“The moment I put the Apple AirPods in my ears, I feel like I’ve already dropped them in the toilet. They are so small and slippery. The mere act of removing these precious, wireless ear buds from their lozenge-shaped case makes them feel like a futuristic cure to unknown ills. I am late to adopt them, so I indulge a marvel,” Ian Bogost writes for The Atlantic. “I take one out of an ear; this time I feel like I’m sure to ingest it, eventually, mistaking it for a space-age apparatus for wellness or transhumanism. My AirPods, I am convinced, are not long for this world.”
“Worrying about losing something is a good sign that you feel endeared to it. And, like so many others, I am: The Apple AirPods might be the best product Apple has produced in years,” Bogost writes. “By going wireless, and by doing it so well, AirPods also decouple that intimacy from the tether that generally has signaled it in social circumstances. And even though it seems like a small matter—just a wireless headset—the device could fundamentally alter the way people interact with machines, and with one another.”
“The AirPods free you from the earbud cable without requiring the bulk of headphones. Feeling that sensation made me shiver to realize how yoked I had really been to the smartphone. Not just by the compulsion of use, but in the physical connection to it by thin, white wire,” Bogost writes. “The AirPods retain the familiar color and shape for which Apple has been known, so it really does feel the same, minus the cord. This small change could have a profound effect.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: AirPods, especially when coupled wirelessly to and used in conjunction with your Apple Watch, are the nascent stirrings of our augmented beings.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s AirPods to get ‘Live Listen’ feature in iOS 12 – June 6, 2018
Why Apple should include AirPods with the next-gen iPhone – May 29, 2018
An audiophile reviews AirPods: ‘Apple’s best first-gen product in years’ – March 19, 2018
Nearly a year later, AirPods remain unrivaled as world’s best truly-wireless earbuds – November 16, 2017
Gizmodo: Google’s Pixel Buds suck – November 14, 2017
Apple AirPods totally dominate sales of wireless Bluetooth earbuds – September 1, 2017
The killer feature for Apple’s iPhone 8: AirPods – May 30, 2017
Early adopters adore their Apple AirPods – May 22, 2017
Apple AirPods are proliferating rapidly – April 6, 2017
I love my Apple AirPods – February 6, 2017
AirPods are Apple’s most Apple-like product in years – they just work – January 13, 2017
Apple’s AirPods grab 26% of wireless headphone market share – January 11, 2017
The success of Airpods could add $10 billion to Apple’s market cap – January 10, 2017
Apple AirPods are imperfect, but surprisingly awesome – January 4, 2017
Canadian Reviewer reviews Apple AirPods: ‘Very cool’ – December 28, 2016
I really hate how much I love Apple’s AirPods – December 28, 2016
Apple CEO Tim Cook tours New York Stock Exchange, calls AirPods ‘a runaway success’ – December 28, 2016
How to find out when Apple Stores have AirPods in stock – December 28, 2016
AirPods kick off Apple’s battle for our ears – December 23, 2016
Yahoo’s Pogue reviews Apple AirPods: Far more elegant and slick than others – December 23, 2016
Wall Street Journal’s Best Wireless Earbuds: AirPods, ‘Apple’s best new product in years’ – December 22, 2016
Apple AirPods are very cool, but I am returning them – here’s why – December 22, 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
Many people find they don’t fit. They fall out. They are not adjustable. They don’t sound all that great. There are much better sounding earbuds out there. For AirPod money. And unless you’re strikingly beautiful like someone in an Apple ad, they have a tendency to make you look like a dork with two cigarettes behind your ears.
what? what bs are you spilling? the reviews are off the charts. i have 5 sets. i didn’t want to like them but they are awesome. nothing out there comes close to working as well.
Many people find that they fit perfectly. Many people find that they don’t fall out. Many people find that they sound just fine. Many people could give 2 shits about what you think they look like as you’re walking by.
I reckon they sound pretty good for what they are and I like the look of them, but they don’t fit at all well in my ears and neither did the cabled EarPods either.
I’d like to use AirPods, but they don’t fit my ears, which is a shame. I would welcome some way of having AirPods with custom ear moulds, even though that would probably double the price.
The addition of skins may make them fit more securely and comfortably in your ears and improve the sound, as well. They may also help to better isolate you from outside noises, which could be good or bad, depending on your circumstances/needs.
On the down side, my understanding is that the AirPods will not fit back in the charging case until you remove the skins. Apple needs to do something about that issue. It would seem to be a simple design change to the charging case insert.
Anyway, you may want to give AirPods another shot.
and the Apple fit has been problematic since inception (for get the worthless offering shipped originally with the iPod).
