When someone points out AirPods, you’ll say, “Of course!”
but those are just an accessory, right?
Except that Apple’s audio offering is extraordinary across the board.
The Average Tech Guy / Unsplash
From its AirPods, through its HomePods, to the speakers in the MacBook Pro and the iPhone.
They’rebetter than almost anything else, and we don’t even notice.
Huge Niche
Thanks to its size, even Apple’s smallest niche products are a big deal.
Apple
In 2019,one estimateput Apple’s AirPods business alone at $175 billion.
And that’s just an accessory line for Apple.
The difference is Apple can bring considerable resources to minor problems if it wants to.
Apple
In 2015, The Verge’sChris Welch reportedthat 800 people were working on the iPhone’s camera.
Apple’s audio has long been excellent.
But they also sounded better than most other in-ear buds.
At that time, you’d have to buy ‘proper’ over-ear headphones to get good portable audio.
They are always connected to the correct rig when you switch between an iPad and an iPhone.
Less obvious, but equally important, are the speakers built-in to Apple’s computers.
The iPhone’s built-in speaker is good enough for kitchen podcast listening and even for music while you cook.
They’re even good enough for musicians to make music on the go.
Equally impressive are the HomePods.
These are precisely the things Apple is good at, marrying meticulous hardware design with matched software.
And that’s the other part of this equation: software.
Tailor Made
Apple designs the hardware and the software that runs on it.
Do you need your camera app to analyze each image trillions of times to process it?
Just build a chip that can do it in a second.
Also, the speakers they make for said laptop are incredible too.
“[The AirPods Pro 2) completely blew my expectations in every aspect.
It really is an incredible wireless earbud,” says audio nerd and headphone tester Zxphyre on Reddit.
But these things are important.
