Apple's AirPods 'Dominating' Emerging Wireless Earbuds Market, Say Analysts

[harrisondavies]

While the AirPods are absolutely fantastic, very cost-effective compared to other alternatives with only a few flaws...

I prefer my TaoTronics Bluetooth earphones. Superior sound compared to apple and a quarter of the price.

 

[Mtmspa]

I finally got a pair and although not perfect, my experience is greater than expected. As someone else noted, volume control is missing. My primary use case is sleeping at night. I need ambient sound of some kind to drift off, in past I would use wired headphones and end up with all kinds of issues, breaking them, sore ears, wrapped cable, yanked phone off table (due to moving). then went to beats, which was better, but still didn't want both in my ears so I can still hear around me, and the cable would wrap with eventually breaking.

These are the ideal solution for this specific use case. I can put one in, on the side I don't sleep on. I can hear the audio, as well as remain aware of my surroundings. Sometimes it falls out during the night and I Find it on my pillow. Never lost one. Ears don't hurt, phone doesn't go flying, and I don't have to bother anyone else by playing on a speaker.

I would like an over the ear version for when coding at the computer as these sitting in my ear all day then in the night would hurt my ears....

Still head and shoulders over prior solutions.

I can wear them all day and often forget I am wearing them as they are so light and comfortable.
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I prefer my TaoTronics Bluetooth earphones. Superior sound compared to apple and a quarter of the price.

Congrats?

 

[Gudi]

I couldn't care less about the most expensive headphones without volume controls.

 

[Nozuka]

Airpods Series 2 should be here soon.

makes no sense to replace a product when they can barely keep up with demand.

 

[Spendlove]

I love them but...

They need more controls. One (currently) which will soon be two when iOS 11 hits just isn't enough.

Background noise is a killer for these - what gains you get from the better than head pod sound is drowned out.

Bar those issues these are fabulous bits of kit. Yes it is true, these things don't fall out!

 

[Remy149]

How is the wireless connection in cities? My only complaint with my wireless headphones (and I have four or five - my primary device being the Jaybird X2) is interference. This isn't an issue at home or on the subway, but when I'm in midtown Manhattan the connection becomes interrupted - usually at street intersections. I picture a thousand wireless connections colliding with each other whenever this happens. Does the W1 chip minimize troubles like this?

I live in nyc and have no connection issues the same with my w1 enabled beats. The only complaint is they don’t filter out a lot of surrounding noise
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I ordered mine a month ago and am still waiting. They should show up next week (but haven't shipped yet).

I ordered mine from bestbuy and had them the next afternoon

 

[Jimmy James]

Yeah, that’s my only issue too. But if using the Apple Watch (if you have it) is pretty convenient for volume control. Also I’ve found that using Siri for volume control (something I was highly against to begin with) is shockingly useful. It makes me feel like I’m on Star Trek! I just double tap and say “turn volume to 70%” and she does it! Using apples method of “volume up, volume down” is a hassle. But telling her what percent to put it makes it magic again.

Great suggestion. That's right up my alley.

 

[apolloa]

Yes, they are emergingly scarce...

I thank you...

 

[smarch]

In my opinion, one of Apple's BEST INVENTIONS OF ALL TIME FOR THE SPACE (and I've owned ALL of Apple's products).

I am on the phone my developers sometimes 6-10 hours daily. The AirPods are an absolute GODSEND. I can listen in mono (I always have one or the other in) OR stereo at times for isolated, full-attention-needed calls. Battery lasts FOREVER in mono (just swap to a new side and drop the other in charger) and actually is similar in stereo (just drop ONE AT A TIME in the charger for 5-10 minutes when they get low and you are back in business). I always have one or the other in during the day around the office and in the car. I can now tell the difference in all of the audio notifications without bothering others (I get too many different types of notifications to rely on vibrations).

I have also found a renewed musical listening habit since getting AirPods. Whether I am alone and I pop in the INSTANT-CONNECT STEREO by adding a second AirPod -- or -- just let Pandora continue in one ear between calls, etc. the battery life (and charging process noted above) yields ALL DAY MUSIC.

The combination that Apple AirPods provide really pays for a set of Stereo Wireless Headphones with a charge case and a virtually ENDLESS SUPPLY of Mono Wireless headsets for mono phone calls because you can just keep charging them and charging them. I think I went several days on a trip once without any charging to the case and only at the very end did I hit the one time my AirPods case ran out of juice. Only took about 10 minutes on charge and the AirPods themselves were back to near-full capacity.

LOVE THEM!

(And by the way, as I've noted elsewhere, they do not fall out because there is no chord to pull them out. They only fall out when you hit your head or ear on something - and that ALSO hurts your head/ear so it is easy to notice. You also immediately notice if one falls out because the music stops - so roll over and brush your pillow if you've fallen asleep and you notice they come out because the audio stops.)

