6 ms·

I still hate the removal of the headphone jack. Bluetooth is overrated.

mgkimsal 4y ago
agreed. until bluetooth earphone batteries can go for a few days between recharging, and can quick charge in, say, 15 min or so, I'll keep my wired. I also have AirPod Pros, but I keep my Bose qc20 around and still find myself using them multiple times per month when the APP go low (never get more than around 3 hrs from them).
gambiting 4y ago
The worst thing about it is that I now have to carry 3 pairs of shitty Bluetooth headphones instead of one good pair because switching connected devices is such a pain that this is literally much easier to live with. I hate it. Bring the headphone jack back.
- jacobr1 4y ago
  AirPods solved this for me. I'm not sure exactly what apple did that is different from the regular bluetooth audio spec, but the seemless integration and transition between devices is fantastic
  - 14 4y ago
    Is that just Apple devices or can you connect to non Apple products with AirPods as well?
    - geenew 4y ago
      Linux, windows, Mac all work. The mic works too (on windows at least), so they make a good backup if you don’t have a headset for a teams/etc call.
      - smoldesu 4y ago
        Do note that using the microphone will degrade the playback and recording quality to rotary-phone-levels. For the sake of everyone in your Zoom call: please buy a $50 wired microphone if you're going to spend $150 on Airpods.
        geenew 4y ago
        I did not know that, I'll have to check next time it comes up. To be clear, I use them as a backup, like when I'm traveling and didn't bring my normal headset.
        smoldesu 4y ago
        It's specifically only an issue when your Airpods are being used for playback and recording. If you're simply listening to the meeting on your Airpods and using your Macbook microphone, you probably won't notice. Most people don't seem to set that up though, which leads to the cellphone-quality audio that people associate with wireless earbuds.
        grapescheesee 4y ago
        Or apple could kindly add decent support for it.
        mbreese 4y ago
        It's not an Apple issue. Works perfectly when you use a Mac + AirPods. The issue is when you try to use Windows. All bluetooth headphones I've tried (with microphones) sound horrible with Windows, if they work at all. The walled garden has a few advantages...
        smoldesu 4y ago
        Airpods do not have better duplex audio on MacOS. The problem is that AAC cannot support high-quality recording and playback at 330kbps, so it has to degrade the quality of the recording stream to fit within the Bluetooth bandwidth. MacOS might default to using your laptop's microphone, but that's something you can also set up on Windows. Hell, it should be the default on Windows as long as you have AAC support installed - there's no reason a headset should be using SBC over Bluetooth unless the last version of Windows you used was XP.
- Shorel 4y ago
  My Xiaomi Red Mi Pro has a headphone jack. It is one of the reasons I got it.
- AshamedCaptain 4y ago
  As simple as hitting a button on any decent BT headset.
  - gambiting 4y ago
    In all the pairs I own it's some arcane combination to enter pairing mode, and then have you tried adding BT headphones to windows when the same ones were paired in the past? You have to remove them first then go back into pairing mode again. It's more bullshit than I'm willing to deal with. With a jack you plug them in and they work.
    - AshamedCaptain 4y ago
      You don't have to enter pairing mode if the device remembers previous pairings, which is not that strange.
      - romwell 4y ago
