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

[npmacuser5]

Had an Apple Watch returned it..Not because of price because it sucks for exercising. trying to switch songs while running to manage music was impossible without stopping the run because it's such a crammed environment. And don't give me the 'make a playlist' bologna Apple, I like to switch my songs while moving. And the fact it doesn't have a cellular chip yet. booooo. Overpriced for what it is, other than a status thing.

AirPods are awesome, game changer for me, awesome exercise and superb for conference calls.

Cellular, really, please explain? My iPhone and Watch require one cellular device and data plan. Adding another cellular device to a plan today not inexpensive. I would rather deal with the combo as paying for two devices each month. Then we would need to discuss battery life, already a significant issue.

 

[MrGuder]

What's so unbelievable is that I'm still not buying them...the watch needs to last for 2-3 days on a single charge and the airpods are too expensive when wired ones work just fine.

 

[Analog Kid]

Someone teach this guy the meaning of "economies of scale"...

Comparing Apple prices to Kickstarter prices is a rookie mistake.

 

[ColdShadow]

this article was the most ridiculous thing I read in months.

 

[allenvanhellen]

Underpriced? How does that make sense.

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

But AirPods? They look decent and their functionality is awesome, but they have 0 isolation and sub-par sound quality - the exact same sound quality you'd get if you used the FREE wired headphones included with every iPhone.

Not true. I've been using the included headphones since the iPhone 3GS, along with third-party cans and in-ears. The AirPods are indeed an improvement in sound quality. It could be just that they fit me better, but there is a significant difference in sound quality for me. And not having wires to untangle or worry about catching on clothing, weighing down the earbud, or getting yanked is a huge plus.

I was skeptical of the AirPods when I saw them, but after demoing them twice in stores, I was sold.

 

[dampfnudel]

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.

Is the MBP also underpriced because if it is, someone needs to get on the phone with Tim ASAP.

 

[akatsuki]

Hmmm... I like my Taotronics wireless headphones and they are on sale for $10.99 today.

And the Fenix 3? Picking the most expensive of Garmin's watches isn't exactly fair, since the Apple Watch has an entirely different feature set. The Vivoactive HR is probably a lot closer of a match and is about the same price.

 

[stevet]

"It is very difficult to find a pair of wireless headphones priced lower than AirPods. In the run-up to Apple unveiling AirPods this past September, the wireless headphone market consisted of the following players"

Completely ridiculous and untrue. My $99 JBL Reflect bluetooth headphones are fantastic quality and I bought them long before AirPods were introduced.

It's not ridiculous, you're comparing a wired bluetooth headphone to wirelessly independant buds. At least the author was smart enough to compare the Air Pods to other wireless independant buds.

 

[dampfnudel]

Cybart or a close family member must own some AAPL.

 

[LordVic]

This whole article is full of so many leaps to conclusions that have absolutely no logic to them. my head is spinning just trying to form a rebutle.

I think they're priced ok. They're also being compared to a niche market, as wireless headphones are still not mainstream in any audio area, except, maybe athletics. Bluetooth and wireless devices have been around for years. They haven't done well because inherent drawbacks of wireless devices for headphones haven't been remedied in full.

but you can't easily compare the price of the apple ipods to many other on those list. For a whole whack of different reasons. Many of those are absolutely considered overprice. Many are being manufactured at smaller volumes thus losing the benefit of economies of scale. then technologic age, as i believe the iPods are technical one of the newest on those list, and newer more refinements of existing technologies tend to generally be better and cheaper than their predecessors, else why advance? right?

this sort of faulty logic doesn't end anywhere in this guys article. So how he comes to any of his conclusions is just baffling.

I REALLY hate being the "conspiracy" guy. I"m generally not, But this guys "analysis" absolutely feels bought and paid for. Which makes me believe that people should be expecting further price increases somewhere in the iOS ecosystem as this sounds like justification for pricing.

And while I think the Airpods are cool. I like the idea, heck I'd even use with my android phone for many of the other feature.s but the drawbacks of wireless still aren't worth $159 (249CAD to me)

But they're also just headphones. with Bluetooth, they work with all devices. the W1 is a cool idea, but it's not going to make me go "Damn, I really want to replace all my andoird / windows devices just because of this W1 chip!"

 

[nfl46]

Lol, that's too funny!

Apple? Underpriced? Not as long as Tim is CEO. All they care about is $!

 

[Abazigal]

I can already tell that the reading comprehension of the posters here leave much to be desired. Maybe they are the ones who need oxygen to their brains.

Neil Cybart has already said:

Contrary to the conclusions found in most headphone buying guides, AirPods should not be compared to lower-priced, wired headphones. These buying guides not only lean on sound quality to unfairly shortchange truly wireless headphones, but also misidentify why consumers want to buy wireless headphones in the first place. AirPods' primary value proposition isn't found with sound quality but rather with not having any wires. Accordingly, the product should be compared to other truly wireless headphones.

and predictably, people go on to say about how they can get a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones that does the same thing.

Never mind that they are two completely different products with two very different value propositions. It's like saying a smartphone is overpriced because I can get a Nokia 3310 that, for a few dollars, can also make calls and send texts.

His analysis largely squares with my own experience regarding the Airpods. They are just so convenient to wear and use and keep and this in turn makes me want to use them more. That sound quality is average is of secondary importance to the people who want to use them for convenience.

