I'm confused here. There's no Appke secret sauce chip in the TV so connecting my headphones (Airpods Pro) to it is the same hassle it is connecting any bluetooth device, but they work together just fine. The Apple secret sauce for switching between devices is like an escalator breaking and becoming stairs: when you use the to connect to any other bluetooth device they work as well as any dumber bluetooth headphone/speaker.
Wait what? How does it lock you into anything? Sure, you might not get some Apple-ecosystem-specific perks if you are using their Airpods with non-apple devices (like the automatic switching described in the parent comment), but you still get the same benefits you would expect from other non-airpods wireless headphones. You can use airpods with android phones or your tv or whatever other device supporting bluetooth headsets, just like you would with non-airpods wireless headphones. You can also plug Airpods Max into anything using a 3.5mm jack cable, just like you could with literally any other wired headphones (and many wireless over the ear ones).
I cannot think of a single feature [that is also present on non-apple wireless headphones] that Apple locks you out of if you are using airpods with a non-apple device (e.g., the automatic switching between devices based on the content played doesn't count here, because I cannot think of a single non-apple wireless headset that supports it; you get the idea).
Decades-old Bose QC 15 headphones still work because the battery is replaceable. Pop in some new ear cushions every few years from Amazon and they are like new.
Don't expect these $550 headphones to be working 10 years after purchase.
A hardware subscription of sorts.
As they did with the AirPods ~$150 bi-annual "subscription". And the AirPods Pro $200ish bi-annual "subscription".
The connectivity has been one of the worst experiences i've had lol. Both in and out of Apple ecosystem.
I think it's primarily my laptop to be honest (2018 Macbook Pro), because they do better when connected to my phone; but the ~4 other bluetooth devices including one in-ear bluetooth pair i have never have connectivity issues. Yet i can't count the number of times these AirPods have disconnected, or connected one ear but not the other, etc.
I still love my AirPods, but connectivity has been the worst out of all my bluetooth devices. It's been frustrating.
Not sure why, I have AirPods and then AirPods Pro with a late-2017 Macbook Pro and never had a problem. Ditto with 2 iPhone models...
Maybe that has been true in the past. Today, that's just delusion.
Can I be listening to music on my MBP and answer a call with them on my iPhone seamlessly?
QC35 II.
FWIW, I love my Airpods Pro and it's insane that neither Sennheiser nor Bose could beat Apple to the punch with something that works as well as those do. That being said, my Airpods Pro aren't without issues: they seem to hate my iMac. Not even the Big Sur update could change my Airpods' aversion towards reliably connecting to it.
They all happily switch from phone to laptop to other device, going in and out of range, etc
They required me to manually disconnect from one device in order to connect to another (e.g. from laptop to phone or tablet). As far as first world problems go, it was a huge pain in the arse. And nobody cared to mention it in their reviews (found out later in forums it was just not supported).
I ended up preferring the AirPods Pro (and the slightly worse nc, but much lighter and automatically connecting) over them, and now I hardly ever use them. So those were $400 down the drain.
If those AirPods Max work like I want (which, judging from the AirPods Pro, they will), that would be a solid $500 spent without the remorse and dissapointment, which is much better than my Sony purchase...
The number of times I’ve had to pull my laptop out of the overhead compartment on a flight to turn off Bluetooth so I could pair them with my iPad meant I eventually gave up using them. As you say, definitely a first world problem, but I guess that just means I’m in the target demographic.
The new version (WH1000MX4, terrible naming scheme) supposedly have multi device support but I haven't experienced it yet so not sure if it's as smooth as the AirPods.
While I like the ergonomics, I'm wondering how much of the lack of it in non-apple headphones products is the result of Apple not fully supporting them and thus, monopolistic practices.
Replacing the cable with (modified?) bluetooth technology allows distinguishing "our hardware" from "their hardware" and adjusting software to only support certain features.
So, why would not apple devices only support these features on Apple headphones?
I'm not the parent but I typically use a cheap set of earbuds for exercise/active commuting and my over ear headphones while in the office or at home due to better comfort/noise cancellation/audio quality.
In other words, the real "productivity" hack is to not support a dilute workflow. One will save a _lot_ more time that way compared to some device interoperability.
That's an interesting connection you've drawn between switching audio sources and malingering work.
On the flip side, a mere anecdote of where this kind of flipping was actually beneficial, if you will?
It came in the form of being on a zoom call on the Macbook (which I have in a dock and connected to a pair of displays) with a single airpod in, hearing the kid having a kid moment, and being able to just reach over, open up my ipad, join the call and immediately have audio switched so I could walk down stairs to help buckaroo with a chore, walk back upstairs, put the ipad away and switch back to the Macbook was kind of...well awesome.
No one on the call had a clue.
(also comes in handy when I want to switch from work macbook to personal macbook after hours, or vice versa, if I'm on personal macbook after hours and get paged and need to jump on a slack call. Definitely not avoiding onerous or difficult work there either)
Someone people truly can't handle gadget chit-chat.