Have You or Anyone You Know Wanted AirPods Style Bluetooth Earphones but with a Wire and Long Battery Life?

Months ago I was having some back and forth with another user about bluetooth earphones that were Airpods style, not TWS and had a wire connecting them.
These non in ear Airpods style and non TWS ones are pretty hard to find for some reason and after thinking there was only 1 crappy option I had given up.

But I since had my eye on another pair I found and they dropped $20 in price so I ordered them.
I was going to update that user I was chatting to but that post is locked now so thought I will just post in forums just in case anyone else is looking for them.
Link to comments: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/712616

I got these JBL Tune 215BT for $50 shipped from Amazon UK. I don't have Prime but it still gives free shipping. They had been $70 for a few months now.
https://www.amazon.com.au/JBL-Tune-215BT-Headphones-Built/dp…
They have a decent 16 hour battery life from a single charge and have a companion App which you can use to update them if necessary.
The next closest price is $66 from a random eBay AU seller.

The only other similar design pair I found was the Philips SHB5250WT which are not even worth linking because they have a really low 4.5 hour battery life from a single charge. The Philips were also $69 on Amazon. For awhile I thought these were the only option so I had given up.

I prefer these non in ear Airpods style earphones because they are just a lot more comfortable and also don't create a perfect seal which allows me to hear things around me while using them.

Benefits I wanted from non TWS +Longer battery life from single charge which is good for watching movies or if you forget to charge them once or twice +I can pull one out and just let it hang down, I don't have to find a place to put it down and I can easily put it back in +If one falls out it doesn't fall and risk getting stepped on or go down a drain. +Buttons to control functions such as volume, no more accidental triggering of touch sensors when adjusting or having them fall out when I touch them and try to actually trigger the sensor +Cheaper than Airpods 2nd gen and IMO the JBL have better design.

Negatives I can think of -Sometimes after a day of getting sweaty I can feel pretty greasy on my neck, so I will kind of be subconscious of the wire getting dirty and maybe the plastic wearing out. -For the same reason it might feel a bit annoying on the back of my neck after sweating. -Battery lasts longer from single charge, but I will need to get used to it to make sure I charge it regularly maybe once a week. -Only the Tan colored one is $50 which might blend in with your skin color, I would have preferred the blue colored one because it would be more obvious to others that you are listening to headphones. But for $20 savings I settled for the Tan color.

Comments

  • I did use ones similar to them but i dont anymore simply cause they dont make any sense for me.
    I use airpods pro or galaxy buds 2 for everything except movies/TV Shows on my TV for that i use Fiio BTR3k and a standard 3.5mm sony earphones (can lay my head flat against a pillow with no discomfort), I choose that cause i can charge and use them at the same time if i forget to charge them which cannot be done with those things you have.

    I prefer there non in ear Airpods style earphones because they are just a lot more comfortable

    Ive hated the non in ear earphones since the very first time ive ever used them, they have NEVER been comfortable and worse than the comfort they always sound like crap.

    • "Ive hated the non in ear earphones since the very first time ive ever used them, they have NEVER been comfortable and worse than the comfort they always sound like crap."

      Really you prefer the bit of silicone that goes in your ear? Because if so it's the opposite of the feedback I have heard. Many say in ears are extremely uncomfortable. I think Airpods Pro are an exception I remember reading somewhere they don't have the plastic "stem" part of typical in ear earphones so the silicone that goes inside your ear feels softer.

      Maybe non in ear were uncomfortable for you because the size of the the ones you tried was too large for your ear ear. I can kind of see how it would cause discomfort over time if it was pressing outwards on your inner ear.

      Regarding "always sound like crap" maybe you haven't tried a lot of them then. Because there are ones that sound bad and ones that sound good. I've tried many non in ear TWS models.
      One thing is for sure though because they don't seal the bass is often less than an in ear design with a seal. But I have tried some non in ear TWS which have boosted the bass so that wasn't a problem.

      • idk where this "many" you claim comes from but there's a reason why in ear is the the route everything has gone and while the type you bought is so hard to find.

        cause discomfort over time

        Sure if 2 seconds after putting them in is over time for you with the pain increasing further over time.

        Ive tried at least three that i can remember, Some cheap Philips brand 15-20 years ago when i was a kid, those Apple earbuds that can with iphones and ipods before 3.5mm was removed, and recently the Apple Airpods 3 The airpods 3 was definitely the best sounding and still very mediocre and instantly uncomfortable, i remember back when i was a kid forced to use them it was only bearable by using the foam cover thing that came with some of them whatever it's called.

        • Yeah I don't know what to tell you. Because I found the Apple earbuds just right in size comfy, and so would the Airpods 2nd gen since I know they would be the same size.

          I guess you really hated them 😂.

          • @n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: lol someone seriously downvoted your comment wtf

            yeah idk its similar with headphones some hurt after a while using them then some like my Bose QC45 (and previous models) i can wear literally 24+ hours and it will never hurt.

            • @Axelstrife: Agree with the Bose QC45/35 comfort. They have large and deep earcups and that seem to agree with most of the ears out there.

