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I don’t get the outrage.

$500 for headphones is nothing to an audiphile.

Audiophiles spend thousands. This price range would barely be considered mid-range. Something like Beyerdynamic DT 1990 would be around this price
Agreed! That's generally the going price point for most quality headphones. $400-$600. $1500-$2000 for a pair of Grados.
 
It's a lot of money, but it's not too expensive when you look at how much really good headphones cost.
And these come with all the connectivity goodies we like from Apple. I'm just not a fan of the design.

While they're not nearly "smart'' as these, I like the design on my MW60 much more:

b6e686774632a0dd6edab0a9f23356c8.jpg


All leather and aluminium gives them a very, very sturdy and quality feel. The sound is pretty amazing too, just no noise cancelling. The newer MW65 has it, but I like the design a bit less and they reduced the driver size.

Just my two cents.
 
£350 and I'd buy.

These seem to be on the MagSafe Duo price structure rather than the HomePod mini one, shame.
 
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$225 per headphone. $550 for both a left headphone and a right headphone. Apple+ connector band free with purchase of both left and right headphones.
Seriously, I wouldn’t have been too surprised to read that you’d have to buy the headband separately.
Well, you still have to buy a charger for them to work.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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I thought this was supposed to be a Christmas surprise for EVERYONE. Well it’s a surprise for the one-percenters and a great big FU to everyone else!

I held off on buying a few things cause I wanted these headphones and now I feel like Apple is mocking average people like myself. Well I now have to wait further down the road when these don’t fly off the shelf and therefore the price gets lowered.

Come on Apple! Not even an introductory special? I guess Apple thinks the average consumer during the Covid crisis has lost his/her mind and will slap it in the Apple card enabling Apple to make even more money! Dam I wish I had some Apple stock.
 
What surprises me is that they haven't used the large sides of these to emboss an Apple Logo onto, bit of a missed oportunity from the marketing dept :)

I don't know if people who buys semi-high end headphones wants to be walking advertisements, even if it's Apple. I think the Y shaped headband design should be iconic enough, just like the microphone stalk on the original AirPods.
 
Agreed! That's generally the going price point for most quality headphones. $400-$600. $1500-$2000 for a pair of Grados.
Isn't that like the Pro display XDR though? They market it as a competitor to a reference monitor and call it cheap by comparison, but really it actually isn't in the same league, just an extremely expensive prosumer display.

I guess I'll have to wait for reviews but I think most are expecting these to realistically compete with QC35s, not any models in the price range you mention.
 
The design looks nice, but the use of a physical knob seems surprisingly dated for an AirPods product. The other products in the line have been more modern, so I would've expected touch controls like the top of the HomePod.

Having used the touch controls on two different pairs of Sony headphones, I welcome the availability of physical controls—far less finicky.

So when the battery no longer holds a charge do these become as worthless as my first generation AirPods? And no professional is going to use Bluetooth headphones, especially if they have “computational audio” it’s clear that these are meant for the iJustine YouTube influencer market dummy’s.

With no option for a wired connection.. who the hell is going to buy a $550 headphone??

Only professionals would buy at that price tag.. and this is clearly not advertised for professionals. This is literally just a big AirPod, hence the “AirPod” title in the name..

There is a wired option. Apple sells a lightning to 3.5 mm audio cable that allows for a wired connection to a traditional headphone jack. Apple in fact suggests it as an optional accessory when purchasing the AirPods Max (of course they do) and specify it’ll allow direct wired connection when needed. Belkin makes one as well.
 
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This ranks right up there with selling $400 legs to stand your Mac Pro on. I don't care if it slices, dices, and juillienes while looking stylish ... IMO this is insane pricing, even by Cupertino standards.
 
Come on Apple! Not even an introductory special? I guess Apple thinks the average consumer during the Covid crisis has lost his/her mind and will slap it in the Apple card enabling Apple to make even more money! Dam I wish I had some Apple stock.
I agree the price is pretty steep but when has Apple ever done an introductory special on new hardware?
 
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