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This is a disappointing update. Introducing the wireless charging case at an additional charge without an accompanying release of Airpower is curious. No new co

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. 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

robohoe 8y ago
Try Bose soundsports. They’re $200 as well but battery life is great and they tend to really stay in your ear canal.
- lambda_lover 8y ago
  It's not the battery life per charge, it's the battery lifespan. Similar to iPhones (which are rated for only 500 charge cycles because gotta pad those profit margins... so good luck using one battery for even 2 years), AirPods experience battery degradation to a point where they last < 1 hour and just shut down randomly because they can't provide enough charge to the buds. In just 2-3 years.
  - billyhoffman 8y ago
    > which are rated for only 500 charge cycles Citation needed?
    - m_eiman 8y ago
      https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387 Macbook batteries are designed for 100p cycles IIRC.
  - dethac 8y ago
    Galaxy Buds might be worthwhile if you're willing to open it up. Supposedly it's not too hard. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Buds+Teardown/120693 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Buds+Teardown...
- andrewksl 8y ago
  This is true. However, the build quality is abysmal. Plastic pieces have come unglued and buttons are faulty on both my fiancée's pair and mine. I don't think I can recommend the SoundSports as much as the QC35s.
  - chrisbro 8y ago
    The QC35s have been near life-changing for my urban existence. Much better transit experience, and can listen to really loud action movies on my headphones through Apple TV without worrying about disturbing my neighbors. Helps at work to drown others out (thanks open office).
mygo 8y ago
as an airpods user the first thing that disappointed me was how we don't have as many controls on the airpods as we did on the wired earphones that they replaced. You can change the double tap functionality to be any one of: siri, next track, previous track, play/pause... but honestly it would be better if you could do all of those things. I was hoping they would address that with this update. The "old" airpods will work with the new wireless charging case, so that's not really much of an upgrade on the headphones themselves. Looks like the only real upgrade is longer battery life. Always welcome, but still not drastically different. I was googling for airpods 2 release all this week, but now that I see it, I'm not sure if I want to go through the hassle of buying the new ones and liquidating my old ones. I probably will though. Maybe the slightly longer battery life will be worth it, and if I can disable "hey siri" I might be able to eek out just a bit longer battery life.
- cheeko1234 8y ago
  You can control two unique actions for left and right airpods. I have right as Siri, and left as play/pause.
  - mygo 8y ago
    what sucks is sometimes I like to wear just one.
zachr 8y ago
I'd be surprised if AirPower isn't coming within the month. The latest iOS 12.2 beta includes references to AirPower.
- zymhan 8y ago
  I'm really not counting on it coming out https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/09/reports-apple-airpower-still-overheating-may-be-doomed-to-failure/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/09/reports-apple-airpow...
  - graeme 8y ago
    Support for airpower is in the latest ios beta. https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/19/latest-ios-12-2-beta-includes-support-for-airpower-charging-mat-as-release-appears-imminent/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/19/latest-ios-12-2-beta-includes...
    - zymhan 8y ago
      Well so much for that meaning anything huh! https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-product-citing-inability-to-meet-its-high-standards-for-hardware/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-pro...
  - nthuser 8y ago
    That's an old article. Which I suspect was based on an older info. Apple is said to have approved production earlier this year. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/20/wsj-says-airpower-production-approved/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/20/wsj-says-airpower-produ...
    - zymhan 8y ago
      Looks like Ars might be more reliable than WSJ on tech leaks... https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-product-citing-inability-to-meet-its-high-standards-for-hardware/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-pro...
rconti 8y ago
it is odd. That said, everyone was expecting Apple to force you to buy their new product. It's actually fairly un-Apple-like to release the new product with the OPTION of paying extra for the new wireless charging case, or NOT paying for it if you don't want wireless charging, OR buying the case separately if you don't want to throw away your old product. They're making their money, but at least they're not also encouraging folks to throw out old tech that works just fine. (well, except for your old case, i guess :)
pfranz 8y ago
They obviously over promised on Airpower. My suspicion was that these Airpods weren't originally supposed to be Qi compatible (only Airpower compatible), but the delay of Airpower forced their hand and they probably had to redesign these. I think this is a better outcome (even though I was trying to hold out for wireless charging to buy any in the first place) because now you're not beholden to Apple Airpower for charging these wirelessly.

