For me it's at least 90% the shape. I absolutely cannot stand the normal earbuds that have rubber you shove into your ear canal. It's insanely uncomfortable to me, borderline painful even with the smallest tips I've found. So when I first saw the shape of the original Airpods it was like beams of light shined down and harps started playing. So there's tons of alternatives now, but the ones I can choose from is still slim picking.