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Apple Likely Trying to File for 'AirPods' Trademark
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Got me thinking, would be nice to see iPad as the built in option on 'planes. Having just returned from the US the seatback screens are crap - unresponsive and very poor software. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that that specific component is not cheap either. Especially if you consider the cost of the whole seat (see http://www.businessinsider.com/a-business-class-seat-costs-80000-2013-8?IR=T)
And yet Apple is clearly exploring it.
Most of the people I see wearing headphones in my gym now are wearing bluetooth of some sort, easily 2/3. The majority I see elsewhere with Apple products are the free earbuds Apple sells with the iPhone, used with the iPad and MacBook. I would argue that majority of Apple's customers do not use third party headphones with their products. Given that assumption, Apple would likely not care if their headphones could be used on competitor's products (not counting Beats products). Apple has a perfectly acceptable alternative that not only addresses their thinness issues, but also provides other benefits (including higher quality audio); in the form of the Lightning connector. If I'm right Apple removes the dedicated headphone jack, gives away their proprietary Lightning earbuds with the iPhone 7, and slowly replaces the headphone jack on all of their other products, with the added benefit of being a multi-function port. Once Apple adopts this standard, third party companies will jump on the bandwagon to make native Lightning products, and for those who don't Apple will sell an inexpensive Lightning to sub-mini dongle, which essentially remains attached to a customer's old headphones at all times, unless they want to use it with some legacy equipment. I don't really see how the widespread use of the 1/8" headphone jack would stop Apple from dropping it, any more than it has stopped them from changing any other widespread standard. In other words, an Apple customer is not going to stop buying Apple products just because they are being asked to use a new audio standard for their headphones, most of which Apple has given away for free, nor the few hard core audio enthusiasts who prefer to use their legacy headphones and will have to buy a dongle which will arguably give them higher quality audio than they had before.
I'm picturing a BT headset that can be used and/or charged over the Lightning connector. 1st time setup, just plug it in to pair. When it gets low or you need a low-latency connection, just plug it in. Of course they will still support 3.5mm headphones through a $30 adapter. Hate to say it, but the camera module and headphone jack are becoming the thing holding back a thinner device.
Counterpoint: The apple style "hang in the ear" headphones are the only ones I can stand wearing. The kind everyone else sells, with little round rubber/silicone seals, are extremely uncomfortable, cause pressure in my ears, make it impossible to hear anything going on around me (which I want when I'm listening to podcasts), and come out grossly covered in ear wax.
The regular ones stay in my ears just fine. Although I'm not trying to cram them in there for sound isolation, I just let them "hook" onto my ear. I listen to mostly podcasts, not music, and want to be able to hear what's going on around me while still listening.
They are not really in real life. But they are fully noise cancelling with motion sensors for running and microphone etc - also can be used without phone etc as they have storage on board.
Same here. I know many people hate the Earpods, but my ears love them. No pressure, no sweat, don't get dirty in any way, and I can wear them all day long without any discomfort. I think the sound is perfectly acceptable, and they're especially good for dialog (like podcasts, tv shows, movies). If they could keep the plastic Earpod form factor but could somehow make them wireless: instant buy.
I also have some more "premium" earphones with rubber/foam tips. While I like the more immersive experience, they just start to hurt my ears after about 30 minutes, so I rarely use them anymore and always go back to the Earpods.
People simply have very different ears and experience sound differently. If something fits perfectly, and sounds good (enough) to them depending on their hearing and preferences, the price shouldn't matter.
Of course it's possible there are more expensive earphones that fit just as well and actually do sound better to this person. But at some point the difference in sound doesn't make up for the higher price.
I've used earphones and headphones ranging from $20 to $300. Some of the more expensive ones do sound better (for certain types of music, usually), but I simply don't care about it enough to justify spending my money on. So I settled for the EarPods (which I even bought separately when they first came out) and enjoy them every day.
I will be interested in if these are entirely wireless, the solution for the current buttons could be a bit more curative than what we are already used to from these kick starters. Perhaps touch buttons and Hey Siri control?
Some people listen to mostly podcasts or other talk based audio. It does not take audiophile quality headphones to listen to people talking into microphones that probably cost less than your Sennheisers.
Or as C64 pointed out, some people are fine with them. Why do you care what others listen with? Just enjoy your setup.