Hacker News Reader

Comment by alistairSH | Hacker News Reader

Two major gripes with my current AirPods (not-Pro)… 1 - Battery life is less than half what it was when new. For $160, they should last more than 2 years, IMO. This applies to both the pods themselves and the case.

2 - I hate wireless ear buds for anything beyond sitting still. The risk of losing one half of a $160 pair is just too high. They might be ok walking, but not hiking, running, or cycling. The Pros might stay in better, but they’re even more expensive.

If Apple made a set of ear buds that had a strap, and a battery that lasted longer (not per play, but lifetime/# recharge cycles), I’d happily buy again. My wife has a set of Jaybird Tarah Pros that were cheaper, the battery longevity is better, and there’s no risk of losing one. Of course, Jaybird no longer makes these either. Ho Hum.

View on HN

> If Apple made a set of ear buds that had a strap

They make a bunch of these, but for some reason always under the Beats brand. I assume the battery longevity is just as bad though.

I won some Beats X from a contest at a conference in 2017, and used them on and off for the first two years. After that they were my daily drivers for any and all workouts.

They would get used at minimum 3 times a week for at least 2 hours, and then the last two years they would get used 7 times a week for at least 1.5 hours.

The last year or so I had to charge them every three workouts, so the battery was lasting 4.5 - 5 hours or so. They would still quick charge though, so 15 minutes of charging would be enough for a long workout.

About a month ago they stopped charging, no matter what I tried. I ended up buying the Beats Flex and the Powerbeats Pro. The Flex at $70 is a steal, and so far lasts about 12 hours before needing recharging. I've been using them almost daily around the house.

The Powerbeats Pro I've been using when heading to the gym when lifting, the lack of cord around the back makes them a better choice.

Anyway, the Beats Flex are holding up well over the last month or so... but the original Beats X definitely held their own too over many years of service!

I haven’t used an around-the-ear bud in many years. Do you think the Powerbeats Pro would work well under a bicycle helmet (where the straps typically pass just in front and just behind the ear)? I wonder if they have them open at the Apple shop - I could always swing by with a helmet and try.

Have you tested how well the Flex pairs with multiple devices? That’s one nice feature of the AirPods, at least within the Apple device ecosystem. At that price, they might be my best option, but I haven’t heard much about the chip they use (vs the H1 in the AirPods and up-market Beats).

The Beats Flex uses the Apple W1 chip, just like the Beats X that came before them. They connect/pair to all of my iCloud enabled devices and switch easily between them as well.

I have mine mostly switching between my Apple Watch and my iPhone, but occasionally my MacBook Pro as well.

Unless I’m missing something, the only offering from Beats is the Flex. The rest are either over-ear “studio” headphones or true wireless. The Flex might be ok, but it doesn’t use the same chipset as the AirPods, so I don’t know if it pairs as seamlessly between 3+ devices or if they’ll work as well for teleconferencing.

> The Flex might be ok, but it doesn’t use the same chipset as the AirPods

The Beats Flex actually do use the W1 chip, which was used in the first few AirPods, and a bunch of Beats devices. It supports ‘AirPod-style’ pair once/use on any Apple devices use.

Would recommend.

Ah, I hadn’t realized the W1 was the original AirPod SoC. At <$80, seems like they’re the best option for sports (within the Apple world at least).

My mistake - I was thinking of the old Beats X, but I guess that's discontinued now that the Flex is on the scene.

Almost all earbuds just fall out of my ears for some reason, but Airpods Pro + memory foam tips allow me to run with them.

Interesting, which tips do you use if i may ask?

I’ve used Comply foam tips and can run and workout without issue. You can squish them down and then they expand to fill your ear. Better sound isolation too.

Thank you for your reply!

I've just purchased them, very curious to find out whether it will improve... (the default tips don't work for me either while moving.)

For skiing, I just use a piece of tape to make a strap, but you can buy silicone straps for a few dollars.

But then they don’t fit in the charge-case. Minor annoyance, but at that price point, it’s enough to put me off.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com