Just remember the caterwauling and sarcastic comments posted in AI forums when these were announced. Remember that AirPods were laughed at, ridiculed. Remember the comments about how ugly there were, how easily they would fall out of people's ears, how stupid the entire concept was because Bluetooth audio 'sucks.' You know, the same reaction we get with every single Apple product release... ever.
Apple products always seem to elicit some negative knee-jerk reaction. I've always wondered what causes that. It must just be a way to draw clicks for articles. It's simply hard to imagine that every product Apple announces is automatically considered a poor product. So many Apple products quickly labeled as unsuccessful do actually turn out relatively successful in terms of sales. It is possible that rivals do try to spread fake news but that sounds more like a conspiracy theory. Actually, my ears won't hold any Apple-designed earbuds. I need something that fits snugly in the ear canal. I also didn't care much for the AirPod design but I realized those protruding extensions held a larger battery and likely improved reception which would be more important to me than style alone.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Interesting question.
The short answer IMO is no.
Wireless headphones have been around long enough for them to displace wired units but that never happened. The reasons are various and Apple has tried to remove some of those reasons but underlying reasons still remain.
For Air Pods, price is probably the first of those. Then I'd say convenience. Wired phones will always work. There is no guarantee that Air Pods will continue working fully with newer hardware x years down the line. They should of course and I cannot imagine why they won't, but this is the kind of thing people take into account when buying products in this price range. 'Fit' is also a problem for some people. The 'look' will possibly put some people off too. Then there are doubts about losing or misplacing one.
On a broader scale 'wireless' will be the future I'm sure, but probably not in the short term or at least until they start shipping them in the box.
Until then, it's great to have the option and they will only get better.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Interesting question.
The short answer IMO is no.
Wireless headphones have been around long enough for them to displace wired units but that never happened. The reasons are various and Apple has tried to remove some of those reasons but underlying reasons still remain.
For Air Pods, price is probably the first of those. Then I'd say convenience. Wired phones will always work. There is no guarantee that Air Pods will continue working fully with newer hardware x years down the line. They should of course and I cannot imagine why they won't, but this is the kind of thing people take into account when buying products in this price range. 'Fit' is also a problem for some people. The 'look' will possibly put some people off too. Then there are doubts about losing or misplacing one.
On a broader scale 'wireless' will be the future I'm sure, but probably not in the short term or at least until they start shipping them in the box.
Until then, it's great to have the option and they will only get better.
Your statements make it sound like AirPods are the only wireless headphones in existence. They aren't. One needn't worry about losing half of their normal wireless headphones (Beats, etc).
Also, I don't know a single person who has ever worried that Bluetooth isn't going to be supported in future OS versions. Not a single person ever. At that point you may as well be worried about meteors ending civilization -- yeah, it could happen. No, I'm not going to spend a second worrying about it.
Yes, the wireless headphones are certainly the future. Headphone sales by revenue already indicate it's trending there now -- people are willing to spend, and they are.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Wireless is just as much future as wireless sending and receiving of electronic mails from your lap, instead of sending paper mail via a mail box on a street. And as we all know it, email is a standard mean of communication these days. But originally only few used it and it took it 2 decades to progress to that state. In other words, I think you are too swift (and not in a good way) about judging the tech based on 1 year of performance.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Yet it is and it is quite a post for what amounts to a non sequitur.
You forgot to mention that Apple has not been Apple to keep this thing in stock for a whole year. How could they sell more if people can't buy them? Conveniently forgot that the Beats also sold a ton of wireless headphones with the W1 chip, were are those stats?.
That you can pick up cheap blue-tooth headphones for $20 so were is this in your stats.
Even if the future turns wireless, not everyone uses headphones, not everyone will buy expensive headphones and thus the numbers of headphones sold by Apple will always be way less than the number of phones they sell.
It is an accessory, only people for which it is very important will spend on premium equipment like the AirPod.
I still think I have a point. The point is - Wireless headphones has NOT arrived YET, not in 2017. The actual sales figures prove that the majority of the Apple customers are still using so called "old technology", i.e. wired headphones. Essentially Apple moved from one wired headphone to another wired headphone with iPhone 7 generation, NOT from wired to wireless as was being touted. Which means - the decision to remove 3.5 mm jack was a wrong one, because the so called "new superior futuristic technology" which is supposed to replace "old inferior outdated technology" has NOT become mainstream despite Apple's efforts, won't be mainstream for the lifetime of the said products (iPhone 7/7 plus).
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Interesting question.
The short answer IMO is no.
