Third day in a row with new Apple products being announced. Is this Tim Cook's version of an advent calendar? In all seriousness, I'm taken aback by some of these upgrades; for example, the update...
Third day in a row with new Apple products being announced. Is this Tim Cook's version of an advent calendar?
In all seriousness, I'm taken aback by some of these upgrades; for example, the update to the iPad Mini was unexpected, the specification bump to the iMac yesterday was disappointing (they're still using HDD's in 2019), and I would've expected an AirPods 2 to be announced at a keynote event. What's in store for tomorrow & Friday?
Well, to be fair, everyone is selling computers with mechanical HDDs. You can't beat the free marketing of adding really big numbers to a product at a lower price. The good news is that an SSD is...
Well, to be fair, everyone is selling computers with mechanical HDDs. You can't beat the free marketing of adding really big numbers to a product at a lower price. The good news is that an SSD is at least an option on even their cheapest models, which isn't something other computer manufacturers are willing to do.
I don't really think of these as AirPods 2. They should be AirPods S at best. It's a very incremental update, without much need for upgrading if you already have AirPods, although the batteries...
I don't really think of these as AirPods 2. They should be AirPods S at best. It's a very incremental update, without much need for upgrading if you already have AirPods, although the batteries tend to lose a lot of performance after a couple of years, so I suppose they'll get those people who use them daily.
A great upgrade, but I really am disappointed that the price went up. $200 for the wireless version seems a bit steep to me. I say that as someone who loves my 1st generation AirPods.
A great upgrade, but I really am disappointed that the price went up.
$200 for the wireless version seems a bit steep to me. I say that as someone who loves my 1st generation AirPods.
That's one way to see it. Another way is that a newer version should (ideally) either offer the same features for less money or more features for the same price. Modern Apple hasn't done things...
That's one way to see it. Another way is that a newer version should (ideally) either offer the same features for less money or more features for the same price. Modern Apple hasn't done things that way for a while.
It used to be that when a new version of a product came out, the older version got cheaper and the new version came out at the same price the old version started at (see how iPhone pricing used to work).
The new version does offer more features for the same price. It has Apples new H1 chip which gives it better battery life and enables on-device voice recognition. The only thing that costs extra...
The new version does offer more features for the same price. It has Apples new H1 chip which gives it better battery life and enables on-device voice recognition. The only thing that costs extra is the new charging case.
For sure. I love my AirPods but unless they DRAMATICALLY improve the batteries I wouldn't pay $200 for them. Wireless charging and Hey Siri are nifty but not really that compelling. The input...
For sure. I love my AirPods but unless they DRAMATICALLY improve the batteries I wouldn't pay $200 for them. Wireless charging and Hey Siri are nifty but not really that compelling. The input source switching experience needs some serious attention too.
It looks like these new AirPods do address the input source switching lag: I totally agree that this is very much needed. It's sometimes as much as 15 seconds when switching from my iPhone to my Mac.
It looks like these new AirPods do address the input source switching lag:
"Switching between devices while listening to music on iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad is more seamless than ever with two times faster connect times."
I totally agree that this is very much needed. It's sometimes as much as 15 seconds when switching from my iPhone to my Mac.
Yup, the pairing switching between iPhone & Mac is less than ideal. Sure, the devices are autodiscovered via iCloud, but the switch certainly isn't seamless. And yeah, the lack of even...
Yup, the pairing switching between iPhone & Mac is less than ideal. Sure, the devices are autodiscovered via iCloud, but the switch certainly isn't seamless.
And yeah, the lack of even Apple-serviceable battery in the AirPods is terrible—when your AirPod batteries degrade, your only solution is to ask Apple nicely to provide a replacement AirPod in full. Or buy a new pair. My "5 hour battery life" is now more like 3 hours.
I'm the biggest Apple zealot around, but I personally can't recall using my AirPods for calling more than 2-3 times. In all cases, I got about 1 hour of battery life. So 50% more isn't really that...
I'm the biggest Apple zealot around, but I personally can't recall using my AirPods for calling more than 2-3 times. In all cases, I got about 1 hour of battery life. So 50% more isn't really that much of an improvement on the whole.
9 times out of 10, people are using AirPods for listening to music, not for calling; and Apple knows this, as it's reflected in their marketing strategy for the product—which by the way, has remained at "5 hours" (in reality, it's more like "4-4.5 hours").
