Petr Škuta I was one of the first owners of wireless AirPods in my area. However, after almost two and a half years, I am seriously thinking about not buying the next generation.
I remember when AirPods wireless headphones finally came to our market. A few individuals managed to snag them before they had to sign up for the waiting list. Unfortunately, I was not so lucky, so I waited. In the end, thanks to my acquaintances, I managed to jump on the waiting list and was able to solemnly come for them.
To my great surprise at the time, I paid 5,000 for a rather small box and headed home. The traditional enthusiasm for Apple products was here again and I really wanted to enjoy the unboxing.
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It just works
After taking it out of the box, it was paired and hooray for listening. Unlike others, I knew exactly what I was getting into, because foreign reviews were already out long ago and big Czech names had also tested them. But nothing will give you as much as your own experience.
AirPods fit perfectly in my ear. I'm probably one of the select few who didn't even have problems with the shape of the wired EarPods. In addition, I don't have a problem with the sound quality either, since I'm not a "hipster" and quite frankly EarPods were enough for me.
What surprises me to this day is the ease of use. I take it out of the box, put it in my ears, a classic sound is heard and I play it. No complexities, just the "It just works" philosophy of Apple. I own a full portfolio of Apple toys, so I have no problem easily switching between my Mac at work, my iPad at home, or my Watch while jogging. And anyway, that's what I enjoy to this day. It's as if the old Apple spirit that captivated me so much years ago has come to life with AirPods.
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Stupidity pays
But then came the first accident. Although I was careful with the AirPods all the time, and despite a few drops everything always turned out well, that Saturday morning it just happened. I wore my headphones in the front pocket of my jeans. While shopping at the store, I was in a hurry and bent down to the bottom shelf for baked goods. Apparently, due to the pressure and compression of the substance, the AirPods literally shot out of the pocket. I jerked away and quickly jumped on the box on the ground. Thoughtlessly, he clicked it on and hurried off to shop.
I only found out at home that I had one less earpiece. I called the store, but of course nothing was found. Not even the following days, so hope has definitely died. This was followed by a visit to the Czech Service.
I was greeted by a smiling technician at the Ostrava branch. He told me that this is a fairly common occurrence, but they still order parts. I will know the price when it arrives, but he gave me a preliminary estimate. I said goodbye to the headphones and waited a few days. Then I got the invoice and it almost fooled me. The spare left AirPods earphone cost me 2552 CZK including VAT. Stupidity pays.
Product for flashlights
I have been really careful since this accident. But something completely different came. Technically and logically speaking, we all know that battery life is not infinite. Especially with such a small battery, which is hidden in each of the two headphones.
At first, I didn't notice much of a decrease in lifespan. Paradoxically, the loss of that left earpiece contributed to this. In the meantime, other voices began to appear on Twitter that their headphones do not last as long as before. However, catastrophic scenarios of barely an hour's duration have not manifested themselves for me yet.
But with the passage of time, it also happened to me. On the other hand, if you use the headphones for an hour or two a day, you have no chance to notice the loss of capacity like someone who squeezes them to the max. Today I am in a state where my right earbud is capable of dying after less than an hour, while the right one continues to play merrily.
Unfortunately, only sometimes. It very often happens that after the warning beep, the right earbud dies and instead of the left one continuing to play, the sound turns off completely. I have no idea if this is standard behavior, I didn't look for it. I don't like listening to only one headphone anyway.
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Dan Pražák Why I won't buy more AirPods
I am now at a crossroads. Get a new generation of AirPods? Looking at it they don't really differ that much in terms of specs. Yes, they have a better H1 chip, which can pair faster and is more economical than the "old" W1. They have a "Hey Siri" feature that I don't use much anyway. I also don't use wireless charging, even though I own an iPhone XS. After all, with a new case I would pay "Applovsky" almost a thousand more.
Actually, I don't even want a variant with a standard case. Although it has become cheaper by two hundred crowns, it is still essentially five thousand. A relatively large investment for just two years. And then when the battery dies, do I have to buy another one again? That's a bit of an expensive joke. And I'm leaving out all ecology.
Apple doesn't seem to know where to take its headphones next. Of course, all the rumors about the noise suppression function and/or design improvements did not come true. As a result, the new generation does not offer much extra.
