AirPods and Apple Watch Called 'Underpriced' to Bring New Users Into Apple Ecosystem

[6836838]

Accidentally release before April 1st!?

Given the 'free' headphones supplied which have better sound quality I just don't get it!! Wires and analigue are superior in the world of HiFi.

 

[IJ Reilly]

When has Apple ever underpriced any new hardware product? I don't recall that happening once. Pretty sure they are still making north of 30% profit on AirPods.

You are asking the wrong question. Pricing depends on what people are willing to pay for a product, not on what it costs to produce. Many seem to forget the shock and awe when the iPad was announced for $499. Hardly anybody expected it to be priced at less than twice that much. Buyers saw the value proposition and gobbled them up. Apple still made big margins on them.

What this article misses is that Apple has always been pretty good at up-selling. This is what we are seeing with Apple Watch.

 

[smoking monkey]

$249!? $299!?!? There's already a a remarkably similar looking set of headphones on the market with almost the same sound quality (but obviously no features) and they are FREE when you get an iPhone.

That's the problem for Apple here I reckon. Had they changed the style, I think they could have sold them for more. In say that, I thought apple would sell them around 20 bucks higher than they are.

 

[djcerla]

Amazing how, even when put in front of the hard, cold data of that article, people cannot understand what's going on with the Airpods.

They're definitely priced below the competition, with an insurmountable technological gap in the W1. Competition has been taken pants down, and some.

Apple is going for an iPod strategy with wearables, and will soon completely dominate the space.

 

[Creepitor]

.

 

[SSDGUY]

For some people, it is. By saving a few seconds here and there - eventually adds up to a ton of time for people, which adds up to money.

And, Apple Watch has been out for two years- yet you're calling it short-lived

Knock yourself out making all that extra money with a watch. Nothing Apple makes in the consumer electronics market stays current after a couple years. Yeah it may still work but the OS updates pretty much kill 'em off before long.

 

[dumastudetto]

Have to agree with the article, AirPods are an incredible bargain in this space. And Apple Watch is probably $200-$300 underpriced across all the different models.

 

[jimbobb24]

I am not in market for wireless headphones so don't know but I have often made argument that Apple Watch is very competitively priced relative to watches and fitness devices with the functionality.

 

[malexandria]

keep smoking the weed.

How exactly does purchasing a set of bluetooth headphones get someone into the Apple Ecosystem? That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

People purchasing the watch are already in the eco-system. The Watch only works properly with the iPhone. How is getting some crappy watch App a "showcase" for the iTunes Store, Apps, or whatever? No self respecting android user is going to purchase Airpods for their android device and it isn't like you can buy apps on the Airpods. So please, this is beyond dumb.

 

[tongxinshe]

Amazing how, even when put in front of the hard, cold data of that article, people cannot understand what's going on with the Airpods.

They're definitely priced below the competition, with an insurmountable technological gap in the W1. Competition has been taken pants down, and some.

Apple is going for an iPod strategy with wearables, and will soon completely dominate the space.

Come on! iPods were dominating the whole MP3 player market. For AirPod, you are now only looking at the high-priced wireless earphone market, not the whole wireless earphone market.

 

[sleepydinosaur]

Apple is underpricing AirPods and the Apple Watch in an effort to bring new users into its ecosystem, according to Neil Cybart of Above Avalon. The analyst said this pricing strategy was "unimaginable" ten years ago, when Apple was often accused of pricing products artificially high, aka "Apple Tax."

His research note theorizes that Apple could be more effective now at mass producing products at a lower cost, while offering price points that appeal to a wider variety of users. Higher-priced Apple Watch SKUs likely offset the lower margins of Apple Watch Series 1 models as well, he said.

I have an idea on this. It was no secret removing the 3.5mm headphone jack caused people to shrek and that Apple basically mandated the future to be wireless headphones. They viewed the feedback as a problem but then added the dongle as a stop gap.

The low pricing of the AirPods was genius on two fronts:

1. ey are well made and seamless in the iOS experience and help to ultimately help people to realize the long term goal of having ZERO ports iDevices. Making the price point low means they sell briskly and get people on board.

2. By making a solid pair of pods wireless and inexpensive, they are also driving the price down on other's wares. Who would buy most of the other options for $100-$200 more? By driving the prices down, it succeeds in achieving #1, bringing people on board with where Apple wants to go (no ports!).

