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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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