“When Apple first announced the AirPods, I was intrigued. The technology looked incredible — for those that own Apple devices, that is. Unfortunately, I sort of had a feeling that I would not like them as soon as I saw them. Why? They are the same shape as Apple’s wired EarPods. This is a problem, as those headphones hurt my ears,” Brian Fagioli writes for BetaNews. “But then I went ahead and bought them anyway. Because they were delayed so often, and because stock was so limited, I bought them as soon as they went on sale as I knew they would sell out. Since Apple makes it easy to return products, I figured I’d buy them, try them, and make a decision. Well folks, I am returning them.”
“The most important reason why I am returning them is that they hurt my ears — badly,” Fagioli writes. “I’ll take the blame for this, as I suspected they would hurt based on wired EarPods experience, but there was no other way to find that out without buying first.”
“The second reason is sort of surprising — dropped connections. When listening to music, the Bluetooth connection often drops for a moment — maybe a second — before resuming,” Fagioli writes. “It happened more when handling my iPhone, such as using Touch ID and browsing the web in Safari. When the phone was just sitting on my desk out of my hands, it seemed to do it less.”
Full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: As per the ear pain, for every Brian Fagioli,there are a million perfectly comfortable and happy users. As for the “dropped connections,” other reviews do not match with Fagioli’s experience. Perhaps he had a defective unit.
SEE ALSO:
CNET reviews Apple AirPods: Better than you’d expect – December 21, 2016
Marathoner tests Apple AirPods on 10K run – December 19, 2016
Rolling Stone reviews Apple AirPods: ‘Surprisingly awesome’ – December 14, 2016
Apple AirPods could arrive in stores as early as November 17th – November 10, 2016
Apple’s AirPods remain on track to launch this year, sources say – November 2, 2016
Apple AirPods may be delayed into 2017 – November 1, 2016
Apple delays AirPod rollout – October 26, 2016
Survey: 12% of U.S. consumers say they’ll buy Apple AirPods; extra $3 billion in revenue – September 29, 2016
Bill Atkinson: Why Apple’s AirPods are the best place for Siri – September 28, 2016
Apple’s response to Amazon Echo: AirPods – September 20, 2016
Apple’s AirPods make Google Glass look even more ridiculous (if that’s even possible) – September 19, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook: AirPods won’t fall out of your ears (with video) – September 14, 2016
Why Silicon Valley is all wrong about Apple’s AirPods – September 17, 2016
What AirPods can tell us about Apple’s future – September 12, 2016
Hands-on with Apple’s new AirPods: Stayed in my ears, sounded awesome – September 10, 2016
Apple and a truly wireless future: AirPods are just the start – September 10, 2016
Whoever makes the first AirPods strap is going to get rich – September 8, 2016
Perhaps Fabiola is defective.
Here’s why Brian Fagipoli bought a pair or AirPods he knew he wouldn’t like and would hurt his ears …… So he could write a bad review, plain and simple.
MDN: “Perhaps he had a defective unit.”
Reminds me of the Irishman that saw a rabbi, a minister, and a priest sneak into a brothel.
When the Rabbi did it: A man of God! This world is going to hell!
When the Mister: A Christian man of God. This world is going to hell.
When the priest: Wait…for…it!
“Oh one of those poor girls must have died!”
Posted in wrong spot! Sorry!
I say dropped connection is a total nonsense; obviously a faulty unit.
The issues with the buds themselves are: dropping out or pain can only be solvable by choosing a different model. Apple will release tiny Beats with W1 chip in few months. This model might work for guys who have issues with AirPods.
No. There really are inexplicable times when Bluetooth just conks out. It’s been a chronic problem with Bluetooth. There could be various reasons why. Sometimes I think it’s sunspots. Sometime’s I think someone nearby is using a crap Chinese cell phone that blasts EM wavelengths out of spec. Maybe some diode in a circuit went wonky from static. Blahblahblah. Just know that if you don’t experience it, be happy.
Why worry about sunspots janking our wireless when nuclear fallout seems destined to hose our lymphatic systems? The end is nigh, and blether about audio is asinine.
If there’s a rock n’ roll heaven, you know they got a hell of a band!
-Righteous Brothers
I believe in spirits. Of the liquid kind, I mean. — Tom Waits
You’ve been reading my Facebook page!
I’ll refrain from pointing out that Trump *insanely* Twittered about starting the arms race all over again and that it’s the most insane thing he could say and that everything hereafter will seem tame in comparison. – – Oh wait, I didn’t refrain.
I will come to see you before the fallout reaches Rochester. We can share a cup of tea before the end, much as in On the Beach, which left me sobbing. I suppose women are of little use in a crisis of this magnitude.
Perhaps women can help us to avoid a crisis of this magnitude?
Women of little use WHAT?! What use are men if they’re so lost and testosterone charged as to push ‘The Button’. Check out dumbass Drumpf attempting to rev up the Arms Race again, simply because he’s insane. I’d rather have a cat clawing woman at ‘The Button’ because she is NOT going to push the damned thing. She’s going to cut the wires to it.
…Or so I imagine.
Bluetooth, but not with W1 chip.
Yes. We’ve gone over that a few times here. The AirPods do Bluetooth. But they’re not restricted only to Bluetooth IF the device they’re connected to can put to work the added bandwidth provided via the W1 chip. Such devices include a great many from Apple. Otherwise, they’re stuck using ONLY Bluetooth.