Moreover, AirPods are not the only ones on the market today. Yes, it's still the Apple factor, connecting with the ecosystem and other benefits. But I really don't want to pay five thousand every two years (or two and a half thousand a year) for headphones whose lifespan is fundamentally limited by batteries.
Apparently the time has come to look at the competition. Or go back to the wire.
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It's a new era, more and more products are appearing on Apple's pages, unfortunately with a rational core.
what about the new Powerbeats pro?
Seriously? They are good headphones, but for sports. Installing something like this on your head, the moment someone calls me, or wearing it all day is really not. Even stand 6 and the practicality of wearing them outside the ears is zero. They are not the same product, although they are small wireless headphones, that's the only thing they have in common.
I don't know what anyone expects from such a miniature battery as the one in the AirPods... In my opinion, 2-3 years is a fairly decent lifespan.
A lot of people would be satisfied with a model where they would pay, say, two per month for Apple and have everything up-to-date and functional all the time.
like all flashlight crap
I am very happy to join the discussion and share my experiences. I'm so glad I got rid of them. Why? First of all, the sound did not excite me at all. I'm more of a "hipster". During more violent movements, such as enthusiastically jumping to music or even running, they ran out of my ears, they did not hold at all. Really annoying. As written, the battery capacity decreased very quickly. After half a year, when listening and making phone calls, I immediately received a beep about the discharge. And within an hour of use. They charged more slowly than they used. I said to myself, this is not for me. I replaced them with Beats Solo Wireless 3. Even if you can't run with them, I don't regret it. Excellent sound quality and battery life of 40 hours! But they also last 40 hours. I feel like the battery is endless. Make no mistake, Siri and phone calls work on them too. After all, it is also a product that belongs to Apple.
I would just like to add. My right one fell on the iron floor, and since then it has been much worse than the left one. After the warranty, it was replaced in the apple store for 80 euros. But what happened to me that the old ones took it!!! I guess I'm not that much of a hi-fi player :-)) But it's enough for me, and I'm very satisfied with them. Oh, and they have a 20% difference in charging. Unfortunately, the price is really high...
That Apple is really unbearable, they won't even ensure that someone doesn't lose the handset. It's definitely a reason not to buy the headphones again.
Write an article when you buy another brand. I did it and unfortunately I can't do it otherwise, because Airpods don't fit in my ear, but even in this regard, Apple is a steamer ahead.
I don't mean it badly, but I'll write it a little harsher to make it sound….It's a good thing you don't buy them anymore. Not only will you save ridiculous amounts of money on headphones, but you won't look like a moron. AirPods in the ears just look disastrous and ridiculous. Apple failed to do that, and I would never go public with it. And paradoxically, there are other manufacturers where the stones look flawless and the price is also elsewhere. I guess some people will stone me here now
Good review. I'm one of those people who has an Xko and an iPod and an iPad, but I don't need to have everything from Apple. Maybe that's why I have Spotify and not Apple music. Earbuds from Mobvoi work great for a price of up to 1500 CZK. An investor's greatest currency is diversification. This also applies to consumer goods.
Well, congratulations - cheers for the new ones, right? again, you'll skip a few people in the queue (in Czech it's called predbihani and it's bad from a moral point of view - but if you have to have your apple, so what) because otherwise you'd be waiting for the miracle, take out your credit card and buy it :)
although you yourself write that it's worth a fart, but then again, your apple factor....hmmmmm
I have AirPods for about 2 years. I take them everywhere, in the car as a handsfree, I connect them to my Mac Air, AppleTV, iPhone, I practically always have them with me, they hold great in my ears even while running. Durability still good. They keep falling off me, but still without a breakdown, to the point where I wonder what the product is, that it won't break. I mean, one was bitten by a dog, a new one cost 1.700. Great for regular use. For quality listening to the music you want to enjoy, I would buy something else.
Airpods 2 is a good product. Overall, it can be seen that it is developing, and it must be added that it is in a good direction.
Unfortunately for me they are not. They don't stay in my ear even if I stick them on. :D
I have a heretical opinion. How about going back to the days without headphones? When I see idiots on bicycles, on in-lines, or even on the street, how they can't hear anything from their surroundings, only through headphones, I would like to kill them as many times as possible
A completely empty article saying almost nothing new. Whether they are expensive or not is only a subjective and debatable point of view, and Apple DOESN'T FORCE anyone to buy them. And the experience of losing an Airpod is, of course, an unpleasant thing, but not worthy of an article of this nature. Anyway, I can already see how the author will switch back to wired after 2 years of using airpods and say how great it is. Really an article about nothing….. peace
Sir I will buy headphones for 5K and lose one… and he is terribly surprised that it costs half the amount, what is new.
