6 ms·

To me these seem pretty stupid. Major features (to me) of ear-buds with wires and 3.5" jack are: 1) being attached with wires means I don't easily lose them whe

• dzhiurgis 10y ago
  95% of cases when my headphones fall out is when I snag the cable.
  • djrogers 10y ago
    That would be about 5% low for me. I've never had earbuds fall out without the 'help' of a cord...
  • TeMPOraL 10y ago
    OTOH the cable has prevented my phone from hitting the ground many times.
    • mypalmike 10y ago
      You can get a lanyard case if that's the feature you want.
• seiferteric 10y ago
  Headphones have actually saved my phone from falling on the ground many times :)
  • anonred 10y ago
    Using aux cables as a kind of safety harness seems like pretty periphery use-case. Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/1172/ https://xkcd.com/1172/
• matwood 10y ago
  I used to think this way until I bought a pair of JLabs bluetooth ear buds. Now, I hate using wired headphones because the wire is literally always in the way. I hate being forced to keep my phone right next to me, and snake a wire around. Now, in the gym, I can throw my phone in my gym bag and not worry about it while working out. I'll never go back to wired.
  • seanwilson 10y ago
    > Now, in the gym, I can throw my phone in my gym bag and not worry about it while working out. I'll never go back to wired. Exactly, doing anything active with wired headphones on isn't fun. They keep getting snagged in things and get pulled off your ears.
    • maaaats 10y ago
      Don't think one can be too active with these ones, though. Looks like shaking your head will make them fall out. No silicon that shapes it to the ear, no over-ear stuff or anything that should make it sit.
      • davidcelis 10y ago
        Many reviews have stated the opposite: that, despite the reviewers feeling like the airpods would fall out when in motions, they stayed in just fine despite shaking heads and jumping up and down.
      • theshrike79 10y ago
        Wired earphones fall out because the wire is pulling them out. These are wireless, so there's no added weight. If your ears are ill-shaped for this style of earphone, then they might fall out.
    • dragonwriter 10y ago
      > Exactly, doing anything active with wired headphones on isn't fun. I do active things with wired headphones all the time, and they rarely get snagged on anything or pulled from my ear. That said, not having to carry the device that provides the sound source is a convenience that's worth something (though nowhere near the additional cost of these over wired earbuds.)
• glimajr 10y ago
  I believe they are designed such that you cary the case around with you, which charges them when not in use. So hopefully, you won't lose them. Granted, now you have to cary a hard plastic case in your pocket.
• HelloYComb 10y ago
  Makes perfect sense to me. I run about 4 days a week with my phone strapped to my arm. The current headphones cable wraps around my arm once or twice, and sometimes gets tangled mid-run. It's a pet peeve of mine. Wireless is a good thing. I don't need more than 2 hours tops when running, so the 5+ hour battery life is great. I never had any problems with the current earphones slipping out of my ears while running - rain, wind, or shine. Airpods seem to follow a similar model, so I don't anticipate issues there either.
  • Fnoord 10y ago
    I don't really see what these offer over say my Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 which lasts 4 hours. They're also connected to each other, going behind my neck. You may think that is a disadvantage, but I can easily have one in and one out if required. Besides, these Airpods don't solve the quality Bluetooth lacks. A disadvantage is you can already lose these easily (if disconnect both and keep hanging around). I don't even wanna think about Airpods and how easy they will be to lose. Try putting your smartphone in a safe place, and have wired or wireless headset, and use some kind of smartwatch to control your phone and receive feedback on your performance. I use a Pebble 2 for that, but there's other alternatives available. Bonus points is my phone is stored safely without saying to random strangers "rob me".
  • Humdeee 10y ago
    I did 4 marathons last year along with 2,000km of running mileage, and if music is a must while you run, then at x4 a week, it's worth looking into for a better setup. Even a basic GPS watch with a separate cheap music player (look for a clipping one) and you'll be much more comfortable. Granted, this won't allow to send/receive texts or calls, but hopefully you can manage to disconnect from the world for 1-2 hours. I don't come across too many even semi-consistent runners who take their phone with them. Most can't stand a big iPhone 6/7 or Samsung strapped to their arm like a piece of armor. I don't think these AirPods will improve the running-music duo at all. The technology doesn't quite cater to us yet. Lightweight, sturdier earbuds (check out yurbuds) with a cord under the shirt down to the waist isn't noticeable and is hard to beat.
• seanwilson 10y ago
  Bluetooth headphones are great. You don't have to worry about the wire snagging on things and getting in the way. Wires have been progressively eliminated everywhere else e.g. wireless networking, wireless mice, wireless keyboards, wireless phones...I'm not understanding why people are clinging to wireless headphones so hard. Your risk of losing your headphones is really that high?
  • Cd00d 10y ago
    I like wireless headphones for the simple situation that I switch from podcasts on my phone to video on a kindle fire and back during my commute, and pairing with various devices from a variety of manufacturers seems like it would be very slow compared to popping the jack. Though, to be fair, I've never used wireless headphones (other than xbox), so don't know what the pairing process looks like. I just know that in the past cheap bluetooth speakers have been slow to match and sometimes forget that they're friends with my phone.
    • andrewaylett 10y ago
      My headphones (Plantronics) will connect to two devices at the same time. The controls interact with whichever was playing more recently, and an existing stream takes priority over a new one. So I can quite happily stop my music from my phone and start up a call from my laptop, then switch back, without re-pairing at all. If I did need to re-pair, it's as simple as picking the phone from the phone or laptop's recently-used devices list. I usually only have to do that if the phone has decided it wants to keep talking to my headphones while I'm in the car. Pairing from scratch with the phone is as simple as holding the phone to one of the ear cups, but I've only had to do that once and I can't remember which one now.
