The new stuff can work 50+ feet away, through walls, etc.
Bluetooth reliability is better than any other headphones, battery life is impressive for how tiny they are, pairing (with iOS/macOS) works better than other bluetooth devices, the charging case is better thought out than other "true wireless" earbuds. Customer satisfaction surveys are ridiculously positive (IIRC 98% or 99%).
I haven't bought them yet myself (just because they cost money), but maybe when the 2nd gen comes out I'll take another look.
* Wireless charging case
* More controls (perhaps touch sensitive long-press for Siri)
* Better switching between iOS/macOS (or generally - better support in macOS)
* Stereo mic support
* Native lavalier mic support in iOS camera
* Waterproofing
* One-device-multiple-airpods support
* Much much much lower price
* Thinner case
* Hearing aid feature (iOS 12 sort of does it via iPhone mic)
All that said, it's my favourite Apple product in past decade.
I can just tap the side of my wool cap with thick-ass winter gloves and it works. If it was touch sensitive, I'd need to take off my gloves, pull the cap over my ear and fiddle with the earpiece. No thanks.
> Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say face-to-face. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more civil and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.
> Eschew flamebait. Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents.
> Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something.
I think of bluetooth earbuds as this generations skipping CD's. It's totally unnecessary though. They could have waited.