Apple Airpods - better than the Apple freebie headphones?

[Phooey]

Hi, not for me but thinking of buying someone a pair of Airpods. I know the sound quality won't be anything to write home about, but is it better than the standard headphones that come included with the iPhone (5 / SE)?

Cheers

[Troubleatmill]

Yes

They don’t fall out your ear even if you shake your head vigorously.

[ecsrobin]

I’d hold off getting AirPods as it’s rumoured this week that the new version will be out early next year with a possible price reduction on the current version.

[HTP99]

They look absolutely ridiculous though!

[Troubleatmill]

HTP99 said:

They look absolutely ridiculous though!

Looks like a set of headphones without a cable.??

[alorotom]

I’ve had my AirPods since they were released and I use them all the time where I didn’t really use headphones much until getting them.

Sound quality is better than the EarPods.

The new version mentioned above will likely be available early next year but the current version is still great.

[samsock]

Great piece of kit, highly reccomended. But yes early 2019 for the upgrade. For me, if I lost mine today I'd order another pair same day.

[Freakuk]

I bought a pair earlier in the year and have to say I'm impressed, the sound quality is an improvement on the wired Apple offerings and the convenience of not getting tangled up in wires sold it for me.

I used mine every workday to and from the office, usually charge once a week.

There were some issues where music would stop and I would need to turn BT off then back on to restart the music playback, but this was resolved with an iOS update some months ago, so ensure you have the latest firmware to ensure you get no issues.

[Phooey]

Thanks guys! Sounds like they are pretty handy then - they'll be mostly used for in the gym 3-4 times week. Can you charge them with an ordinary Iphone/Ipad USB plug adapter or is it recommended to charge via USB on computer?

Thanks again for replies

[alorotom]

Phooey said:

Thanks guys! Sounds like they are pretty handy then - they'll be mostly used for in the gym 3-4 times week. Can you charge them with an ordinary Iphone/Ipad USB plug adapter or is it recommended to charge via USB on computer?

Thanks again for replies

Yeah they are lightning connection sure try but new model may be usb-c

I charge mine by wither my works laptop or wall plug without issue - but they don’t come with a wall plug, just the headphones, charging case and cable

[Phooey]

alorotom said:

Yeah they are lightning connection sure try but new model may be usb-c

I charge mine by wither my works laptop or wall plug without issue - but they don’t come with a wall plug, just the headphones, charging case and cable

Fantastic - thank you.

Bit of a bummer that a new model is coming out soon though.. but I suppose could always sell them if the new ones are (much) better.

[Converse2020]

I've had my pair for a year - I use them for around 3 hrs of conference / webex calls every day - they are very good and recharge in very short time in between calls.

I have just bought another pair last week as an xmas present> got them from O2 (with Unidays 20% discount) for £127....

Go to order another pair and O2 has no stock for 6 weeks!, and looks similar at many other places ( BT Shop show them as clearance item now).

Annoying !

[samsock]

Argos always seem to have them in stock during dry periods.

[Converse2020]

I’m hoping to find somewhere where I don’t need to pay list price (eg not John Lewis / Argos).

[Bullitt Five-Oh]

Phooey said:

Apple Airpods - better than the Apple freebie headphones?

Mate they are the best, even better than the higher end headphones (I'm talking 800gbp+ head/earphones). People on here swear by them and I'm in the process of buying them to replace my Shure SE846 (that's S h u r e S E 8 4 6) thanks to a group therapy I received on here when I asked what dongle to use with an iPhone that doesn't have a headphone jack port to be able to use mu Shure SE946's (the majority suggested I use Airpods instead). I mean they must be fking amazing right?

[audi321]

They're excellent - but get them in black coz they look ridiculous IMO.

https://perfectpods.shop/

[JJ55]

Mine are great. I was breaking around 5 pairs of regular headphones a year & busted my headphone jack. I’m on the phone a fair bit during the day on the move & the headphones couldn’t take the endless wear & tear being yanked about. Bought a set of these & they are great. Charge quickly & it lasts ages. Brilliant for phone calls, compatible with the Apple Watch too. Music as good as with the standard headphones. You will look a bit of a wally wearing them but they are great. They also stay in the ear well.

[HTP99]

Troubleatmill said:

HTP99 said:

They look absolutely ridiculous though!

Looks like a set of headphones without a cable.??

Exactly.

[NDA]

They sound good - the huge advantage is that they work seamlessly with an iPhone. Just put them in and off they go. No need to turn anything on.

As they're so easy to use, they're better than the supplied wired phones. As for sound quality - for listening to compressed MP3's? Er, yep, they're good.

[TameRacingDriver]

HTP99 said:

Troubleatmill said:

HTP99 said:

They look absolutely ridiculous though!

Looks like a set of headphones without a cable.??

Exactly.

I've heard people round here call them ear tampons. They are not wrong.

I hope the sound quality is better than freebies because they are astonishingly expensive. I can well imagine they don't sound anything like their price tag will suggest, but that's alright as it has a fruity logo on it. The irony is, most owners of these a few years ago would have laughed in your face if you had told them you had an expensive set of hifi headphones costing 3 figures, but apparently they are all over these things... the power of marketing.