cleverdevil
cleverdevil

In spite of the AirPods Pro announcement, I am still very happy I went with Bose 700s. $249 is a lot for tiny earbuds that are easy to lose, especially if the battery degrades as quickly as the standard AirPods.

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In reply to
mjdescy
mjdescy

@cleverdevil That is a totally sensible way to look at it. Also, no one yet knows if the AirPods Pro are any good. At least you know Bose’s track record (both good and bad regarding their sound and noise cancellation profiles), and they had several professional reviews published by their release date.

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cleverdevil
cleverdevil

@mjdescy precisely! I get that they’re in different categories, as the AirPods Pro are earbuds and the Bose 700s are over-ear, but they’re in a similar price category.

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SimonWoods
SimonWoods

@cleverdevil Just like the original MacBook Air. I wouldn't be surprised if the price of AirPods gradually decreased, especially with the "lower end" model.

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cleverdevil
cleverdevil

@simonwoods I am skeptical, but its certainly possible. I would happily pay $99 to replace my AirPods every few years. But, $249? Not a chance.

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SimonWoods
SimonWoods

@cleverdevil Right but your AirPods didn't cost $249. Don't get me wrong, $159 is still a lot of money but the difference between the two prices is significant.

The AirPods were easily the best piece of hardware I have bought since the iPhone 5S and had a big part to play in convcincing me that Apple were worth giving a shot for going all-in. From the broader POV I think they could use the AirPods + Watch combination as the modern day equivalent of the iPod from 15 years ago.

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cleverdevil
cleverdevil

@simonwoods absolutely! I still think $159 is too much, especially since they don’t include the wireless charging case at that price point. Sweet spot for me would be $99, including the wireless charging case, and I think I’d grudgingly bite at $129.

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cleverdevil
cleverdevil

@simonwoods also, I’ve been far less impressed with the AirPods than most people, I think. I find them far too fiddly to connect/re-connect to multiple devices, and the sound quality is pretty poor.

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SimonWoods
SimonWoods

@cleverdevil They should definitely improve both of those areas over time; gradual iteration, etc. Like you I want them to tighten up the performance with regard to connection and battery life. For me the convenience of wireless is pretty big so the impact of the flaws is lessened somewhat; I've also dropped them a few times and they're tough little things.

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cleverdevil
cleverdevil

@simonwoods totally fair! Overall, I think they’re a great product, and clearly ahead of all of the competition. If there is one thing Apple absolutely crushes, its iterative improvement. I’ll revisit AirPods next year, probably, when my aging generation one set dies. Hopefully they have a $99/$129 option by then :)

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SimonWoods
SimonWoods

@cleverdevil Same. :) I honestly think they can't mess around with this product in particular; unlike computers and phones, there isn't likely to be a market in uh... second-hand options (😖). As such they ought to do what they have done with the Watch with regard to upgrades and the like.

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ReaderJohn
ReaderJohn

@cleverdevil I’ve always choked on the size of good sound-cancelling headphones like Bose, but you're right that they're harder to lose. I haven't lost my Bose sound-isolating earbuds yet, though.

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