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AirPods

Anyone know when these AirPods will be available? Pre-order or just out there on the shelves? What ya all think?
My birthday is mid October and it would be cool for my kids to be able to give me something like this. They're little, so I will end up paying, but still...
All that Apple has said is that they're being released in late October. That's what shows up in the online Apple Store when I just checked.
 
Anyone know when these AirPods will be available? Pre-order or just out there on the shelves? What ya all think?
My birthday is mid October and it would be cool for my kids to be able to give me something like this. They're little, so I will end up paying, but still...

That's what kids are for, isn't it? So you can buy new toys and blame it on them. My son knew his way around the golf store quite well when he was four.
 
Ah, thank you. I was just reading about them at the Apple website, seems there's a custom computer chip in them too, Apple W1 chip. Maybe the price isn't too bad after all. I'm now wondering how much of the stem is taken up with the battery.
The battery and antenna share the stem, each running the full length of the stem. Here's an X-ray image of an AirPod.
IMG_0671.jpg
 
Yes, there's quite a bit of tech in there. I still think they will have trouble sealing and will lose bass as a result. I can see later generations having a soft earpiece a bit like memory foam that will mould itself to the ear and keep that shape.
 
Optical sensors, accelerometers.. wowsers. Now I can understand the price tag.
It's certainly a lot more than a pair of wires from the battery connected to a speaker. I think a lot of people just see the outer case and assume it's a lot simpler inside than it really is and think the price is too high based on their assumption.
 
Yes, there's quite a bit of tech in there. I still think they will have trouble sealing and will lose bass as a result. I can see later generations having a soft earpiece a bit like memory foam that will mould itself to the ear and keep that shape.
Apple does have a premium set of earphones that have soft earpieces. The box has three different sizes for optimal fit.
The perfect AirPods, in my opinion, would be custom moulded to fit the ear, just like hearing aids.
 
I actually saw one post somewhere (9-5Mac, I think) where some bright spark said that if the chip is W1 there must be an W2 on the way so these will be junk.

Some people's children, eh?
 
The M1 chip seems to have been forgotten too. People are assuming that they are simply BlueTooth, which is not the case.
That chip is responsible for most of the functionality of the AirPods. If they're used on a non Apple device they'll act like ordinary Bluetooth headphones without the extra functionality provided by the W1 chip.
 
When I get my hands on a pair, I'm going to pitch them against everything I can lay my hands on, from dollar store earbuds to $7000 electrostatic loudspeakers. I'm assembling the playlist now, and it is VERY demanding.

So far:

Ravel's Bolero (The piece is played from ppp to fff and is incredibly complex considering the simplicity of the theme)
Rush - YYZ (There is a cymbal crash whose aftershock gets lost on all but top quality equipment)
Tchaikovsky 1812 (The version with real cannons)
Sarah Brightman and Alessandro Safina - Canto Della Terra (Female voices are extremely taxing on equipment)
 
When I get my hands on a pair, I'm going to pitch them against everything I can lay my hands on, from dollar store earbuds to $7000 electrostatic loudspeakers. I'm assembling the playlist now, and it is VERY demanding.

So far:

Ravel's Bolero (The piece is played from ppp to fff and is incredibly complex considering the simplicity of the theme)
Rush - YYZ (There is a cymbal crash whose aftershock gets lost on all but top quality equipment)
Tchaikovsky 1812 (The version with real cannons)
Sarah Brightman and Alessandro Safina - Canto Della Terra (Female voices are extremely taxing on equipment)
You should throw in a bit of Guns N Roses......Axels wail would test any EarPods ;)
 
Just checked the GBP/USD exchange rate and then Apple's UK site. Looks like the £ is taking a hammering for some reason. Including VAT puts the UK price at £159. I'm sure that will put a lot of potential buyers off.
 
The GBP exchange rate has been dropping for a while now, more so since leaving the European market.


Gregory lsaacs r.i.p.
 
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