Apple's in-ear headphones finally, really available now

Remember those new in-ear headphones we heard about from Mr. Jobs himself back in September? Well, he promised them for October (see the giant slide behind him), and here we are, in December, and they've finally appeared. Each earbud's got its own woofer and tweeter, so be prepared for Master of Puppets to sound better than ever. They've got a built-in remote and mic -- yet curiously aren't compatible with the iPhone -- and they come with three sets of interchangeable silicone tips for small, medium, and large ears. Are you rocked to the very core of your existence yet? Well, the $79 price tag should finish the job.

[Thanks, Adam]

[White @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:52AM]

WHAT? Not compatible with the iPhone? wtf?

[tom @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:54AM]

They are more expensive than "MyPhonies"

[Tarnation @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:56AM]

That almost seems like something Sony would do.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:56AM]

*Puts wallet back in pocket*

This is what I've resorted to doing with my iPhone headphones:
http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/iphone-modifications/modded-iphone-headphones-7536.html

[Esat Dedezade @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:03AM]

Given the crapness that was their old in ear headphones which were expensive and performed poorly, I think I'll pass. Id rather have a low end pair of Shures.

[Lloytron @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:29AM]

Where is iEye when you need him?

[Mic2000 @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:05AM]

899 for a Cinema Display, 79 for some ear headphones

What about the financial crisis? Apple is making one right now!

[derX @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:55AM]

In line waiting to make a $79 investment.

[yaniv.chokron @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:39AM]

My thoughts exactly ... WTF!!!!!
We heres a pointer to all those MicroSoft bashers who always touted apple.... there is no true good in the world. Apple suck just as much if not more than M$... so far people are forced into thier software, thier platform, no choices, no 3rd part developers..... maybe the company should chnage its name to яблоко (thats apple in Russian .. HA! I kill me).
Anwyays..... stupid mistake.

[ZIG @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:56AM]

i swear apple has really been getting on my nerves lately.. it's sad to see something that had the potential to be "different" is now just live every other corporate giant in america

[Ryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:25PM]

Does anyone know of third-party headphones at a similar price with similar features (i.e. play/pause & volume controls)?

[Messymeese @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:27PM]

I believe this is evidence of another iPhone around the corner, and this one's gonna be compatible with the in-ear headphones. Oh yea, and it's gonna have A2DP BT also...

Don't forget copy/paste, but, of course, copy/paste will only be available on the new iPhone; you'll need a jailbroken mod to add it to the EDGE and 3G iPhones, and the 1G and 2G iPod touches.

[Idlemind @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:32PM]

Every day, one step closer to being hated....

[mohammad7410 @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:41PM]

That price tag is a bag of hurt

[Mark @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:37PM]

While my in-ears don't have a built-in remote, they did come for free with my Zune and they're pretty decent.

[OneLove @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:51PM]

Think Differently Mr. Mobs!

[Leo @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:18PM]

They are compatible, what is going on with the massive amounts of smear against apple lately. The volume controls don't work with the iPhone, but everything else (mic included) does. Once these are actually shipping you will probably see an update for the iPhone allowing full volume control as well.

[cc @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:19PM]

Leo, thanks for actually adding something to the conversation. If the volume does indeed end up working with the iPhone, they're actually not a bad deal. People here complaining about the price have obviously never looked into what a good set of in-ear high quality phones with mic and iPhone control cost... the cheapest alternative to this seems to be the V-Moda Vibe Duo, which are retailing around $100 last I checked.

[El Taco @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:41PM]

I agree. No iphone compatibility = bag of hurt.

[Kris @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:01PM]

WTF? Apple fail.

[Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:53AM]

I'll take the MyPhonnies set... oh wait they're still $80. Doh!

[protozoider @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:49AM]

No kidding. That simpsons episode was right on and this new set of headphones... that just solidifies everything about that episode. Apple is just like Nike was in the Air Jordan years. Really cheap chinese made shoes for an extremely high price.

[Jay @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:56AM]

Following tradition I expect we will soon hear people claiming Apple invented in-ear headphones.

[Samboini @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:17AM]

In fact you'll find Apple invented sound, so yes your suggestion is logical.

[anon @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:49AM]

Just because Al Gore is on the Board of Directors at Apple ...

[Messymeese @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:35PM]

Uhh, woah? Yikes, I didn't know that until now. Surprised I never heard... No wonder they claim that all there products are green, I even heard someone complaining about the green tint of their 2G iPod touch LCD.

[blankhorizons @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:19PM]

I met with an Apple consultant recently that claimed that Apple invented the concept of remote desktop. I almost laughed in the middle of the meeting, I swear to god.

[me @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:25PM]

This fantastic!

Apple is finally tapping into the gullibly stup*d and big-spending demograph that is the Audiophiles! Combined with the Apple cult-base, they are going to be able to squeeze even more money out of the gullibles by providing even less than ever before!

I predict in a few weeks time, they will sell a special USB cable for the iPods and iPhones which will provide highest fidelity of music file transfer from your MacBooks, as well as charge your iGadgets faster than any other cable, because it contains a strand of Steve Jobs' hair. And it will only cost $49.99.

[Riley @ Dec 3rd 2008 2:45AM]

so they'll be cheaper than buying them at Best Buy?

[Aaron @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:57AM]

Any reviews available yet? How do they compare to Shure and Sennheiser headphones of a similar price?

