I LOVE the design... i think its fantastic fusion of retro and contemporary....mine will arrive in March.. Sky Blue..
As for the name.. is a none issue.. makes no difference...
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AirPods Max Market Segment Too Niche to Boost Sales, Say Apple Suppliers
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As for the name.. is a none issue.. makes no difference...
Take it you’re in Australia too. I agree that $900AUD seems to be way too much. This week Sony was selling refurbished XM3’s for $219...you could literally buy 4 pairs and have a bit of change left over. I get those are an older pair, but they’re still very well regarded and beat the AirPod Max in some areas. You can get the latest XM4’s or Bose 700 on a good day for under half, sometimes close to a third.
Don’t get me wrong, the Max look like a great product, I just think the price is far too “premium” this time around. It’ll be interesting to see how demand runs past the initial release window. Love my AirPods. I also like full sized over ear headphones. My other headphones work well with my iPhone already however and the audio quality on them isn’t bad, so at this price it looks like a very hard sell.
Bravo ! Well said!
I owned the XM3's for a month and gave them to my son - he needs them more than I do, and I prefer in-ear headphones always have an started 2 decades ago with Sony's when the Discman debuted (well purchased after my 1st Sony Sports Walkman).
Sony's 'UX software is pokey' on iOS agreed.
- they have a great auto noise cancelling function that looks into the GPS for work location etc. you can customize this (updated feature in June 2020).
- 'switching between devices' & 'Nearly useless microphone' >> these 2 reasons was the nail in the coffin for me, along with the heat of wearing them over an hour. Calls was just pure junk even with low outside noise ... walking along major street with slightly damp weather (streets wet) and 1 car driving bye at normal speeds = my voice was garbled to other parties (cell, office LAN phone, home phone).
- Touch panel - I LOVED this!! I'm very curious how B&O headsets work with touch controls over metal vs Sony's plastic.
When I wore the XM3's over an hour ... the pressure on my crown (I'm bald btw) was just becoming annoying, expecially adding that my ears are super tiny, 6cm from top to earlobe, got hot ... like my entire ear was sweating!! Any over the ear headphones does this to me not just these models/Sony brand.
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I agree, but wish they had the same attitude about products such as a non-XDR standalone display, wifi routers, etc. There are a lot of products they used to make that weren't even all that niche, and they ditched them.
Yeah it's a shame - they made some fantastic home routers. I'd probably use Unifi now instead still just beacuse it's all ties together and has options I need but I do still use two Airport Extremes as "dumb" wifi access points currently. I'll still use one even when I upgrade all the wifi AP's as a USB printer hub as there's nothing as reliable on the market.
Yeah, I mean, even if they end up NOT being good quality, as a market segment leader, I’d rather keep my mouth shut or say something noncommittal than say ANYTHING negative about Apple. I mean, if my product is strong, it’ll stand on it’s own.
Much better than than just to be one more CEO that has a quote along the lines of “Apple won’t be able to ‘blah, blah, blah’”. I mean, the Apple Watch didn’t even set out to slam the Swiss market, but did just that.
This is nothing new. Every Wireless ANC headphone gets compared to Sony and Bose, including "higher end" models. B&W, Sennheiser, B&O, Master & Dynamic, Dali, Shure, you name it, you go to any review site that's reviewing these headphones and usually Bose and Sony come up, especially Sony. Why? Because as of to date, the Sony 1000XM4 are the highest rated and most recommended Wireless ANC Headphone on the market. It's pretty much unanimous on most all reputable review sites including YouTubers and Rtings. They're one of the few headphones out that actually perform well across the board. They have excellent sound although a little bassy, an exceptional battery life, excellent comfort, the best ANC on the market, a truck load of features including Transparency, Awareness Mode, Speak to Chat, Optimization, Ear Analysis, and on board EQ customizable through the app. They also have a good microphone that is improved over the XM3, and a great case for travel and portability. And you get all of this for $350 to $269 depending on if they're on sale. It's only fair to compare the Max to those specific headphones. Bose is one of the oldest players in the ANC game. They technically started it. They will always be mentioned. Believe it or not, there are people who aren't Apple loyalist who want opinions on what's the better buy. If reviewers have tried both and feel that the Max at over twice the price of the XM4 aren't worth if for what they feel it brings to the table, they should let consumers know. I love Apple, but I'm not ONLY Apple, and I always weigh the value of a product Apple releases. Saying well, because Apple priced these headphones at $549 I should only compare them to other "high end" brands, that just doesn't make sense in my opinion. Especially when a "lower point" brand like Sony is the market leader even over these "high end" brands.
