These Apple AirPods Seem⦠Impossible?
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses a pre-release mockup of an AirPod Pro case with a touchscreen, sent by a company with a reliable track record. The host expresses skepticism about its existence due to the many questions it raises, but acknowledges Apple's tendency to innovate. The touchscreen offers audio controls, ANC, transparency mode, EQ, and a 'Find My Buds' feature. Despite its functionality, the host questions the practicality and potential high cost of such a device, considering Apple's history with incorporating screens into their products. The video ends with a speculative scenario where future AirPods Pro might only come with a screened case, increasing the price and offering Apple a higher profit margin.
Takeaways
- π¦ A mysterious 'AirPod-looking' device with a touchscreen on the case was received, supposedly an upcoming AirPod Pro case.
- π The company that sent the device has a history of providing accurate pre-release mockups of hardware.
- π€ Initial skepticism about the legitimacy of the device due to the unconventional addition of a touchscreen to an AirPod case.
- π Apple filed a patent in 2022 for a case with a touchscreen for AirPods, indicating potential development of such a product.
- π« Most Apple patents do not result in actual products, and are often for experimental or exploratory purposes.
- π± The touchscreen on the mockup allows for audio controls, volume adjustments, ANC and transparency mode, and EQ settings.
- π΅ The device functions as a controller for an external audio source like a phone or computer, not as a standalone media player.
- π‘ The addition of a screen makes the case more expensive, heavier, and requires a larger battery to power the new functionality.
- π The touchscreen could be a high-margin product feature that allows Apple to increase the price of the AirPods Pro case.
- π The idea of a 'screened case' being the only option for future AirPods Pro versions is proposed as a potential strategy for Apple.
- π€·ββοΈ The overall usefulness and consumer demand for a touchscreen on an AirPod case remains uncertain and speculative.
Q & A
What is the main feature of the upcoming AirPod Pro case mentioned in the script?
-The main feature of the upcoming AirPod Pro case is the inclusion of a touchscreen.
How does the company that sent the mockup have a history with the speaker?
-The company has a history of sending the speaker accurate and reliable mockups of pre-release hardware, including blanks of upcoming iPhones, a resin model of the Pixel Fold, and a functioning Surface Duo.
What did Apple file a patent for in 2022 related to AirPods?
-In 2022, Apple filed a patent for a device that appears to be a case for AirPods with a touchscreen.
What are some of the functionalities provided by the touchscreen on the mockup case?
-The touchscreen on the mockup case provides controls for audio, including volume controls, ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) controls, transparency mode, an EQ for adjusting bass, and a 'find my buds' feature.
What is the speaker's initial reaction to the touchscreen feature on the AirPod case?
-The speaker's initial reaction is skepticism, questioning why Apple would add a touchscreen to the AirPod case and expressing doubts about its practicality.
What is the speaker's main concern about the touchscreen not being able to do?
-The speaker's main concern is that the touchscreen cannot be used to send media to the device, meaning it can only act as a controller for an external audio source like a phone or computer that is nearby.
How does the speaker describe the sound quality of the buds in the mockup?
-The speaker describes the sound quality as not great, indicating that they are not real AirPods Pro but is surprised that the touchscreen functionalities worked with them.
What is the speaker's theory on why Apple might add a screen to the AirPod case?
-The speaker's theory is that Apple might add a screen to the AirPod case to increase the product's price and profit margin, as well as to create an upgrade path for future versions with improved screen technology.
What is the speaker's prediction about the future of AirPods Pro?
-The speaker predicts that the next generation of AirPods Pro (AirPods Pro 3) might only come with a screened case, thus increasing the price and offering new upgrade options for consumers.
How does the speaker feel about the touchscreen on the JBL Tour Pro 2?
-The speaker is surprised that many reviews for the JBL Tour Pro 2, which also features a touchscreen on the case, are positive and highlight the extra functionality, despite the speaker personally not seeing the value in it.
What is the speaker's final conclusion about the usefulness of a touchscreen on an AirPod case?
-The speaker concludes that while they couldn't initially see the usefulness of a touchscreen on an AirPod case, the idea of it being a high-margin product and the potential for a price increase with additional features makes sense from a business perspective.
Outlines
π§ Unboxing a Mysterious AirPod Pro Case with a Touchscreen
The paragraph discusses the arrival of an AirPod Pro case with a touchscreen, sent by a company known for accurate mockups of pre-release hardware. The author expresses initial skepticism about the legitimacy of the product, but upon further investigation, discovers that Apple had indeed filed a patent for such a device in 2022. The case appears identical to a regular AirPod Pro case, with the exception of the touchscreen. The mockup includes functional controls for audio, volume, ANC, transparency mode, EQ, and a 'Find My Buds' feature. However, the author questions the practicality and necessity of having a touchscreen on an AirPod case, especially considering it doesn't support media playback and increases the cost and weight of the device.
