I'm glad the AirPods still use the same charger as the iPhone. Far more likely that I'll need to charge the AirPods when I have an iphone charger with me than the USB C cable that currently only powers 2 products in Apple's lineup.
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AirPods Have Captured One Quarter of Wireless Headphone Spending Since Launching
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Very true. The fact that the Airpods use the same lightning port as other Apple's ports is huge. Can you imagine the backlash if Apple would have made a completely different charging method? Personally, I like the fact Apple included the charging cable as well. Never hurts to have more than charging cable around.
Eh, not so much. Better to do it to your competition than yourself. The problem is that the AirPods sit in a totally different product line from PowerBeats or Studio Wireless headphones. Hurting one line for the creation of a new line, which serves a totally different purpose and markets for a different customer, is not good strategy. Bose doesn't even have a competing product to AirPods yet, but everyone knows they will soon. When you cannibalize noncompeting lines from yourself, you're just set up to get hurt once competition increases for the AirPods.
AirPods are enjoying the initial jolt of pent up demand and weak competition, most of which is coming from the startup space. The only real competition for this product line is a Samsung product that is failing, and a new Sol Republic product, but Sol is not a large competitor in this space and neither is Samsung. Bose is currently the real competition for Apple in the headphone space and right now, Apple isn't setting itself up well with its Beats line.
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I have the X2, but just ordered the airpods. I really wanted wireless earbuds, but that wire between the pods was just an annoyance when running, and i just could get comfortable with it either behind my neck or if front.
Plus, unpairing them has proved extremely annoying. Even after i hit "unpair" on the phone, they'll still connect if they're anywhere in range. That's really the main thing that made me stop using them. From all accounts, the airpods connect/disconnect much easier, and that's really all i'm looking for at this point.
Though i have seem people wearing them, and i must admit they look kind of dumb. Or at least strange. But I still find people who wear those single BT headsets dumb looking, so...
I'm really waiting on the BeatsX. Much better solution for me personally.
Having a small cord hanging around my neck so I can just let them be available when needed, is a big plus for me!
Having a small cord hanging around my neck so I can just let them be available when needed, is a big plus for me!
This is just shortsighted business strategy. Apple is not any other company, their expectations are not the same, and their business strategy should not be the same. Initial sales jolts for new Apple Product lines always look like this. This isn't new. The criticism is about the longer term strategy for Beats, which Apple has invest in significantly. If you're Apple, your goal is long term strategy that fends off the competition and continues to capture market share. I'm not a naysayer. I'm just looking at basic strategy and right now, Beats is failing.
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Sure there are many cheaper options if you're not into Apple's ecosystem, but this IS for the people who have an iPhone & even better if you have an Apple Watch to control the music. I think Apple didn't even forecasted sales for Android & Windows.
Maybe I missed something, but I think the main fail argument was in regard to dropping the 3.5mm jack, not introducing AirPods. While I'm very against dropping the 3.5mm jack, I'll likely pick up a pair of these at some point, as they sound like a great product, and will be convenient at times. BUT, I'll absolutely not switch to wireless being my primary headphones! (health concerns)
So, IMO, it's a fail in eliminating a standard, widely used connection (on a device focused around that connection!) and in what seems to be Apple's general direction of moving towards wireless only.
So... 25% of the user base can suck it. Apple thinks that's OK?? I also think these numbers aren't showing USER preference because Apple has pushed them in the direction of wireless by removing the jack. When users had the OPTION 1 year ago is was 50%-50%. I think THAT is your real number.
Before removal of the headphone jack, USERS had the choice. They could go native wired or bluetooth. OPTIONS ( Ive thinks this is a dirty word ).
Before removal of the headphone jack, USERS had the choice. They could go native wired or bluetooth. OPTIONS ( Ive thinks this is a dirty word ).
I'm amazed that someone can conflate "quality" and "features".
Wake up, turn on the light, maybe crack open a dictionary....
I guess I'm a 'boomer', and I'm anxiously waiting for mine... Ship date says March 2nd. Oh, that's the estimated in-store pickup date. 6-weeks for shipping. Let me see... Should see mine the week of Valentines. 
Suffering with my Plantronics Backbeat FIT's...
Suffering with my Plantronics Backbeat FIT's...
You don't understand how this works. There isn't a fixed number of sales as you suggest by your comment that "Apple is cannibalizing their own sales." If there were a fixed number of wireless sets sold each year, then Beats percentage going down would indicate that it lost sales to perhaps Airpod. But, quite the contrary, is happening-- the worldwide market for wireless is exploding in the positive sense an both Beats and Airpods are experiencing explosive growth, Airpods just grew faster in on line sales. No, because they had the vision to acquire Beats, Apple is winning with both brands.
There is a setting for that. On iPhone, go to bluetooth devices.
Find your AirPods.
Tap to go to settings for it.
There is a place to adjust the double tap to do just that.
I'm loving mine....my only fear is losing them or misplacing them (including the case). Everything is super small and easy to just lay down and forget where they are unless you are really disciplined. Hoping Apple does implement some sort of Find My AirPods capability of their own soon. I'm using mine at work in a corporate environment for conference calls, etc. and I do take them in and out several times a day. I may eventually decide to go with a pair of BeatsX when they come out due to the cord to hang around my neck when out of my ears. However the comfort of wearing the AirPods can't be beat and they will not fall out, so that's a definite plus.
I don't ever unpair my X2s. I simply connect to them from another device (ie, I go to the Bluetooth settings on the device I want to use them with and select them from their. This results in a voice message of 'Connection switched'.
The top last minute bluetooth headphone gift*! (*highly narrow and therefore meaningless statistic)
They still went from 24% to 40% of an expanding market. That's a good thing. I'm sure they expected to cannibalize Beats sales. Apple does that all the time (better that they do it than someone else take their market share).