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> Another thing to note is that they are still a substandard user experience compared to 3.5mm jack and decent headphones ($50+ with non tangle wires) No, this

> Another thing to note is that they are still a substandard user experience compared to 3.5mm jack and decent headphones ($50+ with non tangle wires) No, this is your assessment of user experience. It’s opinion, not fact. Perhaps some $50 wired headphones sound better but different people value different things. For a long time I thought “pft what’s the big deal with AirPods, I’m fine snaking the headphone cable down my shirt when I go for a run”. Then I bought some on the recommendation of a friend. For me the user experience is far from substandard — it’s great. The charging case means they rarely run out of juice, the tap to stop/start and Siri is great for running, they sound good, I can walk around the kitchen while cooking with them paired to my laptop, I find them comfortable, etc. Fashion: I don’t care. What I’ll look like didn’t factor into the decision to buy them at all. As it happens I can easily afford them but didn’t buy for a long time because I don’t like to spend frivolously. In short: just because you think AirPods (or Apple?) sucks doesn’t mean others don’t find them valuable.

arcticbull 7y ago
> No, this is your assessment of user experience. It’s opinion, not fact. Perhaps some $50 wired headphones sound better but different people value different things. Ok, 3.5" headphones are objectively: cheaper, simpler mechanically, more reliable, easier to use, easier to connect to different devices, never run out of battery or require charging, you can't lose 1/3 of them, and oh, yeah, they tend to sound better at the same price point. They tend to sound much better at the same price point since all you need to focus on are coils and membranes, not bluetooth stacks and batteries and inductive charging coils. A set of Shure SE315s will blow AirPods Pro out of the water on sound quality and noise isolation. Yes, wireless headphones are wireless. That's all though. You can achieve all the rest with the jack, but you could achieve all of that wireless while the phone still had the jack. None of this makes AirPods Pro a platform. They're neat wireless headphones. Among the best wireless headphones probably. But that's still all they are. I've used AirPods Pro, and I've used me SE535s with an inline mic. It's gonna be SE535s by a country mile for me, even to the extent I have to go through the additional hoops of stupid dongles to hook them up. [1] [1] https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/earphones/se535 https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/earphones/se535
- asutekku 7y ago
  But that’s the thing. A lot of people are willing to compromise just for the wirelessness. People apart from tech-people or audiophiles don’t really care about the points you listed or if they do, the convenience that comes from the wirelessness is more important.
- jamesrcole 7y ago
  Being wireless counts for so much for me. For myself and many other people, the experience of wireless headphones is hands-down superior to wired headphones. I would never go back to wired ones. Wires are a pain. They get tangled, they mean your phone and headphones need to always be close (which adds a certain amount of friction, once you get used to the alternative), but most importantly (for me) they get caught on things all the time.
- jen729w 7y ago
