Apple's Greg Joswiak on AirPods Growth: 'It Was Almost Like Wildfire'

[bobob]

I don’t get why they are so special compared to other headphones and earphones out there. Can someone enlighten me?

AirPods are by far the most comfortable and convenient headphones I have ever owned - - I've lost count of the number of times I've turned off my music and forgotten I'm wearing them. Also, the original AirPods' charging case is the best Apple design since the iPhone, a pleasure to use and it tucks in my jeans' coin pocket.
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Is it the fact that it’s Apple-branded? Are we in a post world where anything Apple releases is automatically awesome?

AirPods and the Three Stages of Apple Criticism

 

[19callum93]

Just upgraded from the original AirPods first gen, to AirPods Pro. Wish I upgraded sooner, definitely worth it!

 

[BvizioN]

Imagine that! You strip people of their ability to use one type of product and instead force them to use another type of product.

Imagine that. Some people (like myself) where already fed up with wires and looking for a wireless solution before the headphone jack was removed. I used Powerbeats even before AirPods come to be. Wires are annoying for pretty much any activity, unless you are staying still. They would fall, they would dangle, they would become like spagety in my pockets and take ages to untangle them. Freedom from wires was what I was looking and AirPods original is the best money I spend on from the first day they come out and still using them to this day. But of course, people of the internet would love to make memes, portray Apple as a company driven by desire to only make money ( well, without money they can’t inovate and create after all)
Based on your Gold logic, Apple forced us the DVD drive when we were perfectly happy with floppy disc, and the list goes on. Apple did not force People to buy AirPods. Still to this day you can use (and some do) a wired EarPods on an iPhone 11. Without the typical MR drama. Now imagine that!!'

 

[mariusignorello]

I don’t get why they are so special compared to other headphones and earphones out there. Can someone enlighten me?

It’s mostly because of the dead simple pairing process that didn’t exist before AirPods. Bluetooth pairing traditionally is clunky and often has to be done multiple times. Also, the pairing record is synced via iCloud so any devices you use automatically recognize AirPods. No other wireless headphone did that before these did.
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That no headphone jack really kicked it off proper

Im fine without it on my iPhones,

but I like having one on my iPads just in case... a quick listen of something without a pairing process.

I'm still on my gen 1 AirPods, though a Genius Bar swap of both buds and the case a year or so ago.

$100 something pretty well spent, think I got a bit of a discount at launch too because of some order processing fumble cant really recall

--

I'll buy another pair when these kick the bucket but I love maximizing utility out of them.

They sold between 10-12 billion$$$ worth in 2019 I think. Wonder how much is from losing a pair and buying another, or bum battery.

If your iPad is signed in with the same iCloud account as your iPhone with AirPods paired you don’t need to re-pair them with the iPad. It syncs over.

 

[MarkB786]

Original APs were a total miss for me. Okay sound, but always wiggling out of the ears. APPs are much better.

 

[Picard J.L.]

Let's not confuse trapping people into one type of product and then marketing the heck out of your version of it with "being right."

Nobody trapped me. I bought it because it’s a good product. Enough this this nonsense. Being trapped, status symbol? Wtf are you mumbling about?

 

[skitidetdu]

Them working with Stanford and scanning lots of ears to make a perfect one size for all makes me feel unique since they doesn’t fit my ears...
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But is has become a status symbol. I see lots of kids at my school owning them (their parents obviously paid for them) but also lots of fake copies so those how can’t afford them feel “included”. It is almost like a lifestyle having them. Funny when you think how ridiculed the design was in the beginning.

 

[ian87w]

Imagine that! You strip people of their ability to use one type of product and instead force them to use another type of product.

Hmm, when I bought my iPhone 7 Plus, it comes with a lightning earpod. Out of the box, it is fully functional without needing to buy any extra accessories. Older versions also came with lightning to 3.5 jack adapter in the box. And no, I don't feel forced to buy an Airpod. I simply use my own bluetooth earbud or the included lightning earpod.

I guess I'm not understanding the "force" part.
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I’ve owned AirPods and they aren’t anything special.

Is it the fact that it’s Apple-branded? Are we in a post world where anything Apple releases is automatically awesome?

Why did you buy one?
Your answer might answer your own question.

 

[brinary001]

I feel that most Bluetooth headphones ‘just work’.

Nah. Not like these. Even setting them up for the first time ever is stupid easy. Literally just open the case near your iPhone or iPad and they pair instantly. No going to the Bluetooth settings.

