This is one incredibly undercooked Apple product. The tapping feature is incredibly finicky to me and mine refuses to register a double tap as anything but Siri regardless of what I set in the Bluetooth options.
These desperately need some bug fixes and a capacitive strip along the sides of the earbuds allowing for more playback control. This feels like expensive early access to a product that Apple should have waited a generation to ship. Very uncharacteristic of them and highly disappointing.
They couldn't wait because the AirPods had to be there to create a narrative for the iPhone 7 in which turn had to pave way for the anniversary iPhone (now known as iPhone X). That takes precedent.
And the plan worked, you can see people don't even talk much about the iPhone X's lack of headphone jack. It was to be expected.
Anyway, I somewhat disagree. I won't say they don't have infancy issues but I don't know if they wouldn't have them no matter when they released. Generation 1 is always generation 1... no amount of controlled conditions testing can replace real world testing by hundreds of thousands if not millions, in the most variate conditions possible.
That being said, I love mine. Never had a critical problem, and even the minor issues have been extremely sparse and quickly solved. I even have a 6s+, complete with headphone jack, but there's nothing quite like the freedom and convenience of the AirPods, for me. I'm glad they exist as they are if it means they could be released when they were... which isn't to say, I don't hope they improve in the future. I certainly do.
