But my Shure IEMs offer better sound isolation and better sound quality and cost less money.
Even if things are returned, they can often end up in landfills still (though I doubt that would happen with these $500 headphones). https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-amazon-returns-1....
As for audio quality, there's really not much better that can be done than the good Shure headphones. I suppose it's possible, but quite unlikely.
Firstly, the Shure IEMs are IEMs, not on-ear headphones.
Secondly, since they use physical isolation, there is no need for ANC, which means much less calculation power needed.
Thirdly, they bypass the outer ear. This means that the outer ear won't color the sound, which means that you don't need to correct for that (which is what modern autoequalizers do). Of course this is a bit less natural, but carefully tuned drivers work around that excellently.
Fourth, they are wired, which removes the need for processing the audio signal. Modern DACs are practically indistinguishable from perfection, so that's not an issue.
Fifth, they use balanced armature drivers instead of dynamic drivers. This means that they are not affected at all by resonance and other effects.
This is why Shure IEMs can do both better isolation and better audio quality than even experimental smart headphones. They simply eliminate all the issues by physical means.
The one issue that can't be quite fixed is that Soundstage won't sound as wide as would be possible with open back headphones, but these are closed headphones with ANC so it probably won't be any worse.
Basically, the point is to remove the physical issues so that you don't have to fix them in software. This is a lot more cost efficient and, for things like ANC that can't be done perfectly, gives a better result.
If that requires a lot of processing, so be it, but that is value added to many people.
As to quality, Shure IEMs are very close to as good as it gets, so even in the best case, apples cans wouldn't be better (though the speaker in their teardown doesn't look too good).
Who is doing this? I basically haven't seen anyone overhyping them. In fact I would say that 95% of what I've read has been very skeptical so far.
Best to judge them for yourself and then return them if they don't meet your expectations.
Waiting for reviews is ok too, though people seem to lose their minds when it comes to Apple (both for and against them). So the reviews are probably going to be even less useful than normal for headphones.
But when the HomePod was announced, I ordered it immediately, and have never once regretted that decision.
These things are just a HomePod that fits on your skull.
If the price is acceptable and the product is something you'll use and enjoy, get them. They're going to sound absolutely amazing.