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#airpods#apple#don#linux#features#devices#sound#android#pro#hardware
Discussion (174 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
> LibrePods allows you to use AirPods features that are exclusive to Apple devices. It implements the proprietary protocol used to exchange data between AirPods and Apple devices
And then has a table listing the features.
Judging by all of the other comments that assumed otherwise, a lot of people either weren’t reading the README or weren’t parsing what it was saying.
There's very little point having a discussion about something where other people can't even be bothered to properly read the link that was submitted - and even more frustrating when that link was literally a README file.
Doesn't matter that they are linked to her iCloud account/Apple ID and my devices are linked to mine.
Apple "it just works" smarts are very nice, until it doesn't just work anymore and you have no way to disable them.
It's the reason I switched to JBL earbuds with a touch screen case, where I can explicitly tell them what device to connect to.
Still, I would recommend the Sony WF-1000XM6 if you're not an Apple computer or phone user already. The UX is reportedly worse and a bit buggy, but the sound should be better.
Weird to praise Apple for the one line of devices they let you install your own operating system on and ignore that every other device doesn't.
Why assume this is what they're doing?
Apple can only QA so much. To open up proprietary tacked-on features to a hardware ecosystem they can't control, opens up AirPods to be perceived as buggy on those devices, which isn't going to help the perception of quality of Apple products for non-iPhone/iPad users.
Clearly they make it worse just because you didn't get an Apple device, so yeah idk what you're smoking but give me some.
Until you or someone else pairs them with an iPhone and leave them sitting overnight. The iPhone will send them the latest firmware.
Personally, I will use whatever gear is good as long as there's no risk of it becoming a paperweight because the manufacturer aggressively gets in the way of using it with other operating systems. I'm not "all in" on Apple and never will be. I love certain apple hardware but I'll likely never buy an M series Macbook because one day they'll stop supporting it even though it still works perfectly, and it doesn't support Linux.
So you have a total of 6 different fits to choose from. Plus the fact that there are surely dozens of third party tip options available for the Pro models.
The idea that anything with that many fit options can be considered the most uncomfortable earbuds on the market is not really possible in concept. That idea is as meaningless as saying that a size 9 Converse All Star is the most uncomfortable shoe on the market.
We are many generations removed from the original one size fits all product which was much different.
Shoes are actually a great analogy here, because the companies all use different lasts, so it doesn't matter that eg. Adidas has thousands of different shoes in over a dozen sizes, none of them actually comfortably fit my feet because the heel is always too wide and the forefoot too narrow.
Also, they only come with 5 tip sizes (4+1 on the buds) and use an oval shape which I personally find less comfortable than circular tips+stems.
They can. Require a valid signature from the mac's secure cryptoprocessor in order to interoperate. There's nothing we can do.
Remember when we used to use cryptography to protect ourselves from government and corporation espionage? Good times. Now cryptography is used by governments and corporations to protect themselves from us.
One day we'll need such hardware attestations to even get an internet connection.
Just in case you're not kidding, I'll remind you it was always thus. The Nazi Enigma machines were not created by libertarian anarcho-punks to distribute The Whole Earth Catalog.
Regarding M5 support, seems like a matter of time.
https://github.com/AsahiLinux/m1n1/pull/578
And I'm an apple hater, in general.
I'm thinking of gifting them to someone. But they are Android/Linux user.
Well, I installed this and now my hearing settings have been removed from the airpods. And I guess you could say that this would be obvious because librepods doesn't support the hearing aids, what is not obvious is that installing it takes a set of APP3 that has been already setup and basically wipes them. Good to know for the future
However why support a company (by buying airpods) that is this hostile. i.e. I wouldn't be surprised to see a patch to stop this.
There is no way to do this with standard bluetooth, you have to have a custom app for it. Apple just didn't build a custom app for other platforms but there is no reason they would care about someone else investing the resources in to building it. They still win because you bought the airpods and someone else spent the resources on making the app.
Even if you can hack around it, it is the culture that treats the users as someone to be controlled and coddled that bothers me.
I believe (I don't own their new M-5) their Macbook Pro are very well regarded in terms of trackpad, battery and screen as one (if not the) best out there.
They can't _add_ features on top of regular Bluetooth connectivity, that they choose to only offer on platforms they're able to fully control and QA ?
Is even just making a feature exclusive really that 'hostile'? A company can't offer benefits for going with several of their products?
Or you mean they _are_ hostile because you're _assuming_ they will try to patch this?
I listened to Mark Zuck on Rogan about his experience with Apple connecting his Ray Bands to the AirPods. [0]
In that interview, he suggests they won't help with the integration (for stupid reasons) and that he expects that'll come out with a competing product.
I think being a dev and working with the Apple eco (outside of 'normal') is a pita. Yes it's subjective. I'm hesitant to even purchase Apple's excellent hardware for this reason.
[0]: https://youtu.be/7k1ehaE0bdU?si=HB-ZcXNRtB1ox6dx&t=8463
I'm strictly talking about Apple tacking on extra AirPods features on iOS devices that they're able to control and QA.