[boulderhorn @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:05PM]

Don't forget to add the Etymotic HF2s to that list... Not bad at all and you can get them on eBay for a ton less than retail...

[kal326 @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:57AM]

What they work with the touch, but not the iPhone? Are they waiting to release a $19.99 adapter set that makes it work?

[iceman @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:14AM]

they are not compatible because of the iphone headphone jack is not made to accept signals for changing volume through the headphone clicker. i think you can use them with your iphone and accept calls with the clicker, but you will not be able to change the volume with the buttons

[Matt @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:21AM]

Please, they won't make an adapter, they'll just release a new headphone compatible version of the iPhone.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:46PM]

And here I thought that the product delay was due to Apple working diligently to make these headphones iPhone-compatible.

[Patriks7 @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:57PM]

And they will cost 20$ more than these, just because of that 1 "feature" that should have been there in the first place :p

[Mobius_1 @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:17PM]

Nah, they'll just release a new iPhone which is compatible with it.

[DeoWulf @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:22PM]

I would have thought making it work for all touchscreen devices would be paramount-- you can't even feel the play/pause button while it's in your pocket.

[Jeffrey @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:01PM]

yea just like they are making me buy a $30 video adapter to use my new macbook pro with any display other than the new cinema display

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:58AM]

Love the remote features and microphone. This is a great innovation that doesn't get talked about a lot, but it's essential for people who don't want to constantly be looking at their iPod to change the music. Now my only question is whether the microphone will interact with any of the VoIP apps available in iTunes.

[eggothewaffle @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:02AM]

It's funny, my Samsung headphones can do that as well. You know what's the best part though? Not having to deal with wires since they're A2DP-

...Oh.

We're talking about the iPhone here.

Never mind.

[Jay @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:11AM]

2 minutes... Wow, that was faster than I would have guessed.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:24AM]

Lifehacker did an article a while back about VoIP on the iPod Touch, although they were going the jail broken route. They updated the article to reflect the fact that Fring is now available in the App Store.

http://lifehacker.com/378511/turn-your-ipod-touch-into-an-iphone

Has anyone here used either method to make VoIP calls? And if so, how did it work for you? I was thinking about getting an iPhone over Christmas, but I might settle for an iPod Touch since there is more storage available and I have a fairly robust WiFi network at work.


Exciting times.

[iceman @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:30AM]

the mic on the headphones works with voip apps. i use the actual headphones for voip with fring on my ipod touch 2gen. no jailbreak needed.
the mic and the clicker should stay the same, they just added volume controls.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:41AM]

Thanks, iceman. How's the sound quality? Does it lag any? I've read some reviews from users and some people seem to think that the first version of Fring was buggy, but most of those reviews are from two months ago. I'm assuming they've had updates since then.

I really hope Apple offers a 3G component to the iPod Touch in the future. They could really clean up in the market if they did that, not that they aren't cleaning up right now, but they could grab close to 80 percent market share in the DAPs if they incorporated 3G into the iPod Touch and offered VoIP from all major carriers. I'm sure that they would be able to extend service beyond AT&T, since AT&T seems to only have exclusive rights to the iPhone, but I could be wrong.


Once again, Apple has created some exciting times, but will they be smart enough to take advantage?

[iceman @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:57AM]

using fring with the ipod touch 2g works fine. it does not lag, but the sound quality is not that good. i recently tested nimbuzz and it worked like charm. the mic on the earphones do a good job.

the headphone jack on the actual iphone does not accept clicks from the volume control, thats why it's not compatible, but you can still use the new in ears like you did with the original ones that came with your iphone.

[Paul Chapel @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:11AM]

Thanks, iceman. I'll be sure to check out nimbuzz if and when I get an iPod Touch. I'm leaning toward the iPhone, but I don't know if I can handle that service contract. It would probably be better to stick with my old clam shell phone and use the Touch at work so I don't go over my minutes every month.

And yeah, I don't know why people are so upset about the iPhone compatibility thing. Those headphones were presented at the iPod special event in September. The special event had nothing to do with the iPhone, but people gotta bitch about Apple and seems like they come to Engadget to do it. All these comparisons between the iPhone/iPod and other phones/MP3 players is really starting to bore me. I've got a bazillion songs on iTunes and quite a few movies and as long as I do, I'm locked into Apple for my music players and that won't change unless they really start to screw up.


Stay cool. ;)

[Tony @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:48AM]

Innovation? So because they did not put real buttons on the side of the Itouch/Iphone for volume control< charging you $75 dollars for headphones with a volume control is Innovation ?

Oh I forgot they also don't work with Iphone..

I carry an Itouch in my pocket and I hate having to take the thing out and then slide it to unlock it and then change the volume. just a couple of up down buttons on the side would have been so easy
what am i thinking they would not have been able to sell $75 headphones that do it later

Apple you are brilliant you make people buy add ons that could have been built ins

my hat is tipped to you

[me @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:57AM]

arggh... typical arse-kissing responses from Apple fans. remote and mic are "great innovations"?

- my old (cassette-playing) walkman came with remote on the headphones, and that was about 20 years ago.
- just about every fricking headsets that come bundled with a mobile phone has a mic.

I suppose they are decent features, but really are just logical step rather than "innovations". Not to mention that if Apple only just started implementing them, they are sort of late.

[iceman @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:28PM]

@Tony: ever tried to click the home button twice instead of slide to unlock?