Hi all, my son wants a pair of Airpods Pro Gen 2, but I'm not too keen on paying >$300 for something he could easily lose or break.
When it comes to the fakes, I'm wondering if there are there any where the performance is not too bad for the price? I'd be happy to buy fakes if I knew I was getting decent value for money.
Haha!
How old is your son? AirPods Pro 2 are very nice to have, maybe he can earn them somehow.
Quite a few videos here to enlighten you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgH4ijIOXaE
Just make sure your son gets it about the high cost and high risk.
Of course he will say.. "Not me"
Or alternatively get your son to choose "compatible" AirPods and give him a budget so you dont have to argue the point.
Thought about just buying something else?
Does buying knockoffs because they can be easily lost or broken send the right message?
I just thought a Sony headphone is more for the younger ones.
@littlesoldier try posting your link with the question mark and everything after it removed
Just did a random search https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006875462632.html?
Or this which you can choosing with lightning port too
It will be easier for him to lose it if you buy fakes since they won't have tracking like the real ones. Your options are:
How old is he btw?
He's 13. Thanks for your advice. Our thinking was that we might be able to pick up fakes which perform at around 80% of the level of the real ones, hopefully for a fraction of the price. I do take the point that I could get another brand which would probably perform equally as well or better however. He likes the idea of having the Apple logo.
Does he keep his ears clean? Apple stuff is king for teens. If there's a path for him to earn them, like mowing the lawns for three months, he prolly be highly motivated to earn them.
Not a bad idea - thanks.
He likes the idea of having the Apple logo.
Might be time for the talk on consumerism
As you say, He is 13 and likes the idea of having the apple logo. So the fake ones won't cut it.
The main point is mostly likely the perceived "social status" with his pears, not the sound quality.
Don't get him fakes. Otherwise you'll turn him into "Kenny" once his friends find out.
"your family is poor, Kenny…YOUR FAMILY IS POOR!"
with his pears
Don't you mean apples?
He likes the idea of having the Apple logo.
FWIW (from a parent to another), this is the perfect opportunity to stand up and be a parent.
Like your son is starting to get to the age where you should be having conversations with him about peer pressure, social status, how large corporations use marketing to try and influence his buying behaviour and what he wants…etc., and starting to teach him values about buying what he can afford, being proud of what he has, and not buying into this toxic hype culture.
Also, not to mention the plethora of legal and ethical issues with fakes - is that the sort of example that you want to set for your son? That if he wants something, but can't afford it, then he should just fake it?
When I worked at McDonalds there was a 13 year old working there. Apparently no minimum age in South Australia. He was so tiny, it was kinda weird really, could barely reach the back of the grill. Couldn't work during school hours of course.
But he worked and bought the stuff he wanted himself, iPods and such at the time. And even if he can't legally work in OPs state, I'm sure he can do work to earn money. Walking dogs, stuff like that. Kids can be very industrious when they want to be.
And you really don't understand how young people see AirPods and iPhones. It's like slap bracelets when you were a kid, or Pogs or whatever. Imagine being the only kid in your class without those snap off sweat pants or a Walkman.
I remember holding a "garage sale" with all my old toys so I could make money to buy Super Nintendo games or whatever I was into. People who showed up were obviously disappointed it wasn't a real garage sale, but still bought stuff because they could see I was trying to earn money.
But he worked and bought the stuff he wanted himself, iPods and such at the time. And even if he can't legally work in OPs state, I'm sure he can do work to earn money. Walking dogs, stuff like that. Kids can be very industrious when they want to be.
Sure, I think that's a great idea.
And you really don't understand how young people see AirPods and iPhones. It's like slap bracelets when you were a kid, or Pogs or whatever. Imagine being the only kid in your class without those snap off sweat pants or a Walkman.
Today it's fake AirPods, tomorrow it's fake designer clothes, the next day it's a fake Rolex.
I'm not saying a kid shouldn't own AirPods - obviously he could receive them as a gift, worked for them, bought them himself…etc. whatever the case is, the point I was making was around the use of fakes to chase social clout, and how that is just a bad idea.
@p1 ama: Even if it is social clout that makes him want them, once he has them he will enjoy them for what they are. The sound quality is great, the ANC is great, 24 hour battery life with the charging case, it's all great. The best earbuds I've ever owned and I've spent thousands on earbuds over my life. It's perfectly sane to want to own AirPods Pro 2 imo. For what they are they are priced well.
@AustriaBargain: To each their own, but I didn't get the latest and trendy goods growing up (I understood my family's income was not that high), and personally I feel it has had a positive impact. I feel I learnt a deeper appreciation of intrinsic (versus extrinsic) happiness.