        Work phone, personal phone, work laptop, personal laptop, tablet, desktop. Good luck pressing that button five dozen times to take the call on your work phone after using them with your desktop, only to find out that your glorious BT device only has 4 memory slots like a videogame from 1991, and unlinked your work phone when you used them with your tablet.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      - gambiting 4y ago
        If they are(or were) connected to my laptop and phone and both devices are nearby, then they will default to my phone. There is nothing I can do on my laptop to force them to connect there instead(and believe me I tried). I have to either remove them on my phone(pain) or enter pairing mode and re-pair them with the laptop(even greater pain).
- scarface74 4y ago
  That’s not a problem with AirPods. You pair them with one device and they are automatically paired with all of your devices and auto switch
  - romwell 4y ago
    >That’s not a problem with AirPods. You pair them with one device and they are automatically paired with all of your devices and auto switch And how do AirPods know whether I want to use them to take a conference call on my work laptop, listen to a YouTube video on the personal laptop, or watch a quick video my friend sent me on WhatsApp on my phone? Do they have telepathic powers that I don't know of? Oh, and will they prioritize the work phone call over an incoming call on my personal phone too, unless it's something really important?
    - scarface74 4y ago
      Simple, if I am listening to a podcast and then I take a conference call on my computer, they automatically switch. If I am watching something on my iPad, and I answer a call on my iPhone, they automatically switch. If I’m actively playing a video or listening to audio on my Mac, my iPhone, or my iPad and I put my AirPods in my ear, sound is automatically rerouted to my AirPods from the device. If I’m watching a video on my iPad and then I click on a video on my iPhone, they switch. My AppleTVs don’t automatically switch. An AppleTV is a shared experience most of the time. But even if you turn automatic switching off, I still don’t have to pair my AirPods with my iPhone, iPad, Watch, two AppleTVs and my Mac individually. I can just click a drop down and they automatically show up on each device or any new device I use with my AppleID.
romwell 4y ago
My Samsung Galaxy A22 has headphone jack (which gets used all the time), dual SIM, dedicated SD card slot, NFC, all day battery, and 5G support. It came out this year — there are plenty of sane manufacturers releasing phones with features that people want out there. Use cases for 3.5mm jack that Bluetooth can't handle: * Never having to worry about headphones running out of charge * Zero added latency - critical for music making apps (somewhat remediated with latest BT versions, but good luck finding latency specs on the box) * Switching between devices instantly (work/personal laptop and phone) - especially not fun if you use more than 2 of them The last issue is especially annoying. It's 2022, I should be able to pair my headphones instantly by tapping them to the device I want to pair them to, without screens and buttons. Accelerometers exist. Proximity sensors exist. But noooo, apparently, UX is not a consideration in the design of this godforesaken protocol.
- scarface74 4y ago
  If you have an Android device as a “music making” device, you have much larger problems than BT. It’s better. But still not great. https://9to5google.com/2021/03/05/google-android-audio-latency/ https://9to5google.com/2021/03/05/google-android-audio-laten...

