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Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

699 points by 123six 7y ago

LegitShady 7y ago
That's because they're overpriced heavily marketed Bluetooth earbuds pushed by the biggest brand. I bet almost any of apples products could be similarly compared.
- patejam 7y ago
  Are they over priced? They're cheaper than Sennheiser or Bose at $159. They have a value-prop of having their own, better, wireless protocol that works flawlessly with iOS. And people seem to like the form factor.
- etaioinshrdlu 7y ago
  They also seem to have better performance specs and software quality than anything else on the market. In addition to a design that people actually like.
sadmann1 7y ago
Are airpods really worth it or is it just marketing
- umanwizard 7y ago
  They are worth it for me, but it depends on what you want in a headphone, and your mileage may vary.
- Operyl 7y ago
  I have really enjoyed using my pairs (had a 1st gen, bought the 2nd gen later on for the much quicker connections). They work absolutely amazingly with my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro. The switchover is mostly glitch free, and I can pair them to "standard bluetooth devices" pretty easily (like my complex's gym equipment). I think the investment has been pretty great, but you have to own products that make sense with them (at least an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook).
  - warp 7y ago
    Adjusting the volume is very convenient if you're wearing an Apple Watch. (so I agree, they're great IF you're already using at least the iPhone).
- joshmn 7y ago
  I hated them until I tried them. Their integration within Apple's ecosystem is killer.
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    Are they worth it if your setup is a MBP plus an Android smartphone?
    - MBCook 7y ago
      They can pair with an Android phone, but I don’t know if you get the great connection/pausing related features or not.
  - gav 7y ago
    Same. I think it's interesting because out of all the Apple products that I own, Airpods are the first that I saw and didn't want. I hated how they looked. I had a coworker who used them for calls and he talked me into buying them. Once I started using them I realized how much I enjoyed using them over wired headphones and how well they worked compared to other Bluetooth devices, especially older headsets. The only negative for me is that the Pro model didn't exist when I bought my Airpods, and the regular model has poor sound isolation--fine if you are at home, in a office, etc., but terrible on the street or on a plane.
- sevencolors 7y ago
  The killer feature is the connection awareness. You put them in your ears and it immediately connects. You take them out and it pauses the audio. I’ve had several wireless earbuds and they all suffer from connection frustrations and letting audio continue playing when not used.
  - crooked-v 7y ago
    > You take them out and it pauses the audio. Even better, if you put that earbud back in it then continues playing in both ears - which makes it a perfect intuitive enhancement of the physical actions you'd already take to talk to somebody while you have earbuds in.
  - quxbar 7y ago
    This. Even the latest high-end sony offerings can't quickly switch between devices - you have to manually re-pair them each time you want to switch devices.
  - nmfisher 7y ago
    I hear people say this everywhere, but I still find myself needing to manually pair my iPhone with my AirPods around 50% of the time whenever someone calls me. The battery life is also rubbish, they regularly fall out of my ears and they don't work with my (non-Apple) MP3 player. Giving credit where it's due, though, the microphone quality for phone calls is exceptional given the orientation and how far away they sit from your mouth. Otherwise, I really don't get understand why these things are so popular (which just shows how little I know about consumer goods and marketing). Mine were gifted to me, but mostly go unused for the reasons above. I probably wouldn't complain if they were $50 a set, but I'd never dip into my own pocket for whatever obscene amount they cost now ($200?).
- gdulli 7y ago
  A few weeks ago my company got us the Pros as a Christmas gift. It's my first experience with Bluetooth. These hurt my right ear slightly. The audio sometimes stutters. Sometimes the battery drains in one very quickly but not the other, or there's some other bug causing the audio to go out in one ear. Putting them in and taking them out of the case is awkward. Keeping them charged is a responsibility. The $8 wired earbuds I had before never had any of these problems. And I was never worried about losing them. I saw them being wired as a pro, not a con. I'm going back to those. I can't believe anyone pays $250 for these. I couldn't believe paying $50.
themagician 7y ago
I'm still surprised that it took so long to get wireless earbuds that didn't suck. I guess battery/power technology was just never in a place to make them feasible, but it still feels like it took a really long time. I remember when the Jawbones first hit the market thinking like, really? Is this the best we can do? Those things were huge. Then we get airpods and I'm sort of stunned how small they actually are. I just wish the battery was more easily replaceable.
seibelj 7y ago
Creating a successful hardware product, especially one that becomes a fashion symbol, is sooo much harder than creating software. Orders of magnitude harder. They are now taking the profits from their success.
rooam-dev 7y ago
Apple Ecosystem, Apple's way - create a problem and a solution at the same. I wonder what's the ratio among the owners, who bought vs. who received them as a gift.
- umanwizard 7y ago
  > create a problem and a solution at the same "Wires are annoying" and "other Bluetooth headphones suck" were not problems created by Apple.
  - rooam-dev 7y ago
    They removed the wired option which created a problem for some and offered a solution. Yes, I know about the dongle, already lost 2 of them.
- deleted 7y ago
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mikece 7y ago
What intrigues me more than the features of the AirPods -- especially the new AirPods Pro -- is that these little things have the potential to be a platform to themselves: https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/11/19/airpods-are-becoming-a-platform https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/11/19/airpods-are-bec...
- mantecademani 7y ago
  > This dynamic could be extended so that a simple tap of an AirPod or a quick voice command can take us to a different location via sound. Utilizing HomePods as sound receivers, an AirPods wearer would be able to “move” from the kitchen to family room. That idea of transporting yourself to another location through the use of sound is absolutely fascinating. I think developers should and will start to consider how sound enhances existing experiences, and how new experiences can come from looking at audio output and input as tools to be used to reach the user. Sound has kind of been neglected in more recent times in technology, with apps and operating systems making fewer sounds then they did in the past, since sounds are often intrusive to whatever other thing the user is listening to. But sound has the potential to communicate completely different ideas and experiences to users and that idea in the article to me is one prime example of that sort of interaction that only works through sound.
  - reaperducer 7y ago
    That idea of transporting yourself to another location through the use of sound is absolutely fascinating. I think developers should and will start to consider how sound enhances existing experiences, and how new experiences can come from looking at audio output and input as tools to be used to reach the user. I seem to remember that Microsoft released an app for the iPhone that is a map service, but it works on sound only because it's designed for blind people.
typon 7y ago
Wish there was a way for public investors to invest in certain parts of a publicly traded company. If I believe in a certain project at Apple or Google, I want to fund it and get returns on my investment.
- Waterluvian 7y ago
  Isn't that cart before the horse? The concept of investing is taking a risk. If you want to invest in only successful products after they're developed, there's no wealth delta to be a part of.
  - jimmyspice 7y ago
    I think they're getting at a model either like Kickstarter, or directly funding a department ( say Google's AR department, if you liked their Glass idea ). The problem with a normal investment and no seats on the board is that you don't really have a say on direction provided that a company does more than one thing. there's also the fact that money is fungible and would probably just subsidise loss making departments as is common today
  - typon 7y ago
    I would want to invest in projects that I think will take off. For example, if I had to invest in Tesla, I would not invest in the Cybertruck. In fact, that project turns me off investing in Tesla entirely. But say, the Model Y, on the other hand is something I think will be successful so I would bet on it
    - ericjang 7y ago
      If you believe that Tesla as a company is a reasonable capital allocator, and that the Cybertruck will end up being a flop, then you should expect that investing in Tesla will mean investing in the successful segments (Model Y per your prediction) and quickly divesting from the unsuccessful ones (Cybertruck per your prediction). The same goes for Apple and Airpods.
      - 7y ago
gmaster1440 7y ago
Impressive figures no doubt, but in my opinion flawed to consider Airpods as a standalone business and compare to other businesses. It's so successful specifically because Apple built bespoke chips, software, and integration across their ecosystem for the Airpods. This is something a brand new company building just the Airpods product would never be able to accomplish.
- psv1 7y ago
  And even if they accomplished it, they wouldn't come even remotely close to being as financially successful with the same product.
- 123six 7y ago
  Yup, good point. It's not possible to extract AirPods from Apple and still have them be as successful. But it's illuminating to isolate the business against a backdrop of other top tech companies. It's kind of like Apple spawned Silicon Valley's hottest new tech company in 2016.
- ganstyles 7y ago
  I am on my third "generation" (Airpods, AP wireless, Airpods Pro) of Airpods and have never been otherwise in the Apple ecosystem. I use Android. I think there are probably some advantages like quick pairing and being able to see battery level quickly, but so far haven't specifically needed this information. Really love the Airpods, previous had several pairs of in ear earbuds like the Google Pixel Buds, Beats, and over ear stuff like the Bose QC35. The Airpods were nearly perfect, even without an iPhone, and the Airpods Pro have made me totally replace even my Bose over the ears. I think it's an amazing product even without the integration and software and integration.
  - szemy2 7y ago
    Even for Android you can simply download an app that gives very similar features.
justinzollars 7y ago
Dear god. That's impressive.
deleted 7y ago
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jackhalford 7y ago
I have a pair of Airpods. What bugs me most is that le lithium battery is not replaceable, and will degrade after a couple years. which makes these a high-end throwaway device...
- cycrutchfield 7y ago
  As opposed to the phone itself?
  - inetknght 7y ago
    Once upon a day, phones had replaceable batteries. I'm still holding on to my ancient phone specifically because of that.
    - wiredfool 7y ago
      Quite a few of the replaceable battery devices I’ve had over the years got old, and then I had to be careful to not flex them badly, or the battery would momentarily disconnect and drop the power. Or you loose the battery cover, or the little plastic tab breaks and now it’s held on with tape or a rubber band.
  - satya71 7y ago
    The phone battery is hard to replace, not impossible.
    - londons_explore 7y ago
      Most phones are 10 minutes to replace the battery, or 30 mins if you've never done it before. I think that's about the right tradeoff for something that will be done once every 2 years.
- skyyler 7y ago
  That doesn't differ from their other offerings... Their laptops and phones do not have replaceable batteries, why would their headphones?
paxys 7y ago
As always, none of the numbers are official, so take all of them with a huge grain of salt. The article also doesn't link to a single source, not even an unofficial one. > Assuming an even split of sales between Gen 1, Gen 2, and AirPods Pro, Airpods revenue was $12 billion in 2019 This itself is a terrible assumption. AirPods Pro launched in November 2019, so had just 2 months of sales. Even otherwise, there is never an even split between the lower and higher priced versions of any product, especially when the higher one costs nearly double. Another source (https://hypebeast.com/2019/12/apple-airpods-stats-third-largest-product-2021-analysts https://hypebeast.com/2019/12/apple-airpods-stats-third-larg...) estimates the sales at $6 billion, half of what the parent article says.