I use an aged AAPL “in the ear” but that’s been outfitted with “skins” and their sound is great, the build is appreciated and the fit is just ok…if I’m mostly unmoving.
On the other hand, I wear 3rd party products daily to work outside, cycle, walk…when active. They are “all in the earbud.” Except for Sennheiser, all are “B-level” quality per sound, build and fit…but the stay put.
Why does Apple deny the reality embraced by “big name” vendors as their design includes some sort of ear hook for active/fitness use? It’s a tone-deaf product omission that AAPL curiously ignores. If the population affected is immaterial, why is “extra” secure fit produced by respected audio vendors? Though I think the ear-hook design is hardly attractive, I don’t care and cannot AAPL do something better?
Fyi, I’ve been delightfully surprised with Anker’s in the ear BT bud style. For $30-something, sound, build, operation and staying power is great. Apple?
I also have problems with keeping air pods in my factory supplied ears.
I have tried some of solutions other vendors provide.
Nothing works quite as well as the around the ear that beats has with their around the ear head phones.
No not the BIG Ear muffs for lack of a better description.
The “sport” ones with the neck strap.
Typical snark from a non-owner. They fit fine for most people, no need to adjust, sound great and are an amazing value. One criticism is that they can’t connect to two sources at once (which my Bose QC35s do easily) and even though I use them exclusively with my iPhone now, its a weekly occurence that audio will start playing out of the iPhone instead of the AirPods in my ears. That aside, I carry them everywhere and I haven’t had any other issues in the 18 months I’ve had them.
or, is your comment about “fit” as a couch dweller, or from one using during mainly non-vigorous action? “Snark from non-owner,” hmmm maybe it’s an opinion from one that wishes Apple’s ear-bud MO was in-line with product excellence? I’m going to guess you’re “non-active,” as not to long ago you mentioned not being aware of Polar and Suunto products. Besides being nearly your neighbors, they are both stalwarts in the outdoor/fitness world.
I like the product.. my wife owns a pair.. but for the life of me they wont fit in my ears… neither did the wired buds.
I wish Apple would consider couple sizes …
Apple should give away AirPods this year instead of Beats for this year’s Back to School special for college students. Apple did this early on with the iPod and the rest is history!
They should keep the iPhone X replacement at $1000+, and not drop the price as rumored, and just bundle the AirPods with them.
Airbuds sound good. They fit fine in my ears, great for doing sports without a lot of head movement. There may be better sounding, better fitting buds out there, but IMHO I don’t think there is any better connection software.
For perfectly, sound great, minimal.
For what else could you ask?
Fit
Absolutely love mine. Bought a second pair for my wife (she kept saying she was fine with the standard earbuds that came with her phone), she immediately fell in love with them also.
She listens to music, I listen to podcasts and use them as a hands free device for business calls. Both of us are extremely happy with them.
I’m with those who are concerned with the increasing isolation that accessories like this bring to the user’s experience. More and more people are drawn into themselves and away from interacting with others. I see it happening all around me. It’s dangerous. We need to hear and tell each other our life-stories so that we retain our humanity. Responsible use of these sorts of things is vital.
They don’t block out ambient sound.
My favorite feature of AirPods are their use as an hearing assistant-as was demonstrated in one of the first Apple video spots. Having said that, I feel that the best product put out by Apple in recent years is ApplePay!!
connection software (only real smart buds on the mkt), easy of use, decent sound, convenient/smart case, excellent batt life, to-be expanded beni’s for assistive community, but broad secure fit? No. Why is this dismissed?
Why is there no clip on the Apple pencil … loose rolling around .. and nowhere to attach it to on the ipad.
How much imagination and creativity does it take to realize a clip is useful.
Jimbo,
What about Velcro coins, or the Velcro sleeve (about ⅝” long) that slides onto a pen or pencil? I’ve used the latter for many years to mount a pen or pencil in my vehicles. The sleeve sticks to a Velcro coin dot just by nudging it up to one.
Q: So! Where is the redesigned case? It’s late.
Q: How about everything Mac and iOS get a move on to Bluetooth 5 already? The standard was finished last fall! For AirPods, it will blast open their bandwidth, allowing even better audio quality.
(Audio gear using only Bluetooth 4 sounds like crap thanks to the massive compression required to push the audio data through the relatively tiny bandwidth orifice. Apple’s AirPods help overcome this nonsense via added hardware, networking and code).
Lol MDN, try using the Apple Watch+Airpods with Voiceover. It takes more than a second for the series 3 to respond to gestures. Nope, I just use the AirPods with iPhone,, and sometimes Mac.
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