Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
As someone with a speaker system in my home that can stream lossless and at a time when I am not out and about much I can't see these being worth the $549+. Even if I was out and about more the AirPods Pro do a great job.
 
In different times, it could be possibly a "try before you buy". Not so much today.

Should still be good today knowing that after purchasing them you have 14 days (more over the holidays) to return them if you're not satisfied.
 
I'm curious. The price is jaw-dropping, but for me the question is 'is it worth £550?' There are similarly priced and more expensive headphones out there, many of which do justify the price. So it's just a question of whether these do.

I already have a pair of Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2 headphones I got at a steep discount a few months ago and which I've enjoyed, but the controls are very confusing, and while I like that it can work with two devices at the same time, it's irritating having to constantly figure out which ones are connected to them etc.

So I'm open to paying £550 for these if the sound and build quality, comfort, iOS/Mac integration, voice controls, etc. all add up to a really top-end product. But we won't know until they ship and reviews come out. But for the price, they'd better out-do every high-end consumer-grade pair of wireless headphones. The Sony XM4s are £349 (XM3 frequently discounted to about £200), and the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 2s are about £250 give or take. So I'm really curious if they can actually justify charging £300 more than what are already probably the best headphones most people are likely to ever buy/use.
 
the weight might be an issue - I already have some issues with the Sony XM1003 after some times
(getting a stiff neck). So on all accounts I'll wait for the reviews/user feedback to pop in ...
 
Based on the replies, it’s painfully obvious most here have never purchased high end headphones.

In the audiophile space, $550 is not unreasonable. We’ll see if the sound lines up with the asking.

These are not geared toward the casual, bargain oriented user; and that’s ok. Not certain how something can be overpriced before anyone has reviewed them.

What I find endlessly fascinating is the cycle of Apple releasing a new product, being immediately panned for design and/or price, only for said product to become the de facto staple in its respective category (remember the “cotton swab” memes 🤔).

Rinse and repeat, it seems.
Will see if can deliver high fidelity sound that are claiming. Apple designs for the masses not the true audiophile market. They claim the HomePod has high fidelity sound which does not.
 
We get it, you're an Apple shareholder. But these aren't going to sell well.
As someone who fully understands and appreciates the Apple markup, this exceeds it irrationally. A comparable competitive product is $250. I can see Apple saying, "ours is at least 50% better, so ours is $349 without needing a reason".

These are $300 more than that. A $549 pair of over ear headphones. They are even more absurdly overpriced than the HomePod was at $349 compared to a $199 Sonos One.

I really hope people do not patronize this nonsense and demonstrate to Apple that no, they cannot charge whatever they want. They can't introduce products and charge double market value for them.
 


Yeah...different consumer niche. The people that buy those headphones also spend more on their speaker cable and interconnects! I know those people. More money than sense, IMO.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
  • Like
Reactions: Falhófnir
Wearing these will be a great way to get mugged in most cities. The perfect advertisement of 'if I'm foolish enough to spend €600 on this flashy accessory, just check what else I might have'.
 
The ear cushions don't seem to pivot. That's going to make them just as popular as the earbuds that a surprisingly large number of people really hate. Unless I'm wrong, these aren't going to sell as many as Apple might want.

I meant pivot vertically. Turning side to side is nice, but pivoting. I mean, look at the picture of the woman. It looks like the 'ear cans' are going to pop her head like a zit.

From the press release:

Each ear cup attaches to the headband through a revolutionary mechanism that balances and distributes ear cup pressure, and allows it to independently pivot and rotate to fit the unique contours of a user’s head.
 
You won’t believe how disappointed I am. I needed some new studio quality headphones. i would have paid $550 if the dam things had all the features of a professional set of studio headphones. Overtime the Watch improved, justifying the pricing. I hope this happens with these headphones. In the meantime, in the studio will be the place I don’t use Apple headphones. Sennheiser you have won.
 
Very tempted but I will get them when Apple put them on sale for $449.00! With sales tax, it close to $600 not including the extra $19 AC charger!
 
That's ridiculous pricing. What on earth were they thinking!

£549. You can get a pair of Sony's fabulous XM4s, a pair of WF-1000XM3s for when you don't fancy using over-ears, and still have £50 left over for a few pints down the pub when they're open!

And of course, they're lightening, not usb-c! Why on earth......
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: Maconplasma
You won’t believe how disappointed I am. I needed some new studio quality headphones. i would have paid $550 if the dam things had all the features of a professional set of studio headphones. Overtime the Watch improved, justifying the pricing. I hope this happens with these headphones. In the meantime, in the studio will be the place I don’t use Apple headphones. Sennheiser you have won.
Show me a pair of professional studio headphones for $550 that offers all the features that Apple's new Air Pod Max's offer? I'm waiting?
 
  • Like
Reactions: citysnaps
I would buy Apple's worse headphones before considering the Bose QC35's. IMO they are crap. No thanks.

They are great for what I use them for. Cancelling out noise so I can listen to podcasts while mowing the grass on my tractor or watching movies on an airplane. Far more comfortable than wearing earbuds and trying to put hearing protective earmuffs over them lol. I am sure they aren't the best for audiophiles, but I would doubt that these apple headsets will be either and realistically no headphones are.
 
Bose looks cheap in comparison to the Beats. Bose is simply junk. Cheap plastics and poor build quality.
It all about audio quality and comfort! Looks is cool but it the other two are not there, you are wearing something you hate even if it is stylish and overpriced!
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.