Lets talk about the Apple Airpods Max
- ZarcMan
- Dec 22, 2020
- 3 min read
Business is a funny thing. One day you think you have understood it all and next day you realize you know nothing about anything.
But the business of technology, is just much more bizarre. Especially when it comes to expensive tech. In a previous blogpost, I had discussed why Apple are selling less phones in 2019. I had likened Apple to a jewelry owner, which is by now, a commonly known analogy among the tech community. ‘Luxury’ as they call it.
Apple is known to create their own niche in every area they enter — Laptops, Smartphones, Audio. Sometimes, they just cut to the chase and create their own market — Tablets, watches and mp3 players they called iPods. This is such a fascinating phenomenon in that they have rarely missed their mark. I still suspect that they refused to release the infamous ‘Airpower’ mainly because they thought they wont be able to accomplish this. More here .
When this company announced their entry into high-end audio -no not talking about the airpods or the airpods ‘pro’. I am talking high-end in Apple terms. They started selling a headphone priced at $549. These:
Now to the uninitiated, this might seem like a recipe for disaster. The selling point of the headphones was that it came with Active Noise Cancellation. The ANC audio market space is currently dominated by Sony, who took the crown from Bose. They are both priced at half of what the Apple cans cost. I won’t blame you for comparing the Airpods max with the Sonys and Boses. Hey, the biggest tech reviewers on the planet are making that mistake, so it is what it is. By that comparison, Apple should have bitten dust with no sales, right?
Before I go into that — let me be very clear. Apple is not competing against Sony or Bose. They are not competing with Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Marshall, Audio Technica, AKG, Shure, HiFiMan or any of the expensive audio brands you can think of. They are simply announcing their arrival with a single product and what they think the product is worth.
But.. But.. But it is damn expensive right? Yes it is. It is expensive because you are comparing them with other headphones. Suppose You have never heard of this tech called ANC, suppose you have no clue how much headphones cost and all of a sudden, I show you a Sony XM4 and tell you they cost $500, what would you think? Scratch that, why do you think the Sony XM4 costs ~$300 anyway? Are they worth it? At a time when modern smartphones cost you $300, why are Sony charging the same for a headphone that filters audio?
The answer to that is that premium Audio has always been overpriced. I still remember the shock I went into when a friend told me how much the original Bose QC 25s cost him. It was just way too expensive for an audio device at any era. The trend followed with QC35 and people still bought them. And not just business class passengers — regular dudes working normal day jobs shelled out money(Mind you, these are more expensive in India) to get them a pair.
Oh, in case you were still wondering — All the Airpods Max have been sold out till March 2021 in the States. All of them, every possible colour. Sold. Till March.
The headphones are pretty decent and most reviewers who got them have been raving, so Apple is not pulling a fast one here. They do have a quality product. People are willing to pay $549 for a pair they haven’t tried even once. Yes, it is likely that a major chunk of the buyers were hard core Apple fans. I mean that just goes without saying.
Premium audio has gained that craze over the recent years. The tech boom has given an opportunity for normal people to pamper themselves with the same accessories that the ultra-rich and super-popular use. ‘Luxury’ is the seemingly the name of the game. You can’t afford a Yatch or a Bugatti or a Beach Villa or a week’s stay at a 7-star hotel.
But you can afford a $1000 phone even if it does burn a hole in your pocket…Bank… I meant to say Bank. You can buy a $1500 laptop or a $500 Watch just like the super-rich do. Or a $549 headphone. Why bother getting a $300 headphone with more features when it won’t turn heads?
You can sell expensive stuff to poor people. You can make them believe that the experience they have is the best money can buy. Even if it is not. That is because they are not looking at the cost, they are looking at what owning the product means to them.
‘Hey I have the same headphones that Gal Gadot uses’.
Cant argue with that.
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