With your logic, I guess no one can write a positive article about a product they really liked.
I'm sure they're amazing headphones, but effusive isn't the word I'd use for this article. Fawning might be a better one.
Why? Because he really liked the product? The product that has people lining up outside of stores for? If he found it to be as good as hope, why on earth wouldn't be enthusiastic in his article? Should he throw in some made-up negatives in an attempt to be perceived as "fair & balanced"? I think that would be disingenuous..
Allow me to go back...
"I'm sure they're amazing headphones"
It's a comment on his writing style, his assessment that these headphones cancelled out all the bad of 2016 (I don't think he meant solely from an Apple perspective, btw) was particularly ridiculous. It's one of those things I'm sure he'll read in a few years and cringe.
Btw he messed up a statement. I'm pretty sure it's the "intersection of technology and the liberal arts", not the "corner".
at 0:50
That's your criticism? Corner vs intersection? Try harder man.
My criticism was that the article was fawning. I was pointing out that a favourite quote was incorrectly referenced as a side note. It was a btw. Did you miss that?
maybe it's not me who should be trying harder.
No, I got it, but your attempt at trolling the review is just pretty weak. He wasn't quoting the line from Jobs, he was referring to it conceptually, thus there is absolutely nothing "incorrect" about saying the word corner instead of the word intersection since they're completely analogous. Troll fail.
As others noted above, only those trying hard to find things to dislike about the product and Apple are having issues with the review as written. If you can no longer criticize the product, then criticizing the review seems to be your next step. Weak.
With your logic, I guess no one can write a positive article about a product they really liked.
I'm sure they're amazing headphones, but effusive isn't the word I'd use for this article. Fawning might be a better one.
Why? Because he really liked the product? The product that has people lining up outside of stores for? If he found it to be as good as hope, why on earth wouldn't be enthusiastic in his article? Should he throw in some made-up negatives in an attempt to be perceived as "fair & balanced"? I think that would be disingenuous..
Allow me to go back...
"I'm sure they're amazing headphones"
It's a comment on his writing style, his assessment that these headphones cancelled out all the bad of 2016 (I don't think he meant solely from an Apple perspective, btw) was particularly ridiculous. It's one of those things I'm sure he'll read in a few years and cringe.
Btw he messed up a statement. I'm pretty sure it's the "intersection of technology and the liberal arts", not the "corner".
at 0:50
That's your criticism? Corner vs intersection? Try harder man.
My criticism was that the article was fawning. I was pointing out that a favourite quote was incorrectly referenced as a side note. It was a btw. Did you miss that?
maybe it's not me who should be trying harder.
No, I got it, but your attempt at trolling the review is just pretty weak. He wasn't quoting the line from Jobs, he was referring to it conceptually, thus there is absolutely nothing "incorrect" about saying the word corner instead of the word intersection since they're completely analogous. Troll fail.
As others noted above, only those trying hard to find things to dislike about the product and Apple are having issues with the review as written. If you can no longer criticize the product, then criticizing the review seems to be your next step. Weak.
As far as I know, it's only Apple who have painted themselves at that intersection. And for someone whose knowledge is as all encompassing as mr dilgers, I'm surprised he got it wrong. I'm not sure who is trolling who here. I started out by saying it's probably amazing, the product, but the article is fawning. I'd hardly call that a troll.
And yet you still miss the bit where I did not criticise the product. At all. I won't make a secret of my dislike of dilgers perspective. I think he's over the top and completely apologetic. Apple could stab him in the eyes and he'd spin it as an opportunity to fine tune his hearing. Which is what he wanted all along. But he didn't realise it.
With your logic, I guess no one can write a positive article about a product they really liked.
I'm sure they're amazing headphones, but effusive isn't the word I'd use for this article. Fawning might be a better one.
Why? Because he really liked the product? The product that has people lining up outside of stores for? If he found it to be as good as hope, why on earth wouldn't be enthusiastic in his article? Should he throw in some made-up negatives in an attempt to be perceived as "fair & balanced"? I think that would be disingenuous..
Allow me to go back...
"I'm sure they're amazing headphones"
It's a comment on his writing style, his assessment that these headphones cancelled out all the bad of 2016 (I don't think he meant solely from an Apple perspective, btw) was particularly ridiculous. It's one of those things I'm sure he'll read in a few years and cringe.
Btw he messed up a statement. I'm pretty sure it's the "intersection of technology and the liberal arts", not the "corner".
at 0:50
That's your criticism? Corner vs intersection? Try harder man.
My criticism was that the article was fawning. I was pointing out that a favourite quote was incorrectly referenced as a side note. It was a btw. Did you miss that?
maybe it's not me who should be trying harder.
No, I got it, but your attempt at trolling the review is just pretty weak. He wasn't quoting the line from Jobs, he was referring to it conceptually, thus there is absolutely nothing "incorrect" about saying the word corner instead of the word intersection since they're completely analogous. Troll fail.
As others noted above, only those trying hard to find things to dislike about the product and Apple are having issues with the review as written. If you can no longer criticize the product, then criticizing the review seems to be your next step. Weak.
