None of us know how good the sound quality on these things are. I'd be willing to pay $150 for them if sound quality is genuinely good because:
- earpods are so comfortable to wear
- tangled wires are a pain
- They can charge in your pocket ( I think this is awesome)
- I can wear them when I sleep and listen to music and can safely roll my head on the pillow.
I wasn't necessarily speaking about sound quality, but since you mentioned it, every preliminary report I've heard say they sound about the same. Certainly we will know more in the coming months, but that wasn't my point.
The design was shocking and frankly garish to me. Perhaps Apple was thinking iconic design or what have you. If you like it, more power to you. I was only sharing my opinion; I don't see the magic. I see earbuds with little stick hanging out of them. I see EarPods with the cables cut off the ends.
As far as charging in your pocket, you aren't wrong but there are nearly half a dozen product in this same category. It's great, but not unique. It doesn't have to be unique, mind you, but for me not necessarily a selling bullet point. I imagine most if not all products in this category going forward will employ this sort of tech.
As far as listening in bed, this is not contention. I simply stated I can see the need for a product like this. I can't imagine the trouble these will give to runners and bikers or really anyone doing physical activity. Popping an earbud while running is a drag. Piping one of these while running would be more of a drag.
Again, this won't be a problem for everyone. I just see people utilizing this product. And for what it does I don't even know that covering the mic is a problem. In the middle of s run nobody is concerned about picking up a phone call. I guess turning the volume down might be a drag.
As far as answering the OP's question about similar products lacking s leash, I do have a few potential answers. First and foremost Apple is an enormous company under the spotlight. Surely we can expect the criticism (or lack of) that s tiny startup like bragi gets to match that of Apple. Fwiw the bragi is getting terrible reviews and the Samsung version had heavy initial criticism for low projected matter capacity. Second, many sports oriented buds have gel or some sort of rubber cushion to mold to the ear and this keep it in. The airpods are all Plastic and a known entity. By that I mean that we have all white literslly felt them in out ears before (unless we've just avoided EarPods) and know how well (or not) they stay in. For those that thisnisnnotnsnproblem for, don't sweat it. For those that it is a problem for, this is a legitimate concern. I have to say I'm a little surprised Apple didn't decide to do some sort of optionally thin silicone sleeve or sport loop or something.
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Yeah, I saw that strap too. It makes very little sense, like others have mentioned, because it covers the mic and it covers the charging port. Not only will you have to put them in the strap and take them out of it to charge the airpods, but you have to carry the strap around with you all the time. That seems like poor design to me, especially since people could just buy a different pair of BT headphones, or the new Beats with a W1 chips, that have a wire between the headphones.
I read the article that sinsin07 took an excerpt from and I had the same thoughts myself. There have been a good number of wireless headphones released that don't have straps and cost much more than the airpods yet they don't receive the same criticism. Most of the people complaining about possibly losing the airpods are the people that wouldn't have bought them in the first place and just want something to complain about; or to write an article to generate traffic. If you can't look after your $159 purchase then you shouldn't make it in the first place. Heck, some of these people that are trashing them say they wouldn't even think of spending more than $30 on headphones in the first place.
I think this is more oriented towards the folks they plan to do physical activity. Having s headphone pop out ofnhesr ear and roll into the gutter is a bummer. Not only does that totally ruin your run, you just lost s rather expensive piece of technology.
This is pure conjecture but I just imagine a some cord with silicone tips that easily slip on and off. Essentially the tension of the silicone tube stretching over the tips of the buds is what keeps the cord on. I suppose we will know more when it releases.
