back to article Apple's Airpod wireless earbuds finally go on sale after six-week delay

Apple has finally put its Air Pod wireless headphones on sale. The controversial headphones, designed for the 'Look Ma, no headphone jack' iPhone 7, were delayed in October when Apple said it needed more time to get them just right. Whatever tweakage was required, Apple's supply chain appears not to be in full swing as the …

  1. macjules
    Gimp

    Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

    Even parity with the dollar would make most people* say 'WTF', but charging £1 over the US dollar price is a bit off, isn't it? Oh, and OTE headphones do not fall out of your ear which I find the (wired) Apple earphones do on a regular basis.

    * - fanbois excepted

    1. Duffy Moon

      Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

      Not so much the Apple Tax as the Apple Complete Shafting.

      Now bend over and take it like a man. Sorry, lube will cost extra.

      1. Rich 30

        Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

        $1 = £0.79

        American Prices are ex-Vat

        £0.79 + 20% VAT = £0.95

        So, $159 in UK retail price = £151

        Where's that 5% from?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

          "Where's that 5% from?"

          Currency hedging costs.

      2. Ilsa Loving

        Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

        <quote>Now bend over and take it like a man. Sorry, lube will cost extra.</quote>

        But at least you can be assured that, if you do buy it, it's really really good lube.

    2. Phil Kingston

      Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

      Might not be as bad as it looks - if the US price doesn't include sales tax they may be a bit closer in price.

      1. Timmy B

        Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

        "Might not be as bad as it looks - if the US price doesn't include sales tax they may be a bit closer in price."

        And comparing to the Australian price? That still equates to about 135 pounds.

      2. Mage Silver badge

        Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

        They are stupid:-

        * They will easily get lost

        * Battery life poor compared to other BT approaches

        * poorer audio, INHERENTLY, than decent but cheap wired phones. This applies to ALL wireless earphones.

        * Possibly poorer maximum volume.

    3. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

      "Oh, and OTE headphones do not fall out of your ear which I find the (wired) Apple earphones do on a regular basis."

      Two words: duct tape.

      ---

      Airpods: US$159

      3M Utility Duct Tape 2929 Silver, 1.88 in x 50 yd 5.8 mils (Pack of 1) on Amazon Prime: US$8.24

      Looking like a dick: priceless

      1. Wibble

        Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

        Or Selotape some string to them to keep them together, just like your mum did to your school mittens...

        1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

          Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

          Or Selotape some string to them to keep them together

          Won't be long before harnesses to make these function like normal headphones/over the ear earpieces hit the shops

        2. macjules

          Re: Exchange rate? Apple don' need no stinking exchange rate.

          Or ... maybe buy wired headphones? Not as if anyone* is going to buy the iPhone 7.

          * fanboys excepted

  2. redpawn

    Up vote wanted

    Apple wants an up vote for pretending to innovate. Because...rounded corners.

    1. MrDamage Silver badge

      Re: Up vote wanted

      They're innovating new ways o proving P.T Barnun right.

      "There's a sucker born every minute."

  3. djstardust

    £159 .....

    For something that will

    1 - Have terrible battery life

    2 - Get easily lost

    3 - Sound flat as a pancake (based on the design and the fact the iphone EQ is useless)

    You really would have to be mad to even think about these.

    Think I'll stick to my Note 4 (rooted with volume boost) and B&O Play H3 in-ears I got for £40 on eBay. Best combination ever :)

    1. paulf
      Unhappy

      Re: £159 .....

      The concern is that other vendors will now go the courageous ludicrous path of removing the 3.5mm headphone jack. I saw recently that Samsung's next big handset is likely to ditch the 3.5mm jack too, as reported by Fanboi site Macrumors. HTC may be a smaller player these days but even they think they have enough influence to move to USB C headphones without serious numbers of people going elsewhere. Like or hate Apple it seems they have a significant influence on the direction of this stuff. If Samsung moved first on this they'd have been rightly ridiculed (as Apple have been including by Samsung who made jokes at Apple's expense about their handsets still having a 3.5mm headphone jack) but it seems Apple can get away with these stupid decisions and still sell loads of iPhones which then influences the rest of the market.

      So things have gone full circle back to every phone having its own proprietary headset connector that's generally incompatible with anything else (including other handsets from the same manufacturer). I wonder how long it will be before Apple ditch the lightning to 3.5mm adaptor.

    2. Snar

      Re: £159 .....

      I use the B&O Earset 3 with my iPhone - second set I've had in about 10 years. First pair died of old-age and I've had the second pair for about a year. For the money, I'd rather buy these than stupid wireless things that don't solve a problem. Apples removal of the 3.5mm audio jack was a complete self-immolation.

