Wouldn't it be better if the AirPods could work on their own like those tiny iPod Nanos of the past? You could load up hours of podcasts, audiobooks, music or whatever you want to listen to and then go exercise without needing your phone or watch.
I don’t understand why the AirPods are so popular and so widely referred to as perfection?! I bought a pair and returned them the same day. The main things they have going for them is they are very comfortable and light, and the mic is great for calls. And of course that they fit into the apple ecosystem, but really that was it.
The most important factor for me in headphones is sound quality and these sound like absolute garbage. That alone is a deal killer. They sound like the cheap earbuds they hand out for free at trade shows. Listen to any decent ear buds and you can’t possibly tell me these sound anywhere close. Absolutely no bass or isolation. Very hard to listen to if there’s any ambient noise. Too quiet to use on an airplane either. The case is nice and compact but getting the headphones in and out is a pain. They should pop in and out of the case. The tap gestures don’t work all the time either. I could go on and on. I know a lot of people love these, I just am surprised is all. I would love to own a pair if they could improve the sound quality but I really hated v1.
I think they will monitor posture since they could use accelerometer data to detect the angle of your head and give discreet feedback. We're starting to see dedicated connected devices enter the market for posture but it's not really something anyone is doing in the headphone space.
Airpods stay put in my ears, but they hurt so much after about 10 minutes, that I can't use them. Same for Apple's hard ear buds - just too uncomfortable. Apple could generate a new income stream by offer custom molded silicone Airpod inserts. You could be measured and fitted in an Apple store. Would also be smart to allow the insert to be removed and added to a new pair of Airpods when you upgrade.
I actually don't use any ear devices, either in-ear or over-ear. I don't like not being able to hear what is going on around me.
I don’t understand why the AirPods are so popular and so widely referred to as perfection?! I bought a pair and returned them the same day. The main things they have going for them is they are very comfortable and light, and the mic is great for calls. And of course that they fit into the apple ecosystem, but really that was it.
The most important factor for me in headphones is sound quality and these sound like absolute garbage. That alone is a deal killer. They sound like the cheap earbuds they hand out for free at trade shows. Listen to any decent ear buds and you can’t possibly tell me these sound anywhere close. Absolutely no bass or isolation. Very hard to listen to if there’s any ambient noise. Too quiet to use on an airplane either. The case is nice and compact but getting the headphones in and out is a pain. They should pop in and out of the case. The tap gestures don’t work all the time either. I could go on and on. I know a lot of people love these, I just am surprised is all. I would love to own a pair if they could improve the sound quality but I really hated v1.
First, coolerkid, AirPods are not earbuds. They were designed to hook onto a listeners outer ear canal and be secured by the listeners shape of ear, unlike earbuds, they were never meant to be pushed into ears. AirPods are essentially miniature reflex speakers which use ports to equalise the frequency response to achieve a flat frequency response (even amplitude across the discernible audio spectrum) or as flat as they found possible for as many of our species differently shaped ears; of which there are about 16,000,000,000.
The finalised design met safety standards (in the EU) with minimal losses and exaggerations to parts of the audio spectrum. Mindful of battery technology, low power consumption must have been a high priority. Reproducing bass frequencies < 200Hz requires greater low-frequency driver excursion than frequencies above 1kHz. Thus, pandering to music listeners who like artificially boosted bass would not have been a consideration for the design team or principle audiologist. There are naff products like "Boom" which allow listeners to mess around with the AirPods-ear canal's frequency responses or one can alter the frequency responses of an entire playlist with a couple of mouse-clicks before transferring files from iTunes
Noise intrusion. This is inevitable unless something is pushed deep within the ear effectively shutting out ambient noise. Another approach is active noise reduction which does what it says but leaves out the fact that it achieves a quieter background by trashing the integrity of the recording "artist" being listened to. Though these days most of those artistes have very little integrity and far fewer music skills. So, messing around with the sound engineers mix is no biggie. There are a number of health issues to consider more closely with in-ear audio buds which will no doubt create many future private or class action compensation claims against the bigger named manufacturers of headphones/earphones/earbuds as millennials and snow-flakes gradually become aware of constant, increasing in level whistling/ringing/buzzing/whooshing noise(s) in one or both ears which will steadily rise to unceasing, suicide inducing noise inside their heads (Tinnitus) for which there is still no cure. And, yes tinnitus is responsible for 1000's of suicides and institution admissions.