- 123six 7y ago
  Correct, these are all estimates. And the sales split is unclear, but both Airpods 2 and Airpods Pro have the benefit of launching before the holidays. They got a disproportionate number of sales from those 2 months. Even if everyone went with the $150 version (which is impossible), Airpods revenue would still be $9 billion at 60 million units. The point still stands though, Apple is making a killing off Airpods. Whether the exact number is $9 billion or $15 billion isn't as important.
  - paxys 7y ago
    I am of course not debating that AirPods are successful. However, - If one random sales estimate is $6 billion and the other is $12 billion, it is clear that there isn't enough information out there, or something else is amiss. This isn't just a margin of error difference, and would completely change the graph in the parent article. - There is nothing useful to be taken away from comparing its sales numbers against a bunch of SaaS companies. Here's a better idea - put it on a graph along with sales of Echo, Fire TV, Philips Hue, Chromecast, Roku, Ring, Tile, Duracell AA Battery, GoPro etc.
    - ozim 7y ago
      1) I don't know the estimates but I see it on the streets. Everyone and their dog has AirPods. I already have seen people with Pro version as well. I do not see people walking with their GoPros. If I go skiing I don't see people with their GoPro (people mostly just go skiing and then do some pictures with their phones from what I noticed), Chromecast I have seen some but not as many. There is no comparison. 2) There is one interesting thing. Everyone would say "make software" because it is easily scalable and you want scalable business. You don't want to make physical things, because making business on physical things is not scalable. Now Apple is showing that making physical things makes loads of money if you are Apple. So still making physical things can make more money than making SaaS.
Kylekramer 7y ago
I've idly thought that Spotify should get into hardware. Headphones and/or speaker, purchase it connected to your account, and one touch button to a stream of music you like. Obviously a million times easier said than done, but has to be a better margin business than where they currently are and would be good lock in.
- taurath 7y ago
  A “single purpose music box” would be neat to me. Maybe it controls all the speakers in my house, informs me of concerts coming up, let’s me set a mood, and most importantly doesn’t care about anything else. I feel like every gadget being in one is gonna start breaking down now that software interop is more of a thing.
  - mrguyorama 7y ago
    Chromecast is $35 and will play spotify and other apps pretty darn well.
    - nathancahill 7y ago
      They did a recent promo with Google where you get a free Google Home Mini if you're a subscriber. So I don't think they are getting in to hardware.
      - ObsoleteNerd 7y ago
        Google does these promotions all over, to get more Home’s into... homes. We got a free one with our YouTube Premium subscription, another free one with our Spotify Family Plan, and another free one from our ISP (though I’m not sure if that was paid for by google or the ISP).
      - taurath 7y ago
        They have such economies of scale now, and such vertical integration that they can sell you things like speakers for free as long as it has voice integration and sucks up all of your data. The only reason they don't sell a TV for $200 is they already get all that data from the current TV providers. Chromebooks at $99? Sure, why not. And eventually nobody can compete. Users must be in google, or amazons ecosystem or be super rich to avoid it. Companies must hope that google or amazon never move into their space because they can be obliterated. This is a "kinder" version of what microsoft got anti-trusted for in the 90s.
dsalzman 7y ago
Airpods are an integral part of Apple's future medical ambition. Always in ear Airpods constantly taking your Temp, HR, Glucose, GSR, etc. With the kicker that it is only stored locally and securely on your device, all processing done locally via HealthKit. That customized data will change how we think about patient care.
- basch 7y ago
  >With the kicker that it is only stored locally Do you think most people would want to lose all their data if they lose their device?
  - reaperducer 7y ago
    It's certainly possible for the Apple Health data to be backed up to iCloud. I haven't changed devices recently, so I don't know if it is.
    - rgbrenner 7y ago
      Correct... it's backed up to iCloud or on your computer with itunes if you encrypt it.
  - abtinf 7y ago
    It has the option to backup to iCloud with end-to-end encryption.
- genS3 7y ago
  > Always in ear Airpods stopped reading there.
  - memetomancer 7y ago
    > stopped reading there. says much more about your limitations than about airpods... ever heard of hearing aids?
    - 7y ago
Waterluvian 7y ago
Has anyone found any info/study on "average likelihood of losing or damaging an airpod in a given year"? That's all that's stopping me from buying this and other premium products. I love premium products but not if I have to replace them every year.
- tbrock 7y ago
  Live a little! Nobody would buy anything nice if they were constantly worried about it.
  - calvinmorrison 7y ago
    Buying $100+ pair of headphones that are the size of a kidney bean with no strings attached doesn't really seem ridiculous. It's pretty hard to lose old apple wired headphones or real cans like my Bose QuietComforts. I don't have to worry@!
- frenchie4111 7y ago
  It's definitely anecdotal, but I know probably 30+ people who own Airpods and have never heard of anyone losing or having to have them replaced for any reason.
  - kingosticks 7y ago
    Except all the people that have to replace them when the battery lifetime expires. You can take as much care as you want with airpods, they will need replacing and you'll need to fork out again.
- nathancahill 7y ago
  One of the first reviewers of the Macbook Air lost it in a stack of newspapers.
- notimetorelax 7y ago
  I used to be scared to lose mine while running. They never came close to falling out. Also the new generation of the AirPods is more secure in the ear.
lordnacho 7y ago
How does this compare to Apple Watch? Sounds to me like this is a fairly big upside surprise. If you were given the choice beforehand, which of the two would you want to have managed? I would have guessed Watch but it looks like I'm wrong. Pretty astonishing that people will throw an extra quarter on top of the price of their phone for this, especially given that I've used noise cancelling headphones before. My guess would have been that removing the wire would only make a small difference. I guess the market is there to discover this kind of thing. Kudos to Apple for finding this.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  A couple of key things make the experience fundamentally different from traditional headphones, for me: - I can carry the little dental-floss-case around with me everywhere in my pocket. Even if I don't plan on using them, I have them there just in case. Especially when it comes to noise-cancelling, this has a major effect on day-to-day life for me as unexpected use cases pop up. - It's not just the lack of a wire: one entire step is eliminated from starting and stopping using your headphones. You just put them in your ears, or take them out. There's no messing with a cord or even a menu on your phone. Something easy is made effortless, which matters. - Once in, they stay out of the way so well that you can leave them in even if you're not using them. Then when you do unexpectedly decide to watch a video, or take a call, your phone is already plugged directly into your headspace, no extra step necessary. - All the little details. The fact that taking one out of your ear pauses your media and placing it back in resumes it is essential for wearing them passively while out and about; ordering a coffee, etc. No fumbling with your phone for a pause button; the social signal for "I'm listening" is paired with what you want your media to be doing at that moment. All of this combines into an experience so frictionless it's mindblowing.
- MBCook 7y ago
  For what it’s worth I’ve heard Apple has made more money off the Apple Watch than they did from all iPods combined. That business is HUGE too. But compared to the iPhone it looks small so people dismiss it.
- filoleg 7y ago
  >how does this compare to apple watch One more thing to consider, Apple Watch works with iPhones only. It might have changed now, but given how integrated with apple ecosystem the watch is, i doubt it is anything but a weak neutered version of the iphone+apple watch experience. Airpods, on the other hand, work great with Android. The only neutered “features” are those that i dont consider vital at all (like being able to rename the display name of your airpods that gets sent to devices attempting to pair with them).
gz5 7y ago
Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itself. Which I think may bode well for Apple in that we are only scratching the surface of what the tech can do.
- wuunderbar 7y ago
  Don't forget about first cool smartwatch.
  - NetOpWibby 7y ago
    Dick Tracy, eat your heart out!
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    The Pebble? Still no decent replacement for it.
    - jonny_eh 7y ago
      I loved my Pebble, but it was certainly not cool. Also didn't work as well as my Apple Watch, which I waited until my beloved Pebble finally died before buying.
      - Fnoord 7y ago
        Apple Watch is 4+ times the price. It still can't do some of the things a Pebble can. For starters, a Pebble can run a week without requiring recharge.
        sfkdjf9j3j 7y ago
        And yet it's still way cooler than the Pebble. Funny how that works.
_bxg1 7y ago
At a time when Apple in many ways feels like it's stagnating, the AirPods are a breath of fresh air. With an "old Apple" focus on the details, they present a fantastic user experience and give me faith that Apple still has the ability to innovate when freed from the constraints of a long-lived, entrenched product.
gigatexal 7y ago
It’s because they’re amazing. They’re seamless. And the work well enough and I didn’t know I hated wired earbuds until I got them.
taf2 7y ago
Now I can’t wait for Apple glass - fashion forward enhance eye glasses
- jdhn 7y ago
  I'm with you, Apple contact lenses would be amazing.
zyang 7y ago
It's incredible these tiny earbuds generate more than half the revenue of Tesla.
deleted 7y ago
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fizixer 7y ago
Do Airpods have a built-in microphone, and audio/ambient mixing (with ratio controllable through the phone)? I can't believe this feature is not standard on today's headphone products, especially digital ones. edit: Thanks for the responses. Looks like Airpods pro do have this feature. Thumbs up!
- sleepinseattle 7y ago
  AirPods Pro do—“transparency” mode—but you can’t control the amount of mixing.
- Psyonic 7y ago
  Airpods Pro do. Along with noise cancelling that's the main improvement.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  All AirPods have dual microphones (one in each ear). AirPods Pro let you toggle between noise cancelling and active ambient mixing.
- MBCook 7y ago
  You got answers about AirPods Pro. On the normal AirPods there is no need because they’re not isolating earphones, you can still hear ambient sound just fine.
madrox 7y ago
A couple years ago, I got a bit of saltwater in my iPhone and the headphone jack failed. Since the next generation of iPhone (the iPhone X) was about to come out, I held onto it for a couple months and bought AirPods. I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. It had nothing to do with courage. It was about eliminating a deeply ingrained user habit so they could solve the problem they themselves created. I wouldn't have bothered with the AirPods if my headphone jack had continued to function. That said, I don't know if Apple's strategy bothers me. There are a lot of user behaviors rooted in history and old constraints rather than good usability. There are a lot of downsides, but as someone who views technology as ephemeral I don't know if it matters to me.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. To do away with the point of failure that you so aptly illustrated by getting salt water in your phone? I wouldn't have bothered with the AirPods if my headphone jack had continued to function. That's you, though. There are clearly millions and millions of people who don't want wires.