As far as I know, it's only Apple who have painted themselves at that intersection. And for someone whose knowledge is as all encompassing as mr dilgers, I'm surprised he got it wrong. I'm not sure who is trolling who here. I started out by saying it's probably amazing, the product, but the article is fawning. I'd hardly call that a troll.
And yet you still miss the bit where I did not criticise the product. At all. I won't make a secret of my dislike of dilgers perspective. I think he's over the top and completely apologetic. Apple could stab him in the eyes and he'd spin it as an opportunity to fine tune his hearing. Which is what he wanted all along. But he didn't realise it.
Again, he didn't get it wrong. Because it's not a direct quote, he doesn't have to use the same exact words. English language has synonyms for a reason. Do you know what synonymous means? Do you know what paraphrasing is?
Its pretty clear you're taking the article personally for some reason. Coming here to bag on the article because you don't like the writer is the definition of trolling. You are a troll.
I've heard that Airpods don't work so hot, where the bluetooth signal doesn't benefit from walls to bounce around.
I've taken two hour-long walks outside while playing music, and I have noticed a few momentary dropouts. But they've all been less than a second interruptions. Annoying, but not a deal breaker. My guess is that most bluetooth headsets wouldn't perform any better. And being able to double-tap the ear bud and ask Siri to play anything in my library is kind of cool.
I'm having similar issues. Seems like a short droput or skipping of a few bits. Kinda annoying, though I like hem overall and they sound really good.
Where do you guys keep your phone? Jacket pocket or pants pocket? Arm band?
The sound on these is actually more full than the EarPods! More bass and range. I'd give them a 5/5 too. I'm excited for my new wireless life with no more cord tangles or catches on door handles.
I can't wait! But I have to, missing the window. Audio performance was my main concern, with convenience a close second. While I absolutely look forward to the wireless aspect (because even normal BT headphones can be a drag) I wanted them to sound better than stock EarPods, (which fit me well). I like the Apple $80 pods well enough for casual use, so that was my benchmark. It looks like the AirPods will be everything I like.
Really appreciate the very thorough review. It answered every question I had and a couple I didn't know I had.
Rough summary of the comments: - Those who have received and used the AirPods overwhelming agree with the reviewer that they are a great product and deserve a 5/5. - Concern trolls who do not have them (and likely never will) consider the review biased, and have lots of criticism of the product, and also think the article had some grammatical issues.
A question for some of you who've received the AirPods... Do you know if they will work with AppleTV 4th gen? Would be rather useful for late night TV watching around here.
Siri phrases for direct volume level ("Set volume 80%")
This almost works today. Using Siri directly with the phone, you can say, "Set volume 80%" and it works! I never knew that. Unfortunately, when I speak that into Siri on my Watch it does NOT adjust the phone's playback volume.
For anyone with AirPods already.... can you say this phrase to the AirPod Siri and have it correctly adjust the playback volume?
Unless I'm missing something that someone can kindly shed some light on, the volume control issues definitely need some work. I can connect my Airpods to my Bluetooth enabled tv/DVD but there appears to be no way to control the volume once connected. They connect at FULL volume regardless of how they were previously set. Apple's position is that once connected to an aux device it is up to that device to control volume. Problem is you need a device code for the Bluetooth to control the volume and Apple provides no such code. Any ideas? This is, at least for me a major problem. I believe in apple's goal of simplicity, but especially as one with hearing issues, these being of no use with my TV is a big deal.
Who has tried these in a cold (Eastern weather) climate? Does the performance suffer? What about battery life? I know when my iPhone is exposed in -13c or colder the battery suffers big time.
Who has tried these in a cold (Eastern weather) climate? Does the performance suffer? What about battery life? I know when my iPhone is exposed in -13c or colder the battery suffers big time.
I brought this up earlier. There were no answers but, as you fear, they will probably suffer. They have little to no protection from very cold temperatures and are very small. As this is a case of chemistry I wouldn't be optimistic. I would wait and see how they perform in the real world but the real test will be over a prolonged period and if they give up earlier than models used in more climatologically stable environments. I don't think it would be worth waiting a year for that info though. Better to check Apple's rated environmental limits, see if you are within them and then check to see if the standard warranty covers battery alteration because when the batteries go on these you have to dump them.
Love my new AirPods but volume management via Siri is a bit of a pain. In fact, it's a bit of a Catch-22 in that in a noisy environment you may want to increase the volume in an environment where Siri is much more likely to fail.
It would be nice if the AirPods had the option to use the built-in microphone (or the iPhone's microphone) to measure the ambient noise level and automatically increase and decrease the volume accordingly.
"And for someone whose knowledge is as all encompassing as mr dilgers, I'm surprised he got it wrong. I'm not sure who is trolling who here."
Apparently a bit more encompassing than yours: Jobs referenced liberal arts on technology on a number of occasions, not just the quote you are referring to. As others have pointed out, your nitpicking comes across more as trolling than anything useful or substantive...