Music should be consumed like a well balanced and proportioned meal. Stuff yourself and you'll pay for it one way or another a bit later on in your life.
Airpods stay put in my ears, but they hurt so much after about 10 minutes, that I can't use them. Same for Apple's hard ear buds - just too uncomfortable. Apple could generate a new income stream by offer custom molded silicone Airpod inserts. You could be measured and fitted in an Apple store. Would also be smart to allow the insert to be removed and added to a new pair of Airpods when you upgrade.
I actually don't use any ear devices, either in-ear or over-ear. I don't like not being able to hear what is going on around me.
I recall reading of a company offering just such a service. They would take a mould of customers ears and produce a bespoke, snug fitting silicone sleeve into which one popped one's AirPods securely.
Some possible health features for the AirPods:
- Adding two more points of contact can increase heart-monitoring reliability for the Apple Watch.
- You can get accurate core temperature readings from the ears. If you take temp readings from both ears and average it out, you'll get an even more accurate core temp, matching rectal temp readings.
- Maybe blood oxygen and CO2 measurements.
- Apple could mess around with electrical impedance between both AirPod units and the Apple Watch to measure body composition. With some effort, Apple's exercise lab can come up with enough data to "algorithmic" this method to finally work. That could provide end-user body fat, lean body mass, hydration, and electrolyte data. There's perhaps your killer feature.
I’d bet Apple’s fitness lab is the best funded exerc sci lab in the world. They may come up with a lot of crazy sh*t. I hope they publish some of it.
- Laugh... Getting customers to wear two synced Apple Watches - one on each arm - can double your status...er measurements.
- Adding the Apple Watch's underbelly tech to the back of new iPhones can provide another point of contact....by strapping it to your upper arm, for example. The strap can be a blood pressure cuff.
- Making the AirPods more water resistant may allow them to be sanitized for reuse in doctor's offices, providing an opportunity for Apple to enter the examining room.
Pretty excited to see how Apple's health monitoring moves forward.
b.
Comments
The most important factor for me in headphones is sound quality and these sound like absolute garbage. That alone is a deal killer. They sound like the cheap earbuds they hand out for free at trade shows. Listen to any decent ear buds and you can’t possibly tell me these sound anywhere close. Absolutely no bass or isolation. Very hard to listen to if there’s any ambient noise. Too quiet to use on an airplane either. The case is nice and compact but getting the headphones in and out is a pain. They should pop in and out of the case. The tap gestures don’t work all the time either.
I could go on and on. I know a lot of people love these, I just am surprised is all. I would love to own a pair if they could improve the sound quality but I really hated v1.
The finalised design met safety standards (in the EU) with minimal losses and exaggerations to parts of the audio spectrum. Mindful of battery technology, low power consumption must have been a high priority. Reproducing bass frequencies < 200Hz requires greater low-frequency driver excursion than frequencies above 1kHz. Thus, pandering to music listeners who like artificially boosted bass would not have been a consideration for the design team or principle audiologist. There are naff products like "Boom" which allow listeners to mess around with the AirPods-ear canal's frequency responses or one can alter the frequency responses of an entire playlist with a couple of mouse-clicks before transferring files from iTunes
Noise intrusion. This is inevitable unless something is pushed deep within the ear effectively shutting out ambient noise. Another approach is active noise reduction which does what it says but leaves out the fact that it achieves a quieter background by trashing the integrity of the recording "artist" being listened to. Though these days most of those artistes have very little integrity and far fewer music skills. So, messing around with the sound engineers mix is no biggie. There are a number of health issues to consider more closely with in-ear audio buds which will no doubt create many future private or class action compensation claims against the bigger named manufacturers of headphones/earphones/earbuds as millennials and snow-flakes gradually become aware of constant, increasing in level whistling/ringing/buzzing/whooshing noise(s) in one or both ears which will steadily rise to unceasing, suicide inducing noise inside their heads (Tinnitus) for which there is still no cure. And, yes tinnitus is responsible for 1000's of suicides and institution admissions.
Music should be consumed like a well balanced and proportioned meal. Stuff yourself and you'll pay for it one way or another a bit later on in your life.
I recall reading of a company offering just such a service. They would take a mould of customers ears and produce a bespoke, snug fitting silicone sleeve into which one popped one's AirPods securely.