If Apple does in fact release AirPower, and it works well, I'll probably upgrade to these. A better charging situation is one of the things that could improve the AirPods.<p>Just today my AirPods case wasn't charging because lint got into my lightning port. I didn't realize the case wasn't charging until I realized my AirPods were low on power despite me charging the case a lot the last few days. Inductive charging is a lot more durable in a lot of ways.<p>I take my AirPods everywhere with me. They fit perfectly into a pair of jeans. They are one of Apple's best products in years.<p>I find myself listening to way more audiobooks and podcasts because of this. If I have a minutes to burn, I can just pull them out and listen. Also, AirPods are great for phone calls. I use them for almost every phone call, and having them always on me has changed how I interact with computing devices. If the Apple Watch ever really gets full featured (with more robust cellular features in particular), I could see myself often just having a Watch and AirPods with me, while leaving my phone behind.<p>The other things I would like to see Apple do are: Official water resistance ratings to better work for athletics and in the rain; and the ability to have different tips on them to increase fit for more people and to provide the option of sealing out outside noise.
I actually bought these. Yes, it's a pile of money, wireless charging for AirPods probably isn't all that useful (though I may grab a new wireless charger for the desk where my AirPods usually sit anyway), etc.<p>But, reality is: AirPods are by far the most convenient way to casually do anything with apple products and headphones. Stick 'em in a pocket, and if you want to listen to music or be on a conference call, pull them out and pop them in. And my old ones are having the battery wear-out problem. And I'm in the apple ecosystem.<p>So I'll happily pay a premium to have new AirPods with better battery (and cleaner!). And then I don't need to feel guilty about the old ones to the gym and ruining them further with sweat. (The one thing I'm mad about is that there's nothing about sweat proofing on these.)
The issue is that you have tiny chemical batteries inside and they deteriorate with use and time, so it will hardly hold any charge after 3 years (some report much faster deterioration). Does Apple replace those batteries? How much does it cost? And can it be done outside of US? (e.g. in EU countries with no official Apple Store presence). Otherwise it's pretty expensive to pay $200 for a pair headphones and throw them away after 3 years.
Funny how there's so much criticism everywhere for these products yet you step outside and loads of people have them. Usual reaction to Apple products I guess.
This is a disappointing update. Introducing the wireless charging case at an additional charge without an accompanying release of Airpower is curious. No new color options. More importantly, no new control options. I can't change volume without resorting to my Apple Watch or phone. Hey Siri is a non feature akin to the Bixby button on Samsung phones.<p>The battery on my first gen Airpods has deteriorated but this isn't the upgrade I was waiting for. I'll give the Galaxy buds a go or maybe even venture into the wireless noise-cancelling headphones category which has greatly improved since Airpods first launched
I was among the first to receive my AirPods back in end of 2016. They are now down to <2.5hours listening on my iPhone and <2hours on my MBP (for some unknown reason). They are great on the go but the lack of sound isolation is problematic because you really have to crank the volume up. That really isn’t ideal in the long run. I also suspect the sound quality has degraded somewhat because of the dirt etc that has accumulated behind the vents.<p>I’m probably going to use them till the batteries are too degraded and change to BT ANC headphones afterwards.
They should first make AirPods that can connect reliably to BlueTooth. Half the time I need to connect mine to my MacBook Pro I need to massage the BT and Speaker icons for 20 seconds.
I really believe the AirPods are an amazing New platform.. I think people are far more on the go lately and so the AirPods are a perfect way to consume content, that isn’t just music and I do believe the big rise in Podcast consumption is very much due to their popularity. It started as a silly joke that everyone made fun of but now, at least where I live in NYC, seemingly everyone on every train has them on.<p>I am a little disappointed in Apple for not adding storage to these though, it wouldn’t be very hard to add a few gigabytes to them and then they would work even without your phone and it would be the iPod all over again. Missed opportunity by Apple for sure.<p>As a shameless plug I am working on what I think is the perfect companion App for iPods. My app let’s you listen to any article by using some amazing sounding Machine Learning models to grab the articles and convert them to audio. You can check it out here if you like:
<a href="https://articulu.com" rel="nofollow">https://articulu.com</a><p>Also commented on here, but the discussion seems to have split.
