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I'm a sucker. I just bought them. I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. I have the Sony MX3's, and they are great. I don't li

I'm a sucker. I just bought them. I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. I have the Sony MX3's, and they are great. I don't like toggling between devices and having it automatically connect to my last used device, have to disconnect it from one, blah, blah. This is what Apple does. They raise prices. People are stunned initially. Others follow, then those prices are the norm. iPhone was considered overpriced when it was released. I think people have always thought the same about Macs, iPad, Apple Watch, etc.

saberdancer 6y ago
Toggling between devices really needs to be implemented better. Wouldn't it be possible for headphones to have a button to switch "inputs" between devices they are paired to? I've come to use NFC to switch quickly to my phone, but I can't really NFC back to my PC as easily. Several awkward clicks and menus later I can start using them on my PC. Not a huge deal sure, but for a premium device I'd expect something more streamlined.
- turshija 6y ago
  I own Bose QC35II, and they definitely have a button to switch between paired devices. They do the switch automatically based on whether the sound is playing on your devices, but if both devices are playing audio at the same time you need to switch them manually by pushing the switch to Bluetooth position once (if you push and hold it goes into pairing mode, but pushing and releasing it quickly does the toggle).
  - saberdancer 6y ago
    It's possible I just don't know how to use it, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on it. I have XM4s.
    - jc__denton 6y ago
      You can turn on multipoint and switch sources in the app, but it's clumsy. AFAIK, there's no way to do it on the device itself (and that's disappointing). I loathe having to disconnect one source to connect another.
- eCa 6y ago
  > Wouldn't it be possible for headphones to have a button to switch "inputs" between devices they are paired to? Bose QC35 has such a switch toggle. It can be paired with four devices, and connected with two simultaneously. Switching between my private Windows computer, iphone and work-Mac is pretty flawless.
- whyoh 6y ago
  >but I can't really NFC back to my PC as easily It should be doable with an NFC sticker switch. (With NFC Tasks on Android, for example.)
- bhandziuk 6y ago
  This is why (well one of the reasons) I just can't switch to bluetooth anything. If I want to use with multiple devices it's a pain.
_the_inflator 6y ago
Apple takes care of the minor details that just bug you. Same here. Also got Sony MX and it annoys me to sync them between my iPad and Mac.
gwd 6y ago
My Bose QC35's connect to both my Macbook & my iPhone at the same time. Hit play on either one, and sound comes out. Listening to something on my laptop and someone calls? It rings and I can answer. I'm sure the AirPods Max will be pretty awesome in its own way though.
- dijit 6y ago
  I have the QC35's and I love them, but they have drawbacks. the audio quality for calling is disastrous, disabling (or turning down the noise cancelling) is impossible without their App, and the "primary" source of audio overrides the secondary source. Which can be an issue if you have something the headphones 'think' is playing, but isn't. -- common when my linux laptop is the primary source.
  - gwd 6y ago
    > the audio quality for calling is disastrous, disabling (or turning down the noise cancelling) is impossible without their App Do I have the QC35 II's or something then? There's a button on the side of mine which will change noise cancellation level. At any rate, yeah, there are annoyances for sure. Keeping open two connections rather than having to switch is a definite improvement, IMHO.
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      > Do I have the QC35 II's or something then? There's a button on the side of mine which will change noise cancellation level. That button can be configured for that or for voice assistant activation, lots of people probably use it for the latter.
      - dont__panic 6y ago
        It seems a little silly to complain that a feature is missing from headphones when it actually exists, but the user has made an active choice to include a different feature instead. With always-on listening and easy activation from phones these days, I can't help but think that there's little reason to use the button to activate a voice assistant anyway. Not least of which is the dubious usefulness of voice assistants.
e40 6y ago
My $350 Bose QC35s connect to both my iPhone and Mac Pro. Seemlessly.
- iqihs 6y ago
  the mic is hot garbage on those
  - 0x008 6y ago
    If the mic on the AirPods max is anything like the AirPods Pro it will be hot garbage as well.
burlesona 6y ago
Ok, can you explain to me how you do it? I have AirPod pros and the only way I can switch between devices is to go to the Bluetooth menu on the device I want to listen to and tell it to connect to the AirPods. That’s fine, and it doesn’t bother me much, but it doesn’t seem especially fast or magical to me. Is there a better way?
- mjburgess 6y ago
  That's right. It's just not that easy with other devices. Not sure how apple devices "just switch", it might be that they have multi-device bluetooth; or they have custom hardware. But other devices are very "sticky" with their BT connections. My approach is mostly to turn off bluetooth one one device when I want to switch to another.
  - fuzzylightbulb 6y ago
    I have a pair of Jabra 65T active earbuds that I bought for $50 and they connect to multiple devices at a time and "just work". If they are connected to my computer and I am watching a video and my phone rings, they switch over without any intervention. At the end of the day when I hop on my Peloton they connect to that without intervention, too. I am sure the Apple stuff works well too but let's not pretend that they are doing anything unique in this space.
    - BoorishBears 6y ago
      The most popular PC Operating System out there will just steal BT audio connections any time it can. If your phone to PC handoff works after calls in a way you like, I take it as you just have a use case where bad behavior works in your favor. After all, what happens if someone wants to continue using their phone audio after the call? Or use BT with their phone outside of a call?