              Regarding downvotes. I spent a brief time on reddit just to seek help from one thread and let me tell you it's way worse over there. You can post or comment and instantly within seconds it's at 0 votes because of a silent downvoter lol.
              Come back the next day and it's at -6. And that's without getting any attention, just normal behaviour.

    • "on my TV for that i use Fiio BTR3k and a standard 3.5mm sony earphones (can lay my head flat against a pillow with no discomfort), I choose that cause i can charge and use them at the same time if i forget to charge them which cannot be done with those things you have."

      Arguably not exactly a fair comparison to say "you can charge them while using". For example I could criticize that your Fiio + wired sony setup is more awkward and fiddly. And if you are regularly charging them while using them, you may as well be using the sony headphones wired to begin with since they are no longer wireless and you cannot walk around??

      • Im watching a movies or TV not walking around, i only use the fiio setup for my TV with my Apple TV, rather have something that's comfortable and allows me to charge and use vs something that's useless till it charges. I use these in my bed watching movies on my 55" in front of it so not in the lounge room or something like that. Purely the best things for my use case nothing more.

        • "vs something that's useless till it charges."

          Yes but that's assuming there is 0% charge left. I included the negative point in my post "I need to get used to charging it because of the longer battery life" because I was really digging for negative points I could think of.
          In reality I can keep my devices charged quite easily and usually do so before I get a low battery warning, especially ones with longer battery life. It's just the learning curve I was talking about because obviously I won't need to charge them as often. I just need to make a mental note they don't need charging every 2 days but maybe every 5-7 days.

      • more awkward and fiddly.

        Not really. I use similar, and just leave them connected together permanently.

        you may as well be using the sony headphones wired to begin with since they are no longer wireless and you cannot walk around??

        Powerbank if you were desperate.

        • Just saying more awkward and fiddly compared to "wireless headphones/earphones". Obviously there is a long cable dangling and connecting to the Fiio. Not much of a problem if you are just sitting on the sofa though.

          "Powerbank if you were desperate."

          Good point. I occasionally use one to charge my phone when walking around.

  • what about induction headphones, seems to capture all of your needs and nothing goes in your ear

    • Too expensive for what it is.
      In my post when I mention "allows me to hear things" I mean I like how I can still hear outside noises such as a car alarm or person calling, it doesn't have to be the best hearing possible like bone conduction allows.

  • never liked the in ear type, prefer the 1st gen air pod type when it sits in the ear, if that makes sense.

    SoundPeats have to be my fav, i have tried other brands but they seem to have an issue with connection sometimes where it splits the sound across the ears and one might have a millisecond of a delay then fixes itself.

    • "never liked the in ear type, prefer the 1st gen air pod type when it sits in the ear, if that makes sense."

      Yup that's the design I am talking about. Airpods 2nd gen is exactly the same design as Airpods 1st gen.

      "i have tried other brands but they seem to have an issue with connection sometimes where it splits the sound across the ears and one might have a millisecond of a delay then fixes itself."

      I never had that problem. Had a different one though, with one TWS set once in awhile one of the earbuds would not activate and turn on when you took it out of the case. It's the right side one most of the time. Get's pretty annoying because I have to put it back in the case, close the lid, then open the lid again to trigger it to turn on.

      • yeah well at least im not in the only one. i have found a brand from big W, checking their site they are not listed, but they come in either white or grey and in a ball type charger case, rather then a circular rubber piece that goes into the ear they are oval. they do feel better but still a pain for long periods of time, they are tiny though which aids in the prolonged use.
        funnily enough these are the only brand i have seen with oval ear pieces.

        i have had that issue with the non activation of the ear pod a few times with cheaper units but mainly the sound split delay, SoundPeats and the ones i have now dont do it but the other brands i have had as i tend to throw these in the wash with my pants thus the many cheapies i have tried.

        my go to now are my JBL over ear wireless headphones $99 best bang for buck set i have ever had. they can connect to multiple devices at once and sound fantastic, battery life is great too.

        • "i have had that issue with the non activation of the ear pod a few times with cheaper units but mainly the sound split delay,"

          Yeah mine are cheapies too paid between $34 to $50 when on sale. I gave away two older pairs and kept two pairs which I have been rotating between since one of them is almost 2 years old and doesn't last more than 90 mins, they still work though so I use them when I know I will only listen for a shorter time.
          I never had the sound split delay issue with any of them though. Maybe it has to do with wireless interference? Lots of WiFi or wireless devices in your room?

          I have experienced a lot of variation in features and ability. For example the older Taotronics pair has great bass and range, I can walk 8 to 10 metres away through walls and it will not drop sound or connection. But the new cheapie which I got for $34 while it has better battery life at over 3 hours, it has less bass and when I walk 3 metres away from the device through 1 wall the sound starts dropping out. Can't use them to walk around while listening.

          • @n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Speaking of some Frankenstein serious stuff, I had I paid of air pod knock offs from Coles, cost me $19, great sound, range was crazy and you can pair both or any single piece without issues.

            Put them through the wash.

            Did the same to my sound peats and they would have been my most daring expensive pair and loved them.

            • +2

              @Kiro: Those must have been great for $19. Wouldn't think to look for TWS earbuds at coles lol.

              Haven't put any through the wash yet. I usually check all pockets before they go in the laundry basket. Hasn't failed me so far.

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