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> The real selling point of ear buds is the fashion part. People are wearing them because they are a signal of how rich/successful they are. Or people just rea

> The real selling point of ear buds is the fashion part. People are wearing them because they are a signal of how rich/successful they are. Or people just really like the convenience of well implemented wireless headphones.

asdff 7y ago
If people were buying solely for the convenience factor, they wouldn't be putting up with the $160 price tag to get a blutooth version of the headphones that came free with the phone. There are plenty of good and cheap headphones on the market if convenience was your only concern.
meesles 7y ago
Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set. Apple is not king of audio hardware, they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities and fashion statements. And what convenience? They're just selling a bluetooth thing online, same as everyone else. I agree with GP about the tech journalism. I find it funny that the usual cast of journalists that write these articles have been doing so for years and stand to gain a lot from Apple's success, and are deeply embedded in Apple's press organizations.
- M4v3R 7y ago
  Which wireless buds have the same exact experience as AirPods Pro? The seamless pairing with Apple devices is something only those buds have, and you really need to experience it to give it credit. My wife used many different headphones but absolutely fell in love with AirPods just because they are so easy and seamless to use.
  - pushpop 7y ago
    Any Bluetooth earphones will pair easy enough. Once you’ve paired reconnecting is automatic and you only need to pair the once for the entire lifetime of any particular Bluetooth device. I run a 3rd party Bluetooth earphones (not headphones) and honestly I find them nicer to use than AirPods because they’re comfier, stay in the ear better, have equivalent battery life and I prefer the sound “colour” too - though that’s in part because they fit better so the sound is better channeled down the ear canal. My point being that there are a lot of great earphones (and headphones) on the market. In fact it was already quite a saturated market even before Apple entered into it. So people shouldn’t be so quick to assume that Apple are the best in class nor even the only high end audio manufacturer worth looking at.
    - Matthias247 7y ago
      I think pairing is decent on Bluetooth audio devices. However connecting still leaves some things to be desired. Most speakers/headphones can only connect to a single source at a time. Even the top of the line and extremely well rated Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones will only connect (not pair) to a single bluetooth device at a time. If you want to switch audio from your laptop to your phone you got to manually disable the connection on one device, and connect again on the other. That is quite clunky if you have like 3 PCs (work/home) and a phone and would love to use your headphones with any of them. As far as I understand the Airpods might at least not require to manually disable the connection when switching to a different device. But I can't say for sure, since I don't own a set.
      - pushpop 7y ago
        My earphones are two years old and can be paired to dozens (I’ve not yet hit a hard limit) of devices and can be connected to two sources concurrently with the ability to swap connections between any of the other active devices on the fly using the earphones iPhone app (so you’re not manually disconnecting devices). As an audiophile I also don’t think Sony are the greatest example because in my experience Sony haven’t been making the best audio equipment for several decades (despite their price point and cult following).
      - zuppy 7y ago
        unfortunately they (airpods pro) seem to stay connected to only a single device, which is a shame. my other daily use headphones (qc35) can be connected to 2 devices in the same time and it helps as when someone calls me on the phone it pauses the laptop music and switches to the call.
    - pushpop 7y ago
      I’m getting heavily downvoted for that comment and I do understand the appeal of Apple hardware (I happen to be bought into the Apple ecosystem as well) but as an audiophile who’s always shopped around for equipment over the last 3 decades I can assure you there are plenty of other companies out there releasing good products. Some, in fact, are even out innovating Apple. But you often have to shop around to find them. For example last week I was playing around with some cans which literally mapped the inside of your ear then created a unique sound profile for the wearer (they also did all the same features as AirPods too).
