Despite revealing alongside the iPhone 7, (notably to take the sting out of the phone's missing headphone jack) Apple's AirPods still remain MIA months after the handset's release.
After missing its original October window, signs point to Apple attempting a December release, leaving many Apple fans to wonder what kind of holdup would put the AirPods so dangerously close to missing the holidays.
It seems that the reason behind the $159 device needing more time in the oven could be technical issues pairing the individual earbuds, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The design of the AirPods, sources tell WSJ, lends itself to unique technical challenges and that Apple does not intend to release the product before it’s ready.
Missed Connection
Breaking it down, it appears Apple is still ironing out how to get two individual AirPods - each receiving its own Bluetooth signal from a Mac or iPhone - reliably paired without playing music out-of-sync in your ears.
Other wireless headphones, like the Plantronics BackBeat Fit or Beats PowerBeats2, tend to come as a single unit rather than two separate pieces - meaning they only need a single signal from the host device.
Not only does this make pairing the AirPods over Bluetooth a challenge, but also presents logistics challenges if an errant Pod winds up lost or runs out of juice mid-song.
Should this be the case behind the AirPods delay, it could take either a total redesign or some serious engineering finesse to get things working smoothly, though Apple still seems bent on making that December release.
We hope Apple will find a solution rather than churn out a half-baked product, but doing so could mean no AirPods under the tree this year - but hey, if you need a backup, why not check out one of our holiday gift guides?
- Still want to go wireless this holiday? Get these headphones instead.
from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/apple-airpods-might-be-held-up-by-connectivity-concerns
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