The full list of “updates” between H9i and H9 3rd gen are the following :

new touch plate design with voice assistant button

new cups design with more inside space and conceited end caps

Enhanced headband padding

Advanced on off pairing slider

and... that’s all!

OOoops! Sorry Millemissen, I think it's either the evening beer that made my eyes cross between topics or your spirit that is too present on this forum!

By the way I tried 2 times to put the correct list of new features (mainly cosmetics) but my posts are blocked for moderation...

mbee wrote:

OOoops! Sorry Millemissen, I think it's either the evening beer that made my eyes cross between topics or your spirit that is too present on this forum!

I hope it is the beer, then ;-)

MM

moxxey wrote:

I literally have a pair of bronze H9i's in my cart which I was close to purchasing. I'd have bought them as they are their most recent release and left perplexed by the new launch.

And that the bronze and SS19 Teal - again released only weeks ago - are both the previous edition, but still current products. So odd. And now the website has "H9" and "H9i" and I'd assume if I was a novice purchaser, the addition of the 'i' meant it was the newest edition of the headphone.

On top of the above, the latest B&O magazine, only just launched, doesn't even reference the new H9 MK3: http://publication.bang-olufsen.com/bang-olufsen-magazine-issue-71/bomagazineissue7en/?crmcountry=GB&crmid=19635

This week I ordered a H9i and it costs me only 300 € compared  to the 500 € B&O is asking for the new H9.

I am currently using my H6 2nd gen and I don't know if this new H9 is worth the extra 200 €. The main reason why I chose the H9i was the familiarity with my current headphones (H6 is super comfortable and I expect this from the H9i, too) and it has a replaceable battery compared to the other Bluetooth ANC headphones from Bose and Sony.

Now, this new H9 is confusing me. Is it worth the extra 200 €? It has aptX, but did it really matter that the H9i did not offer it? How about battery replacement? Making an obvious wear part not user-replaceable is really disappointing and I have no experience with B&O's customer service. Do they offer a (paid) battery replacement service? Will they tell me to just buy a new pair of headphones once the warranty runs out? 🙊

As already said, the new features list at the start of the topic is the feature set of the H9i I when it was released. The new features of the 3rd gen H9 is only voice assistant button and cosmetics...

so to answer your question : the new features are clearly not worth 200€... 40€ maybe, but not so sure!

mbee wrote:

As already said, the new features list at the start of the topic is the feature set of the H9i I when it was released. The new features of the 3rd gen H9 is only voice assistant button and cosmetics...

so to answer your question : the new features are clearly not worth 200€... 40€ maybe, but not so sure!

I would be very surprised if sound and ANC haven't been improved. Have ordered a pair so will see. 

Not a direct competitor to the H9i/H9 but the new audio-technica M50xBT is probably going to be my next purchase if the H9 3rd generation turns out to be less than stable.

Its nice to see a company taking an existing, proven and loved headphone like the M50x and just add BT to it so us people with the iPhone 7/8/10 can keep enjoying a sound they know and love.

Jon wrote:

I would be very surprised if sound and ANC haven't been improved. Have ordered a pair so will see. 

As it’s B&O that doesn’t mention any difference concerning audio quality or ANC, you can be sure that they didn’t touch anything.

By the way, having a H9i myself, I wonder what can be improved regarding AQ... at this price, it’s still one of the best sounding BT headphones around!