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Comment by BowBun | Hacker News Reader

Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set. Apple is not king of audio hardware, they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities and fashion statements. And what convenience? They're just selling a bluetooth thing online, same as everyone else.

I agree with GP about the tech journalism. I find it funny that the usual cast of journalists that write these articles have been doing so for years and stand to gain a lot from Apple's success, and are deeply embedded in Apple's press organizations.

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Which wireless buds have the same exact experience as AirPods Pro? The seamless pairing with Apple devices is something only those buds have, and you really need to experience it to give it credit. My wife used many different headphones but absolutely fell in love with AirPods just because they are so easy and seamless to use.

I think Beats are the only other headphones (not buds) with the w1 / h1 chipset.

They do have buds, too: https://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/powerbeats-pro

Any Bluetooth earphones will pair easy enough. Once you’ve paired reconnecting is automatic and you only need to pair the once for the entire lifetime of any particular Bluetooth device.

I run a 3rd party Bluetooth earphones (not headphones) and honestly I find them nicer to use than AirPods because they’re comfier, stay in the ear better, have equivalent battery life and I prefer the sound “colour” too - though that’s in part because they fit better so the sound is better channeled down the ear canal.

My point being that there are a lot of great earphones (and headphones) on the market. In fact it was already quite a saturated market even before Apple entered into it. So people shouldn’t be so quick to assume that Apple are the best in class nor even the only high end audio manufacturer worth looking at.

I think pairing is decent on Bluetooth audio devices. However connecting still leaves some things to be desired. Most speakers/headphones can only connect to a single source at a time.

Even the top of the line and extremely well rated Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones will only connect (not pair) to a single bluetooth device at a time. If you want to switch audio from your laptop to your phone you got to manually disable the connection on one device, and connect again on the other. That is quite clunky if you have like 3 PCs (work/home) and a phone and would love to use your headphones with any of them.

As far as I understand the Airpods might at least not require to manually disable the connection when switching to a different device. But I can't say for sure, since I don't own a set.

My earphones are two years old and can be paired to dozens (I’ve not yet hit a hard limit) of devices and can be connected to two sources concurrently with the ability to swap connections between any of the other active devices on the fly using the earphones iPhone app (so you’re not manually disconnecting devices).

As an audiophile I also don’t think Sony are the greatest example because in my experience Sony haven’t been making the best audio equipment for several decades (despite their price point and cult following).

unfortunately they (airpods pro) seem to stay connected to only a single device, which is a shame. my other daily use headphones (qc35) can be connected to 2 devices in the same time and it helps as when someone calls me on the phone it pauses the laptop music and switches to the call.

I’m getting heavily downvoted for that comment and I do understand the appeal of Apple hardware (I happen to be bought into the Apple ecosystem as well) but as an audiophile who’s always shopped around for equipment over the last 3 decades I can assure you there are plenty of other companies out there releasing good products. Some, in fact, are even out innovating Apple. But you often have to shop around to find them.

For example last week I was playing around with some cans which literally mapped the inside of your ear then created a unique sound profile for the wearer (they also did all the same features as AirPods too).

people that aren’t as passionate as you are aren’t willing to invest the time to find _the best_ headphones. these are good enough and much better than average, convenience matters a lot. so, yes, you’re right, they’re not the best overall, but they are best for me now with the time i am willing to invest into the purchase decision.

It doesn’t take that much time to look into and if your spending a few hundred bucks on new hardware wouldn’t you rather invest a few minutes before hand rather than impulse buying the first thing that came to your mind?

Also I don’t think that’s a good enough argument for downvoting comments that are quite literally factually accurate.

You’re an audiophile. Not everyone is.

Indeed but I’ve got my own theories about what’s happening here and I think it’s less to do with people being open to alternative suggestions and more about protectionism of the Apple brand.

FWIW, the world makes a lot more sense once you accept that most other people have wildly different motivations and preferences.

It’s not me who has the issue with preferences though because I’m the one getting downvoted for saying there are plenty of options on the market :)

I actually have no issue with AirPods specifically (aside that they don’t come with a selection of silicon gloves for different ear shapes - that’s standard with every other earphone but it’s an extra cost with Airpods). However this is a technical forum and the last time I checked it was considered proper etiquette to discuss similar products when similar products do exist. Which is what I did.

As an aside, it’s a real pity the media machine is so obsessed with Apple because there are genuinely some really interesting earphones and headphones out there from independent companies making real innovations in audio tech. But they often get overlooked now that Apple have entered the earphone market.

> it’s a real pity the media machine is so obsessed with Apple because there are genuinely some really interesting earphones and headphones out there from independent companies making real innovations in audio tech

This is exactly what I’m talking about. Other people aren’t like you. They care more about what Apple is doing with AirPods than about what other companies are doing with their headphones.

Again, I get that. I’m not criticising people for caring about airpods. However I am getting downvoted for suggesting there’s other products out there. Thus it’s not me who needs to be more considerate of other people’s preferences.

I think you’re judging comment unfairly. This is a technology and business forum so the entire bloody point is to talk about technology and businesses. Yet for some reason when it’s a topic about Apple hardware people get really defensive if you happen to mention the competition (like one normally would in any other HN conversation). That’s not my issue; I’m not the inconsiderate one here.