If you step back and look at what these AirPods represent in terms of technological progress, Daniel's narrative tone here resonates pretty strongly here and is not "fawning" or inaccurate. As with so many other Apple products, their core philosophy of simplicity and it "just works" has been applied to the concept of totally wireless headphones, and they're so successful with this effort that one's first use of them comes across as "magic". This is just what Jobs and Apple mean by the intersection of the arts and technology, and their general success in this is the main reason Apple is the most valuable brand in the world.
Before the iPod, there were a lot of mp3 players out there that people really *wanted* to work, but they were ergonomically a buggy and kludgy mess. In one fell swoop the iPod transformed the whole category of digital music players. Ditto with the iPhone and, as Daniel implies, ditto with these wireless headphones. There are already a number of totally wireless headphones out there now--I've tried them and returned them because they most certainly did not "just work". With the AirPods Apple has significantly raised the bar in terms of what is possible.
People respect Daniel's reviews and articles because he writes from this bigger perspective, and not just because of his (usually accurate) critical judgment.
Loving the positive reviews on this thread. I'm going to hold out on the iPhone 8 and maybe I'll get lucky and the AirPods will be paired up with it for a slightly higher price...
AppleInsider said:
AirPods sound great, building upon Apple's experience in enhancing its iPod and iPhone-bundled earbuds from initially being minimally adequate to sounding quite impressive for their compact, light profile with the release of 2012's EarPods.
There are some basic constraints of physics that limit how "audiophile" tiny earbuds can be, particularly in contrast to full-ear headphones or fully unconstrained studio speakers. For typical users, AirPods should be impressively adequate in sound quality.
Depending on what you're listening to, it may improve things significantly to adjust your EQ settings. Oddly enough, there's no EQ settings or even bass or treble controls in the basic Music panel of Control Center (below) that appears when you flick up and over in iOS 10. It only presents basic playback controls, volume and an audio output selector.
The lack of EQ settings is not good for people who have hearing deficiencies....probably 99% of us. I've discovered two apps, Mimi Hearing Test, and Mimi music. Used in conjunction, you can correct frequency deficiencies and hear the music you've been missing. I know, sounds like an ad, but it really works. The only downside is that is will only let you play iTunes music that you've purchased and downloaded, and is DRM-free. It will let you play premium Spotify music, however. I did the Mimi Hearing Test with wired EarPods and used the results (called an 'ear print') to play music through my AirPods. The results were VERY satisfying. Come on, Apple. Include some decent EQ settings in IOS and stop making us jump through so many hoops to listen to decent sound!
The lack of EQ settings is not good for people who have hearing deficiencies....
Misunderstood. There is an EQ setting (Settings>Music>EQ), but what the article meant is, there is no EQ setting in the specific location he mentioned: Music panel of Control Center (below) that appears when you flick up and over in iOS 10.
Just bought the AirPods. Just one problem -- they don't stay in my ears. Sitting, walking, reading my iPad, it doesn't matter. Nothing is holding them in place. I do not understand this design. It was well known that the wired version did not work for many people, why would Apple go with this design? Just lazy! And by the way, I'm not an Apple hater. I own just about every device they've made. But lately they've been letting me down.
Comments
As others noted above, only those trying hard to find things to dislike about the product and Apple are having issues with the review as written. If you can no longer criticize the product, then criticizing the review seems to be your next step. Weak.
And yet you still miss the bit where I did not criticise the product. At all. I won't make a secret of my dislike of dilgers perspective. I think he's over the top and completely apologetic. Apple could stab him in the eyes and he'd spin it as an opportunity to fine tune his hearing. Which is what he wanted all along. But he didn't realise it.
Its pretty clear you're taking the article personally for some reason. Coming here to bag on the article because you don't like the writer is the definition of trolling. You are a troll.
Really appreciate the very thorough review. It answered every question I had and a couple I didn't know I had.
- Siri phrases for direct volume level ("Set volume 80%")
This almost works today. Using Siri directly with the phone, you can say, "Set volume 80%" and it works! I never knew that. Unfortunately, when I speak that into Siri on my Watch it does NOT adjust the phone's playback volume.For anyone with AirPods already.... can you say this phrase to the AirPod Siri and have it correctly adjust the playback volume?
I agree with 98% of this article. I just cannot bring myself to say that these "envelop" myself in sound. they are still magic.
Apparently a bit more encompassing than yours: Jobs referenced liberal arts on technology on a number of occasions, not just the quote you are referring to. As others have pointed out, your nitpicking comes across more as trolling than anything useful or substantive...
Before the iPod, there were a lot of mp3 players out there that people really *wanted* to work, but they were ergonomically a buggy and kludgy mess. In one fell swoop the iPod transformed the whole category of digital music players. Ditto with the iPhone and, as Daniel implies, ditto with these wireless headphones. There are already a number of totally wireless headphones out there now--I've tried them and returned them because they most certainly did not "just work". With the AirPods Apple has significantly raised the bar in terms of what is possible.
People respect Daniel's reviews and articles because he writes from this bigger perspective, and not just because of his (usually accurate) critical judgment.