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    The millions of people want reliability. They want something that just works. Wires don't just work when they get tangled or broken. Wireless doesn't just work when it runs out of batteries, gets glitches/interference, or is hassle to pair. Apple was able to tip the 'just works' balance through good engineering.
  - cortesoft 7y ago
    I don't think the person you replied to is saying they wanted wires, just that they were entrenched in using what they had until they were forced to switch. It sounds like they like the new world better, just it took a push to get them to switch.
  - vinay427 7y ago
    > To do away with the point of failure that you so aptly illustrated by getting salt water in your phone? That's Apple's point of failure. The rest of the industry (mostly) has worked out how to make a headphone jack water-resistant.
mfer 7y ago
They're easy to loose! You have to keep buying more
- saagarjha 7y ago
  They're really not.
signalremotefac 7y ago
And uber and wework and well...take your pick...zoom, that other one and that other one. You know the one with the logo. slack. Is it called podhop? hoppod? Airbnb, put them in too. Thinking about it... I probably make more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat and shopify.
malloreon 7y ago
>First, unit sales of AirPods have significant room to grow from here. 110 million AirPods have been sold since they launched, while Apple’s installed base of iPhones is 900 million. That means almost all iPhone users are still either using wired earphones or none at all. I use $15 bluetooth earbuds cause I don't want to worry about losing them.
just_myles 7y ago
Link doesn't work for me. Interested in any correlation between airpod use and making more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined.... why does that even matter in this case? Do airpods read twitter feeds to you :D ?
deleted 7y ago
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mark-r 7y ago
And now we discover why Apple removed the traditional headphone jack - and why it's never coming back.
mastazi 7y ago
I can't wear any earphones for more than 5 minutes without them falling off, this is due to the morphology of my ears. I wonder: how large is the percentage of people with the same problem? Anecdotal, but I know personally at least a couple other people that can't wear earphones for the same reason. Note: I'm talking about earphones/earbuds exclusively, headphones are fine for obvious reasons. Also some types of earphones (designed for sports) that have "ear-hooks" behind the ear are fine since the hooks will keep them in place. Note 2: my ears don't have the "bump" (not sure what the scientific term is) that is circled in red in this picture https://imgur.com/a/CJv20Zu https://imgur.com/a/CJv20Zu Edit: that bump that I don't have is called "Antitragus" https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/anatomy-ear.shtml https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/anatomy-ear.shtml
- smhinsey 7y ago
  If it's an ongoing problem that you really want to solve, check out companies like Etymotic who will take custom molds and make you exactly the earbud you need. I don't have headphones like this but I did get my musician-quality earplugs for live music done this way and it is a 1000% game changer for me.
- skizm 7y ago
  The pros you sort of shove into the ear canal and they're more or less wedged in place, right? Same with other earbuds like jaybirds. They're very different design than the normal airpods in that sense which I could totally see falling out if you were missing this "bump" on your ear.
  - mastazi 7y ago
    So as I said in another comment in this thread, in my experience, many in-ear earphones don't have enough "grip" inside the ear canal and while they will stay in place in the short term (5-10 minutes) they still rely on that "bump" in order to stay in place in the long term. The ones I've tried had rubber tips, another user told me that there are some with memory foam, maybe those ones would work
- downerending 7y ago
hellllllllooo 7y ago
Most profitable company in the tech world creates new product and uses prior manufacturing skill, brand awareness/loyalty, device lock-in, advertising experience and retail channels to sell it and makes more profit that arbitrary list of companies in different business areas. What's the point?
- MBCook 7y ago
  The point is that one little product is HUGE. Just MASSIVE. People may not think it’s very big because it’s such a small share of Apple’s revenue but it would be a success everyone talked about if a third party had got those numbers.
- excitom 7y ago
  Based on the lively discussion generated in this thread - because it's interesting.
  - hellllllllooo 7y ago
    Sure. But it's hardly suprising nor is it a useful comparison to say airpods make more revenue than Twitter.
Vysero 7y ago
I really don't understand. Why would someone pay $120 for a product they can buy online from a off brand retailer for half the price? I must be missing something. How are airpods better than say Cambridge Audio Melomania's which are almost half the cost?
- MBCook 7y ago
  Have you used them? They’re ridiculously low friction. Stick them in your ears and they’re on and paired and ready. Take them out and they’re off. Store them and they’re charging. Trivial to swap them between Apple devices, easy to pair the first time. And they sound great considering their size. They’re little magic gizmos that make me (and millions of others) happy because they work so well.
  - krick 7y ago
    Come on, they sound terrible compared to other true-wireless earbuds in the same price range. And to be turned on/off automatically is absolutely standard even for cheaper earbuds. The only thing that is true specifically for AirPods is swapping between Apple devices.
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      What products do you think compete with it?
  - Yptur 7y ago
    I once was looking for my airpods for 15 minutes until I realized that I was wearing them. Never had that with any earbuds before. Admittedly I was wearing a beanie (cold outside), ready to leave home and it was in the morning (so still sleepy) Edit: that's a good thing
- velosol 7y ago
  Check out [1] - also the Melomanias are the closest I've found to wired quality headphones (and absurdly good battery life) that also are close enough to 'just working' but they were $99 last I looked. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21985320 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21985320
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
russell_h 7y ago
I was at Costco a while ago and overheard a conversation between some kind of store manager and several visitors in suits. The manager was explaining that on weeks when AirPods are in stock their sales in the electronics department more than double. The exact numbers he mentioned escape me but were staggering. The whole time people were loading thousand dollar TVs onto carts - and the AirPods alone were doing that much over again in sales.
yjhoney 7y ago
I don't wear airpods because I came across a few articles saying they are they are really bad for the environment: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/neae8z/why-airpods-are-a-social-and-environmental-disaster https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/neae8z/why-airpods-are-a-... Honestly a little surprised that Airpods would be so successful.
- gowld 7y ago
  In the same way that every electronic product is really bad for the environment and humanity.
  - redisman 7y ago
    At least these are tiny compared to the other electronic (and just general plastic) junk I generate. I feel like every grocery trip I end up with 20x the volume of plastic that AirPods have that I would get rid of after a few years.
  - yjhoney 7y ago
    not sure what your point is... should I stop caring because it makes no difference? You care because you care.
- lm28469 7y ago
  They are virtually impossible to repair and the battery becomes shit after a couple of years because they are constantly doing full cycles so yeah, not the best for the environment. Super good for business though.
krick 7y ago
Why though? I don't know anything about AirPods Pro, but previous models were quite mediocre product compared to competition.
headsoup 7y ago
The height (another one I suppose) of blind consumerism. Buying wireless versions of the things that come in the box just because. And then also not even attempting to look further than Apple highlights it's not a matter of quality audio experience either.
komali2 7y ago
> That means almost all iPhone users are still either using wired earphones or none at all. Lol, or they're using other Bluetooth headphones?
- netsharc 7y ago
  The sentence before that is "First, unit sales of AirPods have significant room to grow from here.". LOL indeed, is this what counts as market research/insight?
lolc 7y ago
We're slowly turning into cyborgs. So far, the pieces are removable so the transformation has not truly started except for some people with disabilities. I wonder for how long that will remain true. I expect to be the odd guy still using over-ear headphones at some point. When everybody just gets implants. Or maybe I'll just join the crowd when my hearing gets worse. Wouldn't want to miss out on music would I?
mc3 7y ago
How do I profit from this information?
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Buy AirPods.
  - mc3 7y ago
    What about an AirPod derivative. AirPod futures?
freepor 7y ago
This is why Bay Area houses cost $2 million and why Enterprise SaaS is the only viable startup sector.
peterwwillis 7y ago
Several brands' true wireless earbuds have been rated as just as good or better than Airpods, such as the Jabra Elite 65t and Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2, for significantly less ($100 and under). Newer models (that are also cheaper) beat the AirPods Pro on every metric. I can't see how Airpods will continue to be a market leader if their competitors continue this trend; it'll end up like Android, where some people will pay a premium for a brand, and everyone else will pay less for a competitor.
rvz 7y ago
Well its pretty simple. Just remove the most essential feature needed by almost all iPhone users and create a new alternative, forcing everyone to buy AirPods or the second-best alternative. If they won't upgrade soon, then planned obsolescence takes it course. Due to the AirPods being a platform and ecosystem in its self, there is less of a reason for iPhone users to settle on an alternative apart from price, which completes the lock-in. I would expect Apple to make more out the AirPods after they force those stuck on iPhone 6S's or SE's to upgrade. Revenue-wise, it almost unfair to begin comparing with the revenues with any of those mentioned companies. It just puts things into perspective of how 'successful' the AirPods have become for Apple.
- Whatarethese 7y ago
  For a majority of people wireless earbuds are far superior than tangled corded headphones. Its pretty clear based on how popular in ear Bluetooth earbuds are. Not just on the iOS side either.
SStephano 7y ago
I've personally bought 9 of these in the past year and need to buy the Pro's one this month!
- mrep 7y ago
  Why?
chiefalchemist 7y ago
Not everyone will drop $1k for a new iPhone, but plenty will "upgrade" their old device with Airpods. That's what we're seeing here. The question is: how long can it continue?
Proven 7y ago
The SF homeless earned more than Uber and all these guys combined
shmerl 7y ago
Apple starts making wireless headphones (who would think it's a novelty, when they exist for years already), but calls them "airpods" instead of wireless headphones. Hype jumps to the sky, because Apple.
ravenstine 7y ago
Anyone have experience using AirPods with Android? I have a Google Pixel(first gen) and have tried various Bluetooth earbuds, but they all suck and have frequent interference. Would be cool if I can bite the bullet and get AirPods without suffering those same issues.
- hoten 7y ago
  works fine on my pixel 2. You can't 100% control the pods from your phone (only thing I know is you need to sync w/ a mac to change stuff like wifi name).
- filoleg 7y ago
  Used them for a year on my old Galaxy S8+, no issues whatsoever. In fact, they worked so well, they made me consider a forage into other apple once again, after not using any for over 5 years. A lot of my friends with Androids use airpods as well, and they vastly seem to prefer them, considering that a good number of them went through a few other truly wireless in-ear headphones before settling on airpods.
  - jakemal 7y ago
    What features are missing when using Android? I'm going to switch from Android to iPhone when the next generation comes out but was thinking about getting airpods before I get an iPhone. I was curious on what features require the iPhone. I think I am mostly interested in the auto pause when taking them out of your ear and the environment-aware noise cancelation
    - filoleg 7y ago
