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AirPods Max Market Segment Too Niche to Boost Sales, Say Apple Suppliers

asdavis10 said:
Hate the name. On the fence about the design (and case). Have no doubt that the tech is great in these. But we’re probably looking at another HomePod. Not for everyone. And that’s ok. I love my HomePod. But will pass on these.
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The design is interesting. There is a lot of stress centered on the ball and socket joint at the top of the ear cans. If that fails on a purchaser, their $550 headphones are useless. Hopefully it's an all metal design with lots of loctite.

The case is pretty hilarious. They could have done a carbon fiber case in varying colors. Make it far more durable than the 'bra purse' that they came out with. I have an older pair of Bose QC's that came with a case that allows me to keep cables, batteries, and my Touch, all in the case, and a stretch nylon back for holding plane tickets. It works for the purpose it's really needed for, helping me keep them safe, and help organize the other parts of the process the headphones are used for.

The 'bra purse' is limited, and would be an encumbrance while traveling. That part is very poorly thought out, IMO. If you are going to make it useful, doesn't more of it have to be useful too? I can't see traveling with something that normally I would carry by itself, and have to have something else to carry the APM's, the 'case', and the other bits too.

Apple seems to want to 'drive the market', and is driving the market in a direction that is counter to where it is. Granted, my experience is limited, but all of the high priced wireless headphones I've encountered come with some form of fully enclosing case. The wife had another pair of Bose headphones, and their case was a hard plastic, with room for other bits. Apple missed this. Maybe some companies will see this as an open door to do killer cases for them. Is the 'bra purse' recyclable?
 
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PinkyMacGodess said:
Apple seems to want to 'drive the market', and is driving the market in a direction that is counter to where it is. Granted, my experience is limited, but all of the high priced wireless headphones I've encountered come with some form of fully enclosing case. The wife had another pair of Bose headphones, and their case was a hard plastic, with room for other bits. Apple missed this. Maybe some companies will see this as an open door to do killer cases for them. Is the 'bra purse' recyclable?
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I can see someone coming up with a hard case that incorporates the "bra" so that the magnets can be used to put the headphones into sleep mode. Either that, or someone figures out where the magnets need to be and incorporate them into the case. Huge* market potential for case designers.

* huge being the most of the AirPods Max market since the bra seems pretty un-useful. I would imagine that anyone spending $550 on headphones wouldn't mind spending, say $50, on a case.
 
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Sam Squanch said:
Sold out doesn't mean much without numbers. If I painted a painting and sold it I've sold out after selling one item. In Apples case I'm sure they were not expecting iPhone numbers at launch and have produced significantly less Airpod Max's. So selling out of let's say a million Airpod Max's is less impressive than selling out 100's of millions of IPhones.
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Very true! In the past, retailers would often announce a 'sale' on one item, and then only supply one or two of that item per store, with the instructions that when it quickly sells out, they would switch customers to another product, often with a higher margin. Hence 'bait and switch'. Not that Apple is doing this here, but not reporting numbers makes me wonder how many there were to start with. 1,000? 10,000? 1,000,000? 10,000,000? They sure sold out fast, for being such an oddball product. Did they seek to artificially drive demand by staging a sellout? It's a sales tactic used throughout history...
 
Chux@20 said:
AAC still has worse bitrate than aptx HD/Adaptive and LDAC. AirPod Max is using basic codec and charging a premium. Like I said , for me the key is the sound quality, which is what a so called “audiophiles “ will be focusing on. The H95 sound as good or better than my AirPods Pro’s in phonecalls and podcasts. As for music, the AirPods Pro cannot compete with my Shure A50 or H95. To be fair, both are headphones and not earphones.
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Everyone keeps saying this ...

BUT: You're on a Mac or iPhone or iPad ... the H95 will not sound better using the same AUDIO source! IF that is to be implied in your post above, then why not have the AirPods Max be considered in the same light then (using a different audio source)??
 
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indiekiduk said:
"Too niche" yet sold out for 3 months?
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C’mon bro. This must be your first rodeo when it comes to supply chain. It’s sold out for 3 months because apple made very few to begin with. They are testing the market and didn’t want to overcommit on inventory. Watch within 2-3 weeks the 14-16 week backorders will turn to 3-4 weeks.
 
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Kabeyun said:
Some commentators never learn.


I doubt it. Apple’s strategy is to hope the financially comfortable, a segment where the Apple ecosystem is already prevalent, realize that spending $550 instead of $300 for top quality headphones is no big deal. And they will, because the truth of it is that $250 is nothing to the target market.


Maybe, y’know, wear them before deciding how heavy they feel.
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It seems that your assumption is $250 is nothing for the target audience? What’s the target audience? Multi millionaires? Billionaires? I think you’re forgetting that people who make a lot of money are financially responsible and make wise purchasing decisions. If I make a half mil a year being frugal about $250 still runs through my mind.
 
H.E. Pennypacker said:
It seems that your assumption is $250 is nothing for the target audience? What’s the target audience? Multi millionaires? Billionaires? I think you’re forgetting that people who make a lot of money are financially responsible and make wise purchasing decisions. If I make a half mil a year being frugal about $250 still runs through my mind.
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Have you seen the American middle class? There's a huge segment of people that will go into debt to finance consumer products such as these headphones. Frugal people are a very small segment of the target demographic.
 
