How's the November Update So Far?

[onthecouchagain]

When is the camera supposed to get Night Sight?

 

[Mike Dee]

When is the camera supposed to get Night Sight?

Not sure

 

[TraderGary]

Sometimes you get what you overpay for. There are drawbacks to airpods.

In terms of sound quality I don't rate them as worth 150 but they do work better than some at connectivity. I'm reviewing some buds at the moment that hold there own against the airpods at a fraction of the cost.

The Sony's you have sound great though the new version have better noise cancellation. They aren't always good at call quality for the person you are calling.

I've never owned Airpods or for that matter anything made by Apple, but the general consensus seems to be that the quality of Apple products and their price seem to go together.

I'm thinking about asking Santa to stuff one of my fireplace socks with the newest Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling headset! I have an inside track to his request line!

 

[Mike Dee]

I've never owned Airpods or for that matter anything made by Apple, but the general consensus seems to be that the quality of Apple products and their price seem to go together.

I'm thinking about asking Santa to stuff one of my fireplace socks with the newest Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling headset! I have an inside track to his request line!

The airpods are well made but the audio is mediocre compared to what it could be. It's not bad sound....it's just not great sound for 150 dollars.

 

[chezm]

The airpods are well made but the audio is mediocre compared to what it could be. It's not bad sound....it's just not great sound for 150 dollars.

well the airpods arent noise cancelling and are super convenient, the sound quality is average yes but it depends the purpose of using them. I bought them because i needed something simple/easy for work conference calls, listen to music/tv shows gym/walking and not noise cancelling so if someone is yelling at me i can hear them (happens at work). Sound wise they have nice levels for lows/mids/highs, they dont crackle when maxed out audio (they dont get extremely loud but enough) and conversations sound excellent.

I am very happy with the product and what it costs, i tried a Bose Sport and they were OK but not as convenient.

 

[Beachboy63]

I have last year's Sony's... The MX2, I believe they are called, and they are excellent. I use them at the gym all the time and will not fly without them. The newer version is supposed to have even better nose cancelling and sound.... And quick charge. I highly recommend them.

I've never owned Airpods or for that matter anything made by Apple, but the general consensus seems to be that the quality of Apple products and their price seem to go together.

I'm thinking about asking Santa to stuff one of my fireplace socks with the newest Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling headset! I have an inside track to his request line!

 

[brandon_powell]

Nothing noticeable other than I feel like the Battery may actually be worse.

 

[EMGSM]

Othar than the one time the camera froze, I haven't noticed any changes. The phones was already running pretty smooth to begin with.

 

[Mike Dee]

Nothing noticeable other than I feel like the Battery may actually be worse.

Give it time, it may settle in.

 

[vzwuser76]

well the airpods arent noise cancelling and are super convenient, the sound quality is average yes but it depends the purpose of using them. I bought them because i needed something simple/easy for work conference calls, listen to music/tv shows gym/walking and not noise cancelling so if someone is yelling at me i can hear them (happens at work). Sound wise they have nice levels for lows/mids/highs, they dont crackle when maxed out audio (they dont get extremely loud but enough) and conversations sound excellent.

I am very happy with the product and what it costs, i tried a Bose Sport and they were OK but not as convenient.

That they don't crackle at full volume isn't a testament to their quality, it just means they eliminated distortion in one of 2 ways. They may have reduced the maximum volume level to just before they start to distort (essentially keeping them from hitting their full volume level where any speaker will distort). IIRC some music players let you do the same thing, although that's mostly so you don't blow your eardrums out, but less distortion is a side effect. Or they're using some form of active compression to keep it from happening, which is similar to the above remedy, but it doesn't set a hard limit and only comes into play when clipping (distortion) is detected. Professional audio equipment has been using that for decades.

The reason a company might not use one of the methods I mentioned above is that it limits the maximum volume level they can achieve. But as you said, the AirPods don't get extremely loud, so apparently Apple opted to limit distortion at the cost of higher volume levels.

 

[chezm]

Ain't gonna disagree, I myself am a (former) recording artist with a studio and understand the pros/cons. For sure apple opted to reduce the overall max volume as likely majority of their customer base wouldn't know any better and probably complain if they allowed them to peak.

With that said I do consider the lack of max volume crackling and clarity in sound a double positive. And I'm sure if I played with the EQ from source I could adjust things but the truth is I actually like what I hear. If it was me 5 years ago I'd find reasons to rip them apart and rework tweak things but the older less picky me as grown to let things be (aka be lazy lol).

Would I recommend airpods to anyone wanting BT headphones? Probably not since they do cost a lot. If someone said price wasn't an issue and they wanted something simple for their iPhone then ya I would.

That they don't crackle at full volume isn't a testament to their quality, it just means they eliminated distortion in one of 2 ways. They may have reduced the maximum volume level to just before they start to distort (essentially keeping them from hitting their full volume level where any speaker will distort). IIRC some music players let you do the same thing, although that's mostly so you don't blow your eardrums out, but less distortion is a side effect. Or they're using some form of active compression to keep it from happening, which is similar to the above remedy, but it doesn't set a hard limit and only comes into play when clipping (distortion) is detected. Professional audio equipment has been using that for decades.

The reason a company might not use one of the methods I mentioned above is that it limits the maximum volume level they can achieve. But as you said, the AirPods don't get extremely loud, so apparently Apple opted to limit distortion at the cost of higher volume levels.

 

[Mike Dee]

well the airpods arent noise cancelling and are super convenient, the sound quality is average yes but it depends the purpose of using them. I bought them because i needed something simple/easy for work conference calls, listen to music/tv shows gym/walking and not noise cancelling so if someone is yelling at me i can hear them (happens at work). Sound wise they have nice levels for lows/mids/highs, they dont crackle when maxed out audio (they dont get extremely loud but enough) and conversations sound excellent.

