Labels: AirPods, apple, hats o' money

Before you consider buying new AirPods, some quick advice...

If you have an older version of AirPods that you enjoyed, just replace their batteries. I replaced my first generation AirPods by sending them to PodSwap back in February for $60, and I've been meaning to say they work every bit as well as new for a while now.

Look, there's one place Apple gives you more battery than you need, just one: The AirPods case. Even when my AirPods were down to just one functional pod keeping maybe a 30 min charge, my case was still ready to go. PodSwap trades out your existing pods with refreshed ones, and they even send them ahead of time so you're never out of headphones. You keep your case -- mine is very nearly as good as new, charge wise, it appears -- and you're only out $60 for your "new" 'phones.

I don't see much about the new ones that'd have me buying. I mean, I wish my 1st gen AirPods did "Hey, Siri" like 2nd gen, and Spatial Audio has me interested (though see the Verge's "Apple Music’s Spatial Audio is sometimes amazing but mostly inconsistent", including the hint that all headphones can play Spatial Audio?), but I never miss either when listening. (Again, my AirPod "taps" are mapped to 1. fast forward and 2. rewind, which is much more useful than "tap to Siri". Take one out to pause & put it in the play.)

I tried Beats Solo and found myself going back to the AirPods even when they still had dying batteries. There's something about that handy lighter-sized case and top snapping (foreshadowing intended) that's wonderfully portable and enjoyable to use.

The longer you can push back your Apple hardware upgrades the better for your pocketbook. Refreshing your AirPods is one of the easiest ways to save some dough.

Labels: AirPods, apple, PodSwap

From daringfireball.net:

I haven’t seen this issue, but I sympathize with those of you who’ve been hit by it. “Unlock With Apple Watch” almost completely mitigates the annoyance of using an iPhone with Face ID while wearing a mask.

I realize Grubes isn't quite committing the sin of assuming Apple lock-in, but it's close. "Hey, your iPhone works great with your watch!" is verrrrry close to, "Your iPhone doesn't work as intended without one, so of course you have one."

And, let's be clear, the iPhone assemblage expects a watch at this point.

I recall reading a review for the original AirPods by someone who didn't have a watch. She complained that it was too difficult to control volume with the AirPods she was reviewing, and she was 100% right.

The volume button on the AirPods is on your watch. It's the "digital crown". If you don't have a watch, you can't adequately control volume; a crucial part of your Apple AirPods is missing. It can even be a Series 2 watch like mine. Works perfectly. Not only sound, which is slick, but the pause, fast-forward, and rewind are also all there on the watch interface waiting on you.

You could argue that she should have been aware of how the watch would complete the AirPods, Jerry McGuire style, but the review was absolutely spot on saying the AirPods' design stinks out of the box.

Ostensibly, Siri would solve all your extra control problems, and the always-on "Hey Siri" of AirPods Pro and AirPods v2+ likely helps mitigate this a bit. Currently, though it's an adequate solution in theory, it's a huge fail in practice. I map my AirPods' double-tap away from Siri and to forward (left ear) and back (right) to get back some measure of control. Removing one pauses, of course.

(That said, when we finally figure out how to integrate Siri culturally and socially, it's going to be amazing. I think I've mentioned how once, in a crowed and extremely loud Apple Store, I was able to nearly whisper a text reply into my watch and have the perfectly transcribed text sent without so much as removing my phone from my pocket. That's how Siri should work, and, at some point, I bet it does -- a nearly subvocal interface that allows rich interactions.)

If you're wearing a watch, AirPods work great -- better than reaching for some dumb volume wart on a wire hanging down from your ears.

But if you're not, AirPods are a bad idea. You're almost precisely up the proverbial Sonic Creek without a paddle.

And, apparently, you're stuck up Face ID Creek too.

To be clear, this Face ID pain is not something I've felt since I quickly gave away my XR. I still prefer a phone with Touch ID so I don't have to have a clear line of sight to my full visage to use my phone. I've been on the SE train for a while now -- and am currently, unexpectedly, using an SE v1 again. What a beautifully sized phone. And I'm now the iPad mini train again too, a perfect balance of easy to carry away from the house (iPhone SE1) and maximized interactions when I'm at home and pockets no longer matter (iPad mini 6). Both are sooooo much nicer with Touch ID. No watch required.

I do, however, love using my AirPods. I've even PodSwapped them and feel good about that so far.

Labels: AirPods, apple, apple fail, apple watch, Face ID, iphone

Labels: AirPods, apple, recycling

They're not for me. But that doesn't mean they're a mistake. Far from it.

Five hundred and forty-nine simoleons sounds like a lot, and it is. Doesn't matter. This is a playground for building the best headphones at scale.

And what Apple is really interested in doing is layering Apple-driven sound on top of your day to day experience. That's precisely what its engineers get to play with with the Max.

I bet it sounds great. I bet it's wonderful with whatever Apple TV isn't out yet. I bet, if you're in a tax bracket that's a bit above mine, it's a no-brainer. That's just enough of a market for Apple to float these sorts of top of the line earphones to ensure its Sonically Augmented Realty works well.