Not much luck involved. You either ordered them at launch or easily find them in stores on release date.
So many dumb and negative comments here, the tech is quite remarkable and they probably will sound good, BUT NO-ONE has listened to them yet!! StereoNET Australia https://www.stereo.net.au/ gets a review sample on Tuesday so I'll let everyone have a preview when our reviewer has had a squizz.
Yeah! And 45millions for earbuds (tagged as not niche) vs 20million over ear (niche) IN A QUARTER? Did I read something wrong there? Is “niche” a hard shipping limit or a relative thing? That’s only 2.25 to 1, sure “double the shipments”, but I don’t know, according to those metrics, MacBook Pros would be “niche” compared to MacBook Airs. Or iMacs are niche compared to MacBook pros. Maybe the Apple Watch is the all time nichest device?
I would expect niche to be, dunno, “50k sales”. But I know nothing on this.
I suspect they’re going to sell WAY more than the analysts are expecting. I think we’re going to start seeing them all over the place. I could be wrong, but people really like to spend money. And honestly most of us spend more than we should as a lifestyle.
I’ve always used the volume limit feature on my iOS devices and I absolutely love the hearing health features built into iOS 14
Not at all. Exclusively comparing to Sony is silly. Buyers also want style. The Sony’s lack that. And the Sony’s are tuned for very colored audio. I’d never listen to them because they don’t sound neutral enough for me.
People don’t compare B and O to Sony for a reason... the same reason comparing the Max to the Sony doesn’t make sense. They aren’t competing for the same customer.
Reviews comparing products should focus on how the product performs against other products targeting the same consumer. B and O isn’t marketing to the Sony buyer, and these aren’t either. Apple can make products that appeal to different markets and different buyers. In this case, it’s obvious Apple is targeting a different buyer. They aren’t trying to cannibalize all of their Beats sales... those compete with Sony, these clearly do not. I just want to see how these stack up against the products they are intended to compete with.
This type of post is so small-town in our global world.
I think we are all aware that there are diiferent currencies in different countries, and that Apple has a set-it-and-forget-it strategy with currency conversion (rather than changing the price continuously during a product cycle).
But if you're going to still drama price quote Apple products, why not go with the gold standard of big ass numbers: the price of AirPods Max in Japanese yen.
61,800!!!
They’re definitely targeting Bose and Sony. Just slightly higher end of it. Give it time and these will be 399 on sale or so.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Can't believe we're still talking about price with these.
Apple knew EXACTLY how to price them, and they have and will continue to sell like crazy.
They are distinctive as hell, come in great colors, and have the expected core Apple combination of functionality, features, integration, and overall polish that drive the WANT to the point of:
"Yes, they're expensive, but f*** it, I WANT them. Sold."
That "je ne sais quoi" that Apple does so well is worth the extra $250 to many, clearly.
Apple knew EXACTLY how to price them, and they have and will continue to sell like crazy.
They are distinctive as hell, come in great colors, and have the expected core Apple combination of functionality, features, integration, and overall polish that drive the WANT to the point of:
"Yes, they're expensive, but f*** it, I WANT them. Sold."
That "je ne sais quoi" that Apple does so well is worth the extra $250 to many, clearly.
If they are targeting Sony, then they’d be retiring Beats. No reason to cannibalizes the current sony competitor... These are playing to a different crowd.