 

[Niekw]

Through an adapter that limits the bitrate the music can play at. So not like we could do in the past. What part of "the adapter compromises the quality of the audio" are you missing?

Get your facts straight, the original Apple adapters use the most advanced DAC available and are able to transmit Hi-Fi audio with no audible audio loss up to 24bit/96KHZ which is the highest quality available that makes sense on a mobile device and even outperforming expensive external DAC’s that cost 5-10x more. ( Source https://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/lightning-adapter-audio-quality.htm ) If you choose to use cheap AliExp. adapters, then indeed it will degrade audio quality...

Apple doesn’t compromise on audio quality, their wireless bluetooth AAC option also uses the best encoding possible and retains full transparency, giving even better sound quality than Aptx HD on most Android phones. Don’t believe all the marketing cr*p some audiophiles choose to believe in, it are the facts that matter: https://m.habr.com/en/post/456182/

$10 for a great Apple made DAC is a small price to pay if you prefer aux connections, no need to keep it plugged in the phone as well, just keep them plugged in the headphone cable. People complaining about this have the same mindset when Apple removed the floppydrive or CD-Drive, no future insight at all...

Apple drives innovation, when they removed the headphone jack it kickstarted companies to explore better bluetooth transmission protocols enhancing the quality of most BT headsets severely. It is a good thing and time to let go of the past and embrace a wireless future.

 

[dz5b609]

I don’t get why they are so special compared to other headphones and earphones out there. Can someone enlighten me?

Now less so, but in the beginning they where really the first small wireless headphones that just worked. You take them out of this tiny case (still on of the smallest packages) put them in your ear and they just work almost instantly. No buttons to press to turn them on or off, no weird bluetooth issues where your shirt and trousers were enough to mess with the signal, they just worked like regular wired earpods, which was a first at the time.

 

[ani4ani]

Nah. Not like these. Even setting them up for the first time ever is stupid easy. Literally just open the case near your iPhone or iPad and they pair instantly. No going to the Bluetooth settings.

Out of interest, is it as easy to connect to other items you might want to use your headphones for, e.g HiFi, TV etc, that is, without going to settings?

Genuine question, when you have an iPad and iPhone together, do you have to go to settings at all to decide the source? What happens if someone else places there case near your phone?

 

[Picard J.L.]

Impressive statement. Enjoy yours.

We do.

 

[the-msa]

Nah. Not like these. Even setting them up for the first time ever is stupid easy. Literally just open the case near your iPhone or iPad and they pair instantly. No going to the Bluetooth settings.

i have bullets wireless 2 from oneplus. bought them a year ago or so.

i disconnect the buds, my oneplus6 instantly shows a notification to pair them. i tap pair, and it's done.

what's the difference?

 

[ian87w]

i have bullets wireless 2 from oneplus. bought them a year ago or so.

i disconnect the buds, my oneplus6 instantly shows a notification to pair them. i tap pair, and it's done.

what's the difference?

I think it's been mentioned on previous posts. The difference is that Airpods was first released in 2016, when that feature was not common.

For iPhone users, only Airpods offer that feature for iPhones, just like you, a OnePlus user, bought oneplus' own bullet buds since other bluetooth buds won't have that feature.

 

[swingerofbirch]

They made the phone bigger and bigger and thus less iPod-like and removed the headphone jack, so . . . kind of created a good market for it.

I don't know if people remember but the iPod (can't remember which models) faced the same criticism of sealed in batteries that died within a couple of years.

 

[Crowbot]

Out of interest, is it as easy to connect to other items you might want to use your headphones for, e.g HiFi, TV etc, that is, without going to settings?

Genuine question, when you have an iPad and iPhone together, do you have to go to settings at all to decide the source? What happens if someone else places there case near your phone?

There is a pairing button on the AP case. So you would pair them with other devices that way.

I'm not sure about your second question but I imagine that if the APs were paired with one user's device then they wouldn't automagically pair with your phone.

 

[brinary001]

"Why would you attach a wire?"

Because it sounds better, and choices are a good thing unless you're the company trying to force everyone down one specific path.

Let's not confuse trapping people into one type of product and then marketing the heck out of your version of it with "being right."

Because wired earphones can run indefinitely, don't require batteries and are 100X simpler

Yep, my wired headphones never decided to drop connection in the middle of a song. Apple are so full of ****, which is their right, they're trying to make money, but the people who are worse are the ones that justify the BS Apple pulls as if it's good for customers to have fewer/worse choices.