Couldn't agree more. Totally changed my life actually.

 

[tjleonard]

I love the case and how small it is. Charge times and length of play time work great for me. Love using one of even both when talking on the phone.

I hate how they make my ears feel after an hour of usage. I’m not sure if that goes away over time. I think it would? Maybe someone here can tell me? I absolutely love Bose gel tips...with or without the ring that keeps it in your ear. They’re just super comfortable and no soreness.

With all that said, I carry the Apple AirPods everyday for phone calls, and a little music/podcasts when I want. They’re so small in the case, it’s really very little in my pocket. I always have my bose headphones close though...but usually only go to them when it’s longer travel.

 

[RamGuy]

Fitment is a hit or miss, in my case they fall off almost instantly. Besides sound is subpar and uncomfortable to wear due to hard plastic. They dont seal the ear canal which hampers sound delivery. For that price you can have a more serious, quality earbuds...and im not talking about beats...those are hyped trash.

How is the audio "subpar"? Compared to what? As one who have spent way too much money on audio over the years, owning one of the best IEM's on the market with Shure SE846, previously I had the Westone 4R and Westone UM3X and I use stellar headphones the Sennheiser HD 800 at home with a Hegel HD12 DAC and have lots of wireless headphones including Bose QC35 (for noise cancellation) and Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay H7, H8 and H9 I find the audio quality of the AirPods to be downright impressive.

Considering its design, considering the low weight, its battery life and the fact that they are completely wireless the sound really, really good. And the microphone quality is really good as well, something pretty much everyone else lacks. The microphone on the Bose QC35, BeoPlay H7, H8 and H9 and the microphone on Shure's own first-party RMCE-LTG lightning cable is **** compared to the AirPods.

I don't claim the audio from the AirPods is any better compared to the others, more expensive solutions I own. The impressive thing is the fact that they don't sound any worse. They sound better compared to the Bose QC35, but they are completely different solutions as the AirPods doesn't isolate at all while the QC35 has stellar active noise cancellation. Still the audio quality and sound signature is better on the AirPods and it cost less. I would also say they are better compared to the BeoPlay H8.

Compared to the BeoPlay H7 and H9 they are about equal. They feature about the same audio quality, but the BeoPlay H7 and H9 benefits from a wider sound stage. Compared to the Shure SE846 they loose in pretty much every area, but those are crazy expensive IEM's. And compared to the Sennheiser HD 800 there is no contest, but the HD 800 are perhaps the best headphones on the market and they require a great DAC and amplifier to work decently so it's not really a fair comparison.


EDIT:

You don't need "seal" to get good audio. The best sounding headphones on the market are pretty much all "open back" headphones as open-back designs will always feature a edge when it comes to being able to offer a much wider sound-stage and higher clarity compared to "close back" headphones.

But the biggest problem with the AirPods is how they will have issues in noisy environments as they lack any kind of isolation. You have to counter it by turning up the volume and that is not always ideal.

 

[GFF]

Do they fit any better than the earbuds that come included with every iPhone? Because those just fall out of my ear.

In my experience, they do. The wires seem to tug them out a bit.

 

[Mac 128]

Dominating? I have yet to see someone with these running or at a gym.

It's a rather small market to begin with, and it's an expensive one. Apple so far certainly seems to make the best option currently available, if not the best looking. That said, it's an expensive and somewhat frivolous market ideally suited to an Apple customer, so combined with a truly excellent product at a good price point, I have no problem believing Apple is dominating the market. However, this may not be true for long. As prices come down, and others learn from Apple's tech innovations and make more attractive designs, it's unlikely Apple will retain their edge, as is often the case. I think the iPad is about the only market Apple has managed to keep an upper hand in since they introduced it.

 

[Larry The L]

Airpods Series 2 should be here soon.

The series 2 will be announced at the sept 12 event.
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While I love my AirPods, I don't think they offer "frictionless access to Siri". Both my wife and I gave up using Siri with them.

I don't have a single problem using Siri with the airpods. Couldn't be easier.
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I prefer my TaoTronics Bluetooth earphones. Superior sound compared to apple and a quarter of the price.

A friend had those. I tried them. Absolutely horrific. Uncomfortable and terrible sound. You get what you pay for. My friend tried my airpods. He immediately ordered a pair and threw away his TaoTronics.

 

[ct2k7]

I tried them on, and seemed to fit ok, but he sound quality was just “meh” to me.

What I really don’t understand is all this fuss around it, but I guess it’s because most people haven’t tried wireless headphones or earbuds before, and that’s the difference with me; I have my QC35 and SoundLink II or my Audio Technica DSR9BT which all sound much better, especially when I’m travelling.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

I like my AirPods, well enough that I've purchased multiples for other people as gifts. I really wish Apple would start licensing the W1 to third parties though. I'd really like someone with a great noise canceling pedigree (e.g. Bose) to have the pairing capabilities of the W1.