And fuck Zuck.
E.g.: Bose, Sony, etc don't include any documentation for any non-basic features, and the only way to even enable them is via the proprietary app which run on limited environments (notably: not Linux).
I don't defend the practice at all, but no matter which hardware they picked, the practices are still the same.
every few years or so i consider jumping ship to android, but i don’t want to buy another set of headphones for that — projects like this make the migration path easier before fully committing
1. Additional freedom for used purchasers, gifted purchasers, purchasers from a past era, whatever
https://www.android.com/quick-share/
https://support.google.com/android/answer/9286773#zippy=%2Cf....
https://blog.google/security/android-quick-share-support-for...
AirDrop allows two devices to find each other and establish a temporary network to exchange data.
LocalSend and all similar tools require that you first set up a network, have both devices join it, _and then_ handles the final portion of the exchange. The key aspect of AirDrop is that it automates all the overhead.
The open/standard equivalent for AirDrop is Wi-Fi Aware (aka: Neighbor Awareness Networking), which still lacks software support.
AirPods libreated from Apple's ecosystem - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45941596 - Nov 2025 (462 comments)
edit: there's just one that's not planned for Linux and planned for Andorid- HRM. Head gestures is already implemented on Android.
I tried it out, it seems to work well. Hopefully it's not blocked by patents
but you must switch the Bluetooth profile to HFP (Hands-Free Profile) or HSP (Headset Profile).
Note that this is the default for better quality (Bluetooth spec, not Linux).
Yeah, I have the impression most people assume Apple magically solved sound/mic quality in bidirectional mode. Or they just don't care. In any case, I'm unhappy about how much Airpods are used for meetings. They sounds so much worse than any wired mic! Or your laptop's mic, as long as you're not using the speakers.
The future is now.
you can grab a proprietary binary, open it up in IDA Pro (with MCP), spend some 10 minutes crafting a good prompt and after a few million (mainly input/cached) GLM 5.2 tokens you have a python script fluently speaking the proprietary protocol.
However I'm a developer and I gladly paid the $5 so I can support the original dev for all the work that they have already done, and also for open sourcing it. I really don't want to maintain my own fork, sync it, build apks etc
I have limited experience with noise canceling headphones (some circa 2008 active Sony earbuds, and some not-that-great Beats Studio Buds+. On a whim I bought AirPods 4 ANC and I’ve found them way better than I expected. Good enough for airplane noise canceling without the seal of most ear buds. They feel smaller than the beats buds, even with the stem. They seamlessly switch from my phone to iPad to Mac. I haven’t sat down to compare their quality to any of my other headphones, but I don’t really care. Nothing comes close to matching the convenience and the sound isn’t so bad that I each for something else. I did not expect to like them as much as I do.
Maybe it’s hype, maybe I don’t know what better noise canceling sounds like. These aren’t the Pros, so maybe there’s a difference.
I ask because I find Apple's wired EarPods to be less... selective than AirPods are—by that I mean they'll pick up more background noise whereas AirPods seem to only transmit my voice—but EarPods' clarity exceeds AirPods if you grab the mic and hold it next to your mouth, which you obviously can't do with AirPods.
They're never going to appeal to the audiophile communities that pride themselves on being different and/or expensive above all else, but they're actually good hardware with decent out of the box tuning. Apply some EQ on top if you so desire and they're very good.
AirPods makes it easier to listen to music across multiple devices. They sound reasonable enough for people to enjoy their music. They enable people to enjoy their music. This is why they are so popular.
What are good options for similar wireless bud headphones?
I find AirPods Pro 2 to be “good enough” where I gave away my set of XMs to someone who will actually use them.
Call (mic) quality in AirPods is better as well, if that matters at all to you. At least that’s what folks on the remote end of calls told me.
I would say the sound is great and overall better than AirPods Pro 3 when I compare the AirPods and InZone buds playing Spotify Lossless content from my iPhone, but the sound is not to my taste. Not sure how much of the quality comes from the LE audio vs better sound hardware engineering. They sound more detailed in vocals, mids, highs, but are a little warm and muddy in the lows. I can't get the sound profile to match my AirPod Pros 3 or my Kef bookshelf speakers with EQ, but I didn't try very hard. The left bud also sometimes takes a bit longer turn on once I put them in my ears, up to 30 seconds before it starts playing audio.
AirPod Pros 3 are ahead in noise cancelling, transparency, and touch controls -- the InZone buds use long touch vs short touch for volume up/down which is confusing, it's much easier to increase the volume and harder to decrease it. AirPods win out for convenience when using with Apple hardware also since I have to use the USB-C dongle since Apple hardware doesn't support Bluetooth LE Audio / whatever the codec is.
Overall I'm happy with the purchase -- they do a great job as Steam Deck headset use case.
I want to try out the new WF-1000XM6 as well, which seem to review better than the WF-1000XM5, but don't have any friends with them yet.