What is going on with innovation at Apple?
The company just released "new" iMacs for the first time in two years with the same design and form factor since 2012. Don't even mention the missing-in-action wireless charging mat AirPower, which was announced in 2017. And now the new AirPods are out, and there's almost nothing new about them, despite the fact that the original AirPods were released in 2016.
- No noise cancellation, active or passive.
- No new gestures.
- No in-ear version.
- No trackability for the AirPods themselves, as opposed to the case.
- No improved sound quality.
- No adjustable sizing or fitting capability for people whose ears don't match the AirPods.
- No color options.
- No new health-tracking capabilities.
- No waterproofing, like Bragi.
- No on-board storage, so you don't need a phone or watch.
In fact, there's very little that is new about the "new" AirPods. Battery life is better, with "50 percent more talk time," they have the new H1 chip which allows them to connect to your devices faster, and now you can summon the worst major AI voice assistant with ... wait for it ... your voice.
Oh, and there's a new optional wireless charging case that costs more.
For this, we waited almost three years?
In December I collated a list of 18 wishes Apple fans had for the new AirPods. Apple has addressed almost nothing on that list, while Samsung's new Galaxy Buds, released in February, do pretty much everything AirPods do for just $129, $30 less than AirPods, and $70 less than the AirPods with the wireless charging case. And the Galaxy Buds, which come standard with the charging case, will even charge off of your Galaxy S10 phone if you need a quick top-up.
Meanwhile, the Google Pixel Buds offer real-time translation from other languages.
Party trick? Maybe. But it's cool, innovative, and an expression of Google's powerful innovation.
Apple makes great quality products. But its positively glacial pace of innovation coupled with premium pricing for what in some cases are no longer premium products is threatening the company's future.
I was planning to purchase a couple pairs of the next-generation AirPods for myself and my family. Now, there's not really a reason to do so. There's just not enough of a product upgrade to justify the cash outlay.
