It’s not like Apple’s having any trouble selling them as it stands. You might recall it was pretty tough to find them in stock for the first several months.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Prototyped AirPods in Five Different Color Options to Match iPhone 7
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Don't fix what's not broken. Siri is broken. Fix that.
"The first-generation AirPods in "Pink," intended to match the Rose Gold iPhone 7."
Is this the first official admission that "Rose Gold" is really just pink?
Is this the first official admission that "Rose Gold" is really just pink?
It looks a bit like some 1970s toilet design.
Absolutely disgusting. Steve Jobs gave you multiple options.
Black or white
Black or white
Leaving the internals "white" is weird choice. Probably the reasoning of it, because it's prototype. 
Maybe Apple should talk to the company that manufactures Beats and figure out how they estimate supply and demand for their products, which come in many different colors.
Oh, wait ... 🤣
Making a buying decision because of the color of the case is silly.
Maybe the AirPods themselves but no way I would say, “ Ooooooo colors!!!” And pay $200+ dollars.
Glossy black plastic is the worst. Smudges and scratches everywhere.
AirPods sell way more because of refusing to do anything other than the "iMac G4" white aesthetic.
It's like those Louboutin high heel shoes with the exact same deep red on every shoe they do.
And the comparison to fashion is actually quite perfect as AirPods are possible one of the only earphones that have managed to sell as a legitimate fashion accessory and not just compete with other consumer electronics products that only have specs and features as selling points.
People want to be seen wearing AirPods. Being spotted wearing AirPods has social capital. Try saying that about any other brand of headphones.
Apple's white is as iconic and recognizable as Coca Cola's red.
It sounds to simple to be true but Apple definitely thinks in color coding for product value and certain finishes are reserved for low-end, mid, and "Pro" to signal how consumers should perceive value.
If this was not the case then Apple would have already done several Beats products with the white AirPods aesthetic, or AirPods in beats-like finishes, any color you like, or at least just white, black, and maybe silver/transparent.
But AirPods (in white) are iconic with out of this World amazing sales numbers and profit margins. They are golden and you don't mess with golden.
AirPods Max, on the other hand, are introduced to keep demand up in the (now) very mature wireless headphones market. They do not compete in features or price with AirPods and thus have gotten colors. But AirPods Max finishes are more reminiscent of iPhones Pro and iPad Air, quite clearly not just plastic-ey colors like the ones beats get.
Still white inside, so what's the point. I'm sure the final product would look more complete with a whole solid colour, but that prototype looks like a cheap third-party recolour.
It's also more efficient to only have to maintain in stock of one colour vs multiple colours and options.
Doesn’t have to be glossy. My Jabra’s are flat black and look great. Also, if the AirPods came in black I might not own the Jabras.
Quite literally the first time I have read this word (or I just didn’t register other times). What does it mean and why is it written like that?
Would have been nice if multiple colours were available for purchase.
I think it’s scratches they care about. Beat up and use products don’t look good white hide’s it all.
Imagine Apple announcing different colours for AirPods and then it turns out it’s just for the case! 😭