Apple
The world's largest technology company made a full-scale entry into the audio market, with AirPods quickly becoming the world's best-selling headphone brand. With advanced integration via proprietary H1/H2 chips and innovative features like spatial audio, their products offer exceptional convenience but fall short of dedicated audio manufacturers in pure sound quality performance at similar price points, resulting in poor cost-performance. Ideal for users prioritizing ecosystem convenience, but not recommended for those focused on audio quality.
Overview
Apple entered the audio market in earnest with its USD 3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics in 2014. The company then launched AirPods in 2016, essentially creating the true wireless earphone market. Their product lineup featuring proprietary H1/H2 chips quickly became the world’s best-selling headphone brand through seamless integration with iPhone and Mac devices.
As of 2025, Apple offers a comprehensive range including AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and the acquired Beats brand. They lead the market with unique technological innovations such as spatial audio, adaptive transparency, and personalized spatial audio. However, their premium pricing is extremely high, and pure audio quality performance lags behind dedicated audio manufacturers at similar price points.
Scientific Validity
\[\Large \text{0.7}\]AirPods Max demonstrates excellent THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of less than 1% even at maximum volume, indicating extremely low measurable distortion. The H2 chip’s adaptive equalization and spatial audio head tracking functionality have proven technical validity. The 24-bit/48kHz lossless audio support added to AirPods Max in 2025 enables faithful reproduction of original audio. However, many features are only effective within the Apple ecosystem, limiting universal compatibility.
Technology Level
\[\Large \text{0.8}\]The proprietary H1/H2 chips are advanced audio SoCs using 7nm process nodes, achieving low-latency connectivity, excellent power efficiency, and sophisticated signal processing. The H2 chip features twice the noise cancellation performance of the previous generation and adaptive transparency mode, representing industry-leading technology. However, in terms of driver unit design and acoustic technology, they fall a step behind dedicated manufacturers like Sennheiser and Sony, with technology focus seemingly biased toward system integration.
Cost-Performance
\[\Large \text{0.4}\]Apple products reflect significant R&D investment in proprietary technologies like H2 chips, industry-leading spatial audio technology, and seamless ecosystem integration. However, when evaluating pure audio performance (driver performance and supported codecs) and ANC performance, they tend to be overpriced compared to competing flagship models like Sony’s WF-1000XM5 or Bose’s QC Ultra Earbuds.
Furthermore, products like Soundcore Liberty 4 NC offer LDAC support and excellent ANC performance at less than half the price of AirPods Pro, making Apple products inferior in simple sound quality-to-price ratio. While evaluation varies greatly based on how much value users place on ecosystem convenience, cost-performance for audio performance alone cannot be considered high.
Reliability & Support
\[\Large \text{0.8}\]Apple’s quality control is industry-leading, with low initial defect rates. The support system includes face-to-face support at Apple Stores and Genius Bars worldwide, one-year limited warranty, and AppleCare+ extended warranty options. However, issues include battery degradation limiting product lifespan (approximately 2-3 years) and design philosophy favoring replacement over repair. The Find My network provides unparalleled convenience for loss prevention.
Rationality of Design Philosophy
\[\Large \text{0.4}\]Apple’s design philosophy is extremely biased toward “ecosystem integration,” lacking rationality from a pure audio performance perspective. For instance, restrictions limiting advanced features like spatial audio and lossless playback to Apple devices only significantly compromise versatility as audio equipment. Additionally, non-repairable design and adherence to proprietary standards (like Lightning ports) limit user choice and contribute to electronic waste. However, the design is extremely rational in terms of providing ease of use and seamless experiences.
Advice
Apple’s audio products are ideal for iPhone and Mac users who prioritize convenience and ecosystem integration over sound quality. They provide unmatched value for users who frequently switch between devices, have many video conferences, or want to enjoy Apple Music’s spatial audio content.
However, if you prioritize pure sound quality and cost-performance, numerous better options exist at similar price points. Especially with limited budgets, products offering equivalent or superior sound quality are available at one-third to one-fifth the price. For Android users or those using multiple platforms, we recommend more versatile products from other manufacturers. Before purchasing, carefully consider how much you’re willing to pay for ecosystem convenience.
(2025.7.4)