“So you think Apple is a tech company? No, you’re wrong,” Chris Messina writes for Medium. “In July of 1997, right before his return to Apple, Steve Jobs told BusinessWeek: ‘The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore! Start over.’ Ten years later, building on the dripping sex and rock and roll of the iPod (touched with a Bono 💋 no less!), Jobs revealed the iPhone and changed computing forever.”
“Last week, Apple did it again, but for some reason, nearly everyone in Silicon Valley is confused about what just happened. I mean, I understand the confusion, but do people really think that the most significant announcement was the removal of the 3.5mm analog headphone jack? I mean, it was, but not for the reasons everyone’s panties seems to be bunched up about,” Messina writes. “Apple doesn’t give a shit about neckbeard hipsters who spent thousands of dollars on expensive audiophile gear that rely on 100-year-old technology to transmit audio signals.”
“Apple is securing its future, and to do that, it must continue to shrink the physical distance between its products and its customers’ conceptions of self,” Messina writes. “What Apple has done is produce something that isn’t a technology product, but is, rather, a fashion object—a piece of jewelry, an entertainment product, a status symbol, a genie in a bottle—that drips with sex appeal… So, don’t confuse AirPods with just another Bluetooth headset; that’s not what they’re replacing. AirPods offer a new relationship because they’re alluring, sensuous, and sultry: AirPods are sex sticks that fuck your ears. (Hmm. Or maybe your ears spoon them? I can’t decide.)”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Some people do get it.
As for the AirPods looking alien: Tape a pair of wires on the ends of each and you’ll see that they look very much like the type of earphones that everyone is very used to seeing by now (which, for those who remember, we weren’t used to seeing before iPod – people thought those looked “alien,” too). We’ll all get used to the lack of wires soon enough. — MacDailyNews, September 14, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Tim Cook: AirPods won’t fall out of your ears (with video) – September 14, 2016
What AirPods can tell us about Apple’s future – September 12, 2016
Hands-on with Apple’s new AirPods: Stayed in my ears, sounded awesome – September 10, 2016
Apple and a truly wireless future: AirPods are just the start – September 10, 2016
Whoever makes the first AirPods strap is going to get rich – September 8, 2016
They’ll all get it (as usual) when the cloud of dust that Apple leaves behind dissipates and finds the nay sayers in the dark.
Oh my god! No more floppy disk, no more querty keyboard with physical buttons, no more cd/ dvd drive, no more earphone jack!!!!!!! I can’t survive without these things! What is Apple thinking? Apple is doomed!
Chris is right, Ha! My earpods sit in a drawer snarled and unused. My suggestions of frictionless cords go untweeted.
Wow, that guys gets it. It’s almost as if he’s one of us?
Other than being a bit pricy, I’m definitely a future customer. I can see my use case clearly. Incoming call to my phone (in my pocket), notification on my watch. If I want to talk, I slip the one AirPod into my ear and answer. Hands free, no need for the Dick Tracy Wrist Radio pose. Looks good to me.
OBTW, no need for a black option. Apple white is the iconic color for this device.
Compare EarPods at $159 to all of the competitors Bluetooth earbuds. The others all sell for about $200 and up.
This is true, what you say. And the wire-free design makes them uniquely useful. If the reports that they stay in you ear continue, I’m probably in. Loosing half a pair of $160 EarPods would make me very sad.
You more or less get what you pay for. But you can definitely get basic bluetooth for $99 or less:
http://www.cnet.com/topics/headphones/best-headphones/stereo-bluetooth/
Yes but do the new Airpod’s SOUND any good? I mean REALLY good – great highs and lows and everything in between. (What some people think is great sound is sound for the sound spectrum deaf.) I could give a rat’s ass with fashion over aural function. BEATS headphones are mostly junk and an example of crappy fashionable sound as compared to better though less sexy alternatives. If it don’t SOUND great first & foremost you got nothin’ regardless. At least for me.
Beats me how we spend so much time and money listening and purchasing some wonderfully digitized music, only to pump it into our head with sub-par earphones. Now, I haven’t listened to the new AirPods, but if they inherit the Earpod’s deficient drivers, then they are a waste of technology. Apple should have either revolutionized driver technology or the wireless connection to the phone, not both. I wish the sticks in the Airpods had the electronics (W1/IR chips, etc.) and, a PLUG to let you attach them to the earphone of your choice. Then I would stand up and take notice.