    - spop 6y ago
      With most BT devices the problem would be if someone else tried to use your Peloton, it'd steal audio from your PC or phone But Peloton remembers your previously paired audio devices per user; so if someone else uses the bike and has never explicitly paired that set of headphones, they'll show up as an option, but won't automatically pair
justinsaccount 6y ago
Sony fixed the multi device pairing in the mx4.. would be nice if they could just do a software update to fix it on the mx3.
- te_chris 6y ago
  or xm2
vincentmarle 6y ago
> I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. Is there some secret feature of Airpods that I don’t know about? I use Airpods everyday, but I still need to go to Settings > Bluetooth > Connect every time to change devices.
- microtherion 6y ago
  I use the AirPlay icon in Control Center: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202769 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202769
  - deanclatworthy 6y ago
    This requires the same clicks as long press (or force touch) on bluetooth icon in control center.
    - microtherion 6y ago
      True, but I think either of those is a bit easier than going through the preferences app like the parent post was describing.
NationalPark 6y ago
Same boat here. I've already spent thousands of dollars on fancy audiophile stuff. Can you guess what I use to listen to music most? My Airpods, because everything about them is so damn convenient. Can't wait to get these, even if they don't sound quite as good as the ideal set.
- bitcharmer 6y ago
  I'm not an audiophile myself, but if you yourself claim to be one and then state you settled for Airpods something here rings very untrue.
  - NationalPark 6y ago
    Maybe I'm not as discerning as some but I grew up with music and a lot of hands on experience listening, writing, and producing it, including some professional training. I dunno, I guess for me, the bluetooth experience + noise cancelling + transparency + phone integration all just adds up to being worth more than the marginal quality improvement from the prosumer alternatives people have been mentioning. After all, anyone who really cares about audio quality is listening on monitors in their sound isolated home studio /s
  - petre 6y ago
    Audiophile and Bluetooth is a contradiction in terms.
    - bitcharmer 6y ago
      Yes, that's the first thing that struck me in their comment. It just doesn't sound genuine.
      - NationalPark 6y ago
        Ah you got me, I'm a paid Apple shill, here to spread lies. When I woke up this morning, all I could think of was fooling hackernews user bitcharmer, but it seems I have failed, probably due to your exceptional intellect and commitment to talking about products you hate. Could it possibly be that I'm actually just a rich guy who owns both fancy audiophile equipment and fancy Apple products, and happens to have his own opinions about them? Is such a thing even legal?
ps 6y ago
Happy for you, however my mileage is completely different. Watching Youtube on the iPad having my iPhone lying next to it, pausing the video by taking one Airpod off. Then put it back and iPhone immediately steals AirPods Pro and I have to either connect them back to the iPad in Settings or play/pause/play/pause/... and wait about 20s seconds and they may reconnect. iPhone is lying face down all the time, no music or any sound activity in progress for hours. I was initially impressed, but the quirks got more and more frequent and I actually hate the broken switching now.
- malshe 6y ago
  I think you are describing this behavior: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/switch-airpods-automatically-iph08b253c17/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/switch-airpods-automa... You can turn it off by doing this: "To turn off automatic switching, go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the Actions Available button next to the name of your AirPods, tap Connect to This iPhone, then tap When Last Connected to This iPhone."
  - ps 6y ago
    Heard about it but I would love to use switching if it worked :-( Btw the “AirPods connected” notification visible on the iPad while the built-in speakers are screaming at everyone around me is phenomenal.
_imba_ 6y ago
Most newest gen premium headphones can do that, Sony MX4 included.
- dkonofalski 6y ago
  No they can't. Not automatically.
  - xvector 6y ago
    Uh, what? They absolutely can. I don’t have to do a single thing to switch sources. They automatically pick up the device that is playing sound.
    - dkonofalski 6y ago
      Only between 2 sources. Airpods can switch seamlessly between all my Apple devices without me needing to do anything. The only exception is my PC since I have to connect via Bluetooth.
      - valarauko 6y ago
        How many (Apple) devices can be simultaneously paired with the Airpods?
        dkonofalski 6y ago
        As many as are synced via iCloud. I currently can switch between iPhone, iPad, Mac (multiples), Macbooks (multiples), and Apple TV and also Apple Watch. I also have them paired with my gaming PC and some gaming consoles but those don't automatically switch. I have to go into a Bluetooth menu and connect them but that's quick and no different from most Bluetooth headsets. The in-ecosystem stuff is the killer piece for me.
  - bhaile 6y ago
    XM4 can. https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP0002935899.html https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP00...
buttersbrian 6y ago
the Sony MX4's do this as well. They also are likely better at Sound and ANC. The thing with the iphone is it was absolutely segment shattering. Your iPhone comparison falls on deaf ears, as this isn't a defining product like the iPhone. The iPhone was stunning enough that people questioned the audacity. This is by comparison -- pedestrian for the price point.
KX2UOWQ9ZN 6y ago
Don't think this is new. I have bose supersport, been using it for a couple of years perhaps. Battery lasts weeks, connects to both my work and personal phone as soon as I turn it on, and hit play on either device. And, I don't remember ever facing any connectivity issues either, just works since the day I paired. I am not sure what other features airpods have but if this is "the" feature, you can have it even in products for about a fifth the price since years.

