Vanilla pods didn’t sell well cos ANC is pretty much a standard these days. The money you’d spend on them you might as well reach for the pros.
Apple have been flooding the market with endless variety for a while now. Definitely not the simple and clean product line like back in the day.
Which makes me worry that they would rather scrap the 2 at that price range and make 3 the base cheaper (but more expensive) price.
3 definitely feels like a bit of an after thought product. I’m just glad they’re not touching the pros for a while. Literally just bought the usbc one on a sale this week
The article doesn’t even mention the change in AirPods’ “one-size fits most” design. Most people I know have refused to go past 2nd gen due to the new fit.
Exactly, my wife mentioned just last week that she doesn't like her AirPod 3's due to the fit, and that she's considering asking for a new pair of 2's this Christmas instead. Glad to hear they might be going back on that design change, for her sake.
But curiously, Gurman says that neither is likely to include replaceable silicone ear tips; we’ll probably get the same one-size-fits-most, open-air design that the standard AirPods have always had.
My issue is that the article doesn’t address that Apple changed the physical design of the AirPods with Gen 3 so it sits in the ear or more accurately falls out of the ear differently. It is a completely different ear design when compared to the Gen 1&2 AirPods or wired EarPods.
2021 Apple AirPods Announcement
The new design of AirPods is lightweight and contoured, sitting at just the right angle for comfort and to direct audio into the ear.
Basically people buy the cheapest AirPods, the 2s, or the Pros with ANC. Not the middle ground.
The weird middle tier just doesn’t sell well. If you don’t want ANC, you can get new 2s for a lot less. And if you really want spatial audio, you might as well spend an extra few bucks to get the pros or some refurbished pros. They might even been cheaper than the MSRP 3s if you go with Gen 1 Pros.
I feel like most people probably buy 3s because they are a good fit for a specific ear shape. If you’re comparing features and prices, they’re an odd choice.