  - Zombieball 7y ago
    I think Beats are the only other headphones (not buds) with the w1 / h1 chipset.
    - zeckalpha 7y ago
      They do have buds, too: https://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/powerbeats-pro https://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/powerbeats-pro
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  > they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities ...but that sounds good to me? Was that supposed to be a negative point why to not buy their products?
- EugeneOZ 7y ago
  Did you read the AirPods Pro features set?
- ramraj07 7y ago
  I have gone through three different "pod" phones before settling on the airpods. This included the premium Jabra ones. And I actually use the airpods with Android phones, which is actually a substandard experience compared to using them with iPhones and they're still miles ahead in user experience. I'm not an apple fan, I hate using my work Mac and refuse to buy another iPhone after trying one for two years. But the airpods are the bomb even in spite of the substandard speaker quality. Anyone who has to use their headsets to talk any length of time are doing themselves a disservice if they've never used airpods. In fact I'd say that the airpods are the only thing apple has gotten fully right since Jobs.
  - toasterlovin 7y ago
    FWIW, I’ve seen the complaints about how they sound, but to me they sound great. Only issue with original AirPods was inability to seal out external sound, but it looks like AirPods Pro solve that.
- fnord77 7y ago
  > Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set. they don't have the same exact feature set, though. airpods just work, reliably. no fiddling, no repairing. No frustrating set up. That's what you're paying for. The extra 80% of effort for that last 20%. And for many people, it's worth it.
  - hamilyon2 7y ago
    Well, my personal experience with airpods is opposite. A lot of fiddling, frustrating to set up, unreliable on every, most basic step.
    - toasterlovin 7y ago
      FWIW, I think the phone you have makes a big difference. Mine were terrible with an iPhone SE, but work extremely well with an iPhone 11.
  - bluntfang 7y ago
    i have a pair of TaoTronics TT-BH053, $40 on amazon right now, and they do all the things you list. I'm not sure if I'll ever try the airpods due to price, but these bluetooth earbuds/microphone work fucking amazing. Maybe I need to reseat the buds every once in a while, but that seems like my general bluetooth experience...the protocol kinda sucks, but revolutionary non the less.
    - toasterlovin 7y ago
      > they do all the things you list FWIW, if you think people buy Apple devices because of lists of features, you’ll simply never be able to make sense of Apple’s success.
tidenly 7y ago
I see Chinese people in Tokyo wearing them all the time. Even when not listening to music and just talking to friends. It really is like some kind of fashion accessory.
- applecrazy 7y ago
  Anecdote: I'm a college student, and around half the people I see on campus (including me) wear these around while talking to their friends. It's kind of cool but also kind of a problem.
  - EugeneOZ 7y ago
    On the other side: my son is a high school student and they have a rule to remove the headphone(s) if they are talking, talking in headphones is a bad manners for them.
  - evgen 7y ago
    Also anecdote, but I wear mine frequently when commuting or listening to a bit of background music at work and because there is no cord or significant weight I will often forget that I have them in. I once wore them in to work from my commute and did not notice that they were in until I went to put on a hat when going out to lunch and brushed one out of an ear.
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    > It's kind of cool but also kind of a problem. Why, assuming they’re not playing anything or have noise cancelling on?
    - applecrazy 7y ago
      My personal perception is that it implies you're not giving 100% to the conversation at hand, if that makes sense.
- matwood 7y ago
  I have the AirPods Pro and find myself often using them with nothing playing just for the noise canceling. The noise canceling is not quite as good as some over ears I've used, but the combination of comfort and noise canceling from APPs makes them superior in my eyes. I often forget I have the APPs on. APP also has an interesting pass through mode where there is some noise canceling, but sounds like voices are highlighted.

