Why Apple's AirPods Are So Popular

Now you may be thinking, well that isn’t so hard to figure out, Apple made a quality product so more customers are inclined to buy it.
And that is part of the reason, but there’s actually more to the story.
And that’s what we’ll be exploring in this video.
Now this video topic was the first place winner of last weeks voting poll, and if you didn’t get to vote, make sure you’re subscribed.
That way the polls will show up right in your mobile activity feed and you can let me know which video you’d like to see next.
Now I want to start off by sharing the story that prompted me to explore this topic in more detail.
And it all started when I visited the Apple Store during the holiday season to buy AirPods as a gift, but when I asked an associate about them, she said they probably didn’t have any since the AirPods had been out of stock for weeks.
But she went ahead and checked the stockroom just in case.
Then, a woman walked into the store also asking to purchase AirPods, she was told they were likely sold out, but pointed her in my direction anyway.
Now, I was curious why Apple was struggling to keep AirPods in stock, considering they’d been on the market for about two years.
But I assumed it was because of the holiday demand, and didn’t think much else about it.
That was, until I began talking to the woman behind me.
I found out she was buying AirPods for her daughter, the thing was, her daughter hadn’t actually asked for them.
Her mom said, “I figured what kid today wouldn’t want AirPods for Christmas.” And hearing her say this really caught me by surprise.
Because that meant not only does this middle-aged mother know what AirPods are, but she knew they were a desirable product, especially by young people.
And considering Apple only ran one short ad campaign for AirPods at the beginning of 2017, I was having trouble understanding why they suddenly appeared to be as popular as the iPod nano in its prime.
So when I got home I did some research to try and figure this out.
And I discovered something pretty incredible.
Search interest in AirPods reached an all-time high in November and December 2018.
Generating more hype and excitement than when they were actually revealed in September 2016, and gaining AirPods more attention than when Apple ran an ad campaign in January 2017.
So how in the world did this happen? What caused so many people on the internet to become more interested in AirPods than ever before? Well, this is where the story gets good.
Because starting around November, AirPod memes began going viral.
And things only snowballed from there.
There were memes about AirPod users flexing on social media, memes about AirPods being a status symbol, and memes about AirPods causing car accidents.
Now these viral memes about AirPods reached a fever pitch in December, which coincidentally was just in time for the holidays.
So that’s what triggered the unexpected demand for AirPods and caused a world-wide shortage.
Making the product even harder to find than when they debuted in 2016.
But what makes this story even more fascinating is that the AirPods had been turned into a meme before.
You see, when they were first introduced in September 2016, AirPods were the laughing stock of the internet.
They were made fun of for their awkward design and high price and there was no shortage of memes to express the internet’s feelings toward the AirPods.
They were also criticized for being easy to lose and expensive to replace.
So judging by these criticisms, it appeared that the AirPods weren't going to be a popular product for Apple.
But as with most Apple product announcements, the internet spoke too soon because the AirPods wouldn’t even be released until 3 months later, which gave people plenty of time to judge the product without actually using it for themselves.
But I should mention that there were some level-headed responses to the AirPod’s introduction by people who were familiar with wireless earbud technology and were excited to finally have a reliable, truly wireless, Apple earbud.
So let me explain in more detail how both sides felt about the AirPods.
Because people who thought the AirPods were a joke, actually made a few legitimate arguments.
First, they pointed out that for the AirPods $160 price, you could buy a pair of wired headphones with much better sound quality, which was true.
They also pointed out that the AirPod’s 5 hour battery life could prove inconvenient especially compared to wired headphones which don’t even need batteries.
It also meant that the AirPods would be just one more thing you would have to charge every night.
So for those reasons, I could understand why the AirPods may not be appealing for all users.
On the other hand, it would be irresponsible to focus on a product’s compromises without considering its legitimate benefits.
Because for decades, people have dreamed of truly wireless earbuds that would free you from all the headaches a wire causes.
And developing all the technologies necessary to make this a reality was a huge challenge for Apple.
Battery technology had to be good enough to deliver sufficient battery life while being so small that it could fit inside an earbud.
But Apple also needed an advanced, power efficient, wireless chip set to maintain a reliable wireless connection between earbuds and to the device.
But what truly matters isn’t all this technology but rather the experience the technology delivers.
And the AirPods, without a doubt, deliver the most seamless, reliable, and magical experience in the entire wireless earbud market.
And it all starts with the charging case which pairs the AirPods to your iPhone with a single tap.
No need to activate discoverable mode or fumble around in bluetooth settings to connect the AirPods manually.
I should also mention the earbuds synchronize with each other automatically, a feature I think Apple doesn’t get enough credit for.
The charging case is also magnetized, so inserting the earbuds is effortless, and the lid closes with a satisfying snap.
And when the earbuds are inside their case, they’re also charging.
Giving you three hours of battery life with a 15 minute charge, something that was unheard of before the AirPods.
But the most life changing feature, is the fact that they are truly wireless.
Now what do I mean by that.
Well, before the AirPods, there were wireless headphones, but they had a wired connection between each ear piece, which meant they weren’t “truly” wireless.
And the reason is because making two ear pieces that are wirelessly synchronized to each other and wirelessly connected a device required very advanced technology and efficient power management.
Because as you can imagine, there isn’t much space for a big battery inside of an earbud.
And although some tech companies tried releasing truly wireless earbuds, they were plagued with reliability issues and poor battery life.
So when Apple released the AirPods, it finally gave users the listening experience they expected with the benefit of not being tied down by a cable.
And that was not only extremely liberating, but also offered endless benefits.
Things like working out with your iPhone on the floor and no cord in your way, walking away from your computer without having to remove your earbuds, and not having to untangle your headphone cord every time you want to use them.
All of these conveniences created a new type of earbud experience that made it nearly impossible to use wired headphones again.
So I think for many people, the compromises of owning wireless earbuds are well worth the benefits they deliver.
That’s probably why Apple had trouble keeping AirPods in stock when they were first released in December 2016, and again at the end of 2018 when they went viral on the internet.
Because although the AirPods essentially received free advertising through popular memes, it wouldn’t have actually had a positive effect on sales if the AirPods were a bad product.
So I think that is the real reason why the AirPods are so popular.
They are considered by many to be the best product Apple has released since the original iPhone, and like the iPhone, it’s taking a while for competition to catch up.
Because it turns out, making true wireless earbuds is very challenging and very expensive.
That’s why many of them are priced higher than the AirPods.
And just like the iPhone had its share of imitators back in 2008, many manufacturers today are making knockoffs of the AirPods, trying to capitalize on their high demand and Apple’s recent inability to keep them in stock.
Now since the AirPods have been so successful, it appears Apple’s interested in expanding their presence in the audio market.
Because just six months after the AirPods were released, Apple introduced their smart speaker called HomePod.
But it didn’t experience the same level of success as the AirPods, and this has prompted rumors that Apple may create a more affordable version of the HomePod to compete more directly with the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
But I don’t think the speaker market is where Apple will enjoy most of their audio success.
Because the AirPods are where the magic is at, and it’s worth mentioning that they’re a first-generation product.
Apple will likely be announcing an updated version in the near future, and rumors suggest the new model will be equipped with features centered around health.
The earbuds could include biometric sensors to track fitness data, and they may even be waterproof with noise-cancellation technology.
But what I’d really like to see are touch controls similar to the new Apple Pencil that could track gestures and allows users to adjust the volume without using Siri.
Apple might even expand their headphone product line to include wireless in-ear headphones and over-ear headphones.
That means we’re only beginning to see what Apple is capable of in the wireless headphone market and I’m excited to see what other products and technology they have in store.