Except, I think those airbuds are a horrible idea, that is so over priced that I see little reason replace my very well functioning wired headphones
I may well be in a minority but I rather like the AirPods and I will certainly be buying them. Don't get me wrong, they sure as hell aren't going to replace my good wired cans, they probably won't even replace my Sony Bluetooth headphones. I spent a lot of money on those two because they specifically offer excellent sound quality.
I don't expect that from the AirPods, if they just match what's already available with the current EarPods then, ok, i find them acceptable, just. They wouldn't be my first choice for a proper listening session, not by a very long shot. But they are perfectly acceptable sonically for some situations. I've actually experienced worse sound from some rather expensive cans to be honest, even expensive ones can turn out to be complete and total lemons from time to time.
But I do definitely see a place in my collection for the AirPods as an additional set, for specific purposes, not as my main or only headphones. I've wanted truly wireless buds for a good many years, since they were nothing but science fiction to be honest, yeah I'm getting old
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The design doesn't bother me at all, they're EarPods without wires, no difference there, might look odd to begin with without the wire because that's what we're used to seeing. But keeping the same design might be a sensible move for Apple, how many millions of people already just use the EarPods that came with the phone, lot's I expect. If those people want wireless buds, then they might be happy enough to get ones that look just like the headphones they've been using for years.
There are some nicer designs out there in the wireless buds department, but there's some awful ones too. Some of them look good in marketing photos, but when you see them in the flesh they stick so far out of your ears you could pass as an extra in Red Dwarf. (I was going to say Star Trek, it's better known, but I loooooovvee Red Dwarf so there
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I can see me working away in the garden, or on the car, various other things, where my wired cans are a pain in the butt because the wire gets in the way and I choke myself
🙄 The Bluetooth over the ear cans aren't much better, as good as they are at keeping themselves gripped to my noggin normally, they sometimes slip off or down and just annoy me sometimes. But, earbuds with no wires whatsoever, now thats the answer to my problems.