      Imo, none of the missing features were crucial or dealbreakers. The ones off the top of my head: 1. Initial pairing by simply opening the case instead of doing it through bluetooth settings (only done once anyways). 2. To check the battery, you need to install a separate app. 3. Activating Siri through a button press on airpods. 4. Single airpod listening mode. 5. Automatic ear detection (according to the article I read, cannot remember whether that was the case back when I actually used it). As for noise canceling controls and such, you might have to do some googling, because I only tested Android with original airpods, before pro version was available. But I have a few friends who bought pros for their Android phones specifically for noise canceling, so I assume it works fine.
misiti3780 7y ago
Can you run with Airpods in?
- JustSomeNobody 7y ago
  Get some of these[0] and it should be no problem. [0] EarBuddyz 2.0 Ear Hooks and Covers Accessories Compatible with Apple AirPods 1 & AirPods 2 or EarPods Headphones/ Earphones/ Earbuds (3 Pairs) (Clear) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BREFE4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EJsfEbM9WESMP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BREFE4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EJ...
- jdgiese 7y ago
  Yes, although it may depend on the shape of your ears. I trained for the NYC marathon and often (but not always) wore AirPods. I never had them fall out.
por93nd 7y ago
Apple is looking to make fat margins with their take on IOT, film @ 11. Personally prefer their take where the device I own is the hub as opposed to Google’s servers.
wallflower 7y ago
> Keep an eye on AirPods feature improvements, and the possibility of an Apple audio operating system in 2020. The out-of-the-box experience for Sonos is Apple like. Yes, there are forums where users have issues, and so does Apple. If Apple were to acquire Sonos, it would speed things up a bit.
cft 7y ago
Airpods are popular not purely on their own merits: new phones don't have a phone jack. So in the sense it's an exploitation of the existing iPhone pricing power.
alexfromapex 7y ago
Imagine if they managed to corner the illegal knockoff market how much they’d make
reshie 7y ago
as far as headphones go i have never seen one brand on so many heads and the initial sales are impressive. would it not be better to compare like apple music with spotify though. this is also hardware they would last a while and without subscriptions. the sales will continue im sure but start to drop off.
dang 7y ago
The submitted title ('Airpods make more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined') broke the site guidelines, which say: "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize." Cherry-picking the detail you think is most important from an article is a form of editorializing. If you want to say what you think is important about an article, do not do so by changing the title. Instead, post it as a comment to the thread. Then your view will be on a level playing field with everyone else's. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22level%20playing%20field%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
plexiglass 7y ago
I enjoyed reading this.
thewileyone 7y ago
Many alternatives with the same solution on Asian online marketplaces for the fraction of the price of AirPods. Conceptually, it's already the next big thing. Will it be Apple's next big thing? Probably yes, but in a heavily competitive marketplace.
intopieces 7y ago
I would love them to be an Apple Watch accessory. My dream is to leave my iPhone at home and do Siri on watch only.
- nikhizzle 7y ago
  As far as I understand, the Apple Watch has Siri, and the AirPods can pair directly with the Apple Watch...no need for a phone.
rajacombinator 7y ago
AirPods are an absolute joke. Total ripoff price, poor performance and design. Everyone at Apple should be ashamed.
daveheq 7y ago
Why people prefer wireless earphones to wired I'll never know; they cost more, require charging, and are easy to lose.
- efraim 7y ago
  But they don't have wires that are annoying and tethers your head to your phone.
spookybones 7y ago
I have them and absolutely hate them. Syncing issues a third of the time that are not easily remedied. I usually just use the wired version, which also gives me volume control.
nkrisc 7y ago
I have to wonder what percentage of people are like me and Apple earbuds/AirPods have never fit their ears? Are my ears that strangely shaped? Most people seem to have no problem when I've never found a pair of Apple earbuds that can stay in my ear if I do anything other than sit completely still and upright. They just don't fit, at all in any way. I have to use earbuds with a stiff silicone shroud that I can shove deep enough on my ear canal that they can't fall out. I couldn't even get the hard plastic Apple earbuds to balance in my ear, they just fell right out.
- anaganisk 7y ago
  I have the same issue, and the only reason why i wont pickup earpods, they just fall off, have you found anyway, to keep them in?
  - nkrisc 7y ago
    For Apple's products, no, they're completely unusable to me. For earbuds I found some $15 Panasonic ones that sound alright and fit me perfectly, so I bought 6 sets of them and just go through them over the years. I think I'm on set #2 right now. I also have Sennheiser HD1 In-Ear Bluetooth earbuds that fit pretty well, too. Both products I mentioned come with different size silicone shrouds so I just found the ones that fit best and shove them into my ear canal until they're stuck. Even then it's not perfect. My right ear doesn't hold them as well as my left.
dijit 7y ago
Personal opinion time; Airpods are a powerful coupling with the real next big thing: The watch. I think most of HN think of the watch as either a thing that will never happen or they think it peaked. But not only do I think that I could likely go a day without having my actual phone with me, I think this is only the beginning for that form factor. I mean, consider that: handoff is here, and works. Airpods mean external peripherals can be attached seamlessly. It supports LTE and Streaming music. The future I see, phones as they currently exist become tablets, and watches are the new phone.
- john_minsk 7y ago
  If only apple watch faces were like apps on iPhone. Can't buy one until they do.
mark_l_watson 7y ago
One thing that I think is missed: AirPods are an almost have to have addition to the Apple Watch. Without an iPhone, an Apple Watch with a data plan is pretty good for text messaging (I am traveling and tonight during dinner with my Dad and brother, the woman back home who takes care of my parrot texted me and included four pictures - the pictures were easy to view on my Apple Watch), phone calls, and reading emails. You can also use Apple Wallet on the watch for airline check in images, store discount cards, etc. With AirPods, an Apple Watch Is good for Audible books, podcasts, and music. I used to think that it was cool to just take an iPhone on a trip and be connected. Now, an Apple Watch with AirPods can suffice. For travel the only thing missing from the Apple Watch is not being able to read eBooks which is why AirPods and Audible fill an important use case. Voice control gets better all the time and our always carry digital device can get very small.
hyperpallium 7y ago
As accessories, sales are limited to iphone numbers... ...until Airpods get an eSIM (like apple watches) and become standalone products, they'll be earphones. Ear-phones, geddit? Telephones for your ears, they'll be like... oh never mind.
- tempestn 7y ago
  FWIW the 'phone' suffix just means relating to sound. A "tele-" phone transmits sound over distance. "ear" phones put sound in your ears. (Megaphone makes sounds loud, xylophone is a (traditionally) wood thing that makes sound, homophones sound the same, ...)
  - hyperpallium 7y ago
    I know; it's a joke, conflating two common usages of "phone".
hart_russell 7y ago
If apple is a public company, why are exact sales figures unknown?
- tempestn 7y ago
  Public companies have to report their figures as a whole, but aren't required to divulge sales data on specific products if they don't want to.
Kiro 7y ago
Threads about wireless headphones used to be filled with comments dismissing the whole concept. Now all of a sudden it's the best thing ever. HN really is a bad predictor for trends.
untangle 7y ago
Airpod sales benefit from one key feature: a big replacement market. They break and get lost...a lot.
mlang23 7y ago
I usually don't bitch about Apple pricing, since I personally consider ROI for most Apple products pretty OK. But headphones that costs 2.5 times the price of my Apple TV? Nah, thanks. 250 for headphones is just a joke. Divide that price by 3 and I might be interested. But I am not going to pay 250 for something I use once every month or so.
- hyperbovine 7y ago
  I don’t think anyone expects you to.
mk3 7y ago
By using the airpods for a while, I can see it being used as communication device in tandem with siri/apple watch. It's super convenient how it integrates in Apple ecosystem even right now.
ngcc_hk 7y ago
Just bought one and it is good. I got the previous version and an over the head Bose cancellation one. Both have their use. (Airplane, plug in etc ) but it is portable noise cancellation. That is great.
HeavyStorm 7y ago
I have an airpod since November 2018. I've never had an iPhone. A market research is due by Apple. This is the first Apple product that is compatible outside its own ecosystem, and my guess is that this is having a very positive impact on sales. Steve old "closed ecosystem" adage might be doing more bad than good.
- nicky0 7y ago
  You probably forgot that the iPod was Windows compatible.
shmink 7y ago
For me, apple audio earphones in general are really uncomfortable. They're just hard plastic at the end of the day but that's just my experience. My main problem with them is with other people. The audio leaks so much they may aswell be speakers.
ojosilva 7y ago
Am I out of touch or are audio-first interfaces use in public spaces/work very unpopular? I rarely witness people actioning Siri/Google assistant, most of the time I guess for obvious reasons. I wonder what's the future of audio-first UIs. Obviously that's not the case in private, at home, the car and at specialized aplications (ie medical), where audio tech is thriving.
- ezzzzz 7y ago
  No you're correct. I personally feel silly asking Siri to do anything, but yeah. I've never successfully written a speech-to-text text-message, my brain just struggles to make it happen. Here is to hoping that brain-link stuff actually happens (not holding my breath though).
ezzzzz 7y ago
This will get buried, but whatever, here are my $0.02 as an Airpods user. I have the gen 1 airpods, have had them about 1.5 years and overall, I have been pleased. Many people complain about battery life in the gen 1, I've never experienced this, but I typically only use 1 pod at a time and cycle them out when the battery gets low on one. Pros: I think that the overall design/form-factor is the true winner. The conveniently pocketable charging case, and the ability to wear them during physical activities without falling out, without the need for annoying straps etc is a huge win. Seriously. My hobby is skateboarding, and I have taken countless falls, tons of high-impact activity, and have never once had them fall out. Being free of wires also helps this. The pairing capabilities are fine (Mac and Iphone user), but I agree with what others are saying in that other options also handle this (almost) as well. I switching from IOS to Mac to be mostly seamless, but sometimes have issues switching from Mac to IOS. The sound quality is, meh, but this is Bluetooth, if you want audiophile quality, you must look for wired. Cons: One major gripe I have with the Airpods is that, while using 'Find-My' works great if you lost an Airpod outside the case (while paired), it does not work at all when the pods are in the case. I understand the charging case has no speaker, therefore no good way to alert, but if Apple had this feature on a new version, it might be enough to make me buy them before my current Airpods reach EOL. My second complaint, is that I feel like Apple is under-utilizing them as an input device for IOS/Mac. You have the capability of summoning siri, and skipping tracks, but you can't do both on a single pod. This design is bad UX for people like me, who typically only use 1 pod at a given time. I also think it would be nice to adjust volume with a gesture. I also get that Apple probably doesn't want to have feature overlap between Airpods and Apple watch, but I digress. Overall, despite some gripes, I don't really see any better options at this time for what I need them to do. When my Gen 1s die, I will shell out for new ones. I hope that Apple doesn't just rest on their laurels and actually adds some new features/capabilities on subsequent releases, but I'm not holding my breath.

