Comment by bigstrat2003 a day ago
> Airpods, amazing, redefined what wireless headphones are.
Airpods are a cash grab solution to a problem that Apple created, and nobody actually had before. They are the exact opposite of a good product; they are Apple squeezing money from its captive audience. If the iPhone hadn't dropped the headphone jack nobody would've bought Airpods, thus the jack was killed.
To be fair though the switch to wireless earbuds and headphones helped advance that market quickly. That applies to all of the companies in the space. It's also been so nice to not have to deal with tangled wired earbuds or headphones. Removing the jack was a band aid that needed to be ripped eventually, and Apple just happened to be the ones to do it. There is a reason the industry followed. Even when they didn't have their own product to offer.
> If the iPhone hadn't dropped the headphone jack nobody would've bought Airpods, thus the jack was killed.
My understanding was Apple wanted to get rid of cables entirely if they could. It's one of the major pieces of waste and the reason EU forced USB-C on everyone.
Personally I find the airpods great. I use the noise cancellation to sleep.