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Comment by kwanbix

1 day ago

I can see it in AirTags, but, haven't used AirPods myself, what is so "magical" about them?

Also, my understanding is that AirTags are only usable if you have an iPhone, am I wrong?

12 comments

kwanbix

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singularity2001  1 day ago

That just work. I know it sounds simple but if you have been burned by Bluetooth devices before again and again get unburned by AirPods. Also, they stick in my ear even though all other headsets with cable fell out. I don´t know how

  • kwanbix  1 day ago

    Maybe I got lucky, but I never had issues with my Bose, Shokz, or even with my Soundcore headphones and bluetooth. I don't use in ear, so I can not comment on that.

    • pvab3  5 hours ago

      I've had Bose 700s, Sennheisers, Anker Soundcore, and probably other bluetooth earbuds and none of them come close to the simplicity of the Airpods. The Bluetooth handoff and pairing is insanely easy and works within a second or two. I've never once had to go to Bluetooth settings to force it to pair.

    • pjerem  1 day ago

      Yep but with AirPods, you are listening music or watching a video, on your Mac, your iPhone rings (on your AirPods), you accept the call, and now the video is paused on your Mac and your AirPods are already connected to your iPhone.

      Any time any of the registered devices needs to emit sound, the AirPods instantly switch to this device (and both devices will show an unobtrusive notification to reverse the auto switch).

      And it works every. single. time.

      Apple can't make Airdrop work reliably after decades but somehow, they are able to magically and instantly transfer bluetooth audio from a device to another device.

      Though, if you use your airpods with anything non apple, it will juste work like a classical bluetooth device, with manual pairing and no magic switching.

      1 reply →

    • tuetuopay  1 day ago

      From what I've read, it's an accumulation of small details.

      I have a pair of Soundcore buds, and they work well. Unless only one of the two decides to not connect to the phone. Or they randomly decide to change the noise cancellation setting. Or their gesture detection randomly triggers. To be fair, it's pretty rare and easy to fix: put them back in the case and back out, etc. But it's small things that remind me "yeah, I did not shell out for AirPods". (also, their transparency mode for conversations is nigh useless, but it may be because those are a 4 year old model).

      I regularily use a pair of Sony headphones too, and they are a bit less troublesome, because it's a much simpler product: a single BT connection, physical buttons for some quick controls, etc. But they still have their warts: can't charge and be used at the same time, handoff between two source devices still don't work after years, etc.

      It's an accumulation of details that are not big, happen rarely, and don't need much to get used to. But they still need to get used to.

  • lynndotpy  15 hours ago

    This is the opposite of my experience. AirPods refusing to connect, randomly disconnecting, pressing "pause" on my phone only to have "play" instead invoke Apple Music on my Mac, and so forth. There are tons of "smart" features built into these that make the experience worse than I've had on normal, bluetooth headphones.

    When it works, they at least connect with little friction. That's nice. The real value is in the very good noise-cancellation and battery life.

  • rjh29  21 hours ago

    They're just expensive. If you spend the same amount on Sony earbuds or another good brand, they also work fine.

criddell  1 day ago

I've used them with my iPad. I don't have a Mac, but I would guess they work with any Find My-capable machine.

toast0  1 day ago

AirPods are great! You can use them with an Android, and it will let you know there's AirPods travelling with you every time!

user34283  1 day ago

That is correct. With the iPhone at home, you keep getting "Unknown tracker found travelling with you" spam on your Android, and the AirTag rings occasionally.

I would not call that usable.