I’ve looked into fakes and it’s not worth it. A decent pair working at 70-80% is still going to run you $250-$280 including postage. It’s not worth it when it doesn’t come with guarantees it will turn up or any form of warranty.
There are some ones for less than $100 but I’d be surprised if they lasted a week.
I got a fake airpod 1st gen 4 years ago and it is still working as of today
Its not my primary earphone, just as a backup when my airpod 2nd gen runs out of battery
using it probably once a week
Just note that when its fake, it's not fake to a point to put Apple logo and similar packaging
its just the product design looks similar to airpod (eg. case and the ear piece)
@littlesoldier: The good fakes have the exact same design minus the logo, which is what you’d need to look at to get 80% of the quality, especially for the Pro’s which have noise cancellation.
The impersonation type ones are different
As others have suggested, if you can afford then get him to run errands and earn it.
In todays world:
1) Peer pressure is real - he will be very upset to if he himself (even more so if his peers) find out its a fake
2) Owning branded items is not bad - whats bad is expecting it to fall from the sky
Otherwise, be open to him and explain that its too expensive and you are willing to entertain a cheaper brand.
If his friends know his earpods are fake (while he doesn't), he will hate you for life because of the embarassment.
Link for these please ?
just a heads up, the microphone on my unit never worked
https://detail.1688.com/offer/673585735435.html - use an agent like cnfans or wegobuy
Have a look at this reddit as well https://www.reddit.com/r/RepTronics/wiki/ultimateguide/
Make him save his pocket money, then buy them, if he wants. He might value them more then.
I wouldn’t put cheap Ali baba, temu batteries in my ears.
Refurbished?
I looked into that. Doesn't really stack up. Reebelo want $319 for refurbished ones, when you can buy them brand new for $350 from JB Hi-Fi for example.
I bought my teen 3rd gen refurbished airpods for Xmas for $140 from eBay. No complaints from her.
$249 for as good as new straight from the Apple's mouth: https://www.apple.com/au/shop/product/FME73ZA/A/Refurbished-…
Go on reptronics on Reddit
I bought some "superpods" off Aliexpress 2 years ago, and for $40 they worked brilliantly, until i put them in the wash… So probably a good thing i didn't have the real thing.
Really surprised at the quality tbh, auto start/stop, auto pairing, great sound quality and noise cancellation. literally could've passed it off as the real thing.
now have pixel buds pro and love em.
I know little about Airpods etc, but my Tozo A3 looks similar and I'm happy with them.
There are plenty of legal and ethical issues with "fakes". Least of which is that you could, at the very least, actually support a brand who produces a good product which stands alone instead of needing to pretend to be a different product.
(Also, just from a parent to another parent, wouldn't you want to set an example for your kid to buy what he can afford, and to be proud of what he has, as opposed to "faking it"?)
There are plenty of really good quality big name brand options which are "comparable" to the Airpods Pros - examples are the Sony WF-1000XM3, which is often on sale on the Sony eBay store for $99, or the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 or Buds FE, which are often on sale on Amazon for $99. Pixel Buds A are also a good option, but they don't seem to be on sale much.
If you want to go even cheaper, the SoundPEATS ones on Amazon seem to be a good low-cost option which suit the mantra of "80% there, at 20% the cost".
I would link you to them but Amazon pulled them off their site a few days ago.
most likely got reported for counterfeit.
here still had the tab open on my phone in case it comes back ( sometimes it doesn’t and gets listed under different title).
https://www.amazon.com.au/Wireless-Bluetooth-Headphones-Canc…
also btw other than their phones and tablets I don’t think Apple stuff like AirPods has any logo on it.
also fyi new budget airpods are on the way. so far what I know about them is $99 price (USD I think) they are not in ear (like 3rd gen airpods) and will have noise cancelling ambient features.
$99 in US probably means around $120 to $130 AUD on sale or with 10% off Apple GC at Coles. so only 3x the price of fake airpods which were $39.99 I think when I saw them in the link above.
What device is he going to use them with?
iPhone, iPod? Something else?
lol iPod
Nah, Zune.
I never targeted apple headphones but Soundcore space a40 is amazing in every way
I have a pair of these. Excellent value for money and I have no connection issues. After over a year of use my battery runs flat in an hour.
Second this. I've had Soundcore P20i for about a year and they never missed a beat.
Anker is a fairly reputable brand and they were only $30 at last year's prime sale.
I got a pair of Aldi ones for $50, work well, still going >1 year on!
He is only 13 so don't give him a choice. SoundPEATS Air 2 or Air 3 are great bang for buck.
Love my Air 3
Just get the non pro version. Much cheaper.