 

[skellener]

Never buying either even at half the price.

 

[Abazigal]

Never buying either even at half the price.

All the better. More for the rest of us.

 

[philosopherdog]

The price by itself is meaningless. What matters is value, which is many things like quality, experience, usefulness, etc for the price. I've almost always been happy with the value of Apple stuff. The watch is very high value indeed. I haven't used the pods so I can't really comment. They seem to be very well received. I'm also totally loving the latest touch bar MBP. Definitely one of the best Macs I've owned and I've owned a lot. If you're just looking for cheap I'm sure Apple isn't much interested in your business. Maybe you should be on redflag instead of MR!

 

[shyam09]

Lol, next they'll be talking about the MBPs being over powered!

And they'll follow that up by saying that Apple doesn't have to upgrade their Mac Pro / Mini line because it's already future proof.

EDIT: Side note, this thread is hilarious.

 

[Wowereit]

Sad that you think a $300 investment is a lot over two years.

Why is everything called investment these days?
Tech-gadgets losing value in the higher double digits a year are the exact opposite of an investment.

 

[DCJ001]

I was thinking of getting a pair as the EarPods fit me well. But, you cannot adjust the volume during a phone call. If there was any listening situation that require adjustments to the volume, a phone conversation would be it.

Wireless head phones for a fraction of the price of the AirPods can adjust the volume during a phone call.

Sure, you can. There are a couple of volume adjustment buttons on the left edge of the iPhone.
[doublepost=1489713960][/doublepost]

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.

AirPods can easily work with Android devices that have BlueTooth.
[doublepost=1489714075][/doublepost]

You need a damn iPhone to use the watch and AirPods ....cheap my ass!! most expansive into to any ecosystem

No. You do not.

 

[profets]

Wow, the comments in this thread, really goes to show how short sighted and out of touch MR commenters are.

Just the AirPods, when looking at true comparables - pure wireless, no wires. Not some junk Bluetooth headphones, but true wireless earbuds. The whole selection are more expensive than AirPods, and they all lack one of the best features - the W1 for automatic pairing, syncing and ease of switching between devices. Heck, the most common ones people spoke about were nearly double the price - $300 Bragi Dash.

Fine, you might not care about these features, or you are fine with your cheap $20 Bluetooth headphones, or your 'better quality' wired headphones. But that doesn't mean that AirPods are any less valuable or possibly underpriced for what you get.

Me myself, I was surprised from the day one announcement with the feature set that Apple wasn't pricing these at $199 or higher. If you really look long term, it wouldn't be surprising to see these growing into their own product line and working independently via wifi or even cellular data one day.

Simple economics comes into play as well. If these were priced appropriately, or even overpriced, there wouldn't be a 6 week ship time for online orders 3+ months into this product's launch.
[doublepost=1489714376][/doublepost]

I can already tell that the reading comprehension of the posters here leave much to be desired. Maybe they are the ones who need oxygen to their brains.

Neil Cybart has already said:

and predictably, people go on to say about how they can get a cheap pair of Bluetooth headphones that does the same thing.

Never mind that they are two completely different products with two very different value propositions. It's like saying a smartphone is overpriced because I can get a Nokia 3310 that, for a few dollars, can also make calls and send texts.

His analysis largely squares with my own experience regarding the Airpods. They are just so convenient to wear and use and keep and this in turn makes me want to use them more. That sound quality is average is of secondary importance to the people who want to use them for convenience.

Amazing eh. So simple, so logical, yet people seem to lose their minds over it.

 

[LordVic]

Sure, you can. There are a couple of volume adjustment buttons on the left edge of the iPhone.

Not sure you've thought this particular comment through

the whole purpose of wireless is often to not need to have to go use the main device. to keep it out of the way while doing something. Whether it be shoveling snow, excercising, mowing the lawn. Part of the appeal of wireless is not being tethered to your device.

so, having to pull the device out for volume control despite being wireless is kind of anti-thesis to convincing people wireless is the future

 

[profets]

Not sure you've thought this particular comment through

the whole purpose of wireless is often to not need to have to go use the main device. to keep it out of the way while doing something. Whether it be shoveling snow, excercising, mowing the lawn. Part of the appeal of wireless is not being tethered to your device.

so, having to pull the device out for volume control despite being wireless is kind of anti-thesis to convincing people wireless is the future

Do you use AirPods? If you do, geniunely curious if you find volume an issue. And if so, any thoughts on how you would improve volume control?

 

[Larry-K]

Aren't all Apple Products "Underpriced"?

It's just those of us not in Apple Management who are underpaid.

 

[Yoda Mann]

Underpriced? Ya gotta be kidding me. Under delivered is more like it. A 6 week wait? Please, you can't justify that.

 

[LordVic]

Do you use AirPods? If you do, geniunely curious if you find volume an issue. And if so, any thoughts on how you would improve volume control?

i played with a set, but never tried them extensively.

I am not claiming that volume is a problem.

just that the "workaround" solution to the complaint of a problem wasn't as logically sound as believed.

IF the claim that the audio controls don't work for voice calls is true, than it's likely software, and could be fixable via software fix. But having to go back to the phone in order to change the volume defeats the purpose of going wireless in the first place.

 

[Larry-K]

All the better. More for the rest of us.

You only have 2 ears I presume.