AirPods are so convenient compared to wired earbuds for me, I’d say they’re in my top 3 electronics purchases of last year. They’re not simply a “lifestyle brand” as you’re dismissing them as.

Do you somehow imply that wireless earbuds didn't exist lol? We've had them for _years_. I used to go to the pool with a set that was also _water-proof_ like 3 years ago, watch out for the _new_ waterproof airpods coming out!

Apple products are lifestyle-brand, that's why you compared AirPods to wired earbuds despite the fact there were many AirPods-like products from other brands and Chinese no-brands before AirPods - you just didn't care until Apple announce their own version.

Apple products _are_ a lifestyle brand, and my lifestyle is buying a charger without worrying that it's a crappy piece of shit that will overheat and set my house on fire, or setting up a new system without downloading and installing a bunch of drivers by hand, and being able to walk into one of three flagship stores in Toronto for service, or any of a dozen authorized service centres.

Some people enjoy being their own sysadmins and customizers. That's their lifestyle choice. Every product choice is a lifestyle choice.

No. Other brands have weird Bluetooth bugs, sketchy reliability (compared to generally rock solid Apple products), or don’t integrate nearly as tightly with my iPhone.

I didn’t buy them because they’re a “lifestyle”, I bought them because they’re the best on the market.

No, they're not the same, they're the first bluetooth device that I've used that actually works flawlessly enough to be worth using at all. It has nothing to do with aesthetic design.

Point me to a truly wireless, charging-from-case set of earbuds released before AirPods.

I'll wait.

Bragi Dash

https://youtu.be/o-SIreqSrIY

I had Bragi Dash headphones and took them back within 24 hours. The set up took me like 4 hours. Then the sound quality was so terrible it made my head spin....the sound quality was noticeably worse than even my earpods at the time. Also you had to have your phone in your right pocket otherwise you'd lose the connection. Walk three feet away and also lose connection.

The reviews are not great for Bragi Dash headphones at that time either. I though people were just hating but it turns out the reviews were accurate in this case.

I mean, these were literally 76% more expensive ($299) than AirPods ($169) at launch with similar BT quality according to reviews.

Opinion:

Being deeply into buying "the most powerful technology," or "the most customizable technology" is also a lifestyle choice and tribal signalling choice.

There is no "I'm above choosing things for their lifestyle or tribe membership implications" position to take.

I own QC35 and some Jaybirds X3. Went back and forth on buying the AirPods forever. Figured it'd be a waste of money. Did it anyway.

I LOVE them. Single-ear is the killer use for me, I used them bike commuting in my non-traffic ear, and i frequently listen to a podcast in just one ear. It sounds stupid, but it's SO much more convenient than having another bud dangling from a cord like I'd have to with the Jaybirds.

And the difference between a hard plastic case and a floppy vinyl carrying pouch is the difference between something that is part of my every day kit, in my pants pocket, and something that sits.. at home.. in a drawer, probably. Somewhere. I have no idea where, frankly.