“I didn’t want to like the AirPods, I really didn’t,” Susie Ochs writes for Macworld. “But in the hands-on area after Apple’s iPhone 7 event on Wednesday, I found myself dancing along in spite of myself—and the AirPods stayed put, feeling surprisingly secure. With convenient features on both the hardware and software sides, I have to admit that Apple’s totally-wireless AirPods kind of rocked my world.”
“They’re the same general shape as the EarPods and made from the same hard white plastic. Now, that plastic has been a deal-breaker for me for years—I hate how normal EarPods feel in my ears,” Ochs writes. “hey don’t seem like they’re going to stay put, and they simply fall out if I move my head too much. Even if they do stay in, after about a half hour, my ears just start to ache, although I don’t experience the same pain when using earbuds with silicone or foam tips. Since the AirPods look so similar, I expected them to feel the same too — and I’m surprised and happy to report that I was dead wrong.”
“Not only did I dance, I headbanged. I shook my head side to side, I tossed my hair, I jogged in place, and I looked silly doing all of it,” Ochs writes. “The AirPods stayed put, and they stayed loud. The music (more Sia, naturally) sounded full and lush and I couldn’t hear a single word anyone around me was saying, as if I was completely sealed off in a bubble of rock and roll. Pretty impressive.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Very positive. We can’t wait to take them out for a run and see if they can dislodge our Jaybird X2 Sports from our ears.
SEE ALSO:
Whoever makes the first AirPods strap is going to get rich – September 8, 2016
One small problem.
My plug-in headphones never ran out of power till the iPod/iPhone/iPad ran out.
I really hate it when my Bluetooth head sets run out.
How long are the AirPods supposed to go between charges?
How much will different volume settings affect the play time?
Volume setting for two hours of commuting on the train is a lot different than two hours in the office.
The AirPods’s charge are suppose to garner 5 hours of continuous play, but even if it’s less at full volume (which I don’t know that it is) then the AirPods case can give the pods another 3 hours of continuous play with only 15 minutes of charge. In total, the little AirPods case is suppose to give the AirPods around 24 hours of extra charge. I don’t know how long it takes the case to charge though, but would imagine the case would stay plugged-in most of the time and be fully charged when ready to go mobile.
My hope is that within a couple of years all mobile devices, which include things like AirPods or AirPods cases, iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, AR devices, etc. will have wireless charging at a distance, but until that time, the AirPods and case give about 24-30 hours of charge.
The cool points of this quick review are the AirPods stay in the ear even when dancing around. It seems like it would take a very clumsy person tumbling down a cliff to lose the pods. The other neat thing about these beauties is they sound great even if the environment is noisy. It also appears Siri is able to understand commands in noisy environments. As Siri becomes more of a conversationalist the AirPods will be even more of an invaluable tool.
That’s when they are brand new. As the battery wears, that time will be less and less with every charge cycle. And are the batteries replaceable? Dunno. Doubt it. So in couple of years, assuming they haven’t been lost or dropped into water, you’ll have headphones that will last an hour or not work at all.
I can easily see third parties make sport grips or some kind of accessory to hold them in place during crazy workouts.
I’m not a wireless headphone kind of person either, my primaires are the apple in ear wired set and Sony mdr1’s lightning. But I did pick up a pair of jay birds on mdn’s recommendation and can honestly say that I like them. However I am very excited to try the AirPods, and after this review it seems like they address everything I need in a portable set, without the drawbacks of EarPods which also hurt my ears. If Siri really does work well with these, and the microphones are that solid, then these could easily be the right thing. I love the idea of pressing one connect button and having it automatically connected to every other device on my iCloud account, that is just awesome. These really do look great.
I’m interested in using these with my MacBook Pro at home, as I now use my iPhone pods and I’m really sick of the wires. I might use them at work with my iPhone instead of my Anker Bluetooth speaker if possible. Looking forward to giving them a try.
I’m interested how they work too. And I am also sick of the wires.
But I want to know how to pause and change the volume. I really do not want to ask Siri to do this for me – that would really be annoying. Having a physical button is both efficient and fast.
I’ll let someone else be the guinea pig first.
Can’t innovate my ass! Apple still has a lot left to show the world.
Wireless charging is going to be next probably withing 1-2 meters of a wireless hub, so when you arrive at home the iphone 8 will start charging automatically.
Wireless charging is going to be next probably withing 1-2 meters of a wireless hub, so when you arrive at home the iphone 8 will start charging automatically.
Physics, baby! transmitting electricity through air requires exponentially more power as the distance increases. That’s why wireless charging requires devices to be practically in contact with the base in order to charge. The only benefit is not having to line up contacts in order to make it happen.
Wireless charging at a distance is about as realistic as perpetual motion.
Well, I am one who is grateful for Apple for this wireless push. I finally found a pair of bluetooth headphones that fit my ears without pain, and now am kind of welded to them. I now have found Apple music to be a wonder without wires.
On balance, I think Apple is right that pushing tech forward involves risk, but opens the door to real innovation and stops that stagnation that has us all using ten year old tech.
I so hope they keep the ipod touch line going forward, as I am one geezer (nearly 70) who doesn’t need an iphone but loves music.
Hugh
Lots of luck not losing them…should have had a way to teather.
I’ll buy these as soon as they support the “Find My…” (iPhone; iPad; AirPods…) app.
So courage. So bravery!
50pct of Trump supporters are in, what I like to call, a basket of deplorables.
Vote Hillary!!
I believe you missed the fact that the topic was tech relating to Apple’s AirPods.
“I hate how normal EarPods feel in my ears”
I think she’s thinking about Earbuds.
People who say that the Ear buds don’t stay in their ears likely don’t know left from right. If you insist on plugging them in the wrong ears, they do fall out. There is no minimum IQ level to be a consumer.
“People who say that the Ear buds don’t stay in their ears likely don’t know left from right.”
Your moniker not withstanding, what you’re proposing is not at all realistic. There is an ‘L’ stamped on one, and an ‘R’ on the other. People are putting them in the correct ears.
The damn things just do not fit.
Apple In-Ear Headphones are great (I love mine), but EarBuds, and EarPods are crap, and do not fit.
Let’s see these babies in black to match the new iPhone 7.