After wasting a lot of time and energy trying to find cheap AirPods online and then going through the eBay refund process after receiving non-working fakes, I bought my teen son a pair of clean, used, genuine AirPods online a few years ago from either eBay or Fb marketplace or similar (can’t remember).
The seller had the original docket so all went well. You can also check the serial number and model number online to confirm they’re genuine. My son still uses them every day, never any problems. Great if you can buy locally with cash and pickup. Some sellers just upgrade to latest model.
My son is 16 and he’s had 2 different pairs of AirPods and I’m surprised that he has never lost them as he doesn’t really keep track of his property and forgets where he puts things ..so you might be surprised and he will not loose them ..
I am in my 40s, went through many pairs of cheap TWS finally found a good one for $16. The ones that didn't make it had short battery life, very loud max volume warnings, white noise, difficulty in connecting and short distance operation. This does not include sound quality.
Anyway what I want to say is if you buy a fake, your supporting the black industry. You might end up with any issues with cheap earbuds that i mentioned above. They are not even worth that much, you are paying for the brand why not pay for the real stuff so the money support the right company. Then again I don't see why a 13 yr old need a $300 earphone or an apple watch it's just a distraction from studies.
Yeah look AirPods are great, I use them, and if I was a kid I would have loved them, but they are expensive.
I would be similar to other commenters, is this something you don't even need to bat an eye about to purchase and it won't make a dent to your finances, if so, make him earn it through chores and what not, but it shouldn't be given to him like that.
Alternatively, he just needs to learn to deal with not having them until maybe he's another year or two older. Personally I think kids don't need them just yet, I've seen teenagers roaming about with them in their ears going everywhere like it's super cool, also dangerous especially if they don't hear anythng while walking about or they just get rolled for them as well.
As to alternatives, a few years ago Xiaomi had some ones called Airdots 3, that was a few years ago, you can still buy them, I heard they weren't too bad. They had some newer ones called the Redmi buds 3 pro. Which is still sort of affordable:
https://www.amazon.com.au/Xiaomi-Redmi-Buds-3-Pro/dp/B09C3W5…
Anways, good luck, use this as an opportunity to explain to your child, whether you get them for him or not.
I can't wait till it's my turn to have to give this lesson to my kids or explain it to them haha
Get him some pro shokz. Yes, I know they don’t look like AirPods.
Tell him they are cooler. (They are if u r 13). Mad lit on God no cap cooler.
I prefer a cheap stuff but I wouldn't buy a fake one.
As for Airpods, you can buy an authentic one in the range of $200 to $300 if you are patient enough and know how to a fake one. All you need to do is searching for it through gumtree, and facebook marketplace as someone gets it a gift and wants to sell for some bulk.
Occasionally, you can get from Amazon or even Officeworks, JB, HN etc at around $250.
A fake real good one still costs you quite a bit so if your budget is around the range above, just casually search around and you will get one.
Plus, you always find a fake one has some issues with connect and you have no idea which fake one is good enough as you can't judge from its look.
Galaxy buds 3, the best fake airpods.
But not cheap
I understand this is Ozbargain, So it is to be expected the majority of people here are likely not exceptionally wealthy, and considering you prioritise price over form and function, I will assume you are not very wealthy either.
Armed with understanding that the poor and middle class have completely different opinions and life philosophies to that of the rich and powerful, my question to you is, what future do you want for your child?
Would you like him to follow in your footsteps, with the likely outcome to ultimately live just like you do? If so, do what you feel to be right. teach him and treat him how you please.
Or do you want a different life for him/her? Perhaps you would them to be a successful Entrepreneur CEO? someone that doesnt need to sweat the small things like buying earpods? ask yourself how would a very rich person approach this situation and why?
Or do what all other poor people do, teach him earn it and the value of "appreciating what you have" and set him up to join the struggle of the rat race and work in someone else's business and building other people dreams.
If I were in your situation, I would challenge him/her to think of creative ways to generate the money required, learn the power of leveraging other peoples money. perhaps plant a few seeds in the mind, maybe organise an event / fundraiser at the local skate park with a sausage sandwish store and hold raffle for earpods or something. I would act as an investor, supply the funds needed for the business model, and once all said and done, claim back the initial investment + 30% interest (and put the 30% towards his college fund) and he keeps the profits to do as he pleases.
ChatGPT?
Not worth spend $50 on fake AirPods as most will fail within few days/weeks.
Lots of sale out there for AirPods and the AirPods Pro. You should be able to get some for less than $200. Pros can be slightly more - maybe $250-$300 during sale time.
I'ved Airpods Gen 1, 2, 3, Soundpeats and Soundcore
Soundcore is really good quality for a good price imo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URB67FrWr2E