 

[HopefulHumanist]

Amazing how, even when put in front of the hard, cold data of that article, people cannot understand what's going on with the Airpods.

They're definitely priced below the competition, with an insurmountable technological gap in the W1. Competition has been taken pants down, and some.

Apple is going for an iPod strategy with wearables, and will soon completely dominate the space.

Exactly what I was thinking. None of them are even citing any evidence to counter the cold, hard data presented in the article. I guess it shouldn't really be that surprising; people love clinging to their opinions no matter the facts.

 

[komone]

I'm curious. People have the Internet. They search. What will these new ecosystem potentials find? A lot of fed up fanboys... (including me).

 

[TheralSadurns]

What a giant and stupid a hole.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

It sounds to me like Cybart is an idiot. Who CARES if the Airpod is "cheap" ? It's a POS (as in piece of crap) headphone PERIOD. It doesn't MATTER if they fracking GAVE THEM AWAY, I STILL wouldn't want a pair!!!!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough!!!! They're the same god damn AWFUL GARBAGE they shipped with iPods for free for ages, just without a flipping wire!!! They don't even fit well in the ear! GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!! I'm into high-end audio and I've had 3 iPod Touch units over the years and I threw them in the garbage WHERE THEY BELONG!

Cybart should be fired for knowing NOTHING about quality audio. Cheap? SO WHAT? Even Bose Blows is 10x better quality. The wireless nature is beside the point!

Airpods are "cheap" because they're $1.99 headphones with a $157 wireless interface!

 

[itguy06]

Both require an iPhone for use. If you get someone hooked on the Apple Watch or AirPods, you don't have to worry about them leaving for Android as it's simply not an option. Small price to pay to keep people using their phones where they make far more money.

Really? I'm thinking of leaving for Android and I've got an Apple Watch. I'll sell it and recoup most of my money. IMHO the Airpods are fugly and the reliance on Siri is extremely dorky. I don't want to talk to my stuff.

 

[satchmo]

I think the AW series 2 ($349) is more comparable to a Forerunner 235 which goes for about $280.

 

[nvmls]

Any chance we can smoke some of that as well?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Really? I'm thinking of leaving for Android and I've got an Apple Watch. I'll sell it and recoup most of my money. IMHO the Airpods are fugly and the reliance on Siri is extremely dorky. I don't want to talk to my stuff.

You're not the norm and totally missed my point. Good job.

 

[Munch]

When has Apple ever underpriced any new hardware product? I don't recall that happening once. Pretty sure they are still making north of 30% profit on AirPods.

iPod Shuffle.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And I had to wait over eight weeks for my Airpods. Possibly more, I forgot. I actually didn't expect to get them. Almost gave up...

But they are pretty awesome, but I'm not comfortable wearing them working out because of the amount that I sweat.
[doublepost=1489708341][/doublepost]

iPod Shuffle.

'Learning experience'...

Still, I loved the Shuffle 'stick'. Best iPod for skiing and other outside activities, IMO.

 

[itguy06]

You're not the norm and totally missed my point. Good job.

How so? There are plenty of people that have sold their Apple Watches. And we still don't know if people will buy more of them when their originals wear out. It's a cool gadget for sure - I love the fitness stuff but I'm sure I could get by with a Fitbit or Garmin. Then again I may keep both and be bi-OS'ed.

And for the Airpods, I've only seen one pair in person and they made the hot woman wearing them look like a dork.

This Assistant nonsense is going to be like VR - a cute party trick but not something most use. Even the most diehard Google people I know gave up on "OK Google" as they looked like a fool.

 

[PhiLLoW]

Underpriced? How does that make sense.

The Watch Series 1 argument could be made, but thats because it's last years tech.

And it's already super slow. It will be unusable with the next watchOS. In most cases it's faster to pull out the phone, read the notification, respond and put it back in your pocket.

 

[apolloa]

Everyone's entitled to their opinions... including analysts after media attention or jobs at Apple.. what an idiot analyst, Apples entire business model seems to have escaped them

 

[Andres Cantu]

Might seem "underpriced" compared to some of those, but I prefer to see them all as "overpriced".