KGI: Apple Developing High-End Over-Ear Headphones, Launching Late 2018 at the Earliest

[rmsanger]

IMO the BOSE QC35 are superior to all Beats in all critical criteria:

Noise cancellation
Audio quality
Build quality
Comfort
Doesn’t have the broski stigma / chode fashion accessory

Apple wins in battery life and the A1 chip pairing with IP. The qc35 for Apple is the benchmark at a price of $350. Good luck with that Apple engineers!

 

[ersan191]

IMO the BOSE QC35 are superior to all Beats in all critical criteria:

Noise cancellation
Audio quality
Build quality
Comfort
Doesn’t have the broski stigma / chode fashion accessory

Apple wins in battery life and the A1 chip pairing with IP. The qc35 for Apple is the benchmark at a price of $350. Good luck with that Apple engineers!

Doesn't seem like a particularly difficult target. The Bose headphones are overpriced to begin with, compared to what they cost to manufacture - same as Beats.

 

[Abazigal]

Clearly the Beats and AirPods are not overpriced enough...

I would only consider Apple over-ear 'phones if they included active noise cancellation, and only if they sounded better than Bose or Sony's latest offerings. Otherwise, I'll pass.

It’s interesting to note that according to one Apple blog, the Airpods and Apple Watch are considered underpriced relative to the utility they offer.

https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2017/3/15/the-curious-state-of-apple-product-pricing

After using AirPods for the past three months, one takeaway relates to pricing. It is clear that Apple is underpricing AirPods. While this statement may sound outlandish considering that a pair of EarPods is included in every iPhone box, AirPods are not just any pair of headphones. The combination of accelerometers, optical sensors, Apple's new W1 chip, and a well-designed charging case, position AirPods as Apple's second wearables product. AirPods are computers for your ears. This distinction does a better job at framing the device's surprisingly low $159 price.

 

[rmsanger]

Doesn't seem like a particularly difficult target. The Bose headphones are overpriced to begin with, compared to what they cost to manufacture - same as Beats.

The cost to manufacture really has little bearing on if something is overpriced or not. It’s more of a value proposition relative to alternative products. In that case Bose is priced relatively well.

 

[ipponrg]

It’s interesting to note that according to one Apple blog, the Airpods and Apple Watch are considered underpriced relative to the utility they offer.

https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2017/3/15/the-curious-state-of-apple-product-pricing

Interesting site.

Speaking on underpricing, IMO they are underpriced if you are on the Apple ecosystem, but overpriced otherwise. The most useful part about it is the W1 chip. Other than that, the sound quality is otherwise debatable at $159. Forget wireless voice because of bluetooth spec limitations. Most companies have to cut because they are trying to sell on Apple platforms.

The Apple Watch pricing is debatable as it's mostly useful in an Apple ecosystem. Many other manufacturers are targeting their devices to be more ubiquitous. For the Apple Watch, I'm mostly interested in the HRM and BT music playback capabilities of it for when I'm at the gym/cycling and don't desire any of the other features. I'm hoping one day they release something around the Vivoactive price range.

 

[Baymowe335]

IMO the BOSE QC35 are superior to all Beats in all critical criteria:

Noise cancellation
Audio quality
Build quality
Comfort
Doesn’t have the broski stigma / chode fashion accessory

Apple wins in battery life and the A1 chip pairing with IP. The qc35 for Apple is the benchmark at a price of $350. Good luck with that Apple engineers!

Bose headphones don’t sound as good as Audio Technicas for half the price.

 

[ersan191]

The cost to manufacture really has little bearing on if something is overpriced or not. It’s more of a value proposition relative to alternative products. In that case Bose is priced relatively well.

How "valuable" they are has absolutely no bearing on the point I was making, which is that Apple should have no problem meeting or exceeding their goal of competing with Bose QC because this is right up Apple's alley in terms of margins and what they are good at.

 

[TechRemarker]

To bad, I was hoping the Studio3 would be as comfy as Bose and have USB-C but it offered neither. Now hoping Studio4 can achieve both, but imagine it won't and will have to wait a little longer for the apple branded studio equivalent which would offer usb-c and premium comfort and the bells and whistles of the AirPods.

 

[Sirious]

Name ideas:

iEars
eyeEars
AirPods Plus
AirPods Max
Maxi Pods
Beaten to Dreath
Head iPhones

You did it