agreed. until bluetooth earphone batteries can go for a few days between recharging, and can quick charge in, say, 15 min or so, I'll keep my wired. I also have AirPod Pros, but I keep my Bose qc20 around and still find myself using them multiple times per month when the APP go low (never get more than around 3 hrs from them).

gambiting 4y ago

The worst thing about it is that I now have to carry 3 pairs of shitty Bluetooth headphones instead of one good pair because switching connected devices is such a pain that this is literally much easier to live with. I hate it. Bring the headphone jack back.

jacobr1 4y ago
AirPods solved this for me. I'm not sure exactly what apple did that is different from the regular bluetooth audio spec, but the seemless integration and transition between devices is fantastic
- 14 4y ago
  Is that just Apple devices or can you connect to non Apple products with AirPods as well?
  - geenew 4y ago
    Linux, windows, Mac all work. The mic works too (on windows at least), so they make a good backup if you don’t have a headset for a teams/etc call.
    - smoldesu 4y ago
      Do note that using the microphone will degrade the playback and recording quality to rotary-phone-levels. For the sake of everyone in your Zoom call: please buy a $50 wired microphone if you're going to spend $150 on Airpods.
      - geenew 4y ago
        I did not know that, I'll have to check next time it comes up. To be clear, I use them as a backup, like when I'm traveling and didn't bring my normal headset.
        smoldesu 4y ago
        It's specifically only an issue when your Airpods are being used for playback and recording. If you're simply listening to the meeting on your Airpods and using your Macbook microphone, you probably won't notice. Most people don't seem to set that up though, which leads to the cellphone-quality audio that people associate with wireless earbuds.
      - grapescheesee 4y ago
        Or apple could kindly add decent support for it.
        mbreese 4y ago
        It's not an Apple issue. Works perfectly when you use a Mac + AirPods. The issue is when you try to use Windows. All bluetooth headphones I've tried (with microphones) sound horrible with Windows, if they work at all. The walled garden has a few advantages...
        smoldesu 4y ago
        Airpods do not have better duplex audio on MacOS. The problem is that AAC cannot support high-quality recording and playback at 330kbps, so it has to degrade the quality of the recording stream to fit within the Bluetooth bandwidth. MacOS might default to using your laptop's microphone, but that's something you can also set up on Windows. Hell, it should be the default on Windows as long as you have AAC support installed - there's no reason a headset should be using SBC over Bluetooth unless the last version of Windows you used was XP.
Shorel 4y ago
My Xiaomi Red Mi Pro has a headphone jack. It is one of the reasons I got it.
AshamedCaptain 4y ago
As simple as hitting a button on any decent BT headset.
- gambiting 4y ago
  In all the pairs I own it's some arcane combination to enter pairing mode, and then have you tried adding BT headphones to windows when the same ones were paired in the past? You have to remove them first then go back into pairing mode again. It's more bullshit than I'm willing to deal with. With a jack you plug them in and they work.
  - AshamedCaptain 4y ago
    You don't have to enter pairing mode if the device remembers previous pairings, which is not that strange.
    - romwell 4y ago
      Work phone, personal phone, work laptop, personal laptop, tablet, desktop. Good luck pressing that button five dozen times to take the call on your work phone after using them with your desktop, only to find out that your glorious BT device only has 4 memory slots like a videogame from 1991, and unlinked your work phone when you used them with your tablet.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
    - gambiting 4y ago
      If they are(or were) connected to my laptop and phone and both devices are nearby, then they will default to my phone. There is nothing I can do on my laptop to force them to connect there instead(and believe me I tried). I have to either remove them on my phone(pain) or enter pairing mode and re-pair them with the laptop(even greater pain).
scarface74 4y ago
That’s not a problem with AirPods. You pair them with one device and they are automatically paired with all of your devices and auto switch
- romwell 4y ago
  >That’s not a problem with AirPods. You pair them with one device and they are automatically paired with all of your devices and auto switch And how do AirPods know whether I want to use them to take a conference call on my work laptop, listen to a YouTube video on the personal laptop, or watch a quick video my friend sent me on WhatsApp on my phone? Do they have telepathic powers that I don't know of? Oh, and will they prioritize the work phone call over an incoming call on my personal phone too, unless it's something really important?
  - scarface74 4y ago
    Simple, if I am listening to a podcast and then I take a conference call on my computer, they automatically switch. If I am watching something on my iPad, and I answer a call on my iPhone, they automatically switch. If I’m actively playing a video or listening to audio on my Mac, my iPhone, or my iPad and I put my AirPods in my ear, sound is automatically rerouted to my AirPods from the device. If I’m watching a video on my iPad and then I click on a video on my iPhone, they switch. My AppleTVs don’t automatically switch. An AppleTV is a shared experience most of the time. But even if you turn automatic switching off, I still don’t have to pair my AirPods with my iPhone, iPad, Watch, two AppleTVs and my Mac individually. I can just click a drop down and they automatically show up on each device or any new device I use with my AppleID.

romwell 4y ago

My Samsung Galaxy A22 has headphone jack (which gets used all the time), dual SIM, dedicated SD card slot, NFC, all day battery, and 5G support. It came out this year — there are plenty of sane manufacturers releasing phones with features that people want out there. Use cases for 3.5mm jack that Bluetooth can't handle: * Never having to worry about headphones running out of charge * Zero added latency - critical for music making apps (somewhat remediated with latest BT versions, but good luck finding latency specs on the box) * Switching between devices instantly (work/personal laptop and phone) - especially not fun if you use more than 2 of them The last issue is especially annoying. It's 2022, I should be able to pair my headphones instantly by tapping them to the device I want to pair them to, without screens and buttons. Accelerometers exist. Proximity sensors exist. But noooo, apparently, UX is not a consideration in the design of this godforesaken protocol.

scarface74 4y ago
If you have an Android device as a “music making” device, you have much larger problems than BT. It’s better. But still not great. https://9to5google.com/2021/03/05/google-android-audio-latency/ https://9to5google.com/2021/03/05/google-android-audio-laten...