It also makes AirPods Pro look lots cheaper now, doesn't it? Marketing devils.

(I also like the use of Max instead of Pro to mean "bestest". Though I guess now Max means "bestest big" and Pro means "bestest but potentially still small". Idk. I give up on the naming making sense.)

Labels: AirPods, apple, business

• Open Settings.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap on System.
• Locate Build Number (may be located under About Phone).
• Tap on Build Number seven times, after which you will see an alert congratulating you for being a developer. [you'll also see an alert when you're getting close, that you only have X more clicks to become a developer -mfn]
• Go back to Either the main Settings page or the System page and look for Developer Options and tap on it.
• Scroll down and find Disable Absolute Volume and turn the switch to the On position.

• Disconnect and reconnect your AirPods from Bluetooth settings (long press the Bluetooth setting icon to access, or however you normally get to settings). 

Labels: AirPods, android, apple, howto, noteToSelf

Labels: AirPods, apple, augmented reality

I've been listening to and reading from a number of reviews about the Apple AirPods, and they all seem pretty similar. The things are very well made, and do exactly what they're supposed to do.

But there are three recurring problems:

1. The first everyone admits is a problem: There aren't good controls. Siri isn't a good enough stand-in for the lost volume and skip buttons.
2. It seems like many are trying to talk themselves out of the second problem's mattering: Battery life could be better. That dental floss case is neat, but it's a hack at best. I realize AirPods are insanely small. That's cool, but battery life still stinks.
3. The third is that, though AirPods apparently fall out of your ear less than the old wired EarPods, they do fall out: And, often elided, when they do fall out, BAM, they're on the ground.

From joecieplinski.com:

I have dropped the buds a few times (one onto a subway platform, which was frightening, to say the least)...

Eeeeew. That's gross. You're putting it into your ear, man. ;^)

It seems there's a pretty obvious answer. From 9to5mac.com:

You’ll be happy to know that the Beats Solo 3 features on board controls for music playback, volume, and Siri invocation. The left ear cup features all of the needed controls, along with a microphone for sending commands to Siri.

Guess what else?

Then there’s the 40 hours of battery life, 3 hours of battery life from a 5 minute charge, and that glorious long range connectivity. Lastly, the on board music and volume controls, Siri controls, and the ability to use these headphones like normal wired headphones is a definite win.

About the only negatives I've heard about the Solo3 is that 1.) They're big, and 2.) They're too bassy.

I like 1.). Big is good. I usually carry a pair of Hesh 2's, which I know most think are pretty crappy, but they're a lot better than what I used to tote around. They're about the same size as the Solo3. I put them into my bag's handle when I'm using the shoulder strap and take off.

The second, that the Solo3 is too bassy, makes me suspicious folks are trying to be audiophiles. I mean, it depends on the music you want to listen to, of course, but I bet there are a fair number of folk who are listening to pretty bass-friendly tracks via "neutral" headphones, and suffering for it.

Oh yeah, and though the Solo3 is $300 from Apple, guess what? Amazon has 'em for $220. That's $60 more than AirPods, but we're getting close.

In fact I bet the biggest reason why you should prefer AirPods is that the fancy mics are head and shoulders above the one on the Solo3. But I haven't heard that many laud the mic. Maybe we're not making that many calls with headphones in?

In any event, I ran down to the Apple Store and tried the Solo3. They were paired to an iPod touch, but it was easy enough to unpair and use the W1 to magically pair to my iPhone. (It really was as easy as advertised to pair them up.) I played some Black Crowes. Not too shabby.

Then I tried some Metric -- you know, serious techno-pop. HEL-lo. The bass sounded great. Seriously, it blows (not surprisingly) my [corded] Heshes' away. The sound reminded me of when I've got the stereo blasting pretty loudly at home, EQ towards the bassy bias I tend to prefer.

So you might not like that "sound signature", but if you do... these things are freaking incredible for electro-dance/pop/EBM music. Nice. So let's cut out the audiophile complaint. At worst, it's not a blanket complaint. These give some nice sound. As The Verge says:

THE BEATS SOUND SIGNATURE IS TAILORED FOR UNCRITICAL LISTENING OF MODERN ELECTRONIC MUSIC.

Yes, they used all caps. Yes, when I'm programming, that's what I'm listening to.

I'll still give the Solo3s a ding for still being $60 more than the AirPods, even "IRL", and a similar price as some pretty well-made headphones, which these plastic-y beasts apparently aren't, but the only other serious flaw I see (other than wondering about mic quality) is this one, also from theverge.com:

If you’re keeping track at home, charging Apple’s range of new 2016 products requires: a Lightning connector for the iPhone 7, a USB-C plug for the MacBook Pro, and a MicroUSB cable for the Beats Solo 3s. Top marks to Apple for not making me miss the wired connection for conveying sound, but that should have carried over to a more unified setup with charging cables too.

Seriously?

Labels: AirPods, Beats, music