mobius

kevin kee said:
One word: microphone.

Good point. I agree, that seems to be a big reason why they protrude so far out.

I'm also excited for Apple to still be innovating and daring enough to push some of those ideas to market. It would be tempting for a company as rich as Apple to coast along and play safe. They still have bravery in a world that doesn't always reward the brave with success and that's to be commended.

So I'm not all negative here.

fallenjt said:

mobius said:

AppleInsider said:

"These are as advanced a project as Apple Pencil," Schiller said of AirPods. "We started this project when we started the Watch project. We knew we needed a great wireless solution for audio. We said, 'What if you could design what the future of headphones should look like?' That's we asked the team to do."

That's all well and good Phil, but why on God's green Earth did you go with that absurdly long alien protrusion that, from a distance looks like frozen bird poo, and up close looks like someone just hacked off a regular set of Apple EarPods?

I am certain cramming such a lot of functionality into a tiny space is fiendishly difficult, but as other companies have shown, there are more inconspicuous ways of designing wireless earphones. I cannot see many people wearing these without a few sniggers from onlookers. Funny how white earphones with a jiggling white cord, made famous and stylish by the acrobatic hip dancing in the early iPod commercials, has become superficially uncool sans cord.

Of course, that is my opinion as 40-something uncool guy and I could be completely out of touch and wrong. But they just don't seem to scream "look at my sexy wearable tech!" - much in the same way Google Glass didn't either, although maybe not quite so stupid-looking and obtrussive.

Show me a nice looking Bluetooth headset on the market with 50% of features as this. You need to open your mind for new technology and innovation sometimes.

It's true that they have superior functionality. That wasn't my argument. If you like them then great, where them with pride and enjoy them. I'm only commenting on their appearance and, from where I sit (from my parents' basement /s ), they look ridiculous. Let's not hide the fact that looks matter too - just ask the Google Glass team. Apple knows this. The industry knows this.

Hey, they could fly off the shelves and really be a hit. We'll see.

AppleInsider said:

"These are as advanced a project as Apple Pencil," Schiller said of AirPods. "We started this project when we started the Watch project. We knew we needed a great wireless solution for audio. We said, 'What if you could design what the future of headphones should look like?' That's we asked the team to do."

That's all well and good Phil, but why on God's green Earth did you go with that absurdly long alien protrusion that, from a distance looks like frozen bird poo, and up close looks like someone just hacked off a regular set of Apple EarPods?

I am certain cramming such a lot of functionality into a tiny space is fiendishly difficult, but as other companies have shown, there are more inconspicuous ways of designing wireless earphones. I cannot see many people wearing these without a few sniggers from onlookers. Funny how white earphones with a jiggling white cord, made famous and stylish by the acrobatic hip dancing in the early iPod commercials, has become superficially uncool sans cord.

Of course, that is my opinion as 40-something uncool guy and I could be completely out of touch and wrong. But they just don't seem to scream "look at my sexy wearable tech!" - much in the same way Google Glass didn't either, although maybe not quite so stupid-looking and obtrussive.

I'm pretty sure the "future of headphones should..." not look like this.

Mike Wuerthele said:

Typos eradicated. Long day, preceding an even longer one tomorrow. Thanks.

Why, is there something happening tomorrow?

Aaah...you mean National Beer Lover's Day. 

http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-beer-lovers-day-september-7/