Wireless headphones have been around long enough for them to displace wired units but that never happened. The reasons are various and Apple has tried to remove some of those reasons but underlying reasons still remain.
For Air Pods, price is probably the first of those. Then I'd say convenience. Wired phones will always work. There is no guarantee that Air Pods will continue working fully with newer hardware x years down the line. They should of course and I cannot imagine why they won't, but this is the kind of thing people take into account when buying products in this price range. 'Fit' is also a problem for some people. The 'look' will possibly put some people off too. Then there are doubts about losing or misplacing one.
On a broader scale 'wireless' will be the future I'm sure, but probably not in the short term or at least until they start shipping them in the box.
Until then, it's great to have the option and they will only get better.
Your statements make it sound like AirPods are the only wireless headphones in existence. They aren't. One needn't worry about losing half of their normal wireless headphones (Beats, etc).
Also, I don't know a single person who has ever worried that Bluetooth isn't going to be supported in future OS versions. Not a single person ever. At that point you may as well be worried about meteors ending civilization -- yeah, it could happen. No, I'm not going to spend a second worrying about it.
Yes, the wireless headphones are certainly the future. Headphone sales by revenue already indicate it's trending there now -- people are willing to spend, and they are.
As Apple itself has stated, AirPods are more than Bluetooth. You can use them as simple BT devices out of the Apple ecosystem but by doing so, 'you lose the magic'.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Yet it is and it is quite a post for what amounts to a non sequitur.
You forgot to mention that Apple has not been Apple to keep this thing in stock for a whole year. How could they sell more if people can't buy them? Conveniently forgot that the Beats also sold a ton of wireless headphones with the W1 chip, were are those stats?.
That you can pick up cheap blue-tooth headphones for $20 so were is this in your stats.
Even if the future turns wireless, not everyone uses headphones, not everyone will buy expensive headphones and thus the numbers of headphones sold by Apple will always be way less than the number of phones they sell.
It is an accessory, only people for which it is very important will spend on premium equipment like the AirPod.
Since when did $20 devices become important to Apple users? Who buys them? Android users, probably yes. But the percentages that I gave were only considering Apple customers. There is no discussion about competition here.
Are you sure that the demand was multiple times than what Apple could supply and that has been the scenario for ALL of 9 months? Are you saying Apple is inefficient in estimating the demand AND making the supply-chain work to meet the demand for solid 9 months continuously? First month - understandable. A new product, any estimate can go wrong. 8 more months - That too with a CEO who is a master of supply chain - do you believe that?
Airpods have 85% of the wireless headphone market, so the % of iPhone 7/7s users who are using "wireless headphones" is still miniscule, compared to the overall number of headphone users (even excluding the ones who don't use any headphones at all).
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
Or maybe most folks just don't use headphones all that much. Except on the subway or exercising I rarely see anyone using a headphone wired or wireless. So that 99.5% using wired headphones number is completely wrong.
Active iPhone 7 generation phones in use - 200 million (Approximately)
Total active iPhones in use - 800 million (Approximately)
Total AirPods in use - 1 million (Approximately, taken from this article)
% of iPhone 7 generation owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.5%
% of all iPhone owners who also own an AirPod - ~0.125%
Looking at the big picture, the questions that I have:
i) Is "wireless" the "Future" as told by Apple for eliminating the 3.5mm jack? Is it valid anymore, with 99.5% of the people using the "much derided" outdated old technology - wired headphones, instead of embracing the future - i.e. "wireless headphones"?
ii) Don't we have enough evidence already that Apple users (forgetting about tech media/critics etc for a moment) have NOT bought into the "wireless future" that Apple was portraying, with their wallets, with just <1% of them buying into the idea?
iii) Many people in this forum claimed that "wireless is the future". Do you agree that the "actual sales" for about 8 months suggest otherwise, at least for now in 2017? Has "wireless" really arrived? Wasn't Apple putting the horse before the cart?
iv) For those who would argue that the low quantity in sales is due to manufacturing capacity being extremely limited - If the demand for AirPods was 200 million instead of 2 million for the entire year 2017, wouldn't Apple have ramped up production to meet the extra-ordinarily high demand, at least not as low as 1 million for 8 months?
Let me make this clear - I am not saying Airpods are bad. I don't have any clue because I have not bought them or used them. Going by the positive comments from the actual users, it seems to be pretty good. That is besides the point. The actual question is - Is wireless headphones the "future" as claimed by Apple and many people in this forum?
Interesting question.
The short answer IMO is no.
Wireless headphones have been around long enough for them to displace wired units but that never happened. The reasons are various and Apple has tried to remove some of those reasons but underlying reasons still remain.
