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Which other true wireless earbuds have you tried? I bought some Jabra Elite Active 65t's and I've been very happy with them. I don't have the Airpods so I can't do a direct comparison, but from what I've read, the 65t has a bit less battery life in the case, but also has an actual noise isolating design. They're about the same size as the Airpods (and they don't have the stem, so depending on how you count they might be smaller), still have a 5 hour listen time without charging from the case, and seem to have a higher audio quality. I've heard similar things about the Samsung IconX as well. I would consider at least these two products as in the same class as the airpods: similar functionality at a similar price ($130-170). But I'm really interested in your perspective as someone who's used both the Airpods and other wireless earbuds.

I've tried airpods, $40 enacfires, and 5+ other models for market research.

As an Android user, airpods didn't offer that much functionality, was $160+, looked like qtips sticking out of my ear, and the sound wasn't that great either.

I think the $40 enacfires might have had a better bass than the airpods. I've gotten intimate with these products down to Bluetooth compatibility and chipsets. In my opinion, it's a lot of hype at a high price point when it costs nowhere close. I'm mind blown by the marketing genius. At the same time, I will never go back to wired, wireless is amazing. Companies sure are milking this new technology though and it's just getting started.

The Airpods cost a lot because: a) Apple but also, b) because if they sold them for $55 they would never be able to keep up with the demand. Airpods do look like qtips, but now that they've become such a common site, my eyes have gotten used to them. I'm waiting for them to make matte black ones!

What about shure SE215 + shure BT-1 combo (bluetooth adapter)? A good starter at a low price for an audiophile. The BT-1 actually talks to you to say its battery level on startup

AirPods have terrible fit.

> I still haven’t seen anything that has the size, battery life, functionality, range, and audio quality as AirPods at any price point

Walmart has wired earbuds for under $5, which are quite small (they fit in your ears), have perpetual battery life (because they have no battery!), the same functionality (they play sound, in your ears), great range and great audio quality.

And you won't have to replace them in two years. Isn't that great?

Wired earplugs on a phone are a usability nightmare as soon as you stand up. No thanks.

Huh? Are you 8 feet tall?

Maybe using a laptop on a couch, or trying to move after standing up.

where as just standing up may be a bit exaggerated(though forgetting and it unplugging and possibly breakage from a forcible unplug) wired headphone are a nightmare they are always in the way and even if you line them through your clothes they have issues.

Nightmare is overstating the case, but it is convenient not to have to manage a tether running from the phone to your head if you're doing anything active.

It's also convenient not to have to manage bluetooth pairing, though I usually find that to be less of a problem with most headphones and more of a problem with various car audio systems and some speakers.

So, Airpods solve those problems.

IMO none of this justifies removing the headphone jack and therefore the option of spending only $5-$20 on your headphones, and the particular solution package airpods embody won't justify their price for me: I've never liked Apple's earbuds, more of an over-the-ear fan anyway, $20-$40 over the ear bluetooth headsets work fine for me, if I'm spending $100+ on headphones they're going to be focused on audio quality in a way Apple will never prioritize over industrial design aesthetics and ecosystem.

But, Airpods still solve those problems, and people who love the particular package have a right to enjoy it.

I’m assuming you’ve never had your earbuds ripped out by a doorknob or random piece of furniture? Lucky you.

I know you're being sarcastic but the range on my AirPods is greater than 30ft, down the hall and two rooms over.

I'm sorry but to anyone who's actually tried and lived with AirPods, there's no going back and there's no comparison to anything on the market at any price (even at a higher price).

It's so drastically better than anything on the market, that I'll immediately buy a new pair if I lose my current ones. I wouldn't even think twice about the price.

There is no other headphones on the market where I can play 1:1 basketball for hours, have the headphones never fall out, and I don't even notice I have them on the entire time. They're a part of me. I literally forget that I have them in my ears, and they easily switch between all of the devices in my life in a way no other headphones do. It's a signficant quality of life improvement for me.

The airpods I used a couple times fell out when I was running.

