
Ask HN: How are the Apple AirPods? - ArlenBales
AirPods have been in people&#x27;s hands a few days now, how are they? Met your expectations? Any problems exercising in them, or having them fall out?
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schappim
I have the Bose Quiet comfort i20s (for air travel), QC35s (for development
mode), the PowerBeats 3 (I wanted to say for working our, but in reality it
was to experiment with the W1 chip that's also found in the AirPods), and now
AirPods.

The AirPods are by far my favourite.

The newer EarPod design (the ones that aren't the oblate spheroids) fit my
ears really well, and so do the AirPods.

I find them much more comfortable than the PowerBeats (which uses the same W1
chip).

The pairing felt much better with the AirPods.

Re: Expectations

They surpassed my expectations. iCloud syncing of bluetooth pairing
information is nice. Being able to hear the sound in my environment is also
good when exercising.

Invoking Siri is so much faster using the EarPods an it is with the Apple
Watch.

You can also double tap the side to answer calls (which I didn't hear about in
any of the reviews).

We use SIP phones at work, and I've found an app called Groundwire
([https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/groundwire-business-
caliber/...](https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/groundwire-business-
caliber/id378503081?mt=8)) that integrates with call kit.

Re: Having them fall out.

I have not been able to get them to fall out, even when trying.

~~~
eecks
What about when you take a jumper (pullover) off or put one on?

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photoGrant
I like them. They're cool. They're not as effortless as they pegged themselves
to be. Sometimes I hear that digital 'noise' that happens with wireless
audio... And they hurt in my ears after half an hour. Something I feel I'll
get used to.

All in all, a worthy purchase, a few :O moments, and the ability to wrestle
with my dog and forget they're in, but still be listening to music... Pretty
fun moments.

------
LaymanLab
I'm also curious about these. Seems annoying to have another device to charge
(and potentially leave behind somewhere and lose). IMO Apple is again trying
to solving a problem that we don't really have. I get that that's what
[arguably] drives innovation and new product segments, but there seems like a
limited "unmet need" here.

------
IanDrake
I don't have these, but I do have a cheap pair of wireless around-the-neck
kind. Even those work well.

But the main thing that no one but apple seems to get is the "recharge story".
It's obnoxious to have to plug these things into a micro USB.

The Apple Watch and AirPods are how everyone should be doing recharging - a
cradle that stores your device while it charges it.

~~~
jklein11
How is the cradle any less annoying than micro USB? It only seems more
restrictive than the cord.

~~~
drakenot
In what way does it seem more restrictive?

I own both the BlueBuds X (which uses micro USB) and the AirPods. I love the
BlueBuds X, but the charging solution for the AirPods is _vastly_ superior to
that of the BlueBuds. To me, the charging case is one of the killer features
of the AirPods.

When you take them out of your ear, they conveniently pop into the case for
safe keeping. While they are in the case they are always charging. They also
charge incredibly fast. This makes it virtually impossibly to be "stranded"
with dead headphones. Even when I ran the AirPods almost completely down, I
was able to charge them from 2% to 84% in just a few minutes.

I've had several times where I've had my BlueBuds die on me and I wouldn't
have a backup pair of headphones. The AirPod case's battery is large enough
that you can get an additional 24 hours of playback from them. This means you
could potentially not charge them for days and still be fine.

~~~
jklein11
That's fair, I guess I didn't consider the convenience of a carrying case that
doubles as a charger. I definitely agree that the speed of the charger is a
killer feature. Is that something that couldn't be achieved with Micro USB?

To me, using a standard Micro USB cord means that I don't necessarily need a
specific charger for the Airpods, I can mix and match chargers with one of the
other accessories that use the same standard. Also, remembering to charge the
case seems like an additional step that I will likely forget.

------
rootme
The problem is the milliseconds of delay from Airpod to Airpod, apple can't
figure out how to fix that.

~~~
rp1229
I'm wearing them now and cannot preceive any delay. Is there a specific audio
file to play to truly test it?

