Are you paid to write these comments? Seriously?
These use Siri. No need for external buttons. All the controls for playing music, playlists, turning up and down volume etc. are there, with the additional features that no other earbuds have of doing something like 'play hits from 1985', or even getting directions like 'how do I get to the library?'
I don't know of ANY earbuds that do offer noise isolation.
3. No sweat/water resistance.
They are both sweat AND water resistant. Not sweat or water proof, but I don't know any that are.
4. Allegedly sound just a touch better than the terrible free headphones Apple gives away with iPhone's.
We don't know yet how they sound, but they won't be as good as over-the-ear headphones, but these aren't what these are. They COULD be the best in-ear buds, or the worst, we don't know. Don't purchase them until you've tried others to compare.
5. Hard plastic in your ear.
The horrors!
There are a lot of nice features too: like ACTUALLY no wires, automatic bluetooth pairing (which is a pain doing it manually), Siri integration, easier charging.
You need to see if those additional features are worth the money. To many people they aren't, but to many people they are.
Most people I know, $160 is an impulse purchase. They see something like - oooooh, no wires at all and easy charging! $160 is a GREAT price, and purchase it immediately.
Others like you, $160 is a lot, which is why you bring up how pricey you think $160 is.