π‘ Market Comparison and Theoretical Pricing Strategy
This paragraph explores the market presence of other wireless earbuds with touchscreens, specifically mentioning the JBL Tour Pro 2. Despite some reviews calling the touchscreen 'gimmicky', many users appreciate the added functionality. The author initially struggles to envision a scenario where a touchscreen on an AirPod case would be beneficial. However, a potential future scenario is proposed where the next generation of AirPods Pro (version 3) might only come with a screened case, thus increasing the price from $250 to $280. The author speculates that this could be a strategic move by Apple to increase profit margins, as the cost to produce the screen may only be a fraction of the price increase. The author acknowledges this is speculative but presents it as a plausible explanation for the existence of such a product.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘AirPod Pro case
π‘Touchscreen
π‘Pre-release hardware
π‘Apple patent
π‘USB-C Port
π‘Noise-cancellation
π‘Transparency mode
π‘EQ (Equalizer)
π‘Find my Buds
π‘Product differentiation
π‘Consumer behavior
π‘High margin product
Highlights
The transcript discusses a pre-release mockup of an AirPod Pro case with a touchscreen.
The company that sent the mockup has a history of sending accurate and reliable hardware mockups.
Apple filed a patent in 2022 for a case with a touchscreen for AirPods.
Most Apple patents do not result in actual products, but are for experimental or explorative purposes.
The touchscreen on the mockup case allows for audio controls, including volume, ANC, and transparency mode.
The touchscreen also includes an EQ and a 'find my buds' feature.
The mockup has a USB-C port, speaker, lanyard loop, and metal hinge, similar to the real AirPod Pro.
The presence of the screen is the main difference between the mockup and the actual AirPod Pro case.
The touchscreen functionality was found to be fully operational in the mockup.
The sound quality of the mockup's buds is not great, but the functionality was impressive.
The addition of a screen makes the case more expensive, heavier, and more fragile.
The device in the patent is used as a controller for an external audio source, not as a standalone media player.
The touchscreen on the case does not allow the device to act like an iPod, which was a desired feature.
Comparing the case with a regular AirPod Pro, the touchscreen case could potentially justify a price increase.
The idea of a screened case could be a high-margin product strategy for Apple.
The possibility of future AirPod Pro generations only coming with a screened case is considered.
The concept of a screened case could lead to a new upgrade path for AirPods, similar to iPhone models.
The discussion explores the potential reasons for Apple to add a screen to the AirPod case, despite the challenges.
The video creator initially struggled to envision a practical use for a touchscreen on an AirPod case.
The video creator invites viewers to share their thoughts on the potential benefits of a touchscreen AirPod case.
Transcripts
so this airpod looking thing showed up
at the studio and this was sent by a
company who in the past have sent me
very accurate and reliable mockups of
Hardware that's pre-release so they sent
me blanks of upcoming iPhones they've
sent me the resin model of the pixel
fold before it was available they also
sent me the Surface Duo like a
functioning surface Duo before it was
released they have a very good track
record with me but last week when this
device showed up I thought it was pretty
interesting because this is supposed to
be a upcoming airpod Pro case and it's
just airpods Pro except the defining
feature is that it has a touchcreen on
it now when I cut this in when I pulled
it out of the box the first reaction I
had was like there's no way this is real
there's no way that apple is coming out
with this thing because there's so many
questions so many thoughts I have about
this thing about why it probably
shouldn't even exist but I I asked them
is this legit and they're like they seem
quite convinced that this was actually
going to be thing so I look into it and
it turns out that in 2022 Apple did file
a patent for a device that looks to be
some kind of case for airpods and this
case has a touchcreen and they document
the kind of functionality of that
touchcreen but the thing to keep in mind
when it comes to Apple patents is that
the vast majority of their patents don't
end up as a product a lot of it is for
like experimental or explorative
purposes but in this case I feel like
this could actually be a real device and
also it's it's also the confidence that
those guys seem to have about this whole
thing
now I have so many questions and
thoughts okay uh when you compare it
with a real airpod Pro two this is the
one with the USBC Port they both have
USBC ports they both have a little
speaker thing uh they both have the
lanyard loop on the right they both have
same kind of back metal hinge the
button it and when you open it up it's
also identical it really is just the
presence of the screen that is the
difference also kudos to them for
actually fitting a screen onto a case
like this I'll be honest I was surprised
that this thing could even exist but the
question that you have the
million-dollar question is why would
Apple even put a touchcreen onto airpods
in the first place okay so on this
mockup the thing that I have here it has
some functionality like touchscreen
gives you controls namely uh audio