saberdancer 6y ago

Toggling between devices really needs to be implemented better. Wouldn't it be possible for headphones to have a button to switch "inputs" between devices they are paired to? I've come to use NFC to switch quickly to my phone, but I can't really NFC back to my PC as easily. Several awkward clicks and menus later I can start using them on my PC. Not a huge deal sure, but for a premium device I'd expect something more streamlined.

turshija 6y ago
I own Bose QC35II, and they definitely have a button to switch between paired devices. They do the switch automatically based on whether the sound is playing on your devices, but if both devices are playing audio at the same time you need to switch them manually by pushing the switch to Bluetooth position once (if you push and hold it goes into pairing mode, but pushing and releasing it quickly does the toggle).
- saberdancer 6y ago
  It's possible I just don't know how to use it, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on it. I have XM4s.
  - jc__denton 6y ago
    You can turn on multipoint and switch sources in the app, but it's clumsy. AFAIK, there's no way to do it on the device itself (and that's disappointing). I loathe having to disconnect one source to connect another.
eCa 6y ago
> Wouldn't it be possible for headphones to have a button to switch "inputs" between devices they are paired to? Bose QC35 has such a switch toggle. It can be paired with four devices, and connected with two simultaneously. Switching between my private Windows computer, iphone and work-Mac is pretty flawless.
whyoh 6y ago
>but I can't really NFC back to my PC as easily It should be doable with an NFC sticker switch. (With NFC Tasks on Android, for example.)
bhandziuk 6y ago
This is why (well one of the reasons) I just can't switch to bluetooth anything. If I want to use with multiple devices it's a pain.

