Air8 wrote:
David, I do believe it is hardware. Or better said the combination of hardware and software in this case.
I'm absolutely positive the pops in my Air 2 come from the speakers and I think I can proof it.
I've posted this in this thread already, because it randomly produces the same loud popping noise on my device when doing the following:
1. Play a song in the Music app.
2. Open Settings/Music/Equalizer.
3. Switch between "Late Night" and "Latin" presets quickly while the song is playing. It's important to use the "Late Night" preset here.
You don't even have to play the audio file at high volume, the pop is much louder than the song itself.
I get more pops that way as with the Spotlight/keyboard "method".
But if I set the volume to zero and do the same the pops are gone until I raise the volume again.
That's the reason why I believe the pop comes from the speakers.
It would be interesting if the people who think they received a flawless device could try this out. If yours doesn't pop while switching the presets for a while, that would be interesting news.
About the static electricity in general. How shall a static charge build up in a device with a metal body which you are grounding every time you touch it?
While I do get a clicking sound using the method above, I don't think this is the same thing as the random pops I get for two reasons:
1. The pops from the method above are at the same volume as the music. The random pops I get are much louder.
2. I can reproduce "pops" on my iPhone 5s using the method above and I never hear pops on my iPhone 5s.
For me, the pops are almost like the speaker is warming up or stuck. The pops almost always happen when sounds haven't played for a while. For example unlocking the screen. I never hear it when typing even though I have keyboard clicks enabled.
My IA2 is a Wifi+Cell 128 GB production week 47.