robohoe 8y ago

Try Bose soundsports. They’re $200 as well but battery life is great and they tend to really stay in your ear canal.

lambda_lover 8y ago
It's not the battery life per charge, it's the battery lifespan. Similar to iPhones (which are rated for only 500 charge cycles because gotta pad those profit margins... so good luck using one battery for even 2 years), AirPods experience battery degradation to a point where they last < 1 hour and just shut down randomly because they can't provide enough charge to the buds. In just 2-3 years.
- billyhoffman 8y ago
  > which are rated for only 500 charge cycles Citation needed?
  - m_eiman 8y ago
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387 Macbook batteries are designed for 100p cycles IIRC.
- dethac 8y ago
  Galaxy Buds might be worthwhile if you're willing to open it up. Supposedly it's not too hard. https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Buds+Teardown/120693 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+Buds+Teardown...
andrewksl 8y ago
This is true. However, the build quality is abysmal. Plastic pieces have come unglued and buttons are faulty on both my fiancée's pair and mine. I don't think I can recommend the SoundSports as much as the QC35s.
- chrisbro 8y ago
  The QC35s have been near life-changing for my urban existence. Much better transit experience, and can listen to really loud action movies on my headphones through Apple TV without worrying about disturbing my neighbors. Helps at work to drown others out (thanks open office).

mygo 8y ago

as an airpods user the first thing that disappointed me was how we don't have as many controls on the airpods as we did on the wired earphones that they replaced. You can change the double tap functionality to be any one of: siri, next track, previous track, play/pause... but honestly it would be better if you could do all of those things. I was hoping they would address that with this update. The "old" airpods will work with the new wireless charging case, so that's not really much of an upgrade on the headphones themselves. Looks like the only real upgrade is longer battery life. Always welcome, but still not drastically different. I was googling for airpods 2 release all this week, but now that I see it, I'm not sure if I want to go through the hassle of buying the new ones and liquidating my old ones. I probably will though. Maybe the slightly longer battery life will be worth it, and if I can disable "hey siri" I might be able to eek out just a bit longer battery life.

cheeko1234 8y ago
You can control two unique actions for left and right airpods. I have right as Siri, and left as play/pause.
- mygo 8y ago
  what sucks is sometimes I like to wear just one.

zachr 8y ago

I'd be surprised if AirPower isn't coming within the month. The latest iOS 12.2 beta includes references to AirPower.

zymhan 8y ago
I'm really not counting on it coming out https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/09/reports-apple-airpower-still-overheating-may-be-doomed-to-failure/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/09/reports-apple-airpow...
- graeme 8y ago
  Support for airpower is in the latest ios beta. https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/19/latest-ios-12-2-beta-includes-support-for-airpower-charging-mat-as-release-appears-imminent/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/19/latest-ios-12-2-beta-includes...
  - zymhan 8y ago
    Well so much for that meaning anything huh! https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-product-citing-inability-to-meet-its-high-standards-for-hardware/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-pro...
- nthuser 8y ago
  That's an old article. Which I suspect was based on an older info. Apple is said to have approved production earlier this year. https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/20/wsj-says-airpower-production-approved/ https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/20/wsj-says-airpower-produ...
  - zymhan 8y ago
    Looks like Ars might be more reliable than WSJ on tech leaks... https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-product-citing-inability-to-meet-its-high-standards-for-hardware/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/29/apple-cancels-airpower-pro...

rconti 8y ago

it is odd. That said, everyone was expecting Apple to force you to buy their new product. It's actually fairly un-Apple-like to release the new product with the OPTION of paying extra for the new wireless charging case, or NOT paying for it if you don't want wireless charging, OR buying the case separately if you don't want to throw away your old product. They're making their money, but at least they're not also encouraging folks to throw out old tech that works just fine. (well, except for your old case, i guess :)

pfranz 8y ago

They obviously over promised on Airpower. My suspicion was that these Airpods weren't originally supposed to be Qi compatible (only Airpower compatible), but the delay of Airpower forced their hand and they probably had to redesign these. I think this is a better outcome (even though I was trying to hold out for wireless charging to buy any in the first place) because now you're not beholden to Apple Airpower for charging these wirelessly.