Whats so good about them?
Convenience. Pop them in, instant sound, no fuss, no cables. If you don't own a pair you won't be able to understand this point unless you own buds like these that have no cables of any kind.
As mentioned, they leak sound [...]
They do leak sound yes, there is not a good seal at all. Which makes them perfect for running and doing work in my office and generally any place where I want to be fully aware of my surroundings while listening to my music. Simple as that, for me they are perfect.
[...] and are uncomfortable.
For my ears they fit nicely and do not cause me any discomfort. I often wear them for several hours per session without any issues.
i have a pair of wireless Sol Republic that come with 3 differen't sized silicon earpieces, that sit comfortably & snug. The Apple earpods are way overpriced for what you get and in fact the sound on the Sol Republics is also much better.
They are hard plastic and so they will not fit everyone, I usually tell people who ask me about them to try Earpods first since most people have a pair of those already and if they fit, the Airpods will fit.
I will never get the obsession with 2 stupid looking white eardrops,..they even look ridiculous when I see people wear them. Knowing there is a new one early 2020, why would you even bother getting the 2019 model??
It seems to me that you place a lot of emphasis on appearance. Me personally I do not think that the Airpods look great due to the stem. However functionally they are to me quite perfect and I am more than happy to use a product that works perfectly even if they appear a little odd.
As for why someone would buy the 2016 (current) or 2019 (rumoured) models when a redesigned version is coming in 2020: You don't always need to have the latest thing. Marketing is indoctrinating people into believing they always must buy the latest and greatest iteration of everything, don't feed into that. If a product does what you want don't be fooled into paying more for a newer version that has a minor new feature.
For me I bought two of the 2016 model because I used my first pair for two years every single day for hours and the batteries wore down to where I was only getting a few minutes play time out of them. I purchased a new pair because for me they are that important to me. If these last two years I'd be happy with that and I'll likely buy whatever version is out at that time.
Besides what I wrote here about your specific points I just wanted to reach out to you on a personal level and say that, don't let yourself get so carried away with what other people like and enjoy. Life is really too short to get so worked up about someone else liking a product that you don't like. Specifically saying things like
"I will never get the obsession with 2 stupid looking white eardrops" in a discussion about simple headphones really can't be good for your well-being, take a moment and reflect as I often do in these kinds of discussions.