asdff 7y ago

If people were buying solely for the convenience factor, they wouldn't be putting up with the $160 price tag to get a blutooth version of the headphones that came free with the phone. There are plenty of good and cheap headphones on the market if convenience was your only concern.

meesles 7y ago

Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set. Apple is not king of audio hardware, they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities and fashion statements. And what convenience? They're just selling a bluetooth thing online, same as everyone else. I agree with GP about the tech journalism. I find it funny that the usual cast of journalists that write these articles have been doing so for years and stand to gain a lot from Apple's success, and are deeply embedded in Apple's press organizations.

M4v3R 7y ago
Which wireless buds have the same exact experience as AirPods Pro? The seamless pairing with Apple devices is something only those buds have, and you really need to experience it to give it credit. My wife used many different headphones but absolutely fell in love with AirPods just because they are so easy and seamless to use.
- pushpop 7y ago
  Any Bluetooth earphones will pair easy enough. Once you’ve paired reconnecting is automatic and you only need to pair the once for the entire lifetime of any particular Bluetooth device. I run a 3rd party Bluetooth earphones (not headphones) and honestly I find them nicer to use than AirPods because they’re comfier, stay in the ear better, have equivalent battery life and I prefer the sound “colour” too - though that’s in part because they fit better so the sound is better channeled down the ear canal. My point being that there are a lot of great earphones (and headphones) on the market. In fact it was already quite a saturated market even before Apple entered into it. So people shouldn’t be so quick to assume that Apple are the best in class nor even the only high end audio manufacturer worth looking at.
  - Matthias247 7y ago
    I think pairing is decent on Bluetooth audio devices. However connecting still leaves some things to be desired. Most speakers/headphones can only connect to a single source at a time. Even the top of the line and extremely well rated Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones will only connect (not pair) to a single bluetooth device at a time. If you want to switch audio from your laptop to your phone you got to manually disable the connection on one device, and connect again on the other. That is quite clunky if you have like 3 PCs (work/home) and a phone and would love to use your headphones with any of them. As far as I understand the Airpods might at least not require to manually disable the connection when switching to a different device. But I can't say for sure, since I don't own a set.
    - pushpop 7y ago
      My earphones are two years old and can be paired to dozens (I’ve not yet hit a hard limit) of devices and can be connected to two sources concurrently with the ability to swap connections between any of the other active devices on the fly using the earphones iPhone app (so you’re not manually disconnecting devices). As an audiophile I also don’t think Sony are the greatest example because in my experience Sony haven’t been making the best audio equipment for several decades (despite their price point and cult following).
    - zuppy 7y ago
      unfortunately they (airpods pro) seem to stay connected to only a single device, which is a shame. my other daily use headphones (qc35) can be connected to 2 devices in the same time and it helps as when someone calls me on the phone it pauses the laptop music and switches to the call.
  - pushpop 7y ago
    I’m getting heavily downvoted for that comment and I do understand the appeal of Apple hardware (I happen to be bought into the Apple ecosystem as well) but as an audiophile who’s always shopped around for equipment over the last 3 decades I can assure you there are plenty of other companies out there releasing good products. Some, in fact, are even out innovating Apple. But you often have to shop around to find them. For example last week I was playing around with some cans which literally mapped the inside of your ear then created a unique sound profile for the wearer (they also did all the same features as AirPods too).
- Zombieball 7y ago
  I think Beats are the only other headphones (not buds) with the w1 / h1 chipset.
  - zeckalpha 7y ago
    They do have buds, too: https://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/powerbeats-pro https://www.beatsbydre.com/earphones/powerbeats-pro
chrisseaton 7y ago
> they are the king of turning decent quality, well-packaged and integrated hardware into commodities ...but that sounds good to me? Was that supposed to be a negative point why to not buy their products?
EugeneOZ 7y ago
Did you read the AirPods Pro features set?
ramraj07 7y ago
I have gone through three different "pod" phones before settling on the airpods. This included the premium Jabra ones. And I actually use the airpods with Android phones, which is actually a substandard experience compared to using them with iPhones and they're still miles ahead in user experience. I'm not an apple fan, I hate using my work Mac and refuse to buy another iPhone after trying one for two years. But the airpods are the bomb even in spite of the substandard speaker quality. Anyone who has to use their headsets to talk any length of time are doing themselves a disservice if they've never used airpods. In fact I'd say that the airpods are the only thing apple has gotten fully right since Jobs.
- toasterlovin 7y ago
  FWIW, I’ve seen the complaints about how they sound, but to me they sound great. Only issue with original AirPods was inability to seal out external sound, but it looks like AirPods Pro solve that.
fnord77 7y ago
> Then buy the black ones for 1/5 of the price and the same exact feature set. they don't have the same exact feature set, though. airpods just work, reliably. no fiddling, no repairing. No frustrating set up. That's what you're paying for. The extra 80% of effort for that last 20%. And for many people, it's worth it.
- hamilyon2 7y ago
  Well, my personal experience with airpods is opposite. A lot of fiddling, frustrating to set up, unreliable on every, most basic step.
  - toasterlovin 7y ago
    FWIW, I think the phone you have makes a big difference. Mine were terrible with an iPhone SE, but work extremely well with an iPhone 11.
- bluntfang 7y ago
  i have a pair of TaoTronics TT-BH053, $40 on amazon right now, and they do all the things you list. I'm not sure if I'll ever try the airpods due to price, but these bluetooth earbuds/microphone work fucking amazing. Maybe I need to reseat the buds every once in a while, but that seems like my general bluetooth experience...the protocol kinda sucks, but revolutionary non the less.
  - toasterlovin 7y ago
    > they do all the things you list FWIW, if you think people buy Apple devices because of lists of features, you’ll simply never be able to make sense of Apple’s success.

tidenly 7y ago

I see Chinese people in Tokyo wearing them all the time. Even when not listening to music and just talking to friends. It really is like some kind of fashion accessory.

applecrazy 7y ago
Anecdote: I'm a college student, and around half the people I see on campus (including me) wear these around while talking to their friends. It's kind of cool but also kind of a problem.
- EugeneOZ 7y ago
  On the other side: my son is a high school student and they have a rule to remove the headphone(s) if they are talking, talking in headphones is a bad manners for them.
- evgen 7y ago
  Also anecdote, but I wear mine frequently when commuting or listening to a bit of background music at work and because there is no cord or significant weight I will often forget that I have them in. I once wore them in to work from my commute and did not notice that they were in until I went to put on a hat when going out to lunch and brushed one out of an ear.
- saagarjha 7y ago
  > It's kind of cool but also kind of a problem. Why, assuming they’re not playing anything or have noise cancelling on?
  - applecrazy 7y ago
    My personal perception is that it implies you're not giving 100% to the conversation at hand, if that makes sense.
matwood 7y ago
I have the AirPods Pro and find myself often using them with nothing playing just for the noise canceling. The noise canceling is not quite as good as some over ears I've used, but the combination of comfort and noise canceling from APPs makes them superior in my eyes. I often forget I have the APPs on. APP also has an interesting pass through mode where there is some noise canceling, but sounds like voices are highlighted.