      • ishields 10y ago
        It's less about the process of pairing being painful and more about the amount of time it takes to pair. I also use a plantronics headset sometimes and it usually takes somewhere from like 15-60 seconds to actually pair up and have audio coming through. Vs the 2 seconds it takes for me to plug in a wired pair
• mikestew 10y ago
  To me these seem pretty stupid. So IOW, you just don't like wireless headphones, whether Apple makes them or not. Thanks for sharing.
• agumonkey 10y ago
  Can't speak about 1). Can't speak about 2) either; but HNers told me Apple did extensive testing to ensure pods would not fall while being in your ears (the physics hints that earplugs fall mainly because of wires). Still 1) is a good question. I thought they came with a tiny casket, so they wouldn't fall out of your pocket like that. Still subtle when you remove them from your skull.
  • throwanem 10y ago
    They come with a charging case which looks to be about the size of the little plastic spool-box of dental floss with which some here might be familiar. It's not very large, but shouldn't be small enough to easily drop out of a pocket without being noticed, either. I'm not sure what I expect with regard to staying in ears, though. They appear to be closely modeled on the wired EarPods, which in my experience don't reliably stay in the ear on their own, to the point where they are best worn with the cable wound around the crease of the pinna - both for strain relief, and so that they're easier to recover and less likely to be damaged when they do inevitably pop out.
    • agumonkey 10y ago
      Yeah when in that case, they wouldn't bounce randomly or too softly.
• eggoa 10y ago
  Someone just needs to sell accessory lanyards for them.
  • elif 10y ago
    They attach magically to your croakies using only a $39 dongle.
• sergiotapia 10y ago
  On the other hand, I signed up instantly because I need these things to go to the gym. Right now I have some cheap headphones I bought at Ross and even if they're wireless, the little rubber headband is uncomfortable when I'm bench pressing. These things are going to be magic!!!
• robotresearcher 10y ago
  I like volume control, and play/pause/skip. I like and use them a lot. On these it seems you have to ask Siri to change the volume, which is awful, and ask Siri or take 'em out to pause. Please someone tell em if this is not the case. I really want it to not be true.
• dntrkv 10y ago
  How do you think you will view this comment in 5 years when 90% of new ear buds sold are completely wireless? I'm guessing it will be similar to how people view Steve Ballmer's comments on the original iPhone.
  • jjuhl 10y ago
    I'm fairly sure I won't care.
• dionidium 10y ago
  Being attached with wires means they catch on something and are violently ripped from my ear at least a couple times a week. I cannot overstate how angry this makes me. It's a very uncomfortable feeling. It can literally ruin an hour. I'd rather be randomly slapped by a stranger.
  • ishields 10y ago
    Just out of curiosity, what type of situations cause this to happen to you? This literally has never happened to me except while working out, and workout time amounts to probably 5% or less of my headphone usage
    • dionidium 10y ago
      Most commonly? Drawer handles in the kitchens at work and at home. Second place: the corners of my desk (or maybe doorknobs). Basically, any protruding object in a tight space. It's pretty unlikely to happen if you're sitting still, but it's routine if you wear them while moving around inside.
      • dionidium 10y ago
        They got yanked out by the emergency brake as I was getting in my car earlier today. This can't just be me.
• Eric_WVGG 10y ago
  1) I love it when that cord gets hooked on something and damn near rips my ears out. 2) I don't lose things. This is like a guy leaving a negative review of feminine hygiene products. When a product designed for people with different needs and desires than yours, it’s not necessarily “stupid.”
• pwthornton 10y ago
  You've never used an entire product category and you want to call it stupid? The first step to building good products is to understand how people use them. Wireless headphones are about as stupid as wireless Internet. Just like wired Internet, wired headphones will continue to have a place for people who need certain capabilities or ruggedness or etc., but for most people, wireless headphones are the way to go. Let me walk you through some of the advantages: 1. Working out. Wired headphones constantly get caught on things and sometimes get violently ripped from your ears. 2. Related to point one, any activity or job where you could risk a loose wire being caught is perfect for wireless headphones. It very well may be significantly safer. 3. Wireless headphones have bigger range than wires. You don't have to place your phone in your pants pockets, for instance, to use wireless headphones. You could even have your phone in your bag, and everything will still work. Much of women's fashion either has no pockets or pockets of little value. This is a major reason women carry around purses. But you can't use headphones with a phone in your purse, hence why women are often physically carrying their phones in your hands. With wireless headphones, they can keep their phone in their purse or jacket and still listen to music or respond to calls. 5. Or if you are doing something around the house, you don't always have to have your headphones on you at all times. This could be particularly useful if you are doing something like washing a car where you might get your pants wet and don't want to have your phone on you. 6. With this new class of wireless earbuds that are small and lightweight, you could keep one of two of them in much of your day to answer phone calls or ask Siri or Google questions.
  • sooheon 10y ago
    I don't disagree with any of those points. But to me all of them are dwarfed by one thing: sound quality. Listening to the crap quality of apple buds is like connecting to a shitty CRT. Paying $160 for the privilege is just an added insult. If you cared about watching beautiful movies, would you downgrade to a wireless display with grainy definition, because "no wires"? That's how I feel about audio quality, and why I'm not an apple or beats customer (and why I lament the iPhone7 headphone jack changes). Of course time will help, and in a few years the sound quality streamed over wireless should be transparent, at which point I'd gladly convert.