_the_inflator 6y ago

Apple takes care of the minor details that just bug you. Same here. Also got Sony MX and it annoys me to sync them between my iPad and Mac.

gwd 6y ago

My Bose QC35's connect to both my Macbook & my iPhone at the same time. Hit play on either one, and sound comes out. Listening to something on my laptop and someone calls? It rings and I can answer. I'm sure the AirPods Max will be pretty awesome in its own way though.

dijit 6y ago
I have the QC35's and I love them, but they have drawbacks. the audio quality for calling is disastrous, disabling (or turning down the noise cancelling) is impossible without their App, and the "primary" source of audio overrides the secondary source. Which can be an issue if you have something the headphones 'think' is playing, but isn't. -- common when my linux laptop is the primary source.
- gwd 6y ago
  > the audio quality for calling is disastrous, disabling (or turning down the noise cancelling) is impossible without their App Do I have the QC35 II's or something then? There's a button on the side of mine which will change noise cancellation level. At any rate, yeah, there are annoyances for sure. Keeping open two connections rather than having to switch is a definite improvement, IMHO.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > Do I have the QC35 II's or something then? There's a button on the side of mine which will change noise cancellation level. That button can be configured for that or for voice assistant activation, lots of people probably use it for the latter.
    - dont__panic 6y ago
      It seems a little silly to complain that a feature is missing from headphones when it actually exists, but the user has made an active choice to include a different feature instead. With always-on listening and easy activation from phones these days, I can't help but think that there's little reason to use the button to activate a voice assistant anyway. Not least of which is the dubious usefulness of voice assistants.

e40 6y ago

My $350 Bose QC35s connect to both my iPhone and Mac Pro. Seemlessly.

iqihs 6y ago
the mic is hot garbage on those
- 0x008 6y ago
  If the mic on the AirPods max is anything like the AirPods Pro it will be hot garbage as well.

burlesona 6y ago

Ok, can you explain to me how you do it? I have AirPod pros and the only way I can switch between devices is to go to the Bluetooth menu on the device I want to listen to and tell it to connect to the AirPods. That’s fine, and it doesn’t bother me much, but it doesn’t seem especially fast or magical to me. Is there a better way?

mjburgess 6y ago
That's right. It's just not that easy with other devices. Not sure how apple devices "just switch", it might be that they have multi-device bluetooth; or they have custom hardware. But other devices are very "sticky" with their BT connections. My approach is mostly to turn off bluetooth one one device when I want to switch to another.
- fuzzylightbulb 6y ago
  I have a pair of Jabra 65T active earbuds that I bought for $50 and they connect to multiple devices at a time and "just work". If they are connected to my computer and I am watching a video and my phone rings, they switch over without any intervention. At the end of the day when I hop on my Peloton they connect to that without intervention, too. I am sure the Apple stuff works well too but let's not pretend that they are doing anything unique in this space.
  - BoorishBears 6y ago
    The most popular PC Operating System out there will just steal BT audio connections any time it can. If your phone to PC handoff works after calls in a way you like, I take it as you just have a use case where bad behavior works in your favor. After all, what happens if someone wants to continue using their phone audio after the call? Or use BT with their phone outside of a call?
  - spop 6y ago
    With most BT devices the problem would be if someone else tried to use your Peloton, it'd steal audio from your PC or phone But Peloton remembers your previously paired audio devices per user; so if someone else uses the bike and has never explicitly paired that set of headphones, they'll show up as an option, but won't automatically pair

justinsaccount 6y ago

Sony fixed the multi device pairing in the mx4.. would be nice if they could just do a software update to fix it on the mx3.

te_chris 6y ago
or xm2

vincentmarle 6y ago

> I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. Is there some secret feature of Airpods that I don’t know about? I use Airpods everyday, but I still need to go to Settings > Bluetooth > Connect every time to change devices.

microtherion 6y ago
I use the AirPlay icon in Control Center: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202769 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202769
- deanclatworthy 6y ago
  This requires the same clicks as long press (or force touch) on bluetooth icon in control center.
  - microtherion 6y ago
    True, but I think either of those is a bit easier than going through the preferences app like the parent post was describing.

