First Impressions Apple AirPods
Let me start by saying I've been a long time Jawbone user for calls and a Bluebud X user when working out. But when quality is important nothing beats cables.
My Jawbone Era died on me about 2 months ago and I thought, what great timing. I now have an excuse to try out Apple's new Airpods. I was skeptical of apple earbuds. But for me, the timing was perfect. Then release dates seemed to push further and further out with no mention of why or when they would hit stores.
Early one morning Apple with no warning added them to their online store. Within 15 minutes ship dates were pushed past Christmas.
After a few weeks, I remembered just how frustrating it was not having an earpiece for my commutes. With some help from a service, I've used in the past for finding iPhones called istocknow.com and two days of monitoring stock at local stores. I finally got my hands on one, two days before Christmas.
Seeing it was so close to Christmas I had my boys wrap it up as a gift for my and patiently waited the two more days.
Keep an eye open for a full review in the coming weeks. However, my first impressions are that the Airpods are better than I thought.
My advice, Try not to think of the Airpods are a headphones replacement but rather than an upgrade to an earbud like a Jawbone. The ease of pairing and moving across devices does make you want to take it everywhere. As an earbud, phone calls are clear on both ends, I heard no signs of clipping and the directional mic was impressive. As for Bluetooth, I found no signal drops or noise in any of my pockets.
When it comes to sound quality I feel clarity was their first priority and think they nailed that. Because of the lack of a seal no matter how good the speaker is, it will never be in the same class as other audiophile IEMs. Seeing that Airpods come with their very own charging case also means anyone thinking of making a 3rd party silicon skin will find it harder and clunky for consumers to use.
I usually end up picking the larger buds of an earbud set but, these sat in my ears well. For me the lack of a seal makes them feel as though they are loose and going to fall. However, they have yet to do so. I will note if I push them a bit deeper in my ear you can feel the bass and does sound a lot better. But even if that felt comfortable they just slide out due to the plastic tips.
To wrap up, Apples AirPods should be thought of as an upgrade to your earbud not a replacement for your headphones or IEMs. I'm personally loving the simplicity of use, and clarity of my calls. I don't feel music and movies were meant to be it's focus bur rather a good extra and they do that just fine.
