> Wireless headphones and Bluetooth earpieces existed

Afaik you had either full headphones with a headband, in-ears with the battery hanging off a cable between them and the one-ear standalone things that were good only for calls.

Also the little charging box that you could keep in your pocket was nowhere to be seen.

So yes, airpods were a lot more convenient when launched. Has little to do with branding. Everyone is cloning it now :)