DigiTimes: Apple Considering Bundling AirPods With 2020 iPhones

[willzyx]

Another $500 price bump is coming.

 

[ActionableMango]

I train in the gym five days a week, I’d say at least 80% of headphones I see in the gym are the lightning earbuds, so clearly they’re _not_ useless if consumers are using them.

80%??? Do you work out in an Apple employee gym?

 

[ericwn]

Maybe it’s a new entry level AirPod. They wanna get rid of wired headphones right?

I don’t think they ever said they wanna get rid of them.

 

[44267547]

Do you work out in an Apple employee gym?

Yes. Everyone uses Apple products, anything else Non-Apple related is perma-banned.😁

 

[swifty168]

I don’t think they ever said they wanna get rid of them.

Don’t think they actually really say anything but it just seems like they want wires gone as much as poss.

 

[nickgovier]

.

 

[manu chao]

It certainly was a drag to plug those EarPods into the Lightning port when I was used to a) better quality wired headphones, b) being able to connect my iPhone to my car stereo via headphone jack, and c) being able to use headphones at the same time as charging my iPhone.

I'm not sure how (a) or (b) would "get customers to pay for them" [referring to wireless headphones] as you claimed. At most, it would get people to pay for a few $9 Lightning to headphone jack adaptors. And whether (c) is enough to convince a lot of people to buy wireless headphones, I am not sure either.

I still think it was mainly a mind trick that Apple pulled off by somehow implanting the idea that you would need and want wireless earphones, even though except for the charging aspect there was no particular reason to get wireless headphones.

The only Apple mind trick here is the one causing you to defend them for a change that negatively impacted a lot of people.

In what way am I defending Apple by claiming that it 'tricked' a lot of people into buying (Apple) wireless headphones? Just by correcting the record that Apple didn't 'force' people to buy wireless headphones but instead 'tricked' them into doing so, I am defending Apple? By pointing out the gullibility of Apple customers, I am defending Apple?

But I guess you prefer the alternate reality in which all is 100% Apple's fault and any notion that the influenceability of customers played a part distracts from that mission of yours since that would require for you to admit that your reasoning wasn't 100% rational.

 

[nickgovier]

.

 

[manu chao]

They could put in something like a Beats X wireless headphones, because they are not really truly wireless.

I might be in a minority but I prefer Beats X style headphones over Airpods (and I own both).
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I guess if you ignore all the reasons, there is no reason!

I discounted the one single reason (the charging aspect) that has any merit as unlikely to be significant motivator. Let's say you had higher-quality headphones with a headphone jack? Why would the lack of a headphone jack on a new iPhone lead you to abandon them and get Airpods instead of using an adaptor? And in what way would buying Airpods help with connecting a headphone jack-less iPhone to a car stereo?

You confuse two different things:
1) Removing the headphone jack requires the use of adaptors (incl. potentially one that allows pass-through charging).
2) Removing the headphone jack requires the use of wireless headphones.

The first one is factually correct, while the second one isn't.

 

[NO1EYENO]

Others might, I don’t think Apple will. Just look how long it took Apple to include a better charger

I have been using iPad charger for years. DUH!
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Beats Headphones are Garbage Designed for Ghetto Folk and Gen. Y to look Cool! The ones that know Jack Poop about Music!
DJ's never wear Beats. Leo Laporte rather die than wear Beats Crap headphones. They are good
for Rap Crap washing machine music IMHO.

 

[duervo]

“We're pretty skeptical about this report due to the price of AirPods, which start at $159. It's hard to imagine Apple including such a costly accessory in the box with new iPhones next year without raising the price of the iPhones overall”

Given that this is Apple we are talking about, that’s not a very valid reason to be sceptical. Of course the iPhone price will increase, but that’s not going to stop Apple from doing something like this, if the rumour is true. The more valid reason here to be sceptical is to consider the source of the rumour, IMO.

 

[ericwn]

I have been using iPad charger for years. DUH!
[automerge]1575429084[/automerge]
Beats Headphones are Garbage Designed for Ghetto Folk and Gen. Y to look Cool! The ones that know Jack Poop about Music!
DJ's never wear Beats. Leo Laporte rather die than wear Beats Crap headphones. They are good
for Rap Crap washing machine music IMHO.

People living in a ghetto buy expensive headphones. Got it.

 

[teejaysplace24]

You reported today that Ming-Chi Kuo alleges Apple will release an all-wireless version of the iPhone next year, in which case this rumour makes a lot more sense. It might be that profit margins on the basic airpods are now sufficiently low that they can justify bundling them with what I presume would be their highest end phone. It's either that or they drop headphone inclusion entirely, because bundling them with a portless device would simply be a waste of material.

 

[Baymowe335]

Others might, I don’t think Apple will. Just look how long it took Apple to include a better charger

But Airpods are the clear best wireless earbuds/headphones around. Did they want to charge separately, they can. People love them and want them.