6 ms·

Are airpods really worth it or is it just marketing

umanwizard 7y ago
They are worth it for me, but it depends on what you want in a headphone, and your mileage may vary.
Operyl 7y ago
I have really enjoyed using my pairs (had a 1st gen, bought the 2nd gen later on for the much quicker connections). They work absolutely amazingly with my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro. The switchover is mostly glitch free, and I can pair them to "standard bluetooth devices" pretty easily (like my complex's gym equipment). I think the investment has been pretty great, but you have to own products that make sense with them (at least an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook).
- warp 7y ago
  Adjusting the volume is very convenient if you're wearing an Apple Watch. (so I agree, they're great IF you're already using at least the iPhone).
joshmn 7y ago
I hated them until I tried them. Their integration within Apple's ecosystem is killer.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  Are they worth it if your setup is a MBP plus an Android smartphone?
  - MBCook 7y ago
    They can pair with an Android phone, but I don’t know if you get the great connection/pausing related features or not.
- gav 7y ago
  Same. I think it's interesting because out of all the Apple products that I own, Airpods are the first that I saw and didn't want. I hated how they looked. I had a coworker who used them for calls and he talked me into buying them. Once I started using them I realized how much I enjoyed using them over wired headphones and how well they worked compared to other Bluetooth devices, especially older headsets. The only negative for me is that the Pro model didn't exist when I bought my Airpods, and the regular model has poor sound isolation--fine if you are at home, in a office, etc., but terrible on the street or on a plane.
sevencolors 7y ago
The killer feature is the connection awareness. You put them in your ears and it immediately connects. You take them out and it pauses the audio. I’ve had several wireless earbuds and they all suffer from connection frustrations and letting audio continue playing when not used.
- crooked-v 7y ago
  > You take them out and it pauses the audio. Even better, if you put that earbud back in it then continues playing in both ears - which makes it a perfect intuitive enhancement of the physical actions you'd already take to talk to somebody while you have earbuds in.
- quxbar 7y ago
  This. Even the latest high-end sony offerings can't quickly switch between devices - you have to manually re-pair them each time you want to switch devices.
- nmfisher 7y ago
  I hear people say this everywhere, but I still find myself needing to manually pair my iPhone with my AirPods around 50% of the time whenever someone calls me. The battery life is also rubbish, they regularly fall out of my ears and they don't work with my (non-Apple) MP3 player. Giving credit where it's due, though, the microphone quality for phone calls is exceptional given the orientation and how far away they sit from your mouth. Otherwise, I really don't get understand why these things are so popular (which just shows how little I know about consumer goods and marketing). Mine were gifted to me, but mostly go unused for the reasons above. I probably wouldn't complain if they were $50 a set, but I'd never dip into my own pocket for whatever obscene amount they cost now ($200?).
gdulli 7y ago
A few weeks ago my company got us the Pros as a Christmas gift. It's my first experience with Bluetooth. These hurt my right ear slightly. The audio sometimes stutters. Sometimes the battery drains in one very quickly but not the other, or there's some other bug causing the audio to go out in one ear. Putting them in and taking them out of the case is awkward. Keeping them charged is a responsibility. The $8 wired earbuds I had before never had any of these problems. And I was never worried about losing them. I saw them being wired as a pro, not a con. I'm going back to those. I can't believe anyone pays $250 for these. I couldn't believe paying $50.

They are worth it for me, but it depends on what you want in a headphone, and your mileage may vary.

I have really enjoyed using my pairs (had a 1st gen, bought the 2nd gen later on for the much quicker connections). They work absolutely amazingly with my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro. The switchover is mostly glitch free, and I can pair them to "standard bluetooth devices" pretty easily (like my complex's gym equipment). I think the investment has been pretty great, but you have to own products that make sense with them (at least an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook).

warp 7y ago
Adjusting the volume is very convenient if you're wearing an Apple Watch. (so I agree, they're great IF you're already using at least the iPhone).

joshmn 7y ago

I hated them until I tried them. Their integration within Apple's ecosystem is killer.

Fnoord 7y ago
Are they worth it if your setup is a MBP plus an Android smartphone?
- MBCook 7y ago
  They can pair with an Android phone, but I don’t know if you get the great connection/pausing related features or not.
gav 7y ago
Same. I think it's interesting because out of all the Apple products that I own, Airpods are the first that I saw and didn't want. I hated how they looked. I had a coworker who used them for calls and he talked me into buying them. Once I started using them I realized how much I enjoyed using them over wired headphones and how well they worked compared to other Bluetooth devices, especially older headsets. The only negative for me is that the Pro model didn't exist when I bought my Airpods, and the regular model has poor sound isolation--fine if you are at home, in a office, etc., but terrible on the street or on a plane.

sevencolors 7y ago

The killer feature is the connection awareness. You put them in your ears and it immediately connects. You take them out and it pauses the audio. I’ve had several wireless earbuds and they all suffer from connection frustrations and letting audio continue playing when not used.

crooked-v 7y ago
> You take them out and it pauses the audio. Even better, if you put that earbud back in it then continues playing in both ears - which makes it a perfect intuitive enhancement of the physical actions you'd already take to talk to somebody while you have earbuds in.
quxbar 7y ago
This. Even the latest high-end sony offerings can't quickly switch between devices - you have to manually re-pair them each time you want to switch devices.
nmfisher 7y ago
I hear people say this everywhere, but I still find myself needing to manually pair my iPhone with my AirPods around 50% of the time whenever someone calls me. The battery life is also rubbish, they regularly fall out of my ears and they don't work with my (non-Apple) MP3 player. Giving credit where it's due, though, the microphone quality for phone calls is exceptional given the orientation and how far away they sit from your mouth. Otherwise, I really don't get understand why these things are so popular (which just shows how little I know about consumer goods and marketing). Mine were gifted to me, but mostly go unused for the reasons above. I probably wouldn't complain if they were $50 a set, but I'd never dip into my own pocket for whatever obscene amount they cost now ($200?).

gdulli 7y ago

A few weeks ago my company got us the Pros as a Christmas gift. It's my first experience with Bluetooth. These hurt my right ear slightly. The audio sometimes stutters. Sometimes the battery drains in one very quickly but not the other, or there's some other bug causing the audio to go out in one ear. Putting them in and taking them out of the case is awkward. Keeping them charged is a responsibility. The $8 wired earbuds I had before never had any of these problems. And I was never worried about losing them. I saw them being wired as a pro, not a con. I'm going back to those. I can't believe anyone pays $250 for these. I couldn't believe paying $50.