  Hi! I’m Johnny Average Consumer. Nice to meet you. > Ok, 3.5" headphones are objectively: cheaper, I don’t care. I’ll pay for convenience. This phone was a thousand dollars! > simpler mechanically, Why would I know or care? > more reliable, You may have a point here, but the convenience of wireless overrides this for me. > easier to use, What about that horrible wire? It gets tangled in my pocket and I rip my headphones out when I run. > easier to connect to different devices, I only have one device. > never run out of battery or require charging, I charge my AirPods Pro every few days. This is a non-issue. > you can't lose 1/3 of them, But I mangle the wire on my old headphones all the time, so this feels like a fair trade-off. > and oh, yeah, they tend to sound better at the same price point. I’m neither an audiophile nor particularly price conscious. > A set of Shure SE315s will blow AirPods Pro out of the water on sound quality and noise isolation. I’ve never heard of those and wouldn’t know where to buy them. > Yes, wireless headphones are wireless. That's all though. This is such a naive statement. I’m sorry, but it totally ignores everything that Average Consumer wants. > None of this makes AirPods Pro a platform. Not yet. > They're neat wireless headphones. Among the best wireless headphones probably. But that's still all they are. Once you’ve tried a pair of truly great wireless headphones you’ll never go back. Yours, Average Consumer
  - 7y ago
weego 7y ago
What on earth do you value in a $160 pair of earphones then?
- cranekam 7y ago
  > What on earth do you value in a $160 pair of earphones then? Well, all the things I just listed. It may be true that I could get 90% of the functionality of AirPods for half the price, but that would mean researching what to buy, dealing with incompatibilities, and losing 10% of the features AirPods offer. But I loathe researching what to buy and dealing with wonky hardware. I'm fine with paying a bit of money to avoid these hassles. So while $160 is not "cheap" I felt confident that a) I'd get something I liked, b) that they'd work well, c) that I was okay with spending $160 on them. Would I spend $320? No. But I'm happy with what I got and what I paid. You or anyone else might not be, and that's totally fine as well.
KaiserPro 7y ago
I never said they suck. What I failed to get across is that they are compromise. Technically they are amazing. I mean look at how small they are. But they are not a platform. They are not superior headphones, they excel because they are small. not because they do anything better than any other headphone. I've not mentioned sound quality because that's full of mysticism. Airpods to me sound fine, in a low noise environment. I have bluetooth headphones, they work, they are sound isolating. They look like shite, and so do I when I wear them. I use them commuting, in the office (sometimes) and when I'm cleaning or doing DIY (30db is attenuation means I can listen without going deaf.) I bought them because they are noise isolating. However I curse when they run out of battery. I curse when I go through congested 2.4gig areas. As for value, fashion is a value. People buying them because they look sleek is a value judgement. Loads of people think they are valuable, otherwise this article wouldn't have been written.
- chrisseaton 7y ago
  > They are not superior headphones, they excel because they are small. They are superior headphones because they are small. Being small is part of their qualities as headphones, not apart from them.
scarface74 7y ago
I thought that the AirPods were ridiculously overpriced when they came out and wondered why anyone would get them. I’m still kind of on the fence about the usefulness of them, the control, and the fit. Then I heard rumors about Apple coming out with noise cancelling AirPods about the same time I was getting fed up with my “open office”. As soon as I read the first reviews of the AirPods Pro, I ordered them. I have no regrets. The integration with iOS, noise cancelling, transparency mode, control with the stem, etc is great. While controlling the volume without having to use Siri would be nice, for me it’s not a big deal, I just use the crown on my Apple Watch.

