People who complain about these headphones have forgotten two important things. First, Apple never does the same things everyone else does. They want to stand out from the pack, which is why they are not comparing themselves to any of these mentioned headphones. The sound and build quality are definitely above any of these, which means that they will be more expensive than any of them, just from sheer materials and build quality alone, let alone sound. The others don't have nearly the high quality materials the APM have. They don't have the engineering that allows for click-less telescoping headbands. They don't have a headband designed like the mesh of the backs of the most comfortable ergonomic office chairs in the world. They don't have 9 microphones to test for sound inside and outside the earcups. They don't have a gyroscope and accelerometer for detecting motion. They don't have dual 10-core ARM processors for turning sound. They don't have magnetic earcups that easily detach for replacement or mixing and matching of different colors. None of those headphones fit quite so well within the Apple ecosystem with spatial audio, easy pairing, and automatic device switching. I don't remember Apple saying they were competing with any of these. Seems to me they're in a category all by themselves, neither directly competing with other Bluetooth closed back headphones nor competing with high end open back headphones.
The quality of these are above those compared here, yet, I've seen so many people say that they should cost the same or less than the Sony XM4's on a Christmas sale. In what world does that make any sense? The call as to whether they're worth it purely subjective. As you get higher up, diminishing returns kicks in and for tiny increases in sound quality, you get enormous price hikes. Anyone who says they're not worth it while saying they're better than all the rest doesn't get it when it comes to headphone pricing.
Second, these are called AirPods for a reason. They're not called Beats. They're not called Apple-something. What other qualities fit with the family of AirPods? None of them have a power button. None of them have a wired cable. All of them use Lightning. All of them have a case for home storage. The cases for the AirPods were never intended for travel, and neither are the cases for the other AirPods or else you'd keep your AirPods Pro sitting out on a desk while only taking the case out for the occasion of hopping onto that airplane. No, these headphones were purposely named.
As for the power button, think about it. The reason Apple does things is to make products easier for people to use. Most people forget to turn off their headphones every once in a while and they come back to dead headphones. For most headphone companies, they punt and blame it on the user and do nothing to address it. Apple makes life easier by taking away that chore by implementing impressive power savings modes that hardly use more power than if they were turned off. Besides, how would Find My work if you could turn them off?
For a Mac publication, there is an interesting lack of understanding of what Apple does and how they design products. Every reviewer I've seen has tried to shoehorn these headphones into direct comparisons of the Sony XM4's and Bose 700's. There's lament that they aren't using the same touch controls as those. How many people have tried to change the volume and failed or overshot, or accidentally skpped a track because they tried to swipe their hair out of their eyes and accidentally hit the touch controls. There's precision in the crown. There's lament they aren't supplying the same oval hardcase as those. There's lament they didn't include a 3.5mm cable, despite the fact Apple's trying to move everyone to wireless in all of their products. Yes, you can use one, but Apple doesn't really want you to. There's lament that they aren't made of the same materials as the others so they weigh less. Would people really be happy if Apple used cheap plastics on their high-end iPhones or iPads or Macs? If not, why do you want them on the APM? If people want them to be the same as the Sony's, go buy the Sony's. Apple isn't Sony and never will be, so don't ever expect the same product.
I'm not saying I agree with all of Apple's decisions here. I don't, but I'm writing this to explain why they do the things they do. This design should not surprise anyone in any facet. This design is quintessential Apple design language in every respect. The colors come from the iPad Air and iPhone 12. The button and knob and the pattern of holes under the cups come directly from the Apple Watch. The magnets come from MagSafe. The anodized aluminum comes straight from the iPads and Macs. The style, quality, ease of use, and yes even the price are what we always expect in an Apple product.
.
