“Can we all agree not to get too jaded about tech? Sure, there are a lot of superfluous gadgets out there, but there’s also a fair amount of stuff that’s actually pretty cool: high-flying camera drones, virtual-reality headsets, Web-connected devices you can chat with,” Greg Emmanuel writes for Rolling Stone. “Surprisingly enough, Apple’s new AirPods fit squarely in this category.”
“Truly wireless earbuds (nothing but what sticks in your ear) began showing up earlier this year, and while they were an interesting peek into the future they were mostly plagued by flaws that made their steep price tags hard to swallow,” Emmanuel writes. “The Apple AirPods – announced in September and then mysteriously delayed for nearly two months – have managed to eliminate almost all the flaws. We’ve spent some quality time with them and this is what we’ve found.”
“It’s become sport for some people to bash Apple’s every move and the AirPods got their fair share of abuse. Most of it centered around the design, and we don’t get it,” Emmanuel writes. “They’re almost identical to the standard Apple earbuds included with all iPhones, just without the cord. A bit of the device does extend away from the ear (in part to house the microphone), but it doesn’t look as strange as early critics argued, and wearing them around town I felt a lot less self-conscious than I do with huge-ass over-ear headphones. ,” Emmanuel writes. “”
Much more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: An LTE-enabled Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods would supplant a great deal of iPhone’s current functions.
As for the AirPods looking alien: Tape a pair of wires on the ends of each and you’ll see that they look very much like the type of earphones that everyone is very used to seeing by now (which, for those who remember, we weren’t used to seeing before iPod – people thought those looked “alien,” too). We’ll all get used to the lack of wires soon enough. — MacDailyNews, September 14, 2016
Here you “they look so weird” ninnies:
http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/13/technology/airpods-string-apple-headphones/
Still look they might not fit great or stay in during heavy workouts. Need more info.
As people replace their lost Airpods, Apple will realise another billion dollar income stream. Apple’s “buds” have never functioned for me unless i’m not moving.
“An LTE-enabled Apple Watch and a pair of AirPods would supplant a great deal of iPhone’s current functions.”
You mean the phone call making bit. I love my Apple Watch (I don’t know how happy I’d have been with the first version though), but apart from some of the health and time related functions (it being a watch) it is entirely supplemental to my phone. There is very little that the Apple Watch offers that I’d be happy to rely on for extended periods without access to my iPhone.
My EarPods stay in my ear so well, that the times I’ve had my iPhone drop out of my hands when I was using EarPods, despite being jerked by the phone, they stay in my ear.
Plus, I listen to podcasts at night using my EarPods, and most times, they’re still in my ear when I awaken next morning.
I’m 100% confident the AirPods I ordered the other day are going to stay in my ears and work great.
I have the same experience and am in awe of how well they stay in my ears even when I drop my iPhone 6 Plus.
Not surprised in the least. BTW, I have a 6s.
Hey Arnold…I thought I was the only one(no not really) who went to sleep listening to podcasts lol
Nothing better than an astronomy podcast…nothing exiting, just soothing data…
*yawn*
Yeah, for me they fit fine and expect my Airpods(now pushed back to Feb? del UK) to be the same.
Did you forget they’re also surprisingly unavailable?
Any good Apple does with Cook at the helm is a surprise.
I can always wait for the blood to wiped off the bleeding edge of a new product. I’d rather they Just Work™.
Yes Apple Bear Bullshitters: The AirPods count as another NEW INNOVATION from Apple.
Now go sit in the corner for an hour and cool off. 🍎🐻🐂💩
I want mine now!
Bluetooth isn’t a groundbreaking innovation. What exactly makes these headphones better than other wireless headphones?
Unless they perfectly fit your specific ear, and you can tolerate the limited audio quality, then this is not the innovation you want from Apple.
Study the specs of the AirPods. We thrashed through this when they were originally announced. They are capable of only using Bluetooth. But Apple has enhanced them such that when using compatible Apple gear they use MORE than mere, lame Bluetooth bandwidth. The result (reportedly) is far better than limited Bluetooth audio quality
That isn’t innovative either as a few other companies have been using similar workarounds of mere, lame Bluetooth in wireless earphones as well.
What’s great about the AirPods is the whole package, which pulls together technology like NO ONE else has yet done. The charging case alone qualifies as uniquely Apple. Then consider the user control built into the AirPods. I personally like the audio quality of the EarPods and expect the AirPods to be one step above.
The AirPod is poised to become the fashion accoutrement of the decade, if not of the century. Form and function come together in a rare nexus, a shocking violation of the precept of their presumed philosophic independence. One can expect that next, they will arrive in colours and extensions, replacing the earring collections of many women and enticing more men into the art of otic decoration. Music and individualism now witness their final expression as social signals with AirPods, soon to supplant silk neckties, diamond rings, and Harvard MBAs. Apple outsells Tiffany’s and Victoria’s Secret for a very good reason: the only thing that outsells status and sex is more status and more sex.
I am however sad for the lads that had hoped Apple would stick to the Radio Shack business model. Truly, it is a brave new world, and I weep for those left behind.
🤣
Otic decor.
Radio Shack.
There’s a contrast worth a *shiver*.
🤢
Hey, they’re from Apple. That’s all that matters. Price? Functionality? Give me the Apple logo, that’s all I need.
What a sad comment, if it came down to merely that. I’d have moved along elsewhere if all Apple had to offer was a logo.
Why is it surprising that there awesome? The demo during the keynote proved that. Glad they fixed whatever issue they had with them before they released it to the public. Something that other companies like Samsung seem to not care about.
“I felt a lot less self-conscious than I do with huge-ass over-ear headphones…”
Yep, looking at you big fat crappy Beats headphones.