Apple AirPods: iPhone accessory or the next big thing?

Post by chemmail » Tue, Jan 07, 2020, 11:00 PM UTC

013a wrote: post #170

paxys wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am of course not debating that AirPods are successful. However, - If one random sales estimate is $6 billion and the other is $12 billion, it is clear that there isn't enough information out there, or something else is amiss. This isn't just a margin of error difference, and would completely change the graph in the parent article. - There is nothing useful to be taken away from comparing its sales numbers against a…

I would find an estimate like "AirPods make more money than Spotify" interesting; its a sort-of poetic "the hardware you use to listen to the music is worth more than the music itself", at least in a limited scope (of course, the entire audio hardware industry is larger than Spotify, but is the entire audio hareware industry larger than the entire music recording industry? idk).

Post by kristianc » Tue, Jan 07, 2020, 11:02 PM UTC

samatman wrote: post #209

kristianc wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple had DRM on iTunes with FairPlay and AAC for around six years until the courts forced them to remove it. iTunes was still a huge business for them at the time. Sure that DRM was the real issue? Likewise, claiming that the Root Kit business (by which time the iPod had been around for a good 5 years) sunk Sony’s business seems like a bit of a reach.

During that same era, Apple's slogan for the iPod was, notoriously: "Rip. Mix. Burn." They were the first company to crack the nut of digital music sales, and getting those deals with the recording industry absolutely required DRM at the time.

Post by michaelborromeo » Tue, Jan 07, 2020, 11:03 PM UTC

madrox wrote: post #76

A couple years ago, I got a bit of saltwater in my iPhone and the headphone jack failed. Since the next generation of iPhone (the iPhone X) was about to come out, I held onto it for a couple months and bought AirPods. I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. It had nothing to do with courage. It was about eliminating a deeply ingrained user habit so they could solve the problem…

Post by cortesoft » Tue, Jan 07, 2020, 11:03 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #83

madrox wrote: post #76

A couple years ago, I got a bit of saltwater in my iPhone and the headphone jack failed. Since the next generation of iPhone (the iPhone X) was about to come out, I held onto it for a couple months and bought AirPods. I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. It had nothing to do with courage. It was about eliminating a deeply ingrained user habit so they could solve the problem…

I then realized this was Apple's real reason for eliminating the headphone jack. To do away with the point of failure that you so aptly illustrated by getting salt water in your phone? I wouldn't have bothered with the AirPods if my headphone jack had continued to function. That's you, though. There are clearly millions and millions of people who don't want wires.

Post by thethrowboat » Tue, Jan 07, 2020, 11:04 PM UTC

rkuykendall-com wrote: post #197

gz5 wrote: post #40

Amazing how Apple managed to make the first cool MP3 player, then the first cool smartphone and now the first cool bluetooth headset. For almost 20 years now, Apple has owned electronic fashion. Sony for example was unable to parlay its Walkman dominance into similar positions with new devices. And make no mistake about it - a huge portion of these sales are people buying Apple's marketing - not buying the tech itsel…

AirPods don't have a single competitor. There's no clear alternative on the market. It's Air Pod or... TOZO T10? Sony XB950B1? LETSCOM IPX7? KOVEBBLE IPX7? Fuck I have no idea what all these numbers and letters mean, I'll buy some Air Pods.