AirPods Launch on Apple Store for $159 With December 21 Delivery

[ipedro]

I wouldn't say the iPhone is most peoples computer today either - frankly I don't know any, even those who are barely IT literate. I really don't think there are a lot of people who just have a phone and no computers - I am also counting people having access to computers at work/school as using a computer - as even before the iPhone, many chose not to keep a computer as they only needed to use one at work/school.

You must not know many people. I used to be my family and friend's go to PC repair person. None of those people bought a new computer when theirs died. They have the full Internet, email, their schedule, entertainment and productivity apps all in their pockets. Why would they need a PC?

A step up, most of my friends are realtors, airline pilots, flight attendants, nurses, therapists and photographers.

With the exception of the photographers, most of them don't own a computer. They have their phones and tablets when they want a bigger screen. They do all their emailing and scheduling on their phones, they use their apps, some of them specific to their profession.

Step up higher and you've got tech savvy people like myself and some of my friends. I own an iMac and MacBookPro which by their size and power you'd think are my main computers but no, I'm typing this on my iPhone. I do most of my computing on my iPhone. And here's the big one: I'm a photographer and I do 90% of my editing and work on my iPad Pro and yes, my iPhone.
I spend nearly no time at my desk anymore. I drop RAW photos into my iMac and walk away with my iPad Pro. Adobe Cloud makes it seamless.

So yes, we are definitely living in a post PC world. The next revolution is coming with very smart AI and a voice based user interface which will be the most natural and frictionless because it's how humans have communicated for millennia.

 

[Vertigo50]

Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money on these stupid headphones that are guaranteed to be lost within days?

I don't know, responsible adults who can actually keep track of their possessions? That's just off the top of my head.

 

[shk718]

Ordered my pair as well. Really looking forward to them. Hoping some thorough reviews come out before receiving - if they perform poorly, would be an easy switch to something on the beats lineup.

edit: my arrival date is set for 2 weeks according to Apple. (Canada)

your fellow Canadian Rene Ritchie has a very good review up http://www.imore.com/airpods

 

[triton100]

Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money on these stupid headphones that are guaranteed to be lost within days?

Why on earth are you not able to click a 'thumbs down' on macrumors...

 

[Pufichek]

I'm grateful to MacRumors for the timely info, as soon as I saw it I ordered and delivery date December 21. It seems I'm lucky because people now seem to have to wait 4 weeks. I wonder how much stock they had for delivery before Christmas if it ran out so fast.

 

[The Game 161]

I'm grateful to MacRumors for the timely info, as soon as I saw it I ordered and delivery date December 21. It seems I'm lucky because people now seem to have to wait 4 weeks. I wonder how much stock they had for delivery before Christmas if it ran out so fast.

seems they are being mean to the US as even now it says 19th december in UK.

 

[eim23x]

Order mine first thing i saw it pop up on Apple Insider notification right from Apple App with Apple Pay

 

[ksnell]

Ordered.

No more snagging cords in the kitchen on drawer handles as I'm cooking and listening to podcasts.

As long as one doesn't drop into the spaghetti sauce!!

All kidding aside I do hope these are a hit and actually a path to the future.

 

[triton100]

$159 = £159?? What madness is this?? That being said.... ordered.

You need to add on US sales tax which usually totals around 9% including city taxes so it's actually around $180 ish. Not so mad...

 

[oftheheavens]

I wouldn't say the iPhone is most peoples computer today either - frankly I don't know any, even those who are barely IT literate. I really don't think there are a lot of people who just have a phone and no computers - I am also counting people having access to computers at work/school as using a computer - as even before the iPhone, many chose not to keep a computer as they only needed to use one at work/school.

You must not know many people. I used to be my family and friend's go to PC repair person. None of those people bought a new computer when theirs died. They have the full Internet, email, their schedule, entertainment and productivity apps all in their pockets. Why would they need a PC?

A step up, most of my friends are realtors, airline pilots, flight attendants, nurses, therapists and photographers.

With the exception of the photographers, most of them don't own a computer. They have their phones and tablets when they want a bigger screen. They do all their emailing and scheduling on their phones, they use their apps, some of them specific to their profession.

