Apple Airpods

[purbeast0]

I had no interest in these things but one of my business partners sent me a pair for Xmas and I just hooked them up and am using them. I have to say I'm really impressed with how good they sound. They sound a lot better than the stock headphones that come with the iDevices (at least the ones that came with the iPhone 6).

Has anyone ever used these at the gym to work out with or lift weights? I'm surprised how well and tight they stay in my ears, and I'm also surprised how much they are blocking out of the background. Just curious if anyone tried lifting weights with them and if so if they actually stayed in.

 

[Tegeril]

I'll be doing just that when mine arrive.

 

[n0x1ous]

Anyone have the case battery drain issue? http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/28/airpods-battery-drain-charging-case/

 

[JackBurton]

Well, apparently they have a 6 week backorder, so it will be awhile before I get mine.

 

[Tyranicus]

Well, apparently they have a 6 week backorder, so it will be awhile before I get mine.

It probably won't take 6 weeks. Apple is very conservative about their shipping estimates. When I ordered mine on December 13th, the estimated delivery date was January 12th, but they actually came on December 24th.

 

[slugg]

I wonder how many people are going to lose one while running, then be forced to buy another pair. LOL

 

[Tyranicus]

I wonder how many people are going to lose one while running, then be forced to buy another pair. LOL

Apple will replace a single lost AirPod for $69.
That said, the only times the wired EarPods have ever fallen out of my ears were when I snagged the cord on something. The AirPods fit securely and don't seem to be in any danger of falling out.

 

[Oyeve]

Apple will replace a single lost AirPod for $69.
That said, the only times the wired EarPods have ever fallen out of my ears were when I snagged the cord on something. The AirPods fit securely and don't seem to be in any danger of falling out.

Thats not a replacement. That's a sale.

 

[Tyranicus]

Thats not a replacement. That's a sale.

I beats paying $159 for a new pair when you only need to replace one.

 

[slugg]

Thats not a replacement. That's a sale.

Yea. That's also a design feature. You know - the need for these "replacements."

 

[TheStu]

Yea. That's also a design feature. You know - the need for these "replacements."

Meaning? They ONLY opted to not have a wire running betwixt them so that they could maybe sell you a single AirPod? Those FIENDS!!!! If only Apple owned a headphone company that made tethered BT earbuds!

 

[Ichinisan]

My ears are incompatible with 99% of earbuds, including EarPods and AirPods. These Spigen ear things arrived yesterday (I’ll call them “ear bits”) and seem to work great for me:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01NAM69IJ/

There’s a typo in step 1 of the instructions on the back of the package (“form” instead of “from”). The silicone rubber softgel material is great for my ears, but makes it tricky to quickly remove from the AirPods when I need to fit them back in the charger. I think a combination of TPU+plastic+softgel materials would make it easier to take on and off. I really wish it would just click/snap-on. Figuring out how they were supposed to be installed onto the AirPods was also confusing. I noticed the faint “L” and “R” markings immediately, but still it took a while to figure out how they’re supposed to go onto the AirPods. The pictures on the box were not very helpful.

I also got these and compared them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LVZ4SXN/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01N2UMXGE/

I like the Spigen TPU material neck strap much better than the Elago with its silicon rubber softgel. The rubber Elago brand strap conducts too much sound through the straps in into my ears through the AirPods and also has too much friction with the back of my next as I turn my head left/right. The Spigen isn’t as long as the Amazon pictures seemed to imply, but I think the length will be fine for me. I suspect the thin flat design doesn’t interfere with the microphones as much. I installed it by deliberately pushing much further past the tips of the AirPods and made it so the flat part is kinda back/down relative to the front of my face. I suspect that would be less likely to block sounds between my mouth and the AirPods. Both are designed to wrap around your AirPod charge case for storage.

The main issue with having ear bits + neck strap is the need to repeatedly install and remove them each time the charger battery case is used. I hope someone makes a combined product that performs the functions of both the neck strap and the ear bits. It would be so much better to just clip something to each AirPod and go.

And the last thing I got was a silicone softgel skin for the charger case:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06ZXR3BC9/

There was some kind of half-off coupon code I got from Slickdeals. With this, I have to awkwardly use a finger to keep the case open while I’m inserting or removing the AirPods. That’s annoying. I still hate silicone softgel material for cases. It attracts too much lint and cat hair. TPU would be so much better. Still, it works fine to protect the case.

 

[purbeast0]

I tried using them at the gym about a month ago and they are not good for the gym. They stay in ear but there is absolutely no type of noise isolation so you can barely hear the music and you can hear everyone as well, even when turned up all the way. Which is odd because I wear them when I cut grass and it is fine, but at the gym they were terrible. I'll stick to my Jaybird X2's for that.

 

[Eug]

I tried using them at the gym about a month ago and they are not good for the gym. They stay in ear but there is absolutely no type of noise isolation so you can barely hear the music and you can hear everyone as well, even when turned up all the way. Which is odd because I wear them when I cut grass and it is fine, but at the gym they were terrible. I'll stick to my Jaybird X2's for that.

My Airpods are on the way, but I use Etymotic ear-canal headphones which basically function as hifi ear plugs, when I cut the grass or go on a plane. True sound isolation.

https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/er4.html