I am very happy with the product and what it costs, i tried a Bose Sport and they were OK but not as convenient.

Nothing at all wrong with them. I just feel there better values out there for Android devices and I'm not one to quibble over money. I'm reviewing two different crowd funded Bluetooth buds and you would not believe the sound quality and one of the pairs starts at about 20 bucks. The airpods have a bit more low end but just not bright enough for me.

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm thinking about asking Santa to stuff one of my fireplace socks with the newest Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling headset! I have an inside track to his request line!

Im not sure you will find much difference in the upgraded version. Kind of like going from Pixel 2 to 3. If money isn't an issue, go for it.

The biggest difference is they are now regarded as having the best noise cancellation.... even better than Bose NC but without losing audio quality. They adaptive NC is incredible. I'm not really sure you would get better sound than what you have other than what is improved as a result of the NC. They are now using USB-C as a charging port. I don't know if the charging has improved but they quote up to 30 hours and 10 minutes of charge will get you 5 hours.

For actual phone conversations they are poor especially if there is a lot of background noise.

 

[nelamvr6]

I have noticed a small problem, since I installed the update my ambient display occasionally turns off. If I wake the phone and then turn off the display it seems to function fine for a while. So far it has happened twice.

 

[Mike Dee]

I have noticed a small problem, since I installed the update my ambient display occasionally turns off. If I wake the phone and then turn off the display it seems to function fine for a while. So far it has happened twice.

I noticed that earlier today....I thought maybe it was a setting but didn't see anything.

 

[SteelGator]

I own the Sony MX3 and they are fantastic, particularly on commutes and airplanes. The NC is fantastic. They are not the best for phone conversation, specifically, people that I am talking to have a difficult time hearing me well. They are very comfortable -- I wore them for my entire flight to China and back. Once I got used to the NC, the plane was too loud to not wear them. The adaptive mode is also useful, allowing you to hear some background noise when you are walking --the amount of background that gets through can be customized. The connection to the Pixel 3 XL has been flawless. From my experience, these are the best NC headphones you can get -- though I would not pay $350 to upgrade from the Bose or MX2.

I also wear Jaybird x2 when at the gym. I feel like I have picked up significant volume with the 3 XL compared to the OG XL. Is that possible? Does the phone have additional codecs? Again, BT has been flawless with the Jaybirds. These are still the best headphones I have ever owned if I am doing anything active -- sound great and never fall out.

 

[Mike Dee]

I own the Sony MX3 and they are fantastic, particularly on commutes and airplanes. The NC is fantastic. They are not the best for phone conversation, specifically, people that I am talking to have a difficult time hearing me well. They are very comfortable -- I wore them for my entire flight to China and back. Once I got used to the NC, the plane was too loud to not wear them. The adaptive mode is also useful, allowing you to hear some background noise when you are walking --the amount of background that gets through can be customized. The connection to the Pixel 3 XL has been flawless. From my experience, these are the best NC headphones you can get -- though I would not pay $350 to upgrade from the Bose or MX2.

I also wear Jaybird x2 when at the gym. I feel like I have picked up significant volume with the 3 XL compared to the OG XL. Is that possible? Does the phone have additional codecs? Again, BT has been flawless with the Jaybirds. These are still the best headphones I have ever owned if I am doing anything active -- sound great and never fall out.

Agreed ..the poor phone call quality makes it difficult fir people to hear me when there is background noise present.

 

[vzwuser76]

Im not sure you will find much difference in the upgraded version. Kind of like going from Pixel 2 to 3. If money isn't an issue, go for it.

The biggest difference is they are now regarded as having the best noise cancellation.... even better than Bose NC but without losing audio quality. They adaptive NC is incredible. I'm not really sure you would get better sound than what you have other than what is improved as a result of the NC. They are now using USB-C as a charging port. I don't know if the charging has improved but they quote up to 30 hours and 10 minutes of charge will get you 5 hours.

For actual phone conversations they are poor especially if there is a lot of background noise.

But one of the best ways to improve sound (both clarity and volume) is to lower the noise floor. Normally that meant dealing with distortion and signal to noise ratio in the audio chain. But lowering the ambient noise makes a difference as well. If you have to compete with ambient noise, you generally increase your volume to compensate. The more you increase the volume, the more distortion you introduce into the audio signal. So if they improved the noise cancelation tech, that should mean you might not have to push the volume as high as you would've on the older models.

 

[booboolala2000]

great.

 

[TraderGary]

Im not sure you will find much difference in the upgraded version. Kind of like going from Pixel 2 to 3. If money isn't an issue, go for it.

The biggest difference is they are now regarded as having the best noise cancellation.... even better than Bose NC but without losing audio quality. They adaptive NC is incredible. I'm not really sure you would get better sound than what you have other than what is improved as a result of the NC. They are now using USB-C as a charging port. I don't know if the charging has improved but they quote up to 30 hours and 10 minutes of charge will get you 5 hours.

For actual phone conversations they are poor especially if there is a lot of background noise.

It's seldom that I leave my WH1000XM2 on for phone conversations, so that isn't really an issue for me. Comfort for extended listing periods seems to also be a major improvement reviewers talk about with the WH1000XM3. That would make it a worthwhile upgrade for me as I do listen to a lot of extended classical works.

And I did go from a Pixel 2 XL to a Pixel 3 XL and for me there was a very substantial difference in screen quality and a noticeable difference in overall response. I would definitely do the upgrade again!