After buying Apple products for years, including computers, phones, and laptops, I bought a Samsung phone. I miss the ease and integration of Apple's ecosystem but I have a ***** headphone jack and can listen to my phone while charging it. I also have a fingerprint sensor and a 512GB removable storage. The hardware is vastly superior.

Don't buy the BS Apple PR machine. Apple still installs a headphone jack on its desktop and laptop machines. Boy, if wireless is so much better, why not eliminate it there? Clearly there is the space in a laptop or desktop to install wireless.

They are milking their user base for every dime of profit, not interested in providing better products.

Oh for God's sake we are now in the THIRD decade of the 21st century... THERE 👏 SHOULD BE 👏 LESS 👏 WIRES 👏

Especially when it comes to mobile devices. If it's that bloody important to you to have a nasty, multi-wire mess hanging out of your phone then switch to Android. Competition is a good thing, and in case you forgot, the iPhone isn't your only choice in the smartphone market

Also, AirPods are primarily for phone calls, running and working out, casual listening, that sort of thing (weren't the original wired earbuds intended/used for these things as well?). If you're more concerned with the bitrate of your audio transmission during these activities, then I hate to tell you this but you're doing them wrong.. Maybe pay more attention to the task at hand?

Bottom line - and serious question - who are all you people producing albums in a studio with $2 worth of plastic in your ears for monitoring?

 

[szw-mapple fan]

"Why would you attach a wire?"

Because it sounds better, and choices are a good thing unless you're the company trying to force everyone down one specific path.

Sound quality difference is debatable for the vast majority of users (most people can’t tell between 64128kbps and 256kbps audio so I doubt BT would make a big difference) and people had a choice of not buying the phone of it was such a dealbreaker.

 

[ct2k7]

Nah. Not like these. Even setting them up for the first time ever is stupid easy. Literally just open the case near your iPhone or iPad and they pair instantly. No going to the Bluetooth settings.

You're describing the initial setup - I've acknowledged this earlier on.
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It’s mostly because of the dead simple pairing process that didn’t exist before AirPods. Bluetooth pairing traditionally is clunky and often has to be done multiple times. Also, the pairing record is synced via iCloud so any devices you use automatically recognize AirPods. No other wireless headphone did that before these did.
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If your iPad is signed in with the same iCloud account as your iPhone with AirPods paired you don’t need to re-pair them with the iPad. It syncs over.

I never got the syncing to work properly.

 

[brinary001]

Out of interest, is it as easy to connect to other items you might want to use your headphones for, e.g HiFi, TV etc, that is, without going to settings?

Genuine question, when you have an iPad and iPhone together, do you have to go to settings at all to decide the source? What happens if someone else places there case near your phone?

If they're made by Apple, yes, for the most part.

Not necessarily! I actually wrote a Shortcut script that I pinned as a widget on my iPhone and iPad's home screens. Connects that device to my AirPods with a single tap 😊
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You're describing the initial setup - I've acknowledged this earlier on.

Fair enough

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I feel that most Bluetooth headphones ‘just work’.

I’ve owned multiple pairs of BT earbuds before the W1 chip can out and they defiantly don’t ‘just work’. The pairing process was only painless if both the player and headphones had NFC. Switching between multiple devices was definitely a huge pain of you had more than 3 devices. Invoking Siri or google assistant always came with a 3 second delay as the phone caught up. These are not huge problems, but them combined with the earbuds being the first to be totally wireless is probably why people like them so much.

 

[ct2k7]

AirPods are by far the most comfortable and convenient headphones I have ever owned - - I've lost count of the number of times I've turned off my music and forgotten I'm wearing them. Also, the original AirPods' charging case is the best Apple design since the iPhone, a pleasure to use and it tucks in my jeans' coin pocket.
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AirPods and the Three Stages of Apple Criticism

You're mistaking me, or at least the article is -I'm not saying they're a failure or ought to be, I'm just questioning why they are so successful. I myself had AirPods so I liked them before replacing them with XM3s. To me, they were ordinary, small earphones, but I didn't think they were special.

 

[Royksöpp]

I love mine but I do think that some people could be a little bit more considerate in public. Take out your AirPod if you're going to be speaking to a person. So rude!

 

[fokmik]

Until iphone, very few companies were building touch smartphones, until macbook air, very few ultrabooks....etc etc until airpods, very few were building true wireless with "magical" user friendly connection and intuition