Step up higher and you've got tech savvy people like myself and some of my friends. I own an iMac and MacBookPro which by their size and power you'd think are my main computers but no, I'm typing this on my iPhone. I do most of my computing on my iPhone. And here's the big one: I'm a photographer and I do 90% of my editing and work on my iPad Pro and yes, my iPhone.
I spend nearly no time at my desk anymore. I drop RAW photos into my iMac and walk away with my iPad Pro. Adobe Cloud makes it seamless.

So yes, we are definitely living in a post PC world. The next revolution is coming with very smart AI and a voice based user interface which will the most natural and frictionless because it's how humans have communicated for millennia.

another good post by you my friend. The only thing my iMac really gets to stretch its legs for anymore is the very few computer games I still play. It is a late 2013 maxed out (except ram) and was the year that the GPU was finally upgradable (if I remember correctly) and the year before retina display took all the extra GPU power that you were able to upgrade to lol (not a computer expert so don't read to hard into this sentence). I just now, about a month ago, bought 16gb of RAM for a total of 24gb of RAM simply because with the new OS X it was hogging all my RAM and slowing things down. Since the upgrade it is like a new computer all over. This will most likely be my last "Desktop" as I, like you, use my iPhone 7 and ipp 9.7 for literally everything but gaming and the rare times I just feel like sitting at my desk. I just got the steel series nimbus controller and it literally turned my ipp into a console making the iMac even less needed. I flip the smart keyboard around, start up Bully or San Andreas (or whatever) and set it on the table in front of me while i watch CNN or a movie. That can't even be done with a console because with the PiP you can't focus on the game and whatever you are watching.

The PC era is coming to an end I believe even in a lot of work environments you will see people switching to either laptops like the low end MBP or tablets like the surface pro or ipp. My son who is 7 doesn't even really know why you would need a computer except to play learning games on which he would rather do on his iPad mini (my original iPad).

 

[musicpenguy]

Question: I have an iPhone 5s. I know they are compatible with the phone but will pairing be just as easy as with iPhone 7 ? Or is it going to have to be pair through some sort of normal bluetooth connection method?

As long as the phone is running iOS 10 it'll work exactly the same as the iPhone 7 - I'll be using them with my SE

 

[oftheheavens]

As long as one doesn't drop into the spaghetti sauce!!

All kidding aside I do hope these are a hit and actually a path to the future.

I do wish they were at least ip7. I am 100% sure the second generation will be and then 3rd may even be water resistant as much as the S2 watch. The ability to swim and listen to music would be awesome.

 

[Bp778814]

Apple's AirPods are now available to order from the company's online store for $159.00, following weeks of speculation on exactly when the wireless headphones would launch. Originally, the AirPods were going to debut in "late October," but Apple delayed the launch for unspecified reasons.

In the official press release, Apple mentioned that the AirPods will begin arriving at Apple retail stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers beginning sometime next week. Shipment will begin in "limited quantities" at launch, and Apple encourages customers to continue checking its online store for updates on availability and shipping estimates.

Now, users can order the Bluetooth-enabled headphones, which provide up to 5 hours of music playback and high-quality sound through a "seamless and automatic connection" between the AirPods and an iPhone. To charge the AirPods, the included travel case doubles as a charging station that provides up to 24 hours of battery life for the headphones.
The new W1 chip inside the AirPods allows for seamless connection with devices in Apple's ecosystem, so that they connect instantly whenever the rechargeable battery case is flipped open near an iOS device. When in the user's ears, the AirPods "know when you are listening" and will subsequently pause music when they're taken out of an ear. Playback controls are left to Siri-enabled voice commands, which are brought up by double-tapping on the buds.

Included with the AirPods is a Lightning cable used to charge the carrying case, and the headphones require Apple devices running iOS 10, watchOS 3 or macOS Sierra. Buy your own AirPods now at Apple.com for $159.00. Deliveries are currently estimated to begin arriving on December 21 in the United States.