And it's not just battery life, it's long term battery longevity too; which clearly hasn't improved.
Looks like a decent upgrade. I'll keep my first gen. To me, the biggest problem with AirPods is still the battery degradation over time, paired with the fact that you can't replace the batteries...
Looks like a decent upgrade. I'll keep my first gen. To me, the biggest problem with AirPods is still the battery degradation over time, paired with the fact that you can't replace the batteries in them
Just out of curiosity, what's degradation on yours been like? I bought mine on day one of their availability, so that's two years three months, and seem to be getting about three hours of usage...
Just out of curiosity, what's degradation on yours been like? I bought mine on day one of their availability, so that's two years three months, and seem to be getting about three hours of usage before the Bing-Bong of Imminent Demise.
I was wondering since my usage sort of shields me from noticing. I probably average four hours of use a day, but it's broken up into little bits in between which they're charging in the case.
I've had mine for a little over a year now. It's not too bad, but I went from needing to charge the case once a week to every 5 days. I usually don't listen longer than 2 or 2.5h at once, but I...
I've had mine for a little over a year now. It's not too bad, but I went from needing to charge the case once a week to every 5 days. I usually don't listen longer than 2 or 2.5h at once, but I did notice that their battery indicator is starting to show lower values. When I first got them, I'd have maybe 40-50% left after a 2.5h session. Now it's more on the line of 30-40%.
It's not bothering me now, but I don't want to replace my expensive headphones every 2 years due to their battery
I really don't get why you would get AirPods. Do people realize you can buy 40$ bluetooth earbuds that last 3h30 and have a case that can charge them for 90h ? Do you realize that the 200$ are...
I really don't get why you would get AirPods. Do people realize you can buy 40$ bluetooth earbuds that last 3h30 and have a case that can charge them for 90h ?
Do you realize that the 200$ are paying for the enormous marketing campaign and not the earbuds themselves right ?
I get that you can live life without constantly looking for the best quality/price ratio and that sometimes you just buy things because it makes you happy. However, it always bugs me that some companies manage to get rewarded when they shouldn't be.
For me at least, it's really not about the cost. In fact, cost probably one of the lesser factors for me in purchasing an item. If I can't afford what I desire right now, that's okay. I'll simply...
For me at least, it's really not about the cost. In fact, cost probably one of the lesser factors for me in purchasing an item. If I can't afford what I desire right now, that's okay. I'll simply save up until I can afford it.
I'm already in the Apple ecosystem, why wouldn't I simply purchase the product that integrates in the most seamless manner that is possible? Right now, for people like me, that's AirPods. No other headphone that's accessible to me on the market automatically syncs connectivity over the cloud, seamless integration with iPhone & Apple Watch (including automatic connection once paired and in ears), in such a small, compact design.
I'd also question your claim that Apple spends more on marketing than it does R&D, product development, and support. In fact, product development costs probably massively outweigh marketing costs; and why shouldn't they be rewarded? All my devices simply work, I'm rarely if ever stuffing about in settings to fix things, and in general, I don't have to care that they'll function properly.
Third day in a row with new Apple products being announced. Is this Tim Cook's version of an advent calendar?
In all seriousness, I'm taken aback by some of these upgrades; for example, the update to the iPad Mini was unexpected, the specification bump to the iMac yesterday was disappointing (they're still using HDD's in 2019), and I would've expected an AirPods 2 to be announced at a keynote event. What's in store for tomorrow & Friday?
iPods? I’m both an audiophile and a Mac head and I didn’t even know they were still updating the iPod line.
Well, to be fair, everyone is selling computers with mechanical HDDs. You can't beat the free marketing of adding really big numbers to a product at a lower price. The good news is that an SSD is at least an option on even their cheapest models, which isn't something other computer manufacturers are willing to do.
I don't really think of these as AirPods 2. They should be AirPods S at best. It's a very incremental update, without much need for upgrading if you already have AirPods, although the batteries tend to lose a lot of performance after a couple of years, so I suppose they'll get those people who use them daily.
A great upgrade, but I really am disappointed that the price went up.
$200 for the wireless version seems a bit steep to me. I say that as someone who loves my 1st generation AirPods.
