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Only if "pure marketing juice" means "plainly telling people about a straightforward feature they're adding to one of their products." Which like, okay, that is what marketing is, but are you suggesting they don't tell people?
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Because they're being very awkwardly specific in order to make it sound like they're the first to do it.

For the average consumer who doesn't know that if you look outside of their disclaimer you'll find that it already exists and think that apple invented the feature

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I think it's the:

> a first for the open-ear form factor

That is being called out as comical.

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But it is? At least for AirPods. The AirPods Pro are not open-ear form factor. I do not know about other open-ear airbuds.
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Two separate models from Huawei have swipe volume controls (freearc and freeclip). I’m not a earbud guru but my $25 anker buds have tap to hold volume controls (not swipe, I’m sure Apple is being specific for a reason), but no matter how you move the goalposts it’s a ridiculous claim.
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can confirm my Huawei Freebud 4 have swipe volume controls, anc and do not have silicone tip. Which is one of the reasons I got them after my Gen 1 Airpods started to annoy me on Android.
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They all have the squishy silicone part that goes in your ear. The claim on the apple page is it's for the ones that don't have that. Which is true.

It's not a particularly crazy innovation but the statement is true.

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They don’t have the squishy silicone, but you sound so confident! Tim Apple or his replacement aren’t giving you any prizes for your shilling, it’s ok to like Apple products and see how stupid their marketing is.
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No they don't. The two Huawei models mentioned are completely different form factors, that are much more open-ear and further from squishy silicone than any Airpods.

This is exactly the assumption that the carefully worded juice hopes you'll make. That Apple's claim to innovation precludes even a cursory glance at the competition

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Are they open ear?
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That is why I mentioned them, yes.
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Wouldn't a more traditionally appropriate question be: "but are those Apple"?
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They are both ear wrap around so apples to oranges.
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Wait, they added this feature that was only on pro models to the non pro ones, seems reasonable to mention?
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If memory serves, it’s only on the ones with the wireless charging case. They get a few quality of life upgrades over the base AirPods, without stepping all the way up to the Pros.
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The Pros don't fit my ears even with the smallest ear tips. I definitely welcome bringing that feature to the regular model.
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They make aftermarket tips that are a bit smaller. Still to big for my ears so I switched to the newer "cuff" style and am reasonably happy with them except when I want noise-cancelling.
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The swipe controls are terrible on my Pro 2s and make me miss physical buttons like on my ancient Jabra 65t. It's easier to reach into a pocket and push the volume buttons on my phone without unlocking or looking at it.
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Oh man, I loved the 65t! I remember Jabra making great true wireless headphones. They were small, sounded ok, had actual buttons but operating them didn't push the earbud against the brain.

Miss that a lot. Nowadays it's all touch and I hate it so much because for some reason I have a problem spatially locating them and always end up touching it the wrong way (and yes, I know... ;)

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i still use their conference speaker for calling and music and is the primary sound for my computer. i like it and it has worked really well for the last 5 years.
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They brought a Pro feature to the base model and dropped the price. I don't want Pros because I prefer hard plastic tips.

They're not doing anything deceptive or clever.

Cheaper than last gen too.

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Actually in the event they presented it exactly like that.
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why not? lets not talk about it, people like this gonna say we are highlighting a new feature on a non-pro model
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Uh they're literally just saying they brought it down from the Pro to the regular line. I don't know why you're reading too much into it.
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My freebud 5's do that now.
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Pretty sure I had something like that on galaxy buds 6+ years ago
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Been a feature on Bose QC earbuds for a long time too
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But is that an Apple? If not, then how is that good?
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"For users who want even more"
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> … apple selling volume up and down as it were some fantastical feature and not have been present in air pods pro since god nows when.

I’ve been having to throw away my earphones and getting new ones whenever I needed a new volume setting. Going up and down in the same device is truly a game changer.

