I run a 3rd party Bluetooth earphones (not headphones) and honestly I find them nicer to use than AirPods because they’re comfier, stay in the ear better, have equivalent battery life and I prefer the sound “colour” too - though that’s in part because they fit better so the sound is better channeled down the ear canal.
My point being that there are a lot of great earphones (and headphones) on the market. In fact it was already quite a saturated market even before Apple entered into it. So people shouldn’t be so quick to assume that Apple are the best in class nor even the only high end audio manufacturer worth looking at.
Even the top of the line and extremely well rated Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones will only connect (not pair) to a single bluetooth device at a time. If you want to switch audio from your laptop to your phone you got to manually disable the connection on one device, and connect again on the other. That is quite clunky if you have like 3 PCs (work/home) and a phone and would love to use your headphones with any of them.
As far as I understand the Airpods might at least not require to manually disable the connection when switching to a different device. But I can't say for sure, since I don't own a set.
As an audiophile I also don’t think Sony are the greatest example because in my experience Sony haven’t been making the best audio equipment for several decades (despite their price point and cult following).
For example last week I was playing around with some cans which literally mapped the inside of your ear then created a unique sound profile for the wearer (they also did all the same features as AirPods too).
Also I don’t think that’s a good enough argument for downvoting comments that are quite literally factually accurate.
You're taking it for granted that you have some specific needs, know how to evaluate the product space for those needs in mere minutes, and are happier with a cheaper product.
Frankly, having owned various bluetooth headphones over the years, what I always love or hate about them isn't something I knew until I owned them. How much I like/hate their button UI, how they fit and stay in my ears, how reliably they pair or handle bad connections, if they can work through my thick kitchen wall so that I can leave my iPhone in the living room, etc. aren't things I can just research ahead of time. Yet they are 99% of what matters to me. Makes sense to me that people just cough up the $160 for the almost unanimously-loved Airpods instead of enduring the trial and error of evaluating buds.
Though at least with Apple, their brand is more visible and generally more consistent so I can see why people might consider it less of a gamble than buying a comparatively priced audio brand.
I actually have no issue with AirPods specifically (aside that they don’t come with a selection of silicon gloves for different ear shapes - that’s standard with every other earphone but it’s an extra cost with Airpods). However this is a technical forum and the last time I checked it was considered proper etiquette to discuss similar products when similar products do exist. Which is what I did.
As an aside, it’s a real pity the media machine is so obsessed with Apple because there are genuinely some really interesting earphones and headphones out there from independent companies making real innovations in audio tech. But they often get overlooked now that Apple have entered the earphone market.
This is exactly what I’m talking about. Other people aren’t like you. They care more about what Apple is doing with AirPods than about what other companies are doing with their headphones.
I think you’re judging comment unfairly. This is a technology and business forum so the entire bloody point is to talk about technology and businesses. Yet for some reason when it’s a topic about Apple hardware people get really defensive if you happen to mention the competition (like one normally would in any other HN conversation). That’s not my issue; I’m not the inconsiderate one here.
But like I said, I’m own a lot of Apple hardware myself and do see the appeal of it. I also wouldn’t vote someone down if they offered some input on other hardware out there :)
“Frankly, most people find accusations like that pretty insulting.” ;)
Like I said, I’ve been open minded. I don’t feel others have shown the same respect in return.
Also, FWIW, I haven't been downvoting you (I can't, since you're the first descendent on my responses).
EDIT: found the comment I had in mind:
> Indeed but I’ve got my own theories about what’s happening here and I think it’s less to do with people being open to alternative suggestions and more about protectionism of the Apple brand.
FWIW, my take is that people who enjoy the Apple brand proposition (spend more, but you'll generally get a very high level of attention to detail and things will mostly just work) are pretty sick of people who enjoy tinkering telling them that they're idiots for buying Apple. This comment of yours kinda gets into that territory by suggesting that people are downvoting because they're upset about challenges to the Apple brand (which is a petty and childish motivation) rather than they just don't share your priorities.
I’m sure if you look through other Apple threads you see a similar pattern of comments that aren’t negative nor factually inaccurate but still get downvoted too. I see it happen a lot on HN these days and frankly I’m sick of people abusing their voting privileges.
I'm not an apple fan, I hate using my work Mac and refuse to buy another iPhone after trying one for two years. But the airpods are the bomb even in spite of the substandard speaker quality. Anyone who has to use their headsets to talk any length of time are doing themselves a disservice if they've never used airpods. In fact I'd say that the airpods are the only thing apple has gotten fully right since Jobs.
they don't have the same exact feature set, though. airpods just work, reliably. no fiddling, no repairing. No frustrating set up. That's what you're paying for. The extra 80% of effort for that last 20%. And for many people, it's worth it.
FWIW, if you think people buy Apple devices because of lists of features, you’ll simply never be able to make sense of Apple’s success.
...but that sounds good to me? Was that supposed to be a negative point why to not buy their products?
I agree with GP about the tech journalism. I find it funny that the usual cast of journalists that write these articles have been doing so for years and stand to gain a lot from Apple's success, and are deeply embedded in Apple's press organizations.