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19441487" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19441487</a>
What's going on with Apple releasing so many updates without holding a press event? (It's not like they have always announced significant updates at their keynotes.)
What makes the wireless case $50 more to produce? It must use same communication chip and extra coil + wireless controller. Or it is just a way how to prepare people for the next/future price hike?
Most conversation has ended up here: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19441487" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19441487</a>
Ended up buying a wireless charging AirPods case off AliExpress for $15 last year. I feel like I’ve been living the AirPods 2 life for a while now. It is a small but nice luxury to be able to set the headphones on your charger instead of having to plug plugin them in, especially if you use them a lot throughout the day.<p>I don’t think the, “Hey Siri” is worth the upgrade.
I have airpods and a pair of Sennheiser PXC 550's. I use the Sennheiser's on long flights and when I'm working at home and the airpods everywhere else.<p>Both are great for their use cases, but the best feature of the Sennheiser's that I miss on my airpods every day is the ability to adjust the volume and song by swiping on the outside of the ear cup. I realize that there are trade-off's when moving from a much larger pair of headphones to ear buds, but to me voice to adjust volume or change songs is a non-starter. I wish that Apple could figure out a way to include touch or manual controls to airpods and that alone would make me seriously think about upgrading. This update is a nothingburger. There's nothing about these that are exciting compared to the first gen. If they continued to sell the first gen for $20 less I would opt for them. I'm starting to think that the Apple naysayers are right.
Looking at all these comments here, it appears that most people don't have the problem that I have with AirPods. They just don't stay in my ear. A slight wrong movement, and they slip out. I tried one of those gel covers that help AirPods stay in ear. But, then, they don't fit in the case.
What's up with the reports on <a href="https://emfscientist.org/" rel="nofollow">https://emfscientist.org/</a> that bluetooth, including in Apple products, may cause brain cancer?<p>Sticking with wired headphones seems safer.
"..Just set the case down on a Qi-compatible charging mat and let it charge.." Not exactly wireless charging in its true sense. This case acts more like an adapter. Good product but not worth $200 IMHO.
What a fascinating product, and probably the most desirable from a consumer standpoint since the 2007 debut of the iPhone. My high school aged sister-in-law tells me that these have been the "it" item for the past two years.<p>For me, it has been impressive to see how durable these have been. I bought a pair, accidently had it go through a washer and dryer cycle, thought they were dead to the world, bought another pair, did the same thing again, and found that the first pair worked.<p>They take a beating, but just work. I can't say the same for my PowerBeats.
can anyone chime in on the cancer concerns? I own a pair of airpods and use them daily, and want to buy the new ones, but recent press about this has been concerning me. Is there any merit to the concerns? Last I heard, non-ionizing radiation can't damage tissues, but I don't know too much about the subject. I want to enjoy my airpods so if it's fearmongering bs I can ignore it. I'm asking here because I searched the two posts today about airpods and nobody has discussed it
The improved connection times are nice. My airpods have been a bit buggy with connections recently, and I suspect that the improved chip may help reliability as well as speed.
My colleagues keep telling me my voice audio is awful when using the AirPods. Not sure if mine are flawed or if that’s just the way they are. Any experience?
Took them long enough. I've bough some chinese wireless earbuds _with_ a charging case like this a year ago for 30$ and they are surprisingly decent.<p>I feel that some big companies like apple are losing their edge when it comes to innovation. Sure apple didn't necessarily invent bleeding edge hardware but they knew how to repackage things in a bleeding edge package; not lately though.
Loved my old AirPods until I lost them after about 18 months of use. The addition of touchless Siri is a nice add-on though I was hoping for a little more. Even so the only tough choice is whether to get the wireless charging case for $40 more or stick with the base model.
Sticking to lightning connector for the wired charging? Guarantees I won't be getting it. Why are Apple delaying their inevitable switch to USB-C, when they've already started the transition with macbooks and ipad pro?