure this would open a
whole new market of people that aren't currently able to wear, let alone the
massive improvement in sound quality to an already great product.

------
alexhektor
Is it just me, or are they heavily changing their product
announcement/launching strategy?!

------
walterbell
Can a single AirPod be used, to maximize talk time and have access to ambient
sound?

~~~
camochameleon
Yes, you can just use one at a time and it'll route audio input/output
accordingly. They charge pretty fast in the case, too, so you could go a long
time switching between each one at a time.

~~~
guan
For long calls I often alternate them, charging one while I talk on the other
one.

If you’re playing music or podcasts, removing one from the ear will pause the
playback by default, and you have to tap play again. But with phone calls, the
call just continues if you remove one for charging.

------
damontal
I wish they came in different sizes. These fit me very loosely. If I add foam
covers it's a much better fit and much better sound but a hassle to add the
foam and keep them clean.

------
perseusprime11
I wanted them in black. White ones look weird in people's ears.

------
meowzero
I wished they used USB-C for the wired charging.

~~~
tobyhinloopen
Apple should really get rid of the lightning port, yes.

------
sb8244
Any word on additional waterproofing capabilities? I can't find any mention

~~~
tsukurimashou
Since another comment is talking about replacing them a 2nd time because of
sweat I think it is safe to assume they're not very waterproof

~~~
tnorthcutt
That comment was about the first generation AirPods; the poster you replied to
is asking about the just-announced second generation.

------
hawkingrip
$159 is really too expensive

~~~
pushpop
I don't know how much that equates to in UK money but it's pretty common for
people to spend around £150 on earphones or headphones.

~~~
Marsymars
Not especially uncommon, but the average amount spent on headphones is
somewhere in the $40 range, and I'd expect the median to be even lower.

~~~
pushpop
The average user wouldn't buy an iPhone XS nor iWatch either. Apple have never
gone after the lowest common denominator.

------
TheRealDunkirk
I think the easiest way to make a lot of money in the actual market for
personal tech products is to double down on whatever HN and Reddit claims to
hate. I suppose it's just sampling bias, but the more hate I see here, the
more money Apple makes, and it's been consistent for many years.

The inverse seems to hold true, too. When Microsoft hardware gets discussed,
there's usually a lot of effusive praise, but their market impact is
negligible, at least in terms of public mindset, if not in sales.

The closest Apple store to me is nearly always standing room only. There's
also a Microsoft store in the same mall. The only reason it still exists is as
an impromptu Fortnite LAN party.

~~~
basch
the expert crowd doesnt like admitting that commoditization means a shift
towards non-pro parts, and where less features and less complexity is a
feature.

and with everybody, youll always have crowds of people with "the old way
worked fine" who are more vocal than the "ill give it a try, it looks cool i
guess. i didnt even know people where complaining about thing thingers
deficiencies."

------
InterestBazinga
why does anything Apple releases come with an expensive price tag? I know the
quality is supposed to be high. But, come on.

I can literally get a Audio Technica Headset for that price tag.

~~~
MR4D
Why does Porsche or Ferrari only make expensive cars when you can get a Kia
for 1/3 the price?

Same reason.

Interestingly, Steve actually compared Apple to Porsche in a quote back years
ago. [0]

[0] -
[https://www.macworld.com/article/1029181/themacturns20jobs.h...](https://www.macworld.com/article/1029181/themacturns20jobs.html)

------
DJBunnies
All it takes is one odd jostle on your morning commute, and suddenly your $150
headphones fly down a storm drain.

Why can't we have high quality wired headsets?

~~~
nwhatt
I embraced airpods early because I had the opposite problem: my corded
headphones would get caught by a dog leash and pull my $1000 phone out of my
pocket.

~~~
arethuza
I decided to go with Bluetooth headphones after the second time I managed to
cut the cord while pruning bushes in our garden :-)

------
gk1
Disappointing. No improvements to audio quality (that they mention), no new
color options. The wireless case was already available before.

I guess it’s good if you’re a frequent user of Siri, talk/listen for
exceptionally long periods, or really hate the pairing lag (3-5 seconds).

------
La_Beffa
Tried the Airpods a couple times. Got myself a 20£ Taotronics bluetooth ones
from Amazon. Sound quality seems better on the Taotronics, battery life is the
same and...they just work as well. Let me explain how: bluetooth is enabled on
my cheap android phone so when I turn on the headphones they bind
automatically and guess what...MAGIC, THEY JUST WORK :D