For Air Pods, price is probably the first of those. Then I'd say convenience. Wired phones will always work. There is no guarantee that Air Pods will continue working fully with newer hardware x years down the line. They should of course and I cannot imagine why they won't, but this is the kind of thing people take into account when buying products in this price range. 'Fit' is also a problem for some people. The 'look' will possibly put some people off too. Then there are doubts about losing or misplacing one.
On a broader scale 'wireless' will be the future I'm sure, but probably not in the short term or at least until they start shipping them in the box.
Until then, it's great to have the option and they will only get better.
Your statements make it sound like AirPods are the only wireless headphones in existence. They aren't. One needn't worry about losing half of their normal wireless headphones (Beats, etc).
Also, I don't know a single person who has ever worried that Bluetooth isn't going to be supported in future OS versions. Not a single person ever. At that point you may as well be worried about meteors ending civilization -- yeah, it could happen. No, I'm not going to spend a second worrying about it.
Yes, the wireless headphones are certainly the future. Headphone sales by revenue already indicate it's trending there now -- people are willing to spend, and they are.
As Apple itself has stated, AirPods are more than Bluetooth. You can use them as simple BT devices out of the Apple ecosystem but by doing so, 'you lose the magic'.
That has nothing to do with what we're talking about. When people ask if "wireless is the future", it is irrespective of platform-specific extras. You suggested they aren't the future because people will be worried about it not being guaranteed down the line. But AirPods and all non-W1 chip headphones are Bluetooth, and will always work down the line.
You need to accept that wireless != AirPods. Yes, wireless is the future. With or without AirPods.
I still think I have a point. The point is - Wireless headphones has NOT arrived YET, not in 2017. The actual sales figures prove that the majority of the Apple customers are still using so called "old technology", i.e. wired headphones. Essentially Apple moved from one wired headphone to another wired headphone with iPhone 7 generation, NOT from wired to wireless as was being touted. Which means - the decision to remove 3.5 mm jack was a wrong one, because the so called "new superior futuristic technology" which is supposed to replace "old inferior outdated technology" has NOT become mainstream despite Apple's efforts, won't be mainstream for the lifetime of the said products (iPhone 7/7 plus).
That is the stupidest thing I've read all day. It was not a mistake to remove the jack in the 7, nor was it a mistake to supply a cheap pair of wireless headphones and a cheap adapter. Can you say...transition period? The proof that the 7 is now the single best-selling smartphone says it all.
Again tho, the trend of wireless becoming mainstream isn't tired to the iPhone 7 (despite it being the best selling smartphone in the world, and despite AirPods being constantly sold-out). The trend is shown by the sales number of headphones -- wireless headphones have greater sales than wired:
...and this happened a year ago, pre-AirPods and pre-iPhone 7. People are voting with their wallets. You can deny it all you like, but the trend is moving and it will only continue.
I still think I have a point. The point is - Wireless headphones has NOT arrived YET, not in 2017. The actual sales figures prove that the majority of the Apple customers are still using so called "old technology", i.e. wired headphones. Essentially Apple moved from one wired headphone to another wired headphone with iPhone 7 generation, NOT from wired to wireless as was being touted. Which means - the decision to remove 3.5 mm jack was a wrong one, because the so called "new superior futuristic technology" which is supposed to replace "old inferior outdated technology" has NOT become mainstream despite Apple's efforts, won't be mainstream for the lifetime of the said products (iPhone 7/7 plus).
That is the stupidest thing I've read all day. It was not a mistake to remove the jack in the 7, nor was it a mistake to supply a cheap pair of wireless headphones and a cheap adapter. Can you say...transition period? The proof that the 7 is now the single best-selling smartphone says it all.
Again tho, the trend of wireless becoming mainstream isn't tired to the iPhone 7 (despite it being the best selling smartphone in the world, and despite AirPods being constantly sold-out). The trend is shown by the sales number of headphones -- wireless headphones have greater sales than wired:
...and this happened a year ago, pre-AirPods and pre-iPhone 7. People are voting with their wallets. You can deny it all you like, but the trend is moving and it will only continue.
Not in volume of course. Obviously the fully wireless headphones are priced higher than wired, ofttimes substantially higher. FAR more folks buy wired, but the ones that buy wireless are willing to pay the substantial premiium. So wired are more popular even if (maybe... one report on sales estimates doesn't equate to fact) more $ are spent on wireless.
Comments
The short answer IMO is no.
