For those of you who do not know, Apple has its own wireless earbuds called AirPods. The original AirPods were released late 2016 and although funky looking at first, the product was a success. After a couple years of waiting, people were eager for the new release and the wait is officially over. AirPods 2 have gone on sale but the fanbase is disappointed because not much has changed.
Slight better battery life, upgraded processor, and voice activated Siri are the only notable changes for the AirPods 2. People expected different colors along with design changes and bio-metric features. There was rumors about noise-cancelling elements and possible water resistance features that are now expected for the third generation. It is hard to justify spending $160 for wireless earbuds especially with all the competition now. For $40 more, Apple sells a wireless charging case for the AirPods 2, or about a $70 upgrade for existing users without the wireless charging case. The hardcore fans will be most bothered by these subtle upgrades. For the typical consumer who does not care so much about features, the original AirPods can be bought at a reasonable discount.
source: https://www.cnet.com/news/new-airpods-2-vs-airpods-whats-new/
I think it definitely is disappointing as it has been over 2 years since the release of the AirPods and Apple has only given us a slightly better mode – basically an ‘S’ model. I do think that Apple has something bigger and better for the AirPods but maybe this release was to just get consumers who initially had doubt about the original Airpods. When they came out, they were not received very well. Then they gained traction and became the hottest earphones on the market.
Another theory I have is that maybe the technology that Apple was planning to integrate in to the new AirPods was not ready yet. They could potentially be saving their big AirPod rehash for the annual special event in the fall. That would make sense too because it would line up with the holiday sales.
I have the AirPods 1 and I do not see myself upgrading to the AirPods 2 because the changes are so incremental.