I would say that parts of a good hearing aid are more complicated than AirPods, especially the low latency amplification and how they are activated. However, hearing aids cost 5-20x more than AirPods. They are a fundametally different product.
Not worth the price since I have the first gen. I hardly ever use Siri, but more importantly while I find them to be extremely convenient, I find their performance to be very mediocre. The sound just isnāt very good compared to my other options and they fall out occasionally.
In fact, Iām seriously considering going back to my BeatsX. My only real complaint with those is that when the cord rubs around on my shirt, it comes through in the sound. When at my Mac or on the train, they are as good at blocking sound as my QC35s.
Ordered day they were released, got packed shipped, notifications, for delivery on 26th! (uk)
Arranged to sell my gen 1 AirPods on Monday. Only one day without them, will I cope?!
So, uh, am I the only one who would be too embarrassed to sell my old Airpods? I try to keep them clean, but they donāt look new. That goes for the case more than the actual pods, but still.
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Iām not selling mine either. Theyāre beat to hell, my ear schmutz all over them, battery life down by about 50%. I would not inflict them on someone else.
Iāll keep them as backups.
Iām lucky enough that mine are fairly new (two months) after a warranty replacement. I will give them a good clean before I hand them over, but they are in pretty good condition still! If they were much older Iād be a little more reticent.
But at the same time, Iād be very stretching the finances to just drop the full amount without subsidising it with selling the old onesā¦
Never had AirPods. Curious questions, whatās the play time new, and after a year or two of ownership. Are there touch controls on the pods for on, off, jump to next chapter or song, pause, volume, and so on?
Thanks
3-4 hours playtime new. Slow decline until a couple years of heavy use and then a more rapid decline somewhere between year 2-2.5. (Anecdotal reports are all over the place, though.) No buttons but you can set a double tap action for the left and right AirPod for skip prev or next, play/pause and Siri. Pulling one out of your ear also pauses.
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Just to add, the slow decline was to about 2-3 hours after 2 years, then very rapid decline to 15-30 minutes for me. If 2 years is ok for you, battery will probably not be an issue.
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You can configure a double tap function for each pod. Stop/start, Siri, next song, previous song and off are the options I think.
If they fit just as badly as the latest-design wired Apple headphones on which theyāre based, then, happily, I shall never feel the temptation to get any. The ones included with iPhones are impossible to keep in for more than 10 seconds in my case.
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I had the same experience and I bought AirPods anyway. Happily for me, unhappily for my bank account, I found it was the wires on the EarPods causing the problems.
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Same here, and massive power drop in the right AirPod (easily lose 50% more power in the right than the left). Iāve had mine for just over 2 years. Along with my iPhone, they are a constant companion.
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Got my shipping notice this morning. Anticipated delivery on Wednesday. 
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Got a message from the delivery company earlier today, delivery tomorrow, very excited!
Having to cope with my wired lightning EarPods until they are delivered! 
I find the wired ones are falling out much more readily than the AirPods doā¦
Just got my new AirPods.
First impression:
- a bit better sound
- a bit more noise canceling (not much:)
- a bit faster when switching devices
Alltogether an incremental update that makes a great product just a bit greater.
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Got mine at the store today. First impressions are:
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Huge battery improvement - I measured my first generation ones today and heard the low battery warning after 1 hour 40 mins. Been using these to listen to 3 hours of podcasts tonight while doing some work around the house still have 50%.
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āHey Siriā is a game changer - it seems more vocal now, which is good because otherwise there is no indicator that it heard me. Itās taking me a bit to get used to going hands free with these and learning not to tap the ear, but I like it so far.
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I havenāt noticed the speed in switching between my iPhone and iPad, but that may just be me.
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Wireless charging is worth the additional costs. As someone with a wireless pad everywhere I go - my bedside, desks, and kitchen - I never need to now have a lightning cable. Just juice it up a couple times a week on a bad and should be good to go.
Overall, if you liked your Airpods, the new ones are a nice upgrade if you are in the market as I was.
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Yeah, So far Hey Siri has proven to be a game changer for me, too. While sitting on my desk and doing other things I donāt need to break my workflow to call someone. Seems like a smal change but it really changed how I feel about it.
Helps that Siri works much better on the new one as wellā¦ and that Siri improved quite a lot in the last month.
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Any improvements to the audio quality or is it mostly:
- Hey Siri
- Better Battery and
- Faster switching between devices?
Iād love to hear if the picked-up audio is better (i.e., if you sound more lifelike/richer to the person you are calling).
A friend called me with his AirPods in (a year ago, so relatively new āversion 1ā). He had a battery issue and had to switch to a Plantronics device and, with the second (non-Apple) device, he went from sounding ātinnyā to sounding like he was right next to me!
Iām all for the fast switching between my computer, phone and other devices, as well as HS use; but the majority of my day-to-day is communicating with people and persuading them via phoneā¦ Hard to do if I sound like a male version of the typical robocall!
Thanks!
āTim
I donāt notice any audio difference with the new ones. Before I started using AirPods on more business calls a year ago, I had a few phone conversations with my wife to make sure I sounded okay and she said it didnāt sound like I was on a speakerphone. So, hopefully thatās still the case. But if your friend was having an issue before, he will probably have the same issue unless he just had a defective pair.
Also, does the finish seem a little more grippy? They look exactly the same so I assume that mine were just worn smooth, and mine never fell out so I donāt need the grip, but it does feel a little more assuring.
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