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Apple Now Selling Standalone USB-C AirPods Pro Case for $99
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Does that case also replicate the same find my features?
Of course its worth mentioning that its super easy to sell a cheap knockoff since you are stealing the design and have minimal operational costs.
It didn’t have enough new features justices being marketed as the third iteration of AirPods Pro. Better than having an entire generation of AirPods, only to find them virtually indistinguishable from what they already have.
Oh my lord… People complained SOOO much that Apple should have released a standalone case and now when they do people STILL complain. Let’s just get on the internet and bash our heads around for no reason. The majority of these kinds of things never actually affect the people who complain.
I'd hate to be your spouse on Christmas! What are you getting them, a bowling ball with your name engraved on it? Grinch…
I'm just not understanding all the noise about usb-c vs lighting 
It's not going to damage your battery, it charges at 5 watts which isn't nearly enough to heat up the battery.
Replaceable batteries would be a true win for the consumer (and the environment) … and put an end to the AirPods hardware subscription model
The Airpods Pro go on sale for $180ish from time to time, so not a really good value proposition to sell the case alone for $100.
It's always cheaper to copy something because you don't have to sink in the R&D into it.
Apple knows exactly how many Air Pod Pros are out there under warranty on any given day and have the appropriate amount of correct replacements on hand. Remember, Cook is the king of supply chain.
You would think but I know for a fact my mom and sister refuse to use wireless charging or MagSafe at all.
"But my popsocket... /whine" is what they usually say. 😂
That’s true. But it didn’t cost apple $12,000,000,000 to switch to usbc on the headphones case.
$99.99 is a radically insane price point. They would still be making fistfuls of cash if it were priced at say $59.99 and it would drive significantly more people towards buying the real thing than the cheaper alternative. Now wouldn’t it?
They are pricing a significant portion of their customers out of purchases.
Turns out $249 for wireless earbuds is kinda pricy. Especially when my family and I can’t seem to keep the over 6 sets we’ve owned since they line up launched alive longer than a little over a year. I’ve spent almost $1700 on AirPods for my family alone in four years. That’s not fun.
And then charging $100 to replace the charging case when it’s a glorified find my tag with a usb c port on it and an internal $3 battery.
I love apple products, been with apple since the early 2000s.
But things are changing at apple and I’m finding myself buying less and less of their products. I can afford them easily, but I don’t have to. Not when alternatives exist that accomplish the same end goal. For much…much less.
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Hmm, it's never easy buying for the entire family. Here's my thoughts.
1) How's the quality of the third party AirPods case you get online? I don't think Apple intends for their AirPods user base to immediately run out and replace their existing charging cases with this. It's a low volume product, designed for replacements or for the small number who really want that usb-c port to streamline their charging setup, but can't justify getting a brand new set of AirPods.
2) AirPods by their very nature have a set lifespan (because they house such small batteries). If you can't see yourself replacing them every 2 years, I would advise against them. And usually, it's the batteries in the AirPods themselves that will die out first, not the one in the case.
3) I don't see many people buying the cases on their own unless they really want usb-c charging with their AirPods Pro. Myself, I am using the current 2nd gen and plan to just wait for V3 to be released and then upgrade all at one go.
4) I suspect these products, as with so many of Apple's pricing decisions, is designed to maximise profit. You are right in that Apple may sell more if only their prices were lower, but it may not necessarily result in the most amount of money made. This isn't the iPhone, where pricing it competitively can get more users into the ecosystem and get them buying other accessories like the Apple Watch.
5) My experience with Apple is a bit different. I find myself buying less, but not because they suck or are more expensive. I am just happy with the apple products that I currently do still use, have no intention of going beyond the ecosystem, and will still be upgrading to future Apple products. Just maybe not as often.
If that’s the case, then I don’t think they should have bothered updating them when they switched to USB-C. It creates a mess for customers, like with the current iPad lineup and the 3 Apple TV related products: Apple TV 4K hardware, the Apple TV app and the Apple TV+ streaming service.
I normally charge mine wirelessly and much as I’d like to move completely to USB-C, I have other devices that need lightning (AirPods Max, Magic Keyboard and mouse for starters) and $99 doesn’t represent great value for money so I think I’ll pass on this!
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If you by from a small business like me you can likely get before Christmas and cut down on wire clutter and waste at same time
$100 just for a new connector! No wonder Apple's stock is zooming!