699 points by 123six 7y ago

That's because they're overpriced heavily marketed Bluetooth earbuds pushed by the biggest brand. I bet almost any of apples products could be similarly compared.

patejam 7y ago
Are they over priced? They're cheaper than Sennheiser or Bose at $159. They have a value-prop of having their own, better, wireless protocol that works flawlessly with iOS. And people seem to like the form factor.
etaioinshrdlu 7y ago
They also seem to have better performance specs and software quality than anything else on the market. In addition to a design that people actually like.

sadmann1 7y ago

Are airpods really worth it or is it just marketing

umanwizard 7y ago
They are worth it for me, but it depends on what you want in a headphone, and your mileage may vary.
Operyl 7y ago
I have really enjoyed using my pairs (had a 1st gen, bought the 2nd gen later on for the much quicker connections). They work absolutely amazingly with my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro. The switchover is mostly glitch free, and I can pair them to "standard bluetooth devices" pretty easily (like my complex's gym equipment). I think the investment has been pretty great, but you have to own products that make sense with them (at least an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook).
- warp 7y ago
  Adjusting the volume is very convenient if you're wearing an Apple Watch. (so I agree, they're great IF you're already using at least the iPhone).
joshmn 7y ago
I hated them until I tried them. Their integration within Apple's ecosystem is killer.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  Are they worth it if your setup is a MBP plus an Android smartphone?
  - MBCook 7y ago
    They can pair with an Android phone, but I don’t know if you get the great connection/pausing related features or not.
- gav 7y ago
  Same. I think it's interesting because out of all the Apple products that I own, Airpods are the first that I saw and didn't want. I hated how they looked. I had a coworker who used them for calls and he talked me into buying them. Once I started using them I realized how much I enjoyed using them over wired headphones and how well they worked compared to other Bluetooth devices, especially older headsets. The only negative for me is that the Pro model didn't exist when I bought my Airpods, and the regular model has poor sound isolation--fine if you are at home, in a office, etc., but terrible on the street or on a plane.
sevencolors 7y ago
The killer feature is the connection awareness. You put them in your ears and it immediately connects. You take them out and it pauses the audio. I’ve had several wireless earbuds and they all suffer from connection frustrations and letting audio continue playing when not used.
- crooked-v 7y ago
  > You take them out and it pauses the audio. Even better, if you put that earbud back in it then continues playing in both ears - which makes it a perfect intuitive enhancement of the physical actions you'd already take to talk to somebody while you have earbuds in.
- quxbar 7y ago
  This. Even the latest high-end sony offerings can't quickly switch between devices - you have to manually re-pair them each time you want to switch devices.
- nmfisher 7y ago
  I hear people say this everywhere, but I still find myself needing to manually pair my iPhone with my AirPods around 50% of the time whenever someone calls me. The battery life is also rubbish, they regularly fall out of my ears and they don't work with my (non-Apple) MP3 player. Giving credit where it's due, though, the microphone quality for phone calls is exceptional given the orientation and how far away they sit from your mouth. Otherwise, I really don't get understand why these things are so popular (which just shows how little I know about consumer goods and marketing). Mine were gifted to me, but mostly go unused for the reasons above. I probably wouldn't complain if they were $50 a set, but I'd never dip into my own pocket for whatever obscene amount they cost now ($200?).
gdulli 7y ago
A few weeks ago my company got us the Pros as a Christmas gift. It's my first experience with Bluetooth. These hurt my right ear slightly. The audio sometimes stutters. Sometimes the battery drains in one very quickly but not the other, or there's some other bug causing the audio to go out in one ear. Putting them in and taking them out of the case is awkward. Keeping them charged is a responsibility. The $8 wired earbuds I had before never had any of these problems. And I was never worried about losing them. I saw them being wired as a pro, not a con. I'm going back to those. I can't believe anyone pays $250 for these. I couldn't believe paying $50.

themagician 7y ago

I'm still surprised that it took so long to get wireless earbuds that didn't suck. I guess battery/power technology was just never in a place to make them feasible, but it still feels like it took a really long time. I remember when the Jawbones first hit the market thinking like, really? Is this the best we can do? Those things were huge. Then we get airpods and I'm sort of stunned how small they actually are. I just wish the battery was more easily replaceable.

seibelj 7y ago

Creating a successful hardware product, especially one that becomes a fashion symbol, is sooo much harder than creating software. Orders of magnitude harder. They are now taking the profits from their success.

rooam-dev 7y ago

Apple Ecosystem, Apple's way - create a problem and a solution at the same. I wonder what's the ratio among the owners, who bought vs. who received them as a gift.

umanwizard 7y ago
> create a problem and a solution at the same "Wires are annoying" and "other Bluetooth headphones suck" were not problems created by Apple.
- rooam-dev 7y ago
  They removed the wired option which created a problem for some and offered a solution. Yes, I know about the dongle, already lost 2 of them.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

mikece 7y ago

What intrigues me more than the features of the AirPods -- especially the new AirPods Pro -- is that these little things have the potential to be a platform to themselves: https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/11/19/airpods-are-becoming-a-platform https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/11/19/airpods-are-bec...

mantecademani 7y ago
> This dynamic could be extended so that a simple tap of an AirPod or a quick voice command can take us to a different location via sound. Utilizing HomePods as sound receivers, an AirPods wearer would be able to “move” from the kitchen to family room. That idea of transporting yourself to another location through the use of sound is absolutely fascinating. I think developers should and will start to consider how sound enhances existing experiences, and how new experiences can come from looking at audio output and input as tools to be used to reach the user. Sound has kind of been neglected in more recent times in technology, with apps and operating systems making fewer sounds then they did in the past, since sounds are often intrusive to whatever other thing the user is listening to. But sound has the potential to communicate completely different ideas and experiences to users and that idea in the article to me is one prime example of that sort of interaction that only works through sound.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  That idea of transporting yourself to another location through the use of sound is absolutely fascinating. I think developers should and will start to consider how sound enhances existing experiences, and how new experiences can come from looking at audio output and input as tools to be used to reach the user. I seem to remember that Microsoft released an app for the iPhone that is a map service, but it works on sound only because it's designed for blind people.

typon 7y ago

Wish there was a way for public investors to invest in certain parts of a publicly traded company. If I believe in a certain project at Apple or Google, I want to fund it and get returns on my investment.

Waterluvian 7y ago
Isn't that cart before the horse? The concept of investing is taking a risk. If you want to invest in only successful products after they're developed, there's no wealth delta to be a part of.
- jimmyspice 7y ago
  I think they're getting at a model either like Kickstarter, or directly funding a department ( say Google's AR department, if you liked their Glass idea ). The problem with a normal investment and no seats on the board is that you don't really have a say on direction provided that a company does more than one thing. there's also the fact that money is fungible and would probably just subsidise loss making departments as is common today
- typon 7y ago
  I would want to invest in projects that I think will take off. For example, if I had to invest in Tesla, I would not invest in the Cybertruck. In fact, that project turns me off investing in Tesla entirely. But say, the Model Y, on the other hand is something I think will be successful so I would bet on it
  - ericjang 7y ago
    If you believe that Tesla as a company is a reasonable capital allocator, and that the Cybertruck will end up being a flop, then you should expect that investing in Tesla will mean investing in the successful segments (Model Y per your prediction) and quickly divesting from the unsuccessful ones (Cybertruck per your prediction). The same goes for Apple and Airpods.
    - 7y ago

gmaster1440 7y ago

Impressive figures no doubt, but in my opinion flawed to consider Airpods as a standalone business and compare to other businesses. It's so successful specifically because Apple built bespoke chips, software, and integration across their ecosystem for the Airpods. This is something a brand new company building just the Airpods product would never be able to accomplish.

psv1 7y ago
And even if they accomplished it, they wouldn't come even remotely close to being as financially successful with the same product.
123six 7y ago
Yup, good point. It's not possible to extract AirPods from Apple and still have them be as successful. But it's illuminating to isolate the business against a backdrop of other top tech companies. It's kind of like Apple spawned Silicon Valley's hottest new tech company in 2016.
ganstyles 7y ago
I am on my third "generation" (Airpods, AP wireless, Airpods Pro) of Airpods and have never been otherwise in the Apple ecosystem. I use Android. I think there are probably some advantages like quick pairing and being able to see battery level quickly, but so far haven't specifically needed this information. Really love the Airpods, previous had several pairs of in ear earbuds like the Google Pixel Buds, Beats, and over ear stuff like the Bose QC35. The Airpods were nearly perfect, even without an iPhone, and the Airpods Pro have made me totally replace even my Bose over the ears. I think it's an amazing product even without the integration and software and integration.
- szemy2 7y ago
  Even for Android you can simply download an app that gives very similar features.

justinzollars 7y ago

Dear god. That's impressive.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

jackhalford 7y ago

I have a pair of Airpods. What bugs me most is that le lithium battery is not replaceable, and will degrade after a couple years. which makes these a high-end throwaway device...

cycrutchfield 7y ago
As opposed to the phone itself?
- inetknght 7y ago
  Once upon a day, phones had replaceable batteries. I'm still holding on to my ancient phone specifically because of that.
  - wiredfool 7y ago
    Quite a few of the replaceable battery devices I’ve had over the years got old, and then I had to be careful to not flex them badly, or the battery would momentarily disconnect and drop the power. Or you loose the battery cover, or the little plastic tab breaks and now it’s held on with tape or a rubber band.
- satya71 7y ago
  The phone battery is hard to replace, not impossible.
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    Most phones are 10 minutes to replace the battery, or 30 mins if you've never done it before. I think that's about the right tradeoff for something that will be done once every 2 years.
skyyler 7y ago
That doesn't differ from their other offerings... Their laptops and phones do not have replaceable batteries, why would their headphones?

paxys 7y ago

As always, none of the numbers are official, so take all of them with a huge grain of salt. The article also doesn't link to a single source, not even an unofficial one. > Assuming an even split of sales between Gen 1, Gen 2, and AirPods Pro, Airpods revenue was $12 billion in 2019 This itself is a terrible assumption. AirPods Pro launched in November 2019, so had just 2 months of sales. Even otherwise, there is never an even split between the lower and higher priced versions of any product, especially when the higher one costs nearly double. Another source (https://hypebeast.com/2019/12/apple-airpods-stats-third-largest-product-2021-analysts https://hypebeast.com/2019/12/apple-airpods-stats-third-larg...) estimates the sales at $6 billion, half of what the parent article says.