controls you can control your music you
get volume controls you get ANC controls
so you can like turn your noise
cancellation on and off you can enter
transparency mode uh and this was all
functional that was the crazy thing like
you could do all the stuff with these
buds that were in here uh there's also
an EQ if you want to like crank up your
base you can uh there's just a whole
bunch of functionality including a find
my buds like you could this was all
functional right you could
just have it out
and like it all worked now the sound
quality on these buds aren't great
they're not real buds but it was crazy
that this was functional
now my initial reaction is like okay
this is all cool but the one thing that
I would have loved to have seen would be
the ability for my phone to be able to
send media to this thing so it could use
like an iPod right but it turns out you
can't do that and if you look at the
patent filing that also seems to be the
case the device that they have there in
the patent is only used as a controller
for an external audio Source like your
phone or computer that's nearby and then
I thought if you need your phone nearby
why would you use this like imagine you
had the airpods case in one pocket and
then your phone in the other pocket in
What scenario is it easier or better to
use the controls on the case instead of
your phone like I just couldn't wrap my
heads around and also by introducing a
screen onto this thing you now make it
more expensive you make it heavier you
make it more fra
now the battery has to be bigger to be
able to juice all this stuff like it
just seems like a really bizarre thing
for Apple to even consider that I was
just like this seems impossible like
actually unlikely now it is Apple they
have the tendency to just put screens on
things whenever they can because they
can like I said the same thing about
having the touch bar on the MacBook Pro
a few years back I was like why because
they can same with the Vision Pro when
this thing launched I was like why are
they putting this whole Vision thing on
the front like why their screen it makes
it more expensive more heavy like the
same things right same problems by
adding a screen on the front of things
but it's what Apple does and they just
do it because they can now there's
another layer to all this when I used
this over the past few days and I tried
to kind of Imagine a scenario where I
would actually want to use this it it
couldn't click for me it just didn't
really make sense to me as to why a
screen on an airpod case would be useful
however this is not the only device out
there and this thing isn't even real
there are other products out there right
now you can buy that have kind of some
kind of wireless earbuds with a screen
on the front of the case the most
prominent one being from JBL the JBL
tour Pro 2 and this device has great
reviews but the interesting thing is
that even though a handful of these
reviews mention a gimmicky screen like
you know the screen doesn't do that much
the vast majority of the reviews seem to
love the existence of that touchcreen a
lot of people are talking about how it's
got this extra functionality and the
whole time I'm like do do these people
not have phones like why is this special
so maybe it's something that I just I
personally don't get and maybe some of
you guys can chime in and be like you
know there's awesome functionality to
that but I cannot Envision a scenario
where if I was in a store and I could
choose between two devices right one
with a screen or the one without a
screen that's going to be invariably
cheaper I would always choose the
cheaper one that was
screenless
unless oh my
God as I was saying that
sentence I think I something just came
into my mind what if okay okay okay okay
okay oh my God right now this is a
$250 product us the regular airpods Pro
2 now what if the Next Generation the
airpods Pro 3 only comes comes
with a screened case as in it's the only
option what if there is no screenless
case that you can buy you have to get a
case with the screen dude I can totally
see this they charge you $280 so instead
of $250 it's now $280 that $30 bump up
in price you get slightly better audio
but the big thing is you get a screen
now and that justifies that bump up in
price for the consumers this totally
makes sense cuz also opens up this
upgrade tree cuz then the next year they
can sell you the the retina version and
then the liquid retina version then the
one with the notch they got this whole
you can do that whole thing now you
see oh my God this this finally makes
sense to me this whole time I I just
couldn't piece it together but now this
scenario actually makes sense because
this is a very high margin product right
these things are very cheap to produce
and they sell for a lot of money but
what if you could bump up the price by
like 30 bucks when it only cost you
maybe five or six dollars more to
produce it that would be such an apple
thing to
do dudes that's got to be it that's got
to be why this thing could possibly
exist now whether or not it actually
comes out I don't know but it totally
makes sense to me now it totally makes
sense to me what do you think now I
could be totally wrong for some people
out there that be like Dave you're
completely an idiot there are so many
usage cases where having a screen is
Awesome on an airpod C
educate me please like legitimately I
want to know if that's a real thing but
what do you
think that's my theory for the day hope
you guys enjoyed this
video
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