Airpods Pro official - buyers and owners thread (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

See ya Wednesday!
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/10/apple-reveals-new-airpods-pro-available-october-30/

 

[Sam Posten]

NO other colors, just white btw.

 

[Sam Posten]

BTW I usually hate in ear monitors. I feel like I’m an echo chamber inside a Tupperware bowl. Will see how these go. My delivery is Thursday tho not Wednesday.

 

[DavidJ]

I'm waiting on reviews but am very interested despite the fact I still hate the look of them.

 

[DaveF]

A lot to like. $249 is very competitive, against the $249 to $349 ANC headphones cost from Bose and Sony and others.

The 4 hr battery life is a serious limitation: I get 8 to 10 hrs from my Bose, enough to get me airport to airport for cross country flights. I’d have to charge the AirPods once, maybe twice, on a typical trip. Not awesome.
And for my niche use: can impair them as normal Bluetooth headphones to other BT devices? That is, will they work with my Nintendo Switch BT adapater?

I may have another year or two of use out of my current Bose headphones. But I’ll be watching the AirPod Pros as possible future replacements.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'm waiting on reviews but am very interested despite the fact I still hate the look of them.

Here ya go:






Fing influencers =(

 

[DaveF]

I watched part of the MKCD (?) video. Then I stumbled on iJustine and she’s got some actual tech cred and I watched half of her initial review.
My frustration is these are hands on from people who’ve (seemingly) never used ANC headphones before. It’s like getting an iPhone 11 Pro review from someone who’s never used a smartphone before.

I’m looking forward to informed reviews that put the AirPod pro in context with Bose QC30 and other such earphones that already introduced ANC and transparency and replaceable tips and smartphone apps and etc.

 

[Ted Todorov]

From Gruber's review:

The “Transparency” mode is interesting and a little mind-bending. It really does make it possible to conduct a conversation while still enjoying the benefits of noise cancellation. Because the silicone tips seal against your inner ear, when you turn AirPods Pro noise cancellation completely off, you really can’t hear much around you. They’re like earplugs. Transparency lets you hear parts of the world around you. One obvious use case for this: jogging or running and maybe just plain walking on streets where you want to hear the sounds of traffic.

https://daringfireball.net/2019/10/airpods_pro_first_impressions

I was really looking forward to the waterproof aspect for going to the beach, so I can put them on immediately after a swim. But noise cancelation makes them unsuitable for me. Far and away the most use I get from my AirPods is listening to podcasts while walking our dogs. They are off the leash for nearly an hour every morning in Central Park. I *have* to hear my surrounding, and not just "parts" of them. Often our schnauzers are behind me - I can't see them, but I can hear them and the many other dogs, I can hear the other dog walkers (they may be calling me from behind me or from a distance).

Indeed I have never had soundproof over the ear headphones. My regular Bose ones are fine for planes and trains - I can listen to music or a movie (or on flights go to sleep listening to my "Let's Go to Sleep" playlist), but still be aware that announcements are being made or that someone is talking to me.
I've never understood the purpose of the soundproof headphones considering that lack of awarenes can endanger me (not to mention our precious dogs).

I can see that soundproof ones may be crucial for people working in a noisy environment or with daily noisy commutes, where they are listening to a book or podcast or article, rather than listening to music while reading, which is what I do.

 

[DaveF]

From Grubers review:

I was a dummy and didn’t take my Bose headphones on my trip today, so I can’t say how they compare side-by-side on the train

<facepalm>

Ok, first impressions, fine. Still looking forward to real reviews in a couple weeks or the eventual Wirecutter update to its ANC recommendations.

 

[DaveF]

From Gruber's review:
https://daringfireball.net/2019/10/airpods_pro_first_impressions

I was really looking forward to the waterproof aspect for going to the beach, so I can put them on immediately after a swim. But noise cancelation makes them unsuitable for me. Far and away the most use I get from my AirPods is listening to podcasts while walking our dogs. They are off the leash for nearly an hour every morning in Central Park. I *have* to hear my surrounding, and not just "parts" of them. Often our schnauzers are behind me - I can't see them, but I can hear them and the many other dogs, I can hear the other dog walkers (they may be calling me from behind me or from a distance).

