“Apple’s iPhone 7 isn’t the first phone to ship without a headphone jack,” Valentina Palladino writes for Ars Technica. “But the iPhone 7 is definitely the most important and popular phone to discard the headphone jack, and Apple is dragging the industry toward a wireless future, whether we like it or not.”
“At least the company provided its own solution, eventually: its $159 AirPods are one of the newest truly wireless earbuds you can buy,” Palladino writes. “By “truly wireless,” we mean they’re just two buds that sit in both ears without anything connecting them. Much like other Apple technology, AirPods are not the only truly wireless buds on the market. They’re certainly not the only regular wireless buds available. But again, like other Apple technologies, AirPods have a unique spin that sets them apart from the competition.”
“Apple hopes to convince consumers that its buds are the best to pair with their iPhones, but consumers have many options to choose from when it comes to competing wireless earbuds. I tested a handful of wireless buds to see how the AirPods stack up in terms of ease of use, comfort, music quality, and battery life. I’ve done an anecdotal assessment of music quality for all the buds I reviewed,” Palladino writes. “I spent hours with each pair, listening to a variety of music including pop, rock, jazz, and classical in environments with different levels of outside noise.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: No Apple W1 chip, no sale. We’re too spoiled already.
I’m certain they stack up better than apples AirPods which don’t work with the telephone calls constant disconnect. UGH
One of the best innovations to fall from the big Apple tree in a long time. They really are great! The only problem I have is trying to use them when the phone is plugged in – it seems to not know where to route the sound and I have to pick audio outputs until I find it. They need to fix that. I haven’t had any disconnection issues. Assuming you tested and had the issues in the two-week return period, why didn’t you return them, Rob?
Still liking my AirPods very much, but disappointed they can’t connect to two devices at once like my Bose QC35s. Manually have to switch devices in control center or bluetooth settings. Lately I just use the AirPods for my iPhone and Bose for my Mac.