But like I said, I’m own a lot of Apple hardware myself and do see the appeal of it. I also wouldn’t vote someone down if they offered some input on other hardware out there :)

And the fact I’m getting further downvoted here is just more evidence how disrespectful you guys are of other preferences in Apple threads ;)

Look, you started this by dismissing AirPods owners’ preferences as being primarily about signaling wealth. Frankly, most people find accusations like that pretty insulting.

It wasn’t me that made that comment! You’re getting me confused with another poster.

“Frankly, most people find accusations like that pretty insulting.” ;)

Like I said, I’ve been open minded. I don’t feel others have shown the same respect in return.

You're right. I was wrong about that. Sorry!

Also, FWIW, I haven't been downvoting you (I can't, since you're the first descendent on my responses).

EDIT: found the comment I had in mind:

> Indeed but I’ve got my own theories about what’s happening here and I think it’s less to do with people being open to alternative suggestions and more about protectionism of the Apple brand.

FWIW, my take is that people who enjoy the Apple brand proposition (spend more, but you'll generally get a very high level of attention to detail and things will mostly just work) are pretty sick of people who enjoy tinkering telling them that they're idiots for buying Apple. This comment of yours kinda gets into that territory by suggesting that people are downvoting because they're upset about challenges to the Apple brand (which is a petty and childish motivation) rather than they just don't share your priorities.

The thing is, I wasn’t saying Airpods owners (priorities) were wrong. All I was saying is that there is actually a glutton of devices that perform the same way as airpods do when a former poster suggest airpods were unique in the market. It’s a factually accurate post and it’s not critical of airpod owners. So getting downvoted for that kind of comment is weird and there’s literally no reason anyone would do this if it wasn’t for brand loyalty. I bet if this was a Bose, Sony or any other household electrical brand thread which wasn’t Apple, my posts would have been upvoted because that’s literally how those posts are received in any other topic on HN.

I’m sure if you look through other Apple threads you see a similar pattern of comments that aren’t negative nor factually inaccurate but still get downvoted too. I see it happen a lot on HN these days and frankly I’m sick of people abusing their voting privileges.

Researching isn't necessarily productive nor does it necessarily confer any real insights. I still am not sure how to research the right Lenovo laptop for me if I were willing to buy one. It's a mess. Same with headphones: in just minutes of research, you're stuck basically reading marketing and reading forum recommendations. Both of which will likely steer many people to Airpods anyways.

You're taking it for granted that you have some specific needs, know how to evaluate the product space for those needs in mere minutes, and are happier with a cheaper product.

Frankly, having owned various bluetooth headphones over the years, what I always love or hate about them isn't something I knew until I owned them. How much I like/hate their button UI, how they fit and stay in my ears, how reliably they pair or handle bad connections, if they can work through my thick kitchen wall so that I can leave my iPhone in the living room, etc. aren't things I can just research ahead of time. Yet they are 99% of what matters to me. Makes sense to me that people just cough up the $160 for the almost unanimously-loved Airpods instead of enduring the trial and error of evaluating buds.

I do get your point but people are just making the same gamble with airpods as they would with any other device if they buy without researching. For example a great many people have issues with airpods even just staying put in their ears (unfortunately earphones aren’t something you’re allowed to try before you buy - at least not in the U.K.).

Though at least with Apple, their brand is more visible and generally more consistent so I can see why people might consider it less of a gamble than buying a comparatively priced audio brand.

The way one person described how much better apple airpods ($160) are is exactly the way I describe how my $20 non-apple non-white bluetooth airpods are better.

I have gone through three different "pod" phones before settling on the airpods. This included the premium Jabra ones. And I actually use the airpods with Android phones, which is actually a substandard experience compared to using them with iPhones and they're still miles ahead in user experience.

I'm not an apple fan, I hate using my work Mac and refuse to buy another iPhone after trying one for two years. But the airpods are the bomb even in spite of the substandard speaker quality. Anyone who has to use their headsets to talk any length of time are doing themselves a disservice if they've never used airpods. In fact I'd say that the airpods are the only thing apple has gotten fully right since Jobs.

FWIW, I’ve seen the complaints about how they sound, but to me they sound great. Only issue with original AirPods was inability to seal out external sound, but it looks like AirPods Pro solve that.

> Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set.

they don't have the same exact feature set, though. airpods just work, reliably. no fiddling, no repairing. No frustrating set up. That's what you're paying for. The extra 80% of effort for that last 20%. And for many people, it's worth it.

Well, my personal experience with airpods is opposite. A lot of fiddling, frustrating to set up, unreliable on every, most basic step.

FWIW, I think the phone you have makes a big difference. Mine were terrible with an iPhone SE, but work extremely well with an iPhone 11.

i have a pair of TaoTronics TT-BH053, $40 on amazon right now, and they do all the things you list. I'm not sure if I'll ever try the airpods due to price, but these bluetooth earbuds/microphone work fucking amazing. Maybe I need to reseat the buds every once in a while, but that seems like my general bluetooth experience...the protocol kinda sucks, but revolutionary non the less.

> they do all the things you list

FWIW, if you think people buy Apple devices because of lists of features, you’ll simply never be able to make sense of Apple’s success.

> they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities

...but that sounds good to me? Was that supposed to be a negative point why to not buy their products?

Did you read the AirPods Pro features set?

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