Apple has always had some of the highest margins in the industry. They have historically priced their products much higher than competitors, which is partially the reason why Apple is now the world's most valuable brand.
However, Apple's new AirPods are not like the other products in Apple's portfolio. Specification-wise they live up to the same standards, but price-wise they do not. At $159, they are among the cheapest wireless in-ear headphones on the market.
In other words, Apple has underpriced this product quite massively considering how much their customers are usually willing to pay for their products, which creates inconsistency in their price positioning.
Read the full article here on possible theories behind this move.