If the fit in the AirPods(no, I haven't tried them yet) is as terrible as the fit in the included earphones Apple includes with all iPhone's then I'll gladly pay a premium amount for comfort alone. All stock Apple earphones I've ever tried have felt terrible(if you compare to any rubber ear insert earphone).
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Earphones while swimming? Very cool.
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Wish they came in black and had multiple silicone tips for customized comfort. Added cost would be what, like 15? 25? cents to Apple...
I own and love AirPods. The issue isn't whether they "could" include silicon tips—there are third parties that make them and they work great. The issue is that right now the AirPods fit perfectly into molded spaces in their case, with very exacting tolerances. It's very satisfying from a purely aesthetic design sense. But from a human design sense, it leaves something to be desired.
There is zero room for anything else in the case, so when I use a silicon tip on my right AirPod while running (the left one fits snugly without any aid and I don't need any help on the right one for normal household activities) I have to take the AirPods out of their case, add the silicon tip to the right AirPod, run, and then take the silicon tip off before putting them back in their charging case. Which obviously is a pain.
I'm hoping Apple isn't stubborn in their future designs, and creates some extra space in their cases so that AirPods with silicon or foam tips (perhaps of their own design) will fit inside. This could be done with some clever design so that there is still a satisfying fit and magnetic snap when adding the AirPods to their case, and would open up their market of potential users massively.
[doublepost=1499280766][/doublepost]I own and love AirPods, and there are a few design choices that give them an advantage over the Bragi Dash Pro for me for day-to-day usage (there are obviously esoteric use cases where the Dash is superior):
1. They are visually obvious. Some think this is a negative, I think it's a positive. I want people to know I'm wearing headphones. It's already weird enough when people approach you and don't know you are listening to something and basically in your own world. With something less obvious, the problem would be even worse, and even more anti-social.
2. They don't block out all ambient sound. Walking around with sound isolating headphones is weird. Unless I'm on an airplane, where you wind up turning the volume up too high to compensate for bleed, or plunked in a chair and not moving, I want to have a little ambient sound. I often use my headphones while walking around and don't want to be isolated from people, surroundings & traffic, for both safety and social reasons.
3. They are super small and easy to carry around. There is a great quote that says "the best camera is the one you have with you". The same is true for headphones. As convenient as throwing EarPods into your pocket as you head out the door the past 20 years, AirPods are even easier. The case is great, easily fits in your pocket, and the time it takes to pull them out of your pocket and put them in your ears is even less than the time it's takes to pull out corded earbuds, unwind then, plug them in and put them in your ears. Sounds like a minor thing, but it actually makes them way more useful, and more likely to be used, in daily life.
4. The price is right ($169). Losing them would suck, but not $350 suck. It's kinda like sunglasses: buy decent ones and you'll have them for a while. Splurge and spend a lot and you'll constantly worry about them and probably lose them in a week.
5. The sound is fine. I'm an audiophile, and have lots of expensive headphones, speakers, and stereo equipment in my house. But there is a difference between sitting down and really listening to music, or having music in the background or listening to podcasts. Obviously better sound is better, but not at the expense of losing all ambient sound (if your purpose is to use them while moving around your world). For walking around, casually listening to playlists, radio or podcasts, the sound is fine. Better than corded EarPods, not great, but good enough. If future versions had better sound, I would complain, but usability in daily life trumps sound quality for me in this category.