arcticbull 7y ago

> No, this is your assessment of user experience. It’s opinion, not fact. Perhaps some $50 wired headphones sound better but different people value different things. Ok, 3.5" headphones are objectively: cheaper, simpler mechanically, more reliable, easier to use, easier to connect to different devices, never run out of battery or require charging, you can't lose 1/3 of them, and oh, yeah, they tend to sound better at the same price point. They tend to sound much better at the same price point since all you need to focus on are coils and membranes, not bluetooth stacks and batteries and inductive charging coils. A set of Shure SE315s will blow AirPods Pro out of the water on sound quality and noise isolation. Yes, wireless headphones are wireless. That's all though. You can achieve all the rest with the jack, but you could achieve all of that wireless while the phone still had the jack. None of this makes AirPods Pro a platform. They're neat wireless headphones. Among the best wireless headphones probably. But that's still all they are. I've used AirPods Pro, and I've used me SE535s with an inline mic. It's gonna be SE535s by a country mile for me, even to the extent I have to go through the additional hoops of stupid dongles to hook them up. [1] [1] https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/earphones/se535 https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/earphones/se535

asutekku 7y ago
But that’s the thing. A lot of people are willing to compromise just for the wirelessness. People apart from tech-people or audiophiles don’t really care about the points you listed or if they do, the convenience that comes from the wirelessness is more important.
jamesrcole 7y ago
Being wireless counts for so much for me. For myself and many other people, the experience of wireless headphones is hands-down superior to wired headphones. I would never go back to wired ones. Wires are a pain. They get tangled, they mean your phone and headphones need to always be close (which adds a certain amount of friction, once you get used to the alternative), but most importantly (for me) they get caught on things all the time.
jen729w 7y ago
Hi! I’m Johnny Average Consumer. Nice to meet you. > Ok, 3.5" headphones are objectively: cheaper, I don’t care. I’ll pay for convenience. This phone was a thousand dollars! > simpler mechanically, Why would I know or care? > more reliable, You may have a point here, but the convenience of wireless overrides this for me. > easier to use, What about that horrible wire? It gets tangled in my pocket and I rip my headphones out when I run. > easier to connect to different devices, I only have one device. > never run out of battery or require charging, I charge my AirPods Pro every few days. This is a non-issue. > you can't lose 1/3 of them, But I mangle the wire on my old headphones all the time, so this feels like a fair trade-off. > and oh, yeah, they tend to sound better at the same price point. I’m neither an audiophile nor particularly price conscious. > A set of Shure SE315s will blow AirPods Pro out of the water on sound quality and noise isolation. I’ve never heard of those and wouldn’t know where to buy them. > Yes, wireless headphones are wireless. That's all though. This is such a naive statement. I’m sorry, but it totally ignores everything that Average Consumer wants. > None of this makes AirPods Pro a platform. Not yet. > They're neat wireless headphones. Among the best wireless headphones probably. But that's still all they are. Once you’ve tried a pair of truly great wireless headphones you’ll never go back. Yours, Average Consumer
- 7y ago

weego 7y ago

What on earth do you value in a $160 pair of earphones then?

cranekam 7y ago
> What on earth do you value in a $160 pair of earphones then? Well, all the things I just listed. It may be true that I could get 90% of the functionality of AirPods for half the price, but that would mean researching what to buy, dealing with incompatibilities, and losing 10% of the features AirPods offer. But I loathe researching what to buy and dealing with wonky hardware. I'm fine with paying a bit of money to avoid these hassles. So while $160 is not "cheap" I felt confident that a) I'd get something I liked, b) that they'd work well, c) that I was okay with spending $160 on them. Would I spend $320? No. But I'm happy with what I got and what I paid. You or anyone else might not be, and that's totally fine as well.

KaiserPro 7y ago

I never said they suck. What I failed to get across is that they are compromise. Technically they are amazing. I mean look at how small they are. But they are not a platform. They are not superior headphones, they excel because they are small. not because they do anything better than any other headphone. I've not mentioned sound quality because that's full of mysticism. Airpods to me sound fine, in a low noise environment. I have bluetooth headphones, they work, they are sound isolating. They look like shite, and so do I when I wear them. I use them commuting, in the office (sometimes) and when I'm cleaning or doing DIY (30db is attenuation means I can listen without going deaf.) I bought them because they are noise isolating. However I curse when they run out of battery. I curse when I go through congested 2.4gig areas. As for value, fashion is a value. People buying them because they look sleek is a value judgement. Loads of people think they are valuable, otherwise this article wouldn't have been written.

chrisseaton 7y ago
> They are not superior headphones, they excel because they are small. They are superior headphones because they are small. Being small is part of their qualities as headphones, not apart from them.

scarface74 7y ago

I thought that the AirPods were ridiculously overpriced when they came out and wondered why anyone would get them. I’m still kind of on the fence about the usefulness of them, the control, and the fit. Then I heard rumors about Apple coming out with noise cancelling AirPods about the same time I was getting fed up with my “open office”. As soon as I read the first reviews of the AirPods Pro, I ordered them. I have no regrets. The integration with iOS, noise cancelling, transparency mode, control with the stem, etc is great. While controlling the volume without having to use Siri would be nice, for me it’s not a big deal, I just use the crown on my Apple Watch.