Yeah, I’m not too terribly excited (yet) by technology that looks nice but doesn’t deliver where it counts in this case – to my ears. And they’re old ears at that! My experience with earbuds in general has not been a positive one but I’m not terribly hopeful. I’ll settle for looking dorkier with more old style headphones if they sound a heckuvalot better.
There are many people who will say that they don’t like AirPods because they don’t sound very good. Then they try them and find out that they sound great. People fear what they don’t know about.
Get Mikey to try them. (remember that ad?)
Oh I’ll try them eventually it’s just that I don’t really use my iPhone for music or video playback as much as my iPad or Mac. Inevitably Apple will eventually force the no-headphone jack issue on those as well.
Have you seen the specs of the ‘new’ Beats wireless haedphones and more importantly, have you listened to them?
No, just going by their old reputation. I wasn’t hopeful for a sudden transition to aural greatness overnight.
As I thought, here’s Wired’s review:
“The oddest thing about the AirPods isn’t how they look; it’s that Apple’s evidently not all that concerned with how they sound. Your $159 doesn’t buy you any better audio than you’ll get from the EarPods that come free in the box with your iPhone. I mean, look: they sound fine. Statistically, most people are fine with the EarPods, and they’ll be fine with the AirPods too. But if you’ve ever purchased a pair of headphones that cost more than $50, I’d bet they sound better than the AirPods. If you’ve spent more than $100, they definitely do.”
I’m one of those not “fine” with Apple ear pods so doubtful I will like the AirPods. Your mileage, as always, may vary. I’ve just spent too much of my life around recording studios and great sounding audio to “settle.”
Just asked…I was curious and expect the audio to improve now that Apple’s in charge. The ear pods suck and I don’t expect audio miracles from the EarPods but they are a leading innovation to the future and have to be much better if not good in comparison.
Personally I only use headphones for reference in mixes or when in the studio for the past 35 years – Sony 7506s or open Senheisers..
No problem, Yeah the raves over audio quality weren’t coming so I will take my time checking them out. In no hurry in any case. t will check mixes over headphones (Grady’s or Sony’s) but mix off KRK monitors.
“haedphones”
And you gave me crap for spelling?
Practice what you preach Apple cheerleader.
Peterblood71- now that IS the correct question.
Peter, you must have something better than the std ear buds that come with all Apple products so why would you worry about these new EarPods? What kind of mini buds are you using? I don’t think the EarPods will be any better than what you’re already getting.
Koss Porta-Pro’s and Sennheiser PX-100’s. Years ago I bought some highly rated ear bud Etymotics and boy were they a disappointment. You wonder if reviewers were deaf.
If the Air pods are anything at all like the current EarPods, they don’t seal the ears well at all. Sound leakage in a noisy environment like a gym or other public place or running in the wind will make them worthless for listening to music. I hope I’m wrong, but the earpiece is shaped pretty much like the EarPods, so……..
Yeah, maybe they do get it or something, but anyone who seriously uses the term “neckbeard” is basically a dick.
Found the neckbeard.
i like the Airpods…
but seriously i have no interest nor have ever fantasized about my ears being Fucked !
Just asked…I was curious and expect the audio to improve now that Apple’s in charge. The ear pods suck and I don’t expect audio miracles from the EarPods but they are a leading innovation to the future and have to be much better if not good in comparison.
Personally I only use headphones for reference in mixes or when in the studio for the past 35 years – Sony 7506s or open Senheisers..
Sorry posted twice by mistake.
The Airpods are UGLY!
Got it?
More batteries taking up space in landfills, more UNGREEN POWER PRODUCTION.
Removing the floppy disk drive actually did more for landfills than removing the headphone jack.
People get to hung up on Thai green stuff. So what if it takes up some landfills. Who cares lol. People today are way over concerned with being green for environment sake. Now I drive a Prius but I do it to save gas money. Not because it’s great for the environment.
I would not be proud of pollution, like you seem to be.
I think the AirPods were Apple’s most underrated new product announcement in history. Everyone is bitching about losing the headphone jack while ignoring the potential for the AirPods to be the ultimate Siri interaction device, moreso than the iPad, iPhone, Mac and even Watch. Yes the technology is still in its infancy, but the sky is the limit. This isn’t just about listening to music, this is about wanting to wear a device in your ear for as long as you wear a device on your wrist and use it to interact with potentially everything you do technology wise.