Pros

• Class-leading pairing that you’re four-year old could do for you
• Sleek with that sweet Apple look
• Long battery life
• Ease of use
• Very good sound quality

Cons

• Short comfort level (about three hours)
• Poor button placement
• Pricey
• Low volume (updated)

The Bottom Line
In a world of “I just can’t find an all around great Bluetooth headset”, the Apple does pretty well. It’s high price makes it difficult to recommend but if you’re not too concerned with that, then we’d say that this headset may just be your iPhone’s digital best friend.

UPDATE: Do note that this is a soft volume headset. Read more below.

Ratings

Overall:

Ease of Use:

Battery:

Sound:

Price:

Recommended
(Weak) Yes No

Full Review
I can’t begin to tell you how many Bluetooth headsets (BTh) I’ve used since that first one I paired up with my SonyEricsson T68 six years ago. I’ve tried a ton of them and spent probably over a thousand dollars on all of them in total. While I’ve found some “good” ones, everyone has had a deficiency. That’s why Apple’s asking price of $129 made me really hesitant when I had to replace my Plantronics Voyager 510.

As much as I liked the Voyager 510, and the Discovery 655 before that, it had issues just like every other headset before it. I’ve found the most common problem with BTh units is the lack of volume. Motorola is notorious for this problem. I have yet to find a Moto I can hear in a normal environment as opposed to a library quiet one. The Plantronics units had good volume (man, just one more notch and it would have been great) but like the Jabra headsets I’ve had before, the tone was too deep and I constantly asked people to repeat what they had said because it never was clear enough for me to understand the first time.

Range has also been a problem as well. Even though Bluetooth can be as far as 10 meters (about 30 feet) from its paired device, my body seemed to be too thick for many headsets to communicate from my left ear to the phone on my right hip. Maybe a distance of – what? – three feet? Walking away from the phone on a desk or in a drawer on some units was only good for six to eight feet before static crept in. In general, though, only the cheaper headsets had issue with poor reception.

Lastly, comfort has been a problem for many manufacturers. Apparently, most test its devices on animals as some of the headsets I’ve worn simply hurt upon contact! Scores of units can not withstand the test of time and start aching the ear canal within a couple hours and only a handful are good all day. Plantronics and Jabra are the only two that have fallen into the latter.

So, in short, those are my issues. How does the $129 Apple Bluetooth headset fit into this equation? Mmm, not too bad. In the sound department, it actually is one of the best sounding headsets I’ve used. Natural and accurate reproduction of the callers voice. No heavy tone or high treble. Could it sound better? Sure, but again, it sounds pretty darn good in my opinion.

I’ve noticed some static when my iPhone is in its case on my left hip and the BTh is in my left ear. Only minor amounts of static and for a mere second. I can walk a decent distance from it before it gets filled with static. About 14 feet…with my ear facing the phone. If I turn my head the other direction, then shave 5 feet off of that. But overall, good distance relatively speaking.

“So how’s that comfort?” you ask. Not bad, but not good, either. I wore it for three hours this morning before it became tiring. I endeavored for you, my readers, and kept it in for another hour and a half. While it didn’t kill my ear or anything of the sort, it was a relief to remove it from the side of my head. I can tell you that this will not be a Bluetooth headset that I will keep in my ear all day like I did with my Plantronics.

I was surprised to find that the volume is pretty darn good. Like the Plantronics, the Apple Bluetooth headset just needs one more notch and it would have been perfect. Unlike many other headsets on the market equipped with volume buttons, Apple has put only a single button on its BTh. Volume is controlled from the iPhone as is muting. It works very well, but does take away from the hands-free idea when you have to go dig out your iPhone from your case or pocket while driving to make audio adjustments.

Speaking of that single button, I’ve got to say, it’s probably not placed in the best spot. Positioned on the top of the headset, it simply presses in and pops back out. It is very easy to press…when not in your ear. Maybe I have large ears, but the back of my ear makes a bit difficult to answer or disconnect a call when pressing the button while attached to my “big” ear. All that cartilage just seems to get in the way of my finger. A button on the side makes more sense but would make the headset lose its sleek look.

One interesting feature on this headset is the auto-off. When you dock it, it shuts the unit off. When you remove it from the dock, it’s still off and attempting to turn it on and pick up a call quickly is very difficult. I missed a couple of calls with this trail. An auto-on from the removal of the dock would have been cool…or even cooler, a proximity sensor much like the iPhones to activate it when in your ear and disable when not would have been the cats meow for sure!

In classic Apple form, it has made pairing the headset with your iPhone a no-brainer. Literally. All you do is swap the supplied iPhone dock with the one that comes with the Apple Bluetooth headset. Connect the dock to your USB port (sorry, you can’t use your existing cable to plug into the new dock as Apple has made this dock with an non-removable cable,) dock the iPhone, and then dock the headset. Wait a few seconds and then – presto! – you’ll see your battery icon move down on the iPhones screen and a headset icon appear above it. Your paired and charging. Too sweet.

You can also pair your headset with your Mac. It’s like pairing other devices requiring you to put the headset into discovery mode and entering four zeros for the password. Uses for the headset on your Mac include iChat (per Apple) and I would suspect Skype.

While I haven’t ran down the battery to its last drops, I have noticed that after a full day of use, I barely cracked its capacity per the on-screen indicator when I dropped it in the dock. From what I have read, this Bluetooth headset has some incredible lasting power.

Overall
So, how does it compare to the others I’ve used? Well, I can tell you right now that I’m not wowed by it, but I am impressed. The comfort level could have been better as well as the button placement. Volume is very good but not great. Sound quality is wonderful but not superb. Battery life seems very impressive and without a doubt pairing is the best in the industry when doing so with the iPhone.

Okay, okay, is it worth $129? I’ve heard some justify the high price with the fact that you get a new dock and a portable charging cable that will connect to both the iPhone and BTh. Apple really had to include the dock to make the cool pairing work. So it’s not like that’s a bonus. The portable cable, hmm, don’t know if that’s a bonus either. When comparing this to other headsets of quality, the price really is in the same ballpark. Honestly, it’s hard for me to really say yes or no on the pricing. If it were $99, then I’d say yes without a doubt, but man, that trip into the triple digits makes it tougher to make a resounding yes for it. I sway toward the yes, but could also make a case for a no, as well. In short, it comes down to how bad do you want this and how picky are you about your headsets. And also if you can afford it.

Updated: I don’t know what happened in the months since I purchased this BTh, but something happened and in a bad way. After thinking I had a faulty unit, Apple replaced my headset. Volume never improved. Things are just too difficult to hear while driving in my truck to the point where I’m shoving the headset as deep as it’ll go into my ear. Either Apple did something in a firmware update to lower the volume or I’m going deaf. My Jawbone replacement tells me it’s not that latter.

Price: $129

Platform: Bluetooth

Product information

One Response to “Apple Bluetooth Headset”

1. RZ500 Says:
   October 27th, 2009 at 10:13:08

   I´m with you on this the same problem, mine start at 2.2 update

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