123six 7y ago
Correct, these are all estimates. And the sales split is unclear, but both Airpods 2 and Airpods Pro have the benefit of launching before the holidays. They got a disproportionate number of sales from those 2 months. Even if everyone went with the $150 version (which is impossible), Airpods revenue would still be $9 billion at 60 million units. The point still stands though, Apple is making a killing off Airpods. Whether the exact number is $9 billion or $15 billion isn't as important.
- paxys 7y ago
  I am of course not debating that AirPods are successful. However, - If one random sales estimate is $6 billion and the other is $12 billion, it is clear that there isn't enough information out there, or something else is amiss. This isn't just a margin of error difference, and would completely change the graph in the parent article. - There is nothing useful to be taken away from comparing its sales numbers against a bunch of SaaS companies. Here's a better idea - put it on a graph along with sales of Echo, Fire TV, Philips Hue, Chromecast, Roku, Ring, Tile, Duracell AA Battery, GoPro etc.
  - ozim 7y ago
    1) I don't know the estimates but I see it on the streets. Everyone and their dog has AirPods. I already have seen people with Pro version as well. I do not see people walking with their GoPros. If I go skiing I don't see people with their GoPro (people mostly just go skiing and then do some pictures with their phones from what I noticed), Chromecast I have seen some but not as many. There is no comparison. 2) There is one interesting thing. Everyone would say "make software" because it is easily scalable and you want scalable business. You don't want to make physical things, because making business on physical things is not scalable. Now Apple is showing that making physical things makes loads of money if you are Apple. So still making physical things can make more money than making SaaS.

Kylekramer 7y ago

I've idly thought that Spotify should get into hardware. Headphones and/or speaker, purchase it connected to your account, and one touch button to a stream of music you like. Obviously a million times easier said than done, but has to be a better margin business than where they currently are and would be good lock in.

taurath 7y ago
A “single purpose music box” would be neat to me. Maybe it controls all the speakers in my house, informs me of concerts coming up, let’s me set a mood, and most importantly doesn’t care about anything else. I feel like every gadget being in one is gonna start breaking down now that software interop is more of a thing.
- mrguyorama 7y ago
  Chromecast is $35 and will play spotify and other apps pretty darn well.
  - nathancahill 7y ago
    They did a recent promo with Google where you get a free Google Home Mini if you're a subscriber. So I don't think they are getting in to hardware.
    - ObsoleteNerd 7y ago
      Google does these promotions all over, to get more Home’s into... homes. We got a free one with our YouTube Premium subscription, another free one with our Spotify Family Plan, and another free one from our ISP (though I’m not sure if that was paid for by google or the ISP).
    - taurath 7y ago
      They have such economies of scale now, and such vertical integration that they can sell you things like speakers for free as long as it has voice integration and sucks up all of your data. The only reason they don't sell a TV for $200 is they already get all that data from the current TV providers. Chromebooks at $99? Sure, why not. And eventually nobody can compete. Users must be in google, or amazons ecosystem or be super rich to avoid it. Companies must hope that google or amazon never move into their space because they can be obliterated. This is a "kinder" version of what microsoft got anti-trusted for in the 90s.

dsalzman 7y ago

Airpods are an integral part of Apple's future medical ambition. Always in ear Airpods constantly taking your Temp, HR, Glucose, GSR, etc. With the kicker that it is only stored locally and securely on your device, all processing done locally via HealthKit. That customized data will change how we think about patient care.

basch 7y ago
>With the kicker that it is only stored locally Do you think most people would want to lose all their data if they lose their device?
- reaperducer 7y ago
  It's certainly possible for the Apple Health data to be backed up to iCloud. I haven't changed devices recently, so I don't know if it is.
  - rgbrenner 7y ago
    Correct... it's backed up to iCloud or on your computer with itunes if you encrypt it.
- abtinf 7y ago
  It has the option to backup to iCloud with end-to-end encryption.
genS3 7y ago
> Always in ear Airpods stopped reading there.
- memetomancer 7y ago
  > stopped reading there. says much more about your limitations than about airpods... ever heard of hearing aids?
  - 7y ago

Waterluvian 7y ago

Has anyone found any info/study on "average likelihood of losing or damaging an airpod in a given year"? That's all that's stopping me from buying this and other premium products. I love premium products but not if I have to replace them every year.

tbrock 7y ago
Live a little! Nobody would buy anything nice if they were constantly worried about it.
- calvinmorrison 7y ago
  Buying $100+ pair of headphones that are the size of a kidney bean with no strings attached doesn't really seem ridiculous. It's pretty hard to lose old apple wired headphones or real cans like my Bose QuietComforts. I don't have to worry@!
frenchie4111 7y ago
It's definitely anecdotal, but I know probably 30+ people who own Airpods and have never heard of anyone losing or having to have them replaced for any reason.
- kingosticks 7y ago
  Except all the people that have to replace them when the battery lifetime expires. You can take as much care as you want with airpods, they will need replacing and you'll need to fork out again.
nathancahill 7y ago
One of the first reviewers of the Macbook Air lost it in a stack of newspapers.
notimetorelax 7y ago
I used to be scared to lose mine while running. They never came close to falling out. Also the new generation of the AirPods is more secure in the ear.

lordnacho 7y ago

How does this compare to Apple Watch? Sounds to me like this is a fairly big upside surprise. If you were given the choice beforehand, which of the two would you want to have managed? I would have guessed Watch but it looks like I'm wrong. Pretty astonishing that people will throw an extra quarter on top of the price of their phone for this, especially given that I've used noise cancelling headphones before. My guess would have been that removing the wire would only make a small difference. I guess the market is there to discover this kind of thing. Kudos to Apple for finding this.

_bxg1 7y ago
A couple of key things make the experience fundamentally different from traditional headphones, for me: - I can carry the little dental-floss-case around with me everywhere in my pocket. Even if I don't plan on using them, I have them there just in case. Especially when it comes to noise-cancelling, this has a major effect on day-to-day life for me as unexpected use cases pop up. - It's not just the lack of a wire: one entire step is eliminated from starting and stopping using your headphones. You just put them in your ears, or take them out. There's no messing with a cord or even a menu on your phone. Something easy is made effortless, which matters. - Once in, they stay out of the way so well that you can leave them in even if you're not using them. Then when you do unexpectedly decide to watch a video, or take a call, your phone is already plugged directly into your headspace, no extra step necessary. - All the little details. The fact that taking one out of your ear pauses your media and placing it back in resumes it is essential for wearing them passively while out and about; ordering a coffee, etc. No fumbling with your phone for a pause button; the social signal for "I'm listening" is paired with what you want your media to be doing at that moment. All of this combines into an experience so frictionless it's mindblowing.
MBCook 7y ago
For what it’s worth I’ve heard Apple has made more money off the Apple Watch than they did from all iPods combined. That business is HUGE too. But compared to the iPhone it looks small so people dismiss it.
filoleg 7y ago
>how does this compare to apple watch One more thing to consider, Apple Watch works with iPhones only. It might have changed now, but given how integrated with apple ecosystem the watch is, i doubt it is anything but a weak neutered version of the iphone+apple watch experience. Airpods, on the other hand, work great with Android. The only neutered “features” are those that i dont consider vital at all (like being able to rename the display name of your airpods that gets sent to devices attempting to pair with them).

gz5 7y ago

Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itself. Which I think may bode well for Apple in that we are only scratching the surface of what the tech can do.

wuunderbar 7y ago
Don't forget about first cool smartwatch.
- NetOpWibby 7y ago
  Dick Tracy, eat your heart out!
- Fnoord 7y ago
  The Pebble? Still no decent replacement for it.
  - jonny_eh 7y ago
    I loved my Pebble, but it was certainly not cool. Also didn't work as well as my Apple Watch, which I waited until my beloved Pebble finally died before buying.
    - Fnoord 7y ago
      Apple Watch is 4+ times the price. It still can't do some of the things a Pebble can. For starters, a Pebble can run a week without requiring recharge.
      - sfkdjf9j3j 7y ago
        And yet it's still way cooler than the Pebble. Funny how that works.

_bxg1 7y ago

At a time when Apple in many ways feels like it's stagnating, the AirPods are a breath of fresh air. With an "old Apple" focus on the details, they present a fantastic user experience and give me faith that Apple still has the ability to innovate when freed from the constraints of a long-lived, entrenched product.

gigatexal 7y ago

It’s because they’re amazing. They’re seamless. And the work well enough and I didn’t know I hated wired earbuds until I got them.

taf2 7y ago

Now I can’t wait for Apple glass - fashion forward enhance eye glasses

jdhn 7y ago
I'm with you, Apple contact lenses would be amazing.

zyang 7y ago

It's incredible these tiny earbuds generate more than half the revenue of Tesla.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

fizixer 7y ago

Do Airpods have a built-in microphone, and audio/ambient mixing (with ratio controllable through the phone)? I can't believe this feature is not standard on today's headphone products, especially digital ones. edit: Thanks for the responses. Looks like Airpods pro do have this feature. Thumbs up!

sleepinseattle 7y ago
AirPods Pro do—“transparency” mode—but you can’t control the amount of mixing.
Psyonic 7y ago
Airpods Pro do. Along with noise cancelling that's the main improvement.
_bxg1 7y ago
All AirPods have dual microphones (one in each ear). AirPods Pro let you toggle between noise cancelling and active ambient mixing.
MBCook 7y ago
You got answers about AirPods Pro. On the normal AirPods there is no need because they’re not isolating earphones, you can still hear ambient sound just fine.

madrox 7y ago

A couple years ago, I got a bit of saltwater in my iPhone and the headphone jack failed. Since the next generation of iPhone (the iPhone X) was about to come out, I held onto it for a couple months and bought AirPods. I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. It had nothing to do with courage. It was about eliminating a deeply ingrained user habit so they could solve the problem they themselves created. I wouldn't have bothered with the AirPods if my headphone jack had continued to function. That said, I don't know if Apple's strategy bothers me. There are a lot of user behaviors rooted in history and old constraints rather than good usability. There are a lot of downsides, but as someone who views technology as ephemeral I don't know if it matters to me.

