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Comment by fxleach | Hacker News Reader

How are they a copy of the AirPods? The AirPods, to me, look hideous. You take the original Apple headphones and cut off the wire. But putting that aside I'm finding it hard to see how these headphones resemble anything like AirPods. I mean, they're wireless headphones...? Is that the issue?

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The (rounded, white, shiny) charging/carrying case is definitely heavily inspired by the AirPods. While the headphones, visually, don't look a lot like the AirPods, in terms of functionality they're very similar, as they're wireless earbuds that don't have a wire even between the earbuds, and they feature noise cancellation that adapts to the environment.

If your criteria is that loose, then iPhones were a copy. And I think airpods were certainly a copy too.

Bragi did a Kickstarter back in 2013 for The Dash. They were fully wireless in-ear headphones, with included microphone, activity tracking with a heart rate monitor, built-in memory for listening to music without having to carry your phone, and a charging case. Oh, and they worked underwater for listening to music with the built-in memory while swimming.

IMO every wireless pair of buds I've seen released so far is a 'copy' of Bragi's Dash, and usually has only a subset of the features.

I still love my Dash Pros. Only downside with the experience is you can't pair to multiple devices. But the UX, the look, the in-ear seal, the sound quality -- all seem to me to be superior to anything that's hit the market, and they were designed ~6 years ago.

"wireless earbuds that don't have a wire even between the earbuds" ... face palm

Wow, Apple has some serious brainwashing in the PR department for you to think that they actually invented true wireless earbuds.

That's an interesting thought I hadn't considered. The AirPods do indeed seem like Apple accidentally invented (or at least popularized) a new product category while trying to reference the old headphones, which were pretty iconic in their advertising. All of the "copycats" are taking that same product category and designing around the formfactor. I agree that most of the copycats are more aesthetically pleasing, including the Pixel Buds.

I think the Pixel Buds look like someone shoved bright colored play-dough in your ear.

That's an aesthetic judgement you're entitled to. I happen to like how they look.

The original AirPods looked hideous, so hideous I stopped wearing them outside of my home.

But the AirPod Pros have fixed up the dimensions a bit, now they look like a communication device rather than a piece of jewelry resembling a miniature cigarette.

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