Beyond their ubiquity and iconic status, though, Apple's earbuds have frequently been derided as offering sub-par sound. They've also occasionally been praised--despite their mediocre sound quality compared to higher-end headphones, it's amazing that they sound as good as they do considering that designing good earbuds is inherently difficult. (Not to mention that Apple produces them at incredible scale and includes them with many products at no additional cost.)

Apple has clearly invested significant engineering effort in its earbuds over the years. The product's history includes several minor revisions, including the addition of a rubberized ring to help the earphones stay in place, and an inline remote/microphone module introduced to complement the iPhone. The company has also made--with mixed results--two attempts at premium, after-market headphones: the long-discontinued $39 Apple In-Ear Headphones (), and the still-available, $79 dual-driver Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic.

All of that is to say that it didn't come as a shock when Apple introduced, alongside the iPhone 5, a completely redesigned version of its classic earbuds, the $29 Apple EarPods. (The name is a cute portmanteau of earbuds and iPod, though it's one that's been used before by the earPod headphone case.) Still, though Apple is known for its willingness to introduce both evolutionary updates and complete redesigns of its existing products, it's big news in the audio world when the most pervasive earbuds of all time get replaced with something that's purportedly much better--Apple says the EarPods have been in the works for three years and boasts that the "audio quality is so superior, they rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more."

(In addition to being available as a $29 retail product, the EarPods are also included with the iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod touch, and seventh-generation iPod nano, but not the iPod shuffle, which continues to include the previous Apple earbuds.)

Ear-gonomics