reaperducer 7y ago
I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. To do away with the point of failure that you so aptly illustrated by getting salt water in your phone? I wouldn't have bothered with the AirPods if my headphone jack had continued to function. That's you, though. There are clearly millions and millions of people who don't want wires.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  The millions of people want reliability. They want something that just works. Wires don't just work when they get tangled or broken. Wireless doesn't just work when it runs out of batteries, gets glitches/interference, or is hassle to pair. Apple was able to tip the 'just works' balance through good engineering.
- cortesoft 7y ago
  I don't think the person you replied to is saying they wanted wires, just that they were entrenched in using what they had until they were forced to switch. It sounds like they like the new world better, just it took a push to get them to switch.
- vinay427 7y ago
  > To do away with the point of failure that you so aptly illustrated by getting salt water in your phone? That's Apple's point of failure. The rest of the industry (mostly) has worked out how to make a headphone jack water-resistant.

mfer 7y ago

They're easy to loose! You have to keep buying more

saagarjha 7y ago
They're really not.

signalremotefac 7y ago

And uber and wework and well...take your pick...zoom, that other one and that other one. You know the one with the logo. slack. Is it called podhop? hoppod? Airbnb, put them in too. Thinking about it... I probably make more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat and shopify.

malloreon 7y ago

>First, unit sales of AirPods have significant room to grow from here. 110 million AirPods have been sold since they launched, while Apple’s installed base of iPhones is 900 million. That means almost all iPhone users are still either using wired earphones or none at all. I use $15 bluetooth earbuds cause I don't want to worry about losing them.

just_myles 7y ago

Link doesn't work for me. Interested in any correlation between airpod use and making more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined.... why does that even matter in this case? Do airpods read twitter feeds to you :D ?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

mark-r 7y ago

And now we discover why Apple removed the traditional headphone jack - and why it's never coming back.

mastazi 7y ago

I can't wear any earphones for more than 5 minutes without them falling off, this is due to the morphology of my ears. I wonder: how large is the percentage of people with the same problem? Anecdotal, but I know personally at least a couple other people that can't wear earphones for the same reason. Note: I'm talking about earphones/earbuds exclusively, headphones are fine for obvious reasons. Also some types of earphones (designed for sports) that have "ear-hooks" behind the ear are fine since the hooks will keep them in place. Note 2: my ears don't have the "bump" (not sure what the scientific term is) that is circled in red in this picture https://imgur.com/a/CJv20Zu https://imgur.com/a/CJv20Zu Edit: that bump that I don't have is called "Antitragus" https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/anatomy-ear.shtml https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/anatomy-ear.shtml

smhinsey 7y ago
If it's an ongoing problem that you really want to solve, check out companies like Etymotic who will take custom molds and make you exactly the earbud you need. I don't have headphones like this but I did get my musician-quality earplugs for live music done this way and it is a 1000% game changer for me.
skizm 7y ago
The pros you sort of shove into the ear canal and they're more or less wedged in place, right? Same with other earbuds like jaybirds. They're very different design than the normal airpods in that sense which I could totally see falling out if you were missing this "bump" on your ear.
- mastazi 7y ago
  So as I said in another comment in this thread, in my experience, many in-ear earphones don't have enough "grip" inside the ear canal and while they will stay in place in the short term (5-10 minutes) they still rely on that "bump" in order to stay in place in the long term. The ones I've tried had rubber tips, another user told me that there are some with memory foam, maybe those ones would work
downerending 7y ago

hellllllllooo 7y ago

Most profitable company in the tech world creates new product and uses prior manufacturing skill, brand awareness/loyalty, device lock-in, advertising experience and retail channels to sell it and makes more profit that arbitrary list of companies in different business areas. What's the point?

MBCook 7y ago
The point is that one little product is HUGE. Just MASSIVE. People may not think it’s very big because it’s such a small share of Apple’s revenue but it would be a success everyone talked about if a third party had got those numbers.
excitom 7y ago
Based on the lively discussion generated in this thread - because it's interesting.
- hellllllllooo 7y ago
  Sure. But it's hardly suprising nor is it a useful comparison to say airpods make more revenue than Twitter.

Vysero 7y ago

I really don't understand. Why would someone pay $120 for a product they can buy online from a off brand retailer for half the price? I must be missing something. How are airpods better than say Cambridge Audio Melomania's which are almost half the cost?

MBCook 7y ago
Have you used them? They’re ridiculously low friction. Stick them in your ears and they’re on and paired and ready. Take them out and they’re off. Store them and they’re charging. Trivial to swap them between Apple devices, easy to pair the first time. And they sound great considering their size. They’re little magic gizmos that make me (and millions of others) happy because they work so well.
- krick 7y ago
  Come on, they sound terrible compared to other true-wireless earbuds in the same price range. And to be turned on/off automatically is absolutely standard even for cheaper earbuds. The only thing that is true specifically for AirPods is swapping between Apple devices.
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    What products do you think compete with it?
- Yptur 7y ago
  I once was looking for my airpods for 15 minutes until I realized that I was wearing them. Never had that with any earbuds before. Admittedly I was wearing a beanie (cold outside), ready to leave home and it was in the morning (so still sleepy) Edit: that's a good thing
velosol 7y ago
Check out [1] - also the Melomanias are the closest I've found to wired quality headphones (and absurdly good battery life) that also are close enough to 'just working' but they were $99 last I looked. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21985320 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21985320

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

russell_h 7y ago

I was at Costco a while ago and overheard a conversation between some kind of store manager and several visitors in suits. The manager was explaining that on weeks when AirPods are in stock their sales in the electronics department more than double. The exact numbers he mentioned escape me but were staggering. The whole time people were loading thousand dollar TVs onto carts - and the AirPods alone were doing that much over again in sales.

yjhoney 7y ago

I don't wear airpods because I came across a few articles saying they are they are really bad for the environment: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/neae8z/why-airpods-are-a-social-and-environmental-disaster https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/neae8z/why-airpods-are-a-... Honestly a little surprised that Airpods would be so successful.

gowld 7y ago
In the same way that every electronic product is really bad for the environment and humanity.
- redisman 7y ago
  At least these are tiny compared to the other electronic (and just general plastic) junk I generate. I feel like every grocery trip I end up with 20x the volume of plastic that AirPods have that I would get rid of after a few years.
- yjhoney 7y ago
  not sure what your point is... should I stop caring because it makes no difference? You care because you care.
lm28469 7y ago
They are virtually impossible to repair and the battery becomes shit after a couple of years because they are constantly doing full cycles so yeah, not the best for the environment. Super good for business though.

krick 7y ago

Why though? I don't know anything about AirPods Pro, but previous models were quite mediocre product compared to competition.

headsoup 7y ago

The height (another one I suppose) of blind consumerism. Buying wireless versions of the things that come in the box just because. And then also not even attempting to look further than Apple highlights it's not a matter of quality audio experience either.

komali2 7y ago

> That means almost all iPhone users are still either using wired earphones or none at all. Lol, or they're using other Bluetooth headphones?

netsharc 7y ago
The sentence before that is "First, unit sales of AirPods have significant room to grow from here.". LOL indeed, is this what counts as market research/insight?

lolc 7y ago

We're slowly turning into cyborgs. So far, the pieces are removable so the transformation has not truly started except for some people with disabilities. I wonder for how long that will remain true. I expect to be the odd guy still using over-ear headphones at some point. When everybody just gets implants. Or maybe I'll just join the crowd when my hearing gets worse. Wouldn't want to miss out on music would I?

mc3 7y ago

How do I profit from this information?

saagarjha 7y ago
Buy AirPods.
- mc3 7y ago
  What about an AirPod derivative. AirPod futures?

freepor 7y ago

This is why Bay Area houses cost $2 million and why Enterprise SaaS is the only viable startup sector.

peterwwillis 7y ago

Several brands' true wireless earbuds have been rated as just as good or better than Airpods, such as the Jabra Elite 65t and Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2, for significantly less ($100 and under). Newer models (that are also cheaper) beat the AirPods Pro on every metric. I can't see how Airpods will continue to be a market leader if their competitors continue this trend; it'll end up like Android, where some people will pay a premium for a brand, and everyone else will pay less for a competitor.

rvz 7y ago

Well its pretty simple. Just remove the most essential feature needed by almost all iPhone users and create a new alternative, forcing everyone to buy AirPods or the second-best alternative. If they won't upgrade soon, then planned obsolescence takes it course. Due to the AirPods being a platform and ecosystem in its self, there is less of a reason for iPhone users to settle on an alternative apart from price, which completes the lock-in. I would expect Apple to make more out the AirPods after they force those stuck on iPhone 6S's or SE's to upgrade. Revenue-wise, it almost unfair to begin comparing with the revenues with any of those mentioned companies. It just puts things into perspective of how 'successful' the AirPods have become for Apple.

Whatarethese 7y ago
For a majority of people wireless earbuds are far superior than tangled corded headphones. Its pretty clear based on how popular in ear Bluetooth earbuds are. Not just on the iOS side either.

SStephano 7y ago

I've personally bought 9 of these in the past year and need to buy the Pro's one this month!

mrep 7y ago
Why?

chiefalchemist 7y ago

Not everyone will drop $1k for a new iPhone, but plenty will "upgrade" their old device with Airpods. That's what we're seeing here. The question is: how long can it continue?

Proven 7y ago

The SF homeless earned more than Uber and all these guys combined

shmerl 7y ago

Apple starts making wireless headphones (who would think it's a novelty, when they exist for years already), but calls them "airpods" instead of wireless headphones. Hype jumps to the sky, because Apple.

ravenstine 7y ago

Anyone have experience using AirPods with Android? I have a Google Pixel(first gen) and have tried various Bluetooth earbuds, but they all suck and have frequent interference. Would be cool if I can bite the bullet and get AirPods without suffering those same issues.

hoten 7y ago
works fine on my pixel 2. You can't 100% control the pods from your phone (only thing I know is you need to sync w/ a mac to change stuff like wifi name).
filoleg 7y ago
Used them for a year on my old Galaxy S8+, no issues whatsoever. In fact, they worked so well, they made me consider a forage into other apple once again, after not using any for over 5 years. A lot of my friends with Androids use airpods as well, and they vastly seem to prefer them, considering that a good number of them went through a few other truly wireless in-ear headphones before settling on airpods.
- jakemal 7y ago
  What features are missing when using Android? I'm going to switch from Android to iPhone when the next generation comes out but was thinking about getting airpods before I get an iPhone. I was curious on what features require the iPhone. I think I am mostly interested in the auto pause when taking them out of your ear and the environment-aware noise cancelation
  - filoleg 7y ago
    Imo, none of the missing features were crucial or dealbreakers. The ones off the top of my head: 1. Initial pairing by simply opening the case instead of doing it through bluetooth settings (only done once anyways). 2. To check the battery, you need to install a separate app. 3. Activating Siri through a button press on airpods. 4. Single airpod listening mode. 5. Automatic ear detection (according to the article I read, cannot remember whether that was the case back when I actually used it). As for noise canceling controls and such, you might have to do some googling, because I only tested Android with original airpods, before pro version was available. But I have a few friends who bought pros for their Android phones specifically for noise canceling, so I assume it works fine.

misiti3780 7y ago

Can you run with Airpods in?

