If I'm not mistaken this is the first properly post-Steve product?
Jobs publicly bemoaned the lack of, and presumably thought a lot about, "headphones for video". I think it's a safe bet that he set the stage for Apple Vision (and probably sketched out a 50 year plan) with current Apple leaders before his death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO0OGmNDKVg
> "You know, the fundamental problem here is that headphones are a miraculous thing. You put on a pair of headphones, and you get the same experience you get with a great pair of speakers, right?
> "There's no such thing as headphones for video, right? There's not something I can carry with me that I can put on, and it gives me the same experience I get when I'm watching my 50-inch plasma display at home."
As is often the case, I'd give a lot for companies such as Apple to be more open with their ancient prototypes once a new device gets launched. Sometimes brands, such as Microsoft[0] in the console field showcase iterative prototypes or even produce full-on documentaries of their history, but rarely for new device categories.
I understand why that's not possible, but still, one can dream.
- [0] https://www.wired.com/2015/04/the-apple-watch/
> Ive began dreaming about an Apple watch just after CEO Steve Jobs’ death in October 2011.
Ironic considering, if there is a product whose design arguably should be driven by an obsession with reducing weight and thickness, the AVP is it.
https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloa...
I've avoided the Watch for that reason. The little conveniences of various Apple-thingies are the sort of stuff you can't un-experience, and then you're stuck buying the damn things forever.
But I'll be damned if the AirPods experience isn't far more convenient, and has me using them more than I ever did with wired headphones because they're so quick and easy to use. I can pop one in an ear and immediately I'm listening to a podcast while doing laundry. No cord tethering my head to my pocket, nothing to get snagged on a doorknob, it just works. When I pull one out of my ear it pauses, and resumes when I put it back in. When you only have one AirPod in, it knows and automatically converts the audio stream to mono so you still hear everything.
Still would be nice to have the 3.5mm jack back, but I certainly haven't felt a desire to go back to wired headphones since I got AirPods.
- controlling Spotify - telling time - monitoring my health stuff - an easy to wear timer - getting filtered notifications of things I want to see without grabbing my phone to check - counting rows for knitting
I'm sure they're also looking to use the technologies they develop for this in other products, too.