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“No one is going to buy a $500 phone”, ”no one is going to buy a $400 Apple watch”, no one is . . . . .

To Audiophiles, these are not expensive. At all. Look up, for example the Audio-Techica 1.2 Audiophile Headphone cable - $119 for a 1.2 meter connector cable. Speaker cables that cost $80 for a 6 foot length to connect a single speaker. an audiophile is not going to buy Bose headphones (or speakers for that matter), or Sony. Sorry if that offends anyone, but its just the way it is. Top-end wired headphones can easily hit over $2,000. But High-end wireless headphones are still pretty limited, and not that great, with brands like Bowers & Wilkins, Sennheiser and the mentioned Sony, Bose and even Jabra. Apple’s offering is aiming to be seen as an audiophile’s wireless headphone and be a step above those other $250-$400 offerings wireless options. Their product, and the tech inside, is actually a great value if you are an audiophile looking for a cutting-edge, cord-free option to your wired gear. If you don’t see the value, that’s OK, it simply means you are not the demographic Apple is trying to attract, and you can continue to enjoy your good quality Sony and Bose products.
 
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notabadname said:
“No one is going to buy a $500 phone”, ”no one is going to buy a $400 Apple watch”, no one is . . . . .

To Audiophiles, these are not expensive. At all. Look up, for example the Audio-Techica 1.2 Audiophile Headphone cable - $119 for a 1.2 meter connector cable. Speaker cables that cost $80 for a 6 foot length to connect a single speaker. an audiophile is not going to buy Bose headphones (or speakers for that matter), or Sony. Sorry if that offends anyone, but its just the way it is. Top-end wired headphones can easily hit over $2,000. But High-end wireless headphones are still pretty limited, and not that great, with brands like Bowers & Wilkins, Sennheiser and the mentioned Sony, Bose and even Jabra. Apple’s offering is aiming to be seen as an audiophile’s wireless headphone and be a step above those other $250-$400 offerings wireless options. Their product, and the tech inside, is actually a great value if you are an audiophile looking for a cutting-edge, cord-free option to your wired gear. If you don’t see the value, that’s OK, it simply means you are not the demographic Apple is trying to attract, and you can continue to enjoy your good quality Sony and Bose products.
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Are audiophiles going to be buying Apple? Seriously? There's a reason those top end headphones all have a cable and not bluetooth.
 
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salamanderjuice said:
Are audiophiles going to be buying Apple? Seriously? There's a reason those top end headphones all have a cable and not bluetooth.
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Yep, there is a reason audiophiles prefer cable for most applications, but the his point was not that the AirPod Max would replace the $2000 wired head set, but compliment it when wireless was desired. The right tool for the job. IF was his word, IF an audiophile was looking for wireless they would look at these over the cheaper offerings. Sounds right (pun intended) to me. But then I have an iPad Pro 12.9 for when I want to work at my desk, and an iPad mini for reading in bed. Right tool for the job (when you can afford it).
 
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based on the rumor mill leading up to the over the ear headset launch there is another version of the headset in more "sporty" brighter colors with plastics that is designed to be cheaper. i could see a $399 version of this headset coming next holiday and the Max remains the "Pro" version.

I think Beats takes up to the $100-300 range and Apple will claim the high end.
 
Apple is good at bringing niche products into the mainstream. Go back a few years and the same could be said about the original airpods. The initial judgement was they won't sell many because wired is king and battery life.
 
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bookcase said:
I would love to get these, but I can't afford them. Rather, I can afford them but would never pay this price, especially considering you can buy equally good (albeit not as styling IMO) competitors' headphones for half Apple's going rate.
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What headphones did you compare them to? I have B&W P7, are the Max comparable to them soundwise?
 
Precursor said:
You do realize they didn't sell out in any market because they didn't have any in stock to begin with?

Also not everybody wants to spend the money they don't have to buy a product they can't afford to impress people they don't like.

Edit: Nobody that I know who purchased Airpods Pro bought them as "fashion statement", they're all actively using the Airpods for function and convenience.
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So. You think they are too expensive and/or you can't afford them so anyone that can afford to buy them is only buying them to impress people they don't like*?

Can you hear yourself?
 
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j_in_tx said:
Apple pricing always deserves a premium and seemingly every product has proved this to be true. I think this is the right price and they will sell like IHOP hotcakes (not McDonalds). Apple is good at creating demand. What seems to be niche will no longer be.
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I don't think they're trying to create demand here. It's a market akin to the Mac Pro. Not everyone will need it, much less want it. They're just covering that segment for those that do.
 
I would never wear these in public. Just asking for it. They would be nice for home use for my DJ setup and listening to around the house. Also would be great for the plane. I’m waiting on the reviews to see if they really are worth the price over the Sony and bose. I ordered the Space gray and blue. I have 3 months to decide which color to cancel and if I even want them at all.
 
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Well, enough people forked over money for them to sell out. So who's the dope? Me I suppose since they're selling them.

Sometimes I think Apple could sell exposure to the Pandemic with their logo on it, and people would line up.
 
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