That's fair - I have a coworker whose ears are shaped weirdly and he cannot use AirPods at all (or even the previous wired EarPods, for that matter)

It's a one-size-fits-all design and if it's a little off you're kinda out of luck. They fit me perfectly though which is one of the things that blew my mind initially. I didn't realize how many of previous fit issues were a result of having a cord that tugs when you make any movements.

I don't know if Apple changed the shape for AirPods (they look very similar to the EarPods) but the AirPods stay in my ears so much better, it's night and day. I've been attributing it to the weight/tug of the cable.

I'd never understood the appeal of wireless headphones, and I guess I kind of do now that I have AirPods. Mine fit fine and stay in while running, but that's the only use I've found for them. Anywhere else and I'd much rather use my 15 year old Sennheiser earbuds because I have so many problems with the AirPods:

* like pretty much all Apple earbuds, they don't seal to my ear so they're totally useless in loud places like airplanes (my #1 use case for headphones)

* audio frequently drops out, especially when outside (and there's nothing for the bluetooth signal to reflect off of)

* terrible mic quality for phone calls

* unreliable pairing to my Surface Pro

* one more thing for me to forget to charge

Some of this is anecdata and maybe I just have lemon AirPods, but my experience has been very far from "there's no going back and there's no comparison". I'd sell them without reservation if I didn't feel weird in general about selling earbuds.

You should take them into the Apple store.

A couple of those points are not my experience at all. My audio never drops out unless I'm far out of range or in a weird weather environment and my mic quality is excellent (in fact, I take calls regularly).

They're over a year old, so probably not worth the trouble. Just dug the AirPods out of the junk drawer and they seem to be working better than I recall. Recently got a new iPhone, so perhaps some of my problems were the old phone's fault instead of the AirPods. I don't have any other bluetooth devices so there wouldn't have been anything else to tip me off.

They have terrible fit for my ears.

Before getting the AirPods I agreed with you, Bluetooth headphones were much more hassle than they were worth. But the AirPods do really eliminate all of the inconveniences I had with Bluetooth headphones. As for whether they are worth the cost difference over wired headphones, I suppose that’s a personal preference, but I love the freedom, and since I walk many miles every day listening to audiobooks not having a cord to get caught on things or needing to be routed through clothing is a benefit for me. Also when I’m walking with my girlfriend we can each wear one AirPod and listen to something together without needing to stand within a couple feet of each other and have the awkwardness of a physical tether via a wired headphone splitter. I realize your comment is more snarky than practical, but it might be worth getting one from an Apple store and then returning it within their return policy just to have a chance to play with it and see how far the technology has evolved, it’s much more improved than you might expect.

And even if the airpods aren’t worth the investment for you personally, the fact that Apple is innovating here will hopefully push other manufacturers to innovate and maybe someday all Bluetooth headphones will be as painless, even ones that are significantly cheaper.

As an analogy, I hated the iPhone in its first few years on the market. I was perfectly happy with my windows mobile smartphone with its QVGA resistive stylus-based touchscreen, enormous thick physical keyboard. I thought everyone that paid $800 for a sexy but functionally limited iPhone was a sheep. But Apple forced the smartphone industry to play by a different rulebook, and now I’m pretty excited with the levels of innovation that happens across all manufacturers.

I used to think the same about laptops, until I got my Macbook Pro in 2013. I wanted an SSD laptop, there weren't too many options at the time (at least not in my city), one of the options was the Macbook Pro and the difference in price was minimal compared to other SSD Windows machines, so I gave Apple a chance and... it totally changed my perspective as a customer, now I look for other things than just "specs", now I like to think I see the whole picture, why do I want to get a "better" CPU or more RAM for the money if all the other aspects of the laptop will be compromised (cheap materials, the computer needing maintenance to prevent slowdown over time). I'm writing this on that same machine, and it still works like the first day and it hasn't shown any signs that it won't keep working like this in a while, this is the first time I can say that about a computer.

Come on. Wireless is a hugely important feature. The PC market is dominated by laptops. Because they are wireless. The phone market is dominated by cell phones. Because they are wireless.