Last October, Apple announced a pair of brand new, redesigned, in-ear dual driver headphones that would come with an integrated mic and on wire remote controls. It was accompanied by a $80 US price tag. There have been many reviews and also vocal opposition to these white ear buds but what's the final word on these signature buds? Do they offer you excellent value or does their performance fall flat? Let GamerWok tell you!

There really not much I can say about the Apple In-Ear Earphones that hasn't already been said.  But I will say this, after going through one pair and on my second one after four months, these are not the most durable earphones on the planet.  And for the price they are asking, it's certainly a consideration.  However, these do sound as good, if not better, than the $150 SE210 from Shure.

What the Apple In-Ear Earphones brings to the table is a run of the mill dual driver system (not unlike other dual driver earphones on the market) but it also brings integrated iPod controls in a very small and functional twig on the right earphone cord.  This is identical to the controller on the new iPod Shuffle earphones with the exception of an integrated mic to work with iPod Touch and the iPhone.  The odd thing is that the volume controls DO NOT work with the iPhone, only the play/pause/skip button does.  I found this very disturbing and seriously hampered the earphones from being a recommended purchase.

As with most Apple products, half your cost goes towards the product's packaging.  And these earphones are packaged very nicely.  The additional ear plugs comes in a pill capsule that looks like a giant suppository, and the earphones are wound in a very useless case that is more for decoration than function.  The whole package is very white with a lot plastic and unnecessary cardboard.  There is a hefty instructions booklet that is certainly not necessary either - how hard is it to stick the earphones into your ears that you need a 15 page instruction booklet in 5 different languages?  Seriously Apple, if you want to go green stop killing trees!

Despite my gripes, these headphones sound just as well as the twice as expensive Shure SE210.  Those are also dual driver, in-ear, noise isolating earphones and are being marketed by Shure as "professional grade".  Then it would seem it's a no-brainer to choose the Apple earphones over that of other more expensive dual driver earphones, no?  That depends on a few key areas and how tolerant you are of Apple products.  These plugs are decidedly white, just like anything else Apple, and they get dirty.  Even with careful use, the cord will show dirt and grime very quickly if you don't place them in a case every time you're done with them.  Another is the in-line remote.  I really can't understand why the volume keys will not work with the iPhone when the addition of a mic is certainly meant for the iPhone.  Hopefully this is just a firmware issue and Apple will update it in the future but having the wonderful inline controls but not being able to adjust the volume really negates the benefits.

Answering calls and making them with the iPhone are great with these official earphones.  The sound comes out in Mono through your earphones but since these are noise isolating, it does take a bit of getting used to when you can't hear yourself speaking.  You can easily mitigate that by taking out one ear plug but that's often a hassle.  Of the numerous calls I've made and taken on the mic, there has been no complaints and often time, callers tell me I sound clearer on the earphone mic than the internal iPhone mic.  One issue I did run into was that the call/end/play/skip/stop button likes to trap moisture and if you live in a colder climate such as Calgary, that button could get frozen with nothing more than the condensation of your breath.

Where I'm Coming From

Ever since these noise isolating earphones became popular, I've used them exclusively.  I'm a big fan of drowning out the noise so I don't have to crank up the volume and by jamming these buds down your ear canal, it makes for a better listening experience.  Also, I'm biased against any headphones/earphones that are too heavy or large since I do wear glasses and those full sized cans tends to interfere with my optical aids.  I'm also not an audiophile.  Out of the GamerWok crew, that title belongs to FatYoshi; he can often hear the specifics in a film or a soundtrack that I had just assumed was white noise.  But I can tell between the clarity of a $15 pair of iPod earphones and a $80 pair of dual driver earphones.

What I Compared it to

There were a few sets of noise isolation earphones that I have compared these Apple ones to.  Mainly because these were plugs I had used or currently owned but also because they range from $15 all the way to $150.  The line up includes the Creative EP-630, JVC FX-34, and the Shure SE-210.  The JVC are by far the cheapest in terms of MSRP but often times, you can find the EP-630's for less during a sale.  The JVC's have gained quite a following on the internet because of the numerous mods that the buds can accept.  And its low MSRP also makes it a very cost effective solution for those that would like noise isolating buds on the cheap.  But in comparison, the Apple buds blow the JVC's out of the water with its clarity and definition from MP3's of podcasts to Queen.  However, sound quality wasn't head and shoulders about that of the Creatives and was pretty much on par with the twice as expensive Shures.

What I Liked

I really liked the in-line remote feature of these Apple earphones.  It made the controlling of the button-less iPhone or iPod Touch that much easier.  I can leave my phone in my pocket and play/pause/skip/end/call all with the single button.  The dual drivers are certainly welcomed and makes quite a difference over the $15 single driver buds you can buy and is light-years ahead of the ones that came with the iPod/iPhone.  The length of the cord was also just right and the ability of the buds to work with conventional devices was also a bonus.  The three different sized ear gels ensures that you will find one that fits your ear canals.

What I Didn't Like

There are a lot of issues with these earphones.  Most of these have to do with physical construction and quality parts rather than sound quality.  In the four months I had my earphones, I had to replace them once already.  This was because the internal drivers has a screw on metal grill instead of being one piece.  Your ear gels uses this screw on grill as "grip" when it's attached to the earphones.  So over time, the normal movements of the ear gels will loosen this screw on grill and when your ear gels fall off (as they often do from repeated insertion and removal) the grill falls off with it.  Once that grill is gone, you will notice a change in pressure from that ear piece, which leads to unbalanced sounds, not to mention having the internal drivers completely exposed.  Obviously, AppleCare will not cover this since it's a user error for "losing" the piece.

Another issue was the freezing up of the single button controls I had mentioned.  This won't be an issue if you're using your earphones in warm weather but for us in places that actually gets snow, it's an issue.  Although I haven't had it break on me yet, I can't imagine it's a good thing.  Lastly is the vibration issues that plague all in-ear earphones.  If you've ever used a pair of Shures or other types of noise isolation's, you know that every time the earphone cord bounces against your chest, you hear a slight thump, not unlike awkward bass.  Shures tells you to wear your earphones inverted and wrap the cord around the back of your ears to reduce this noise but with these Apple earphones, you can't do that.  Although the thumping issue is present, it's a lot less noticeable than if you were to wear the Shures right side up.

Value

At $70 USD MSRP, these are not cheap earphones.  But if you factor in the "Apple Tax" and the integrated controls, it might just be what you're looking for.  If you own an iPod Touch V2 that has voice input capabilities and you're in the market for a pair of quality noise isolation earphones, I would say these are excellent buys.  But if you don't care about integrated controls, or have an iPhone, I would say wait until other third parties release their iPod Shuffle compatible earphones before jumping on these.  With those new iPod Shuffle earphones, you may just get fully operational integrated controls, better build quality, and a lower price than these official earphones.

Final Word

These are the only official Apple In-Ear Earphones currently sold and are also the only in-ear earphones that has integrated controls (as far as I can find - for now).  So if you're a die-hard Apple fan, then these are the echelon of musical experience from Apple.  But if you're an audiophile that demands the best from your earphones and don't mind spending over $100 on them, then skip these.  These are not bad, but they aren't great either.  Final word: wait for the Apple Bluetooth release with the iPhone 3.0 and third party offerings before deciding.