Apple AirPods: Price, durability affecting sales

Although retailers have reported a surge in Apple's newly launched wireless headphones, called AirPods, sales, the market has been dogged by concerns about the sound quality, price and durability of product, a media report said.

Analysts said that Apple has taken a "misstep" with some critics calling it "user-hostile" and wasteful.

"Analysts said that Apple is facing a battle to convince consumers to switch to wireless headphones after controversially scrapping the headphone jack on the new iPhone 7," The Guardian reported on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Apple launched its new iPhone without the headphone jack meaning iPhone 7 users must buy wireless headphones or use an adaptor to connect wired headphones to the battery port.

The company will sell its own wireless headphones at $159.

"The loss of the headphone jack is likely to divide opinion. The pricey AirPod earphones are part style statement, part practicality but Apple just did not seem to land a persuasive justification for the bold move. The headphone adaptor helps bridge the gap, but suggests a lack of commitment to something touted as a courageous step," Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at price comparison service uSwitch, was quoted as saying.

"The removal of the headphone jack is, in our view, not much of an issue. The adaptor may make connecting traditional headphones fiddlier but for most consumers this will not be a significant barrier to purchase," Neil Saunders, chief executive of retail consultancy Conlumino, added.

The decision to scrap the traditional headphone socket has also prompted anger on social media and among analysts.

More than 300,000 people have signed an online petition criticising Apple for scrapping the headphone jack, claiming it will create "mountains of electronic waste" as people throw out their old headphones.