/s

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Come on, it's their best AirPod yet!
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I know it's silly but I enjoy listening for the "this is our X-est Y yet" during these events. It's incremental improvements I enjoy, but it's like a mini trope for me.
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Translation: “We took a pro thing and put it on the non-pros. Money please.”
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for those who were holding out from Gen1 or whatever, adding pro features at a non-pro price is definitely incentivising. I’m not sure why we’re pretending it’s not.

Would you rather have generation old Pros or brand new standard airpods which have the pro features you actually want.

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apple has been quite good at treating their "economy" products with the same level of respect as their premium ones, as far as I've experienced. the Neo is significantly more powerful than the Pro I bought four years ago and $100 cheaper, pre-inflation accounting. A brand like Apple introducing a highly-capable "discount" product goes against all common sensibilities for a company whose branding is anchored on prestige. Plus the extended support window for older devices vs. their competitors in the smartphone space.
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Apples budget stuff is weirdly good right now. Other brands would have released the neo as a plastic frame bit of ewaste loaded with adware.
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I think it’s nice and I think they covered it right in the video.

Do you want open ear (AirPods) or closed (AirPods Pro).

Some people can’t stand having something in their ear. The volume control is a nice feature to have and now it’s available on the cheaper ones. I’ve missed it on my 4s.

Yeah the marketing copy is marketing copy and Apple never references competitors. But if you like the non-pros it’s a nice upgrade.

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> Do you want open ear (AirPods) or closed (AirPods Pro).

I'm holding out for the next Pro model as I genuinely benefit from closed headphones/earbuds. Open is nice in a controlled environment but I'd rather have that slight seal when I'm somewhere noisy.

My Pro 2s are genuinely very comfortable and still work great after 2+ years of moderate use, so haven't felt a need to upgrade to Pro 3 yet. I use aftermarket foam-like tips and find they seal great FWIW.

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>Do you want open ear (AirPods) or closed (AirPods Pro). Some people can’t stand having something in their ear.*

Both versions put something in your ear.

There are wireless earbuds that stay outside next to the ear, that are actually the ones legitimately called "open ear", but the AirPods aren't that type.

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They mean isolating vs non-isolating.

Airpods Pro are isolating, Airpods are not.

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It’s confined to the assumption you already want AirPods.

Apple isn’t going to mention things they don’t sell.

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>for those who were holding out from Gen1 or whatever, adding pro features at a non-pro price is definitely incentivising. I’m not sure why we’re pretending it’s not.

Because it's a non-feature even the cheapest $30 wireless earbuds have had since forever, often even better, like with physical buttons.

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So what are you saying? Because there are cheaper earbuds made by someone else with this feature, Apple _shouldn't_ add it to their earbuds? I'm not sure why that would be the case.
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See also:

Power steering

Jet engines

Anesthetics

Rubber tires

Flat screen TVs

How grubby of them to take a high end feature and make it more affordable.

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*Less money please.
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The marketing kool-aid must flow. Many other earbuds have swipe volume, but because they aren't open-ear Apple gets to claim this amazing breakthrough.
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Of all the marketing to complain about, this seems super tame. Wait until you see "gluten-free tortilla chips" at the supermarket. :D
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As somebody w/ Celiac, you'd be surprised. Many a time I've been poisoned by normal gluten free things being tainted by poor manufacturing lines, or companies mixing in other product. Tortilla chips with gluten, Hashbrowns/Potatoes coated with wheat flour, so many things are made not-gluten-free for no reason.
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There is always a reason and it usually has something to do with money. We really need to find a cure for Celiac 'cuz wheat is just too ingrained in our culture to be removed. (pun not intended, but also not removed so...)
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Some brands use wheat to make the chips more crunchy. Just like IHOP puts wheat in their scrambled eggs. McDonald's uses wheat in their french fries. They stick wheat everywhere.
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There are tortilla chips that do contain gluten, or are cross-contaminated with it. A gluten-free label means they guarantee <20ppm gluten in the product. That’s useful info!
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