[UVB-76]

> You don't see any merit to beam-forming microphones for noise cancellation, seamless paring experience, Siri access, other-earphone awareness, or lack of tangled wires

I honestly cannot. They're impressive solutions to problems Apple have created for themselves.

Personally, I don't use the built-in microphones in headphones. If I'm speaking to someone, I either hold the phone to my ear, or use speaker phone.

Taking two seconds to plug my wired headphones into my device is a pretty "seamless pairing experience", and I can use them with whatever device I please, unlike the AirPods.

My wired headphones don't need to be "aware" of each other, because they are connected to each other.

I spend about ten seconds each day ensuring my headphone cable isn't tangled.

> You don't remember how iconic the white earbuds have been as a status symbol?

Where I'm from, white earbuds have only ever been: a) an invitation to thieves looking to steal the device they're connected to; b) a sign that someone doesn't care about audio quality.

> [...] that takes a total disconnection from headphones as a category of device, and I'm not willing to believe that's true.

On the contrary, I think the problem is that I would actually consider a headphone purchase, rather than blindly buying something like the AirPods.

[mikeash]

Apple created noise and wires? Impressive.

[UVB-76]

There's no need to be obtuse.

The advanced noise cancelling, pairing, and synchronization tech are solutions to problems that don't exist (or are less pronounced, in the foremost case) with wired headphones.

[intopieces]

Your lack of desire for a feature is not the same as a feature having no appeal to anyone.