These are the Apple fanboys, dumb as a cue :)
Yeah, I didn't understand that either. If it cost, say, 3000 or 3500, but almost exactly half and he doesn't like it.
"Apple doesn't seem to know where to take its headphones next" :D
Dude, you'd better go buy some wires... Although I'm not an AirPods owner for many reasons, this article is pretty much about nothing..
So paying 5000 CZK for something that has a production price of around 5 dollars and then finding out that it's a scam will probably really piss everyone off.
I use headphones for phone calls. I'm not a masochist to use them to listen to music. Sometimes a video so I don't have to say it out loud. So if it can last almost 2 hours on the phone, it's fine. The charging speed is great and just pop them in the case for 10 minutes and you can use them again for a while. I ran them over here with the car. I've dropped them about 100 times, sometimes I put the case somewhere, so I just carry them in my pocket. Sometimes I sit on them. It's a great product, even if otherwise Apple has been making rather poor and overpriced things for the past year. These headphones are great. I don't need "Hey Siri", just tell the watch. What I miss is the ability to easily pair them with an apple device, but I can't have everything. In the search, you can see where the case is and where the headphones are. If/when I end up breaking them or the flashlight is useless, I'll buy new ones if I have a little money for them. Holding the phone to my ear is something I've come to hate thanks to them. If the new generation does not use any of the proclaimed innovations, I will understandably be angry, because it would be great. However, it's basically enough for me if they don't use a new product to make it more expensive. Plus. When you have them in your ears, you can't hear, poor people!!!
Like buying wireless headphones and then being surprised that one or both can be lost, that the manufacturer is counting on this and will not be ashamed to pay well, that's what I call the modern digital generation. I still wondered for whom TV Nova did that report about the fact that water freezes in the cold. So now I know.
Today I am in a state where my right earbud is capable of dying after less than an hour, while the right one continues to play merrily. Real and genuine?
Minor bug…. Today I am in a state where my right earbud is capable of dying after less than an hour, while the right one continues to play merrily.
Unfortunately, there is no full-fledged alternative, and I use AirPods with Xperia because they are simply the best wireless headphones. For example, Sony plays better, but everything is controlled via the left earpiece and you can't use only the right one. And that goes for everyone. And then there are a lot of "wireless" headphones with a half-meter wire. So, even if AirPods have flaws and an excessively high price, there is no other option that would allow the same comfort and the same use (for example, hands-free with one earpiece, which, when the battery runs out, can be charged and the other used).
Absolutely unnecessary nonsense that no one needs for life and for that money the whole of Apple can shove it somewhere. Well, being "in" costs something, but isn't it just about us humans always having something extra at all costs? Nonsense to me.
I myself thanks to the ban from MUDr. I don't use earplugs that lead to inflammation of the ear canal and other health problems. I bought a wireless. headphones from the audio-technica company and I am satisfied to the max. Even acquaintances who gave me a taste of them grunted with happiness because the parameters: frequency 5-40 MHz, sensitivity 000 dB/mW speak for themselves that it is almost a studio-quality sound. Although their purchase was a more expensive investment even with the discount (32 CZK), but no one will give you back your hearing for free. I don't want to insult Apple by saying that. I use several of their devices myself, but I find their headphones imperfect and, like most bone-shaped headphones, dangerous.
The type of headphones for those interested: ATH-ANC700BT
Nothing wrong with that, but most people buy those headphones for the money just because of the brand and expect it to be world-class and unique. A system that has a production value of $5, you are buying here for a lot of money and what's more, an earplug that won't last. Go back to the wire and you don't have to cry about your stupidity here. Try to engage your mind.
I ordered from China for 220,- + shipping 61,-
fully functional, when the battery runs out I will order another one, probably every year and a different color
I don't deal with the original anymore like they don't deal with the sale price
I don't know. I've had them for a year, I use them daily for spoken word, and they keep going as far as they will go. Subjectively, the battery still seems ok to me. I take care of it (I don't discharge it to zero, I don't always charge it to 100), I do the same with the iPhone - after two years I have a battery at 97% (shows the iMazing app). So it's like with everything: things need to be taken care of.
https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair/service