I've had a pair for 12 days now, and as much as I was looking forward to these for multiple reasons they just make too many steps back from the BlueBuds X series to be worth the premium asking price. I have returned the Freedoms and am sticking with my Sony SBH80's instead while I wait for a better alternative.I have literally been refreshing an amazon search tab for Jaybird Freedom since they announced them. I was excited because the earbuds look very similar to the Klipsch Image X10 wired headphones that had a super small earbud. The Klipsch Image X10's were the most comfortable earbuds I've ever owned! One of my issues with my BlueBuds X's is the ear tips fall out in my ear or on the floor after I take them out of my ears because they don't have any retention holds on them, so when they get earwaxed up or sweaty they just slip off. Let me clarify I'm not talking about the bud falling out of my ear, I'm talking about the rubber tips falling off the buds. The new freedoms do not have this issue and if anything have solved it with the tapered design, so they get a couple points for at least fixing that and making them out of metal instead of cheap plastic.The battery life at 4 hours doesn't seem accurate, I seem to hear the dreaded 20% warning very very frequently and I only wear them when I'm going for walks/runs which are about 1-2 hours each day. I charge them when I get back, so not sure what is going on there. The snap on battery is such a big chunky thing you feel like you went back in time (See uploaded images for comparison to their first BlueBuds X model, which I show them next to each other and with/without the GIGANTIC clip attached). I don't like that the charger has plastic snap points on it (four) that I'm sure will end up being the weak point on these over time. I have had my charger break on me on a Samsung Gear Live Android Wear watch which also had plastic snap points, never again. Why its not a magnet instead is beyond me (other than that would make it easier for it to fall off). The controls are bigger than the old X's because they put the bluetooth chip in the control panel rather than in the earpieces. I liked the idea of that for getting the chip further away from my brain but also for a better signal, but boy does the signal get lost easy. It feels like it has to be in line of sight, like 20 feet. Every other pair of headphones I've had other than a couple LG Tone's let me wander around my downstairs if my phone is charging in the center of my house. These cut out literally the worst of any pair I've owned. The X's never broke signal until I was at the edges of it (40-50 feet or so when connected to a class 2 receiver).Long story short, they are very comfortable in my ears, but the small battery, AWFUL range, charging cradle (setup for failure), and large extended battery clip just really make it feel like a cheap pair of chinese knockoff headphones to me. I really really wish they got it right but unfortunately they just didn't no matter how you look at it (unless you only need 3 hours of play time I guess and don't mind spending so much money for that). There are so many options out now that they just don't compete with the current playing field other than having great feeling tips.Background for my preferences:I have been an avid collector of good quality/sounding headphones for a long time and have had some experience with a large gamut of products. I work from home and for the most part listen to music about 9-10 hours every day, I take phone calls on my headsets all without having to even look at my phone. My go to for in ear bluetooth are now the Sony SBH80's. I use them whenever I leave the house, which I do at least once a day for 1-2 hours. My current everyday use for bluetooth around ear headphones are the Sony MDR1RBT's. I realize there are better ones out there for sound quality at this point, but for me, comfort is a really really important feature and boy are they comfortable! I've tried the Plantronics BackBeat PRO's but they were extremely uncomfortable. I've tried a couple of Sony's cheaper versions including the noise cancelling Sony MDRZX770BN but they are too muddy and lack detail. The new Bose SoundLink II are comfortable but slightly smaller than I want for all day use. I haven't owned the Bose though just tried them at a store. I used to own a pair of their around ears a long time ago and the bands were designed to break so I stay away from that company (not to mention the sound signature is not to my taste). My favorite wired headphones are Sennheiser HD 650's but I don't use them enough anymore because I just can't stay tethered to a cable anymore after experiencing life without it.