NationalPark 6y ago

Same boat here. I've already spent thousands of dollars on fancy audiophile stuff. Can you guess what I use to listen to music most? My Airpods, because everything about them is so damn convenient. Can't wait to get these, even if they don't sound quite as good as the ideal set.

bitcharmer 6y ago
I'm not an audiophile myself, but if you yourself claim to be one and then state you settled for Airpods something here rings very untrue.
- NationalPark 6y ago
  Maybe I'm not as discerning as some but I grew up with music and a lot of hands on experience listening, writing, and producing it, including some professional training. I dunno, I guess for me, the bluetooth experience + noise cancelling + transparency + phone integration all just adds up to being worth more than the marginal quality improvement from the prosumer alternatives people have been mentioning. After all, anyone who really cares about audio quality is listening on monitors in their sound isolated home studio /s
- petre 6y ago
  Audiophile and Bluetooth is a contradiction in terms.
  - bitcharmer 6y ago
    Yes, that's the first thing that struck me in their comment. It just doesn't sound genuine.
    - NationalPark 6y ago
      Ah you got me, I'm a paid Apple shill, here to spread lies. When I woke up this morning, all I could think of was fooling hackernews user bitcharmer, but it seems I have failed, probably due to your exceptional intellect and commitment to talking about products you hate. Could it possibly be that I'm actually just a rich guy who owns both fancy audiophile equipment and fancy Apple products, and happens to have his own opinions about them? Is such a thing even legal?

ps 6y ago

Happy for you, however my mileage is completely different. Watching Youtube on the iPad having my iPhone lying next to it, pausing the video by taking one Airpod off. Then put it back and iPhone immediately steals AirPods Pro and I have to either connect them back to the iPad in Settings or play/pause/play/pause/... and wait about 20s seconds and they may reconnect. iPhone is lying face down all the time, no music or any sound activity in progress for hours. I was initially impressed, but the quirks got more and more frequent and I actually hate the broken switching now.

malshe 6y ago
I think you are describing this behavior: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/switch-airpods-automatically-iph08b253c17/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/switch-airpods-automa... You can turn it off by doing this: "To turn off automatic switching, go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the Actions Available button next to the name of your AirPods, tap Connect to This iPhone, then tap When Last Connected to This iPhone."
- ps 6y ago
  Heard about it but I would love to use switching if it worked :-( Btw the “AirPods connected” notification visible on the iPad while the built-in speakers are screaming at everyone around me is phenomenal.

_imba_ 6y ago

Most newest gen premium headphones can do that, Sony MX4 included.

dkonofalski 6y ago
No they can't. Not automatically.
- xvector 6y ago
  Uh, what? They absolutely can. I don’t have to do a single thing to switch sources. They automatically pick up the device that is playing sound.
  - dkonofalski 6y ago
    Only between 2 sources. Airpods can switch seamlessly between all my Apple devices without me needing to do anything. The only exception is my PC since I have to connect via Bluetooth.
    - valarauko 6y ago
      How many (Apple) devices can be simultaneously paired with the Airpods?
      - dkonofalski 6y ago
        As many as are synced via iCloud. I currently can switch between iPhone, iPad, Mac (multiples), Macbooks (multiples), and Apple TV and also Apple Watch. I also have them paired with my gaming PC and some gaming consoles but those don't automatically switch. I have to go into a Bluetooth menu and connect them but that's quick and no different from most Bluetooth headsets. The in-ecosystem stuff is the killer piece for me.
- bhaile 6y ago
  XM4 can. https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP0002935899.html https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP00...

buttersbrian 6y ago

the Sony MX4's do this as well. They also are likely better at Sound and ANC. The thing with the iphone is it was absolutely segment shattering. Your iPhone comparison falls on deaf ears, as this isn't a defining product like the iPhone. The iPhone was stunning enough that people questioned the audacity. This is by comparison -- pedestrian for the price point.

KX2UOWQ9ZN 6y ago

Don't think this is new. I have bose supersport, been using it for a couple of years perhaps. Battery lasts weeks, connects to both my work and personal phone as soon as I turn it on, and hit play on either device. And, I don't remember ever facing any connectivity issues either, just works since the day I paired. I am not sure what other features airpods have but if this is "the" feature, you can have it even in products for about a fifth the price since years.