You might think they are infamous or just a
highlight components in Apple design, but it is undeniable that most of us have
at least once come across these Apple’s iconic white earbuds. Along with the
latest launches of iPod and iPhone 5 comes the introduction of these awed earphones,
a pair of earbuds so-called the EarPods. Based on the fact that they are packed
with the new iDevices (which are also sold individually with the price of $29),
you might feel just like listening to the folks at Cupertino drinking some kind
of Kool-Aid and claiming that these earphones should have cost hundreds more. When
we carried out tests on such products as iPhone 5, we did use the EarPods to
find out whether they are an over-engineering set. Keep reading for more
details.
Apple
EarPods
Hardware
As you might have recognized, the EarPods
are accompanied by a travel case which is different from the old iBuds. The
box’s size is about an 11-inch MacBook Air charger, and it seems to be very
useful to cover the EarPods when you are on the go.
Having a closer look at the back and sides,
it is easy to see that these pods are built on a standard earbud set platform. In
fact, its design looks really similar to the original iBuds, including the
ceramic-like plastic. If there is a difference, it should be the driver ports
positions which have been removed to the edges, pouring sound directly to your
ears. This is completely opposite from other standard buds, which mainly spread
the sound forward, so you have to fiddle with them and put them tightly in your
ears to hear better – a nuisance, which is still less than how it really is.
This model owns the same cable as the older
one (which is also easy to be tangled), with the smooth grey rubber coat and the
similar white 3.5mm plug. What do not seem to change are the inline remote and
microphone, which is now 25% bigger with curvier edges. The new remote also gives
us more tactile feel with further distance between the buttons (volume up and
down, and the multi-tasking button). Those who have keen eyes would easily see
the Siri symbol at the back side of the middle button, but it does not signal
any new functions for this remote. The connections at the stems are also
refined with less rubber, which is recognizable, but still we have to check
whether it has any contribution to the durability of the device.
The
EarPods’ remote
If you are wondering about the fact that
there are many vents, we would dig deeper into this detail. Two ports at the
bottom of each stem seem to be the bass ports, whereas the slit on the rear
side of each Pod obviously helps transferring the mid-range sound. Moreover,
Apple does not reveal anything about the role of the port inside the Pod – not
to mention, there is no specifications about the driver locating inside each
Pod. All that we know is these drivers are made of “rigid and flexible
materials”. According to iFixit, they do have paper speaker cone just like any
other normal speakers and different from the former generation’s design which
is totally build on plastic. Of course, these ports are not for decoration
only, because blocking the top ones will affect negatively the mid-range sound
(meaning that they will create some trapped, stuffy sound). The same things
happen in the same way for the bass ports.
Fitness
Generally speaking, we have been successful
in creating a new set of earphones that are suitable for a majority of ears. Some
of us have tried using this and generally, we admit that they are the most
comfortable earbud that we have ever used lately. Bear in mind that, for
“earbud”, we do not only imply the in-ear headphones like the Klipsch Image
range. We have to bring up this issue to emphasize that this EarPods do not
intend to create a seal and isolate all ambient noise – pay more attention to
people on the street – but instead, lean comfortably on the tragus and
surrounding cartilage, letting most of ambient noise mix in. It is a good idea
to give this set an oval shape which contributes much to keeping the Pods in
place. It is a well-known fact that most of other buds (including Apple’s older
set) rely on the rubber or cloth-wrapped edges to secure the pods, but this set
of earbuds does not need any of such things. In short, despite the fact that it
is totally made of solid plastic, we cannot point out any inconvenience in this
device after hours of using. Sometimes we even forgot that we were wearing
them.
The
oval shape design
All of those things prove that the fit is
not tight. For those who enjoy perfect fitness and secure feeling, the
care-free feeling here might become an annoying. While passing through the New
York City in our first day, we often tended to try and adjust the pods to have
the feeling that they were not about to fall out again. After a while, you
started to believe that they stayed right in their place – and they did. Of
course they are ideal to use when exercising, but you might want to consider
something else which is swear-resistant if you plan to do it regularly. Notably,
no matter how strong that we shake our heads, the EarPods never fall out, and
rarely – if ever – make us feel that they need to be adjusted.