 

[44267547]

Fitment is a hit or miss, in my case they fall off almost instantly. Besides sound is subpar and uncomfortable to wear due to hard plastic. They dont seal the ear canal which hampers sound delivery. For that price you can have a more serious, quality earbuds...and im not talking about beats...those are hyped trash.

A lot of what you're saying is completely variable based on the user and questionable. The Airpods fit perfectly for me without any issue of them falling out. If the Airpods fit appropriately, The sound is above sub par, especially when compared to other Bluetooth earbuds in a similar price range. The Airpods don't have noise canceling, but the treble and bass is fairly decent for the first Generation Airpods. The previous software update actually improved the loudness and bass from reading through other reports.

And for the price point, there is a lot of technology here coupled with the battery life. 15 minute of charge time is equivalent to three hours of usage, that's impressive.

 

[840quadra]

Waiting for an in ear dual driver version like they have had for a few years now. More sound isolation and better fidelity with less emphasis on bass is really something I am after. Their in ears with the W1 would be awesome!

 

[FelixDerKater]

Bigly yuge market domination.

 

[Matt Leaf]

I don't like the way they look. They're not discreet enough.

 

[classicalbear]

Apple's AirPods have dominated the "truly wireless" earphones market in the U.S. since launching in December, according to new market research conducted by NPD Group. The industry analyst's Retail Tracking Service found that AirPods accounted for 85 percent of over 900,000 wireless earbuds sold since the start of the year.

Apple's success in the emerging market was put down to brand resonance, disruptive pricing, and excitement over the AirPods' W1 chip, which significantly improves the Bluetooth connection and facilitates transfers between different devices. "With a use case centering on frictionless access to Siri and other tasks initiated by voice, AirPods really act as an extension of the iPhone," said NPD executive director Ben Arnold, calling Apple's wireless earbuds "a computing device for the ear".

Standout competing brands cited by NPD Group included Samsung's "headphones-slash-fitness tracker", IconX, which features an optical heart rate tracker and 4GB of memory for music storage, and The Dash from Bragi, featuring an ARM Cortex M4 CPU, as well as 27 sensors designed to detect movement and voice input.

"For these products, audio quality remains important, but takes a backseat to new capabilities added on top of the sound experience," said Arnold. "With this in mind, it's not hard to imagine a collection of mobile apps optimized for a voice interface similar to the growing ecosystem of Alexa skills."

Apple's Siri is set to gain enhancements with the launch of iOS 11, which could make the company's AirPods an even more attractive proposition going into the holiday season. For the first time, the virtual assistant will sync what it learns about a user across their devices, and will also be able to perform translations from English to five languages, including Chinese and French.

Apple recently improved its shipping estimates from six weeks down to two to three weeks in many countries, after months of struggling to cater to demand. During Apple's third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said AirPods capacity had been bumped up and that the company was "working very hard" to get AirPods to customers as quickly as possible.

Article Link: Apple's AirPods 'Dominating' Emerging Wireless Earbuds Market, Say Analysts

 

[truthertech]

I would buy a pair in a heartbeat if they would stay in my ears. I tried them on in an Apple store, and just as the wired ones do, they fall out at the slightest motion.

Sounds like you are that rare case where you don't have ears shaped like most people where the AirPods can rest in. They are probably worth getting the plastic surgery done, but if you don't want to wait, you might try these.

https://earhoox.com/product/earhoox-for-earpods/ or the Earbuddyz, etc.

 

[Ted13]

They do seem to be ever-so-slightly bigger. The cord not pulling down makes a huge difference.

Yes - the cord not pulling is huge. For someone who's ears are clearly differently shaped, the Beats 1 version comes with several different size attachments for the earbuds.

 

[classicalbear]

I bought those a month ago. BOught them at Best Buy, since, strangely, but the have some in stock. Well seem to have a problem with the charging case. It would go from completely charge (case and airpods) the case would go from 100% to 50% if unplugged AND not using them in 12 hours. So now very usefull, means I would have to recharge them everyday even if not using them. Went to Applestore, after a few days, cause I tried to see if I was the problem. They gave me another charging case. This one is a little better but no perfect. If something shows 100% charge and you do not use it, it should go down very slowly no? Wonder where the problem is.... bluetooth on devices?

 

[truthertech]

makes no sense to replace a product when they can barely keep up with demand.

It would if they have been stockpiling them for the announcement this month. Never in Apple's history have they had this kind of ongoing steady delay in shipping a new product., no improvement for almost a year. Unheard of. Makes no sense unless they have been stockpiling new ones that they would need with a bundle package coming out with the new phones.