Eclipsed by the iPhone 5 intro yesterday was another huge announcement, Apple’s new, radically shaped Earpods ($29). Apple says the new design of the EarPods is “engineered to minimize sound loss and maximize sound output.” Not only will they sound better, the new shape of the earphones will also fit more people comfortably.
These new EarPods will be Apple’s default earphones moving forward, and because they ship with all its mobile products, they will be the most-used earphones on the planet. It will have a huge impact on the industry.
This, of course, should make premium-earphone manufacturers sweat. These companies use Apple’s default earphones as a baseline to design and sell their products around. As long as your earphones sound and/or fit better than Apple’s cheapos, you can make money.
Initial anecdotal evidence suggests that Apple has indeed raised the bar. Some members of the media got their hands on EarPods a little early, and their initial reports so far are positive. The Chicago Sun Times’ Andy Ihnatko on Twitter yesterday had this to say about the new EarPods:
Holy cats…the new earbuds aren’t at all a subtle upgrade. Bass is rich and resonant. Funk is funkier, classical is classier.
— Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko) September 12, 2012
Have now been listening to the new Earpods for a whole hour. Still very comfy. (Art Of Noise: Paranoimia. Nice and thumpy.)
— Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko) September 12, 2012
David Pogue, from the New York Times, who finds it difficult to find a good-fitting pair of earphones, had this to say on Twitter:
The new EarPods earbuds, which come with the new iPhone/iPods, STAY IN! (My ears lack the antitragus, the flap that holds earbuds in!)
— David Pogue (@Pogue) September 12, 2012
And Jason Snell from Macworld got to listen to the earphones as well:
The EarPods sound a whole lot better than the old Apple earbuds did.
— Jason Snell (@jsnell) September 12, 2012
Apple’s own official description says the EarPods’ “audio quality is so superior, they rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more.” If true, we could see Apple lay waste to another industry, one long ripe for the plucking. Apple even says the EarPods offer “greater protection from sweat and water,” which means, combined with their improved fit, they chould even challenge companies who make athlethic sweat-resistant earphones.
If you were looking for a disruptive revolutionary product yesterday, it may have slipped beneath your notice. It’s the EarPods.
You can watch Apple’s Jony Ives describe the new EarPods in the video below.
