EarPods "Pro?"

[sorgo †]

Could you see Apple ever introducing a more performant version of their compellingly-priced wired EarPods, e.g. an EarPods Pro with an MSRP of $49-$99? Just something with a smidge more luxury compared to the $20 offering, mostly emphasizing sound quality as well as perhaps sporting an updated chassis design (paying homage to AirPods Pro?) to distinguish them further from standard, plain-Jane EarPods.

Perhaps Apple would never willingly cannibalize sales of their AirPods lineup, but wired and wireless headphones have different possible use-cases and attributes and many of their customers might just pick up both with the right marketing behind the right product. I for one would be very curious to try a more refined wired Apple earbud than the long-reigning EarPod, perhaps a true modern successor to the $39 iPod In-Ear Headphones from 2004 (left) or the $79 Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic from 2008 (right):

Maybe they can just go ahead and release a pair with USB-C since the switchover has really gotten going

 

[Bacong]

no, i cannot see apple doing that.

 

[russell_314]

Thirty years ago sure, but not today. For low to mid priced headphones there's no reason to go wired. Sure there's going to be a small segment that wants wired for the point of having wired but that's such a niche market it's not worth spending R&D on a product like this. If they were to produce something like this they would have to overprice it to the point that it wouldn't sell just to cover the R&D costs.

Wired only becomes a consideration with high end headphones. I don't think Apple is going to touch that market because it's fairly saturated and that's not really their consumer target.

 

[JBGoode]

Why would they do that when there's no headphone jack on most of their products? Did you really think this through before posting?

 

[sorgo †]

Why would they do that when there's no headphone jack on most of their products? Did you really think this through before posting?

Lightning works, too

 

[KO7]

Related to this thread (sorta), I got my first ever pair of AirPods recently (Pro 2s), and surprised/mildly disappointed by the short duration of battery life on one charge. It’s fine for 99.9% of the time though, so can’t complain, but for those who do trans-Atlantic flights semi-regularly, I’d bet that they would have a spare wired or wireless pair of earphones/headphones in addition to the wireless AirPods.

 

[chabig]

and surprised/mildly disappointed by the short duration of battery life on one charge.

You're kidding. Six hours in the AirPods and 30 hrs in the case isn't enough? There are no airline flights longer than that, and every airplane has the ability to keep your AirPods case charged.

 

[Lakersfan74]

Rather have a pro version like the wireless AirPods 3 design

 

[KO7]

You're kidding. Six hours in the AirPods and 30 hrs in the case isn't enough? There are no airline flights longer than that, and every airplane has the ability to keep your AirPods case charged.

I’m not referring to the case, I’m referring to the AirPods themselves (without recharging in the case). I haven’t used them on a transatlantic flight yet, but in my normal usage so far, the battery percentage of the AirPods as shown on my iPhone, depletes fairly rapidly during use.

 

[Bacong]

it's about 4 hours, so yeah. just take a 10 minute charge break every hour!