The price hasn't gone up, you can get the new AirPods with the regular charger for $159. The wireless charging case is an upgrade option.
That's one way to see it. Another way is that a newer version should (ideally) either offer the same features for less money or more features for the same price. Modern Apple hasn't done things that way for a while.
It used to be that when a new version of a product came out, the older version got cheaper and the new version came out at the same price the old version started at (see how iPhone pricing used to work).
The new version does offer more features for the same price. It has Apples new H1 chip which gives it better battery life and enables on-device voice recognition. The only thing that costs extra is the new charging case.
For sure. I love my AirPods but unless they DRAMATICALLY improve the batteries I wouldn't pay $200 for them. Wireless charging and Hey Siri are nifty but not really that compelling. The input source switching experience needs some serious attention too.
It looks like these new AirPods do address the input source switching lag:
I totally agree that this is very much needed. It's sometimes as much as 15 seconds when switching from my iPhone to my Mac.
Yup, the pairing switching between iPhone & Mac is less than ideal. Sure, the devices are autodiscovered via iCloud, but the switch certainly isn't seamless.
And yeah, the lack of even Apple-serviceable battery in the AirPods is terrible—when your AirPod batteries degrade, your only solution is to ask Apple nicely to provide a replacement AirPod in full. Or buy a new pair. My "5 hour battery life" is now more like 3 hours.
The Atlantic posted an article today about the degradation in battery life in new devices, focused on AirPods specifically: Your AirPods Will Die Soon
The page says 50% more talk time, is that not dramatic enough for you?
I'm the biggest Apple zealot around, but I personally can't recall using my AirPods for calling more than 2-3 times. In all cases, I got about 1 hour of battery life. So 50% more isn't really that much of an improvement on the whole.
9 times out of 10, people are using AirPods for listening to music, not for calling; and Apple knows this, as it's reflected in their marketing strategy for the product—which by the way, has remained at "5 hours" (in reality, it's more like "4-4.5 hours").
And it's not just battery life, it's long term battery longevity too; which clearly hasn't improved.
Looks like a decent upgrade. I'll keep my first gen. To me, the biggest problem with AirPods is still the battery degradation over time, paired with the fact that you can't replace the batteries in them
Just out of curiosity, what's degradation on yours been like? I bought mine on day one of their availability, so that's two years three months, and seem to be getting about three hours of usage before the Bing-Bong of Imminent Demise.
I was wondering since my usage sort of shields me from noticing. I probably average four hours of use a day, but it's broken up into little bits in between which they're charging in the case.
I've had mine for a little over a year now. It's not too bad, but I went from needing to charge the case once a week to every 5 days. I usually don't listen longer than 2 or 2.5h at once, but I did notice that their battery indicator is starting to show lower values. When I first got them, I'd have maybe 40-50% left after a 2.5h session. Now it's more on the line of 30-40%.
It's not bothering me now, but I don't want to replace my expensive headphones every 2 years due to their battery
I really don't get why you would get AirPods. Do people realize you can buy 40$ bluetooth earbuds that last 3h30 and have a case that can charge them for 90h ?
Do you realize that the 200$ are paying for the enormous marketing campaign and not the earbuds themselves right ?
I get that you can live life without constantly looking for the best quality/price ratio and that sometimes you just buy things because it makes you happy. However, it always bugs me that some companies manage to get rewarded when they shouldn't be.
Edit : trying to be less obnoxious
For me at least, it's really not about the cost. In fact, cost probably one of the lesser factors for me in purchasing an item. If I can't afford what I desire right now, that's okay. I'll simply save up until I can afford it.
I'm already in the Apple ecosystem, why wouldn't I simply purchase the product that integrates in the most seamless manner that is possible? Right now, for people like me, that's AirPods. No other headphone that's accessible to me on the market automatically syncs connectivity over the cloud, seamless integration with iPhone & Apple Watch (including automatic connection once paired and in ears), in such a small, compact design.
I'd also question your claim that Apple spends more on marketing than it does R&D, product development, and support. In fact, product development costs probably massively outweigh marketing costs; and why shouldn't they be rewarded? All my devices simply work, I'm rarely if ever stuffing about in settings to fix things, and in general, I don't have to care that they'll function properly.
Cue all the women named Siri freaking out when a stranger calls their name out of the blue.