Update 7:16 AM: Delivery estimates in the U.S. have slipped to December 29.

Update 7:30 AM: Delivery estimates in the U.S. have now slipped to "4 weeks."

Article Link: AirPods Launch on Apple Store for $159 With December 21 Delivery

 

[eim23x]

Just so happened to refresh apple store page before i saw the articles.

Interesting i also immediately received quotation from Apple after leaving my email address in online chat last week.

Got them for £142 with student discount

I will get the price adjustment for Business discount at the store

 

[dampfnudel]

Expect very low supply for months

Which might actually be a good thing for people to get an opportunity to see it in person and question if they want to walk around with little blow dryers/q-tips in their ears. Maybe Apple will release them in black so they look a little better and don't stick out like a douchtastic sore thumb or improve the design with rev. B/gen 2.

 

[Bp778814]

ordered! no more carrying around two pairs of earbuds when i leave the house (1 for macbook and 1 for my phone.) No more snagging on clothing and on my back back and getting them yanked out of my ears!!!

 

[xinam]

You need to add on US sales tax which usually totals around 9% including city taxes so it's actually around $180 ish. Not so mad...

I didn't consider that was a pretax price. That's a bit naughty... how can products be marketed in the US without showing the full price?

 

[Saint97]

They look embarrassing. Hahaha.

 

[brandonbabz]

your fellow Canadian Rene Ritchie has a very good review up http://www.imore.com/airpods

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Ma2k5]

You must not know many people. I used to be my family and friend's go to PC repair person. None of those people bought a new computer when theirs died. They have the full Internet, email, their schedule, entertainment and productivity apps all in their pockets. Why would they need a PC?

I am also the go to guy for PC repairs but that isn't really relevant to this discussion.

- The phones are quite terrible experience for gaming, especially due to the screen size, performance and battery
- The phones have a tiny screen, this is much better remedied on laptops/screens. I don;t enjoy watching things on my phone, especially movies. Small screen, having to put it on a surace with some sort of stand or otherwise, probably poor sound quality unless hooked up to something else. We could argue that it can be casted onto another device but then this is no longer the "single device" solution you was claiming it to be.
- People who do a lot of gaming will still want a PC
- Very powerful programs still require a PC to work fluently. I notice you mentioning tablets and I think, for me at least, a Tablet is close enough to a laptop for me to consider a PC (as compared to an iPhone). Especially when you look at devices like the Surface
- I am trying to imagine me doing my daily work on a phone in the future, I just don't see it coming. In the work and office world, I still see a future of computers, not phones being the primary device.
- Using phone for minor productivity work is fine, but want to write an essay, a long e-mail, or many other things, and it is a PITA. I don't see this changing for a long time.

The phones will get more powerful, but so will tablets/laptops/desktops, so the technologies will become linearly demanding, keeping phones out of scope of the other mainstays. That is my theory anyway.

I think the majority of people will fall into one of the above categories in terms of needs, maybe not all of them game, maybe not all of them need to write essays, maybe not all of them want more than 5 inch screen size when watching stuff, but I am sure most of them want one of those things which laptops/desktops provide, hence why the majority will still have a computer, be it a laptop or tablet with laptop capabilities such as full size keyboard, mouse and good sized screen. This could be at home, work or school.

 

[Pupi]

ordered, should be here before the 22nd!

have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet have they shipped yet

 

[kdog0126]

I just ordered... 1/12 delivery. When will they be in stores?

 

[whsbuss]

I just ordered... 1/12 delivery. When will they be in stores?

Retail stores next week

 

[mikethebigo]

Well this is kind of BS. So I don't get a pair until mid-January because I happened to work a late shift last night and didn't happen to wake up early enough on some random Tuesday. Screw that, seriously.

 

[democracyrules]

What ever you think of these, whether you like them or not. BUY THEM.

BUY THEM NOW.

Buy them and sell them if you want, because they will sell out and people will be going mad to get them in time for Christmas!

Thank you for the advice. The above comment is correct. Right after the above comment posted, I bought it with the dec 21 shipping time and afterwards, the shipping time has slipped.