I agree they aren't a platform (yet?). I just don't understand why you're conflating this with an assertion that AirPods can't possibly offer any additional uti

I agree they aren't a platform (yet?). I just don't understand why you're conflating this with an assertion that AirPods can't possibly offer any additional utility over a basic set of wireless headphones. I for one don't want to know what Shure offers or deal with adding microphones or whatever. I don't care about that. I just want to pay someone a sum of money I am okay with paying for a product that will do what I want. I don't even care if it doesn't sound quite as good as the best possible offering; for me part of the utility is not needing to think about all this stuff. (That doesn't mean I would blindly buy anything Apple makes or whatever my friends tell me, but in this case I felt pretty confident I'd be happy with my choice and I was.) I'm glad you're happy with your setup and choices. It wouldn't work for me but it does for you. That's all that should matter to you.