I’m still waiting for detailed specs that point out exactly what added EM spectrum is used. That would greatly help illustrate this situation.
AirPods fit MY ears better than the EarPods did.
I HAVE noticed the bluetooth connection drop for a split second a couple times. And yes, only when handling my phone, but only a small fraction of the time. I can’t seem to recreate it but it does happen on occasion and only when reaching for phone in my back pocket. I accept the minor inconvenience given all the other benefits.
That would be a deal breaker for me..and is why I’ve stuck with wired headphones despite how annoying the cables can be. Unfortunate to hear the tech is still less reliable than wired.
Wireless tech will *always* be less reliable than wired tech. That is, until the wires break.
I find most earbuds at least a little bit uncomfortable. Apple’s, to me, are no better or worse than the average. That leaves a lot of room for improvement for me, but I realize that I’m on oddball with oddly shaped ears. They needn’t make that minor improvement for me any more than for this reviewer.
I’ve never liked Apple’s EarPods- they hurt my ears and I had a hard time keeping them in. That said, the cordlessness of the AirPods should help (not having the wires pulling on them). Still, I prefer the rubber tipped earbuds- I feel the fit better and are more secure. Oh well…
Dumb@ss, the tubular extensions go OUTSIDE your ear
OMF. I suspect you portend an actual erroneous and unfortunate event. I hadn’t thought of that. And don’t you know someone will do it. *shiver*
Click. Bait.
EarPods don’t hurt my ears, but they just don’t fit well and don’t seal sound in the least. I have to press them in with my fingers to even get a hint of bass. Being a molded design like the EarPods, that’s why I won’t be buying the AirPods. Hopefully millions of people will like them, but millions more like me would be underwhelmed. I’m holding out for Beats X. I suspect they will seal the ear much better. We’ll have to see about the sound quality.
Depends on the shape and size of the ear canal. There is a general pattern and size with variations. Most fit the general pattern, some don’t.
Funny that – the earbuds that come with iPhones are the only ones that sit nicely in my ears. Comfort and sound quality are well ahead of the expensive Sennheisers that they replaced.
In our age of fake news, fake reviews, etc. – how do we ever discern who is telling the truth from those who are, for example, being paid by competitors to trash a product. (I am not saying that is the case with this post – I have no idea – that’s the point).
That is indeed a very serious subject, one that is quietly being studied by think tanks and covert agencies. To understand how it works, and how to arrest its harmful network effects, is a top priority for governments who are deeply concerned over its disruptive potential. Sociologists are already beginning to talk about it as a tool to weaponise communications; it has transcended cyberwarfare as a threat, and is increasingly being viewed as a psychobiological weapon.
And it’s nothing new.
I won’t say Goebbels, too close to Godwin’s Law. How about Trump?
Nah! Too new.
McCarthy! That’s the ticket!
Biggest error that identifies it as fake, they don’t connect via Bluetooth. They use a dedicated wireless connection. Whole article was a humblebrag
You are wrong they do use Bluetooth – get your facts straight.
All bluetooth item do get interference but I find the AirPods suffer much less than others they are really good.
I’m sure they work wonderfully. I’m not buying them in this iteration because they hurt my eyes. They look preposterously silly.
Even the models on ads look silly. Doubly so on middle aged people. … who I believe are the only ones who would buy them. Nobody that age cares how they look or about getting laid. Lol
A) Bluetooth sucks. I’ve been pointing that out for over a decade. This signal dropout problem described by Brian Fagioli is one reason why.
B) Humans have a diversity of ear shapes. Writer David Pogue can’t keep earbuds in his ears because that’s how his ears are made. The buds fall out. I can’t stand in-ear headphones because they hurt. No thank you to Powerbeats.
One suggestion I will make, something to try, is to add foam covers to Apple’s EarBuds and AirBuds (at least I assume they’ll work on AirBuds). With foam covers, I never notice I’ve got buds in my ears. They’re cushions that save my ears from dealing with the hard surface of the buds and help fit the shape of my ears. Here’s a cheap place to buy some nice ones in bulk:
Hopefully, one day soon we will be able to have the area of the ear where the bud resides scanned. A bud shell can then be printed and snapped over or warped around universal components. Maybe this can be mass produced if faster 3D printing techniques are implemented, or maybe the Apple Store will employ the scanner and printers.
Perhaps his ears were crushing the airpods, causing a short…
Yes, that is a joke.
This reviewer is part of the tiny minority. As usual the minority makes a lot of noise to sow doubt in the minds of the majority. The AirPods are excellent, they won’t fit every single person’s ears perfectly, but they will NOT “hurt” them. This is a laughable joke of a review.
I’ve had my AirPods for two days, using them for about 10 hours total so far. No bluetooth dropouts. The only gripe is that activating Siri is not accurate, at best it’s 1 out of 3 attempts, but when activated it works fine for rewinding, pausing, asking questions, etc. Just answered a call on them today through my Apple Watch, this is the future.
“Apple AirPods are very cool, but I am returning them – here’s why…” As soon as I see that headline I head for the woods. Click bait.
Brian Beans — just customize them to your ears using sandpaper. I did that years ago to the first version of wired earbuds (before the shape was modified).