Apple gadgets, ranked | The Vergecast

Quick Overview

The hosts of The Vergecast ranked Apple gadgets, placing the AirPods as their number one best product due to their universal appeal, category pioneering, and continuous, meaningful updates, while the Vision Pro landed firmly in last place because it is not a viable consumer product.

Key Points: The hosts unanimously ranked the Apple Vision Pro in ninth place, calling it a "total failed product" and a "science project" because it costs $3,500, is uncomfortable, and lacks a purpose for the average person right now. The HomePod was placed in eighth, with the hosts agreeing it is a very good speaker but is fatally undermined by Siri, which "sucks so bad" that they cannot recommend buying the device. The Apple TV landed in seventh place, deemed a good set-top box but ultimately non-essential as many use built-in smart TV software, and its remote was heavily criticized as awful. The iPad was ranked sixth, with one host arguing it is a niche device for children or the elderly and that MacBooks have made it less essential, while another host strongly disagreed, placing it second overall due to its market superiority. AirTags secured the fifth spot, praised for being a "perfect Apple product" that works brainlessly and is universally beloved, even leading one host to put AirTags ahead of the iPad. The top three resulted in a disagreement, with the hosts placing AirPods (1st/2nd), Mac (1st/2nd/3rd), and iPhone (2nd/3rd) in different orders, though AirPods received strong consensus for the top spot. AirPods were argued to be the best because they pioneered their category, are universally recommended, and are receiving more interesting updates, like translation features, than most other Apple products.

Context: The Vergecast hosts David Pierce, V Song, and Allison Johnson undertook the exercise of ranking all of Apple's major gadgets from best to worst, similar to a previous ranking they conducted for Google products. The ranking criteria for "best" was deliberately all-encompassing, considering cost, competition, and overall utility. The hosts listed nine specific gadgets for ranking: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, HomePod, Vision Pro, and AirTag.