JustSomeNobody 7y ago
Get some of these[0] and it should be no problem. [0] EarBuddyz 2.0 Ear Hooks and Covers Accessories Compatible with Apple AirPods 1 & AirPods 2 or EarPods Headphones/ Earphones/ Earbuds (3 Pairs) (Clear) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BREFE4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EJsfEbM9WESMP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BREFE4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EJ...
jdgiese 7y ago
Yes, although it may depend on the shape of your ears. I trained for the NYC marathon and often (but not always) wore AirPods. I never had them fall out.

por93nd 7y ago

Apple is looking to make fat margins with their take on IOT, film @ 11. Personally prefer their take where the device I own is the hub as opposed to Google’s servers.

wallflower 7y ago

> Keep an eye on AirPods feature improvements, and the possibility of an Apple audio operating system in 2020. The out-of-the-box experience for Sonos is Apple like. Yes, there are forums where users have issues, and so does Apple. If Apple were to acquire Sonos, it would speed things up a bit.

cft 7y ago

Airpods are popular not purely on their own merits: new phones don't have a phone jack. So in the sense it's an exploitation of the existing iPhone pricing power.

alexfromapex 7y ago

Imagine if they managed to corner the illegal knockoff market how much they’d make

reshie 7y ago

as far as headphones go i have never seen one brand on so many heads and the initial sales are impressive. would it not be better to compare like apple music with spotify though. this is also hardware they would last a while and without subscriptions. the sales will continue im sure but start to drop off.

dang 7y ago

The submitted title ('Airpods make more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined') broke the site guidelines, which say: "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize." Cherry-picking the detail you think is most important from an article is a form of editorializing. If you want to say what you think is important about an article, do not do so by changing the title. Instead, post it as a comment to the thread. Then your view will be on a level playing field with everyone else's. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22level%20playing%20field%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

plexiglass 7y ago

I enjoyed reading this.

thewileyone 7y ago

Many alternatives with the same solution on Asian online marketplaces for the fraction of the price of AirPods. Conceptually, it's already the next big thing. Will it be Apple's next big thing? Probably yes, but in a heavily competitive marketplace.

intopieces 7y ago

I would love them to be an Apple Watch accessory. My dream is to leave my iPhone at home and do Siri on watch only.

nikhizzle 7y ago
As far as I understand, the Apple Watch has Siri, and the AirPods can pair directly with the Apple Watch...no need for a phone.

rajacombinator 7y ago

AirPods are an absolute joke. Total ripoff price, poor performance and design. Everyone at Apple should be ashamed.

daveheq 7y ago

Why people prefer wireless earphones to wired I'll never know; they cost more, require charging, and are easy to lose.

efraim 7y ago
But they don't have wires that are annoying and tethers your head to your phone.

spookybones 7y ago

I have them and absolutely hate them. Syncing issues a third of the time that are not easily remedied. I usually just use the wired version, which also gives me volume control.

nkrisc 7y ago

I have to wonder what percentage of people are like me and Apple earbuds/AirPods have never fit their ears? Are my ears that strangely shaped? Most people seem to have no problem when I've never found a pair of Apple earbuds that can stay in my ear if I do anything other than sit completely still and upright. They just don't fit, at all in any way. I have to use earbuds with a stiff silicone shroud that I can shove deep enough on my ear canal that they can't fall out. I couldn't even get the hard plastic Apple earbuds to balance in my ear, they just fell right out.

anaganisk 7y ago
I have the same issue, and the only reason why i wont pickup earpods, they just fall off, have you found anyway, to keep them in?
- nkrisc 7y ago
  For Apple's products, no, they're completely unusable to me. For earbuds I found some $15 Panasonic ones that sound alright and fit me perfectly, so I bought 6 sets of them and just go through them over the years. I think I'm on set #2 right now. I also have Sennheiser HD1 In-Ear Bluetooth earbuds that fit pretty well, too. Both products I mentioned come with different size silicone shrouds so I just found the ones that fit best and shove them into my ear canal until they're stuck. Even then it's not perfect. My right ear doesn't hold them as well as my left.

dijit 7y ago

Personal opinion time; Airpods are a powerful coupling with the real next big thing: The watch. I think most of HN think of the watch as either a thing that will never happen or they think it peaked. But not only do I think that I could likely go a day without having my actual phone with me, I think this is only the beginning for that form factor. I mean, consider that: handoff is here, and works. Airpods mean external peripherals can be attached seamlessly. It supports LTE and Streaming music. The future I see, phones as they currently exist become tablets, and watches are the new phone.

john_minsk 7y ago
If only apple watch faces were like apps on iPhone. Can't buy one until they do.

mark_l_watson 7y ago

One thing that I think is missed: AirPods are an almost have to have addition to the Apple Watch. Without an iPhone, an Apple Watch with a data plan is pretty good for text messaging (I am traveling and tonight during dinner with my Dad and brother, the woman back home who takes care of my parrot texted me and included four pictures - the pictures were easy to view on my Apple Watch), phone calls, and reading emails. You can also use Apple Wallet on the watch for airline check in images, store discount cards, etc. With AirPods, an Apple Watch Is good for Audible books, podcasts, and music. I used to think that it was cool to just take an iPhone on a trip and be connected. Now, an Apple Watch with AirPods can suffice. For travel the only thing missing from the Apple Watch is not being able to read eBooks which is why AirPods and Audible fill an important use case. Voice control gets better all the time and our always carry digital device can get very small.

hyperpallium 7y ago

As accessories, sales are limited to iphone numbers... ...until Airpods get an eSIM (like apple watches) and become standalone products, they'll be earphones. Ear-phones, geddit? Telephones for your ears, they'll be like... oh never mind.

tempestn 7y ago
FWIW the 'phone' suffix just means relating to sound. A "tele-" phone transmits sound over distance. "ear" phones put sound in your ears. (Megaphone makes sounds loud, xylophone is a (traditionally) wood thing that makes sound, homophones sound the same, ...)
- hyperpallium 7y ago
  I know; it's a joke, conflating two common usages of "phone".

hart_russell 7y ago

If apple is a public company, why are exact sales figures unknown?

tempestn 7y ago
Public companies have to report their figures as a whole, but aren't required to divulge sales data on specific products if they don't want to.

Kiro 7y ago

Threads about wireless headphones used to be filled with comments dismissing the whole concept. Now all of a sudden it's the best thing ever. HN really is a bad predictor for trends.

untangle 7y ago

Airpod sales benefit from one key feature: a big replacement market. They break and get lost...a lot.

mlang23 7y ago

I usually don't bitch about Apple pricing, since I personally consider ROI for most Apple products pretty OK. But headphones that costs 2.5 times the price of my Apple TV? Nah, thanks. 250 for headphones is just a joke. Divide that price by 3 and I might be interested. But I am not going to pay 250 for something I use once every month or so.

hyperbovine 7y ago
I don’t think anyone expects you to.

mk3 7y ago

By using the airpods for a while, I can see it being used as communication device in tandem with siri/apple watch. It's super convenient how it integrates in Apple ecosystem even right now.

ngcc_hk 7y ago

Just bought one and it is good. I got the previous version and an over the head Bose cancellation one. Both have their use. (Airplane, plug in etc ) but it is portable noise cancellation. That is great.

HeavyStorm 7y ago

I have an airpod since November 2018. I've never had an iPhone. A market research is due by Apple. This is the first Apple product that is compatible outside its own ecosystem, and my guess is that this is having a very positive impact on sales. Steve old "closed ecosystem" adage might be doing more bad than good.

nicky0 7y ago
You probably forgot that the iPod was Windows compatible.

shmink 7y ago

For me, apple audio earphones in general are really uncomfortable. They're just hard plastic at the end of the day but that's just my experience. My main problem with them is with other people. The audio leaks so much they may aswell be speakers.

ojosilva 7y ago

Am I out of touch or are audio-first interfaces use in public spaces/work very unpopular? I rarely witness people actioning Siri/Google assistant, most of the time I guess for obvious reasons. I wonder what's the future of audio-first UIs. Obviously that's not the case in private, at home, the car and at specialized aplications (ie medical), where audio tech is thriving.

ezzzzz 7y ago
No you're correct. I personally feel silly asking Siri to do anything, but yeah. I've never successfully written a speech-to-text text-message, my brain just struggles to make it happen. Here is to hoping that brain-link stuff actually happens (not holding my breath though).

ezzzzz 7y ago

This will get buried, but whatever, here are my $0.02 as an Airpods user. I have the gen 1 airpods, have had them about 1.5 years and overall, I have been pleased. Many people complain about battery life in the gen 1, I've never experienced this, but I typically only use 1 pod at a time and cycle them out when the battery gets low on one. Pros: I think that the overall design/form-factor is the true winner. The conveniently pocketable charging case, and the ability to wear them during physical activities without falling out, without the need for annoying straps etc is a huge win. Seriously. My hobby is skateboarding, and I have taken countless falls, tons of high-impact activity, and have never once had them fall out. Being free of wires also helps this. The pairing capabilities are fine (Mac and Iphone user), but I agree with what others are saying in that other options also handle this (almost) as well. I switching from IOS to Mac to be mostly seamless, but sometimes have issues switching from Mac to IOS. The sound quality is, meh, but this is Bluetooth, if you want audiophile quality, you must look for wired. Cons: One major gripe I have with the Airpods is that, while using 'Find-My' works great if you lost an Airpod outside the case (while paired), it does not work at all when the pods are in the case. I understand the charging case has no speaker, therefore no good way to alert, but if Apple had this feature on a new version, it might be enough to make me buy them before my current Airpods reach EOL. My second complaint, is that I feel like Apple is under-utilizing them as an input device for IOS/Mac. You have the capability of summoning siri, and skipping tracks, but you can't do both on a single pod. This design is bad UX for people like me, who typically only use 1 pod at a given time. I also think it would be nice to adjust volume with a gesture. I also get that Apple probably doesn't want to have feature overlap between Airpods and Apple watch, but I digress. Overall, despite some gripes, I don't really see any better options at this time for what I need them to do. When my Gen 1s die, I will shell out for new ones. I hope that Apple doesn't just rest on their laurels and actually adds some new features/capabilities on subsequent releases, but I'm not holding my breath.