First of all, you haven't heard these headphones and neither have I.
Second, I know a thing or two about audio. I saw an earlier comment mentioning that these use "plastic" drivers, as a sign that they are cheap. Generally speaking, the greatest speakers in the world use plastic or paper material for the cones in their drivers. (Google SEAS or Scan-Speak drivers for some examples). A minority of speakers use aluminum or other lightweight metals instead, but generally it is not preferred.
Third, most of the comments on this article are comparing them to traditional, passive headphones in the ~$500 range. These are active headphones with onboard DSP. The physical construction of a speaker matters much less when you can simply shape the response via DSP. If you've ever listened to Bose QC headphones with and without the onboard electronics engaged, you know there's a night and day difference and in addition to the noise cancellation, that difference is due to DSP EQ'ing of the headphone's output.
Fourth, Apple has a solid track record when it comes to audio engineering. They've had some misses, but their laptops, phones, tablets, and other devices tend to measure very well[1][2] in the audio department. So trusting Apple to "do the right thing" with an audio product (if perhaps not at a desirable price) is a reasonable proposition.
Second, I know a thing or two about audio. I saw an earlier comment mentioning that these use "plastic" drivers, as a sign that they are cheap. Generally speaking, the greatest speakers in the world use plastic or paper material for the cones in their drivers. (Google SEAS or Scan-Speak drivers for some examples). A minority of speakers use aluminum or other lightweight metals instead, but generally it is not preferred.
Third, most of the comments on this article are comparing them to traditional, passive headphones in the ~$500 range. These are active headphones with onboard DSP. The physical construction of a speaker matters much less when you can simply shape the response via DSP. If you've ever listened to Bose QC headphones with and without the onboard electronics engaged, you know there's a night and day difference and in addition to the noise cancellation, that difference is due to DSP EQ'ing of the headphone's output.
Fourth, Apple has a solid track record when it comes to audio engineering. They've had some misses, but their laptops, phones, tablets, and other devices tend to measure very well[1][2] in the audio department. So trusting Apple to "do the right thing" with an audio product (if perhaps not at a desirable price) is a reasonable proposition.
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[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aaudiosciencereview.co...
[2] https://kenrockwell.com/audio/index.htm#reviews