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Those Earbuds look like a piercing plug / flesh tunnel. Hard to imagine they will sell well.

by Eduard 6y ago

matsemann 6y ago
An ugly look didn't stop Airpods from selling like crazy, though.
- partiallypro 6y ago
  Airpods are a status symbol (somehow, even though everyone has them?) So I doubt Microsoft will get the same appeal.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    You are claiming AirPods are a status symbol, and you’re claiming everyone has them. Which is a contradiction. They are not a status symbols. I see people working at fast food restaurants, in college, and other lower paid occupations with them. I also see them with iPhones and MacBooks and apple watches. But these devices aren’t that expensive. I don’t see them and think “this person must have access to a lot of credit or be related to someone rich”. That might be reserved for having a nice home in an expensive neighborhood. And in my experience, the utility and longevity derived from most Apple products far outweighed the extra few hundred dollars spent initially, so the amortized cost is much lower. I type this from an iPhone 6 bought in 2014, which at the time was the most expensive phone. But I didn’t buy it to be a status symbol.
    - partiallypro 6y ago
      Yes, they are a status symbol, just like the "blue bubble" v "green bubble" on SMS on iPhone. Blue bubbles mean the person has an iPhone, green bubbles mean the person doesn't have an iPhone. Do you honestly think Apple did that not knowing it would become a status symbol?
      - lotsofpulp 6y ago
        They might have intended that, but I still don't see the status in being able to afford a $400 phone. The vast majority of Americans can afford that, and obviously do based on how many iPhones I see. The cashier at target uses an iPhone, the lawyers I see use iPhone, the programmers use iPhones, the housekeepers who don't speak English at a hotel I see use iPhones. What is the status? To me, the blue bubble means it's not using inferior MMS protocols which may or may not get the message to the recipient. I prefer using iMessage/Signal/Whatsapp.
    - EForEndeavour 6y ago
      Oh, AirPods are status symbols, all right. Not exclusively, of course (I mean, they work, and pretty well at that), but they signal that the wearer belongs to the in-group of the young, hip, and cool.
      - lotsofpulp 6y ago
        Based on my experiences, it would not signal that. I've seen people of many different backgrounds wearing them. Maybe more young than old, but that' just a general trend with technology. I wouldn't say if I saw someone wearing them they were "hip" or "cool".
        EForEndeavour 6y ago
        In my experiences, they absolutely do signal that, so our anecdata cancel out. Maybe this article will provide a starting point to shed light on the fact that AirPods have certainly become status symbols: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-airpods-most-important-product-after-iphone-q3-earnings-2019-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-airpods-most-important... I don't really know how else to illustrate that fact. Maybe there are peer-reviewed sociological or ethnographic studies out there that will specifically state this fact, but I haven't found any. But the world exists outside of the contents of peer-reviewed science.

Those Earbuds look like a piercing plug / flesh tunnel. Hard to imagine they will sell well.

by Eduard 6y ago

Those Earbuds look like a piercing plug / flesh tunnel. Hard to imagine they will sell well.

matsemann 6y ago

An ugly look didn't stop Airpods from selling like crazy, though.

partiallypro 6y ago
Airpods are a status symbol (somehow, even though everyone has them?) So I doubt Microsoft will get the same appeal.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  You are claiming AirPods are a status symbol, and you’re claiming everyone has them. Which is a contradiction. They are not a status symbols. I see people working at fast food restaurants, in college, and other lower paid occupations with them. I also see them with iPhones and MacBooks and apple watches. But these devices aren’t that expensive. I don’t see them and think “this person must have access to a lot of credit or be related to someone rich”. That might be reserved for having a nice home in an expensive neighborhood. And in my experience, the utility and longevity derived from most Apple products far outweighed the extra few hundred dollars spent initially, so the amortized cost is much lower. I type this from an iPhone 6 bought in 2014, which at the time was the most expensive phone. But I didn’t buy it to be a status symbol.
  - partiallypro 6y ago
    Yes, they are a status symbol, just like the "blue bubble" v "green bubble" on SMS on iPhone. Blue bubbles mean the person has an iPhone, green bubbles mean the person doesn't have an iPhone. Do you honestly think Apple did that not knowing it would become a status symbol?
    - lotsofpulp 6y ago
      They might have intended that, but I still don't see the status in being able to afford a $400 phone. The vast majority of Americans can afford that, and obviously do based on how many iPhones I see. The cashier at target uses an iPhone, the lawyers I see use iPhone, the programmers use iPhones, the housekeepers who don't speak English at a hotel I see use iPhones. What is the status? To me, the blue bubble means it's not using inferior MMS protocols which may or may not get the message to the recipient. I prefer using iMessage/Signal/Whatsapp.
  - EForEndeavour 6y ago
    Oh, AirPods are status symbols, all right. Not exclusively, of course (I mean, they work, and pretty well at that), but they signal that the wearer belongs to the in-group of the young, hip, and cool.
    - lotsofpulp 6y ago
      Based on my experiences, it would not signal that. I've seen people of many different backgrounds wearing them. Maybe more young than old, but that' just a general trend with technology. I wouldn't say if I saw someone wearing them they were "hip" or "cool".
      - EForEndeavour 6y ago
        In my experiences, they absolutely do signal that, so our anecdata cancel out. Maybe this article will provide a starting point to shed light on the fact that AirPods have certainly become status symbols: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-airpods-most-important-product-after-iphone-q3-earnings-2019-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-airpods-most-important... I don't really know how else to illustrate that fact. Maybe there are peer-reviewed sociological or ethnographic studies out there that will specifically state this fact, but I haven't found any. But the world exists outside of the contents of peer-reviewed science.