Wireless headphones have been around long enough for them to displace wired units but that never happened. The reasons are various and Apple has tried to remove some of those reasons but underlying reasons still remain.
For Air Pods, price is probably the first of those. Then I'd say convenience. Wired phones will always work. There is no guarantee that Air Pods will continue working fully with newer hardware x years down the line. They should of course and I cannot imagine why they won't, but this is the kind of thing people take into account when buying products in this price range. 'Fit' is also a problem for some people. The 'look' will possibly put some people off too. Then there are doubts about losing or misplacing one.
On a broader scale 'wireless' will be the future I'm sure, but probably not in the short term or at least until they start shipping them in the box.
Until then, it's great to have the option and they will only get better.
NPD states that Apple has sold the bulk of 900,000 wireless headphones sets sold in 9 months of availability.
The satisfaction rate of the owners is 98%, has excellent reviews and word of mouth, and demand is still greatly exceeding supply.
That's only a 100,000 units a month at best; those aren't even hobby numbers for Apple.
What am I missing here?
Is Apple still having issues building these? Have potential buyers just given up on finding them? Waiting for version 2?
They should be shipping, and selling, 5 million a month of these.
Huge miss for Apple.
Update:
Above Avalon estimates 3.4 million AirPod sales to mid-May, 2017. That seems more likely to me, but without Apple numbers, all estimates are suspect.
Also, I don't know a single person who has ever worried that Bluetooth isn't going to be supported in future OS versions. Not a single person ever. At that point you may as well be worried about meteors ending civilization -- yeah, it could happen. No, I'm not going to spend a second worrying about it.
Yes, the wireless headphones are certainly the future. Headphone sales by revenue already indicate it's trending there now -- people are willing to spend, and they are.
In other words, I think you are too swift (and not in a good way) about judging the tech based on 1 year of performance.
You forgot to mention that Apple has not been Apple to keep this thing in stock for a whole year.
How could they sell more if people can't buy them?
Conveniently forgot that the Beats also sold a ton of wireless headphones with the W1 chip, were are those stats?.
That you can pick up cheap blue-tooth headphones for $20 so were is this in your stats.
Even if the future turns wireless, not everyone uses headphones, not everyone will buy expensive headphones and thus the numbers of headphones sold by Apple will always be way less than the number of phones they sell.
It is an accessory, only people for which it is very important will spend on premium equipment like the AirPod.
I still think I have a point. The point is - Wireless headphones has NOT arrived YET, not in 2017. The actual sales figures prove that the majority of the Apple customers are still using so called "old technology", i.e. wired headphones. Essentially Apple moved from one wired headphone to another wired headphone with iPhone 7 generation, NOT from wired to wireless as was being touted. Which means - the decision to remove 3.5 mm jack was a wrong one, because the so called "new superior futuristic technology" which is supposed to replace "old inferior outdated technology" has NOT become mainstream despite Apple's efforts, won't be mainstream for the lifetime of the said products (iPhone 7/7 plus).
Since when did $20 devices become important to Apple users? Who buys them? Android users, probably yes. But the percentages that I gave were only considering Apple customers. There is no discussion about competition here.
Are you sure that the demand was multiple times than what Apple could supply and that has been the scenario for ALL of 9 months? Are you saying Apple is inefficient in estimating the demand AND making the supply-chain work to meet the demand for solid 9 months continuously? First month - understandable. A new product, any estimate can go wrong. 8 more months - That too with a CEO who is a master of supply chain - do you believe that?
Airpods have 85% of the wireless headphone market, so the % of iPhone 7/7s users who are using "wireless headphones" is still miniscule, compared to the overall number of headphone users (even excluding the ones who don't use any headphones at all).
You need to accept that wireless != AirPods. Yes, wireless is the future. With or without AirPods.
They're hard to make and Cook said the demand is huge, that people buy them as fast as they can make them.
That is the stupidest thing I've read all day. It was not a mistake to remove the jack in the 7, nor was it a mistake to supply a cheap pair of wireless headphones and a cheap adapter. Can you say...transition period? The proof that the 7 is now the single best-selling smartphone says it all.
Again tho, the trend of wireless becoming mainstream isn't tired to the iPhone 7 (despite it being the best selling smartphone in the world, and despite AirPods being constantly sold-out). The trend is shown by the sales number of headphones -- wireless headphones have greater sales than wired:
https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2016/bluetooth-capable-headphone-sales-surpass-non-bluetooth-sales/
...and this happened a year ago, pre-AirPods and pre-iPhone 7. People are voting with their wallets. You can deny it all you like, but the trend is moving and it will only continue.