When all is said and done, Apple's new EarPods are an improvement on the earbuds they replace, but only marginally so.

Considerably improved bass; Slightly better short-term comfort; Slightly larger in-line control microphone

Hot and brittle treble; Midrange sucked out; Still uncomfortable for long-term use

The buds will not stay in my ears. I have to keep pushing them in, and 20 minutes, my ears are very sore. I don't understand how they can be so uncomfortable. I had 3 friends try them, and everyone thought the same thing. No one thought they were comfortable.

The sound quality is good; once they'rein your ear

The buds will not stay in my ears; Uncomfortable

These are replacement headphones. Seems like every 6-8 months you need to replace them.

Doesn't last long

Introduction When Apple first announced these headphones (Earpods) they marketed them as they market all their products, ground breaking and in this case years in development, I am happy to say that once in a while they do hold this claim true.

Comfortable when worn for a long period of time; good quality for the discounted price/s

Not ideal for quiet environments; full price is a bit steep

I bought this for a virtual job, but no one inthe other end can hear me. I thinkit is good enough for personal use for musics listenings

Good For Listening; Good For Personal Use

But None Be Able To Hear; I Bought It For Virtual J; Not For Virtual Job

As far as Apple audio goes, the EarPods are certainly a welcome improvement. There's no way that we would've recommended using the Cupertino brand's previous earbuds, but the EarPods do the trick if you don't want to splash out on a new pair, having just spent all your wedge on a shiny new iPhone 5.

Slick design; Decent bass; Improved noise isolation

Pricey for the quality; Don't feel entirely stable; Sonics lack clarity

It's safe to say that Apple's Lightning EarPods still won't appeal to audiophiles. They're overly smooth, lacking the detail, definition and dynamics to really do good quality recordings justice.Despite these grumbles, many will still find them fit for purpose – that is, freebie headphones for short...

Weighty; solid sound; No hint of harshness; even at volume; Clear; direct midrange

Bass is heavy handed and undefined; Dynamically lacking; Overly smooth sound that lacks real insight; Fit is still hit and miss

Edit: With the Dirac music player app (free) from the app store, the Earpods sound becomes very hi-fi. No amping is feasible with the app because the DSP is tuned for the headphone jack, and that's OK because the sound is spectacular. DSP in this case is not mere EQ - it fixes everything.

The new Apple EarPods are here and they are an incredible improvement.

There was momentous news on Wednesday night, far more significant than the iPhone 5 or redesigned iPods. After years of inflicting the horror of its white, bundled earbuds on its customers – and their blameless fellow commuters – Apple announced it was finally retiring them, replacing them with a...