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Comment by trekkie1024 | Hacker News Reader

Isn't that what people said about the first AirPods? They look dorky, no one would be caught wearing them, etc. And look where we are now :)

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A masterpiece of consumer behavior change in three acts:

Act 1: Introduce EarPods that look just like AirPods will but with a cord.

Act 2: Remove the headphone plug from iPhone (pre-packaging new and maligned lightning-based EarPods and adapters - all at decent margins).

Final (Act 3): Finally, introduce AirPods to a receptive audience - which is not only wireless (no cord to get tied up with your keys/hands) but looks just like the EarPods and doesn't require a damn adapter.

Step 4 release AirPods that are different and worse for a higher price

Step 5, ensure continuous purchases because the batteries won't last

Do you have a source for this play? I'd be curious to read whatever book/person that came from.

> what people said about the first AirPods?

Did they?

My reading is people are parsimonious with paradigms. Graham's motorcycle draws on the horse. AirPods drew on earbuds, which almost universally went to great lengths to avoid the hearing-aid look, and which also got a boost from performers [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor

But they still looked terrible. I still don't like how they look.

This is comparing Apple (out of all companies) selling something we were using prior to the AirPods for a price which was in an acceptable range for the target audience with a dorky kinda-add-on for shoe to walk faster. I’m not sure if it holds.

That's a reasonable point... what would you say is a price (if any) at which you could see these become mainstream? I'm personally ambivalent on the design but think the product could be worth trying!

I‘m not sure since I can’t quite figure out the target audience. Depending on the amounts a person walks every day it might be worth it but I’m on the bike or in the metro most of the time and the claimed 250% increase in speed doesn’t come close to the bicycle. That being said, I’d try them for sure and if they improve my life, I think I could live with the design. On a related note: people were Yeezy and Balenciaga shoes which (subjective) look awful to me.

there was a recent post that went something along the lines of "be careful imitating high-status actors who can afford to countersignal".

if anyone can afford to countersignal, it's Apple. unless they get a very significant signal boost, a startup that makes dorky-looking shoes cannot

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