Apple is a premium brand, and so you pay premium prices. $250 seems in line with high-end noise-cancelling earbuds: https://headphonesaddict.com/best-noise-can

Apple is a premium brand, and so you pay premium prices. $250 seems in line with high-end noise-cancelling earbuds: https://headphonesaddict.com/best-noise-cancelling-earbuds/ https://headphonesaddict.com/best-noise-cancelling-earbuds/ Can't speak to quality since they're not released yet, or the complaint about replaceable battery, but I imagine the demographic of people who want a replaceable battery isn't the largest, and for better or worse Apple has eschewed replaceable batteries for going on a decade now.