      I don't want people think I'm walking around with Braun toothbrush heads hanging out my ears...

    3. FlossyThePig

      Re: £159 .....

      I'll see your £159 and raise you ...

      For those who are "hearing impaired" you can now get hearing aids that are "Made for iPhone" which is covered by an Apple patent.

      £3000+ but you do get a pair for that price.

      No DoF (Deaf old Fart) icon

  4. This post has been deleted by its author

  5. Gomez Adams

    Will Apple be selling designer peeper-keepers at designer prices to use with these to stop them being lost down the loo?

  6. IHateWearingATie

    Genuine question...

    ...given they connect via bluetooth will they work with an Android phone?

    I could do with some new ear buds and may give them a shot

    1. MT Field

      Re: Genuine question...

      People keep telling me there is a quality loss streaming music over Bluetooth, but I still do it anyway.

      And no, no probably not.

  7. Version 1.0 Silver badge

    Wait for it ...

    Coming soon to the Daily Mail - Child swallows Airpods and needs emergency surgery plus stories about users losing their Airpod, only to find it a day later when they take the dog out for a walk.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm quite pleased with a pair of Trekz Titanium I got a few weeks ago. Bone conduction, so not everyone's cup of tea, as you also get ambient sound which is both an odd experience at first and, of course, competes with the perceived quality of whatever you're listening to. The ability to hear cars coming more than makes up for it, IMO. Cost about £100, battery lasts for 6-8 hours, depending on how hard you're thrashing them.

    If you do go the bone-conduction route, don't get the cheap (£30-ish) Chinese ones from eBay....the transducers (the vibrating things that generate the sound) are glued to a rubber pad....stupid design because it's only a matter of time before the glue gives up. Not much time at that.

  9. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Happy

    Wired for Sound

    Handing over to Cliff...

    If they've music, they're wired for sound

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57eqtN2K7E

    https://play.google.com/music/preview/T2mqmoqx4sqzp6frjochktn5xry?lyrics=1

    with thanks to Alan Tarney and B.A. Robertson for the lyrics and production

    Yes, all right - Milton Keynes for the video location

  10. Kebablog

    The biggest problem I have with these airpods is the lack of control. You have to tell Siri to adjust the volume and it's not clear if double or treble tap to skip/go back on tracks is an option.

    I'm not ready to speak to a virtual assistant to adjust my volume.

  11. D@v3

    iPhone 7 users still tied to audio dongles

    I really don't understand why so many places are treating these like they are both the first blue tooth headphones ever (and there for the only alternative to a dongle with a i7) and also the only other headphones that will work with an iPhone (and there for the only alternative to a dongle with a i7).

    I (and I'm sure many others here) have been using a variety of, really quite good thank you, both in ear and over year blue tooth headphones, for quite some time. Speakers as well.

    They are a vaguely interesting gimmick, which may (but probably won't) work anywhere near as well as 'advertised', but at that price? I'd rather buy another couple of spares of what I already use, thanks.

    1. A. Coatsworth Silver badge
      Gimp

      Re: iPhone 7 users still tied to audio dongles

      They *ARE* the first bluetooth headphones ever!

      Apple in its infinite wisdom has innovated once again, giving us this truly magic gift of future tech.

      If you think you have seen similar technology better implemented years and years ago, well, those are just decoys the Turtle-necked One in the Sky put in the world to test the faith of the true believers and to confound the infidels.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  12. Lotaresco

    Not for me

    And I like Apple kit and have an iPhone 7.

    However I like Etymotic earphones so if I'm going to splash cash that's what I will buy. I'm also suspicious about the sound quality of Apple headphones. After all they bought Beats and Beats sound awful.

    Despite the loud complaints, losing the 3.5mm socket is not a big deal. There's an adapter in the box. My earphones work with my iPhone. If I want to charge my phone and listen on headphones at the same time (but why?) I can do that with one of the pass-through third party adapters.

    Go, admit it, there are lots of complainers who (a) don't have an iPhone (b) will never have an iPhone and, I suspect, (c) can't afford one.

    There's a tale about that, written 2,600 years ago by a chap names Aesop.

    The Fox and the Grapes

    ONE hot summer’s day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. “Just the things to quench my thirst,” quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: “I am sure they are sour.”

    Moral: “IT IS EASY TO DESPISE WHAT YOU CANNOT GET.”

  13. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    £65 to replace one lost Airpod

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38340748

  14. wileycoyotee

    Lotaresco : Have you heard the one about the emperor's new clothes?

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