Indeed I have never had soundproof over the ear headphones. My regular Bose ones are fine for planes and trains - I can listen to music or a movie (or on flights go to sleep listening to my "Let's Go to Sleep" playlist), but still be aware that announcements are being made or that someone is talking to me.
I've never understood the purpose of the soundproof headphones considering that lack of awarenes can endanger me (not to mention our precious dogs).

I can see that soundproof ones may be crucial for people working in a noisy environment or with daily noisy commutes, where they are listening to a book or podcast or article, rather than listening to music while reading, which is what I do.

“transparency” isn’t new or an Apple exclusive. Bose has had this feature for a couple years already. I’ve used this on my QC30 for two years in airports and etc.

this is why real reviews from informed reviewers are needed. To know if Apple does it better.

 

[DaveF]

Other features of AirPods that are intriguing as an upgrade:

Tiny. Bose over the ear were huge. Upgrading to the “necklace” style QC30 fit in my satchel, but still take up space. The AirPods will likely fit into my grid elastic cable keeper. This could make my satchel a bit easier for flexible to pack.

But the necklace style is nice: Can pop earbuds out of ear, and it just hangs around my neck until I have free hands to pack them away. AirPods offer no such accordance. I will have to fuss with them.

But if the transparency mode is better enough than Bose (which is so so), then that issue becomes less of an issue.

Battery life is fine for all gym use. It’s inadequate for travel. But with the 12 hr net charge of the case, maybe that inconvenience is a fair trade off against the size benefit. And even for the rare time I forget to charge them, charging the case while wearing the pods is easier on a plane than charging headphones on a plane.

 

[DaveF]

Two basic questions:

1. How do you adjust volume with AirPods?
2. How do you change what device they're playing audio from (I’d have iPhone, iPad, Switch. How would I toggle whether it’s playing from the iPhone to the Switch and then the iPad?

 

[Sam Posten]

Two basic questions:

1. How do you adjust volume with AirPods?
2. How do you change what device they're playing audio from (I’d have iPhone, iPad, Switch. How would I toggle whether it’s playing from the iPhone to the Switch and then the iPad?

On device, not on Airpods.

You can Hey siri to adjust volume too.

 

[DaveF]

On device, not on Airpods.

You can Hey siri to adjust volume too.

That’s dumb.

Earphones have volume buttons.

I don’t understand Apple’s user-hostile, anti-button designs.

 

[dpippel]

I was really looking forward to the waterproof aspect for going to the beach, so I can put them on immediately after a swim. But noise cancelation makes them unsuitable for me.

Noise Cancellation can be turned off, and from what I've read these also have a mode that allows outside sound IN when listening.

 

[dpippel]

That’s dumb.

Earphones have volume buttons.

I don’t understand Apple’s user hostile anti button design.

Apple is not alone here. I don't think there are many, if any, wireless IEMs on the market that have volume controls built-in.

 

[DaveF]

The Bose and Etymotic earphones I’ve used have inline buttons.

 

[dpippel]

I was just pointing out that it's not something you see all the time. As size gets reduced, they become impractical at a certain point.

 

[Nelson Au]

Here’s another review:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cn...-learned-after-my-first-day-with-airpods-pro/

 

[Ted Todorov]

That’s dumb.

Earphones have volume buttons.

I don’t understand Apple’s user-hostile, anti-button designs.

Sorry, but I completely disagree. I adjust the volume with my Apple Watch, just like I do for my HomePods. It is one reason I overwhelmingly use the HomePods for music at home rather than my fancy receiver/speakers. No need to reach for a remote app or the volume knob to adjust the volume when listening via the HomePods- my watch is always readily available. I’d hate having buttons on the AirPods